45 replies to this topic

[millermilla]

             My mini was a 1275 auto and I wanted a manual 5 speed abut 100BHP which I thought would costs me thousands to do in an A series so I decided to do an engine conversion to a Vauxhall C16SE, 100BHP, Multipoint fuel injection and 5 speed. I'm 99% done now but it's cost me £2000 so far and about 100 hours I reckon.

 

Edited by millermilla, 24 January 2014 - 10:16 PM.

[vx220]

             My mini was a 1275 auto and I wanted a manual 5 speed abut 100BHP which I thought would costs me thousands to do in an A series so I decided to do an engine conversion to a Vauxhall C16SE, 100BHP, Multipoint fuel injection and 5 speed. I'm 99% done now but it's cost me £2000 so far and about 100 hours I reckon.
 

I have been following this on 16v club, excellent work

If and when I finally get round to doing another mini, this is probably what I would go with. You've done a proper job with it!

Edited by vx220, 24 January 2014 - 11:23 PM.

[.998TANGO.]

I can understand both sides of it. I love the a series nothing else sounds or feels like one and mine has never actually let me down but for the money it looks like i'm going to spend on a rebuild it wont be far off a conversion.  Its a tricky one!

[millermilla]

You can do a conversion for much cheaper than the £2K it cost me.

[The Matt]

IVA is another thing to think about....just saying! ;)

[rids]

micra = no bulkhead mods

[l_jonez]

This Iva thing is getting boring now, as rids said with the Micra and a few others there is no bulkhead mods and in the case of the Micra and swift no removing the inner wings.

Let's keep this thread Iva free as there are hundreds of threads on the subject and most of them end up going around in circles.

[.998TANGO.]

again why I like the idea of the micra engine, atleast if I do decide I want go to back to a series it wont be to much hassle

[skinnyminny]

IVA does not apply for ANY classic mini 

 

https://www.gov.uk/v...ehicle-approval

 

followed up by a phone call to DVLA which confirmed that as long as the vehicle is over 10 years old (hence all classic minis as of 2011) no matter what modifications you make you do NOT need an IVA.

 

I don't understand why it even comes up!

 

As far as buying a modern car goes, my problem is the cost of insuring two vehicles. I could either keep my mini classic and use it daily (bearing in mind I do in excess of 15k miles a year) and kill it, or I can do an engine swap and put those miles on a micra engine, and then swap it back to original in the future. What I cannot afford to do is as Cooperman suggests, and buy a modern daily driver and keep the mini for the weekends. Quite apart from the astronomical insurance cost (as I only have one set of NCB, a second insurance policy becomes in excess of £5k a year no matter what car it is on due to age/location/lack of NCB) there is the additional running costs of having two cars, two sets of road tax, two garages to rent (cost of renting a garage is less than increased cost of insurance should car be kept on road).

 

Quite frankly the £3k for the engine conversion is well worth it until I hit the magic 25 years of age & can suddenly afford to run a 'normal' car and revert Percy back to original. Maybe with a 1275 but certainly back to an A-Series.

 

I would also like to say that I have a 1979 Mini 1000. If he was a special edition or something rare, I wouldn't have modified him. Should I ever get the chance to own something 'special' it will remain original. But for now, I'm having a great time turning Percy into my 'perfect' 'mini'. To me, the mini is about more than the originality of the spec. I think it is about keeping as many of them on the road as possible, in as good condition as possible, and laying Percy up for 5 years just isn't financially viable for me - minis are for driving!

[dean]

just go for it , do the micra or the vauxhall. your car is not bog standard and doing any of these conversions can be put back. 

 

the vauxhall would be a bit easier as there are pre made subframe kits, driveshalfts, and they are well tried and tested

 

but i like the micra conversion. there is a slight bulkhead mod to the cross member by the clutch master cylinder but the mirca is cable clutch so its not needed. i did the cutting and welding to daves car ( but you may find a way without doing and cutting if you can tilt the engine forward more)

 

he was sell it at one point, i was buying it but it never turned out , i am not sure if he is still back on it or still thinking of selling it, so give him a shout, you have nothing to loose. 

[.998TANGO.]

yeah that's what i'm thinking! Allspeed are now doing the micra kits, would be my only option. just trying to source the smaller box to suit the frame. Hopefully the parents wont mind to much as its in their garage 

[Black.Ghost]

Any conversion for me would more than likely be a K series. It seems like the natural choice that was never fully investigated by Rover (I know they had the Minki).

 

But to be honest, my SPi engine was fairly reliable. Ok the car was still loud at motorway cruising speeds, but not unbearably so, and if thats really an issue go for the MPi with the different ratios more suited to the motorways. 

 

As for insuring two cars, I accept that it may be a lot to tax and insure two cars but there are ways around it. Firstly, 5k for insurance? Don't get a hot hatch and get something in a low insurance band and that will fix that issue. Secondly, use the NCB on the modern car and put the Mini on a classic policy. It just takes a bit of time and research and you can bring costs right down. Also, try adding a parent as a named driver (not the main driver). It all helps bring costs down. 

 

Some of the conversions look to be nicely done though. That Vauxhall one above looks rather neat and tidy. 

[RedRallyMini]

Put this engine in your mini (400hp nismo engine): http://jalopnik.com/...dium=socialflow

 

Edited by RedRallyMini, 27 January 2014 - 06:08 PM.

[dean]

i think the all speed subframes are only for the 1.0 at the moment. which is no good, you need a 1.3, make your own frame, you have a welder and can weld. bet nathan would get involved

 

but if you want it back on the road quicker go for a vauxhall or k series. 

[Tomm]

I am going to be getting rid of my micra complete conversion. I am also always on the look out for 1275's

If you do fancy a micro conversion drop me a PM