Talking to someone briefly on th net and they showed me there 1000cc motor (like mine) and a I notice they have the twin filters on there. Now he said he had "twin 1 1/4 SU' carbs (need major tune and setting up!) with ramflo pods" which I assume is the part Im talking about. Whats the story with the "1 1/4" can that differ?? I have just the OEM setup and Im thinking (tell me if Im wrong) that buy doing the above it might give the car a little bit more go?? This is his:



On a side not I have noticed I seem to be going through a fair bit of oil.....I put it down to me using the same oil I do on the MR2 (synthetic...quite thin) so in turn brought some thicker stuff today. I topped it up and will see how it goes....i did however notice some white stuff around the oil lid and in the hole....I have cleaned it off and will see if it is there in a weeks time when I next check.....I assume that is bad??

Cheers
KiwiMR2

_________________
1996 Libero GT
1979 Mini Cooper 1.3i

I mean would something like these fit on mine??

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 215716.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 279219.htm

would it really make much if any of a difference?

Cheers
KiwiMR2

_________________
1996 Libero GT
1979 Mini Cooper 1.3i

KiwiMR2,

Dont use synthetic oi in a Mini - as the engine and gearbox share oil, synthetic doesnt have the high point load lubrication properties (needed for the gearbox) as normal mineral oil does. If it is just a standard Mini 1000 10w/40 should do just fine.

Twin 1/4" SU carbs will give your car a bit more go if it has a single 1 1/4" SU. Which is unlikely - in NZ they moved over to 1.5" SU's quite early on. If if does have the 1.5" SU, there is no real need. You might get some better thrrottle response but i doubt there would be much power difference in an otherwise standard 998.
If you want some more performance start off with some LCB extractors, exhaust, and a good airfilter. Later on you can modify the head / increase compression ratio / change cams if you want, but most people jump straight to modifying a 1275 rather than a 998 in NZ, they aren't too hard to come by

_________________
Mini - The Wizardry on Wheels!

I thought the Magnatec wasn't the best choice hence the change today, I only used it one as it was virtually empty and I had a bottle of it sitting here.



How can I tell if I have a single 1 1/4?



LCB....I assume that is a brand? a good airfilter.....any recommendations? I assume somewhere like pitstop could fabricate a better flowing exhaust for not to much coin yeah??

I am indeed in 2 minds as to weather modding it at all, as you mention I should really keep an eye out for a 1275 but then I have to upgrade the brakes etc. etc.

Cheers
KiwiMR2

_________________
1996 Libero GT
1979 Mini Cooper 1.3i

For a start, do NOT use 10W-40 oil. Use 20W-50 for a standard Mini, and syntehetic is a big no-no. Castrol GTX2 (which is 20W-50) is a cheap oil that is good for a normal, not-heavily-modified Mini.

LCB is not a brand. It stands for Long Centre Branch, and refers to the centre exhaust outlet pipe being longer than the ones on the side. The ones on the side join together, then lower down the centre one joins in as well, creating a 3-2-1 effect (and you'll hear people refer to them as these too). The old standard extractors were 3-1s, where the 3 pipes joined into 1 at a single intersection. These are narrow and are generally replaced with LCBs pretty quick smart.

A good air filter... K&N if you want to fork out the big bucks, but for what you have/want, get a Lynx pod filter for your size carby. As for determining the size of your carby, take off any air filter, and measure the diameter of the inlet.

As for getting your hands on a 1275 and getting rid of the 998, it all depends on what you want from your Mini. I have a 1430cc (obviously a modified 1275), but the size of the bores mean that its not suitable for a turbo/supercharger due to the thin walls between cylinders (you COULD possibly run a really soft blower through it, but there isn't much point). I wasn't really interested in going through the mods needed to get a supercharger (custom manifolds etc.) so I'm sticking with the big cc's and Weber carby to get my real power (amongst other mods).

When it comes down to it, it's all a balance between time, money, patience, and personal opinion as to what you do with the engine that you have. Supercharged 850 (a member on this site) has a ripper small supercharged engine and shows what can be done with the lower end of the cc spectrum.

_________________
Jonathan
http://photobucket.com/albums/y64/FatMaserati/

Whats wrong with 10W/40?

_________________
Mini - The Wizardry on Wheels!

FWIW I picked up a 20W-50 today & put that in...it was basicly on the min mark prior to putting it in. I'll see how that goes.



Well I guess like any car the exhaust is the best place to start 1st with freeing things up. How easy or hard is it to fit these extractors?? I mean does the engine have to come out of dropped down on one side etc? can I do it in 2 stages? I mean will they match up with the OEM exhaust or is it better to just do it all in one go? And why would I get the LCB ones as a pose to getting an exhaust place to fab a full exhaust including extractors?? Any idea where in NZ I might get some (I'll do a search but if anyone knows)



Just a replacement in that round housing?? Will take it off and see what I can see



Well to be honest it's really just going to be for a run around & maybe a advertising vehicle so it needs to still be streetable. I can't really justify pouring heaps of $$ into it BUT as I mentioned offline to Volodkovich I wish it had better acceleration....and or the ability to surge foward a tad with the push of the accelerator. Going from my Turbo MR2 to the Mini is like night and day.....I will admit though it is indeed a fun car to drive and turns REALLY well....almost as good as my 2

Cheers
KiwiMR2

_________________
1996 Libero GT
1979 Mini Cooper 1.3i

Well it seems Minibitz do theLCB one:



The starting point for any system is a good set of extractors. This tubular LCB manifold is suitable for most large bore engines.

