How to Detect Problems on a Mini
Discussion
I have found a Mini being sold by a local seller. The car seems to accelerate very slowly. The clutch, and the gearbox seems ok. But the car leaves a trail of blue smoke. Does anyone know the cause of the slow acceleration and the trail of blue smoke? This is a '73 Austin Mini 1000 (998cc).
Additionally, this Mini has quite of rust on the front passenger floor pan, passenger, and driver doors, front wings, and sills. Exactly, how much would it cost to replace those parts?
I have asked about getting more power from a 1275cc engine. Are there anyway to squeeze sufficient (65-75) HP from a 998 cc? Thanks.
To be honest it sounds like the car you've found probably needs more work done on it than is worth the effort.
Unless you can do it yourself and don't mind welding and respraying I would say walk away. Without looking at the car in question it's impossible to say how much its worth... probably very little.
There are loads of really good 998's about for very little money, if you really want one look around and check out loads, you'll soon get an idea of what you can get for your money. Also check out the classified ads in MiniWorld and MiniMag - there are often lots of great cheap cars in there.
As regards tuning the 998, you can get a fair bit of grunt out of the engine for little money. For starters a simple Stage 1 tuning kit will make the engine more revvy and responsive, giving a noticeable change in driveability. One of these kits should cost you only about 150 quid.
For further tuning if you had the time and the money you can look at improving the fuelling (carbs)breathing (air filter), perhaps get a bigger head and a more edgy cam.
The best thing to do is first up by the best car you can afford to start off with, then see a local tuning specialist who will be able to give you advice on improvements and help you do the work and/or set the car up for you properly on a rolling road.
>> Edited by S Works on Sunday 27th July 18:58
Unless you can do it yourself and don't mind welding and respraying I would say walk away. Without looking at the car in question it's impossible to say how much its worth... probably very little.
There are loads of really good 998's about for very little money, if you really want one look around and check out loads, you'll soon get an idea of what you can get for your money. Also check out the classified ads in MiniWorld and MiniMag - there are often lots of great cheap cars in there.
As regards tuning the 998, you can get a fair bit of grunt out of the engine for little money. For starters a simple Stage 1 tuning kit will make the engine more revvy and responsive, giving a noticeable change in driveability. One of these kits should cost you only about 150 quid.
For further tuning if you had the time and the money you can look at improving the fuelling (carbs)breathing (air filter), perhaps get a bigger head and a more edgy cam.
The best thing to do is first up by the best car you can afford to start off with, then see a local tuning specialist who will be able to give you advice on improvements and help you do the work and/or set the car up for you properly on a rolling road.
>> Edited by S Works on Sunday 27th July 18:58
Walk away from that 998!
In terms of power from a 998 you can get a very attractive power output.
The biggest advantage is gained from adding a 12G295 head casting. This is the original Mini-Cooper 998 head and is a more open chamber design than to ordinary 998 head. You can gain up to 7 or 8 bhp just by changing heads. However if you get a nicely gas-flowed 12G295 with slightly bigger valves, fit Hepolite flat-top pistons, deck the block to bring the pistons right up to the top, skim quite a bit off the head (the actual amount depends on the desired c.r and the chambering work), fit a 1.75" SU on a Metro or good aftermarket inlet manifold, fit a decent cam (a 266 or 276 is good), fit a small-bore LCB exhaust and a Maniflow or RC40 exhaust you will be looking at 70 bhp+. Twin 1.25" SU's on a Cooper inlet manifold are also good. I did a rally car like this a few years ago with a 286 cam and got 74 bhp at 6000 rpm. Now, this is 1275 'S' power, but without the torque, of course. Incidentally, I later changed this engine for a hot 970 'S', but that only gave 82 bhp at 6500, so not much improvement.
If you are going to do this I can email you a complete spec, but I will need to know what final drive ratio you want to run as if it's quite high you will need a much less aggressive cam in order to pull away from rest. A lightened pre-verto flywheel is something else I would go for.
I hope this helps.
Going home now to work on my rally car!
In terms of power from a 998 you can get a very attractive power output.
The biggest advantage is gained from adding a 12G295 head casting. This is the original Mini-Cooper 998 head and is a more open chamber design than to ordinary 998 head. You can gain up to 7 or 8 bhp just by changing heads. However if you get a nicely gas-flowed 12G295 with slightly bigger valves, fit Hepolite flat-top pistons, deck the block to bring the pistons right up to the top, skim quite a bit off the head (the actual amount depends on the desired c.r and the chambering work), fit a 1.75" SU on a Metro or good aftermarket inlet manifold, fit a decent cam (a 266 or 276 is good), fit a small-bore LCB exhaust and a Maniflow or RC40 exhaust you will be looking at 70 bhp+. Twin 1.25" SU's on a Cooper inlet manifold are also good. I did a rally car like this a few years ago with a 286 cam and got 74 bhp at 6000 rpm. Now, this is 1275 'S' power, but without the torque, of course. Incidentally, I later changed this engine for a hot 970 'S', but that only gave 82 bhp at 6500, so not much improvement.
