18 replies to this topic

[classmini]

Hey guys, first off I would like to say I am from the USA, if that changes anything.

I wrote out a BIG explanation of my situation and realized none of you will care

Heres my question, I'm about to buy a 69 Mini Cooper (depending on responses) and I need some info on engine swaps if anyone here as experience.

The mini I am buying only has a 850cc. I plan to DD this car and I drive about 40 miles a day on the fwy, meaning the car would be struggling at 55-60MPH.

How easy and cheap would it be to find an engine that fits (without some expensive kit) that would bring me to around 60HP or more. I know the 850 only has like 30-40HP. I know the 1275 engines would be the best bet but those are hard to find from what I understand.

Please if you have any knowledge, don't skim over this thread and not give ma a reply, the car will be being bought either tomorrow or this weekend. Would VERY much appreciate some feedback from those with classic minis.

The car seems really clean thats why I want to get it, however I am wondering if I should wait for one with a 1275cc engine or just get this one and do a basic swap for some other engine.

[Mini Adam]

I wrote out a BIG explanation of my situation and realized none of you will care

Nice to meet you too

Firstly, this is a classic mini forum so everyone on hear (nearly) has one or is thinking of getting one. There is so much information on here about engine swaps, in fact there's a whole section of the forum dedicated to it. Have a look in there and you'll find more than enough information.

Adam

Edited by Mini Adam, 20 January 2011 - 05:24 PM.

[998dave]

If it's a 1969 with an 850 it's probably not a 'real' cooper, but just a mini, still good though.

Swapping in an early 1275 is really very easy to anyone who can work a set of spanners, just make sure the gear change matches up, and think about the FDR before you install it.

Dave

[classmini]

I wrote out a BIG explanation of my situation and realized none of you will care

Nice to meet you too

Firstly, this is a classic mini forum so everyone on hear (nearly) has one or is thinking of getting one. There is so much information on here about engine swaps, in fact there's a whole section of the forum dedicated to it. Have a look in there and you'll find more than enough information.

Adam

Hey adam, well that's awesome, that's what i tlooked like that this was a classic mini forum only, which is great.
My issue is, the car might be sold very soon so I need to make a quick decision. Basically the information I wanted wasnt exactly what swap people think I should go with, my question is, can I legitly swap an engine with all the parts necessary (used) for under like a grand or two. Once I get the idea from the forums that YES this is possible, I will do more research on which swap I'd actually want to go with. From what I understand the 1275cc engines are scarce in the states right now, so I don't know how easy it will be to get my hands on one of those.

[classmini]

If it's a 1969 with an 850 it's probably not a 'real' cooper, but just a mini, still good though.

Swapping in an early 1275 is really very easy to anyone who can work a set of spanners, just make sure the gear change matches up, and think about the FDR before you install it.

Dave

Hey Dave, really appreciate the fast response! Loving this forum already (used to douche lancer evolution forums).

How can I know if its an actual cooper or not? And to be honest.... I don't even know the real difference. I've been a big fan but have been primarily a fast car guy until about a year ago. I picked up my first old car about 2 months ago which is a 1963 Toyota Land Cruiser and I'm loving the project. I am not sure how easy the 1275cc will be to find in the USA right now, like I said above.

Edited by classmini, 20 January 2011 - 05:32 PM.

[Mini Adam]

I wrote out a BIG explanation of my situation and realized none of you will care

Nice to meet you too

Firstly, this is a classic mini forum so everyone on hear (nearly) has one or is thinking of getting one. There is so much information on here about engine swaps, in fact there's a whole section of the forum dedicated to it. Have a look in there and you'll find more than enough information.

Adam

Hey adam, well that's awesome, that's what i tlooked like that this was a classic mini forum only, which is great.
My issue is, the car might be sold very soon so I need to make a quick decision. Basically the information I wanted wasnt exactly what swap people think I should go with, my question is, can I legitly swap an engine with all the parts necessary (used) for under like a grand or two. Once I get the idea from the forums that YES this is possible, I will do more research on which swap I'd actually want to go with. From what I understand the 1275cc engines are scarce in the states right now, so I don't know how easy it will be to get my hands on one of those.

