I would just add my own rhetorical question - why bother when you can get a S cheaper, and more bulletproof?

 

fastlaneNick claims 158hp @ 7400rpm with an 8150rpm rev limit,
accel begins at 0:30,
seems pretty damn quick!


There's also Lohen:
https://www.lohen.co.uk/shop/gen-1-m...ooper-packages
£££
Pound for pound it's rather pricey, but interesting to look at their prescription for power.

Do any stateside tuners offer similar easy bolt-on R50 upgrades?

 

He gave his reasons in post #6.

Ironically, you'll lose some of that feeling if the engine has more power. The feeling comes from pushing the engine harder, and you're doing that because it has less power.

 

I did not set out to dismiss the OP on the desire to get a little bit more HP. Each time this subject comes up there is a tendency for the R50 owners to get defensive. Also when someone cited so and so tuners said they have the recipe very little specifics were ever provided. The threads nearly always go quiet in a whimper, so I thought I would give it a stab.

Some drivers like NA engines for their throttle response and if I have not forgotten OP and many R50 owners also had cited it. While the supercharged gen 1 engine may not spool as fast as the NA R50 engine, it has no perceivable lag unlike turbocharged engines. I used to think my Mini has supercharge lag similar to all turbocharged. It took me a long time to realize the cause is the crappy ASC causing the yo yo like symptom as with R53.1. Now it become a pre-flight check to switch off the ASC except on snow and ice roads. No more what I used to think is supercharge lag.

I have never driven a R50 to know how the engine spools. I have little doubt it feels sportier in how the RPM built while free rev'ing. Analytically I attribute it to many factors. R50 has a lighter clutch/flywheel because of lower engine output. By going replacing the DM clutch/flywheel to SM Exedy the improvement in how fast the RPM spools is very noticeable, not just immediately after the switch, but each time I drive my Mini.

The other factor is the extra load the supercharger have on the engine. Starting at idle the moment you step on the throttle to free rev the engine it has to overcome the rotational mass of the engine internal moving parts, the flywheel/clutch, and everything on the pulley system. The difference between the two engines are the rotational mass and compression resistance of the SC.

This led me to some thoughts on the SC bypass valve. The BPV is designed as a necessary part of a SC engine. You do not want the engine to be boosted from idle, as the engine will spool very poorly before producing enough torque for taking off. So I wonder a BPV with a weaker spring effect on everyday drivability, beside fuel economy for cruising.

There is also one less recognized feel of a NA engine pull characteristic. It is the torque and HP curve. Charged induction engines have much flatter torque curve than NA counterparts. NA engine's give you the increasing pull as the RPM builds owing to the short coming that is the nature of being atmospheric. The torque and HP curve has a upward slope until the torque drops while charged engine looks more like a plateau.

 

Madness used to a long time ago, they, like Lohen, toped out at about 150hp and consisted of they same list of parts; which is essentially the power output that I am looking for. Madness, as they are here in my hometown and someone who has worked on my car before, said that 150hp was the maximum that the Midlands/Rover transmission could handle and still be reliable. Jan was also convinced that a Getrag 5 speed would be the very minimum needed to handle more than the 115hp that was originally quoted by MINI for the R50. I personally don't like George
at Madness, though I am sure his products are great- he and I just don't see eye to eye on a repair that he did on my car.


I will not talk publicly about it any further than this; I may not even talk privately about it but he will NOT get any more of my money. The end.


In the video it is clear that Jan has worked whatever witchcraft he has on that Cooper. The claimed 158hp, after my brief talk on the phone with Jan, is believable.


I like what Lohen is offering but I have a good high-flow intake and a good exhaust. If was to go with the Lohen, I would need is the head work and cam, injectors and the tune - would make it a little bit cheaper - however, I still would need a new transmission.

 

I'm sure you could find a good 1st Gen 6-speed laying around now that it is over 10 years old... Probably plenty of them in junkyards with worn out superchargers and that folks didn't want to spend the money to replace..

 

I have been looking... but not all that hard at this point. My old house (circa 1925) is in need of a few things and traveling is taking the front burner at this time. I am still doing the research on what I will need to do and how to do it. I may also may enroll in a class or two on auto mechanics as what I am embarking on far exceeds my skill and knowledge base - building a minor race-type engine. Though I have a coworker that is/was an ASE mechanic. So, this is a LONG TERM project that is just in the initial stages of research. I do like that the engine seems to have the minimum number of moving parts to make it work; which is nice. Any and all input is greatly appreciated.
I am trying not to buy parts that will just sit around in my basement for a while... which is harder than you might think.

 

I have been dreaming for a 100 HP per litre NA car ever since high school. It is easier to achieve it if you don't care about daily drivability. The recipe is more the less the same since early automotive. Improve flow and crank up the RPM. Increase the compression if you can find high octane fuel. I have always wanted to try porting and polishing the cylinder head. AL head should be very easy if you have some woodworking experience and some common sense so not to go overboard with the grinder. For intake mirror smooth is not always a good thing and very much depends on the fuel system and cylinder head design.

