Ever since i got this car I've wanted to do something big with it but at the time the money, garage space, knowhow etc. was just not there. That being said the only thing I'm actually sure about is the space to do the work in but the timing has never been better than it is right now so I'm going to give it a shot. 😁

I'm starting with a 2003 Velvet Red R50 Slicktop which has been my daily driver for the nearly 8 years I've own the car. My goal with this swap is not to make the world most power Mini but instead to learn what it takes to K Swap a mini and make this swap as easy as possible for anyone out there that wants to unlock the next step for our MINIs as I see the OEM engine as being a solid powerplant but only up to a point. I plan on designing a mount kit and providing as much information as I can about fitment, wiring, drive train, retaining heat and A/C and pretty much everything else I run into with this swap. My end vision for this MINI is an OEM+ look just with a K24 engine. Making this the foundation will mean the sky is the limit for anyone who does this swap.

This is what I'll be working with.

And this is the transplant heart. JDM K24a3. I believe from a JDM accord.

Anyway, I'll be posting updates as often as I can.

 

"VTEC swaps" are very common with classic Minis (pre-2000 model year). Despite the stark differences between those cars and ours, there might be some useful info if you research it.
Keep us posted on your progress, it's an interesting project.

 

I have seen some of those, most notably the Mighty Car Mods B16 Mini. Love those builds. This will be following the same sort of idea as the classic minis with Honda engines in them. More Reliable, More power, Aftermarket support, on and on. I will keep you updated sir. Cheers 😁

 

Good luck! There have been a few guys that posted on these forums that did similar motor swaps. I think they modified the frame rails to get the motor to physically fit! Good luck and post lots of pics.

 

Thanks, man. I'm gonna need it. 😂 Cutting the frame rail isnt giving me too much panic. If anything it's the wiring and software side that will be a struggle for me. You wouldn't happen to know about ECU tuning would you???

 

This might be helpful:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-into-r53.html

 

Kr4nG's build was the build that initially got me thinking of my own build. Truly groundbreaking and showed us what was possible with our cars. He goes into a lot of detail about subframe clearance and the mounts involved so I'll definitely be referring back to his thread often throughout my own. Thanks for the recommendation. I think I'll PM him and ask about some of the details. Cheers, man.

 

I got this car when I was about 17 and at the time 2 of my friends and I all had MINIS.

Simpler times back then. We'd always go to this one grocery store in our small town and get kombucha and sushi or whatever we were snacking on.😂

Fast forward to today, one friend sold his R50 due to costly repairs and I can't really blame him. His water pump failed one time, burnt a vlave another time. (so it goes with the W10/W11 engines) This isn't a rare story if you know about these cars. The owners love them, say they are the best car there ever driven but after 2 or 3 expensive repairs back to back they ultimately decide that they can't justify keeping it long-term. With this build I'm trying to get my friend back into a MINI by replacing the weakest part about these cars. The engine.

Right now I'm working on getting a second car to use as my daily while I do surgery on my MINI. In the meantime the plan to get the K24 to my garage this weekend, get it on a stand, start pulling the engine apart just enough to check the health of it, replace necessary seals and fix anything that needs attention. It has around 50k miles so I'm not expecting it to be too beat up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I work at a Honda dealership in the parts department so hopeful I'll be able to answer parts questions by using the resources I have here and clarify anything for someone else that is doing their own K24 swap.

*999 belts on the wall*

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I picked up some seals I know I will be replacing. I'll also be providing part numbers and info along the way that pertain to this specific engine I'm swapping.

Valve cover gasket - 12341-RTA-000
Spool Valve gasket - 15815-RAA-A02
Front V-TEC screen - 15845-RAA-A01
Timing cover o-ring - 91302-PNA-004
Rear main seal - 91214-RNB-A01
Front main seal - 91212-PNC-004
OEM Honda Oil filter - 15400-PLM-A02

With this engine only having 50k miles on it my plan is to inspect the timing components for any abnormal wear but if nothing looks too worn I don't plan on replacing the timing chain or gears. I've seen many of these engines run on the stock timing chain for 200K if well maintained. One big point to look for if you do this swap yourself is if your K24 comes from the wreakers with an OEM Honda oil filter. If it does (as mine did) its more likely the previous owner took care of the engine. Cheap aftermarket filters tend to let more particulate through and the timing chain and tensioner get very upset about it which means big money in repairs.😭

 

Very exciting! I'm a huge MINI fan, but my roots are all Honda; have had a S2000 since 2006 and built an EG hatch back in the 2010's, so seeing the blue filter and honda baggies made me do a double take. I know more about F20/22C1 motors and B series, so the K24a: is that a motor out of a TSX? Can you rev out the motor like its smaller displacement kin?

