Hi everyone!

I'm new here, although I've been lurking for a while...

I have a "shorty" Mini, it's a 1977 but it has a A+ engine in it. The block is stock, but I've added the equivalent of a "stage 1" kit to it (the difference is that I had to keep the old needle as the new one made the car run wonky). The carb has been completely taken apart and rebuilt, and I also upgraded to an electronic ignition (the CSI one). Of course, new plugs, wires, coil, etc.

It will go 60, and with a lot of patience and the right prevailing winds, it might hit 65 - but as everyone here drives 70 or 80 or more, merging onto the highway in a shorty doing 55 is a bit... interesting...

Basically it'll rev up high in the first 3 gears, but it simply will NOT go past 3500 revs in 4th.

As there is no "rolling road" facility anywhere near me that I know of (every Mini part says to go get the car tuned on a rolling road after installation), I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to get the car going a bit faster on the top end, so I can at least merge onto the highway without dying too much...

Any help would be greatly appreciated :(

 

Assorted thoughts:

- I presume from what you say that it will accelerate fairly quickly up to max revs in third, around 60 mph. That would suggest it's outright power you're lacking, not the ability to rev.

- Have you got basic tuning gear? A strobe light to get the timing right and some sort of mixture analyser should enable you to get the engine nearly right.

- Run for a few minutes at wide-open throttle, stop and pull the spark plugs. Are they a nice even mid-brown colour? (Here in Britain I use a Digestive biscuit as the guide to perfection, but that might not work for you!) If not, the colour should tell you if the mixture is far out.

 

when I get my 1275 stage one up to 60 I close my eyes

way too fast for this car

I have a 6 point roll cage - not for looks - for survival.

IMO trying to run a classic Mini on the highway at 65 is ......

ill advised.

 

Angib: It will accelerate to max revs in 3rd, although that is closer to 50 or so than 60. Then I shift into 4th, and 50 to 60 takes a good 15-20 seconds if everything is flat.

I don't have any timing gear - but I had a guy over with a strobe, and it was set at 10 degrees BTDC as required by the electronic ignition. We checked the compression while we were there, and all 4 cylinders are strong and even. I don't have a mixture analyser - can you suggest one? Preferably something I can get from minispares or minisport as I'm in Canada.

I had another 998 last year, stock everything, and it would do 80 without too much fuss... It was a car I bought for my wife and she refused to learn stick so I sold it after a few months, and I never had to do anything to it. This one weighs at least 300 pounds less than stock - by all rights it should fly...

Capt_bj: I live in an area where I have to take a highway to go anywhere. If I can't take the car safely onto the highway, then I might as well get rid of it. As I mentioned above, my other 998 did 80 with no issues. I don't know why yours scares you at 60, but I find the Mini exhilarating to drive fast (safely) when all the parts are screwed on properly and the driver knows what he's doing.

 

The most basic mixture tool is the Colourtune which I see Minispares sells - this is just a glass spark plug, so you can see the colour of the combustion which tells you whether it's rich or lean. Very low tech, but it works.

Better is an exhaust gas analyzer but I guess these are no longer available, since most cars have lambda sensors and fuel injection that does this automatically!

But if in any doubt, I'm a great believer in paying a good garage to do a 'tune-up' as they will have all the gear to do it right. You are only after the basics, so a rolling road is way overkill.

And I see no problem in getting a Mini up to 80mph (or even 'main beam' if you're a real tearaway). The engine is not designed to run flat out for long periods, but it's no problem to sit it at 70 for as long than your ears can stand it.

 

I don't know why yours scares you at 60, but I find the Mini exhilarating to drive fast (safely) when all the parts are screwed on properly and the driver knows what he's doing.

I thought that way too until my first motorcycle crash ... once you bounce down the road a few times you tend to look around a bit more. A Mini in a crash provides about the same protection as a bike.

Driving a 'classic' is like riding a Harley .... you accept the fact that if much of anything goes wrong there is a good chance you are going to die.

So for around town fun and well below highway speeds I'll take the 79 out. And for a 70+ drive to Orlando, I'll take the 7-S .... for the same reasons I stopped riding bikes a long time ago. It WAS fun to go 70 on a bike .... but a front tire blow out gets REAL exciting REAL fast. The fact I walked away from it still amazes me. I hurt ... and had a ton of rash ... and a broken bone or two .... but I DID walk away. I don't care to repeat it. A friend in a similar situation 'laid it down' and won 6 months of surgery and rehab . . . no thanks, not anymore

Like I said, I have a 6 point cage in my Mini . . . and keep it in 'controlled situations'

You are entitled to your opinion .... I'm just expressing mine

and folks around here can ride bikes with no helmets ... but get a ticket for no seat belt



I enjoy collecting my paycheck for waking up in the morning . . .

 

Capt_bj: As someone who has owned several older (thus, less safe) vehicled, and as someone who also owns a motorcycle, and also as someone who has been a professional tractor-trailer driver in the past, I have seen (but luckily avoided [so far]) a LOT of scary crap on the road.

I've learned to develop, as you have, an extra half-dozen sets of eyes all around my head, and I pride myself in the fact that regardless of what I'm driving or the road conditions, I know where everyone is and what they're doing around me at all times.

That being said, that does not make me invulnerable, and won't protect against everything, especially things not connected to the ineptitude of others (like a front-wheel motorcycle blowout at highway speeds), and having been lucky enough to not have experienced that, I certainly cannot speak from experience.

