75 replies to this topic

[almarsh132]

Any reccomendations of the companies in the southeast with the capabilities to do it? Was thinking bill richards racing, but i think they do assembly more then anything?

[PhilipGCaldwell]

hello buddy, hats off to ya for rebuilding a fast small bore, people are far to judgemental of the 998 and see them as inferior, I disagree, they are a great versatile and reliable motor and can produce some impressive results (see the Vizard bible, he makes a 998 faster than a metro turbo), yes admitedley you do have to throw a bit of cash at them to get the results but I think its well worth it as the satisfaction of squeezing out more power than a 1275 is very satisfying

My BIGGEST pointer is when you get a beeter cylinder head, try and source an unleaded head as an unleaded conversion will cost £200+
Half my rebuild cost has been machining work

I have a build thred in here called '1275 Eating 998' it may be of use to you and give you ideas, best of luck, I WILL BE WATCHING

[almarsh132]

Yeah just had a quick look through your thread, some good progress youve made there! Problem is mine is literally on such a tight budget. I'm still in education so only have a part-time job. I earn around £250 a month, still owe me parents £40, and got a holiday to pay off+save up for, l2b and my minis m.o.t is this month! Would love to go for a good spec but i think i will probably only be looking at a little tinkering here and there (unless i win the lottery of course!)

[twrminisport]

Sorry i posted this earlier but realised i was still on my friends account :/ here we go again. Ive dug up some old bookmarked threads.

Nothing wrong with that. You can make a 998 go like ****

Mines a 998, Stevee on here has a 998 street sleeper topic on here with alot of posts and ideas in it. Liiarge is building a 998 engine and theres another thread around on here by Racer Pete or PhillipGCaldwell with 998 engines being used to their max!

Good idea for a 998 if you want a moderate road car that goes well would be to use a stage 1 kit, 12g295 cooper head, HIF38, 44 carb or Twin HS2's combined with a SW5-07 camshaft.
This will give you alot of torquey power rather than a revvy racer. Nice traffic characteristics and an idle which is nice and driveable at low revs but when you open it up on a dual carridgeway it pulls like a train. Neither will it embarres you on a trackday. With this spec you could blow stage 1 1275's out of the water

If you want blistering street use and track day performance then you can gas flow, port and polish the head. Fit bigger valves in the head. Combine this with a 'hotter' camshaft such as a Kent 276 or suchlike and a few other bits and peices around the engine and you could well have 70-80brake out of her.

Vizard did a similar spec without lightened flywheels etc which blitzed the metro turbo over the 1.4 mile and that does 0-60 in 8.9 secs. Imagine quicker in a 998!

Threads.
Racer Pete 1 http://www.theminifo...x...=110678&hl=
Racer Pete 2 http://www.theminifo...howtopic=122994
Liiarge http://www.theminifo...showtopic=94825
Stevee http://www.theminifo...howtopic=182587
Phillip G Caldwell http://www.theminifo...howtopic=172059

You will notice that i dont have a thread on here. This is due to my over sensitve approach to security. However you will see enough on here about what im planning to do.

Food for thought

[almarsh132]

I've got a few boring lectures tomorrow so i'm sure i'll get a chance to read through a couple!
Annoying as i have loads of ideas for the engine! Have to think within reason though, as it is my first rebuild. Best not to be too ambitious on my first attempt right?

P.s did you like the picture heavy update?

[twrminisport]

Yeah pretty good haha
Do it in stages. Im in a very similar situation to you, studying politics and only working part time at the moment.

1. Stage one kit
2. Carb Improvments
3. Head improvments
4. Rocker Improvments
You can do all the above easy without having the engine out which is nice for a daily drive.
5. Engine out time.
6. Camshaft
7. Clutch and Flywheel
8. Crank
9. Gearbox

I could go on but thats a good idea for you

[almarsh132]

Lol, I dont have a head, or carb, or clutch or other bits lol. It was used as a donor engine, but i did get it for free so cant really moan . I'm studying mechanical engineering!

[twrminisport]

Haha cool.
I would get a decent exhaust for it.
Then do twin carbs
Then a modified 12g295 head

If you need any help just ask me mate,

[PhilipGCaldwell]

If ure on a really tight budget then I would suggest a12g202 head, you can pick them up for less than £15 and they are better than a standard casting, do the porting yourself (I did), its not difficult just take your time and remove the restrictions especially round the valve guide and valve throat, then skim if necessary (£35), save money

You can source a Mg metro camshaft (people have very goo results with this cam) on ebay for alot less than a new unit, they do turn up on flebay now and again, just keep your eyes peeled

If the cam bearings look ok, dont replace them (I wish I hadnt, its holding my build up now as you need a tool to insert them), this will save money

stick with standard carb (HS4) for now until engine is run in properly then play about with twins, more money saved

instead of having it bored and buying new pistons (£££), might be make more sense to hone the bore and re-ring the original pistons, more saving

I would however part with the money for an ultralight flywheel and also a elec ignition. standard flywheel is very heavy

[twrminisport]

I have a 12g202 head in the garage somewhere...

Phillip, was your car verto or pre verto clutch? Bit confused with flywheel assemblies to fit both :/

Cheers

[PhilipGCaldwell]

Phillip, was your car verto or pre verto clutch? Bit confused with flywheel assemblies to fit both :/

the engine currently in my mini is verto, the engine iam rebuilding is preverto - I have bought a preverto ultralight flywheel and clutchplate with a pre engaged ring gear on it so I can use my existing starter motor, I also already run my verto engine with a preverto slave cylinder

this is the one I bought http://www.minisport...o_C-AEG620.html

[almarsh132]

I have a 12g202 head in the garage somewhere...

Phillip, was your car verto or pre verto clutch? Bit confused with flywheel assemblies to fit both :/

Cheers

Ohhhh . Is it an unleaded head? And if so ae you interested in selling it

[PhilipGCaldwell]

the 12g202 has larger inlet valves than the standard, they also have a larger chamber volume, although you will get better performance results with 295/940 castings, they are much much more expensive (295 heads go for a Ransom!), also note that if you use a 940 head you have to pocket the block/recess the ex valve=£££££. you can source a 202 for less than £20 and with some time and care taken to remove the restrictions around the valve guide then you should expect to see some decent results. If you are on a budget they are prob the best head to use as a compromise between power and cost, obviously this is only my advice, some people are very opinionated when it comes to the cylinder head argument,lol, however some people dont realise that money doesnt grow on trees!!!!!!!!!

[almarsh132]

202 head it is then . Just found out from my mate who had the engine before that it has actually had a BRAND NEW gearbox fitted, about 200miles before it was taken out, happpppy days!

[PhilipGCaldwell]

happy days, gearbox rebuilds can be very expensive!thats good news