21 replies to this topic

[pyromaniac_yeti]

looking at engine swap options for a bit more poke and MPG and i thought about my dads punto.

small engine size wise, pretty pokey and they take a lot of abuse.....and thats the 8v 1.2...so the 16v twincam 1.2 (sporting engine) in the mini would in theory go nicely as the only difference is the head?

now if an eight valve engine will hit 115 in a punto...then it'd give plenty enough speed in the mini. not to mention the acceleration would be pretty quick. aswell as the reliability over the a series...and more importantly than all of those FUEL CONSUMPTION.

now the engines are cheap to get ahold of, so ill have a measure up and if it all works out then ill start saving for the relevant bits.

has this been done before?? any factors i need to take into account? wirings the main worry at the moment.

anyway. what do you guys reckon??

[Retro_10s]

A couple of people on here appeared before saying that they're going to fit Punto engines, There was one chap who had a lovely engine from a Punto (seem to remember it was turbo'd?) but I think the thread disappeared and he lost interest. Can't remember fully.

has this been done before??

I believe so yes but it is quite a rare conversion

Any factors i need to take into account?

Suspension set up, are you going to use the standard mini subframe and modify the engine mounts to fit the punto engine?... this way you can retain all the mini suspension gear, keeping costs down.

wirings the main worry at the moment

I would be more concerend about the cost of making drive shafts up and deciding what wheels you're going to use, along with track width modification,.. and how you're going to fuel it- retain the injection system or put it onto carbs, couple this with exhaust fabrication.

I say go for it, inject something different into the Mini scene

[Tomf]

to be honest there are alot better engine choices to use, why go 1.2 anyway?

The 1275 mini engine will go alot faster than the 1.2 8valve punto lump, i know because i have both.

[Retro_10s]

Certainly worth doing the 16v jobbie Imo. But tom rasies a good point regarding the 1275 Aseries engine.

In the punto's favour, it has 5 gears regardless, and is simply, a modern design. all be it an italian engine

[pyromaniac_yeti]

run it injection, stock setup.

modify a standard mini subframe to do it with. then run spax adjustables and adjustable cones to get the thing sitting and handling right.

as for the exhaust system i saw this....

http://www.rcdevelop...;g2_itemId=1882

cant realy see very well on that photo, but on the evo they'd routed the exhaust 90 degrees at the manifold and fitted the silencer onto the front so it exited infront of the wheelarch on the passengers side. saved the trouble of sending it all down the back. it would be VERY loud but hopefully id be able to get a couple of silencers into it somewhere. not sure. but you get the basic idea?

[Retro_10s]

it would be VERY loud but hopefully id be able to get a couple of silencers into it somewhere

that's the easy bit, just join it up to a twin box mini system, two silencers, and it'll sound like a mini too, instead of italian pap.

[pyromaniac_yeti]

lol, that wouldnt work.

exhaust comes out the front end of the car, so unless i was to hack up a perfectly good twin box then it'd be a waste of time. better to get some silencers from a breakers/ebay or something like that.

[Retro_10s]

I don't understand (am i having a stupid moment?) what's stopping you making an exhaust up that bends to the back of the car,.. it does this on the punto anyway surely!?

very confused now

[pyromaniac_yeti]

nothing at all

the need to do something different i suppose, plus that way should the engine ever need to come out again id be able to pull the engine and exhaust system out as one complete lump. plus less pipe, less weight, less weight...well im sure y'know the rest.

ive only ever seen that done on the RC developments lancer, and never done on a mini so id'd be a bit of a unique touch to it i guess.

[pyromaniac_yeti]

sorry missed a few post somewhere along the line.

why the 1.2? insurance. MPG. both major issues for me at the moment. plus, the difference between 1242cc and 1293cc isnt exactly a lot...

for the punto motor? reliable, a bit quicker but not silly fast, good fuel consumption, and you get a five speed box. if its *rubbish* i can always put it back the way it was and flog the subframe, loom and engine as a ready kit on here/ebay.
against it? i could probbably persuade my A series to chuck out that amount of power for a lot less. the a series is usually okay....(has been scince the rebuild...sort of), it affects the originality of the car.

whats so bad about itallian engines anyway??

and im sure after its in and running nicely theres the option of sodding around with the lump...few more ponies when i get bored with it.
from my experience of the 8 valve engines theyre good. my dads never had a problem with his, and a mate that had one thrashed the nuts off it every day for about a year and only ever did the clutch in.

so far in a year ive had on my a series: new pistons, rings, engine bearings, head, three head gaskets, a radiator, a clutch, ignition problems constantly that im yet to sort out....so yes...reliability isnt the strong point with the a series IMO.

Edited by pyromaniac_yeti, 16 October 2008 - 12:45 PM.

[Retro_10s]

sounds like you've had it with the Aseries! I wish you luck with the engine conversion, and i hope to see lots of pictures and progress

[kcchan]

To be honest, if you've got the money go for it but in my mind a 1.2 wouldnt be worth it.

Engine conversions are expensive, believe me. All the little bits add up from welding gas, wire, cutting discs, paint, box section etc and thats just for the subframe.

[pyromaniac_yeti]

im not realy doing it for performance though, mainly reliability and the MPG...a few extra bhp would be nice - hence the decision on the 1.2 twincam, as opposed to the 8 valve.

looking through the punto's haynes manual getting the wiring done would be a pig. as such im thinking convert the engine to megasquirt. be a lot cheaper and easier than buying a punto wiring loom and adapting it to fit the mini's. either that or bike carbs + megajolt and run on a DIY manifold.

ive purchased a subframe to do the conversion on - im gonna rebuild the cars bodywork first (see the thread on mini engine projects as its staying a series for now) then crack on with building the punto subby. after ive got it all built on the deck then ill just drop the a series subframe out and do the swap over a few days.

after its all running propperly, setup correctly on an RR and generally reliability tested then i can start playing with turbochargers and the like.

as for box section and metal to work with, im currently working on converting an oil tanker into housing to fund the car...so due to all the cutting thats going on theres a whole lotta box section, plate, tubing availible and being chucked out...im fairly sure my boss would either give me it/sell me it for peanuts as its going in a scrap bin anyway.

after ive got the welding done on the cars bodywork then im going to start looking for the lump. so give it a few weeks as ive now pretty much got the bits together to get the car in one piece again scince my crash.

either way, ill start posting up pics as and when stuff starts happening.

[NudgerSS]

I've got the Punto HGT witha 1.8 in it and that motor revs its nuts off. Variable valve timing too so gets to about 3200rpm and seems to take off again.
Not the most powerful 1.8 at 130bhp but not bad

[Oldskoolbaby]

In my honest opinion i think fitting a 1.2 punto engine is a complete waste of time, effort and money. I can fully understand why you want cheap insurance but is an engine swap really going to help that matter? If its down to cc then why not fit a bike engine? You could fit a 600cc motor with 6 speed sequential box, a loom that is easy enough to manage, much more power, better mpg (depending on how you drive it), loads more help should anything go wrong, well priced kits out there that already allow you to keep the front subframe and much much more scope for further tuning should you wish to.

In all fairness your not really gaining anything from this conversion. A well set up A seires with the correct parts would easily outpul a 1.2 punto engine and at the same time be very reliable. Lets be honest, if your struggling to sort out your A seires wiring/electrical issues how would you cope with after market ecu's and splined in looms?



But!!!!

I respect the fact your being different and theres nothing wrong with that what so ever. All the best with the transplant should you try and pul it off mate.