13 replies to this topic

[McStavros]

Hi
I am on the verge of purchasing a freinds 1992 1.3i cooper.
Its a good condition and slightly modified already.
I'm not the greatest with cars so you'll have to bear with me.
it has a stage 1 kit (air filter and exhaust kit)
I believe the exhaust is - WP Rear Sports Exhaust Silencer-Twin Sports
and the filter is - K&N Performance Air Filter
I also understand it's had the top of the head skimmed.
It has a short shift 4 speed gear box, and adjustable suspension.
It has also had better breaks fitted.
The orginal engine had roughly 90,000 miles on it, although it has had a new second hand one fitted which has roughly done 40,000.
As far as I'm aware thats prety much all thats done to it (performance wise)
So i'm wondering if anyone could help me with what to do next? I dont want to go too crazy with it, but I'd like to get the 0-60 down to around 7 to 8secs if possible?
I'm not sure of what it is now, neither am i sure of its BHP...
I'll be on a budget with of about £500 give or take a bit.

So if anyone could help me, it would be much appreciated!!!!

Edited by McStavros, 01 November 2010 - 10:50 AM.

[Sir Cheat]

You will need more than £500 im sure..

[mike_mini_mad]

With that budget it'll be difficult to go much quicker. I'm not what you'd call a pro myself but maybe a race/road cam? But with that you'd need to fit lots of other bits really and the cost would likely exceed your budget.

[McStavros]

I could maybe push the cost to £1000 to start with anyway
It will be a project over a while, so the £500 was really just a starting figure.
I dont intend to turbo charge it.... to begin with anyway, I'd like to get the most out of it without a turbo.

Edited by McStavros, 01 November 2010 - 11:13 AM.

[steverose]

As a start could you rip out most of the interior if you were going for a race look, less weight = quicker car with no cost. You could even sell what you take out and improve your budget for the oily bits.

[davidv]

An lsb manifold might help a bit and they sound good.I do not think you will get 8-60 but good luck.

[bobs]

Empty the boot, and pump the tyres up?

Save the £500 for the future welding costs.

Seriously, you'll have more fun driving round corners than worring about it's 0-60 time.

[mikespicooper]

Hi
I am on the verge of purchasing a freinds 1992 1.3i cooper.
Its a good condition and slightly modified already.
I'm not the greatest with cars so you'll have to bear with me.
it has a stage 1 kit (air filter and exhaust kit)
I believe the exhaust is - WP Rear Sports Exhaust Silencer-Twin Sports
and the filter is - K&N Performance Air Filter
I also understand it's had the top of the head skimmed.
It has a short shift 4 speed gear box, and adjustable suspension.
It has also had better breaks fitted.
The orginal engine had roughly 90,000 miles on it, although it has had a new second hand one fitted which has roughly done 40,000.
As far as I'm aware thats prety much all thats done to it (performance wise)
So i'm wondering if anyone could help me with what to do next? I dont want to go too crazy with it, but I'd like to get the 0-60 down to around 7 to 8secs if possible?
I'm not sure of what it is now, neither am i sure of its BHP...
I'll be on a budget with of about £500 give or take a bit.

So if anyone could help me, it would be much appreciated!!!!

Hi,
First of all is it an spi or an mpi cooper?
I believe that you don't have to worry about the 0-60 situation as you will need a lot more money to reach 8-7 seconds corners have much more fun the 1/4 mile!!!!!!!
So for both models I suggest for the typhoon ecu from the specialist components as also for a full stainless steel exhaust system, I've bought from maniflow for my spi (lcb manifold, link pipe and a rear silencer straight through stuff) and some k&n induction kit.
You can also go from closed circuit to open circuit breather system. Some serious cylinder head porting would be great and a mild road camshaft but for these you will need to remove the engine and go for a rebuild the best option is to gain power without stripping down the engine for your budget.
cheers!
P.S Are you a Greek ?

[xBR4DLEY]

Would be an spi from 92 mate

[RayBoogs]

I would start with a good exhaust system from maniflow or an RC40 single exit with a size of 1.75" (internal diameter) for the best performance, then look at the cylinder head a good stage 3 spec one will help lots, but this alone will be in the realms of 400-500 pounds.

