classic mini engine swap ideas

richglanzav

Member +
hey dudes ive got a classic mini sitting in the garage. dead standard 1 litre a-series 50 odd bhp.

well ive also got some bucket seats for sale on here but no luck selling right now so thinking about getting the mini hotted up. ive already got some nice dished alloys and wide arches for her but she would rly need a decent engine of some sorts.

now i dont wna spend a fortune on it, i dont mind the time and hassle cus its just a fun project anyways. but if i put the seats and all the other tasty bits on it, id want it to be fast aswell.

any good ideas? ive seen countless honda kits about on US ebay etc for like 1600quid for just the subframe which is ridiculous IMO. shame really cus a nice stock b16 would be cool but im open to any other realistic ideas.
 

5e colin

Member +
simples 4efte conversion small and compact engine and custom make ur own frond end box to fit engine in
 
been building minis for 10 years and the minute i sell them all and think im away from them someone comes on here and brings em up again ;)
 

weeJohn

Lifer
Bike engine in the back, make your own sub frame out of box section. Using something other than a Busa engine will keep the price down and you could even chain drive it for loads of sideways fun lol.
 

richglanzav

Member +
wow thats a radical idea lol i was thinking a boring old b16 or 4efte lol. can u put a car like that on the road legally lol with a rwd bike engine powering it lol?
 

matty gt

Member +
Bike engines maybe not so good then might sound good but thats no good if it needs a replacement engine every year and clutches I suspose the mini even stripped to the bare hell would weight 3 times the weight of the bike hence this must be were the stress is on the bike engine the added weight maybe car engine is the way to go
 

Rory

Lifer
Bike engines are reliable, anyone who says otherwise is talking through there hole. The only reason an engine becomes unreliable is because the owner doesn't look after it.
As for the R1 being brittle again that's crap. If you think the stock clutch can pull 500 kg of weight in an engine that revs to 12k when designed to pull 150kg, of course it will need replaced! Uprated clutches are readily available for most bike engines.

There's a few folk who manufacture subframe kits for Minis to run bike/car engines,
Z-cars
Allspeed engineering
Promotive
Lynx ae
Etc etc etc
 

dark_knight

Member +
load bearing..

i agree with the idea about the clutch having to bear more load carrying around the mini's shell (however stripped it may be).. :|
 

dac69er

Super Moderator
Bike engines are reliable, anyone who says otherwise is talking through there hole.

they are simply not designed to pull the weight of a car so they are inherently less reliable. some moreso than others i admit, but the parts are not as strong. yes you can uprate parts, but then it gets expensive. certain engines, like the hyabusa engine is a very good bike engine, but they are expensive to buy in comparrison to others.
an engine revving to 12k will never last as long as one that revs to half that.
my friend has had 2 bottom ends go and a rod snap. he looks after his car like he looks after his children.

a car engine will genarally outlive a bike engine.
 

mudi

Member +
How can you swap a suzuki hayabusa engine into a classic mini cooper?

it can be done, but is very expensive, i.e= custom motor mounts, ecu, tranny, drive axle, you could transfer all your gauges from a busa bike. i would contact someone via internet that has done a kit car. it would be cheaper to go to your local junk yard with busa size specs and find a body you like, in reality it would take a master machanic like 3-6 weeks to make a swap into your coop, and that coop is pricey. if i had to drop a est off hand it would run you 10 to 16k usd. rad idea though. also 1.3 busa hits 180hp as of 08 n 09, your cooper has more at the wheel bud 208hp? if you want to have more power buy a chip $175 and have some one pull your limiters and restricters $150 now you will push 230 turbo that for a grand now you will hit close to 300. that car doesnt need more than that on a street, consider your weight as for as much hp you put in it, those cars wiegh nothing, also busa kit cars and smart busas only go so fast because they wiegh in so light. i mean a good kit wieghs 1500bls with a driver in it with 180 hp each horse is pushing 8.3 bls if you got your coop to 300hp you push 7.6 bls..


the above is correct, it is expensive but worth evry penny! you could buy a kit from a company called z-cars in the UK for £5350. the kit includes the following;
Anti intrusion / crash bar which has brackets for fixing the radiator
Alloy and plastic radiator with cap and fan switch
Aluminium shock absorbers and springs adjustable for ride height and damping complete with brackets to fit front sub frame
Full bolt in roll cage MSA Approved
Gear lever and cable
Fully rose jointed rear suspension arms adjustable for toe and camber
Differential (open)
Drive shafts
Chain adjuster with rose jointed adjusting system
Chain and sprockets
Hand brake cable and brackets
Rear brake discs and calipers
Engine Mounts and Cradles (can be changed at a later date if wanted)
Aluminium rear shock absorbers and springs adjustable for ride height and damping
Side exit 4-2-1 full stainless system and racing noise approved stainless silencer allows engine and drive to be lower giving better centre of gravity

naturally you will need to purchase a busa motor and you will need to have a good solid mini shell.
in addition to the above there are numerous optional extras available;
Left Hand Drive £500
A 3HP electric reverse system for £375
Limited slip differential for £350 - Full race plate type £625
Aluminium bulkhead kit consists of 7 pieces shaped to fit, 4 are permanently fixed to the car, 3 are easily removed for servicing for £500
Plug in wiring harness and modifications to std motorcycle loom for £300
Aluminium radiator header tank £80
Silicone hoses & radiator plumbing kit inc aluminum pipes clips etc for £200
Trickshifter Full power Gearshift also Blips throttle on way down the gears £520
Alloy Race tank for multiple downshift to suit Trickshifter £55.00
Gear Indicator £160
Power commander £220 - 08 Busa
Anti roll bars front / rear inc droplinks & mounts road spec £150
Anti roll bars front / rear adjustable race spec inc alloy drop links alloy mounts etc £310
Tubular front subframe, this is a direct replacement for any REAR WHEEL DRIVE Mini.
It features inboard aluminum rose jointed shock absorbers adjustable for damping and ride height, these are operated with pushrods from the double wishbones. Both the top and bottom wishbones are fully rosejointed and adjustments to caster, toe and camber are easily achieved on the car. The subframe accepts Z Cars aluminum fuel tank and radiator and can be retro fitted to an existing bike engined kit. It utilizes the Mini steering rack*, uprights, wheel hubs etc and comes completes with a throttle pedal adapting lever fixed to the frame ready to accept your original throttle cable. Fully powder coated to our usual standard * which now mounts to the subframe which eliminates all bump steer etc £1220.00

Credits ; http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_can_you_swap_a_suzuki_hayabusa_engine_into_a_classic_mini_cooper
 
Bike engines are reliable, anyone who says otherwise is talking through there hole. The only reason an engine becomes unreliable is because the owner doesn't look after it.
As for the R1 being brittle again that's crap. If you think the stock clutch can pull 500 kg of weight in an engine that revs to 12k when designed to pull 150kg, of course it will need replaced! Uprated clutches are readily available for most bike engines.

There's a few folk who manufacture subframe kits for Minis to run bike/car engines,
Z-cars
Allspeed engineering
Promotive
Lynx ae
Etc etc etc

im saying avoid the r1 from experience... trust me. hayabusa however!
 
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