Mini Magazine – September 2019

Ask the expertAskk the expert the ex

Your Mini questions answered by our experts.

ASK THE

Tech EXPERT

POWER UP

I know you’re always

being asked about getting

more power from your Mini, but

I don’t think there’s much point

in trying to tune the 998cc

engine I have in my car. It’s

started to make some pretty

odd noises, and using a fair bit

of oil. My uncle has an old 1300

Metro engine tucked away in his

garage and he says it was

running really well when it was

removed from the car, but that

was quite a few years ago.

My question is, would this

engine fit into the Mini, would it

give me any more power and

are there any problems I might

encounter when fitting it?

Ben

The Metro unit can easily

be fitted complete with

gearbox straight into your Mini

with little more effort than that

required to swap the Metro

engine mounts over for those

currently on the engine you are

taking out.

The main problem is the

cooling system design. You will

have to drill the heater tap

takeoff point on the head, but

the retaining stud holes are

already drilled and tapped. You

will also have to use the Mini

thermostat housing set-up.

The thermostat will need a

half-dozen 3mm holes drilling

around its periphery to allow

water circulation until the

thermostat opens (no by-pass

hose as used on the Mini). You

will need the Cooper S type top

radiator bracket (part number

12G617) and associated rubbers

and bolts. And you will also need

to fit spacers (part number

12A312 as required) between the

water pump pulley and the fan

blade to stop the fan blade

hitting the timing gear cover

mounted breather canister.

It would be a good idea to fit a

new two core radiator as the

standard one is barely up to

cooling a standard engine when

in good condition.

Then there’s the clutch

operating system. To save any

trouble here, just transfer the

Mini flywheel covers over,

complete with whatever set-up

the car uses already. The Metro

also has extra engine breathers

and these can be vented to fresh

air by using tubes down the

inside of the inner wings, or

preferably with small K&N

breather filters attached, to

prevent dirt ingestion as the

engine cools down - this will

designed for race cars in the

States which run on 13x6 inch

rims but fitted with 8 inch

wide tyres - these are special

tyres made to get around the

ruling that they’re only

allowed to run a maximum 6

inch wide rim.

For a road car, a 7 inch wide

rim is definitely going to be

needed. This is a long way

from the standard wheels, so

first off, make sure the wheels

statement so I’ve bought a

Fortech bodykit. I really want

to fill the arches so how big

can I go on the wheels? I

thought 7x13s would be about

right - what do you reckon?

Emma

The Fortech bodykit is a

seriously wide kit, so

you’ll need some serious

wheels to fill them out

properly. These kits were

SUPER WIDE

I’ve got a Mini Mayfair

and at the moment it’s

just standard. I want to build

a car that makes a real

you buy have the correct

offset to clear the

suspension. Secondly, the

new wheels and tyres are

going to have quite an effect

on the way the Mini handles.

Damper rates and geometry

will need to be changed, so

expect to fit adjustable

bottom arms and tie rods,

heavy duty dampers and

make sure that everything

else is refurbished.

“The new wheels and tyres are going to have quite an

effect on the way the Mini handles”

ASK THE EXPERT

Our experts can help. Just email

[email protected]

with ‘Ask The Experts’

as the subject.

Metro engine and gearbox are

an easy swap into a Mini.

Ask the ex

Your Mini questions answered by our experts.

ASK THE

Tech EXPERT

POWER UP
I know you’re always
being asked about getting
more power from your Mini, but
I don’t think there’s much point
in trying to tune the 998cc
engine I have in my car. It’s
started to make some pretty
odd noises, and using a fair bit
of oil. My uncle has an old 1300
Metro engine tucked away in his
garage and he says it was
running really well when it was
removed from the car, but that
was quite a few years ago.
My question is, would this
engine fit into the Mini, would it
give me any more power and
are there any problems I might
encounter when fitting it?
Ben

The Metro unit can easily
be fitted complete with
gearbox straight into your Mini
with little more effort than that
required to swap the Metro
engine mounts over for those
currently on the engine you are
taking out.
The main problem is the
cooling system design. You will
have to drill the heater tap
takeoff point on the head, but
the retaining stud holes are
already drilled and tapped. You
will also have to use the Mini

thermostat housing set-up.

The thermostat will need a

half-dozen 3mm holes drilling

around its periphery to allow

water circulation until the

thermostat opens (no by-pass

hose as used on the Mini). You

will need the Cooper S type top

radiator bracket (part number

12G617) and associated rubbers

and bolts. And you will also need

to fit spacers (part number

12A312 as required) between the

water pump pulley and the fan

blade to stop the fan blade

hitting the timing gear cover

mounted breather canister.

It would be a good idea to fit a

new two core radiator as the

standard one is barely up to

cooling a standard engine when

in good condition.

Then there’s the clutch

operating system. To save any

trouble here, just transfer the

Mini flywheel covers over,

complete with whatever set-up

the car uses already. The Metro

also has extra engine breathers

and these can be vented to fresh

air by using tubes down the

inside of the inner wings, or

preferably with small K&N

breather filters attached, to

prevent dirt ingestion as the

engine cools down - this will

designed for race cars in the

States which run on 13x6 inch

rims but fitted with 8 inch

wide tyres - these are special

tyres made to get around the

ruling that they’re only

allowed to run a maximum 6

inch wide rim.

For a road car, a 7 inch wide

rim is definitely going to be

needed. This is a long way

from the standard wheels, so

first off, make sure the wheels

statement so I’ve bought a

Fortech bodykit. I really want

to fill the arches so how big

can I go on the wheels? I

thought 7x13s would be about

right - what do you reckon?

Emma

The Fortech bodykit is a

seriously wide kit, so

you’ll need some serious

wheels to fill them out

properly. These kits were

SUPER WIDE

I’ve got a Mini Mayfair

and at the moment it’s

just standard. I want to build

a car that makes a real

you buy have the correct

offset to clear the

suspension. Secondly, the

new wheels and tyres are

going to have quite an effect

on the way the Mini handles.

Damper rates and geometry

will need to be changed, so

expect to fit adjustable

bottom arms and tie rods,

heavy duty dampers and

make sure that everything

else is refurbished.

“Thenew wheelsand tyres are going to have quite an

effect on the way the Mini handles”

ASK THE EXPERT

Our experts can help. Just email

[email protected]

with ‘Ask The Experts’

as the subject.

Metro engine and gearbox are

an easy swap into a Mini.