MPI Front Subframe Swap!!!
Turbo Mini Forums

Hi all,

Ill be needing to change my front subframe soon for the MOT I got a 1989 mini city with a turbo engine fitted. My friend is selling a mpi subframe with the arms and front mounted radiator off a 1998 mini i think. Will The subframe be a straight swap? and will it alow me to use the front mounted rad or will i have to modify the front panel to fit and use a diff alternator to fit the front mounted radiator. What about clearing the distributor?.

Also what engine mounts and bushes do you recommend?

Advise much appreciated Chris

Change the front frame for MOT????!!!!!???

Never ever had to do that ... usually covered in so much oil they never rust. I have one from the original 1974 car in my turbo mini .... asuming it hasn't been nicked from storage, been 4 years since I last looked at her!!!

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

Hi,
The subby should be a straight swap. The MPi front panel is alot different though. You will need a lot of other parts too.. All the water hoses and stat housing are different and I doubt you'll get the dizzy or the oil filter in there.
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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Yes the subframe has rusted quite badly, and it has failed on the mot.

How much different can the front panel be apart from the mountings of the radiator?

Has anyone done this conversion? I thought with the radiator up front it would increase the cooling. And I was told that the mpi subframe mounts the engine more forward given space for the turbo for cooling?

In order to get a front mounted rad in the MPi's they changed the block, alternator, oil system, front panel, no dizzy, quite a lot of stuff. Just changing the subframe won't allow you to fit the front rad.

Ok cheers, Thats that out the pan then.

Does the Mpi subframe mount the engine more forward though? I thought this would be a benifit otherwise Ill just stick with the standard one for my car.

Hi,
Injection subframes do move the engine 1/2 inch forward. Really you want more room at the front for the intercooler, but 1/2 an inch isn't really going to make a lot of difference....
Cheers,
Gavin :)
If you want pics of the MPi front panel drop me a PM.

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Auto frames also have the engine mount holes forward of the original position (could be wrong but I think the auto and injection frames are identical).

Front mounted rad can be made to fit but as Tom says it is more than just simply swapping the frame.

Every day is a school day ...........

How fast and how expensive ...... the same question...

cheers guys

im pretty sure auto subbys are different than all manual ones including injection ones. you can use an auto subby in a manual with the use of a engine mount spacer kit i think. not 100%.

no longer a series, but still 1.3 turbo.

MiniTurboBadBoy

It is possible however like tom says you need to change a few parts and relocate the the rad mounts further to the right as you look at the car so the rad fits very close to the inner wing. Modify your bottom hose so that instead of going into the side rad it extends along the side of the inner wing and into the MPI rad.

You will then need to change/modify the alternator/mounts small dihatsu one will just and I mean just do it, and make up a new hose for the thermostat housing or better still replace it.

In doing the above the dizzy will just be cleared.

However as you have moved the rad mounts is there really any point in using the mpi subframe?

Please bear in mind that this is all from memory of a car i saw at mitp a few years ago. And this is what the owner told me, so it is not 1st hand information.

Ok thanks for the advise I was only going to use an injection subframe because one is being solt locally.

So I thought that i could take advantage of the front mounted radiator. Its to much hassle so I am going to stick to a standard one. What is the difference between wet/dry subframe?

Also does anyone sell Homemade brackets for the downpipe to bolt to engine? (keeps losing and blowing)

Hi,
I don't know about the wet subframe, but I'd imagine it's a twin bolt mounting at the top.
If your downpipe keeps blowing and your not using the original metro downpipe you need your clamp modding as the replacement downpipes are a bigger diameter and the calmp won't sit properly.
Benross could well be the man for this.....
Cheers,
Gavin :)

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Ive modified the clamp to fit when the engine was out. Its the bracket that goes around the bottom of the downpipe and bolts to the gearbox to hold it steady?