You can definitely do it for under a grand

[classmini]

I wrote out a BIG explanation of my situation and realized none of you will care

Nice to meet you too

Firstly, this is a classic mini forum so everyone on hear (nearly) has one or is thinking of getting one. There is so much information on here about engine swaps, in fact there's a whole section of the forum dedicated to it. Have a look in there and you'll find more than enough information.

Adam

Hey adam, well that's awesome, that's what i tlooked like that this was a classic mini forum only, which is great.
My issue is, the car might be sold very soon so I need to make a quick decision. Basically the information I wanted wasnt exactly what swap people think I should go with, my question is, can I legitly swap an engine with all the parts necessary (used) for under like a grand or two. Once I get the idea from the forums that YES this is possible, I will do more research on which swap I'd actually want to go with. From what I understand the 1275cc engines are scarce in the states right now, so I don't know how easy it will be to get my hands on one of those.

You can definitely do it for under a grand

Thanks Adam for your quick replies, it's honestly a big help.

Since the other guy hasnt responded and you seem to know a lot aswell, what is the real difference between the coopers and the non coopers? Is this something I should look more into and make sure I get a cooper? Or does the cooper become more of a status thing then a real performance/advantage type of thing.

[RayBoogs]

The cooper is basically the sport version of the mini, the first coopers were 998's the there were few 1071's till the late 70's then they died off until the 90's when rover built there version which started off are carbed versions then went to injection, in reality the early coopers were the best and most original.

You dont need to get a cooper, and I imagine they would be rare and expensive in the states even more so than over here.

Back to your original question, to do the conversion is fairly straight forward, so long as you can get a 1275 engine, its basically a straight swap over, and it will give you around 60bhp and the the ability to tune it to more. have you looked into buying one from the uk and getting it shipped over, or will this be too expensive

Although, I don't know if you have though of this or not but, you can put non original engines into the car, some people put the 1.3 suzuki gti engines in as they are a similar size and give you twin cams a 16v and more power, I suspect though that people will not like the idea of this as the car is fairly old and would be good to keep it original.

Jack

Edited by RayBoogs, 20 January 2011 - 05:57 PM.

[classmini]

The cooper is basically the sport version of the mini, the first coopers were 998's the there were few 1071's till the late 70's then they died off until the 90's when rover built there version which started off are carbed versions then went to injection, in reality the early coopers were the best and most original.

You dont need to get a cooper, and I imagine they would be rare and expensive in the states even more so than over here.

Back to your original question, to do the conversion is fairly straight forward, so long as you can get a 1275 engine, its basically a straight swap over, and it will give you around 60bhp and the the ability to tune it to more. have you looked into buying one from the uk and getting it shipped over, or will this be too expensive

Although, I don't know if you have though of this or not but, you can put non original engines into the car, some people put the 1.3 suzuki gti engines in as they are a similar size and give you twin cams a 16v and more power, I suspect though that people will not like the idea of this as the car is fairly old and would be good to keep it original.

Jack

I have heard of many different non original engine swaps and would be into those aswell. My question is, how much work do those really take, if I get an old accord engine (which I heard works too) or some of the Vtec engines (too expensive) some of the "kits" i see on the internet seem to look like you need to do quite a bit of work to get it to fit. Just the kits for the Vtec engines (with no engine) sell for around $2500 or $3500 here in the USA which is just stupidly overpriced in my opinion.

I'd like to spend 2K total on the engine swap at the very most, including engine and whatever work might need to be done. Do any of these non original engines fit into the car very easily? And does everything else fit up to it correctly? Gearbox? Axles, Etc?

[Mini Adam]

I have heard of many different non original engine swaps and would be into those aswell. My question is, how much work do those really take, if I get an old accord engine (which I heard works too) or some of the Vtec engines (too expensive) some of the "kits" i see on the internet seem to look like you need to do quite a bit of work to get it to fit. Just the kits for the Vtec engines (with no engine) sell for around $2500 or $3500 here in the USA which is just stupidly overpriced in my opinion.

I'd like to spend 2K total on the engine swap at the very most, including engine and whatever work might need to be done. Do any of these non original engines fit into the car very easily? And does everything else fit up to it correctly? Gearbox? Axles, Etc?

