Morris Mini Minor Turbo on Ebay?!

[KHES_ALFA]

When trawling through Ebay for parts i came across a T3T4 turbocharger kit for the 'Morris Mini Minor', from the U.S.
I presume its not really a specific turbo charger kit for the Moggie and more of a generic kit, that will kind of fit.
Has anybody seen this?
Here's the Link:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Morris-Mini-Minor ... 3ef5cbe7d3

[chrisryder]

i think the 485bhp claim is a bit steep! but i guess the supply the same kit for loads of cars and it could get certain cars up to 485bhp. i worry that the wording (except the title) never mentions the mini or minor or a-series at all.

pretty cheap kit compared to other mini-specific kits that seem to be double that price. there must be a catch!

[KHES_ALFA]

Its seems thats its just a turbo charger 'kit' and they change the title depending on which car they want to sell it for.
Looking at the Shop they sell the same kit with different titles.
Bit of a Bummer really got excited that it could have been a feasible option

[chrisryder]

it might be feasible, but someone's got to spend the ~£800 to find out whether it is or not. you never know it could be perfect! they do have a lot of get-out clauses on their advert:

We are the parts supplier, not mechanic. We can try our best to help with generic questions, but it is best to consult a professional turbocharger installer with specific questions.

There are no installation instructions included. The install is simple and most customers install it themselves in a weekend. If you cannot figure it out or feel uncomfortable with the installation, please have a professional assist.

it also says there is some fabrication required with adapting your exhaust, and you have to make your own intake flange.

[irmscher]

You would have to have a strong bottom end for that lot

[MartinB]

I am affraid this type of kit is very dangerous indeed, a turbo installation is not a simple bolt on bit of kit and needs the engine to be built properly with correct pistons, cooling system, oil system etc. In the advert it says that the T3 flange is included in the kit for you to weld to the standard exhaust manifold. Well that is total crap for a start as the standard cast iron manifold is very unlikely to weld to a steel flange for any reasonable service time without cracking, let alone supporting the turbo's weight correctly either!
I made the whole turbo installation on my Morris (2 litre 16 valve Fiat) and on my Radical sports racing car (ZZR1200 turbo) so probably have a reasonable understanding of what is involved, and the requirements the kit should have. Believe me, turbo installations are not a simple bolt on bit of kit!!!!

[bmcecosse]

485 BHP in a Mini - aye right..... and no manifold etc. Turbo is old hat these days (except for diesels of course!) - a supercharger works well on an A series. Or of course the Turbo kit from a Turbo Mini, but it's pretty basic.

[irmscher]

Roy have you used a shorocks ??

[bmcecosse]

No - never seen one I could possibly afford! Scharger of choice these days seems to be the Eaton - usually from the MINI Cooper S.

[Ondergard]

485 BHP in a Mini - aye right..... and no manifold etc. Turbo is old hat these days (except for diesels of course!) - a supercharger works well on an A series. Or of course the Turbo kit from a Turbo Mini, but it's pretty basic.

I'm probably going to regret giving yet another display of my monumental ignorance... but what is a supercharger, where does it fit, what does it do to a 1098 engine, and could it do the same or better on the 1275 Marina engine I'm soon to be putting into Betsy Blue?

[KHES_ALFA]

are these advertisements not subject to the trade descriptions act or something?
i never assumed it was a bolt on kit, i posted it up because it was an intersting little Ad.
BTW MartinB i love your Moggie read about in a classic car magazine, its amazing

[MartinB]

BMC, the Eaton S/charger is widely used but is by no means the best available. It is the old Rootes type S/charger which is OK, but the twin screw Opcon Autrotor (similar to the old Sprintex version) is much more efficient. The Rotrex centrifugal S/charger does have quite a few shortcomings I think but is quite a bit more compact and easier to install than the others. I did look into supercharging the Radical (using a Rotrex) but couldn't get a good enough drive off the crank to drive it, hence turbo route!

KHES_ALPHA, glad you liked the Mog

[Alex'n'Ane]

I know someone who lashed an eaton supercharger onto an a series in a minor, but with the large front pulley he had no space for the rad, he managed to ruin the diff on a set of rollers with it so cant really give a reliable bhp output figure.

