14 replies to this topic

[Tomm]

hey,

Well late last year I was looking into a Rover K-series conversion which i was very up for, but due to not being able to collect the donnor car that was thesum totaly of £0. The project was kind of put on hold untill i could decide on a engine from there on and i was focusing on bodywork.
Now the shell really is starting to come together and i am looking into a engine. I think that a mini engine 998/1275/turbo of some kind would probably be more realistic but i want my car to be some thing that you dont see every day.

Today I was walking home and out of the corner of my eye I managed to catch the corner of a pretty nastily smashed Vauxhall calibra in the rear N/S quater. In the window it said "For sale Knock on number 13 for info" So off i go knocky knock and this lad answered the door, got talking to him and told him what i wanted the ccar for so of he went got the keys started it up. Satrted fine first time no trouble. It was a 1998 2.0 Red top 89K on the clock seemed to be pretty looked after engine wise with a few past mot's and he had all of the paper work. Asked him how much he was after and supprisingly he only wanted £150.0 for it as it was running out of tax and it was parked on the road and he had no way of shifting it. So i would pay £150 for engine loom and all of the other stuff that i may need.

Soooo....

whats involved in a vaux conversion? is it anything like a K-series conversion, I take it id need to get custom drive shafts made and i will make my own subframe as i am not really prepared to pay £700.00 for a subframe as thats a bit out of my price range!

Money doesnt really seem to be out of my price range and this is a serious option that i am thinking about, I just need to know how much of a differance will it be to making a k-series conversion, are there any alkward things i need to think about?

Thanks, Tomm

[JA1987]

What K series were you looking at? Have you looked on the 16v mini club website, as there is more than likely alot
of info on there. On the 16v mini club main page there is a quick description of what a 2.0 vauxhall engine mini is
realy like. Take a look.

[Brett]

2.0l vauxhall in mini would make huge difference and is an awsome conversion but calibra's are rwd and you would need another box ontop of the car/engine

[Tomm]

didnt realise they were rear wheel drive brett! So thanks for that.

I find 16v mini club extremely hard to follow, dont know why though but ill go and have a google through there in a mo. So would it be better if i got a engine from a cavalier or a vectra? I really want to go down the 2l roadi dont particulary fancy a 1.6/1.8.

Has any one done a C20LET conversion in a mini?

[JA1987]

Yeah but he could sell parts off the calibra to make money to buy a different gearbox. For £150 its cheap.

[Tomm]

hats what i thought, i am a member on MIgweb where i think i could flog the interior pretty easy. Just found a vauxhall engine-performance table which i might post up if you think it will be any good to any one in the future?

Looking through 16vmini club many people are making adjustments to the buikhead. does this need to be done on all vaux conversions or is it just conversions with throttle bodies?

[miff]

hey,

Well late last year I was looking into a Rover K-series conversion which i was very up for, but due to not being able to collect the donnor car that was thesum totaly of £0. The project was kind of put on hold untill i could decide on a engine from there on and i was focusing on bodywork.
Now the shell really is starting to come together and i am looking into a engine. I think that a mini engine 998/1275/turbo of some kind would probably be more realistic but i want my car to be some thing that you dont see every day.

Today I was walking home and out of the corner of my eye I managed to catch the corner of a pretty nastily smashed Vauxhall calibra in the rear N/S quater. In the window it said "For sale Knock on number 13 for info" So off i go knocky knock and this lad answered the door, got talking to him and told him what i wanted the ccar for so of he went got the keys started it up. Satrted fine first time no trouble. It was a 1998 2.0 Red top 89K on the clock seemed to be pretty looked after engine wise with a few past mot's and he had all of the paper work. Asked him how much he was after and supprisingly he only wanted £150.0 for it as it was running out of tax and it was parked on the road and he had no way of shifting it. So i would pay £150 for engine loom and all of the other stuff that i may need.

