Hi all, my son and I have just purchased a 1967 mk1 mini. The car seems to be in fairly good shape. The car (as near as I can tell) has had the 850 removed and a 1098 installed.(would i get much more power with the 1275 upgrade?) The power seems fine but is running 4,000 rpms at 65mph. I dont know how to tell what the final drive ratio is without counting the teeth on the gears. Any suggestions on how to figure this out without removing the engine/trans? The car also appears to have 7" front disc brakes. I would like to upgrade them to the 8.5 discs and go to 12 inch wheels. Just would like your input on the pros and cons on this.
Thanks

 

4K RPM @ SEEMS ODD...mine does about 80mph on the flats at that rpm.
your current puts ot 3? to the wheels.
a 1275 will be about 5? horsepower to wheels though there are stronger motors out there.
I would go 7.5 Cooper S brakes instead of 8.4 to keep the ten inch wheels.
Sounds like it's a true 67 so try to keep it looking like its era
cheers,

 

Would love to see more more pictures..

 

here are a few more.
And thats my daughter in the pic also, no rude comments!!!

 

i dont remember the website, but i recall seeing a website out there that based on speed and rpm helped you to calculate the final drive ratio

 

nice looking car!

A 1275 will give you a little bit more power, but not heaps of it (there is, however, more potential with a 1275 as a starting point). The biggest difference is a 1275 may give you more throttle response when you are already at speed-- basically, once you are going you will get going faster a little faster, if that makes sense. Also, you may feel a little more comfortable winding out a 1275 to the higher rpms because it has a shorter stroke so the engine has different harmonics and the crank has potentially less whip than that of a 1098.

If you need the disc brake parts to convert to either bigger 8.4" (or even 7.5") disc brakes, I have all of the parts needed for this conversion. All of the parts are 100% brand new. New discs, new drive flanges, new calipers, new pads, screws and pins... $650 complete for either 7.5" set or 8.4" set. I believe you can just reuse your current 7" disc brake hubs and bearings and all of that. If you'd rather go used or rebuilt, I have those too for a little less money.

if you're interested in the brake stuff, best to email me as I don't check pm's much.

--Spank

 

On my 2002 S I wanted BIG and went for 17's

On the classic, small RULES...

6X10 there .....

 

will i lose that much in handling going to 12's?

 

it's just not the same......you'll adjust to it, i prefer 10" on the classic.....

 

ok, so stick with the 10 inch wheels, what is the optimal size of tire to go with? and what r&p ratio should I go with, I neet to be able to at least hit 70 comfortably, or I will be ran over by semi trucks. and if I stay with 10 inch wheels, go with the 7.5 disc brakes?

 

10 inch wheels as far as I know means

a) 7 1/2 inch disks up front .... if you go disks.

b) there aren't that many tires available and what width you run can come into play. I'm running 10 inch diameter on 6 inch wide from a Falcon 165/70. Yoko has a couple of tread patterns too but the 008 is probably the most popular street tire.

Will this let you run 70 mph routinely? well, I wouldn't in my car .... but it's your choice. We come down to that basic problem of running a 50's vintage piece of engineering at 90's plus speeds.....for extended lengths of time. I dislike taking my 79 on an interstate for as little as 5 minutes. But I'm a safety freak....

 

Nothing unusual about 65mph@4000rpm. You have a 3.44 diff which is std for a 998 or 1098. Figure about 16mph/1K rpm. You can go to a different FD ratio if you want to spend the $$$. The are 3.1s and 2.97s which will lower your rpms at speed but also lower your 0-60 time.

1098s have more torque than 998. They're not as powerful as 1275s but the cost to exchange can be prohibitive. I run a 1098 and am happy with it.

Minis run better on 10s (as they were designed). 12s are okay but tires are harder to find. And 13s are rough riding.

I run 165/70-10 Yoko A008s which are good all around tires.

I'd like to try the A032s next but think they wear faster.


As far as brakes, if the 7"s work okay for your type of driving, why bother? Tey supposedly perform as well as twin-leading drum. I'd go 7.5 'S' brakes to give the most flexibility. 8.5s limit your choices altho the work well.

 

Be thankful you have disc brakes My 1960 has drum all around, dual leading in the front which was an upgrade. Doesn't stop so well. The 1098 works just fine and I run 65 on the freeway and have driven it from one side of the country to the other. Are you going to restore this car or drive it as is. And has your daughter laid claim to it yet? Good looking 67!

 

no she has not!! She is the proud owner of a 2007 black ford fusion.
I will be driving this car no maore that 30 miles one way. There are no freeways here, but if can not go at least 70 mph you will get ran over(just two lane highways here)how much to change the final drive and how difficult?
This will belong to my 13 year old son, he had his choice for cars to rebuild before his 16th and he chose the mini.