 

I got the engine to my house and got it on a stand. Time to start the work.

I'll be labeling all the sensors on the old wiring harness as I take it off for reference when matching up the new harness I will be getting. Just to make life a little easier.

Good thing I decided to investigate a little. Found a bunch of what looks like crushed up seashells just sitting in the intake manifold. No good.

The top end looks pretty good. Nice and shiny.

So does the timing chain, guides and tensioner. Everything looks normal so I'm not worried about replacing any of this for now. No metal or any peices of any kind in the oil or the oil pan. Just need to clean it up and reseal it all.

Got more parts to install as everything goes back together.

Tea time.

Spark plugs - 9807B-5615W
Spark plug tube seals - 12342-PCX-004
Intake manifold gasket - 17115-RAA-A01
T/stat housing gasket - 19322-PNA-003
The heater pipe that came with the engine was crushed during shipping
Heater pipe - 19510-RAA-A00
Coolant bypass hose - 19504-RAA-A00
VTC Solenoid o-ring - 15832-RAA-A01
Throttle body gasket - 16176-RAA-A01

All these part numbers are OEM replacements for my specific engine.

Also received my ECU so more updates on that coming soon.

 

I did some more research and I have reason to believe my engine here is a JDM K24a3 from an 03 -07ish Accord. I believe a TSX motor will have a high compression full VTEC head and makes about 205hp in it's stock form. Mine unfortunately does not have full VTEC but I think it does have the same compression ratio at 10.5 : 1. Mine definitely won't rev as high as some of the B series screamers in it's stock form but with some mods (types-s oil pump and such) I should get it to rev pretty good. More than the minis W10 for sure.

Does anyone out there know if this RBB cam gear indicates anything? I know a TSX has an RBB 3-lobe head but mine definitely doesn't have those cams. Just looking to verify if this is a K24a3. Thanks

 

I've opted for an ECU from K-tuner. I kept going back and forth between Hondata or using work arounds to make a stock ECU work but then I found K-tuner it fit the bill perfectly.

My biggest concern with the electronics side of this swap was getting around the stock Honda immobilizer requirements and making sure there are no check engine codes from things that may have been lost during the swap. (Emissions, evap, stuff like that). Hondata would have been a great choice but at the time of this build they are backordered and would also push me into the 1k price tag range. This K-tuner has all the features I'm looking for, came pre-installed in a RAD ECU shell and will be able to adapt to the build if down the line of want to boost it for example. 😁 *Wink, wink*

The engine itself is now freshly sealed up with new high temp Hondabond. We're waiting on a heater hose pipe that was crushed in shipping but once that shows up I can put the engine back together.

Bye for now.

 

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I went with a new K Series tucked engine harness from Jackspania racing. Looks to be pretty nice quality but I did run into one issue. The Crankshaft position sensor didn't want to plug in correctly and upon further research, there are two main types of K Series CPS's. One for K24s and one for K20s.


K24 plug on the left, K20 plug on the right that came with jackspania harness. The locating slides on the sides of the connector are different. K20 being right in the middle and K24 being lower set.

Not a huge setback but with the connection being different it needed to be fixed and if any of you run into this issue hopefully this will help. Before you start be sure to note which order the wires are in on the harness you are putting on the car. In my case the jackspania harness wires aren't the same color as the Honda harness wires.



You'll have to first remove the connector lock. Just use a pick and pull out with it. Should come off easily enough.

Then use something to unclip each pin from the connector. I have an eye glass screwdriver set and it made quick work of it.



