I love my Cooper to death, on day I was cruising the web and I found a turbo kit for my car, but with further investingation I found that it was a very bad plan , I loved the idea of a turbo cooper. I than thought about selling my cooper for an S but I cant deal with parting with my beloved cooper. Than I another thought came to my mind. After talking to Peter over at m7 about the problem with the cooper engine I devisted this plan. Now bear with me this is a dream project. I would like to buy an S engine and tranny, swap it into the Cooper. Remove the supercharger and run a turbo, possibly a retro fitted Alta kit. To me this seems to cover all the problem areas with the cooper engine and tranny. Is their anything else that I should consider, other than cost? Does anyone know where I could get an engine and tranny?

 

not sure about how much money it'd be.... but you can try local junk yards or any place that might have wrecked minis that have low mileage engines... not easy to work with, especially if its a front end collision, but that's one place i'd look

 

I've seen Getrag 6's online for as little as $600 with low mileage... and S motors for around $900-1200... Keep checking online!

http://www.car-part.com/

 

Is their anything keeping me from installing an S engine into the cooper engine bay, I know the hood wouldnt fit but thats minor

 

I have been contemplating the same situation. I was pondering the MCS swap ever since I got the Cooper. If you think about it...you would have to secure a MCS engine and trans. Then tear it down and build the internals and then I would TC it. It would be the same cost if you secured a MCS 6-speed and tore down the Cooper motor. Then go through SPI and had them turbo it. That is/was my plan. But, my plans keep changing. If you have any questions just PM me.

 

For the $ if you can get over the feelings with your car then getting a new MCS would probaly be cheaper then the time, cost and labor to do the engine and tranny swap.

 

this is obviously a long term project so money is not my biggest concern, Im more concerned now about getting everything planned out, and making sure that their is not anything that I am over looking.

 

As long as we're swaping, why not a mopar 2.0? They're cheaper than ours, make more power NA than the S, and fit with a modified bellhousing, engine mounts, intake, exhaust, and harness/ECU. Its been done, just seems the doer isn't sharing yet.

 

I have thought about putting in some other engine, other than the S engine but that would take away from the car being a mini, so i'll stick with the S

 

WOW, you are ambitious, and probably have too much time on your hands, and too much money burning a hole in your pocket.

I cannot tell you how complex this series of mods sounds, versus just getting an S. It won't be your Cooper, I know, but it will still be a MINI, and just as unique and lovable as your Cooper--just different.

While you're at it, you could custom-build your MCS; really make it your own.

The best part is, since you seem to have money to play with, go all the way, and add the JCW kit from the factory.

Now there's the sensible move!

Whatever your decision, I do support you, but I feel like cautioning you on "biting off more than you can chew" so to speak.

 

You realize the MINI's Tritech engine was co-designed by Chrysler and bears MUCH resemblance to all of Chrysler's inline 4s. This makes the swap to anything mopar SO much easier than people think.

As for taking away from your MINI's heritage, BMW sold Rover.

Kidding aside, Minis at the track were giant killers in their time based on their handling not power (especially B-series Rover power).

 

A MCS motor swap for a cooper sounds like a fun project. Make a sleeper. However for the money its pointless haha. I'd do it if I have a couple grand sitting around ;]

 

This topic has been discussed in the past- do a search.

Another approach-
Get an MCS and drop an MC body onto it. Done.
Cosmetically it's just a few panels.
You can keep the bonnet scoop for confusing the heck out of not so familar people.

You might also check with Eric at Helix13.com about their turbo kit for the MC. (in development??!!??)

 

but I may be wrong... I think it was a month or two ago...

Matt

 

If I were to do any switching to an MCS it would be the 07. its just something different building up a mc. its kinda exciting trying to find parts and what not since there arnt that many out there.