8 replies to this topic

[chdprkns]

Hi everyone,
I have a 1982 Austin Morris Mini with a standard 998cc engine. I have a friend that is selling a 1275cc MPI engine supposedly from a 1998 Cooper. I am looking for opinions/advice on whether it would be worth the effort of putting it in my car. I can handle an engine swap but this needs a whole new ignition sytaem for my car. He says I need a megajolt ignition system since the 1275 is distributorless. I have never used one of these but i have been reading about it on here and it sounds manageable. Would that work or do I need to try and find a '98 Cooper ECU? Also, he has changed the engine from injected to carburated with a heated intake manifold. I know the carb is to small.. what carb would i need to run this? Does this particular mod sound right? It is bolted to the manual transmission that it was running with in th cooper. In fact, it is still bolted to the entire subframe with brakes and tires.
I was planning on rebuilding the old 998 but if making this 1275 work won't be too hard i might just rebuild it instead. A few more horspower would be nice and i would think it would pay off later if i wanted to put more mods on it. Just getting some advice before i drag an entire engine home!
Thanks for the help!

[orcadian]

Hi,
I did almost exactly that with a 99 cooper into a clubman estate shell. I used all of the wiring/injection/ECU from the cooper - so it was relatively easy. but the tank needed some serious head-scratching (http://www.stallard-...ubmanestate.htm). I prefer the injection to the old 'bucket and chuck it' system of a carb, but it does come with penalties if anything is not right. Another issue in your case is the gearbox, if this is the original MPI one then they do have issues with poor quality materials and especially synchro on second made by Cadburys. I'm sure someone will come along soon with info on megajolt. I'm really happy with the way mine behaves (at the moment - remember it's a Mini!) although it could do with a few more willing horses, especially in the mid-range.
regards,

[Trail of Dead]

Hi man! I'm the guy selling that MPi! Yeah, I have heard people say the gearboxes on these MPi's are "made of cheese" but at the same time I have heard people say they have had no problems with them. It's just one of those things I guess. You can check here for info regarding the engine specs. The guy that I bought the engine from is a well respected breaker that lives near me. I asked him if it ran good, and if it shifted good, and about how many miles were on it. He said it ran great, shifted just fine and had about 40,000 miles on it. The car it came from was a 1998 Cooper Sport that was Tahiti Blue.

The megajolt is a very good product and is very popular. Running the factory ECU/Injection system would be even more costly I think compared to the inexpensive price of the megajolt system. Keep in mind we get paid in Dollars......a vast majority of Mini parts around here (Mildenhall/Lakenheath area) are sold in pounds. So, you'd pay less for the Megajolt than you would for the factory ECU/harness and other parts for that system. As for the carb you would need....I think I mentioned it to you. You would need a "HIF 44" to run this 1275 well. You could swap out the manifold that is on it now and run TWO HS4 carbs if you wanted but the HIF 44 would be easier to setup and provide all that you need for this engine. There are a few guys on here that have switched their MPi's over to carb. This is a short but good thread about the MPi to carb swap idea. People have been replacing the injection on their SPi's for years....the MPi really isn't that different fuel system-wise.

Oh, I also lowered the price (check on LYS) and am tossing in those finned rear brake drums and a brand new pair of front disc brake hoses! You can't go wrong man! It's a great setup and a good deal considering all that I am selling in one big package. Let me know......we are moving onto base housing in about a week and a half.

Wanted to add that you can order the Electric fuel pump from Summit Racing (over in Akron Ohio)....they ship APO! When I was going to do this swap I was going to buy this fuel pump rather than buy the "Facet" brand pump they sell over here. As for the alternator, I have heard the alternator from the Rover 75 will fit the MPi engine. Likewise, I'm sure Summit would have an alternator that would fit as well.....I don't think it would be too hard to fab up mounts to run whatever alt you want!

Edited by Trail of Dead, 04 July 2010 - 01:46 PM.

[chdprkns]

Hi man! I'm the guy selling that MPi! Yeah, I have heard people say the gearboxes on these MPi's are "made of cheese" but at the same time I have heard people say they have had no problems with them. It's just one of those things I guess. You can check here for info regarding the engine specs. The guy that I bought the engine from is a well respected breaker that lives near me. I asked him if it ran good, and if it shifted good, and about how many miles were on it. He said it ran great, shifted just fine and had about 40,000 miles on it. The car it came from was a 1998 Cooper Sport that was Tahiti Blue.