You will have to depin the connector to replace it with the correct one for your engines CPS. Also the wire arrangement isn't the same from K20 to K24.

Once you have the wires rearranged and back into the connector. Just put the pin lock back in.




Once it's all back together it clips in like it should. Not too big of a fuss but something to look out for.

For more info on this I'll post the link from Hybrid Racing that I used to put the K24 plug onto the engine harness. I just used the old CPS connector from the harness that came with the engine.

Not sure if it was a mistake I made when ordering or not but regardless it was a problem I ran into. Cheers.

Hybrid Racing link
https://www.hybrid-racing.com/blogs/...4-engine-swaps

 

I've been away a little while doing projects around the house but in the meantime parts have been stacking up.

Transmission is here!! 5 speed manual from a 2004 JDM accord. No LSD in this one. (I know, no fun.) But the price was right and with 65K miles on it I felt like this was a solid way to go. I can always upgrade parts in the future.


Picked up a Yonaka dual core radiator and fan assembly. Hopefully I can find some generic rad hoses that will fit well enough. I will also need to wire up the fan control to a coolant temp sensor. The work keeps piling up.

I also got some base model 06 RSX axles from Yonaka as well. The lengths and axle splines should work fine but I'm unsure about the ABS ring on the hub side of the axles. I'll find out if they'll be a problem once I fit them to the MINIs hubs. Crossing my fingers.🤞

Clutch and flywheel are here as well. At this point all the parts that are needed to fit the engine and transmission in the engine bay are here. Just working on getting a spot in my garage to pull the MINI in and rip it's heart out. Surgery will commence soon.

Hope everyone is well.
More updates soon.

Bye for now.

 

Ill be following your build. Im excited for you. Remember Im here if you have any questions. Just remember to have fun doing this and dont turn back. It will be all worth it.

 

Thanks, man. With your build, was using pre existing mounts from two different K swap kits the easiest solution to the engine mounting problem? I was thinking about making custom mounts and adapting them to the existing Mini mounting locations. Since the K24 is lighter than the W10 it should work in theory. Do you have any tips or advice on this? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks dude.

 

If you have a aluminum welder you can just buy the 06-11 civic si aftermarket mounts. That has an aluminum trans mount that can be welded to the Mini trans mount. The other side is steel so you can just cut it like I did and weld it up. The location of the mounts are close but not in the same spots. You have to worry about axle lengths first then your mounts. You can get rsx base axles, install them, and then make the mounts and weld them. Also watch out which center shaft you use. The RSX/civic si are different lengths than the accord/tsx stuff. Or you can get RPT creation mount kit to save a lot of time. But not sure on his stock so you might be waiting for a while. Also you need to make room between the rails of the mini. Cutting the rails and patching them in later after the motor is in position. No need to overthink it now. Just start the job and it will all work out. Get to cutting!

 

I did some major surgery today since I finally have some time to devote to this project.

Engine oil, transmission fluid and coolant have been drained. This is probably the 100th time I've had this mini in service mode. This thing likes to get cozy in the garage and doesn't want to leave😂

Also found out that the fuel supply line is on the opposite side as the one on the K24. I'm not sure how I'll solve this but I'm up for the challenge.

I'm planning on using the factory engine mount location on the passenger side frame rail and was worried about damaging it since I wasn't sure the OEM mount and rail could hold the weight of the K24 but I looked inside the rail and there is a support collar directly underneath the mount on the passenger side so it should be ready to go. If I remember correctly the bolt from the mount should go all the way through this rail and fastens on the bottom on the rail. I'll be replacing the engine mount with a vibra-technics mount since this OEM one is probably as old as the car. I'm amazed it's lasted this long

Engine harness is OUT. I will need to keep some of this harness since I will be stripping it down and splicing it into a hybrid racing patch harness. FUN FUN FUN.

At this point I'm just waiting to get the A/C evac'd before I can remove the engine. Fluids have been drained, axles gone, shift cables detached, heater hoses severed, clutch line disconnected, wiring removed, garage floor dirty, hopes high, mind inspired. 😃 I'm ready to get this show on the road and get this mini a new lease on life. More very soon.

