11 replies to this topic

[rogue]

I am considering the following three choices for my 1970 Austin Mini 998cc which I daily drive now. When I purchased the car, I had ever intention of doing a K Series Minitec VTEC swap, but then promptly realized thats way too much power for the chassis and unusable. I also dislike the idea of the flip front end of extending the front quarters. So I've narrowed it down to 2 choices, and possibly a 3rd wildcard that will appear to cost me a fortune.

1. $5300 USD Big Bore A Series 1380 or 1400 Stage 4 Jon Speed Fully Rebuilt Engine, possibly with one of their supercharger kits. (could go smaller bore as well if I do the blower).
http://www.jonspeedr...?productid=1224

Supercharger
http://www.jonspeedr.../shop/index.asp



2. $10,500 USD Superfastminis Minitec MTB2 Engine Package or perhaps building the subframe myself with my own sourced B16 engine.



3. 16V TwinCam setup. After doing some research, it appears as if morspeed isn't a good idea to do business with so I would likely do business with Specialist Components. I love the idea of a A series block with a modern head on it, and some weber carbs. Oh so beautiful and sounds amazing. But are these conversions cost effective? Can one be done for under $10,000 USD?

I am leaning towards the big bore A series engine\ because it keeps the mini pure, with that mini sound and heartbeat. I had the option of doing an modern LSX swap on my 1969 Camaro but I opted for the big bore 8.2L zz502 and couldn't be happier. I feel its important for a car to sound and drive like it was intended to a degree. But I want the A series setup to be streetable, reliable, and fun. Would a smaller bore a series with a supercharger like a 1275cc be a better choice for me?

Will I not be happy with the performance of the jonspeed engine and eventually desire a Vtec swap? My desire to fly around town can be handled with my other car, this is more about fun and being original. Theres a bunch of VTEC minis driving around the states. A big bore or 16v setup is attractive to me.

Thanks for your thoughts and brainstorming with me.

Pictures of the car with his freshly polished grill. Headlight buckets are next, and maybe bumpers.

Edited by rogue, 22 January 2010 - 06:33 PM.

[dmdangermouse]

What a garage!
Is that a camero?

[roofless]

give some thought to an R1 conversion.

www.promotive.co.uk

reverse can included as part of the package now, so full daily use is very achieveable, but I guess it does loose that 'heart and soul' of the mini thing.

I havn't met a person yet with a jonspeed type supercharger conversion that has been happy with the results. I would put more faith in the vmaxscart ( original ) conversion that several companies have copied but not tested quite properly

http://vmaxscart.co.uk/

[mike.]

Another thing you could look at is a vauxhall small block conversion. They're 1.6 16v small block engine can fit under a standard length front and come with 100bhp as standard. A few extra parts should see you with 130bhp quite easily. I've not looked into those engines that much but you can probably get quite abit more than that too.

[Chris C]

BMW k-series head, turbo. A series power!

[rogue]

What a garage!
Is that a camero?

Thank you so much. I take a lot of pride and put a lot of thought, blood and sweat into them. Its a 1969 Camaro Z28 trans am car setup for road racing. Its been a build for me about 2 years in the making. I track it frequently and it'll one up just about any modern car on the track or street. Its setup with an insane amount of road racing performance goodies. The suspension was engineered by *willy* Guldstrand who was responsible for the Sunoco Camaros of the late 60s trans am racing series. Its a screamer of a car, but tame enough to drive around town as well, though it sits on r-comp racing rubber. It clocked 165mph the other day but has the capability of pushing past 200mph. I just have to get the aero setup properly and a full cage.




There are a ton of videos on my youtube channel if you're interested.
http://www.youtube.com/daign

cheers.
d

Edited by rogue, 22 January 2010 - 07:19 PM.

[rogue]

give some thought to an R1 conversion.

www.promotive.co.uk

reverse can included as part of the package now, so full daily use is very achieveable, but I guess it does loose that 'heart and soul' of the mini thing.

I havn't met a person yet with a jonspeed type supercharger conversion that has been happy with the results. I would put more faith in the vmaxscart ( original ) conversion that several companies have copied but not tested quite properly

http://vmaxscart.co.uk/

Wow. I hadn't heard about these FWD R1 conversions. Thank you so much! I love the idea of a high revving motor like that, but the Zcars kits are too much 'kit car' and not enough mini for my liking. This looks like a good option for me. I'll check it out. Thanks!

Good to know about the jonspeed supercharger. I have read good things about their motors however. Or am I wrong?

Will check out vmaxscart as well.

[roofless]

As long as karl builds it himself it'd be a good choice, at one time he was one if the best engine builders around, and his head work was superb.
In recent times some jonspeed products have been questionable. I am biased bya bad experience though, so others may rave about their service.

[Danny_California]

I am so jealous, I hate it! That would be my perfect two car garage, mini and a Camaro of that era. One of my favorite cars of all time, and that is a superb example of the breed.
If you are worried about losing any of that inherent "mini-ness" then I would suggest that a well tuned bored out A-series would give you all the power you could want and paired with electronic ignition will be more than reliable enough for every-day use. As has been said on the topic of the supercharger option, I would stick with the vmaxscart kit since I've heard only good things about them.
And just to reiterate, I'M SO JEALOUS!

[CobraV8]

I agree withe the above. I have a tweaked Cobra replica with Chev motor - around 700hp and that is my car for racing and lots of power. No matter what you do to the Mini - it wont satisfy your power rush in comparison to the Camaro. I currently have a 998 with weber and good exhaust - but needs more power to keep me happy, am contemplating a tweaked 1300 or my 970 bored to 999 with a 7 port head. It will cost lots - and still only have more Mini power - wont compare to Chev power! Enjoy the Mini for what it is - a fun car that can feel fast with a few tweaks.

Edited by CobraV8, 27 January 2010 - 03:14 AM.

[Sleepy Stu]

Surely for reliabilty and power its got to a V-Tec converstion. Anywhere between 150-200bhp as standard depending on which engine you go for and V-Tecs are generally regarded as bullet proof?

Edited by Stewart_GT, 27 January 2010 - 12:47 PM.

[danrock101]

What a garage!
Is that a camero?

Thank you so much. I take a lot of pride and put a lot of thought, blood and sweat into them. Its a 1969 Camaro Z28 trans am car setup for road racing. Its been a build for me about 2 years in the making. I track it frequently and it'll one up just about any modern car on the track or street. Its setup with an insane amount of road racing performance goodies. The suspension was engineered by *willy* Guldstrand who was responsible for the Sunoco Camaros of the late 60s trans am racing series. Its a screamer of a car, but tame enough to drive around town as well, though it sits on r-comp racing rubber. It clocked 165mph the other day but has the capability of pushing past 200mph. I just have to get the aero setup properly and a full cage.

There are a ton of videos on my youtube channel if you're interested.
http://www.youtube.com/daign

cheers.
d

has that cut straight cut gears?