im debating which route should i go for, either SPI or carb mini? i know that there's not much tuning you can do with SPI mini however the SPI is more reliable than the carb mini? correct me if i'm wrong on this one because I've seen threads about people are having problems to maintain the SPi mini?
if you have a choice of getting either one of those, which one would you pick? why?
btw i also want to take consideration of resale value of those.

1973 mk3 1300cc motor with header and exhaust, good interior with nice seats, 10" mini lite with lower offset setup and roll bar.

1995 rover mini import from Japan, all stock good paint good interior, stock 12" mini lite.

thanks for any input

 

me personally, i would go with a carbed mini...I find it easier to maintain an carb motor and from what i was told that mpi/spi are really great when the work and a bugger to fix when they don't since there aren't a lot of people that are familiar with them on this side of the pond.
just my 2 cents...
Tamer

 

Are not the MPI's also distributorless blocks? Limiting future options?

 

yup,
a buddy of mine has a MPI motor with a weber on it he removed all the computer componets but have to add a stand alone ignition block with a trigger wheel to make it work.

 

i was thinking to get the later model mini with SPI and then convert it to carb in the future, according to this kit from minimania.com it sounds like an easy task??? http://www.minimania.com/web/Item/MM.../InvDetail.cfm
it seems to me that we can homebrew a kit? all it takes that are a carb, fuel pressure regulator and a relay to bypass the ECU circuit?

 

All I know about SPI/MPI Minis are that the UK Mechanical troubles forums are ALWAYS filled with questions on how to diagnose injector-related issues. Seems to me that a carbed Mini is a LOT easier to work on. Unless you're already experienced with diagnosing issues on injected engines and have experience with fixing them, of course...

 

ImagoX, according to you signature that you have a 92 mini, did you convert it to carb?

 

According to my Rees Classic Mini book, they made a carbed Minis Sprite in 92 actually, alongside the SPI model, which was made later that year or in 93

That said, I'm pretty certain based on what looks like a capped, nonfunctional oxygen sensor line off the exhaust manifold and some relays that I can't figure out the use for that the car USED to be a SPI 1275 that was later converted to a single carb.

 

got it. so anything up from 92 to 96 is SPI and anything from 96 to 2000 is MPI?
anyways how hard is it really to convert a SPI to carb?
is there a how-to-do instruction somewhere online?

 

There are some pages on MiniMania that discuss the conversion and their kit is $1295.

That said, the biggest problem with SPI and MPI here is reading the ECU when something breaks. On modern cars made to be sold in the US, this is easy: plug a computer into the diagnostic port read the fault code and replace the part. This will usually (but heaven knows, not always) fix most ills. Code readers for US cars with OBD I and OBD II are readily available, and for the more enthusiastic, there are diagnostic computers which go beyond the standard OBD ($$$$) are are usually found in most professional garages.

For those of us with VW/Audi cars, there is "VAG-COM" which sort of bridges the gap, but I digress...

I wouldn't immediately dismiss a SPI or MPI car that was otherwise in good condition and currently running well. I would just start collecting the parts and knowledge to convert the system to MegaSquirt, which is a share-ware DIY EFI system (go to DIYAutotune.com for some examples).