Awesome. Found a mini resto shop in Woodland, CA - about 10 miles north of me and the dude seems great and he has all the stuff- frame rack, chassis dyno, sheet metal tools, and lots of in stock panels. I'm going to drag the shell up there to get an educated set of eyes on it. He has two Mokes out front and three minis including a d16 and said I'd be better off with the a series 90% of the time.
Yes but 10% of the time you'll be trying to accelerate
Yes there may very well be faster more powerful choices. There always will be. Even the most powerful choice of today will be obsolete in the near future.
The value of the car is not in its top speed or acceleration. The value is as a snap shot of that time.
Also the value is not hacking together another swap. And the 998 Cooper apparently has some value - I assumed the only minis with real collector value were the S models- but Hagerty says coopers are worth something as well. Might be enough to restore this one if I can find more parts.
Nicholas at the shop knows his way around minis. Took three to the quail at Monterey this last week. I think his spec might be higher than mine but he's selling a Cooper 998 for 25k, which actually is more or less in line with what I think I'd be willing to spend all together. I'm thinking putting it together as stock, with S brakes. Not a concour or show resto but a good driver that could be upgraded to that if desired.
So, I'm figuring out what I can and want to do and going to work out from there.
mr2peak said:Yes but 10% of the time you'll be trying to accelerate
Hahaha. No kidding.
I would also like to point out how jealous I am of you. Awesome project, I've been wanting one ever since I was a kid but it's never lined up properly for me.
There is no problem with acceleration. Minis weigh next to nothing. 1000cc is more than adequate to frighten your passengers.
I know Nick Upton, he'll do a good job for you.....he knows me too.
Wow! Awesome. He seems like a really good guy. I'm looking to have him do a left rear panel replacement and replace the front fenders and inner fenders. He said he doesn't want to do paint anymore so I'll ask who he uses and hope that they are open to it.
mr2peak said:I would also like to point out how jealous I am of you. Awesome project, I've been wanting one ever since I was a kid but it's never lined up properly for me.
Don't take from any of this that this is "lining up properly". Hahaha
Well, a couple revelations:
1. Not a 998. It's a 997. Which is apparently not a great thing. Took the motor/trans out of my truck finally today and a bunch of water with some oil came out when I turned it on its side. That's not a good sign for either the engine or the gearbox. And given it is a 997, might be best to turn that into garage art and focus on a motor that will get me on the road sooner.
2. To that point, I've been searching up motors, and they aren't too easy to come by in the states. I messed up not jumping on Dave's offer right away, but I didn't know what direction I was headed and frankly this whole thing is overwhelming. So, best "deal" stateside appears so far to be a rebuilt motor and trans from mini mania, as they are the only ones who seem t0 be doing it. 1275 and 1380 appear to be within $200 of one another and I'll probably just get the big guy. And motor/trans combo will cost about $10k. I searched mini spares/sport etc in UK and I think I won't save much by importing a setup from there. Price is 7800, but I have to add intake, exhaust, distributor etc.
3. Which causes me to think once again about a possible Honda swap. Hate to do it to a real Cooper And probably won't.
4. Placed my big order with Mini Spares with front and rear subframe kits, inner front wings, outer front wings, and S brakes. It's a lot but the exchange rate is incredible right now so I think I'm coming out way ahead even with shipping.
5. Plan going forward:
a. Get car blasted
b. Weld inner wing panels and fix sheet metal rust/dents
c. Epoxy primer the whole thing
d. Undercoat with same stuff I used for the MG (second skin)
e. Take to paint (insert 4-8 month delay here)
f. Build up f/r subframes and set aside
g. Finish Midget project (at least running/driving)
h. Get body back from paint and lay in subframes/engine, and get to work on the rest.
I happen to have a 998 long block sitting next to me that I rebuilt for my car, put about 1000 miles on and then pulled for a 1330 swap. It is in Eugene OR and I would make a GRM type deal on. Bored 0.060" over making it a 1048cc.
