998 Cooper Engine+box into 1988 mini

[alexm]

Hi,

My mk1 racer style project consists of a bog standard 1988 mini 1000 and a 998 cooper engine and box. I know I am going to have some issues with the engfine conversion, so I wondered if anyone on here has ever put an early Aseries engine into a mini designed to have an A+?

Issues I can see and need advice on:

1) Gear lever linkage - i'm pretty certain the hole for the rod change mechanism won't be in the right place for the rod style mechanism - I believe i'll have to adapt the hole and weld on the bracket to accept the cotten reel linkage mount?

2) Drive shafts - the ones on the A+ are the pot type, but the cooper box has the cross type rubber mounts - what are my options with driveshafts and if I can get hold of the right driveshafts will the splines fit into the minis disc brake hubs? What else might I need for this?

3) Can I just strap the A+ alternator onto the cooper engine, and will the starter motor supply connections pop straight onto the cooper starter? Can I just delete the starter solenoid?

Any help on this would be great. I'm starting to think that buying a MK1 or MK2 project car may be easier, or even run the 1000cc A+ and transfer the cooper head and twin HS2's over...

[Chalkie]

Right

If its rod change box it go stright in drive shafts can be changed over with replacing the diff and side covers or just use the drive shafts from the rubber coupling type

Starter motor can just be put onto the engine aslong you change the fly wheel over aswell

And what do you mean buy alternator strap? what bolts to engine? A+ has a small one close to the rad side

A series has one in the middle of the block and is alot longer.

[Lord Croker]

Hi, I have done this kind of conversion many years ago, some parts of which I remember better than others, but I'll do my best & hopefully others will fill in any gaps for you.

1) I seem to remember there is some slight modification required to the gear lever hole, but it's not too dramatic, the mounting bracket for the cotton reel at the end of the remote is bolted on, not welded, you may need to use a couple of washers as spacers due to the different shape of the tunnel forward of the seat mounting crossmember.

2) Whatever driveshaft set up you use, you don't need to change the outer CV joints that go through your hub, all you need is a pair of shafts with the sliding spline yoke for the rubber 'Maltese Cross' coupling. Alternatively you can do as RidingLow suggests & use the A+ diff & shafts, with the Cooper crownwheel.

3) You can indeed fit the A+ alternator to the Cooper engine, but you will need the conversion bracket from the rear mounting position of the dynamo to meet up with the shorter alternator, if you compare the 2 blocks, you will see that the threaded holes for the rear of the alternator on the A+ are nearer to the water pump than those for the dynamo of the Cooper. As regards your starter motor, IMO I would retain the Cooper inertia type, I've found them to last far longer than the pre-engaged type, but you will need to wire in a remote solenoid, not as daunting as it sounds, it's no more than extending a few wires & finding a suitable place to install your solenoid. You can indeed fit the pre-engaged starter from the A+ if you change the flywheel, but then you end up with a verto clutch The other point I dislike about pre engaged starters, the solenoid is almost touching the inside of the grille, the most minor of impacts will break the transfer casing, which in insurance terms often makes the difference between being repairable or a write-off.

I would advise against putting the Cooper head & carbs on to the A+ engine, the Cooper head was designed to run with raised crown pistons, often known as 'D' pistons, if you fit it to an engine with flat top pistons, you will reduce compression, but it will work reasonably well, if your A+ engine has dished pistons, you will run very low compression, & end up with poor performance, unless you have a fair chunk of metal skimmed off the head, I won't go into the dangers of breaking through into oil way to the the rockers at this stage!. Plus, if you have a complete, genuine Cooper engine in good condition, I think it's best kept in one piece.

What you plan seems reasonable & not too difficult & I'm sure you will get plenty of advice on here, but whatever you decide, best of luck & I look forward to hearing how you get on with the project.

[alexm]

Thank you both very much for your replies. Very helpful indeed!

Alex

[alexm]

I am at the point with my car that I need to start looking into fitting the 998 cooper engine into my car. I need to buy the remote gear linkage and the driveshafts to take the rubber 'maltese cross' couplings.

Mr. Croker or anybody else in the know, could you comment on the two eBay links for me. I think the driveshaft is what I'm looking for (assuming I can find the other side). The remote linkage seems correct but the listing states it fits a couple of other models. If I can get a part number from the seller, could someone tell me whether it's correct for my 998 cooper? I need to be able to fit the cotten reel mount to the back of it and I can't quite see whether it'll accept one of these or not.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-MINI- ... 20d34e79dd

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-AUSTI ... 20d34e75dd

Thanks in advance!

[Lord Croker]

Hi Alex,
The driveshaft you have found is correct for the drivers side, i.e. the long one, but the remote assembly is for an Austin / Morris 1100 or 1300 & will not fit to your Cooper diff casing because the bolts go into the side of the unit, using a metalastic sandwich plate, the Cooper remote bolts rigidly to the diff case & the bolts go upwards at an angle through it.
Hope this helps, good luck with the project.

[alexm]

Thanks. Sadly the seller only has one of the shafts available so with the postage I'm not sure it's a great deal.

I had noticed the 4 mounting screws went in sideways and wouldn't work on my cooper gearbox. I shall put a wanted advert out there and hope somebody can help me.

[Lord Croker]

I'm sure that there will be forum members who have the parts you need, if not, do you ever go to any of the Mini shows? It's often worth a look if there's one not too far away, I've seen many Cooper remote assemblies going for £20 - £30, likewise, driveshafts can be picked up for little money, particularly if you look around the small independent sellers.

[alexm]

Thanks for the advice. I'm off to the Bristol mini day weekend after next. I've also had a couple of people make contact through wanted ads I put out on the forums last night. I just hope we can agree on reasonable money for the parts!