85 replies to this topic

[megamini_jb]

Yeah, it's just the old school coolness of these conversions though The Vtec/Vaux etc have never really appealed to me, but something like this would be real special. I shall continue to dream haha.

I'd even prefer this over an 8 port

Edited by megamini_jb, 13 August 2016 - 08:22 AM.

[sonikk4]

Ford did do a 1100 crossflow so im sure you could have messed around with that to get it into the 1ltr class.

[tiger99]

I have seen these conversions at an exhibition in about 1973 as I mentioned recently. Good idea at the time but why bother now? Replacing one obsolete engine by another, at vast expense, is somewhat pointless.

I am not sure if it had to be a 3 bearing Ford engine. Most were 5 bearings but I recall that some had to be shorter, maybe for the Fiesta. Also as I recall the Lotus engine block was not the same as the 1600 block, which is taller.

But if I have any of that wrong, please feel free to say so. It would be useful to keep an ACCURATE history of these conversions, as fast as is possible.

[megamini_jb]

Would someone be able to scan the pages about this from the David Vizard modify your mini book for me please? I can't seem to find my copy. I beleive it is pages 99 and 100. Would be much appreciated if you could.

Thanks!

[Spider]

There's very little detail at all in Vizard's book on them, it's shown more as a passing comment in his book.

[greenwheels]

There was an article in Mini Mag or MiniWorld a few years back on this. Someone had got the urge like the OP and built one.

Please don't ask me to go up the attic just now!!

[stoneface]

What would you like to know about this conversion.

I have a 1700cc xflow fitted on a mini gearbox in my mini. As someone said above there are many other engines that can be fitted nowadays but when I built my engine over 25 years ago it was often used for racing.

To me it is a retro conversion using an engine of the same era.

I did at one point have a lotus conversion (still have the block) but these only really fit under a clubman bonnet and mines all fitted in a round nose mini with no body mods and no cutting out of the the inner wings.

[megamini_jb]

Nice!
Nothing in particular to be honest, just really interested by the whole conversion. I love the idea of if all.

The blocks have me a little confused though.

Do you have any photos of your conversion by any chance as there's not a lot on the Internet really.

Might be a daft question, but would a block that takes a Lotus crank still allow a crossflow or even a BDA head? so pretty much interchangeable?...

Thanks!

Edited by megamini_jb, 14 August 2016 - 01:33 AM.

[mini13]

http://www.lotuselan...win_Cam_Rebuild

[stoneface]

As above, lots of great info there.

 

I have some photos somewhere. The same gearbox conversion was used for the xflow, BDA, lotus, and even the CVH engine.

[stoneface]

A good article on the differences in ford blocks here

[megamini_jb]

Thanks chaps, very informative links there.

Such a cool conversion, being an old school one wouldn't put me off one bit. Sure could easily go down the bm 16v route, or even a full vtec swap, but nah I want some retro goodness haha. Like I said early though, I better continue to dream for now.

Edited by megamini_jb, 14 August 2016 - 01:47 AM.

[Orange-Phantom]

Very cool.  I remember first seeing a lotus twin cam mini as a kid with my dad drooling over it.  Our family car was a clubman estate in the same car as the link below.  Dad had seriously tuned it up with twin 1" 1/2su's all the tricks and a 649 cam.  Despite it having a rather wild cam it drove fine low down but we had hardly any speed limits over here back then and not a huge amount of traffic so you could blast around everywhere.  Happy days!

 

I'm positive the was the car in question.  Talk about show horning it into the engine bay.  Saying that there it's a tight squeeze with my 7 port.

 

https://c1.staticfli...bfdbf6dfa_b.jpg

 

I'd love one!

[MIGLIACARS]

If you really want one I know of one.

bda on a mini box think its around £17000.

[stoneface]

Like many engine conversions it is much easier when fitted to a race car with flip front and no inner wings or a clubman, or a round nose with no inner wings.

 

When I started my conversion it was always my intention to keep the body standard and fit it all in a round nose.

 

The problems associated with trying to squeeze in the xflow conversion took some time to solve. Firstly you need to make an extra thin inlet manifold to stop the throttle bodies coming out the bonnet.

 

Then there’s the custom 4-2-1 exhaust manifold that only just fits past the pot joints and gear linkage. Which also required the engine mounting bosses on the block to be removed to make enough space.

 

Plumbing in an electric water pump, moving the wiper motor, relocating the alternator; and fitting a dry sump pump with external piping to draw oil out the side of the sump through the remote oil filter, all needs solving and squeezing in.

 

And by the time all this is done the space left to fit radiators to cool the beast has diminished as there's no space by the inner wing where it's normally mounted.

 

To aid cooling I have 3 fans and effectively 4 radiators. 2 used during normal running and the others when the fans cut in.

 

The first radiator is a standard front mounted mini radiator fitted with a 10" slim fan. There is also a fan fitted on the right inner wing drawing air out the engine bay. There is the usual heater matrix inside the car and an additional matrix on the left inner wing in front of the hole where the fresh air vent would normally be. There's then a fan fitted where the fresh air vent is drawing air through the additional heater matrix.

 

The final radiator is the front grill which I made in the form of a thin slat grill which has water running through it. During normal running the heater matrix side of the system is just free flowing. When the temperature gets too hot there is a booster pump fitted in the heater system and all the fans come on. That coupled with the Davies Graig temperature controller and electric water pump keeps it cool.

 

But all the above is really nothing without mentioning the actual gearbox conversion and the very clever people that came up with the idea. Mine came from Manx Racing. Other companies also did their own variation.

 

There are generally 2 configurations that I know of. One uses a crank adaptor which bolts onto ideally a 6 bolt ford crank and the other uses a custom made one piece crank. Both are made so that a mini clutch and flywheel is utilised.

 

If using an adaptor (cheaper option) then there is a spacer plate that offsets the ford block on the gearbox. If you have a crank made (very expensive) you can reduce the length of the modified gear box casing and don’t need a spacer plate. You also gain a bit more room at the end of the engine.

 

The original crank adaptors had a slot the same as a standard mini crank which takes the C clip. You’ll see from the photo below this was later left off as they had a tendency to fracture at racing rpm’s A bronze spacer is fitted in its place.

 

The gearbox itself is a standard mini box that’s had the top removed and a new flange welded on. This is then machined to take a ford block.

 

The ford block doesn’t just bolt on and go. It requires the side to be machined so a mini starter will fit. The oil dipstick hole and a couple of others need blocking off or welding up. The engine mounting bosses are sawn off for extra clearance.

 

So it's not a simple conversion, but which are. The main differnce is it's an engine of the same era and providing you can solve the issues can be fitted without body mods.

 

It's not in the same power band as the turbos, vtecs, or bike engines but it has enough grunt to make you smile.

 

 

 adaptor plate.jpg   46.4K   47 downloads  crank adaptor.jpg   70.99K   46 downloads

 gearbox 3.jpg   82.37K   51 downloads  gearbox 1.jpg   54.77K   33 downloads

 gearbox 2.jpg   93.53K   42 downloads

 

Edited by stoneface, 06 September 2016 - 03:12 PM.