Sounds like a good thing Trent has going there but you also may think about joining some of the Mini groups on FB. I see an engine come up pretty frequently on them.
I'd first go with the engine Trent is offering up as it's going to be the most cost effective drivetrain.
Over the years I've gone round and round on doing motor swaps for my Datsun 1200:
At the beginning of the year a friend sent me a video he shot trackside, the car looked great and the revvy little A-series motor sounded great. I'd been running my formula car so I hadn't done a vintage race with the 1200 for a year, I'd forgotten how much fun a chuckable little car is. I think it's the most I've ever enjoyed it in the last 33 years of racing it.
It was at that point I realized that optimizing the 1200 components would bring me the most joy. It's got more power than a stocker, all the suspension goodies and uprated brakes.
I only mention this because, from your description of what you want, this route would bring you the most joy. I also think it would retian the most value that way.
Trent said:I happen to have a 998 long block sitting next to me that I rebuilt for my car, put about 1000 miles on and then pulled for a 1330 swap. It is in Eugene OR and I would make a GRM type deal on. Bored 0.060" over making it a 1048cc.
Oh man. Ok. I'll investigate getting a trans etc. I have a couple cases but the gears are rusty so I'm pretty certain at least that part is useless.
I have a good rebuildable A+ gearbox for sale - needs bearings and synchros I'm sure, and I have a good remote gearbox that the case has been welded on, but you could remove all the gears and such and put them in your case - it would be a good learning experience! Or you could just use it as it is?
Not sure if this link will work but in one of the Mini groups I'm in, there's a guy selling two (what he thinks are) 850s with the transmissions for $200 per. Unknown condition but my point is they come up pretty frequently.
https://www.facebook.com/commerce/listing/1185619645329532/?media_id=0&ref=share_attachment
Yes, but why go backwards? A 998 is only 40 hp, an 850 was 32!
If you're not going to upgrade to a 1275, might as well either buy the built 998 or rebuild yours. BTW, all the power in these engines is in the head, if you don't modify it there's no point in doing a high lift cam.
Thanks guys. I'm leaning toward picking up Trent's 998. Mine is now a 997 and just not in the kind of shape I'd be interested in rebuilding right now as I suspect the inside don't look real good.
Dave- I'll check in with you regarding the gearbox- are these fairly straightforward to rebuild?
Yes, pretty straightforward, there are a few special tools that help. There are a couple of good tutorials from MiniMania on YouTube. You need a really strong pair of snap ring pliers to get the first motion shaft bearing snap ring out. You also need a good powerful impact wrench to get the nut off the pinion. (put it in 1st and reverse to hold the shaft while you bust it loose - same with the nut on the first motion shaft)
Which way are you leaning? the remote shift or rod change?
Well, the trans I have is remote- I don't know enough to answer your question. I'm early in my reading and what I'm getting so far is- rod change is best, remote second, and magic wand is for nostalgia. But no technical details that make me inclined toward anything in particular.
Remember, Austin Americas, MG 1100s and other ADO16 body cars all came with larger engines. I got a 1100 out of an Austin Princess for mine that I wound up never using (I've since sold it). Only issue is most Americas had automatics. A rusty ADO16 is worth about nothing, so a good source for a drivetrain.
In reply to MiniDave :
Point taken that those particular engines may not be the right choice. Just showing that they do exist and come up for sale.
In reply to ddavidv :
Yes but, the remote shifter set up on those is different that a Mini's - it will work, but requires a bit of modding to make it fit. Also, any ADO16 you find today will likely need to be overhauled too. He's right back where he started.
TEH, the easiest way would be to stick with what you have - meaning the remote setup. The remote transmissions are a little easier to take apart and put together again too.
You can buy this remote gearbox from me pretty cheaply and use it as is (no idea how the synchros are as I never drove it) or swap the gears into your box and rebuild it cheaply to keep it original.
Swapping to a rod change opens up a can of worms of a sort, you need different axles with different inner joints, complete shifter assembly and a special mount to make it work with your floor pan. All those are readily available......
So, any progress on this Mini?
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