Question About Mini
Discussion
I went to get a test ride in a 1978 Austin Mini with a Zeemax body kit, 1300cc engine. For some reason, when the car is driven hard, I can smell gas fumes. Is this normal with Mini's. This is a 1300cc single carburator engine.
Does anyone know how much horsepower does this engine put out? It doesn't seem to be a whole lot of modification to the engine itself. But there's a center exit exhaust, dual tip muffler. The seller mentioned that you can add another carb to it (dual carb) or a webber carb to add additional hp. Are there anything affordable that will give the car more power? I would like a better 0-60 and a higher top end. I think we maxed out at about 90mph. I live in states. Does anyone know of any stores that offer affordable performance parts? Also, what type of performance stages would be good to add on to the engine, etc? Thanks.
There's minimal separation between the engine bay and the car interior on a Mini, and typically lots of holes in the bulkhead where fumes could get through. I presume when you refer to "gas" you mean petrol, rather than exhaust fumes. This could be as simple as a leaking fuel pipe, or it could be that the float in the carb is not working properly and the float chamber is overfilling and emptying the excess down its overflow pipe.
Very often the floats become porous, or develop tiny holes, allowing them to fill with fuel and sink.
www.minimania.com operates a US website and sales of spares etc. There are also dozens of UK spares suppliers who will happily ship to the US. In fact, I would be happy to help getting stuff sent out to you if you struggle to find parts.
HTH
Very often the floats become porous, or develop tiny holes, allowing them to fill with fuel and sink.
www.minimania.com operates a US website and sales of spares etc. There are also dozens of UK spares suppliers who will happily ship to the US. In fact, I would be happy to help getting stuff sent out to you if you struggle to find parts.
HTH
The reason I asked about the gas fumes is because I got noxious when inhaling the fumes during my test ride. How hard is it to work on Minis? Meaning, fixing the engine, adding performance parts to it, etc... I am not familiar with cars. But if there's step by step instructions on how to fix the Mini 1275 A+ engine, then I won't have a problem working on it.
I checked out Minimania.com's Website. Their items are very expensive. I'm not sure how much twin su 1 and 1/2 carbs are being sold for in the UK. But they are selling it for 600+ USD.
Would you recommend going with a supercharger or a turbocharger? I am looking for about 120bhp and over 100lb feet of torque. The price for these two are about the same, give and take few hundred. But I would like to know if there's anywhere else selling it for a cheaper price. Also, by bolting on a supercharger or a turbocharger, will the 78 Mini's tran/gearbox beable to handle the extra hp/torque? Thanks.
Most jobs are easy enough. You'll need a Haynes manual (UK equivalent of Chiltons) and there are a few specialist tools such as cone spring compressors that you might need.
There's an easy route to turbocharging a Mini if you're in the UK which is to fit a Metro Turbo engine. No doubt it can be done with off-the-shelf parts, but would be expensive I would guess. I reckon you would need to do something to the gearbox to handle the kind of power you want. Perhaps a straight cut gear set.
Check out eBay for new carbs - a lot of people will ship to the US.
You can get some pretty decent power outputs without going for turbo / superchargers. For example, a nice rebore to 1380cc, hot cam, some good head work and a HIF44 carb would be nice and quick.
There's an easy route to turbocharging a Mini if you're in the UK which is to fit a Metro Turbo engine. No doubt it can be done with off-the-shelf parts, but would be expensive I would guess. I reckon you would need to do something to the gearbox to handle the kind of power you want. Perhaps a straight cut gear set.
Check out eBay for new carbs - a lot of people will ship to the US.
You can get some pretty decent power outputs without going for turbo / superchargers. For example, a nice rebore to 1380cc, hot cam, some good head work and a HIF44 carb would be nice and quick.
I would think that Minis with Zeemax kits will be few and far between in the US. In order to get a Mini into the US it has to be over a certain age, and I reckon very few people in the UK would have added a body kit to a really old Mini. Would suggest you try eBay - also try eBay UK to see if there are any old ones with Zeemax in the UK.
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