I was just kicking around the idea of some sort of engine swap in an old mini. I was thinking a 4g63 thrown in there would be a lot of fun. But i have no idea how compatibile the engine would be with the tranny and entire driveline, or even if the 4g63 would fit in the engine bay. so does anyone know what kind of engine swaps people have done with old mini's? cheers

 

I saw in a magazine that somebody put in an Integra Type R engine.

 

I have an old Mini and am fairly familiar with engine swaps available for these cars.

There are conversion subframes out there that will allow you to put in B-series Honda motors. But the B-18's, unless you are really good with the packaging, will require you to lengthen the front fenders/hood by about 22mm. - couldn't find a good link for ya- but go to www.minimania.com/msgthreads.cfm and conduct a search.

A 4G63 is certainly possible. But think about how narrow the Mini's enginebay is....then think about how wide the 4g63 is with all the driveline packaging that goes with it. It would not be an easy job for a person who is not good with a welder or who is not good at fabbing up custom parts. The tranny protrudes a good bit behind the motor. That would cause problems with the low and close firewall of the classic Mini.

Check this guy out and see his Mini conversions. Look at the blue Mini Pick-up. It has an awd driveline from the early 90's Civic wagon. http://www.ringmini.de/Meine_Minis/meine_minis.html

There are also people out there who have swapped Hayabusa motorcycle engines into their Mini's. http://www.zcars.org.uk/

V8 Mini http://www.miniv8.com/


I am currently swapping a Rover Metro Turbo motor into my 61 Mini. It'll bring up the hp from 37 to 130.... The Rover Metro Turbo motor is very close, mechanically, to the design of the original Mini's motor. So the swap isn't nearly as complex as a cross breed swap.

SC~

 

Yea, in Compact Car Mag., guy put a Type R engine in a old mini. 0-60 in 4.8 seconds is awesome.

 

I wouldn't mind a 4G63 in my new Mini.

 

Here is a link to pics of my Mini....if anyone cares to see it. My Mini

 

i saw someone swap a supercharged s2000 engine in an old mini in the back of autoweek, claimed it smoked z06's and porche turbo's.

 

I would like to see that. The S2k's motor is longitudinal. So for it to fit under the hood of an old school mini, they would have to relocate the driver to the back seat, and move the firewall back a good 10-20 inches.

SC~