20 replies to this topic

[Neilos]

Hi,

Ive currently got a 1275cc auto in my mayfair. Later in the year, or the beginning of next year im looking to put a new manual engine in. Ive looked at these engine and gearbox packages on mini sport, particularly something along the lines of this...

http://www.minisport...ne-product.html

Im not totally sure whats involved so im thinking of getting mini sport to fit a whole new engine to my car including new manual gearbox. Has anyone done this? Does anyone know a rough price for getting this done and what exactly is involved converting auto to manual? Do i need to upgrade things such as brakes if i change from a 1275cc auto to 1400cc manual?

Thanks

[Bungle]

from what i have read on here there are lots of better and cheaper places to buy a engine than minisport

and dont expect to get the power they say you will from minisport

i will let other people point you in the direction of where they got theirs built

[Big_Adam]

if your going to engine swap why not just go for a metro turbo lump insted. i mean old metro turbos don't cost too much (i think) lump the engine from that in your mini to get more power!

[biggav]

always 1380 engines on ebay in varying states... i put the word about locally that i needed a tuned A series engine and i got an Oselli built 1380 engine with 500 miles on it for £600.00 Speak to local garages about getting them to fit it, All garages should be Mini Specialists as the mini is such an easy car to work on and an engine change can easily be done in a day.

Or speak to someone down the pub, ther's bound to be someone who's changed a mini engine before and will give you a hand for a £100 or so.. and it's quite a good laugh too.

[miniboo]

**cough** MORSPEED! **cough**

[Neilos]

Cool, yeah im not particularly interested in going for hardcore power, just having nothing but constant problems with my auto box and just want something better. I figured buying a new engine kind of eliminates certain problems if you know what i mean.

What about just maybe buying a new engine and gearbox (from somewhere new), get it delivered to my local garage (who is quite good at doing mini work) and get him to fit it, how much would i be looking at for a conversion (bearing in mind if got an auto subframe, putting in a pedal box...etc? could many parts off my auto engine be used on a manual, eg alternator, radiator...etc?

Has anyone bought a new engine and got their local garage to fit it? what does it generally cost?

[The Matt]

Things that need swapping:

Pedals (obviously you will need an extra one):

I would use a second hand pedal box which will suffice. You will also need to add a clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder (the clutch on a mini is hydraulic). For the cylinders ideally you want new, but good second hand ones will do the job.

If you could do that yourelf, that parts for the conversion is probably gonna cost from £50-£100 for all the parts you'll need. But if you look into new components and paying someone to fit them, you will probably be looking at more like £200-£300, but that's just a guess.

The gearbox (again, you'll need a manual one):

There are plenty of places that sell second hand or reconditioned/rebuilt gearboxes. One such example is a guy on here (username Guessworks) I have used him in the past and have found both him and his work to be top class.

I think you will also have to look into changing driveshafts, but am not 100% certain.

For recon gearboxes, you could expect to pay around £250 plus fitting costs.


Gearchage assembly:

For new parts a gear linkage and all the bits associated would probably cost £100 or even more. I have just found a second hand example on ebay for £10. For that, definitely worth using second hand parts.


Engine:

The engine you are looking at is classed as a 1400 by Minisport, but I am fairly sure it is actually a 1380. A well built 1380 is gonna be faster than a 1275 auto, but we're not talking about breakneck speed, unless you have a very well tuned one (and I'm talking like 2K upwards).
I would consider the option of using a second hand/reconditioned MG Metro engine and gearbox. You can find them for around the £200 mark in reasonable condition. You could even pay to have someone strip/inspect/rebuild it for you. Maybe bore one out to 1293 so there is plenty of meat left in the block for another overbore in a few years time (not really an option if you go straight to a 1380).

To summise, the best way to do the conversion would be to find a second hand MG Metro engine and swap all of the bits over yourself, or pay a mechanic to fit the parts you have bought.

But if you do not have the experience/time to do the buying of second hand parts and all of the work yourself. The Minisport engine may be an option, I would think you would be looking at a minimum of £2K upwards.

There are plenty of people on here that offer there services for this sort of work. I can think of a few names that would be ideal for the job, but I would have to ask them if they would mind me giving you their contact details before posting. I also think that the people I have in mind would do as good quality work as Minisport (if not better) for probably half the cost to you.

**cough** MORSPEED! **cough**

depends how long he wants to wait for it to be finished!!!!

[miniboo]

there is the waiting i suppose!!

[Neilos]

depends how long he wants to wait for it to be finished!!!!


What, are they slow? - Yeah ive considered using an oldskool metro turbo engine, but again, will hopefully haave a budget of £5k, maybe a little bit more. I want my engine to be half decent. My garage will probably do the majority of the work, but there must be bits on my auto engine that i can transfer over if need be...etc

There isnt a great rush for this to be done, but im strongly considering a new engine block and gearbox at least. Whats the score with automatic subframes? i believe you can get adaptor plates to fit directly onto an auto frame? Or is it just best to replace with a manual subframe?

Is morspeed good?

[miniboo]

5k is a very good budget.

what about speaking to Jammy Basturd because he had one for sale that was a beast. and was only about 3k i think

[The Matt]

depends how long he wants to wait for it to be finished!!!!


What, are they slow? - Yeah ive considered using an oldskool metro turbo engine, but again, will hopefully haave a budget of £5k, maybe a little bit more. I want my engine to be half decent. My garage will probably do the majority of the work, but there must be bits on my auto engine that i can transfer over if need be...etc

There isnt a great rush for this to be done, but im strongly considering a new engine block and gearbox at least. Whats the score with automatic subframes? i believe you can get adaptor plates to fit directly onto an auto frame? Or is it just best to replace with a manual subframe?

Is morspeed good?

The general consensus is that Morspeed is good, if not a little delayed from time to time!

Metro turbo is an option, but unless you get some fancy pipework you need to chop a hole in your bulkhead and weld in a box for the turbo to have enough room.

The subframe is something I forgot about actually. Yes, I believe you can get spacers for the subby, to allow the manual engine/box to fit it. But you could look at using a second hand one from a manual (probably cost you IRO £25, depending on what comes with it).

As for your budget £5K is a good realistic price to do all the work properly and have a stonking little engine that is built to last. I would say that a second hand MG Metro engine, rebuilt/reconditioned and overbored to 1293 or 1330 would be a good option. With a good cylinder head/camshaft/carb you could achieve around the 80-90 BHP mark and still have a reliable and driveable car I guess.

[ed4ran]

MBE Race Engines!!!!
Slightly more than Morspeed but Quality is amazing!!
I think there is a wait of just over a month, but its worth it.

[Neilos]

so do you know where the best place is to get a metro turbo engine? - to be honest im more of an electrically minded person, i dont know much at all about engines, cams...etc.

Where could i get adaptor plates from for my subframe? I dont believe in getting a second hand subframe, if it needs to be replaced i think i will get a new one put on.

[biggav]

my local breakers will do an engine on a subframe with discs for £300-350. pedal box and cylinders £30

[ed4ran]

You can get any engine made into a turbo engine, just depends how much you want to spend on the engine.