Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

i have a minor 1000 and like to do an engine swap for a little more power.
but there are some issues as i need it to look original.

what do you reckon? i was thinkin a 1275GT engine from a mini.

any issues regarding mini's east west mounting and den place in a north south on a minor? Needed any reinforcement?

Thanks in advance.

Jay

See my reply to your email

Could be done - probably best to fit the complete Mini front subframe into the Minor - quite a task!
Mini engines cannot (sensibly) be fitted to Minors. Best to look for a 1275 Marina/Ital or Spridget engine.
There are a number of relatively easy ways to improve the power of the Minor engine - without going to the hassle of a swap. What sort of performance are you looking for ?

Although it's difficult to fit a whole mini engine as it is FWD I assume the 1275GT mini head can be fitted onto a marina/spridget engine in a minor though if so desired? Or even onto the 1098 engine?

Indeed - but the head is just standard size valve 940 head. Only the 1300 GT (ie 1100/1300 model range) had the bigger inlet valve 940 head - and the earlier MG Metro and last-of-line Cooper S of course!

bmcecosse wrote:Could be done - probably best to fit the complete Mini front subframe into the Minor - quite a task!
Mini engines cannot (sensibly) be fitted to Minors. Best to look for a 1275 Marina/Ital or Spridget engine.
There are a number of relatively easy ways to improve the power of the Minor engine - without going to the hassle of a swap. What sort of performance are you looking for ?

guess i'll have to skip the idea of using a mini engine.
probably i will look for 1275 marina/ital or spridget ("spridget" does it mean sprite/midget engine) but main thing is does it look like the stock 948? as i have some restriction here and i need it to be as stock looking as possible. Pretty sad..

may i know what are the other options for power improvement? was thinking a swap is a better option for me as i will be doing a complete bare body overhaul.
I was thinking of a power of a 1275GT, classic cooper s 60ish hp??. but still need it to be stock looking.

The sprite/midget block is the same A series block as the Minor and if I remember the 1275cc is 65 bhp which will solve your problem. Whereabouts are you as there is nothing on your ID.

Those 'in the know' will easily spot a 1275 Spridget engine in a Minor - but basically - it does look very much the same 'at a glance'. Your 60 bhjp is easily obtained from the standard 1098 engine - fit the head and carb from the 1275 GT engine - and you will be ~ 60 bhp with a decent exhaust system. It's not an absolutely straight swap - so if doing this come back for more detailed instructions !

Kevin wrote:The sprite/midget block is the same A series block as the Minor and if I remember the 1275cc is 65 bhp which will solve your problem. Whereabouts are you as there is nothing on your ID.

\

hi kevin, i am from singapore don't get too much freedom in restoring vehicles here.

bmcecosse wrote:Those 'in the know' will easily spot a 1275 Spridget engine in a Minor - but basically - it does look very much the same 'at a glance'. Your 60 bhjp is easily obtained from the standard 1098 engine - fit the head and carb from the 1275 GT engine - and you will be ~ 60 bhp with a decent exhaust system. It's not an absolutely straight swap - so if doing this come back for more detailed instructions !

appreciate your help and pardon me if i ask questions that may seem obvious to some, as i am pretty new and have loads to learn.

currently i have a 948 in it. i'm thinking of doing a complete restore to the car body and why not also to get the more power while doing so and from an engine that looks like a 948 so as to be discrete.

in terms of power i ~60 is my minimum but still hungry for a little more

my engine is currently a 948 and since i will be doing an engine swap to either a 1098 or a 1275 spridget

would it be better if i get a 1275 spridget and be able to use the 1275GT head and carb to get even more power >60? or it is not compatible?

thanks

The 1275 Spridget engine is the better option - no advantage in the haed swap then. It's the same ! I assume though you can't use twin carbs - so you will want the single slightly larger carb from the 1275 GT engine. Again - the engine is not a 'straight swap' - although it's not difficult - so come back for details once you have sourced the engine ! A good 1275 can of course be 'encouraged' to give ~ 90 bhp without too much difficulty - and still on a standard looking (but slightly larger) single carb.

bmcecosse wrote:The 1275 Spridget engine is the better option - no advantage in the haed swap then. It's the same ! I assume though you can't use twin carbs - so you will want the single slightly larger carb from the 1275 GT engine. Again - the engine is not a 'straight swap' - although it's not difficult - so come back for details once you have sourced the engine ! A good 1275 can of course be 'encouraged' to give ~ 90 bhp without too much difficulty - and still on a standard looking (but slightly larger) single carb.

yes no twin carbs for me haha..

i have manage to source a 1275 Marina A series engine. Is this fine too? or spridget is better?

Marina is fine - slightly more obvious that it's a different engine - because of the side mounted oil filter! But you can simply explain it away as an 'upgrade' on later engines - which indeed it is ! You won't use the Marina flywheel - so you will need to modify the one from your engine by drilling 4 holes - accurately - in the centre part of the flywheel to allow it to bolt up to the Marina 6 bolt crank. you will use the Marina flywheel as a drill jig - so don't throw it away!

I'd say a V8!!

Have had minors with all the common transplants in but a rover V8 you cant beat!!


Not much help probably!!

Have a look on my website got a few pictures of me preparing at marina/ital engine for my series II. In France on the MOT and my 1275 is going fine at the moment!!

I've got a '74 Datsun B210 engine and automatic transmission in mine.
1300cc.
Don't know how easy these are for you Brits to find but they're bulletproof.

I've got a '74 Datsun B210 engine and automatic transmission in mine.
1300cc.
Don't know how easy these are for you Brits to find but they're bulletproof.

And the interesting thing about these Datsun motors is that they are a development of the Austin/Morris/BMC/Leyland A-series. Datsun was licensed to build the A series and three generations (of motor design) later, we have the Datsun A series used in the 1200, B210 and B310 models. It came in various capacities, up to 1500cc.

They are very popular as a replacement motor in Minors here in Australia. They are indeed very reliable and long-lasting. Quite a few down here are turbo- or supercharged.

Cheers
Don

mrsnak wrote:I've got a '74 Datsun B210 engine and automatic transmission in mine.
1300cc.
Don't know how easy these are for you Brits to find but they're bulletproof.

Only ever seen one over here and that was a few years ago.