4 replies to this topic

[sheimimac]

Hello guys,

I am looking at (possibly) purchasing a very clean and original 1995 MC 1.3i SPi with AUTOMATIC transmission. The car was imported from Japan. The car has low kms. But the seller informs me that the CRANK POSITION SENSOR is gone, and the car has subsequently laid up for almost a year and a half, says he can't get one anywhere.

1. Should I be weary/walk away ??

2. Can this part be got ? Is this part difficult to fit if it can be got ? If it can be got, how much would such part cost ?

3. If the part can be got, would it be best to leave the car as an Automatic ?

4. CONVERSION: I have learned of the difference of the bell-housing size, the brackets available to mount a manual bell-housing in place of an Automatic, the difference in the Auto/Manual engine Block, but, is a conversion to MANUAL from AUTOMATIC really a bg job ? Such a pity to mess with a low klm engine (rip it out, toss it, replace the BLOCK etc etc)

Does anyone have first hand experience of doing a conversion ? And all it entails ?

Or, is the car best left as an Auto, period ??

Any help would be very much appreciated, by someone looking to venture into first Mini ownership !!

Thanks for reading.

[mini-luke]

1) Yes, it is a readily available part. Bank on something else, possibly more serious being wrong
2) http://www.minispare...|Back to search
3) It's worth significantly more as an manual
4) Easiest and best way is to swap the entire engine and gearbox and use spacers on the engine mounts as the auto subframes are wider

The most important other factors are price and rust. For it to be good value as a non runner it should have a low price and little rust. Pictures would be nice to gauge condition.

[Guess-Works.com]

and not forgetting that a jap mini will have air conditioning which ads a further level of complexity to a conversion.

unless it's cheap then walk way, I've never known a jap auto mini to live a long life once it's in the UK.

ps, the CPS is the same as used on the manual mini, and pretty much every other rover car of the 90's with a K series engine.

[mini-luke]

ps, the CPS is the same as used on the manual mini, and pretty much every other rover car of the 90's with a K series engine.

That's always useful to know, there's always a K series something in the scrapper round here.

[sheimimac]

Thank you guys for replying,

I have been struggling to upload photos for you to view. The wee car is really clean and totally original, and standard. No rust whatsoever, just some paint fade in places. Is an Automatic Mini easy to live with ? I'm not into 0-60 stuff. It has spent 4-5 yrs of it's imported life here in Ireland, with 1 lady owner. This part is of benifit to me, as it is 'here', and Irish registered. In other words, if I bought a 1995 in the UK, it would cost me €300 to get it home, then a further €480 to re-register the car here.

But, I am more interested in the mechanics of the car for now, and this non-runner issue, and the fact it is Automatic.

So, to buy or not to buy ?? Whats it worth ??

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