DelSol UK

Ok,

If this thread aint supposed to be on here then let me know and I'll get it removed, no worries Just might be a nice little read to anyone who's looking to kill a bit of time

Basically, I recently picked up a B16a2 engine and box from a '93 del sol to try and put in a classic mini, yes I know a mini vtec has been done to death before but this is something thats totally out of my league as I'm not mechanically minded so is a big job to me, mates think I'm nuts so at least alls ok there nothing wrong with my 1275 70hp A-series btw, infact it took me to Le mans in june and to and round the nurburgring in july, september and october (yes I'm addicted to the ring! ) doing 21 laps in total and it didn' t miss a beat, and I was pushing the car all the way there and back each time, infact it hasn't missed a beat in the year and half I've owned it.

So why am I chopping the engine in? Well power in a nutshell? And reliability, alright I aint had any probs with mine but cant go at this pace and expect troublefree motoring? Besides a modded A-series will net me around 100hp but reliability drops. Had a few modded jap cars, mr2's mainly and always fancied a mini with an engine conversion to give it a proper kick up the behind it deserves, was meant to start this as soon as I bought the car but decided to run the A-series at least for a bit then go for either a vauxhall red top from a calibra or a vtec.......rest is history as they say

Car at the 'ring





Yes I went round a lap with a roof rack on





Car was restored just before I bought it, I have basically bought the wrong car to modify, should've got a heap to do up but fell in love with this one, Apart from the alloys the car is totally factory standard inside and out and want to keep this theme going, but, having a vtec means either getting the front nose extended by about 90mm or getting a standard clubman front as they have about the same room as an extended roundnose, so decided on a clubman front to keep the looks simple, besides my first car was a mini clubman so going back to my roots, besides I'm not a fan of a pinnochio mini

Heres a vtec in an extended roundnose with a pull away front, its more tighter than a lottery winner!



Mine will be a pull away clubman front

Ok the new heartbeat, bear in mind this is nothing new just novice stuff to you guys but I'm learning as I go, maybe should've stuck with a mini engine but an engine is an engine so gotta learn somewhere.....

Heres my new lump out of a '93 green del sol with 63k





Its more mucky than anything but well pleased with it, so will be cleaning and maybe throw some paint at it

excellent project but im biased mini`s and hondas are my favorite cars

nothing wrong with it being done loads of times before atleast you know it works well and theres plenty of parts and options for you now aswell. nice car by the way looks mint

im currently in the middle of restoring my missus 98 mpi mini, plenty of rust on it (suprise suprise) its in many bits in the garage at the moment, i was gonna do a steel flip front and i have all the panels but i think im going to switch to a fibreglass front instead. trying to convince her on the benefits of vtec but she dont seem to be loving the idea at the moment

keep us updated on how it go`s anyway mate and any questions you have gimmie a shout i`l help if i can

Started with getting some bits off the car, took the power steering pump and res off, no need for that nonsense



Then the engine loom



This will be sent away as I'm getting a DTA mappable ecu spliced into this loom so hopefully it will be plug n play, apart from mechanics I also dont do electrics (you will soon realise I dont actually do alot!) Was gonna go for Hondata but went for this setup.

Took the inlet off



This needs to be cut down in length or my bulkhead needs a section cut out and welded in (I dont do welding, see above ) so will send this off hopefully to someone who can cut it down and re-weld back together as I cant do this (see above ) then it should just clear the firewall, been told a skunk2 inlet is shorter but thats another ball game

Took the starter off



No particular reason for the starter to come off other than a morale-boosting-I-did-it-myself-kinda-thing

Took the alternator off



This needs to be remounted elsewhere as there will not be any room to keep it in its current situ, am in the process of getting a custom bracket made up to house it at the front using the now not needed power steering assembly holes, could make this bracket up myself as its not much to look at but guess what......yep see above!

Next was the exhaust (only got the manifold and downpipe with the purchase) I will be hooking up a mini exhaust to this, been told to get a 2" mini pipe which is the best compromise, managed to get this off without too much aggro, WD40 is my new friend





Still not sure if the lambda sensor needs to be relocated? When I get to that bridge....



