Rover K engine swap into Morris Minor, help!

[bobbybo]

im looking to install a Rover K series engine (standard 16v not vvc) into my Morris Minor, and could use some advice,
as to the difficulty of this conversion, company does this already but is very pricey- www.jlhmorrisminors.co.uk/content/k_series.php , lookin to get this done for less than the 8k it would cost with them but will defintaley need to order some stuff from them. Im not a mechanic but was Corgi reg for 7 years and am handy with a spanner etc, only fear i have is Electrics and wiring, i hate it and am cr*p with it, was thinking about buying a complete Rover car with 1.8l and using as a donor car, have got the gearbox, bellhousing, prop, diff etc sorted out, its just the actual engine swap im not too sure of, can hire a jobbing mechanic to help, any ideas on how long the engine plumb in would take? whats involved in the electrics? wondered about cutting down the manifold intake & fitting bike carbs, would this simplify wiring a lot?

any advice?

[Motown Junk]

Maybe worth a post in kitcar section as lots of them use K series in RWD.

Oh and good luck, love Minors but never finished my Turbo A series project

[perdu]

These guys spend years of their lives doing this to Midgets and MGBs

The odd Moggy Minor wouldn't even raise a ripple

I know many of them and I'm sure they will be very happy to give you some advice

http://tinyurl.com/yh4rjxl


if they ask tell 'em Bill sent you

[bobbybo]

thanks for you time 'motown junk' & 'perdu' will take your advice

[16VJay]

If you're using the engine straight out of a front-wheel drive car, you may need to drill the back of the crank to take the pilot bearing the gearbox input shaft fits into.

When Caterham started using the K series, they developed a drilling guide that bolted to the back of the crank to do this - even then, they used a trackless bearing as there wasn't a lot of spare space in the crank - it was never designed for an in-line transmission.

[Gallen]

[With respect] if you are doing an engine swap, why not choose a good engine to start with !?

Interesting project though

Edited by Gallen on Wednesday 10th February 14:06

[bobbybo]

thanks 16v jay, i should be ok with the K series as i can get a kit cheap enough to connect Rover to type 9 ford gearbox via a bellhousing, will keep it in mind though,

Gellen, i have thought about zetec or duratec, duratec very pricey, zetec a bit heavy, i like K series as its light weight and should nice in the Minor as its a 800k car, also i can get a good complete donor car low miles for sub grand money.

any thoughts on wiring or bike cars guys?

[Gallen]

Just make sure you get a K-Series fitted with the modified head gasket.
As you know they do all go. You may also wish to fit a pressure relief thermostat in place of the original plus make sure you and check/change the water pump as these are prone to failure as well.

...I'd try and stick with a ford lump (possibly a Zetec, Vauxhall XE, or even a bike engine?) You'll definately get a driving 2.0 16v XE circa 150 BHP for £800 squid before you even start playing with it!

Sounds like you've made your mind up though!


...on a side note I succesfully talked my colleague round from fitting a K-series into his 1990 Mini. He's now got an R1 lump pushing out 160 BHP (as its the earlier non injection unit). It's so light he can lift the front of the car!!!! Downside is he has no reverse but there are lots of kit-car solutions!

Edited by Gallen on Wednesday 10th February 15:28

[bobbybo]

cheers Gallen, yeah i am wondering about the Zetec, JLH do parts for Zetec into Morris Minor and can help with a lot of issues, spoke to them before & they reckoned the 30kg extra wasnt much of an issue, maybe the easier road to follow, you think its easier gettin a whole donor car or just gather the bits?

[Gallen]

bobbybo said:

cheers Gallen, yeah I am wondering about the Zetec, JLH do parts for Zetec into Morris Minor and can help with a lot of issues, spoke to them before & they reckoned the 30kg extra wasnt much of an issue, maybe the easier road to follow, you think its easier gettin a whole donor car or just gather the bits?

Depending on the exact Zetec lump you'd want, I'd go for a running driving car that you can use as a donor (thinking Mondeo 2.0 Zetec) then if you want a few quid back to help the project along break for spares and weigh-in/scrap the rest.

This way at least you know exactly what you're getting and you won't be spending the odd £20 here and there (which could amount to a lot in the long run).

I had a quick look on JLH Website and it seems they're using the later black-top Zetec... I won't pretend I'm an expert on these for one minute. However this will obvioulsy effect your initial purchase dilemma - Car or Parts. Remember you'll need better suspension and brakes too!

However with the Zetec route (if you have an option) I believe you'd be going for an arguably stronger engine without the fundemental problematics of the (generally awful IMO) K-Series...