 

It requires pulling the motor and separating the engine from the transmission. I have had mine apart many times over the 3 decades I have had mine. It is probably one of the more difficult tasks but as long as you are diligent to following directions and doing it right it is not bad, just takes time and perseverance.

 

Sorry, I am going to be a real pain in the butt before this is over. What is the best repair manual to purchase, and where is the beat place to get it? I am mini stupid, but if ya need help on a newer ford or dodge truck I would be glad to help.

 

I'd buy the Bentley manual, you can get them online from Bentley about $60 IIRC.

I bought one when I o'hauled my 69 XK-E and found it invaluable....a real must have.

Here's the link to it..... http://http://www.bentleypublishers.....htm?code=ymw1

 

Haynes makes a manual, I prefer the original factory manual, and I also refer to David Vizard's "How to Modify your Mini" It has some great tips. I am sure there are others here with their favorites too. You can get most anything you want on eBay. There are other forums dedicated to the Mini as well and parts distributors that can probably hook you up with what you need. www.minimania.com www.7ent.com are a couple of good places to start. www.minicityltd.com is another and there are alot in the UK if you dont mind waiting on the shipping. If you need parts the Australian eBay site is a good resorce as well since their dollar is in worse shape than our own.

 

their dollar is in worse shape than our own

Is that possible?

 

If you have a properly set up car, there isn't really a huge difference between the handling of 10" versus 12". I've had 30+ minis in the past 10 years (a bit of an addiction) with 10, 12, and 13" wheels. With adjustable suspension parts to customize the caster, camber, toe, ride height, and rebound rate, you can make 10s and 12s handle identically. Tire availability is indeed a consideration, but do your own research. Quality 12" tires are indeed available, but not necessarily at your local Discount Tire.

The standard 8.4" disc brakes are more effective than standard 7.5" disc brakes (when comparing new to new) and both are waaaaay better than the early 7" discs. The only real benefit of the 7" discs over twin-leading drums is that the 7" discs generally will stop in a straight line as they wear and don't require monthly adjustments when driven regularly. Drums require manual adjustment of each shoe regularly (again, depending on usage it could be monthly) and as the system of parts age, the car will pull left, right, or may go straight depending on the braking situation (panic, slow deceleration, or in between). The rear shoes will still need manual adjustment regardless of discs or drums up front, but typically no more than quarterly.

As for final drive, for a good compromise between back road twisties and freeway, I like the 3.1 final drive. It's also sold as a repro by the major US retailers for around $250-$350. It will allow you to do about 3600-3800 rpms at 65-70mph on 165x10" tires. About the same for 12s. A 998 will handle a 3.1 just fine even off the line (I autocrossed a 3.1 in a 998 and would regularly beat 1275 minis at the MMW I've attended.) so I'm sure a 1098 would be fine with it. If you do more freeway driving and want less interior noise, a 2.9 is fine when using a 1275. Can't speak to a 1098 with a 2.9. A 998 with a 2.9 bogs down a lot, but is do-able but not very much loved by many. Downshifts are a frequent mandate.

An earlier Hanes manual is good for the transmission stuff. Changing the final drive is quite involved for a first-timer. You actually don't have to split the transmission from the engine, but you do have to pull the engine out, pull off the diff housing cover and side plates, and pull off the speedo housing cover.

--Spank

 

Mike, What did you do with all the engines you built during your "block party" I saw pictures of your dining room too. Is this how it looks most of the time?

 

LOL.. it varies from day to day.. but the last time I looked our dollar compared to theirs for every dollar theirs is 93 cents to our dollar. So not much worse but better than the 50 cents on the UK dollar for sure.

 

The 12" wheel has the same rolling dia as a 10" wheel but you will have toup grade to 8.4 discs and callipars................

 

I disagree that fitting 12's means fit larger brakes....

Usually one has a later Mini with the larger brakes and wants to fit 10" wheels. Here, one must fit the smaller disks because the wheels just WON'T fit over the larger disks.

But going the other way..... If I wanted to fit 13's on my 79 fitted with 7.5's I would not NEED to change to the larger disks altho doing so WOULD provide more stopping power

{BTW...:"The 12" wheel has the same rolling dia as a 10" wheel ..." Sorry: I was a math major and I'm struggling with this one. Now depending on the sidewall height of the respective tires mounted I could possibly agree but otherwise the formula for circumfrence makes it directly proportionial to radius doesn't it? Larger radius = larger circumference....another name for "rolling diameter"? So the wheels have different circumferences..period ...but one could mount tires on a 10 and a 12 that resulted in a hub to street radius that's the same.....in other words a wheel + tire combo for a 10 and a 12 MIGHT be the same}

 

I would have to agree, if 1 stayed with a 165 series tire and mounted it on a 12 inch wheel, the revolutions per mile would decrease and lower my engine rpms.right?