1993 Cooper Rebuild & Turbo Conversion
Turbo Mini Forums

Around this time last year I bought a 1993 SPI Cooper.

The plan was to run it for a year or two then pull it off the road for a full restoration and rebuild the engine.

However! The car proved to be very unreliable and in much worse shape than first thought (aren't they always?).

So I started my full restoration earlier than planned. My aim is to be back on the road for Spring 2009!

I started this project earlier in the year. Progress was initially very slow but things are picking up now.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Well these are my plans for the car, subject to changes.

Strip down.

Replace any goosed panels, chop out and replace rot etc.
Fit turbo bulkhead box.
Full in & out respray.
Very comprehensive rust protection scheme!
All components to be inspected & reconditioned or replaced.

Exterior
----------
Tartan Red with Black Roof
MPI roof Aeriel
Black 12"Minilites with Yoko A048R's
Group 2 Arches
Tex Wing Mirrors
Body Colour Rear Number Plate Light
New Cooper Grille & Surrounds
New Genuine Bumpers
New Door & Boot Handle Set
All new seals (door, boot etc)
All new chrome work
Halogen Headlights
Clear Indicator Lenses & Side Repeaters
Clear Rear Lenses (fog light moved into o/s reverse lamp)
Winged bonnet & boot badge with black Turbo insert
Welded up LHD wiper holes
New wiper arms & washer jets

Interior
---------
1995 Cooper big bolster front seats with matching rears and door cards
Brushed Alloy door furniture
Moto Lita John Cooper signed leather steering wheel
John Cooper alloy gear knob
Steering column lowering bracket
Burr walnut dash with 6 aux gauge's
Magnolia Clocks
TIM Boost, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp, Water Temp & Voltage Gauge
AEM AFR Gauge
New Headlining
Black carpet set

Running Gear
----------------
Fully Rebuilt MG Metro Turbo Bottom End
Force Racing Modified Crank
Minispares Centre Main Strap
Force Racing Lightened,balanced and polished conrod set
Accralite 73.5mm 18cc forged pistons
Avonbar Phase 2 Turbo Cam
Swiftune Alloy Duplex Timing Gear
Ported water jacket
BENROSS Hi-Boost Cylinder Head 11-Stud
ARP Head Studs & Rod Bolts
Metro Turbo Challenge straight cut gearbox
Quaife ATB diff with 2.95FD
1:1 SC Drops with Timken Idler
Nic Stainless Plenum
Group A Dump Valve
Custom Alloy Front Mount Intercooler
Megajolt Ignition
BENROSS Exhaust Manifold
Garrett GT2056 Turbo
Manual Boost Controller
Minispares Billet Pre-Verto Flywheel
Double Grey Diaphragm & Rally Plate
Playmini 2" Stainless Exhaust
Playmini 3" Stainless Back Box
2 Core Radiator
Aux fan on inner wing connected via thermostatic switch
Vented Metro 4 pots
Remove servo in favour or additional space under bonnet
New/Poly bushes all round
Gas adjustable shocks
Adjusta-rides/Hi-Lo's
Adjustable Tie bars & Bottom Arms
Adjustable Rear Camber/Castor Brackets

I'm open to comments suggestions from anyone!

Edited by John on 16th Nov, 2009.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

I have taken the car to my cousins for him to do the body work.

My cousin has cut a couple of bits out to determine the extent of the rot on the front end.

So far we have found need for the following

Replacement Scuttle
Scuttle Closing Panels
Wings
Front Panel
Rear Valence
Rear Valence Closing Panels
Boot Corner Repairs
New Drivers Door
New Bonnet
Bulkhead Box

Sills are tip top so thats one bonus.

It is a good job I am having the bulkhead box fitted as there is a great big rusty hole in the bulkhead!

No doubt we will find some more tin worm as time goes on but I'm sure it will all be sorted.

While my cousin is sorting the bodywork out it is my job to tidy up all the components I have removed and get everything ready for the rebuild.

I have managed to source a good second hand rear subframe for £60 as mine was fubared, so thats one job down.

Hopefully I will be tearing up the streets with turbo power by my target date!

I have asked my cousin to take pictures as he goes along with the bodywork and I will do the same with the rest of the components.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

good luck mate. i envy you for being able to shove all of the bodywork over to someone else. mines really kicking me in the head at the moment, non friggin stop and always progresses slower than planned!

To be perfectly honest I don't have the skills to do the bodywork. On a positive note my cousin is a veteran mini restorer.

He has just finished his 75 Sandglow 1000 and it looks great. I only hope mine is as good when finished.

Another good thing is parts aren't a problem as he can nip to minimod which is less than 2 minutes from his house :cool:

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

i don't think i have ever seen rust on the bulkhead before, seems unusual.