After this you can look at camshafts or highlift rockers (if you can't get the engine out), a fast road or mild road cam will be a good choice, kent or swiftune (I'm no expert on cams so i'll let someone else tell you more), the highlift rockers are not going to see as much of a improvement to a cam but will be a good stop gap and you can always use them with the cam as well.

after this you can start to think about the bottom end and possibly a re-bore, the maximun size i would go to is 1340 as this leaves a chance for a selving and a rebore if needs be.

One thing to remember also is the ECU, the standard rover MEMS unit is a read only unit and cannot be re-mapped so this limits the engine to around 80-90bhp with this unit, there are replacement units available like the Specialist Components typhoon ecu but they are on the pricey side, 500 pound plus, but a 0-60 time of what you want will be hard to achieve without 90bhp plus.

HTH

Jack

[McStavros]

Cheers for the feedback chaps!
This has definately given me some food for thought!
I think the 0-60 time may have been a bit optimistic by the sound of it.... I think on refelection, the car is quite nippy as it is, and i would maybe be better off just tweeking little bits, and just trying to get it to run as smooth as possible... better quality spark plugs etc.... What other parts could be replaced with higher quality ones that would just help it to run nicer?
I should be purchasing it within the next month or so. The friend I'm buying it off is a good mechanic, and knows the car inside out, so I'll put forward some of the ideas to him and see what we can we can come up with.
I'll try and get some pictures up soon for you to see if anyone is interested.
Keep the ideas coming if you have anymore, and I'll be sure to keep updating the situation.
Also, is there anything specificaly i should look out for that could become problematic in the future?

P.S mikespicooper . . . .I'm half greek cypriot, half scottish (how's that for a weird mix!)

[Nu2mini]

The wise thing to ask about is has the suspension been uprated. I mean new doughnuts, Beefed up tie bars, Adjustable arms. Also does it have any adjustment on the rear end. Then has it all been set up properly. £500 spent in this department will transform it into a real driving machine. Oh and don't forget decent tyres. Get the most out of what's already under the hood. If you get this sorted properly you'll think you've added 50BHP without touching the engine at all

[mikespicooper]

Cheers for the feedback chaps!
This has definately given me some food for thought!
I think the 0-60 time may have been a bit optimistic by the sound of it.... I think on refelection, the car is quite nippy as it is, and i would maybe be better off just tweeking little bits, and just trying to get it to run as smooth as possible... better quality spark plugs etc.... What other parts could be replaced with higher quality ones that would just help it to run nicer?
I should be purchasing it within the next month or so. The friend I'm buying it off is a good mechanic, and knows the car inside out, so I'll put forward some of the ideas to him and see what we can we can come up with.
I'll try and get some pictures up soon for you to see if anyone is interested.
Keep the ideas coming if you have anymore, and I'll be sure to keep updating the situation.
Also, is there anything specificaly i should look out for that could become problematic in the future?

P.S mikespicooper . . . .I'm half greek cypriot, half scottish (how's that for a weird mix!)

I was asking because I'm greek cypriot and when I saw your name stayros I thought that you must be greek!!!!! Do you ever come to cyprus? It would be nice to have you here for a mini meeting with the cyprus mini club some time!
Cheers!

[1275GTS]

This is what I did when I rebuilt my coper spi.
1) Fitted KYB gas adjust shocks - £106
2) Uprated tie bars - £24
3) Uprated tie bar bushes - £8.15
4) Solid front subframe kit - £41.13
5) Maniflow cat back 1.75" exhaust - £71.50
6) Maniflow LCB - £74.10
7) K&N air filter element to fit air box - £47.00
8) Allow approx £70 for a full service inc. oil, filter, plugs, plug leads, dizzy cap rotor arm and coil + grease up all grease points on your suspension.

That should give you a very nice car to drive and will give you a grin every time you drive it.

I went a bit further and converted the mini to run on 10" wheels. 7.5" disk conversion kits start from approx £250 (all new parts) upwards. Then theres the wheels and tyres.
I managed to pick my wheels up off ebay for £50 and thye tyres i got from a show for £100. My calipers where £60 second hand which i rebuilt with new pistons etc.
I would also recommend replacing the vacuum pipes and fuel trap on the injection system as these do fail over time giving very poor running problems.
Also make sure that the body work is in good condition as this can get very expensive if you can't weld. I did all my own body work as did welding as an apprentice 25 years ago and has come in very handy over the years.