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Newbie - Mpi Mini, Being Backdated To Mk3 's' Looks


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#1 rich_959

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Posted 19 December 2017 - 12:15 PM

Afternoon all,

 

Just thought I'd say hi on here. I've already posted a couple of questions in the MPi specific area.

 

I had three mini's in my youth before being tempted away to bigger cars. The last one being a 98 Cooper Sport LE (Brooklands green) which I have always regretted parting with.

 

Earlier this year I happened across a 97 MPi mini (standard, rather than cooper) in red. It had an aftermarket sportpack but other than that is standard. The car came with some huge bills from a renovation in 2015 and does seem to be solid throughout (we'll see) but the paint finish leaves a little to be desired, which made me wonder about the overall quality of the rest of the work. That aside, a deal was struck and I started planning.....

 

I've removed the sportpack wheels and arches, done a cooper s front brake conversion and fitted cooper s offset minilite replicas. I'm currently stripping the interior and removing the engine before it goes to a friend of a friend for some new front panels (arches/A panels were cut) and any other metal work, before paint. I'll then be re-building with earlier style rear lights, front indicators, no arches etc - aiming for the mk3 look.

 

Engine wise, plan is to stay within the limitations of the standard ECU but probably go for a decent cam, possibly a tuned head but certainly a lightened flywheel, fuel regulator upgrade etc.

 

I'm thoroughly enjoying the forum so far, especially reading about some of the projects.

 

All the best!

Rich.



#2 Steve220

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Posted 19 December 2017 - 01:39 PM

Hi Rich,

 

Welcome to the flock! 

 

As a side note, i'd ditch the idea of a fuel regulator upgrade. They only end up getting tuned to stock pressures anyway. The MPi responds very well to head work and a good cam though! Swift tune's SW5 is a great cam!



#3 rich_959

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Posted 19 December 2017 - 01:49 PM

Cheers Steve!

 

Interesting regarding the regulator. Most MPi tuning stuff I've read said the pressure needs to come up in order to make the most of any cam/head mods, but I'm new to all of this so I will take your word for it! Why do they form part of most of the 'off the shelf' tuning kits?

 

My throttle body was slightly warped when I started stripping but I got a 'S Works' spec one off ebay for a reasonable price. Looks to me like it just opens a bit wider due to having a smaller restrictor. Would having this alter the requirement for higher fuel pressure?

 

Yes, SW5 is the plan, and maybe a Calver CST200 head - depending how funds are looking after the bodywork is sorted out. X Pin diff, MED flywheel - nothing much more than that I expect.



#4 Steve220

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Posted 19 December 2017 - 02:02 PM

The standard fuel pressure for the MPi is 3bar. When a mate of mine had his JCW kit, he had the adjustable fuel pressure regulator - I said it was worth putting a gauge on it at the same time. It ended up being at 3bar again when it was set up on the rolling road.



#5 rich_959

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Posted 19 December 2017 - 02:55 PM

Ah, I see! Well, that's saved me £100 or so already, hence just upgrading my membership to TMF+ (not at all to take advantage of the minispares discount).....






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