The problem with building your own high performance engine is not so much about skills but not having access to machining equipment. Even as simple as doing a proper cylinder head rebuild you will need valve grinding equipment. Hand lapping with lapping compound ain't going to cut it (pun intended). I had a whale of a time during high school rebuilding the DOHC head of my Fiat 124 Sport Coupe. My Italian friend's father was very wealthy real estate developer (and I always wonder the potential mafia connection). Because of him I was allowed to use the valve seat grinding equipment at Tony's Garage who specialize in Alfa's. It is funny to see the Italian mechanics watch us with disapproving stares, but they were not going to say no to my friend. For the record, I was the one doing all the work.

While I want to think if you take an auto mechanics course you may gain access to some equipment. I am not too hopeful as most schools are very lame of what the have for hands on. Also tools and equipment used by every one bound to be crap as they have been badly abused - even simple hand tools.

Fast forward to present I finally have the means to buy a Porsche 911 that is one car that I always wanted. I wanted a NA engine and a manual gearbox and I found out about the 911R which I thought would be perfect purist driver's car. I only to found out it is unobtainium as only people who owns 1 million dollar Porsches get the first dip on the waiting list. As I came down to earth in my dream I settled on a GT4. It has 385 HP out of a 3.8 litre engine. I could have a turbocharged (4 cylinder) current Cayman with very comparable performance, albeit lower peak HP, for 2/3 the cost.

It is not easy to build a 100HP / litre engine that is trackable on public road. It is much easier to build a high strung car if you don't need to worry about daily drivability and reliability. I would still like to do porting (including port matching) of a cylinder head like the one on the Mini, as it is affordable and would be great fun. You can also work with a local engine machine shop if the objective is more about the learning journey than simple cost.

 

My first car was a 1981 Subaru GL. It came with a second transmission that was all in parts. It was missing a few but I was able to get it back together (minus the parts it was missing). Obviously it did not work but it was fun putting the puzzle back together. What it really was, was a housing and set of gears and (some) bearings for the transmission that was in the car.
Jan was very agreeable to the 160hp number and said that it would consist of the one of his heads/valves/cam, con rods, R53 crank (and all associated nuts, bolts, pins and bearings), 440 injectors, header/high flow cat and the custom pistons. All of which he had on his shelf and could ship to me if I bought them. He did say that the block would need to be bored out .5mm for the pistons and a remote Jan tune would easily net the 160hp which he said that anyone could do with out any problems. Granted that is A LOT of work and A LOT of parts and A LOT of money and A LOT of time. But if you look at it from a very narrow point of view... nearly all are just bolt on parts! He said that if I bought the cam and head he would install the cam for free. I am sure that last part would be contingent on purchase of the other bits though.

 

I thought Tony specializes in Fiats

 

That was one popular joke in North America, and my fried teased me with it. The myth of Fiats being troublesome is very overblown. Often the biggest cause of this reputation is mechanics here are poorly trained and dislike working on much more advanced European cars at the time. Remember this was the era of Pinto and Vega. Their biggest problem is the thin light weight unibody rust very easily in the North East where road salt is used. Mine got eaten after a few winters but was one of the best and most fun cars I'd ever owned.

Strangely the Sport Coupe is not widely known and there are way more Spyders. To me it was the closest coupe to Alfa GTV 1750. I had driven it briefly and found that the gearbox quite notchy. The Fiat on the other hand has smoother shifts.

We used to scour the classified in the newspaper for sports cars we could afford with our tiny budget. One day I came upon this Fiat with only 32k miles on it for a price too good to be true. I immediately contacted the seller, and the location is respectable residence. Everything was all original and very clean. The reason for the low price is there are two problems. The left front fender had a minor fender bender, and the 3rd gear will not stay in.

Up to this point, I had never tackle a gearbox before, let alone an advance Italian 5 speed. I took the chance hoping it would be something I can fix without great expense. I bought the car home and immediately remove and investigate the 5 speed gearbox. It is a beautiful gearbox with beautiful aluminum casing full of reinforcing gussets. American cars of the time use mostly cast iron case. That was the first time I learnt how manual transmissions function. It turned out the gearbox was in like new shape. The only thing that is wrong with it was a shift fork had popped out, likely due to someone with heavy hand not shifting properly. After I reassembled it the transmission never had any problem until I eventually sold the car.

Of course the fender was fixed in no time flat. Body work was very natural for me.

Here is a page on Wiki about the car.

Fiat 124 Sport Coupe is very advanced for the time and it has many high end bits. I had the series 2 which has a more appropriate metal instrument faceplate instead of fake wood grain. I like the body design for its devoid of character creases. Its expansive greenhouse cabin has very slim pillars so the visibility all around is excellent. It has a bit of BMW 633CSI look to it.

This car never once failed me during my ownership. The only major thing I did to it was rebuilt the cylinder head when the valve stem seals hardened and cause some blue smoke out of the exhaust. I had the most driving fun delivering pizzas. The car is pure fun to drive even in all stock form and has a very willing to rev engine.

mine was like this one except in yellow



dash board is gorgeous


A list of some of the technical high lights:

• Dual wishbone front suspension
• Panhard rod rear axle suspension (very similar to the Alfa GTV)
• 5 speed gearbox
• 4 wheel disc brakes with parking brake mechanism without the need of tiny drums
• DOHC engine that is the first to use tooth timing belt instead of chain
• Hemispheric combustion chambers and high compression domed pistons