Poor Guy

loking for a 69/70/71 mini cooper for a 17 yr old to drop a 1430cc in. What you reckon? Are they easy to tune?

C h a z

Don't forget to mention it to the insurace if you do though (this is only applicable if you are the same poor guy that was tryin' to insure a 17yr old not so long ago) As my next door neighbour once pointed out they day you run someone over it is bound to be a barrister or solicitor who have your car scrutinised to the n-th degree.
just my 2p worth

Rich and Mini

Why? The classic Coopers fetch very good money now, and should be left pretty much original.

Get a late Mini and drop a 1430 ( long stroke 1275 ) in, if you must. Expect insurance companies to laugh at you down the phone though. Get a 1275 Mini, you'll find it nippy enough as standard, and you can concentrate on making it handle better etc.

Rich

Jonto

1275 the way to go, then strip it

TVR Gary

Dont you dare muck up a classic cooper by sticking a nasty engine in it. Do it to a newer car but not an original cooper.......

Sorry but they are such great cars and shouldnt be touched in my mind.

Shane

iTrader: (6)

Don't muck up an original cooper. Get a later Mayfair or one of the limited editions which already has Front discs and drop a Metro Turbo lump in it. A whole lot cheaper and you won't be welding it back together every time it needs an MOT.

Hurman

If a 17 year old gets into a 1430cc engined Mini I would estimate his reamining life expectancy to be a total of months rather than years. Why put your flesh and blood into something as leathal as that? A 1000cc Mini will give him all the fun he needs and teach him road craft and driving skills.

I am a memeber of a motor club and a guy with a dodgy old MG Metro consistantly beats people in newer / faster cars. I have a 1.2 Nova which I use to compete in Road Rallies and Autotests and beat people in Nova GSI's and GTE's.

Just my opinion.

Spec

Have to agree with everyone else, don't do this to a cooper, and please realise that the insurance would be atrocious (sp?). You can get cheaper ins by joining a mini club, it'll help but its still gonna be loads for a 1430

JamesG

Had enough mini's now to know that a good solid shell is by far the most important bit, so as mentioned, best to look for the latest model you can get. 1430cc not needed, a 1275 with a mild to fast road cam with decent carb and exhaust setup won't be as quick, but will be far nicer to drive and more reliable. My last one was 1380cc with a race cam, weber 45 and over £3000 of engine and gearbox so they do get pricey to tune lol.

If its the classic look you are going for, modern mini's use 8.4" discs so no 10" wheels unless you change to a cooper S setup.

James.

Leslie

The 1275 went like the proverbial anyway, one of the classics alright.

Les

Rich and Mini

I'd go for a late Mini Sprite/Mayfair with 1275 carb engines as standard. You can find them on K/L/M plates (careful though, 'coz some K plated Mayfairs are 998s). They have discs as standard, comfy seats and are group 3 (Sprite) or 4 (Mayfair) insurance. Put a stage 1 kit on it, some 12x5s with 165/60/12 Yoko tyres and some decent shocks with hi-los. It'll be good fun, sound the bollocks and will be nippy.

There's so much you can do to them...what did you have in mind?

Mine with a 1275, 286 cam (bit too lumpy), head, lightened and balanced, straight cut drops, 3.44fd goes very well for what it is, gives the Saxo VTR boys a fright, and sounds 100 times better than any Nova/Saxo etc ( I have a Saxo VTS too ).

I'm 18, and the Mini with everything declared (buckets/harness, removable front, 13x7s, engine blah blah) is £1100 TPFT. So it is do-able.

Rich