The megajolt is a very good product and is very popular. Running the factory ECU/Injection system would be even more costly I think compared to the inexpensive price of the megajolt system. Keep in mind we get paid in Dollars......a vast majority of Mini parts around here (Mildenhall/Lakenheath area) are sold in pounds. So, you'd pay less for the Megajolt than you would for the factory ECU/harness and other parts for that system. As for the carb you would need....I think I mentioned it to you. You would need a "HIF 44" to run this 1275 well. You could swap out the manifold that is on it now and run TWO HS4 carbs if you wanted but the HIF 44 would be easier to setup and provide all that you need for this engine. There are a few guys on here that have switched their MPi's over to carb. This is a short but good thread about the MPi to carb swap idea. People have been replacing the injection on their SPi's for years....the MPi really isn't that different fuel system-wise.

Oh, I also lowered the price (check on LYS) and am tossing in those finned rear brake drums and a brand new pair of front disc brake hoses! You can't go wrong man! It's a great setup and a good deal considering all that I am selling in one big package. Let me know......we are moving onto base housing in about a week and a half.

Hey! I know you! Yeah I was on LYS yesterday and saw it was still listed. I figured it would have been gone by now. I'm just doing some research before I get in over my head. I have done engine swaps before but it was always the same type of engine going in as i took out. I did read quite a bit about megajolt and that part doesn't seem too difficult to put together. Now I am just reading up on the carburator set up. Orcadian brought up the fuel pump and I haven't even thought of that yet. Do I need to do anything for the fuel pump? My understanding is that it should be almost straight bolt in with the ignition upgrade. You stripped the injection system so I shouldn't need to jump through hoops to get that wired in. I'll get in touch with you monday or tuesday. I have to get to work now or I'm going to be late! Oh.. the seats look great in the Mini!

[Globule]

To build the complete megajolt package from scratch i'd allow around £150, the majority itself goes on the ECU, depending on your ability you can get a DIY kit cheaper (£105 for the ecu built or £60 DIY) then theres all the extra parts, mine cost around that, and that was a mix of ebay, new and scrapyards for spares! You may get lucky and pick up the complete kit though

[Trail of Dead]

Hi man! I'm the guy selling that MPi! Yeah, I have heard people say the gearboxes on these MPi's are "made of cheese" but at the same time I have heard people say they have had no problems with them. It's just one of those things I guess. You can check here for info regarding the engine specs. The guy that I bought the engine from is a well respected breaker that lives near me. I asked him if it ran good, and if it shifted good, and about how many miles were on it. He said it ran great, shifted just fine and had about 40,000 miles on it. The car it came from was a 1998 Cooper Sport that was Tahiti Blue.

The megajolt is a very good product and is very popular. Running the factory ECU/Injection system would be even more costly I think compared to the inexpensive price of the megajolt system. Keep in mind we get paid in Dollars......a vast majority of Mini parts around here (Mildenhall/Lakenheath area) are sold in pounds. So, you'd pay less for the Megajolt than you would for the factory ECU/harness and other parts for that system. As for the carb you would need....I think I mentioned it to you. You would need a "HIF 44" to run this 1275 well. You could swap out the manifold that is on it now and run TWO HS4 carbs if you wanted but the HIF 44 would be easier to setup and provide all that you need for this engine. There are a few guys on here that have switched their MPi's over to carb. This is a short but good thread about the MPi to carb swap idea. People have been replacing the injection on their SPi's for years....the MPi really isn't that different fuel system-wise.

Oh, I also lowered the price (check on LYS) and am tossing in those finned rear brake drums and a brand new pair of front disc brake hoses! You can't go wrong man! It's a great setup and a good deal considering all that I am selling in one big package. Let me know......we are moving onto base housing in about a week and a half.

