Howdy boys and girls. After 23 years of wanting a Mini I finally squeezed one into my already-overloaded shop.

I worked a trade with a good ol boy for a '03 R50 with just at 100k on the clock.

The good: I got a Mini. Body, interior, suspension, etc are all in what looks to be great condition.

The bad opportunity: Motor was out of the car, with the starter bolt tab broken off the block.

Pulled the valve cover, then the head, and the oil pan. Nothing scary found.

I've got a great local LKQ and there are at least two on the lot that have decent looking engines. My first thought was to grab one of those, break it apart and rebuild on the intact block.

However, foolishness has always held a special place in my heart and garage and since I paid exactly $0 for this lil hooptie, why not turn it into the gokart that I've always wanted?

So, my plan as of now is to source a complete R53 powerplant and swap that in.

If I'm going to have to do the work to rebuild a base engine, might as well put a lil pep in her step, right?

Mechanically I've got no problem with this kind of project. I've built Jeeps and rock crawlers, did a beautiful frame-off total restoration of a M35 (deuce and a half), currently have an Isuzu Trooper that is getting a Mercedes Diesel swap (absolute last priority), and am about half-way through a restoration on a '68 Cutlass Supreme.

However, other than some piddly little things here and there on friends Euro-rides, this is the first foray into the world of British shenanigans.

Anyways, this is a long-winded way to say hello and thanks for allowing me to join the crowd here!

 

That will be quite the adventure as the R50 and R53 have different battery locations, hoods, bumpers, radiators/core supports, as well as nearly everything under the hood aside from basics like starters, alternators, AC components and a few other pieces in the engine (heads and blocks are similar BUT not identical)....so this could require a bit more from the donor car to make it work- including shift linkage and various body control modules as well as transmission related parts.

 

Adventure is my middl.....well, yea its gonna be a project.
But to only have $75 in the adventure so far (and that was to rent the smallest thing Uhaul had so I didnt have to drag my big trailer 90miles to get the donor car,) Im in a good position to at least start making a mess!
The donor car did drive into my shop under its own power, and the plan is to use as much as possible, including brakes, exhaust, etc. in addition to all the running gear.

 

Just add an 'S' to the Cooper badging and your project is done! 😉

 

Shhh! If my wife hears that I won’t have a reason to go to the garage for hours a week!

 

It shouldn't be to bad to sort out, with a complete donor it would be easily done. I believe your hardest battle will be electronics.

If you look into R50 Getrag transmission swaps, that'll ease your mind. You essentially just move parts from the R53 to R50, transmission cables and shift box are identical between the two cars.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150404...heWeakLink.pdf

The engine, wire harness and all accessories will be easy to swap over. Re-locating the battery and wiring will be fun, also not sure of similarities between other components in the car as in body control modules and stuff. They likely will all need to be swapped over, including the EWS, ignition switch, keys.... Your work will be cut out for you thats for sure!

Best of luck and have fun!

 

K-swap it and be done. Seriously. Not hard and WAY more potential. I had an R50. I got a quarter million miles out of it with minimal issue. The car was well sorted but the engine was starting to show its age. I thought long and hard and "upgraded" to an R53. The blower noises are fun but I wish I'd gone the k-swap route. If your dead set on using mini parts my second choice would be a r53 rotating assembly with a turbo. Run a return fuel system with an FMU or go stand alone for more boost. The super chargers in these cars are very limited. You can get bigger but it gets expensive fast.