If you are going to do this I can email you a complete spec, but I will need to know what final drive ratio you want to run as if it's quite high you will need a much less aggressive cam in order to pull away from rest. A lightened pre-verto flywheel is something else I would go for.
I hope this helps.
Going home now to work on my rally car!
I just bought a '72 Austin Mini, 998cc. It has no rust. It's in great condition with only 30k miles. Can you send me a list of all things I would need to add more horsepower to the 998cc engine? Additionally, give it better handling.
I'm thinking about changing the 10x4 wheels to 10x6. Does that enhance the handling? Are there sway bars for the Mini?
IMO the best wheels for any Min are 4.5" x 10 or 5" x 10, no wider. Fit 165/70 x 10 tyres, Falkens are very good value for a 998cc road car. Don't bother with any suspension mods unless you've done all the basic handling set-ups listed on my earlier post (see Mini Handling),
For the engine I would recommend a low-cost re-build. I never like to just add performance parts to an engine with an unknown bottom-end and cam.
Include in the re-build the following:
a 12G295 cylinder head,
A small-bore LCB exhaust manifold
A Maniflow 2-box centre-exit exhaust system to match the lcb bore.
A 1.75" SU and Metro GT inlet manifold, or even an aftermarket inlet. the insurance company don't usually mide so long as it's still a single carb.
Increase the comp. ratio to about 10 to 1 and lightly gas-flow the head.
Use Hepolite flat-top pistons and before finally assembling the engine do a trial-build to establish how much needs to be machined off the top of the block to bring the pistons right to the top of the bores.
Firt a better cam - ideally a Kent 266.
Use new cam followers, valve springs and valves.
Time the cam in with offset woodruff keys.
Fit a duplex timing chain and sprockets.
If you do this properly you should get about 65 to 72 bhp. The 295 head casting is most important if you can find one. I might be able to get you one.
If you let me have youe email address I'll email you a more comprehensive build sheet for a 998 with some personal recommendations and my phone number in case you have any queries or need clarification/assistance.
For the engine I would recommend a low-cost re-build. I never like to just add performance parts to an engine with an unknown bottom-end and cam.
Include in the re-build the following:
a 12G295 cylinder head,
A small-bore LCB exhaust manifold
A Maniflow 2-box centre-exit exhaust system to match the lcb bore.
A 1.75" SU and Metro GT inlet manifold, or even an aftermarket inlet. the insurance company don't usually mide so long as it's still a single carb.
Increase the comp. ratio to about 10 to 1 and lightly gas-flow the head.
Use Hepolite flat-top pistons and before finally assembling the engine do a trial-build to establish how much needs to be machined off the top of the block to bring the pistons right to the top of the bores.
Firt a better cam - ideally a Kent 266.
Use new cam followers, valve springs and valves.
Time the cam in with offset woodruff keys.
Fit a duplex timing chain and sprockets.
If you do this properly you should get about 65 to 72 bhp. The 295 head casting is most important if you can find one. I might be able to get you one.
If you let me have youe email address I'll email you a more comprehensive build sheet for a 998 with some personal recommendations and my phone number in case you have any queries or need clarification/assistance.
That depends mostly upon the condition of the battery. If the battery is old or worn out, then it will be more likely to lose its charge over that kind of period.
I have left my Mini (with a good battery) for much more than 60 days and it will still start right up.
You should also bear in mind that if you go for a 1970's Mini, then it is an old car with old technology. It will never start as reliably as a 2003 Focus or whatever.
I have left my Mini (with a good battery) for much more than 60 days and it will still start right up.
You should also bear in mind that if you go for a 1970's Mini, then it is an old car with old technology. It will never start as reliably as a 2003 Focus or whatever.
d3vine said:
Is it true that if a Mini is left without starting/running for a while (say 55 days), it would need a jump?
If so, how could I set it up like a new car where it could start 100% of the time even if I don't use it for a week or two?
As miniman says, a good condition battery will help, also electronic ignition would be an idea. My 1969 850 was one of the most reliable minis I’ve had, I left it for about 6 months and still started first time.
Ferg said:
Crikey! Nearly 7 years later!!
Has a post been deleted Ferg? Yours looks like the first post since 2003???Incidentally, that reminds me that makes it nearly 7 years since my Mini was put back on the road, for a whole 9 months before it went back into my Mum's garage and hasn't run in anger since...
i have a mini which i race in the mini7 event here in srilanka..but the regulation we have got has crazy rules..but some of the other competitors are faster. my mini is a mini saloon 1000cc. As all the others are the same..i have put high tension springs and done minor modifications. But still cant reac upto the other minis in front.On every straight they leave me and go..My email is swraceblade607@gmail.com...please mail me if anyone knows easily manual modifications which can be done to gain bhp. I can also send regulation book to that person, so that he can guide me from there onwards for a faster mini. I will also sponser his o her business or name in my car.
Thank you
Thank you
Gassing Station | Classic Minis | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff