is a 1989 mini considered a classic mini? if not sorry for posting in this section but i was hoping you all could help me out. my friend recently bought a mini and i have no experience with minis but i want to help her out and do the work on the car so she doesn't have to deal with shops charging her insane amounts of money. so heres what i know about the car, its a:

1989 mini
Automatic
9**cc
RHD

what can you tell me based off this info? anytihng? i can get more info and pics in a few days but until then can someone please help me out!?!?!

here are some of the questions i have

What weight oil does it take?
How much oil?
Whats a good brand?(i use Royal Purple Synthetic in my S14 and was think about just using Royal Purple or RedLine for hers)
What kind of Oil Filter is it? (spin-on, element?)
What are common problems?
What should i replace/upgrade?

thanks in advance everyone!

 

A classic Mini is a Mini of the classic shape, made from 1953 to 2001. So yes, an 89 is a classic Mini. This is only to differentiate it from a new MINI which is what 99% of the pictures on this site are of. Up until 2002, it was simply a Mini.
This site is mostly devoted to new MINIs, you'd probably have better luck reading the forums on www.MiniMania.com, but make sure you're on the classic Mini side of their house.
Good luck.

 

It is a 998cc motor. Caution with the auto box though (& with sythetic oil). They can be very unreliable when neglected.

Contact Todd (Austin ADO16) on Minimania as he has experience with the autos in Minis & Austin Americas. He also has a website http://www.austinamericausa.com/ that has a tech section on the auto.

Most important is to change the oil & filter frequently. Todd recommends 10o0-1500 miles. The 4 speeds use 20W50 and Castrol is recommended by most.

 

Not to confuse you. The Austin America ( or ADO 16), though different than a mini, uses the same drivetrain. If you need to talk shop to someone over the phone, Doug at Heritage Garages in southern California, or Mike or Jack at Seven Enterprises in Northern California are great resources.

dr dave

 

What weight oil does it take?
-20W50

How much oil?
-4.5 to five quarts depending on how bad it leaks.

Whats a good brand?(i use Royal Purple Synthetic in my S14 and was think about just using Royal Purple or RedLine for hers)
-REGULAR CASTROL.....STAY AWAY FROM THE SYNTHETIC STUFF

What kind of Oil Filter is it? (spin-on, element?)
FOR THAT YEAR IT MUST BE SPIN ON....ASK FOR A 73 MG MIDGET AT YOUR LOCAL AUTO SUPPLY STORE

What are common problems?
ANYTHING....ITS a Mini

What should i replace/upgrade?
points, rotor/cap.....spark plugs....check timing, dash pot oil in carb.

 

Assuming you are in the US...the first thing to realize is that US knowledge of this specific car is going to be very limited since it is a grey market car that has been....shall we say....creatively imported....

for there is no way to import a rhd Mini except as a 25 year old or older antique.... 2006 - 25 = 81. {perhaps this is one of those 89/66's they made } Therefore there aren't many around.

Next as an 89 ... there are very possibly 'advances' to the electronics that understandably aren't found in a older model. I'm not sure, is an 89 a Rover?? I'm not sure what year the transition from Austin Group to Rover happened.

I'd suggest you first get the owner's and tech documentation on CD from Heritage ... and the Haynes book. Good starting points.

 

You guys are awesome! We went and picked up the car today, she LOVES it! everything seems to be pretty descent(knock on wood). got a couple rust patches to take care of but i've tackled worse. The guy gave me a pack of documents for the car and i believe there was a factory manual on a CD somewhere amung all that stuff, but i'll take a look tonight. thanks for answering those questions! anything else i should be told up front?

and I don't live in the US, im stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

 

well heres the update. i went through some of the papers that came with the car. its an element filter so i'll be getting a spin on conversion. its a 99m engine.

 

Go to Moss Europe

http://www.moss-europe.co.uk/MossUK/

and get their classic Mini parts catalog - even if you never order from them, the catalog has the best exploded diagrams, in a paper bound form, that I've found. You can find the pics on line too (pdf) but I find a book a little handier to use in the garage.

Many US folks start with Seven Enterprises (7ent.com) and Mini Mania (MiniMania.com) for their parts. The first is not the most complete supplier but has come thru several times for me with things I could not find elsewhere. MiniMania is complete but also just serves as a direct line to a big UK supplier. Since you are not shipping in US there may not be much advantage to going with them. Therefore I recommend MiniSport (MiniSport.com). Get their catalog too....lot's of nice pictures of stuff....I've ordered from them several times with complete satisfaction. They are in UK, so shipping to US is sometimes worth comparing to MiniMania, but in your situation may be cheaper.

 

well my friend told me that this sucker floods easily. Its hard to start up in the morning and has a tendancy to flood. what would fix this? Someone told her something about Webber Carbs, dual linkage or something like that?? any input on this? thanks guys!!

 

No reason for your Mini to be hard starting or flood easily that a little maintenance can't take care of. Your Mini is has a manual choke. Pull choke about 3/4 of the way out. Do not pump accelerator as the carburetor doesn't have one. Turn key and start car. Keep it running and as it warms up push choke cable gradually back in. When you've reach opearing temperatures choke should be fully in. An 89 Mini still has point type ignition and the points should be what is refered to as Blue points. Give the car a good tune up, and adjust the valves. With the distributor located in the front of the engine you will encounter problems when driving in the rain. I always keep a couple of plastic grocery bags in my 71/89 Mini for just in case. I pull over somewhere and cover my distributor with a bag to keep it from getting wet. The carburetor on an 89 Mini is what they call a wax-stat type carbutetor. I don't like wax-stats so I replaced mine with an earlier mini's non wax-stat type carburetor that I bought on eBay. Check the oil in your carburetor and if low top off with a 20w oil or something equivalent. As previously suggested log into www.minimania.com where the vast majority of classic Mini owners hang out. Join a classic mini club. Good luck with your Mini.

CasaMini

 

What's the temp like in Okin'? Until the temp drops below about 65 (degree f) you shouldn't need much if any choke....I don't need to touch mine til the temps are below that and even then seldom need more than 1/2.

If you Google SU Carb you will get pointed to a slew of good pages....or break down and buy a book (I prefer G.R. Wade's SU Carburetters Tuning Tips & Technigues, Brookland Books...avail from MiniMania and others). You can d a partial tear down w/out disturbing any gaskets. I recommend doing so and cleaning the gunk out...I'll bet there is plenty. First problem is usually figuring out which SU you have, but once you know rebuild kits are easy, and you can always replace with a HIF-6 if you want simplicity.

Yes, many say just dump the SU and go Weber .... well, do you want to keep it original or not?

"Do not pump accelerator as the carburetor doesn't have one. " I have no idea what's refered to here....there certainly is an accel' cable connected to the gas pedal and I usually need to play with the gas on those occasions I need to use the choke. (1275, 1@HIF-6 1.75 inch)

WRT the wet distributor...true problem. Later Minis (and similar like Austin America etc) had a plastic defector that attached to the engine and hung down the front to protect all the electrics. You can find the kit at Mini Sport. I fitted a square of plexiglass behind the grill, about 10" square, centered on the distrib'. Seems to do the job atho truthfully I don't take the car out in rain if I can avoid it. But, no cooling issues from the partially blocked grill..

 

What Casamini says..

If you can start an A series cold without the choke, your carb is set too rich.

A Weber (the real ones are no longer made) is a PITA to get setup & jetted correctly. It is an expensive replacement as it also requires intake & exhaust header changes and possibly exhaust system upgrade. However, once accomplished, it holds a tune a long time. Other than that, it does not offer any substantial performance benefit for a street car.

Change out your points system for a Pertronix Ignitor ignition set. You'll be happy in the long run. Buy a distributor cover for the front of the motor to protect it from rain.

One obvious cause of flooding is a a float out of adjustment, a stuck float needle or a float that has cracked & filled with gas. Replace float needle & adjust float heighth.

Or it may be a jet that is set way too rich. This may be to compensate for some other problem like a vacuum leak. You need to go over the intake & check bolts for tightness, and hoses and gaskets for cracks/leaks.

Buy the SU carb repair manual. Adjust carb to factory initial settings as a starting point.

If it were mine, I'd get a shop manual and learn how to work on it myself. The car is quite elementary. Very basic. Simple handtools and a willingness to learn will get you a long way with it. Start with learning how to do a proper tune up. Replace the ignition, set the timing, adjust the carb, and Bob's yer uncle!

Okeefe, its a great that you try to help other new owners , but please learn more about the Mini first. An SU does not have an accelerator pump which was common on other cars. It added a squirt of fuel when pumping the pedal and just prior to the throttle plates opening on acceleration (its primary function to avoid a temp lean condition).

Therefore, pumping the gas pedal (accelerator) does not add any additional fuel on an SU. It only opens the throttle plate which may lean it out more depending on how the carb is set and how much wear it has. You should be able to pull the choke out partially, turn the key and have the motor start in a couple of turns. That is, if it is properly tuned. You should not have to touch the pedal at all. It works for you because your carb is on the rich side.

 

When I got my 78, it would start cold. It was set up wrong.
Someone had removed the engine thermostat, then set the SU so rich the car would still run!
Boy did it flunk the (Illinois) pollution test, as it belched black smoke.

Put in the Thermostat, set the carb correctly, and had a shop set the timing using the CO meter instead of a timing light. It passed pollution, and runs better now.

John

 

information is data that has answered a question

http://www.teglerizer.com/sucarbs/index.html

and

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen...mg/basic4.html

and gotta love

http://www.team.net/www/morgan/tech/tuning.html

about 2/3 of the way down in this one is a description of
Disassembly and assembly of suction piston and suction chamber with pictures that I found particularly useful http://www.teglerizer.com/sucarbs/techtip6.htm

notes

- these are all links off the main page provided (some links are dead and even those that work are sometimes missing a linked graphic...but keep digging)
- all these pages talk about SU on other cars - not Minis - but all say SU is SU so ....
- most of these discuss 2 carb setups, but much applies to one....just ignore balancing discussions unless your are so lucky.
- I have not found anything on much later setups - post 80 something, when HIF-6 came into play. One ref describes the HIF-6 emmisions control carb as a sealed unit that should never be opened or adjusted (guess which one I have :-} )

I've tried to dig for the common themes .... got other sites (data), pls share.

I've asked the local MG and Triumph clubs who their SU experts were and both said if I found one to let them know... One guy @ a local shop says he is but won't even take a look for less than $350 ... I haven't found anyone willling to try him yet.

oh ya - the best reference exploded diagram of an SU I've found is the one on the t-shirt avaialbe from Triple-C !!!!

 

For all things SU try Joe Curto at http://www.joecurto.com/. Been doing it for a Looong time. Manufactures NLA parts himself (former aircraft mechanic), does complete and accurate rebuilds, full inventory of parts and needles, plus he's very helpful!

information and data coupled with experience is wisdom...

o'keefe, I was not putting you down and I hope I didn't come across that way. I enjoy your enthusiasm and passion for your car. No matter how long you own Minis there is always something new to learn, I must admit. I look forward to meeting you when you move to FL. I'm sure we see each other at a FLAME, CMoF or SSM meet someday. I'll buy the beer...

 

Oki14, since you're not close to the mainland I'm not sure this will help much but these people have been lot's of help with info about my car, they are in Komaki City, http://www.minikids.co.jp/ getting your parts from them would save you shipping costs, and http://www.delta-mini.com/ has more goodies than you could ever need, and the fastest race Mini in Japan too !, they are in Osaka and Amagasaki.
I never could find a spin-on oil filter adapter for the automatic.
Manuel

 

now why would I think that given the fact that I'm sure you know that as described in the Austin Mini owner's manual and several generic documents about manual choke systems, that the first (some percent) of choke pull actually does not engage the choke so as to alter the mix, but only applies "fast idle"...to wit the fast idle adjustment on the SU. So feathering the throttle on a warm day when ambient temp is above 70 might have the same effect as "a little choke" depending on what temp gasoline will condense in the intake manifold...the condition the choke is designed to overcome....and as several of the ref'd links suggest, a significant 'cheater' check is plug color and since mine is 'biscut' I don't think I'm bad. But accept as other ref'd pages that until I check it on a rolling road (dyno) with gas analysis, and prepared to swap needles, all is moot.

see ya at Deals Gap?

I have a lot to learn...my engine experiece was gained on ones from 2500 to 18,000 horse power. Scaling down doesn't always work....

