O/T suggestions on a friends austin 1100
Turbo Mini Forums

Right.. bit of a story, but for now the short of it is that a friend has a 1965 austin 1100, it was his fathers car and was restored a few years ago and the engine was fully rebuilt to standard spec a little while after, its a lovely car and ive had the privelage of driving it, it had bags of torque and was a very pleasant relaxing drive but it has short legs.. and this is where my friend now wants some more power and taller gearing so he can go long distance to shows rather than just a short local sunday drive.

Hes joked about and said he wants something like whats in my mini but i think something alot more mild but still would surprise alot of people... maybe something using the existing motor rather than just swapping it completely,

Im not sure what kind of gear selector/gearbox this has.. if its similar to minis of this age? So what would be the easiest way of giving it longer legs for long distance? I reckon a small boosted 1100 would be fun? But what other routes could he go down?

I'm sure there was an issue with boosting the 1100 but will leave that for someone else.

I did however have a nice 1100 in my mini a few years back with a 295 head and MG cam and it went well for a road car (very similar to the MG metro unit that replaced it minus the torque.

given the history of the car, I'd be tempted to keep the original engine. Other options could well be turbo or perhaps an old supercharger set-up? Shorrock used to do kits for them back in the day

All I'd do is swap the final drive or something a touch longer. Allegros for example used a 3.9 final drive as standard to suit the 13" wheels and high profile tyres. At a guess the 1100 may be similar. A swap to say a 3.4 would give an Austin 1100 a bit more legs, the long stroke 1098 has enough guts to pull it. Be a shame to really mess with it too much.

Completely agree about not messing with it too much and using the original engine but if you see it from my friends point of view for a minute you may agree.. or atleast see his point? (I can now see where hes coming from)

Because of the cars history and sentimental value to him he could NEVER sell it... but in its current spec it doesnt get used as much as he'd like, hes even said at one point he would give the car to someone who he knew would show it some love (aslong as they never sold it) just so it got the use and attention it should rather than sit there doing not many miles a year..
So his point is it will never be sold so why not make something a little more useable out of it (it makes sense in my head and there is more of a point im trying to get across here just cant seam to find the right words to explain... grr, i hope some of you get what im trying to say)

One day i ill get around to building a decent ado16!

At the end of the day its an a-series and pretty easy to do whatever you would do on a mini, infact its easier as thers plenty of room in there to work haha! Depends what he wants and how much money he has tbh. A little pep up of the standard lump is possible but maybe not great value for money. I recently built a budget 1330 motor for my Minor. Mg Metro head, kent 266, twin carbs. It was cheap, looks the part and goes really well, loads of torque low down!

They are remote change boxes btw

Don't the cranks snap in these with to much power??

No. With too many rpm as its a long stroke.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

Its a combination if the bore and stroke, its a very under square engine. The rod angle and piston speed reduce the rpm potential significantly. Similar reason why diesel engines dont like high revs.

What about a gaycharger like Andy's. It's a realy nice installation that has a period look.

Whack that on running 5 or 6psi, use a spacer to lower the CR, happy days.

You'll get something a bit better than a breathed on 1275.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Lol. Bottom hose is now black Col, does that male it bisexual?

It makes your car a ladyboy witha black dong!

Edited by wil_h on 22nd Jan, 2016.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

I'd just stick a breathed on 1275 with a 3.44 in it and keep the 1100.

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

Lot simpler to superchage it than change the engine, if a bit more expensive perhaps - and it is then easily reversible too.

Lol @ Will