Hey! I know you! Yeah I was on LYS yesterday and saw it was still listed. I figured it would have been gone by now. I'm just doing some research before I get in over my head. I have done engine swaps before but it was always the same type of engine going in as i took out. I did read quite a bit about megajolt and that part doesn't seem too difficult to put together. Now I am just reading up on the carburator set up. Orcadian brought up the fuel pump and I haven't even thought of that yet. Do I need to do anything for the fuel pump? My understanding is that it should be almost straight bolt in with the ignition upgrade. You stripped the injection system so I shouldn't need to jump through hoops to get that wired in. I'll get in touch with you monday or tuesday. I have to get to work now or I'm going to be late! Oh.. the seats look great in the Mini!

NICE! I love those seats! Glad you get to use them! If my plans hadn't have changed my Classic Mini would be rocking right now....but again it's good to know someone is getting some use out of the parts I had collected. Yeah, the fuel pump...I put a link to the one that I was going to use in my previous post. It is a small 4psi electronic fuel pump. Then you'd also want to run a fuel regulator like this one in order to assure constant fuel pressure. You'd want to mount the fuel pump/adjustable reg in the boot near the tank. That is pretty much all you need for the fuel pump setup....aside from plumbing it in. Although....I'd run a nice inline fuel filter as well to be safe. Everything else is a straight bolt in task. Keep in mind my front subby is the front mounted radiator setup so you'd have to source a radiator for it....unless you had something else in mind. For instance you could keep the subby I have as a spare and use the subby you already have OR you could find an appropriately sized universal radiator and mount it on the front of this subby rather than buying a genuine MPi rad. Once we get settled on base (if you bought my engine/other related bits) I'd be glad to assist you in any way I can during the swap. I look forward to hearing from you man! Happy 4th!!!!

[chdprkns]

Hi man! I'm the guy selling that MPi! Yeah, I have heard people say the gearboxes on these MPi's are "made of cheese" but at the same time I have heard people say they have had no problems with them. It's just one of those things I guess. You can check here for info regarding the engine specs. The guy that I bought the engine from is a well respected breaker that lives near me. I asked him if it ran good, and if it shifted good, and about how many miles were on it. He said it ran great, shifted just fine and had about 40,000 miles on it. The car it came from was a 1998 Cooper Sport that was Tahiti Blue.

The megajolt is a very good product and is very popular. Running the factory ECU/Injection system would be even more costly I think compared to the inexpensive price of the megajolt system. Keep in mind we get paid in Dollars......a vast majority of Mini parts around here (Mildenhall/Lakenheath area) are sold in pounds. So, you'd pay less for the Megajolt than you would for the factory ECU/harness and other parts for that system. As for the carb you would need....I think I mentioned it to you. You would need a "HIF 44" to run this 1275 well. You could swap out the manifold that is on it now and run TWO HS4 carbs if you wanted but the HIF 44 would be easier to setup and provide all that you need for this engine. There are a few guys on here that have switched their MPi's over to carb. This is a short but good thread about the MPi to carb swap idea. People have been replacing the injection on their SPi's for years....the MPi really isn't that different fuel system-wise.

Oh, I also lowered the price (check on LYS) and am tossing in those finned rear brake drums and a brand new pair of front disc brake hoses! You can't go wrong man! It's a great setup and a good deal considering all that I am selling in one big package. Let me know......we are moving onto base housing in about a week and a half.

Hey! I know you! Yeah I was on LYS yesterday and saw it was still listed. I figured it would have been gone by now. I'm just doing some research before I get in over my head. I have done engine swaps before but it was always the same type of engine going in as i took out. I did read quite a bit about megajolt and that part doesn't seem too difficult to put together. Now I am just reading up on the carburator set up. Orcadian brought up the fuel pump and I haven't even thought of that yet. Do I need to do anything for the fuel pump? My understanding is that it should be almost straight bolt in with the ignition upgrade. You stripped the injection system so I shouldn't need to jump through hoops to get that wired in. I'll get in touch with you monday or tuesday. I have to get to work now or I'm going to be late! Oh.. the seats look great in the Mini!

