105 replies to this topic

[jsyjamie]

Hi all,

 

Long-time lurker, first thread poster. 

 

Just realised that it is a year to the day I joined the forum which is around the same time I started looking for another mini!

 

I picked up this '94 Mayfair last December with a small amount of rust in the usual places and lacquer peeling on the roof and bonnet. The previous owner had fitted an MPi engine and Balmoral interior and had done a really good job of it. All this for the bargain price of £1,500! I was well chuffed and have been using it almost daily with minimal issues right up until now.

 

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I have gone through lots of different plans from Stage 3 to Supercharged to Carb Turbo, but finally settled on the maddest (and maybe most expensive) option of Injection Turbo.

 

It probably isn't the best idea to have a set date of completion of what I’m calling ‘Stage One’ which is engine, suspension, brakes but no major bodywork, but hopefully Easter 2019 as this is around the time of first track day of the year in Loheac, France.

 

The amount of information on this and the Turbo Mini Forum is incredible and thank you to everyone who makes these forums what they are. Also, a special thanks to Steve220 who has documented in great detail pretty much exactly what I am aiming for.

 

I know most people (including me) like pictures so I will post every few days the parts I have bought so far and how the current plan developed.

 

I am not an expert and none of this is going to be ground breaking but hopefully it will help people who are planning a turbo build of their own and are a bit lost under all the information on the forums.

 

Cheers,

 

Jamie

Edited by jsyjamie, 26 September 2018 - 11:21 AM.

[psmini]

Definitely following!  I've got a 95 Mayfair and even with a 1293, 274 cam and a stage 4 head, I'm wanting more power and have thought about turbo power.  Will be watching with interest, looks like a great project!

[jsyjamie]

Thanks mate, good to have you along!

[Steve220]

Thanks for the mention, chap! Best of luck with it!

[johnR]

Following - everyone loves a sleeper!

[Steve220]

As an idea on this, if I was to do mine again, I would ditch the front mount radiator, go side mount and put a front mounted intercooler in. Believe me, it'll save you time, money and keep the build simple.

[jsyjamie]

Thanks Steve, that is my plan after reading through your thread!

[jsyjamie]

Engine – A Fresh Start

 

Because I am using it as a daily taking the car out of action for any length of time wasn’t something I wanted to do but luckily a for sale thread came up on the Facebook Mini Club Jersey page.

 

Being broken by a known dodgy geezer (mk1leg) ? was a Sportspack MPi with one lady owner and 18,000 miles on the clock. I had a drive before the car was broken and the engine felt so much smoother than mine with roughly 60,000 miles although there was a nice crunch into second gear. Not an issue as the gearbox would be getting a rebuild anyway.

 

We agreed a price and I picked it up a week later.

 

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Luckily Mark had his sons there to help load it into the back of the car as it weighs a bloody tonne, way more than I thought! I have a trolley for moving around my arcade and pinball machines at home (my other hobby, see picture) so it was easy enough to unload on the other side.

 

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This is how it sat in the man cave when I got it home.

 

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Now the question was, what to do with it…

 

Cheers,

 

Jamie

[1330RG]

Gonna be an interesting build. Keep us posted dude

[jsyjamie]

Engine – Injection Tuning

 

I really wanted to mod the engine so researched all the different stage kits. There are literally hundreds of threads on this forum outlining all the options, I won't go into them here.

 

I came close to buying the parts for Stage 3 but decided that roughly 80-85bhp (doubtful of the 90bhp quoted) probably wasn’t worth it. Plus, I know it wouldn’t be enough!

 

https://www.minispor...-mpi-90bhp.html

 

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If you are thinking of adding the Stage 3 kit to your MPi then check out James Quintin's great YouTube video.

 

https://youtu.be/r3jG8PtIQXQ

 

As some will know, the main issue with tuning the MPi is the locked ECU which I didn’t realise at the time of buying unfortunately.

 

The simplest ‘plug and play’ option I found to get over this issue was the Specialist Components kit. Expensive but it looks amazing and hopefully user friendly and easily adaptable.

 

https://www.speciali...e-body-kit.html

 

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What could I get the engine to with this and a Stage 3 kit? Maybe 90-95bhp, again not enough!

 

Cheers,

 

Jamie

 

 

 

[rich_959]

I went round the houses of all different MPI tuning options while my car is undergoing a full rebuild. I want it to remain looking fairly stock under the bonnet for now and to retain the rover ECU, and to stay reliable.

 

After advice from many knowledgeable people on this forum and over the phone I have opted for a Swiftune SW5-07 mpi cam with duplex timing kit, MED ST1 clutch/flywheel kit and mildly tuned cylinder head. Maniflow exhaust and manifold and a rebuilt gearbox with X-pin diff. I'm advised this should give improvements within the capacity of the MEMS ECU (ok up to about 85/90bhp). Consistent advice seemed to be to not chase the bhp figures, but go for solid upgrades which will increase torque, improve driveability and maintain reliability. Should be up and running by the end of the year so I'll let you know how it goes!

 

I was advised against the 'off the shelf' mpi tuning kits because of the roller rockers, but can't remember why! I seem to recall it being a 'bolt-on' compromise, in the absence of having the engine apart and changing the cam. Mine was coming apart anyway for full inspection and rebuild, so it made that decision easier.

 

Good luck with the project!

[MacGyver]

You could always have it supercharged! ?

[rich_959]

I have that option in reserve for further down the line!!!

[jsyjamie]

Sounds like a good spec and a great project Rich, that is pretty much what I had for plan A.

 

I'm probably on plan G now!

 

Definitely agree on going for drive ability over figures.

 

Let us know how it goes.

[jsyjamie]

Engine – Super or Turbo?

 

The power figure I decided to aim for in my head was 160-170bhp which meant forced induction. I researched Supercharges and looked at the Vmaxscart and Specialist Component options.

 

https://www.vmaxscar...ercharger-kits/

 

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https://www.speciali...5-port-kit.html

 

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Both look good but maybe it was growing up in the Group B hot hatch era having owned a Fiesta RS Turbo and all my mates driving Escort RS Turbos, Renault 5 GTs, Escort Cosworth’s, etc. I decided to go with the Turbo option.

 

Some research on here and the Turbo Mini Forum showed that the technology I was used to was old hat and that time has not shone brightly on the T2 and T3. To my amazement the GT1752 turbo off a SABBE was the weapon of choice these days. A quick look on eBay a Chinese copy could be had for roughly £90. I ordered one out of curiosity more than anything else!

 

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Looks good and apparently people are running these up to 20psi!

 

Cheers,

 

Jamie