1966 2 door saloon (Bugsy)

[gazzcross]

Hi everybody, ive taken on this nice looking minor to use as my first car (just turned 16). i bought it for £650 with the knowledge that the drivers side crossmember was shot. i plan to change the colour to trafalgar blue and add some modern items, radio, telescopic dampers, maybe disc brakes with servo. the engine is 1098cc which will stay however the carb will be changed to either hif44 or hif38 to give a little more umph

tell me what you guys think and is there any suggestions?[frame][/frame]

[MColes]

Hello, welcome the the messageboard and Minor ownership

I see that you're a 'younger member' so please take a look in the Young Members section on here and our facebook group.

Although I like Trafalgar blue (I might be a bit biased) there are a lot of minors around in that colour, so you may want to consider a different colour. At the end of the day though it's your car and you should do what you like with it .

What you're thinking of doing sounds good to me though In regards to the carb, if you're keeping the engine standard I think I'm right in saying you're better off going for the hif38 (had one sat here myself waiting to go on since christmas ).

[gazzcross]

Thanks, got a few more pictures of the strip down and repair process..[frame][/frame]

[gazzcross]

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[gazzcross]

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[Alex'n'Ane]

Certainly that gearbox isn't a minor 1098 one! So i'd check the engine cc,the engine number is an obvious place to start. However your projects and plans sound very good

[gazzcross]

i know the engine is 1098 but im not sure about the gearbox it could be because half of it is hidden behind the crane and the shifter being removed, will get back to you when i get the numbers

also have started a flickr...just easier
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61652622@N04/?saved=1

[Alex'n'Ane]

No, minor gearboxes have a 'ribbed' casing rather than the smooth one like that. 948's had a smooth case but i cant confirm if it is a 948 one or one of a midget or the like.

[chrisryder]

you've got a 948 engine and box there. no mistaking!

[gazzcross]

you guys really know your cars, the engine really is 948cc even though the v5 shows 1098 and so does the chassis number. to be honest im not surprised with the quality of work from previous owners that the wrong engine was fitted.

thats another thing on the to do list

[MColes]

If you zoom right the way in on that photo you can see the '950' cast into the block, just below the exhaust manifold. So I'm going with it being a 948 engine as well.

[MColes]

Post at the same time

[gazzcross]

never noticed the 950 when i took it out, only noticed it when i went to have a look, the question is what numpty would downgrade and then not even tell the DVLA.

[MColes]

Well if the original engine went, they needed one in the car in a hurry and all they could get their hands on was a 948 that might explain why. Or maybe they just didn't notice like you didn't at first which would explain the DVLA not being informed.

OR... maybe they didn't inform the DVLA intentionally, too much effort and red tape. So many variables

[Fingolfin]

Numpty?

Nothing at all wrong with a good 948! Runs the sweetest of any of the original Minor engines (and, some would contend, of the whole A-series!). You may consider fitting a larger head, though, from a 1275 I think...I'll do some research. My Mog has a 948 with the later head fitted, and it gets about +5 hp because of it. Can't advise on the carb, sorry. But it looks like a good project! I trust you can weld?

[gazzcross]

ye ive had quite good practice witth welding and it's good i have aswell with the amount that ive had to do on this, i would prefer the 1098 though as it has that little bit more power although not much. if the 948cc was bored out how much power do you think i could get out of it? with insurance in mind as this will be my first car.

i just find it unbelievable that it was downgraded without notification. do they not check this at MOT's ?

[DaisyMayFozz]

don't worry, my logbook says 948, yet the engine and box and diff is a 1098. The don't check this, and as long as you wasn't the one who did the conversion and didn't tell the DVLA then it doesn't matter. most people don't bother as you have to have proof that it was done by a specialist, and a receipt and some other stuff, like mcoles said, too much red tape. (948 is a good engine aswell.

[chrisryder]

nah they don't check those kind of things at MOT's. MOT is just to check that the vehicle is roadworthy and safe. they don't really care about modifications.

i saw the engine number in the flickr album, there was a photo of it, clear as day '9M...'

also i'd agree, 948s are nice and smooth. we've got a 57 minor with a 948 in and last year we rebuilt the engine, and bored it out to take +20 thou mini 998 pistons. the stroke of the crank is the same on a 998 mini and a 948 minor so all it took was a rebore. went for +20 pistons as the people that did the rebore had a set lying around! we then fitted a slightly modified (based on the vizard tuning book) 1098 head and a 1098 minor cam shaft. not a clue what the power output is, but it's a joy to drive!

for a 1098 i'd heartily recommend the HIF38, ok i've got the old style equivalent, but it's a 1.5 inch carb over the standard 1.25 inch. for a 948 i think the standard carb should be fine.

[Fingolfin]

Boring out to take the 998 pistons, and with the larger head, should increase the power to just a few hp fewer than a standard 1098 -- though still with a significantly slower acceleration rate. That's all the bugs me about a standard 948, they hate acceleration...but they run so nicely...

[gazzcross]

So if i bore it out to take 998 pistons (cooper) and add a modified head it should be pretty good, then to solve the acceleration issue i could fit 13" wheels which would hinder top end but i dont need to go over 70