Project Out Of Control
Turbo Mini Forums

Anyone else in the same situation as me?

I started out by saying I was going to restore my SPI Cooper and rebuild the engine with a bit more power but stick to the SPI setup proably around the 80-90bhp level.

Then I thought why not lob a turbo engine in there so I bought a metro turbo for its engine etc. Plan was to perform a quick refresh on the engine and run about 100bhp.

Then I thought of more power by means of an intercooler and increased boost.

Then I think why not do it right. So i get a sc/box & drops and start considering modified heads, manifolds, megajolt etc

Then I go silly and buy Richies project for the engine and box etc which should be an absolute flier at 12psi

Now I find that I am still thinking about more power and if the bottom end will take 15psi+

I suppose I have only bought a 1bar boost gauge so will have to stop at 15psi for now.

I dread to think how much I have been spending!

I suppose I should learn to walk before I run. Quickest mini I have ever driven before had a Stage 3 Headed 1275 MG Metro Engine on 10's. Jumping striaght in a 150bhp turbo may not be my best idea.

I'm trying to resist the urge to go 1380 turbo from the get go!

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

sounds familiar..

i bought my car to teach myself basic mechanics.. get it back on the road and probably sell it on.. then i found TM, and had the bright idea that a turbo was the way to go.

Now i have a track day car that will be running stupid psi.. and no doubt rebuilding the engine on a regular basis.

Only i have never driven a mini (for any length of time)

so 150bhp should be fun in a car this small.. im due to get the mot in the next weeks after 3 years of fecking about with it.

I bought mine and set myself a budget of about £1000. just wanted a standard looking mini with a 1275 lump...wanted to keep things simple! LMAO

I always said "the good thing about a mini is they are easy to work on" its far from that now!

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1/4mile in 13.2sec @ 111 terminal on 15psi

I'm exactly the same. My initial engine plan was a 998 with a 12G295, SW5-07 and standard bore. Then it turned into an overbore 1098 with a turbo, a Benross head, MJ and almost everything replaced. I still haven't stopped though because I have decided to go front mounted rad and striaght cut gearbox before it goes in

On 12th Nov, 2009 Paul S said:

I think Gary OS has taken over my role as the forum smart arse

well you have been in my motor john and i am sure you was well impress to say the least !............. this will have swayed you train of thought .....lol

i was going to rebuild my shell, rebuild a big bore engine upto about 100 bhp and have a good looking solid mini for mitp 50 and a couple of years but....i have a grands worth of brakes and suspension, roll cage engine 500quids worth of turbo bits and a shell that 5 months in and looks like i have not started, im finding it hard to just put it back together :(, im just telling my self if its worth doing its worth doing right the first time...(well second actually, hence my reasoning lol)

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett

I'm the same too. was going to be a basic rebuild and refresh, then bought a turbo, then decided to do it all properly and start from the top. I'm trying to stop myself thinking about coilovers and a beam axle at the moment but i really really want them lol

I was going to built a basic simple supercharged setup retaining drivability but with a bit of power.

What I ended up doing was buying a Mini with a turbo engine already in and then ripping it apart and going mad.

I baught mine to learn to drive, then got sidetracked as i striped exterior to paint, then engine out then rear subframe off then front, the only thing left was the loom. Finally got it painted then decided it was too nice just to have a standard engine in so opted for a turbo.
That was 8 years ago, had it on the road a few years on and off, and got the racing bug and wanted a track based toy.

Found myself a mk1 shell to restor, got most of it welded up and then got the option to spaceframe it? and here i am.

Rick

I wanted a mini I could drive till I was about 21, then start messing with it.

A year after buying it it was stripped to a body shell, and completely restored. I thought I would stick with the a 1275cc engine to keep things simple.

A year later I'm spending big money on machining, and expensive engine parts, and building an enine I give 10'000 miles before it will want a rebuild.

This summer I'm gonna rip the interior out and attack it with a grinder, putting it on a diet.


And I'm still not 21 yet.

This car is gonna cost me lots more money in the future for what I hope will be a 16v turbo.

