What would you do...?

[sogatha]

Hi all
I have a 1960 Austin Mini (badged Austin Seven), that is the next project.

Sadly no history with it but it has had a 998 engine and remote gear shift fitted at some time in the past plus twin leading shoes up front.

I'm intending to strip the whole thing right down and do a total resto on it - the floor and sills are bad although the rest is ok.

As I have an 850 engine in the garage I could fit this with a proper magic wand stick instead of putting the 998 back.

I'm in two minds really - I don't like the idea of putting single leading drums on the front for total originality as it would be almost lethal these days.

So if I'm going to fit a disc conversion I've lost the originality at once - is it worth putting an 850 in in that case...

Any thoughts...

(if anyone recognises it please give me a shout!!)

P

mini.jpg

[almond cooper]

If your not worried about originality, I would fit the 998 with the magic wand g/box.

[gs.davies]

Period modded 850 would be fun, on a wand box.

[floormanager]

What a beauty. Very jealous

[Peter Laidler]

Just my opinion. Keep it an 850 with relevant gearbox. Brakes, fit twin leading shoes but keep the original s/L shoes cleaned and tucked away. That defeats the new buyer in the future who wants to knock you down for non originality.

Then sell on the 998. Everone is a winner

[almond cooper]

All depends on how you’re going to use it. ( do you intend keeping it? )

Drive it to the odd classic car show or have a bit of fun, the odd track day?

Whatever you do, just enjoy driving it!

[Rolandino]

Such a beautiful car should be left as standard. It will be worth a lot more if and when you decide to sell it.

[Joel Welsh 4769VU]

I've a different outlook...

Do as you will.
If your plan is to sell it in future- and want the price of a "correct" restored car... then you have your answer already.

If you never plan to ever sell it, and just want to enjoy it, to drive it as it was intended to be done...

Then I'd say update it or set it up as you will for the intended use. She's to be yours, fit her to your style.

[rolesyboy]

Restore it as planned. If its for you to use and you want to enjoy it put a 'warm' 998 or 1275 engine and box in with discs.
Have the 850 and drum brakes on one side under the bench (painfully inadequate in this day and age IMO) and if you come to sell it offer both options.
An engine & box change and swapping some discs would only take a day at most (in a restored car with no seized nuts or bolts)

[mk1]

Looks like a lovely little car.

What "I'd" do is pretty irrelevant, but I'd stick a much more powerful S type / big bore engine in c/w disks. But it's not my car.

Of the choices above, I'd probably go back to standard all round, 850 engine & SLS front brakes. If you are only planning on trundling about the 850 will be perfectly adequate as will the SLS drums. As with all the early brake options, they are only bad if you work them hard & don't adjust them up.

[sogatha]

Hey - thanks everyone for comments thats really interesting.

So I have an 850 engine and gearbox on the garage floor and I'll be hauling the 998 out today.

Can anyone tell me if the gearbox from the 850 (magic wand) will bolt straight onto the 998 engine - or are there a few differences?

Thanks

I'll pop this query up on technical too if thats ok
P

[roger mcnab]

hi mark
do not worry about the rivet counters minis were built for modifying so do what comes up best
cheers roger

[Andrew1967]

Agree with Mark regarding the engine and SLS brakes.

My 60 is standard and the brakes are adequate. You learn to adapt your driving to the brakes . Drive like a twat and you’re more at risk with SLS than with S brakes, but drive according to the cars ability to stop and you’ll be fine.

Oh, and I’m happy to trundle along at 55 in the car, which it seems happiest at.

[Costafortune]

There's no excuse for single leading shoe drums. Later ones are so much better (especially with a servo) and you really can't tell by looking unless you go grovelling under the front with a torch.
If the 850 engine is okay, shave a bit off the head, fit a 1.5 inch SU and leave it there. The pudding stirrer gearlever is what an early Mini is about.

[mab01uk]

When your daily driver is a modern car it is very easy to be driving a classic Mini with SLS drum brakes in modern traffic and occasionally forget the 'period' braking capabilities even with an 850 engine fitted....especially when the traffic ahead comes to a sudden stop and you have only left your modern daily driver distance to stop in....now that you need a new front panel, grille, bumper, headlights and two front wings (plus have an insurance claim) originalty no longer seems such a good idea! Fit decent upgraded brakes as many of us did in the 1960/70's and keep the SLS drum ones in your garage for any future buyer who wants them.

[Costafortune]

Or do as my Dad did in the early seventies and leave them out for the collectors of ferrous/non ferrous metals. One of the first jobs on Mother Costa's 1961 Mini was to buy a complete new TLS set up with shafts in a British Leyland wooden crate from Mini Sport.

[gs.davies]

I always found my SLS brakes to be better than any of the other minis I drove on TLS brakes. At least they didn't have a mind of their own about which direction they were going to pull in. Twice as many adjusters, twice the aggravation.

[Mr Rusty850]

I've enjoyed reading this topic as it covers a lot of the dilemmas I had with the (ongoing) rebuild of my 1961 mini. The car had been owned by the same person from new until his passing in 2017. I bought the car in 2019 after it had passed through a couple of hands without anything being done to it. I wanted to restore the car and keep it looking as original as I could but I also wanted a bit more power from the engine and better brakes to cope with modern driving a bit better.
So far as the engine mods are concerned, I rather liked the idea of tuning the engine in the way I would have liked to have done with my first mini in 1972 but couldn't afford to do. I also didn't fancy cone synchromesh and the 'wet' type crankshaft. These are the mods that I have made:
The original 850 block has had a +30 re-bore and rebuilt using a crank from a 1965 engine. The head has been gas flowed and the camshaft from a 998 cooper fitted. I've rebuilt and fitted the gearbox that came with the 1965 engine to move away from the cone synchromesh whilst retaining the magic wand.
The engine and gearbox are just about done now and visually at least they are the same as the original. My current dilemma is whether to change to an 1 1/2" carb. I'm justifying it to myself on the basis that it was a fairly common thing to do back in the day. I blame that David Vizard guy; I shouldn't have started reading his books.
Brakes wise I'm going to change to a twin leading shoe set up and see how I get on with that.

Phillip

[mab01uk]

Automatic Mk1 Minis had an 1 1/2" carb when introduced in 1965 to compensate for the loss of power to the auto box. We used to seek them out in breakers yards to upgrade our 1 1/4" carb Mk1 manual Minis....

[W1NG3D]

What would I do, personally? Probably keep the 998 and TLS drums, but try to reinstate the magic wand shifter.

Whether that's achieved by using the whole 'box off the 850 or swapping the diff covers over (I know there are mixed opinions on the latter!), there's something characterful about the early gear shift that'd be fun to retain, but a car with a nice little 998 and later drum brakes would be a better and arguably safer driving experience all round.

It could still be made to look original and "period correct" save for very close scrutiny, and as others suggest, you can always keep the original bits stashed away as the engine and brakes are very easily reversed back to 100% factory original if you have the parts to do so. Obviously it's your choice and depends on what you're intending to do with the car, but I'll consider my 2 cents thrown in