Ok, so I'm picking up the 78 pickup tommorrow. Found a potential deal on base. Meeting the guy tommorrow to hear it run, check it out closer, etc. 1996 Mini Cooper with 63k miles on it, clutch problem (talked to the wife, she didnt know too much though), they want 800 quid for it. Seems cheap to me. Was interested in ditching the fuel injection, and using the engine, transmission, suspension, brakes, wheels, arches, etc. for the truck. How big of a job am I looking at, is it worth it, hows the price do you think?

 

Oh, the wife says the rusts "just cosmetic", meanwhile every panel has huge rust patches, and I'm standing next to it talking to her on the phone while I'm looking THROUGH the A panel. Hasnt been inspected, or road taxed in a year.

 

If it's a round-nose Mini, swapping the engine into another round-nose should be relatively simple. Disconnect everything, drop the front subframe, do the same for the receiving car and swap. See if you can drive it. If the engine is a good runner, especially if it's a 1275, that may be a decent price. Though you might be able to get a rebuilt engine in the UK for less than that, fewer hassles, and you know it's been rebuilt.

 

Yeah, its a round nose. My only concern is something that wouldnt be obvious, where things wouldnt bolt up as easy as I would think they would.

 

I don't know the specifics on the MPI motor, but check about on what is required to changeover from MPI to carbs. The MPI is computerized and you need to retro fit it to carbs & std ignition (distributor change). Don't know about the cam, etc.

The 96 has a Verto clutch system which is different from yours (flywheel, pressure plate, t/o, and slave cylinder system), btw.

Maybe ask here on the tech forums:

http://www.miniresource.com/forums/

http://www.minifinity.com/PNphpBB2.html

 

So I'm getting it. Going to switch the title over and pay the balance on Friday. Ended up getting it for 500 quid. I think I'm going to use it as a donor for the pickup. I was planning on ditching the fuel injection, and going with a carb set up, but now I'm leaning more towards, getting the clutch fixed, (supposed to have a bad slave cylinder), giving it a quick test drive, making sure no other issues, and then starting the swap. But just swapping everything over as is, that way I have a minimal amount of issues to sort through. I can always go carb later down the line. Eventually I'd also like to paint the truck, the cooper color, its called Volcano Orange. I figure time wise, its probably the fastest option though since I dont know how long I will be over here. Not sure if I can use the cooper seats or not, I have heard mixed results, some say the seats are too wide for the mk1 style doors with the pockets. But if I can pull it off, it'll be a sweet ride.

 

I don't think a '96 model has the MPI engine. If the radiator is positioned in the front, it's an MPI. If the radiator is on the left side inner fender, it's an SPI model.

 

I think I'm hoping its a SPi, to keep everything as simple as possible. Even if it is, it will still be a nice improvement over the stock 848.

 

Hope so, as its is supposed to be a simpler swap.

 

Well, found out is is the MPi. Pain in the butt part is going to be the fuel tank, assorted small brackets for airbag and what not, and the radiator (front mount).

 

I guess I'm confused?

Are you moving the motor to the truck? If so, I think you need to backdate how the motor works, if possible, rather than trying to update the truck to MPI?

 

The goal is to strip the truck down bare, basially to body and glass. Then take everything off of the cooper and bolt it on to the truck. However because the trucks gas tank location, and tail lights, and brakes are futher back than the saloon, these items will have to have their respective systems extended in length, i.e. wires and hoses. The fuel tank in the truck uses a normal fuel tank, the Cooper uses a newer system, where there is a return line to the tank, plus the fuel pump is in the tank itself, where as the pickup I'm assuming is mechanical, and driven off the engine.

 

I would think simplifying the MPI to carb stds would be a hell of a lot less work than bringing a carb'd truck up to MPI stds...Also, have you considered that in the US no one has computers or diagnostic equipment to deal with an MPI? That's if you ever plan to ship it back here...I here it is somewhat difficult to service them even in the UK?

 

I can go to carbs, but I would have to run some type of ignition system, because it doesnt have the hole for a distributor. As far as servicing, I believe its OBD II.