Thinking about fuelling, here's a step by step tutorial on how to utilise GSXR 1000 Throttle bodies to a 2.0 Zetec lump!!!! - One for the thinking pot...

http://www.sportingfords.com/forums/viewtopic.php?...

(If you have any plans like these, suggest you look at "Megasquirt" for fuelling).

G.

[edit] I'm no expert so please make up your mind [end of the edit]

Sounds like a cracking project.

Edited by Gallen on Wednesday 10th February 17:50

[AJAX50]

There's loads of room under a moggy bonnet, why not a Rover V8.

[bobbybo]

Rover V8 would be cool, but i like the philosophy of the Lotus 7 guy, keep it light and good for cornering n acceleration, Minor is just a wee car, seen V8's on you tube though very amusing!!

very good link their Gallen appreciate it, lookin for the simplest way to get the car going and can modify it further when time and money allows, gettin it goin is the goal for now, hence lookin for easiest option to a running car and will look at tuning later, take it megasquirt is simple enough to hook up...

[bobbybo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZqsxkDbphQ ...good V8 Mogg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX_NO32SqeA .... JLH conversion, with Rover K series

[Carsie]

I'm sure all the guy's at RetroRides would both inspire you and be happy to give plenty of advice. I've latched onto their site over the past couple of months and they're busy cutting and chopping allsorts of interesting stuff.

To date I've witnessed the immaculate and impeccable workmanship on a Victor FB by a chap called Tony who's craftsmanship is the best I've ever seen.

Then there's the chap who's welding a Fiat 130 and chasing the rotten Russian metal all round the car LOL! talk about motivated!

How about a Scimitar SE5 with an ex BIB MV6 Omega transplant? Or a full rebuild of a Chevette with a 2.0ltr Calibra Motor - very sweet! or a lovely 3dr Chevette with a Rover V8 not forgetting the lovely A55 Cambridge which must be ripe for Goodwood....

It all makes my lounge chair motoring very derisory

So there you go....pop your head across there and keep us posted with the pics! here's the link -

http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=re...

Edited by Carsie on Thursday 11th February 00:39

[Carsie]

How could I forget!!!! There's also a '67 Cortina that someone is stuffing a Lotus V8 into!

[Incorrigible]

Dunno what you've got against the K series Gallen, they are great for this sort of application (of course I may be biased) Bike engines are brilliant but hardly suitable for a daily driver, or motorway mile muncher

K series to type 9, you can buy the bell housing from Caterham if you haven't already sourced one (I'm sure there are plenty of other places too)

Wiring it up, I would stick with the original (donor) carwiring loom in the first instance. The engine loom is virtualy stand alone separate

Get any specific wiring problems drop me an e-mail, I've fitted this drivetrain to loads of stuff

Ben

[Gallen]

Incorrigible said:

Dunno what you've got against the K series Gallen, they are great for this sort of application (of course I may be biased) Bike engines are brilliant but hardly suitable for a daily driver, or motorway mile muncher

K series to type 9, you can buy the bell housing from Caterham if you haven't already sourced one (I'm sure there are plenty of other places too)

Wiring it up, I would stick with the original (donor) carwiring loom in the first instance. The engine loom is virtualy stand alone separate

Get any specific wiring problems drop me an e-mail, I've fitted this drivetrain to loads of stuff

Ben

I go with the thinking that if you are going to choose any engine, why choose one with so many fundamental problems when you have the option to choose one that doesn't. I too have had cars with both the 1800/1800 VVC K-Series.
(A new MGF when they first came out, and a few years later bought a VVC for my girlfriend as a stop gap and we kept it less than a month). The first was <extremely> unreliable ....the second an unimpressive drive (had a t least 1 headgasket done in the service history!). Maybe I've been unlucky?

I'd imagine they're a blast in a Caterham (power to weight etc) but would certainly not choose that engine from all the one's available. Infact it would probably be my last choice... When all the work for an engine swap is pretty much the same (whatever unit you choose) I'd fail to see the logic!

Edited by Gallen on Friday 12th February 09:06

[DeanoX]

You might want to check the MG forum here. There'll be a lot of crossover from Midgets and B's doing the same thing.

http://www2.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgb...

[Ferg]

Gallen said:

had at least 1 headgasket done in the service history

Not done properly then.

[john2443]

K series have been used in lots of Sprites - some of the Isle of White Healey Frogeyes used them, Frontline do conversions ( http://www.mgcars.org.uk/frontline/k-series.htm).

If you google Sprite K series there are lots of results.

In the US the MX5 engine is quite a common swop, I guess that's already inline so you don't need to worry about mating a new gearbox, whether it's been done in a Minor I don't know, but you should have more space to fit it in than in a Sprite.