Price: $160 incl GST

.......is it fesable to buy these and get the exhaust shop to do from there back?? I mean there systems that go from there back look & sound great but at $450.00-$500.00 they sound expensive

Oh and it mentions "for most large bore engines." does that mean it won't be suitable for mine as it's a 1000cc not a 1275cc?

Cheers
KiwiMR2

_________________
1996 Libero GT
1979 Mini Cooper 1.3i

Volodkovich, 10W-40 is way too thin an oil to be using in a Mini engine. The oil works through both the engine and gearbox, unlike other cars. You won't be able to maintain the correct oil pressure, and you will do your engine serious damage after time.

KiwiMR2, if you bought a set of LCBs, you can easily get an exhaust to match it. I'm a fan of the straight through systems (centre exit) as it is the most efficient way of expelling exhaust emissions. The diameter of the Y-piece outlet is all the information you need to fitting a custom exhaust. Especially for a 998, I wouldn't get the extractors custom made primarily becasue it's not worth it, but also becasue the design they choose will most likely resemble the LCBs you had pictured anyway.

For a 998, DrMini recommends a 1.5" exhaust system (and for most other sizes as well as it turns out). Find out the outside diameter of the Y-piece of the LCBs you want to buy before buying them. LCBs come in many sizes, so find the right one.

For the record, the exhaust isn't always the best place to start, especially by "freeing thing up". If you go for too large an extractor bore, then you will lose low-end torque.

For the carby size, I mean measure the diameter of the inlet port in the carby (not the air filter). Just in case I didn't make that clear.

The only way to get a 998 to have "better acceleration, and the ability to surge forward a tad with the push of the accelerator", is to turbo/supercharge it. You can do things like I have done with my 1430, such as lighten the flywheel and wedge the crank to reduce mass and increase acceleration, but I wouldn't bother in a 998. You could also bore it out 20 or 40 thou, but if you want a Mini that's a bit quicker without $$$$$ spent, get yourself a 1275 thats tuned properly, perhaps with a 40DCOE Weber carby, nice LCBs and exhaust and you'll have yourself a "spirited" little Mini.

_________________
Jonathan
http://photobucket.com/albums/y64/FatMaserati/

It is not a good policy to mix oils. I definitly would think it is not a really good idea to mix synthetic with mineral oils.

_________________
Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.

Or stick a 1100 crank in it this to me anyway has to be the easiest way to get more out of a 998 (particulary if you are doing a rebuild) of course it is no longer a 998 but who cares

1100 = more torque = better acceleration

_________________
---
Roads need more corners
A Deluxe(CG13DE), 2 Clubbies(998 and 1275) and 2 Morris 1100Ss

If you weren't going to begin with either intake or exhaust then were would you start?? I mean you can do all the mods in between but if it isn't getting enough air or the exhaust can't flow enough out then everything in between would be pointless I would have thought?? I know what you mean about it being too big though, always an issue especially in NA's.....hence my asking weather the LCB's quoted were to big or not

I spoke to the exhaust shop next door to work today...the reakon they the cost would be under $200 for an exhaust from the extractors back....SOUNDS resonable to me



To late as mentioned the oil level was on min so hopeully it won't matter to much. How easy is it to drain the oil out in these cars?? just a nut on the bottom somewhere?? were is the oil filter located?? no point in draining it and refilling if I leave a dirty oil filter in there



Sounds good.....I dunno, as already mentioned I really shoudn't spend to much On it, maybe I should just do the exhuast (for sound only) and make it look nice. Im yet to look underneth BUT whats in between the extractors & tip out the back?? how many mufflers? is the a flex pipe?

Cheers
KiwiMR2

_________________
1996 Libero GT
1979 Mini Cooper 1.3i

I know everyone says to use only 20W/50, but I was reading the "Black Book" Leyland Australia Comprehensive Workshop Manual this morning and their recommendations for oil are
10W/30
10W/40
20W/50
They have the same recommendation for both manual and auto transmissions. In theory using a 10W/30 will give higher performance than 20W/50 due to better flow properties. I suppose in the old days they would probably have used the 20W/50 in hotter temperatures but then good quality modern 10W/30 probably has better high temp stability than old 20W/50 anyway... interesting...

Well I've been monitoring the oil thing since my last post. Im basicly have to top it up (from a bit below the LOW mark on the dip stick) to full roughly every 2-3 weeks. I am cleaning off the white stuff from the cap and top of the hole where I poor it in so it is comming back in the 2-3 week period. Im using it 4 days a week 60 km's a day. Everything else is going fine....is this considered normal??

Cheers
KiwiMR2

_________________
1996 Libero GT
1979 Mini Cooper 1.3i

its not terminal, but your head gasket is gone. are you also topping up your coolant levels alot?
If your head gasket is gone, sometimes coolant will leak into the oil and this causes the white stuff.