- Boosting Mini Performance -

turbomini.co.uk - Blog archive

16-January-2005

Well the Mini didn't pass its MoT. Firstly the rear brake cylinders have seized up and need changing (a result of standing for ages no doubt). Also it failed the dreaded emissions test, the man at the MoT station didn't really seem to know what was wrong and just suggested that my engine was broken, more like it just needs setting up properly! So in light of that i'm going to take it to the rolling road for a setup and get them to do the MoT test at the same time. It will be fun limping the car the 20 or so miles there as it was really running badly - pulling away ok but then spluttering and coughing but finally pulling through it. Another good reason for getting the car properly setup!

12-January-2005

I have spent the last few weekends going through the long list of thing that needed doing before the car could be taken for an MoT test and finally be put back on the road. This has included four areas of welding (one a fun doorstep to fold), refitting the carpets, dash and seats. I made a bracket to hold the washer bottle that is now located in the boot. All the wiring for the extra gauges needed sorting (electric oil pressure, turbo boost and volts) and general tidying of all the wiring. I also fitted a leather steering wheel from an MG Metro Turbo (a small upgrade from the original) and replaced the dodgy column controls while I was at it.

It's now booked in for a test this Saturday, fingers crossed that we'll make it to the test station and that the MoT man won't find any major faults!

30-December-2004

It lives! Many thanks to Dave for giving us a few hours of his time yesterday and getting the mini running. The timing and the fueling were both way out but with a bit of fettling and much head scratching we finally got it started. We tried it again today and it started first time, we also did a few turns on the drive, scarcely a road test but the first time it's moved under its own power for over a year! As the MoT's expired its first test will be the journey there. Still a few small things to-do before then: secure the heater, relocate the washer bottle to the boot and fix the fog lamp. It does look a bit rough round the edges but I hope it'll pass unless there's some nasty rust patch i've missed.

12-December-2004

Got a bit of time today to spend on the mini. Pulled the fuel lines out and noticed that the standard narrower 1/4 inch pipe was the fuel feed - no wonder there were fuel supply problems! Got a bit sidetracked after that though as I had to do some welding to the rear which I figured was a good time to do as I had the fuel tank out of the way. Also I went to the scrap yard yesterday and got a inertia switch from a Ford Mondeo that will be used to kill the fuel pump and ignition in the event of a crash.

06-December-2004

Well the Mini is finally home. Our friend who was supposed to be doing the conversion for us just had too much on to finish the project and we felt it'd been dragging on far too long now so we went and collected it in it's unfinished state. Basically it's almost there, the new engine is in and turns over with a good spark but the fuel pump needs wiring in. But it's now in my hands and it's almost there. Engine picture here.

14-August-2004

The Best Laid Plans O' Mice and Men Gang Aft Agley.

So Robbie Burns said although nobody's quite sure what mice he was referring to. Anyway the poor old turbo mini project all went a bit 'agley' when in the early part of this year the engine we had turned out to be, well, FUBAR. We had already discovered that the diff had exploded shattering a planet gear but it looks like all is not well in the bottom end either - typical a-series turbo motor then!

So, there it sat in disgust for six months while attention was turned to other projects. That was until another turbo mini turned up for sale from one of our club members, the body work was a basket case but the engine was freshly rebuilt by the previous owner. He'd given up on the idea of installing it in one of his minis so we brought it for a very reasonable sum. So with any luck it might be on the road soon, needs an MoT though so hope that will all go through without too much bother.

5-January-2004

Happy New Year!

Well, it's the Minis 45th Aniversary this year, hopefully our Turbo will be back on the road to celebrate! Its nearly all done now including some amazing intercooler pipework. Just the fuel pipes and some bonnet vents to do now, plus a few bits and bobs.

There has been a little update to the Gallery section.

6-December-2003

Intercooler plumbing underway. Much pipe bending fun to be had. More to come soon when I can get the camera out again - maybe even a picture of the actual car!

New Gallery section added - check it out.

2-October-2003

Install is progressing slowly but surely. The body mods are done, the engine is in and the turbo and exhaust manifold are all lagged. Things learnt along the way so far: Six bladed fans and two core rads won't fit, bulkhead boxes don't necesserily create enough space - a little extra room was needed for the air pipe to attach. We've also seen why turbos and mini transmission don't mix - more on that later ;-)

19-August-2003

Well after all this time collecting parts, the Mini has been taken off the road and the turbo install has begun. Should be able to report back soon with some results.

New section on intercoolers added to the parts section

7-July-2003

Woohoo, we are back after a brief time of being off-line due to our webspace being taken away with no warning! Anyway, we are now properly hosted (thanx Rich ;-)
So we shouldn't have anymore problems.

More updates about Minis coming shortly...

3-May-2003

Ok, so the conversion is still not done! We've been a bit busy doing stuff to our our other Minis. I have added some extra stuff to the parts section and I have a few more under construction that I will hopefully upload soon.

4-Jan-2003

Happy New Year!

Well the site has been redesigned and i've added the parts and reference sections. As far as the Mini goes not much has been done over Christmas, time to get onto it in the New Year I think.

30-Oct-2002

What's it all about then? We'll putting a turbocharger and suitable engine into a Mini (a proper one - none of this new fangled muck!). Yes it's been done before, but we thought we'd have a go at it. Should prove an interesting experience if nothing else! This website should cronicle the development of the car and provide a forum for discussions.