NICE! I love those seats! Glad you get to use them! If my plans hadn't have changed my Classic Mini would be rocking right now....but again it's good to know someone is getting some use out of the parts I had collected. Yeah, the fuel pump...I put a link to the one that I was going to use in my previous post. It is a small 4psi electronic fuel pump. Then you'd also want to run a fuel regulator like this one in order to assure constant fuel pressure. You'd want to mount the fuel pump/adjustable reg in the boot near the tank. That is pretty much all you need for the fuel pump setup....aside from plumbing it in. Although....I'd run a nice inline fuel filter as well to be safe. Everything else is a straight bolt in task. Keep in mind my front subby is the front mounted radiator setup so you'd have to source a radiator for it....unless you had something else in mind. For instance you could keep the subby I have as a spare and use the subby you already have OR you could find an appropriately sized universal radiator and mount it on the front of this subby rather than buying a genuine MPi rad. Once we get settled on base (if you bought my engine/other related bits) I'd be glad to assist you in any way I can during the swap. I look forward to hearing from you man! Happy 4th!!!!

So I need a radiator, alternator, megajolt, a regulator, and a fuel pump. I think I can manage that. I already have almost everything I need to rebuild the suspension/brakes and I want the engine out so I can clean up the engine bay anyway so sometime over the next few months would be ideal for a swap. And I worked out transportation and a possible workspace which were HUGE concerns (my place is small0. i do have a few other questions though. How much does the moter weigh? I don't have a hoist yet and I am wondering if two or three people can load and unload it. The frame looks fairly easy to handle just big. I am warming up to th idea. I had my old girl up to 65 today. It would be nice if it didn't feel like I was killing her...

[Trail of Dead]

Lol, I know what you mean.....going a little over 50 in my classic mini feels like it's being pushed to the limits. Having a 5th gear would be SWEET! Wish I was a billionaire...lol! I think the engine weighs around 330lbs. in it's current state (just the complete engine with gearbox attached).....at least that is according to what some other TMF members figured out. Well to be fair the thread I read said 150kg....which in our weight measurement is around 330. My wife and I carried it out of the back of our old Ford Ranger. Yourself and another buddy could manage it. The subframe isn't "heavy" it is just awkward to carry.....the other parts on it make the weight distribution off so it feels heavier than it really is. Again, you and a buddy should have no problems with it though. I say a "buddy" cause you'll need someone to help unload it once you get it all back to your place.

Another thing I wanted to tell you. If you are really, really wanting to keep it on 10's then you could always do the Ford Fiesta disc brake swap/mod. You would need the brake setup that I have along with the calipers/discs (maybe a few other pieces such as fasteners, hoses) from a Ford Fiesta. There is a sweet video on Youtube that shows how to do this mod and in the end it gives you excellent disc brakes that fit great under 10" wheels, costs less than buying a fancy billet brake setup and uses standard off the shelf parts....well actually you'd be sourcing the Fiesta stuff from the local Junkyard....I think Beck Row Spares has a few Fiestas there. Plus, we have access to the hobby shop which would have all the needed tools/expertise to get them setup just right. If you decided to just run 12's or 13's then you are already covered by the 8.4" discs my engine comes with. Options....options, options.....that's what we like!

[chdprkns]

I now have most of the parts that I need.. I think. I have the 1275 (ex MPI) with a HIF 44 carburator. I have a MegaJolt system. I am waiting for the fuel pump and regulator to come in. I have a decent understanding of the fuel flow and ignition systems I am putting on and I can operate a soldering iron reasonably well so I'm not concerned with that yet. Now I have a few questions that I don't see answered anywhere.

From what I read I can run the old side mount radiator. Will this cool the larger engine or should I just get a front mount with an electric fan? it's expensive but I have already gone this far.
Should I use the MPI subframe or the 998? I have the one that came with the 1275. I read on here about different engine positions and I want to know which will make it fit better. I am worried that the carburator will now sit too close to the firewall. I know that this will also affect the radiator mount.
Can I use the 998 thermostat housing? I shouldn't need all take offs from the MPI housing.
Can I use the 998 water pump (for the alternator bracket) or do I need an MPI alternator and bracket?
Will the transaxles off the 998 fit?
Will the shift linkage from the 998 work?
Will the starter from the 998 work?

Most of these questions will probably answer themselves once I start but a little knowledge never hurts.
The car is not a daily driver so some down time to work out problems is already expected.
Thanks,
Chad