Engine advice
Turbo Mini Forums

Alright folks, well heres where im at so far, ive built an engine for my old road car iv been restoring, but having now just bought a mini van i dont want to go anything ott.
Iv built a fairly strong enough bottom end
1360 forged 8cc pistons, 286 cam(which im unsure about still) and a jack knight straight cut box.
now, iv got a standard 12g940 head with all the running gear off my old 1293
the plan initially was turbo it, but im unsure now, i still want maybe 130bhp but useable reliability.
do i turbo it still with a mild t3 and mildly tuned head.

or do i spend some money on the head, a 310sp cam and run the hif44? unsure yet but still have a few months to dwell on it.

Edited by dev 11 on 1st Apr, 2013.

Compression ratio with 8cc pistons will be very high for a turbo although turbo is the only way to make a relatively reliable 130hp. Stick a flowed head on it and have a nice 100hp n/a

I seriously doubt it!

thats what i thought, maybe a well chambered head could get it down enough,

They would have to be huge which I dont think youll manage

I seriously doubt it!

think na is the way forward then, that begs another question then do i stick to the 286, or go to a lumpier cam?

How far do the pistons sit down the bore at TDC ? IF they come flush with the deck you're going to be struggling to get the compression low enough to Turbo.
For example: 1360 with 8cc pistons {sitting flush at TDC} 4cc head gasket & 28cc in the head will give you 9.5-1.

Phil.

WWW.TURBO-MINI.COM

theyre not bob on flush with the head, can measure the gap when iv rebuilt it again(re stripped it to acid dip and paint it)

I seriously doubt it!

it'll never be a mileage motor,
iv got a 3.1 to suit the 10's il be running on

286 or higher with a 3.1 wont work. You want a 3.4 minimum for 286, if you go 296 you will want to 3.6 or 3.7.
You need the diff ratio to allow the revs to rise quckly to come on cam otherwise you will just bog down all the time

I seriously doubt it!

will that bog me down top end if i lower the diff ratio?
i thought about playing around with drop gear ratios aswell

It will lower top speed lots

Edited by paul wiginton on 1st Apr, 2013.

I seriously doubt it!

dev IMO go turbo you will need a change of pistons and camshaft also head modd, but it will be well worth it especially not to a have a inflexible untraceable screamer N/A engine,

the pistons sitting way down the bore is not practical for detonation reasons, my engines are flush nearly leaving only 0.005" clearance
for 10" wheels use a 2.95 FD it will give the turbo more time to spool up giving it some longer legs and the sheer torque will shove the car like a bat out of hell

Edited by BENROSS on 1st Apr, 2013.

to add another posibility....

get the pistons dished out bigger, I would think you can get them to 12cc ok,

Turbo is the only way

In the 13's at last!.. Just

was out in mates turbo mini last night and i must say its the future if you have the funds.

you could always have a head modified for the n/a then once the funds come available for the turbo conversion get the chambers altered, i'm just waiting for one off benross.

on the n/a front 3.44 diffs are not the best for long motorway trips but do work well round the twisty and 1/4 mile as previously stated.

What the mind can conceive the mini can achieve
MITP 2012 17.01 seconds 1/4 mile against "The Don"
MITP 2013 16.83 seconds 1/4 mile