But although I avoid excessive risk (I don't, for example, skydive or bungee-jump or eat at Taco Bell), I also thoroughly enjoy driving, and as I have to take highways to go anywhere from here, I think it would be much riskier to attempt to merge on the highway doing 50 when everyone else is doing 75, than to get up to 75, merge, then slow back down gently to the posted limit (which is 62 here - 100kph).

I respect your views and your experiences, and I can't pretend to understand what you went through, and I certainly don't mean to offend. But my question on this forum was simply on how to get my car to safely reach legal highway speeds (which it was designed to do) so I can merge without causing a pileup, and did not have anything to do with your opinion on how fast the car can safely be driven. If you do not have input on the question I asked, that is fine - when I ask about the safety of the car, I will gladly listen to your input. Until then, topic at hand, please.

Thank you.

 

You are correct, I should not comment on YOUR life decisions

how to get my car to safely reach legal highway speeds (which it was designed to do)

here is our basic disagreement .... IMO a classic Mini was NOT built to match current highway speeds or perceived acceleration rates.


get rid of the 998 ... you need torque ... you can't push hard enuf to reach the speed you want cuz the car was not built to provide it. Maybe someone got that out of a 998 but that would be rare and I could not tell you how it was done (many parts replaced ... not superficial)

drop in a GOOD 1275 ... with one BIG carb, HF-44/HIF-6 (properly re-needled <oh, you have that no rolling road problem ... well 7 can probably give you a good guess>) ... LCB ... GOOD exhaust.

What size wheels are you running? Geometry & physics here . . .

I CAN cruise at highway speeds in my Mini .... {I just think it is stupid to do so} ... and it is LOUD with my exhaust

1275 A+, HIF-6, LCB, PlayMini, 10" wheels, standard gear box

at 60 I close my eyes but the speed is still climbing ... that's MY choice. When I want to go FAST

I'm covered .. no worries about brakes .. side beams .. enuf umph to get out of the situation . .

MiniMania or Seven can sell you a drop in for around $5200 or can rebuilt yours .. $6000+ for a hot one
http://www.7ent.com/products/1275-po...t-for1275.html

or a VTEC package for $10k http://www.minimania.com/part/MTK20A...Engine-Package

 

Capt_bj Well, there's certainly no problem getting to highway speeds in that thing! You don't even need to change out of first gear to shatter every speed limit...

Not having the means for one of those, I do have to say however that I rented a Ferrari F430 for a weekend in Vancouver once, and I have WAY more fun driving my Mini (although I agree that the Ferrari has one or two (hundred) more safety features... Especially as my Mini has even less safety features than a regular one:





As you can see, safety wasn't foremost in the mind of the guy who modified it, however I feel perfectly safe driving that (well, as safe as I feel on my motorcycle or on my bicycle). And, as I imported it already modified (although we took it down to the bare metal and redid everything), it's had to pass 2 inspections: the regular one when you import a vehicle, and one with the transportation department's engineering department as it's a modified vehicle - it passed both with flying colors.

I considered putting a vtec in it, but my goal is to have "sufficient" power, not crazy power that I can't get to the wheels or use on the street. I just want, as you put it, "enough umph to get out of the situation". The car already handles better than anything - it's like driving a fly. I just need a bit more under the pedal to get out of the way if needed.

I love the idea of a 1275, and I know that Len at Brittanicar (in Montréal) has a few laying around that he's itching to rebuild. Maybe I should stop trying to get more out of nothing and just go for it - even keeping it stock (using the upgraded exhaust and intake I already have), I should be able to get (at the very least) the extra 20 or so horses I need...

I guess I was hoping for a quick, cheap-ish fix... But, now I have a good reason to upgrade the engine (and maybe re-ratio the gears a little).

Thanks for clarifying your position, Capt_bj. I agree that the Mini (especially mine) is not built for cruising on North American highways, but I still think that the 998 should be able to reach 65mph and hold it for 5 miles... Mine is definitely seriously underpowered, and I'm starting to think the issue is inside - she's likely just tired.

So... now I just have to convince the boss that it needs a 1275.

 

Item: Speed on interstate and.....I have a 76 Aussie built Mini with a Stage 1 package.
On a nice autumn day, meaning cool. . . Maxfield the Mini will attain a flat out speed of 70mph...either interstate or nice flat blue road-note, flat is imperative. Generally, running 10 inch Yokohama A008 and a stock suspension, I feel like the car is rather stable. Sensitive for sure, very much like a neutral aircraft, think left it goes left....that sort of thing. So in terms of stability fine. Brakes are terrible at that speed, not bad on a track, but can't ever get to 70mph on a track. My take: I can do it but don't. The car like many classics today, including big american iron are not really all that safe in today's environment and for sure, the Mini isn't big iron, it is more like a soda can when it comes to crunch. Having said that, many folks think I am crazy for flying a powered parachute. We all make our own risk choices. Ah, but I do love my Mini. The nice thing about it is that I can drive it thru town, never exceed 40mph and hardly have to slow to make a turn. Always come home refreshed, even if exhausted by the Stage 1 exhaust noise, the excessive cabin heat and ....oh, well...character is so hard to define.

 

you CAN find bolt on turbos . . .cost of this vs a good 1275?????