With a budget of 2k you could realistically do a non original engine swap. From doing a bit of reading the easiest one is the redtop conversion due it's size and shape. However, you need to bear in mind it's not easy. You will replacing everything in the engine bay as well as a new front subframe to hold the engine. Alternitively if you're handy with a welder you could modify your subframe yourself. At 2k (i assume we're talking $ here) you may better off doing an easier conversion rather than a more complex one on a budget. You can have one of 3: Cheap, Reliable and Fast. With that budget I am concerned you may be going for cheap and fast, with obvious results.

[classmini]

I have heard of many different non original engine swaps and would be into those aswell. My question is, how much work do those really take, if I get an old accord engine (which I heard works too) or some of the Vtec engines (too expensive) some of the "kits" i see on the internet seem to look like you need to do quite a bit of work to get it to fit. Just the kits for the Vtec engines (with no engine) sell for around $2500 or $3500 here in the USA which is just stupidly overpriced in my opinion.

I'd like to spend 2K total on the engine swap at the very most, including engine and whatever work might need to be done. Do any of these non original engines fit into the car very easily? And does everything else fit up to it correctly? Gearbox? Axles, Etc?

With a budget of 2k you could realistically do a non original engine swap. From doing a bit of reading the easiest one is the redtop conversion due it's size and shape. However, you need to bear in mind it's not easy. You will replacing everything in the engine bay as well as a new front subframe to hold the engine. Alternitively if you're handy with a welder you could modify your subframe yourself. At 2k (i assume we're talking $ here) you may better off doing an easier conversion rather than a more complex one on a budget. You can have one of 3: Cheap, Reliable and Fast. With that budget I am concerned you may be going for cheap and fast, with obvious results.

Well actually, with this car I want to go reliable, but I want to be fast enough for the fwy. Some members on US sites are telling me this car will do poorly on the freeway no matter what cause I will be doing such high RPMs the whole time. What is your opinion on this. My issue is this, I don't think the 850 will be enough power. I'm wondering whether it is possible for not a lot of money to swap to a bigger engine (original or not) and keep the car reliable. If it costs too much, I think it wont be worth the headache of finding parts and/or etc and I will just try to wait for a car with a bigger engine already in it.

The thing I like about this car is, it doesnt have a bunch of BS bringing the price up and the car seems clean. But the 850 simply wont be enough humpgh for the LA hills and freeway.

[RayBoogs]

It also depends on how much work your going to do yourself, if you do most of the fabrication then the cost wont be that much. i agree the kits are not well priced and I myself wouldn't go for a kit. you can keep the car reliable and fast enough if you have a 1275 or a non original engine, obviously the non original option is going to cost more and take a lot more fitting, as for most if not all the running gear is going to have to change.

My car, the late SPi cooper manages a good steady 70mph and sometimes a bit faster and this is with 10 inch wheels so if you have bigger wheels your top end would increase, so a standard 1275 mini engine will be fine, they are good torquey engines that pull well for what they are. As long as you keep a good oil in the sump and change it regularly the High RPMs shouldn't harm it much.

[classmini]

It also depends on how much work your going to do yourself, if you do most of the fabrication then the cost wont be that much. i agree the kits are not well priced and I myself wouldn't go for a kit. you can keep the car reliable and fast enough if you have a 1275 or a non original engine, obviously the non original option is going to cost more and take a lot more fitting, as for most if not all the running gear is going to have to change.

My car, the late SPi cooper manages a good steady 70mph and sometimes a bit faster and this is with 10 inch wheels so if you have bigger wheels your top end would increase, so a standard 1275 mini engine will be fine, they are good torquey engines that pull well for what they are. As long as you keep a good oil in the sump and change it regularly the High RPMs shouldn't harm it much.

I knew the 1275 would def be the easiest and most cost effective (if found used in the states, what I HEARD was that is very hard to find used right now).

the 1275 with some basic tuner mods (exhasut, etc) what can I get up to? There are some pretty steep hills out here in Los Angeles.

[BoboGib]

Where are you buying the car from? If it's from this side of the pond could you not organize a 1275 engine at the same time and have it shipped with the car?

[classmini]

I am buying here local in the states. The guy happens to live like 3 minutes from me. From what I understand the 1275cc engines are scarce in the states used right now... not sure how true that is!