133.5 bhp 123 lb torque 116mph @6640rpm 9.5psi
Shakespear RWYB 14.995 91.83mph

The car had a lot of water leaks at some point in it's life and it probably didn't help that it lived on a farm. I scraped about 10kgs of shit from the underside!

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

I had an L reg spi and was in pretty much the same nic when we first got it, good luck with the build

"Turbo's make torque, and torque makes fun"

"did you know you can toast potato waffles?"

I don't doubt that this build will have it's fair share of problems. But I am so looking forward to having a mini of my own back on the road.

However once this car is complete I have to get started on my Mum's Jet Black (used to be mine).

Same job complete teardown and rebuild.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Scuttle is on! (pics to follow)

Managed to get myself some wheels and tyres at the weekend from a forum member. (thanks dn89mini)

So slight change in specs now going to be running Black Rover Minilites with BRAND NEW Yokohama A048R's for the bargain price for £150!!

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

I would say one thing. Save yourself the headache and get an ally rad.

Edited by Mr Joshua on 10th Nov, 2008.

Own the day

Anymore views on this? I had thought about a Radtec ally rad but heard mixed things.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Cool. You may know his car's.

He has a 72 Cooper Lookalike in Blue with OEW White Roof and 10's on it and a 75 Sandglow Mini 1000.

The red minivan what Trevor at minimod has used to be my cousins too.

Would you be willing to pop round one day to offer some advice on fitting/placement of bulkhead box Tom? Really don't want to bugger it up.

Edited by John on 8th Dec, 2008.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Spoke to my cousin yesterday!

He has chopped the front end off, cut the bulkhead to fit the box and tacked it into place. Should be seam welding it up today.

He has got all the replacement panels for the front end now. Just waiting on me taking a front subframe over to ensure the front panel lines up correctly before he welds it into place.

Pic's hopefully to follow this weekend 8-)

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

i would be suspect of perfect condition sills with the rest of it like that, might be oversills!
I have heard there were rustproofing or painting issues at the factory when they made the injection cars, lack of paint on internal surfaces or something?
My 1982 maifair is mont compared to that lol.

The sills were replaced about a year before i bought the car.
Old ones chopped out and new replacements welded in place.
I did ask the previous owner when I bought the car if they were oversills.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Hi john, i must have been browsing with my eyes closed this is the first time i have seen this thread :) i cannot beleive how much rust is/was on the front of your mini, i know the later minis seem to rust more but also like the roof box, extra stoorage never goes a miss

what is it like at minimod? is it just like your average auto parts shop? its not that far from me tbh maybe worth a trip

when you looking to have it finnished for?

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

Yeah it was very rusty. Went well enough though with that engine you bought off me.

Mini Mod is a good place. Trevor has forgotton more about mini's than most people know. His restorations although not cheap are second to none.

He has a massive stock of genuine parts too. And some GOOD non genuine parts. He doesn't sell crap.

Prices can be a little high. But you definately get what you pay for.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Called into my cousins with a memory stick to collect some pictures. The bonnet currently fitted may not be staying on it forever. My cousin only used it as the new one I have isnt quite as good fit as it could be being a pattern panel.

So I'm on the lookout for a good condition genuine bonnet.

Once he has finished stitching on the last new a-panel he is moving his attention to the back end where it needs a full valence and possibly a boot corner repair panel.















Any comments?

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Thought I would update with the new engine spec's.

Still got to take it out of the car I bought from Richie.

1275 MG Metro Turbo Engine,
Deglazed & Rehoned,
Crank Reground & Polished,
New Shells & Thrusts,
Ring Gaps Checked & Rebuilt,
Ported Water Jacket,
Oil Galleries Replaced With 1/4 BSP Removable Plugs,
Avonbar Phase 2 Turbo Cam,
Duplex Timing Gear,
ARP Head Studs & Rod Bolts,
11 Stud Conversion,
BENROSS fully worked cylinder head with 28cc chambers,
Ported Turbo Manifolds & Elbow,
Fully rebuilt box with Metro Turbo Challenge straight cut gearset,
Evolution X-pin diff,
Straight Cut 1:1 Drops,
Billet stainless steel pre-verto flywheel,
Double grey diaphragm,
New clutch plate,
2WD Cosworth Intercooler,
Megajolt,

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

Good work, It looks like you just got the shell before it got really bad / a pain in the arse to repair/:)

It's been there already. The previous owner had to replace both the inner and outer sills on both sides before I got the car!

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.

No real progress so far this year but on the plus side I have my new gauges.



TIM Electronic Oil Temp
TIM 1 Bar Boost
TIM Electronic Oil Pressure

Should do the job.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing half of.