18 replies to this topic

[lenfish]

Hi all,

 

I bought a mini some time ago and I'll be honest, I don't know a great deal about them. I've been doing some research to try and find out if there is anything that makes my mini rare or unique. In my googling I found out that they were normally fitted with 4 speed gearboxes whereas I always made the assumption that they all came with 5 gears + reverse. Mine has 5 gears and I've never driven any other Coopers so had no reason to think otherwise. Can anyone give me some more information on 1998 minis that were fitted in with 5 speed gearbox?

 

Thanks

[cal844]

I think the 5 speed gearbox is aftermarket, I know that minispares.com have the 5 speed gearboxes but they are expensive. It could be that someone has fitted one of these, I'd suggest looking through any receipts you have recieved with the car

[Spider]

There's some debate as to whether these gearbox were fitted on the factory production line or not, but they were a factory sanctioned model.

 

If I recall, they were sold through John Cooper Garages, there were only very small numbers of them.

 

The gearbox itself was done by Jack Knight and so sadly these days, parts are for the most part, NLA.

 

There were a few other trick bits unique to this model.

[DeadSquare]

At least 1/2 the Minis are unique, because owners do things to them.

 

Rare minis are early ones.

[mab01uk]

Here is an ad for one with photos:-

http://www.gcminis.c...-sport-5-14-995

[beardylondon]

Moke Spider is correct, Cooper Sport 5 was a Rover approved special edition, sold only through John Cooper garages for a limited time.

 

Some info here, and yes they are rare.

 

https://www.minicoop...ooper-register/

[rich_959]

At least 1/2 the Minis are unique, because owners do things to them.

 

Rare minis are early ones.

 

  Ha ha. Oh the negativity. 

[CityEPete]

Wasn't the BHP a bit optimistic if I remember rightly?

[r3k1355]

Wasn't the BHP a bit optimistic if I remember rightly?

 

Yea but no great surprise really, pretty common for the era.

 

It's the Cooper Upgrade kit, decent enough stuff.

[DeadSquare]

 

At least 1/2 the Minis are unique, because owners do things to them.

 

Rare minis are early ones.

 

  Ha ha. Oh the negativity. 

 

 

It inspired me to try and fit 5 gears into a Mini box.

[Spider]

One other feature to check for on these cars is the Gearbox Case. Apart from being a 5 speed, the cases were uniquely cast and should have the following features.

 

The Casting No. on the casing, while being a DAM5626, also includes JKD initials

 

 

also, on the bottom, there's 2 bolt heads

 

 

 

 

 

At least 1/2 the Minis are unique, because owners do things to them.

 

Rare minis are early ones.

 

  Ha ha. Oh the negativity. 

 

 

It inspired me to try and fit 5 gears into a Mini box.

 

 

My good friend Dave Rosenthal did 6 - with a sequential shifter - does that count?

 

[mk1leg]

we have 2 JCGs minis with 5 speed boxes fitted they are very nice to drive

Edited by mk1leg, 04 September 2019 - 07:46 PM.

[DeadSquare]

One other feature to check for on these cars is the Gearbox Case. Apart from being a 5 speed, the cases were uniquely cast and should have the following features.

 

The Casting No. on the casing, while being a DAM5626, also includes JKD initials

 

 

also, on the bottom, there's 2 bolt heads

 

 

 

 

 

At least 1/2 the Minis are unique, because owners do things to them.

 

Rare minis are early ones.

 

  Ha ha. Oh the negativity. 

 

 

It inspired me to try and fit 5 gears into a Mini box.

 

 

My good friend Dave Rosenthal did 6 - with a sequential shifter - does that count?

 

 

 Yes, I went down the motorcycle route and got as far as ascertaining that the cogs would fit

 

The first problem is that they don't have a reverse gear.

 

The second is that most motor cycle gear boxes drive in and out at the same end. but the BMW K has the input and output at either end, so that seemed a good start.

 

 It uses a 3 shaft system, so the input could be extended to a reverse gear cluster, and a bonus was that I was told, erroneously, that 5th was a 1.6666 overdrive.

 

It turned out that 5th is a reduced 1.6666, which means that the transfer gears have to be used to bring it back to 1:1, and that entails chopping and changing the transfer case.

 

I thought that my "prototype" had been destroyed in a barn fire, but about a month ago when rummaging in some boxes, I found it.