Mini World – July 2019

46 July 2019 MiniWorld

[ Expert advice ]

Running gear

I am intending to carry out a few

mods to my 1987 998cc Mini. I

would like to fi t Sports Pack arches

and a set of 165/60x12 tyres to

my Rover Cooper alloy wheels. I

would like to lower the car at the

same time so could you tell me

the best way to go about this? Is it

still OK to cut the alloy trumpets?

If not what is the best adjustable

system on the market? Finally, if I

do lower the ride height, will I have

to change the shock absorbers, as I

do not really want to fork out for a

set of Spax or Konis. How low can

I go without having to do this?

Carl Jacobs, Bradford.

To fi ll Sports Pack arches properly

you will really need a set of 6x12

wheels for your 165/60x12 tyres.

With standard Rover Cooper

(non-Sports Pack) alloys and

the large arches the Mini will

look ‘over-ha ed’. You could fi t

BMC narrow Works-type arches

instead – this looks good with

165-shod 12” wheels and there

To fill out Sports Option Pack arches

with 12s, a set of 6x12” alloys will

be needed. The silver Mini in this

photo has factory fitted Sports Pack

arches with original 6x13" alloy

wheels with non-original centre-

cap badges fitted along with with

Yokohama A539 175/50x13 tyres.

TOP QUESTION

Cam boost

I am rebuilding my 1984

998 engine and thinking

of fi  ing the cam from

an 1100 engine, as I have

one in my garage. Is this a

worthwhile mod and will

there be a noticeable power

increase? If not, do you

have any other suggestions

for an upgrade?

Tom Harris

Di erent camsha s are

fi  ed to Mini engines

to increase the power

output. Higher li can

improve performance, as can longer

duration. Most camsha changes

work best when carried out with other

modifi cations such as a modifi ed head

and improvements to the exhaust and

carburation. Unfortunately there will be

li le gain in using the 1100 cam (which

would require a pin drive oil pump)

and, for more power, you will need to

fi t a fast-road cam such as a Kent 266

or, if you want to stay traditional, a

948/88G229 as fi  ed as standard to

the 997 Cooper. You will need to replace

the timing chain and it is worthwhile

upgrading to duplex timing assembly

and accurately se ing the cam timing

by using Vernier gears or an o set

key, assuming that it is necessary.

A Kent 266 or 948 profile camshaft is a good upgrade for a 998.