20 replies to this topic

[Sutty01]

hello im an old member of this forum and i now need some help in the future i plan to transplant a new engine into my mini for Reliability for the millage i plan to do(holidays to cornwall from brum) regulaly.as i do not wish to sell my mini and buy another car. I will be doing this convertion between 19-21

here are my main questions

What am i looking for insurance (f comp, 19 /21 )

What engines and options have i got?

How much will the work cost to do?


Sorry if this has been previously asked but as i say i have not been on for a while

Your True-ly
Sutty01

[Lt-SilverDragon]

I haven't started my conversion yet so I can only tell you what I've read, if I'm wrong then hopefully somebody will correct me. I know Jammy is doing a vtech conversion think HIC quoted him £1200.

As far as engines go you can fit quite alot of engines in, some requiring more work then others. Most people go for either honda or vauxhall and also Rover. I think it's about £1500 for the kit not including donor engine or fitting, not sure how much it would be to get somebody else to fit it for you. If you're looking for performance reliabily and decent mpg then go with honda if you're not worried about price, price wise your looking at around £1000 for either a whole car/loom + ecu + engine (b16A) give or take a few hundred depending how lucky you are/where you get it from/how well you blag. Going vauxhall is cheaper, look on ebay for a rough idea how much a donor car is. If you just want something with a 5th gear and has ok power and probably more reliable then the a series then you could get a 1.4k series engine (metro) and you won't have to pay more on road tax. Also some rovers had honda engines in them and these go for cheap as chips, I think it's the 416 and 216 that had these engines and were pushing 115BHP stock the GTi models had a 130.

I plan on using the 1.4k series and modding the frame to fit my clubman, I'm hoping to get a donor car for less then £200 and doing all the work myself to keep cost down but I don't know how much the whole conversion will cost because I will need to buy coilovers and new driveshafts aswell as a few other things.

Have a look around 16V mini forum, I've been reading the forum for a while gathering as much info as I can.

[Jammy]

As Lt-SD has said, HIC quoted me £1200. That was on a classic policy so doesn't take any NCB into account, but also doesn't accumalate any either. I'll be 21 in May, with 2 years driving experience in June, the quote was based on a B16 Vtec engine, something like an 8k agreed value and limited milage to about 8k as well.

Again, as Lt-SD has said, the cheapest conversion, in terms of cost and insurance, would probably be the 1.4 K series engine (I believe Evolution on 16V MC has this conversion), but then it will be probably the least reliable out the three, and a lot of people think that if your going to go that far you may as well do the Vaux or Vtec conversion.

I think if your trying to get the best of both worlds then the Vaux conversion would be ideal, probably the 1.6 conversion rather than the 2 litre to keep expense and insurance down. Marc on here is doing this conversion with the Allspeed frame. I believe he's paid just over a grand for the whole kit and then you just need the engine/donor, which is very reasonable indeed! And theres plenty of crashed Corsas out there to use as donors.

The Vtec is the conversion I'm doing. I got the engine, loom, ECU and a couple of other bits for under £300, but B16 engines usually go for about £400-600. Again, kits for the conversion as usually about £1100-1500.

To have the conversion carried out for you I think you'd be looking about a minimum of 5-6k, and thats will a solid car to begin with. Several companies will do this, Allspeed, Watsons, SAE, P&L Minis; I recommend Watsons or Allspeed, I've heard some bad reports about P&L.

[16vmini]

also check my shop : http://www.16vminishop.co.uk
I am getting stock of all the frames in the next week or so ...

Matt

[Jammy]

Am I right in thinking you can carry out the conversions as well, 16VMini??

[16vmini]

Am I right in thinking you can carry out the conversions as well, 16VMini??

can do. price would really depend on lots of things so can't just give a cost.

Matt

[Jammy]

Sutty, look at the D16 engines as well, either the twin cam non-Vtec or SOHC Vtec, most are 125-130ish bhp. They are alot cheaper than the B16s (I nearly had a complete crash damaged 5dr Civic with SOHC Vtec lump for £250) and should be cheaper on insurance as well.

[rob mini]

and i happen to know of a D16 twin cam non-vtec forsale.... 130bhp cracking little engine and in standard form they are about as good as the B16A just the B series is a lot more tuneable. 240bhp from a 1.6NA anyone lol. The main problem with people putting honda engines in minis is lack of thought on the intake. A dodgy intake can and will make you lose up to about 15bhp!

[marc]

As Jammy has said i'm doing the 1.6 vauxhall conversion at the moment, check out www.allspeed.co.uk for more info on the kit i'm using, the sites under construction at the mo. though.

The vauxhall engine is a very good conversion for normal driving as its a very torquey engine, much like the a series in a way, whereas v-tecs have all the useable power high in the rev range. If you were to phone rob at allspeed he may be able to let you have a drive of his own equinox fitted with the vauxhall engine, very impressive.

I havent looked at insurance on it as yet but i'm sure if jammy has a qoute at £1200 on the v-tec it should be less than that for the vauxhall as its less powerful etc.

Look about in the projects area to see what people are doing.

[16vmini]

allspeed site is : http://members.aol.com/hallredrita/

Matt

[duck]

whereas v-tecs have all the useable power high in the rev range

People seem to think this but my VTEC mini does not lack torque or power at any point in the rev range, it performs well enough in normal driving that VTEC is not needed.

On the rolling road it has 90lbs torque from just over 2000 rpm all the way to the VTEC switch over point were it reaches 105lbs of torque.

Sutty01 - I think the 1.6 vauxhall conversion from allspeed would be a good choice, don't need to extend the front and the gearing is correct for 13" wheels which should give you good cruising on the motorways. I had a look at the allspeed demo mini and a chat with Rob Hall the owner of allspeed and it is a nice conversion.

[Woody]

I started today to convert my Clubbie estate to rover 100 GTI power
i am using the standard rover front subframe so no need to cut and join driveshafts etc
i bought my complete running and driving metro GTI for £100 (mot fail, rust)
all on the body that needs to be modded is the front lower front panel

[minipirate]

if your gunna go for a k series, why not the 1800 vvc? thats what i will be using, actualy the vvc160, which is a reliable engine, very light and lots of power, also cheaper they can be picked up for around 800.
the vvc160 drops straight into a metro gti inplace of the 1400, so unless your going to stay spi or carb with a 8v k series, go the hole hog, the 1800 isnt actualy much worse on fuel then the 1400 under normal conditions!
thats my opinion anyway lol

[Sprocket]

Z cars do a Honda Vtec mid engine conversion for £5300 but then there is the cost of the engine and its fueling/management to take into consideration as well

[Jammy]

Z cars are also developing front mounted Vtec and Vaux conversions, but don't expect them to be cheaper than the mid engined conversion they do, and they won't be done for a month or two yet.