 

Sup man. Awesome thread. I'm posting mainly to follow. I had a silk green 2003 R50 I originally bought with 82k on it and ran it up to 250k. It was still going strong and had a lot of upgrades for a dd (also a slick top). I really wanted to K-swap it but with no free time and WAY too many other projects I sold it and picked up a fairly clean bult R53. I love the blower noises and its fun at over 200 hp. But at the back of my mind I still wish I'd gone the K-swap route.
Good luck brother! Don't give up and keep this thread alive!!

 

Thanks for replying JerBear. I've followed your R50 build back in the day and it inspired me to do a lot of initial work on my own car being a slick top R50 as well. I hope I can make this build look easy enough to do themselves for anyone suffering from unreliable engine issues. With an R53 it's a little more worth it to put up with engine gremlins to keeping the supercharged W11 but with the r50 I couldn't justify putting up with low power, and unreliability. I'm no mechanic wizard, but I hope at least to be entertaining. Thanks for the comment.

 

Big day. The engine is out! I picked up an ATV jack and wrapped a wratchet strap around the head on the engine so it wouldn't tip over on me.

Removed the dog bone mount in the rear to get the Jack to sit flat against the oil pan. Once that was gone, it was as easy as supporting the engine from the bottom with the jack as you remove the engine and transmission mounts. Easiest part of the job so far, besides jacking the car up. 😁


The old heart has been removed. It's been a long time coming and it feels good to finally be moving along on this project. Reminds me a lot of the times working on this car with my dad. Either having to change the clutch, or axles or whatever happened to be broken at the time. (It was always something)

Tear down is the easiest part. I have to keep telling myself this so I don't expect the rest of the work to go this smoothly. That being said it's almost like the car wants me to give it a transplant. Like it somehow knows what is waiting for it. While it's in it's coma it's dreaming of K noises and cherry blossoms. *Cough*
UHHH anyway....

Cleaning time. For over 21 years the W10 has coated the subframe and adjacent parts in a thick, black, sludge that could have only come from thousands of oil leaks. I could opt to not clean any of this and just slap the K24 in there but that feels very wrong.

More to come soon.

 

I just stumbled upon this thread - I can't love it any more.
I'm a MINI guy (R52 S and a new-to-me F54 JCW), but also a Honda guy (the F54 is replacing a '17 Civic Sport hatch that I loved but was totalled by an inattentive driver), and an Acura guy - my wife drives a '13 TSX that happens to have one of the best K24 in it, other than hers being an automatic - but it's great for a daily driver, even that automatic isn't bad. Every time I drive her car, I appreciate the effortlessness that it pulls that not-light car, and the smoothness is fantastic. It has to have counterbalancing, it's just such a great motor, not just a powerful one.

I can't wait to see a K24 fit in your car.
And I totally agree with the clean-up sentiment - that Honda/Acura motor is going to be clean and leak free, and I'm sure it'll be worth showing it off once you get it in there, this will be rightly a thing of pride - I'd clean that 2.4 up, I'd make the whole thing look nice. It's amazing how a little cleanliness can turn a hood pop into a "Wow!" moment, even if the engine is nothing special. And this will be special.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have a similar background. My dad has loved Honda's for a long time and has been modding them for as long as I can remember. Mostly on D, B, F and H series Honda engines but seeing him work on those cars and learning to drive manual on our 93 civic coupe sparked the fire in me for the small Japanese wonders. 13 TSX is a great car. I've always wanted the Sportwagon version of it. Maybe one day. I hope the build has been entertaining so far. Fuel rail, shift box, clutch lines are on the way. More to come.

 

Can't wait to see it. Subscribed.
And can't believe you had a '93...
Here's my '95 that I had for almost 20 years - Jackson Racing supercharger, Koni adjustable shocks, Neuspeed springs and swaybars and braces, and I used to be a pro audio installer/fabricator so an endless rotation of systems. Used to double duty as a demo car for sound quality customers. No mechanic but me ever touched this car - with one exception of needing transmission work way back in the early 00s.
The one shot even has my '17 parked in front of it:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ycP2SWV7sALcWzXx5

Anyway - back to YOUR thread, this is killer.