[chrisryder]

I'm probably going to regret giving yet another display of my monumental ignorance... but what is a supercharger, where does it fit, what does it do to a 1098 engine, and could it do the same or better on the 1275 Marina engine I'm soon to be putting into Betsy Blue?

an anything-charger (short of a mobile phone charger... ) is a means of forcing the 'charge' (air/fuel mix) into the engine, rather than relying on induction pressure alone.

both turbo and super are both effectively compressors that force the air in like a leaf blower or hair dryer.

turbos are 'powered' by exhaust gasses being used to turn the turbine. these are notoriously poor in the low rpm range as you need the exhaust gas to be flowing fast to get the turbines spinning fast. this is 'turbo lag'. normally overcome by 'anti-lag' systems or, as some modern cars have, twin stage, or twin turbos. i think it's a bmw design to have one small turbo for low rpm (small turbo = less lag) and a large turbo on the same engine that gives more boost in the higher rpm. and a very clever method for changing over from one to the other i believe.

superchargers are still compressors, but these are directly driven off a pulley and belt drive. the advantage of super chargers is that they help in the low rev range to boost low end torque.

Volkswagen have a range of TSi engines. These are turbo charged and supercharged. super charged for the low down torque, and turbo'd for the high end power. best of both worlds, and 1.6TSi's perform like 2.0 naturally aspirated engines.

i'm sure to be immediately corrected by Martin or BMC about the finer points i've mentioned, but basically the answer is 'turbos are exhaust driven, superchargers are engine driven'.

[bmcecosse]

Spot-on Chris.... And yes - I know the Eaton is not the 'best' - but they were very affordable for a while - when folks were removing them from MINIs - to fit even larger ones. These days - the MINI is now turbocharged...... And yes - the Sprintex was developed by some lads in Glasgow - one of whom (Dan Wright) was at Glasgow Uni same time as me.

[Ondergard]

I'm probably going to regret giving yet another display of my monumental ignorance... but what is a supercharger, where does it fit, what does it do to a 1098 engine, and could it do the same or better on the 1275 Marina engine I'm soon to be putting into Betsy Blue?

an anything-charger (short of a mobile phone charger... ) is a means of forcing the 'charge' (air/fuel mix) into the engine, rather than relying on induction pressure alone.

both turbo and super are both effectively compressors that force the air in like a leaf blower or hair dryer.

turbos are 'powered' by exhaust gasses being used to turn the turbine. these are notoriously poor in the low rpm range as you need the exhaust gas to be flowing fast to get the turbines spinning fast. this is 'turbo lag'. normally overcome by 'anti-lag' systems or, as some modern cars have, twin stage, or twin turbos. i think it's a bmw design to have one small turbo for low rpm (small turbo = less lag) and a large turbo on the same engine that gives more boost in the higher rpm. and a very clever method for changing over from one to the other i believe.

superchargers are still compressors, but these are directly driven off a pulley and belt drive. the advantage of super chargers is that they help in the low rev range to boost low end torque.

Volkswagen have a range of TSi engines. These are turbo charged and supercharged. super charged for the low down torque, and turbo'd for the high end power. best of both worlds, and 1.6TSi's perform like 2.0 naturally aspirated engines.

i'm sure to be immediately corrected by Martin or BMC about the finer points i've mentioned, but basically the answer is 'turbos are exhaust driven, superchargers are engine driven'.

Thanks for that... I think! You still haven't told me what they do, though, in terms of engine performance. What are they, some sort of mechanical "Go faster" stripe? And could they work on a 1275?

[Alex'n'Ane]

In simple terms, By compressing the air and forcing it into the engine, it means there is more air, and therefore oxygen in the engine at any one time. This means you can add more fuel, meaning you will get a larger better explosion, hence more performance.
As said they do work on a 1275, but its not a case of just bolting them on, the engine would require strengthening if you go for any reasonable levels of boost (but not get too complex in response to your question)
Performance is dependant on the size of the supercharger (or turbocharger) and the engine capacity. For example a big block v8 could be looking at 200+ with he addition of one, where as a 1098 more like 50+ obviously all dependant on boost levels..

[bmcecosse]

A supercharger effectively gives you an engine ~ 1.4 X the original capacity. As above - if you don't strengthen the mechanicals - it won't last long! However a Super Charger tends to be kinder to the engine since it provides the extra power all the way through the rev range, and high revs are not necessary. The Turbo Charger by it's nature, works best when the engine is revving hard and therefore producing high exhaust gas flow - so the power boost tends to be at the top end, with little at the low end. This is overcome on production cars by using a Turbo that is basically too small - and therefore works quite well at lower revs, but 'runs out of steam' at higher revs.