As I'm using a clubman front I can use the original manifold and downpipe, this was the plan but after taking this off I cant believe how much this alone weighs!!!! So might look into an aftermarket manifold aslong as its cheap and more importantly light? I think the B16a2 weighs an extra 30-40 kilos (dont quote me) more than my current engine, so really dont need to add more weight?



Took the rear engine mount holder off







Got some other mounts separately, still not sure what goes where but I'll work it out







Next up was to change the cambelt, but having trouble getting the crank pulley off and after doing a search I bought the tool so will wait for that then go at it again.

Engines current state







At least most parts are off now, more the better so I can think about getting some paint on it.

The best bit I'm looking forward to so far will be spraying the rocker cover the same colour as the car, obviously I wont be doing this myself...see above

skitz wrote:i was gonna do a steel flip front and i have all the panels but i think im going to switch to a fibreglass front instead

Cheers mate,

I could go steel flip myself and would like to keep standard factory looks but will need a custom rad, exhaust and inlet, and the altenator is a big headache, am warming to the clubman idea now, took some time but warming

Another reason I didnt go for fibreglass (apart from major headache getting to fit) was the paint needs to look as good as the rest of the car, I've seen some FG fronts that looked..well off?

If she does decide to vtec it I'm sure you'll finish before me

hehe unlikely its been put on the back burner since the little sprog turned up 3 months ago, its already had a heap spent on it and still need the money for a full respray ! all new front end panels,including front screen panel, rear boot panel, doors reskinned, new sills. most of them had to be genuine as there slightly different for an mpi so i reckon maybe £800 just for the panels. rust fighting is all part of owning a mini though i guess

you considered mounting the alternator further down on the a/c bracket mount ? give you a bit more room up top and probably look a bit cleaner

skitz wrote:you considered mounting the alternator further down on the a/c bracket mount ? give you a bit more room up top and probably look a bit cleaner

I did but I'm getting an allspeed subframe and they relocate it at the top using the power steering bolt holes, as I'll be painting it (yes I will do something myself this time ) it hopefully wont look too bad up there

Late congrats on the sprog btw

you know you can actually get it into a standard round nose without extending its just a bit of a squeeeeeeeze but its doable. The extended fronts dont look right though so your defo better doing it with a clubman if you dont want the extra work.

good effort lad!!!!!!!!

what is going n with that sump plug lol ? ? ?

Curtis wrote:you know you can actually get it into a standard round nose without extending its just a bit of a squeeeeeeeze but its doable. The extended fronts dont look right though so your defo better doing it with a clubman if you dont want the extra work.

Yeah I've seen a few standard nose length ones, and I've also seen how much they have spent, and seeing as I can't do any welding etc and fabricating parts it will mean buying everything custom thats available, dont wanna be spending that much, apparantly theres a credit crunch

battscrxvti wrote:what is going n with that sump plug lol ? ? ?

Well spotted mate I dont actually know? Its got some gold glue around it, could it be real gold? Think I'll just get a new sump?

Got my crank pulley tool though today so will crack on with getting the belt off, but not tonight, its too cold in there....

Ive just been looking at v-tec minis on youtube after reading this thread. Looks like hard work but the results look like mega fun! good luck mate

Stick it in the back and make it RWD. Hands down winner

Excellent job... I want one as a Winter runner...

think im gonna stick one in the missus mini without telling her. her 1.3 mpi does the same mpg as a b16 anyway so it will be more reliable and economical ...... thats how im gonna sell it to her anyway

Texx Avery wrote:Stick it in the back and make it RWD. Hands down winner

I think I prefer to scare the backseat passengers instead, take them on a terror ride Mind you saying that, I've had 3 mr2's and RWD is fun.........until it starts to rain

Ok not really much to update but anything done is an effort for me so last few days I managed to get the gearbox off and clutch out so I can prop it on my stand, ready to be cleaned now

You might think why does it take a few days just to split the gearbox and get it on a stand, this is why



Dont ask me why but I've seemed to inherit a need to be tidy while I work????





Also got my new subframe through which will replace the mini one, quality is impressive but then so was the price





I'm taking the gearbox to a local specialists as I've found out a final drive of around 3.47 will be ideal for cruising at 70mph at low revs, I think with my 12inch wheels it will be sitting a bit high plus it'll make 1st gear more user friendly, ok I'm still gonna have a full interior in so noise wont be much of a problem but still?

Just sucking up the courage now to cut the front off.......