8 replies to this topic

[kingcreaky]

autobots.

bl**dy minis aye!, why do we bother!.

You spend an absolute fortune on the endless money pitt (aka the a-series engine), only to be too scared to give it some
proper licks, (especially when your out of pushing distance from home!)

after owning many minis over several years im getting a bit sick of the a-series engine. I love it dont get me wrong..

take for example my Mini-Van, I run a standard 998 engine, no frills, it chugs 20 miles a day to and from work come rain
or shine, I tow big trailers with it, load pallets of brick, bags of cement, i really work it. And it is STRONG. But its not very quick. I mean I fully expect it to blow up if I hold it at 70 for any amount of time. But it does serve the purpose, i require it for.

This is what im getting at really, I want another mini, this one for fun, something that is quick I can drive like its stolen, and shoot down the motorway in without any worries about water temperature, oil pressure or whats that knocking?.

A friend has given me a 1.8 16v vectra. (1996)

Im confident I now have the tooling and adequate experience to take on such a project, and intend to do as much of
it as possible myself. (including all bracketry, driveshafts, front subframe) etc but we will see how it goes.

likewise I also intend to keep this thread updated, as im renound for not doing that aswell.

so here goes, engine out!.

well almost!. run out of 'lift' from the hoist, then the floor was too high and ceiling too low. so give up at 20 past midnight last night. today il drop the vectra down onto its discs, tie the mini van to the back of it, and drag it out backwards, hopefully the engine will swing over the front valance, or itl catch and the van will pull the garage down STRONG.

il keep you posted.

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[kingcreaky]

the scrap man is coming to collect the shell in the morning, so my current plan is to remove the following

engine & ancillaries
gearbox
driveshafts
any bracketry i think will be vaguely useful
the exhaust
the gear selector

based on the fact il be using megajolt, custom manifold and probably carbs instead of fuel injection
ive just been quite savage with the engine removal cutting wires etc, so dont say 'the wiring loom'

[NudgerSS]

Welcome to the Dark Side

Is that the small block 1.8 you are using? Should fit in a standard length car if so otherwise you may need to extend the front.

Cheers - John

[nicksuth]

Now I'm thinking what your thinking

[jayare]

If it's from a '96 Vectra it will be the big block X18XE rather than the small block X18XE1 which was fitted from the facelift in 2000.

A-series can be reliable - they just have to be built and maintained correctly. The Vaux lump will take a lot more abuse at a given power output though.

Good luck with the conversion!

JR

[kingcreaky]

jayare - thanks for the info relating to engine types, i searched for ages yesterday trying to work out what x18 flavour the engine was.

q. On the basis its the large block flavour, will that fit under a flipped clubby front end, or am I going to have fun? would you say the additional work required to fit the large block engine, (over the small block xe engine) is worth it?

A-Series - dont get me wrong guys, im the biggest advocate of our good old a-series engine, but theres horses for courses! like i tried to explain with the van scenario. Ive been there, spent hundreds of pounds with MED getting an engine built, ive built them myself but I really cant form an opinion, until ive been to the 'dark side' to find out

ps, dropped the vectra onto the deck, lifted the engine as high as I could with my come-along, and dragged the vectra out the garage with the mini-van (STRONG)

Edited by kingcreaky, 25 November 2009 - 12:36 PM.

[NudgerSS]

Yes it should fit under a clubman front but all depends on the subframe you build.

John

[kingcreaky]

right, read up about megajolt last night, and have ordered one, also a ford edis module.

aparently, the vauxhall edis alone (without the ecu) will be sufficient just to get it started, as it produces a non wasted spark at 4 degrees before tdc.
in otherwords, a standard 2d curve (as far as I understand)


need to think about inlet manifold now.... can I assume a manifold that fits the red-top will fit the 1.8 ecotec?

seperately, open to opinion on aspiration... ive found a manifold that fits straight onto a set of R1 carbs...

R1 carbs anygood... somebody recommended Kawasaki 750R... any other ideas?

matt

[jayare]

Not sure on the carbs thing - I'm going with injection on mine. For Vauxhall related queries, have a look at Migweb forums. Also have a look on the 16vminiclub forums - a lot of your queries will have been answered over there.

JR