35 replies to this topic

[Pickup76]

Yeh i know all about the block pocketing and compertion ratios. Been reading to bible to cheak up on all that. The thing is im on a student budget and as such am trying not to spend big on the engine. I have already accumulated 2 good 12G940 heads with one being the MG metro head and i have lots of 998 engines without good heads so it makes sense to give it ago.
Looking forward to trying it acctually. Ive seen a few people running MG 1275 heads on 998s and they give nice performace figures.
Ill post on the projects forum when i do it but it will probably be near christmas so dont hold your breath.

[Purple Tom]

Also, don't lower a road going Mini as it reduces the suspension travel too much and ruins the road holding on everything except really smooth tarmac. The most important settings are the track and camber of the rear suspension. It must toe-in between 3/16" and 1/8" and have zero to 0.5 degrees negative camber on the back.

Yes, at the moment I have big problems with my rear suspension, both radius arm bearings and bushes are worn so the car constantly crabs slightly, and the rear suspension is a lot lower than it should be, i have a new subframe (as original is getting on a bit), and recon radius arms, backplates, everything needed to get it sorted, i just have to find the time to do it!! You are right in that it ruins the road holding, as mine tends to bottom out and skip about rather than absorb the bumps and follow the road

Is it worth fitting negative camber brackets to the rear of the car if the front suspension is still standard, or will this adversely affect the handling?

One more thing, are the front and rear rubber cones the same? Ie can you use cones from the front on the back and vice versa?

Cheers

Tom

[bluebottle]

all 4 cones are the same

[Cooperman]

The single most important thing in making a Mini handle is the rear suspension settings. The rear MUST toe-in 1/8" and have zero to 0.5 degrees negative camber.
You can use adjustable brackets, but I'm not allowed them on my Historic Rally Cooper 'S'.
What I do is file out the holes in the two radius arm brackets to give the correct setting in terms of camber, then I MIG weld some thick washers onto the arms to keep that setting.
The toe-in is sorted by adding thin sheet metal packers or, if toeing out too much, grinding or filing the front facing surfaces of the end plates away unti it's just right. It makes no end of difference.
I must admit I do like 1.5 degree neg camber lower arms on the front and I always set the toe-in on the front to zero.
You can always fit the front cones onto the back, but some rear cones don't have the threaded bush fitted for the 'tower-tool' which compresses the cones at the front. Dimensionally they're identical.
My advice for anyone using a Mini on the road is NEVER lower it. It just screws up the handling, increases the chances of bottoming out and spoils the feel of the car on twisty and bumpy roads. Maybe even raise the front a bit. Better dampers are always a good thing, but don't set them too stiff as it just stops the suspension from working properly.

[Poo]

I agree that 10"s are probably better for handling, mines on 5x12"s with yoko tyres at the mo and in the wet it can be a right handful, it'll be a long time before i can afford to change them though

as for the engines restarting after years of being stood it must just be the a-series because me dad has just bought a 1959 Morris Minor for £150, it's been stood 14years and all it needed to get it going was a new battery, and that was with 14year old fuel as well