Soooo....

whats involved in a vaux conversion? is it anything like a K-series conversion, I take it id need to get custom drive shafts made and i will make my own subframe as i am not really prepared to pay £700.00 for a subframe as thats a bit out of my price range!

Money doesnt really seem to be out of my price range and this is a serious option that i am thinking about, I just need to know how much of a differance will it be to making a k-series conversion, are there any alkward things i need to think about?

Thanks, Tomm

[bousfield19]

the calibra aint rear wheel drive its front they did a 4 wheel drive version but as far as i remember they never made a rear wheel drive version just so u know

[JA1987]

I havent got a clue about the bulkhead but with a 2.0 lump it would be a bloody beast and would probably
be cheaper than a tuned turbo/A series lump if you were to fabricate your own subframe.

The 4 wheel drive was a 2.0turbo lump which had full leather etc etc.

Edited by JA1987, 11 January 2007 - 11:24 PM.

[Tomm]

Ah thats alrite then, i didnt think they made a RWD but i didnt know enough to turn around and say no they dont!

[miff]

i have a mini clubman with a redtop calibra engine and box and it is not rear wheel drive, that is the 4x4 c20let. it is quite involved the drive shaft conversion was £360.00, the car has cost nearly £10,000 to date, but god it is fun to drive, i have just last week put a set of yamaha r1 carbs on it, bogg brothers made the manifold and it is a work of art, sod webbers gimme bike carbs any day of the week, if you need any tips or info email me, [email protected], regards, GRIFF.

[Tomm]

Thanks griff!

that drive shaft conversion is pretty deer. Did you buy a ready made subframe or make yours yourself?

[Purple Tom]

Hey,

The C20LET is the 2.0 16V turbo engine, and as far as I know hasn't been fitted to a Mini, although my friend has one in a Corsa and it is mental!

The 1998 Calibra you talk of will be FWD, and it won't be a red-top, it'll be an Ecotec engine, which, due to all the emissions cr@p fitted will produce abouit 130bhp. The easiest way to tell a genuine red-top and an Ecotec apart is to look at the plastic HT cover, the red-top is 'L' shaped, the Ecotec is 'l' shaped.

As for bulkhead modifications, it is necessary with any Vauxhall conversion to allow clearance for the gear linkage, but you don't have to modify the upper bulkhead with some engines. With others you do, it depends what you pick. Have a look at my project page to see whats involved in a basic 1.6 8V conversion.

My personal choice were I to do it again now though would be an early X16XE engine (1.6 16V) on throttle bodies. That way no upper bulkhead mods are necessary and given the proper tuning you could be pushing 180bhp 160lb/ft.

As for the rest of the conversion there is plenty required if you're to do it properly, join 16V Mini Forum and have a read of some of the projects to get an idea. Budget £2.5-3k if you buy a subframe, or LOTS of time if you decide to make it yourself.

[Tomm]

Thanks minis thats helped me a lot! And thanks for correcting me on the eco-tec part dont really know why i put red top in

I am a member on 16vMC and i found it very helpfull on my rover conversion where i had to make modifications to the body for the gear linkage aswell so I was pretty prepared for that! The budget of £2.5K+ Is not really a problem BUt i think i will have to put the conversion off untill next year when i buy a new car. I do like the sound of a 1.6 conversion due to no bulkhead conversions but i think later on down the line i will end up swapping it for a redtop so i might aswell go for it straight away.

i will go and have a look at your project thread now mate!

Thanks a lot for your help!

[miff]

it was bought from allspeed engineering £1500 but it is a superb fit and really strong, the car also has spax coilovers all round, mini sport billet alloy calipers and discs rose jointed top and bottom arms rose jointed anti roll bars, custom made exhaust system, custom made braking system with brake bias valve, if you run it on carbs you will need to use a mk 2 cavalier distributor, there are lots of things you will need to do, but with the right help and info from people who are prepaired to help it should not be a problem if you have a good mechanical knowledge, regards GRIFF.

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