 

Everything you know about a carb, fuggedaboudit! We're talking SU's, (Skinners Union) a carb design by a former plumbing supply firm... in the early 1900's in the UK! Somedays they'll make your eyes go like this -> :impatient



The choke cable pulls a lever which lowers the jet tube, thus enrichening the mixture. The jet tube descends slightly before engagement of the fast idle screw on the cam part of the lever. Otherwise, it would be self defeating to add more air to a cold engine before enrichening the mixture. Once more fuel is added by the choke, more air must be introduced to avoid flooding.

"Blipping" the gas pedal opens the throttle plate which creates a vacuum causing the piston in the dashpot to rise. While this has the effect of raising the tapered jet needle out of the tube, it commensurately lets more air in the carb bore. In a regular car the gas pedal action would cause the accelerator pump to squirt additional gas into the carb thus helping to enrichen the mixture. This does not happen in an SU.

From your description, I think your carb is set rich and your feathering the throttle on a warm day is helping you overcome a rich condition by actually introducing more air. Otherwise, I think if you pulled the choke it would be grossly over rich and possibly flood on a warm day. Someday when your engine is warm and running, with the piston lifting pin, lift the carb piston slightly. If the idle increases and stays at a higher rpm, the carb is running rich. Lean it out one flat at a time. If, on the other hand the engine starts to stumble/stall immediately, it is set too lean. Then richen the mixture one flat at a time. The ideal you would be looking for is that when the piston is raised slightly, the idle will increase momentarily then begin to stumble. Of course the best way to set it is with an analyzer, but I'm giving you the best shadetree mechanic method.

Your plug color will only indicate mixture at idle. It could be lean/rich at any segment of range above. Most SU needles have 16 steps. A good program for needle comparison and plotting graphically is WINSU, available for free.

Next idiosynchratic item -> Lucas, Prince of Darkness!

I won't make Deal's Gap but will be at Mini Meet East In Frederick MD at the end of June...

 

You said

"The choke cable pulls a lever which lowers the jet tube, thus enrichening the mixture. The jet tube descends slightly "

and that's true ... but not always

"SU Carburetters Tuning Tips & Techniques", Brooklands Books; pg 4, Chapter 1, Basic Design and Function: "The rich starting mixture is obtained on the H, HD, and HS types, but not on the HIF type, by simply lowering the jet."

So, as I advised OP (pm), his first issue is to determine which model SU he has cuz the detailed, and shade tree proceedures, differ somewhat by model.

Remember which one I have?

(the ref'd book does cover all versions but as I mentioned says an HIF should not be opened....if gives a procedure but .... maybe I shoulda listened?)

p.s. the ref goes on to say that mix set at start time..aka idle... has nothing to do with run time on an SU .... that's back to needle black majic....mix screw has virtually nothing to do with that as confirmed by all the web references. Quick looks there are the piston spring & piston travel usually messed up from gunk. (shade tree mechanic stuff)

so I'd say consider my esteemed co poster another reference. I think that comes close to a dozen. I'll not even hint that he's wrong....I'll just offer that he's perhaps not 100% right.

Bottom line:

a) if you are flooding you ain't happy
b) if you are flooding something ain't right
c) right is subjective
d) ain't Brit technology grad? How in the heck did they ever find radar first?
e) if all probability you are not going to find a decent mechanic so you are on your own. Altho on second thought these things were legal on OK so maybe you have a better chance than I do.

I still say start simple and clean things up if you haven't yet. The butterfly could be hanging up, or the piston. Do you even know where the mix adjustment is much less if you have H, HS or HIF. (by year I'd guess....HIF-4 but that's a wag)

buy the book and good luck

btw, dumb question at this time but as I recall the root issue was you pull the choke and try to start...it floods. What happens at no choke? 1/3?

 

simple, they needed something that works in the dark, see my Lucas Prince of Darkness reference....

and you are correct that I referenced early carbs in my descriptions. A likely carb to be utilized on a std 998cc.

 

didn't he say a 1989 automatic .... much more likely a HIF-4 ......

nuff said

I'm outa here

need a link to a guy that sells Lucas Smoke to refill the system? PM me

 

The Alec Issigonis "Mini" was built from 1959 to 2000. There are no production Minis made before 1959 or after October 2000. The BMW MINI began production in July 2001.