Your biggest mistake was joining this forum.

An interest becomes an obsession.

It has cost me £20k so far

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

I bought mine as the current mini was rotten. A quick bit of welding some filler/bodge and then throw a tatty 1380 in. Lovelly, 70+ bananas to use while I did the other one.

Then some welding turned into lots of welding, which turned into a full shell rebuild.

The 1380 then got supercharged, but the 1380 wasn't any good for it. So the 1380 became a 1275.

Then I looked back at some of the repairs/alterations and thought 'I'm going to chop out the patches and put new panels in'.

Then the £40 metro cooling system turned into £300 of hoses and pipes and tank.

The list goes on and the build will run into thousands of pounds on top of the 2k I have probably spent all ready...

Ah well

It's official.

I have lost control.

Just ordered some 18cc 73.5mm forged Accralites.

So looks like I am going 1380 turbo from the get go.

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

Well atleast of you guys only have one mini to throw money and time at....I got my first one at age 14, took 6 years to get it running and on the road. Its was basic rally car style stripped out interior bucket seats and a big 1360 engine.
Did some sprints and hillclimbs while learning how to drive all fine and dandy till we changed over to LRP fuel......it detonated to pieces because of the high compression.
Rebuilt it to slighty different spec amd it popped a gearbox then another.
In the meanwhile both my brothers got minis and I got a clubby. Used my clubby and my bros van until the clubby s engine crocked. Rebuilt the engine (270 cam, twin SUs, ported head.....fuck !Simple yeah right !) and Im using it every day.
So my original mini is now becoming a twink 16v turbo and I have a shell for a future twini project , oh and dont the racer that I race now with a friend of mine that requires prep and looking after !
So thats 6 minis and only two that are running......I think I lost control long ago.

"So wat we gonna do tonight Brain?"
"Same thing we do evernight Pinky!"
"Try to take over the world!"

mine started out as a bit of MOT welding in 1999.........I wouldn't like to say how much cash or time has gone into it over the years but I'm intending to have it finished for the 10th anniversary!

I never ever thought of getting a mini but my daughter wanted one for her 17th birthday, I found a Jet Black on ebay travelled 2 thirds of England to fetch it drove it home from Hampshire and I loved it. Since then I have bought 6 all in varying state of decay restored 3 and I now have a collection of 2 including my turbo project. I still have the Jet Black too even though it has a different heart now, The daughter went down the Corsa route as she couldn't stand it forever breaking down in the wet. so she sold it back to me even though I bought it in the first place.

I think i've been done

I am nobody, nobody's perfect. Therefore I am perfect

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

If you sell one, you'll just use the money to buy two more! Of our 5 minis + 3 mokes, only one is on the road.

I bought a 1275 '92 with a clutch problem but I also bought "tuning the a-series engine" at the same time ...

That was December 2002.

Then I bought a 998 "to drive a Mini while I am working on the serious project" (was supposed to be a present for my wife too)

Then I bought another 998 because the other 998 was rust attacked.
Turned out to be too good to be trashed so I bought a replacement shell ...

No 1275 is on the way to hit the road with the 2nd 998 engine, first 998 with newer shell is for sale and the third one (wich papperwork I lost and cannot recover) will go to the scrappy

Hopefully I can drive a Mini this year after all.

But this is not the end of the story, I have two spare 1275 engine, a 16V head off a 1,2 Clio ...

That is the Mini bug !

Rusty by nature

I bought a 1978 Clubman when I was 17 with the idea of driving it around and slowly doing bits to it to tidy it up.

After driving it for 2 weeks I thought i'd take it off the road for a respray.

Now im 21, one Heritage shell later and a few ££££'s its still not on the road.

Build Thread Click Here

Ah the short nobbed loser is back.

Go back to wanking off over "The Fast and the Furious"

Edited by John on 13th Mar, 2009.

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

I think he has met you John. LOL

Get lost!

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

lmao that was a nice surprise,

Yes i moved to the darkside

Instagram @jdm_brett