Ask the expert
POWER UP
Q I know you’re always being asked about getting more power from your Mini, but I don’t think there’s much point in trying to tune the 998cc engine I have in my car. It’s started to make some pretty odd noises, and using a fair bit of oil. My uncle has an old 1300 Metro engine tucked away in his garage and he says it was running really well when it was removed from the car, but that was quite a few years ago.
My question is, would this engine fit into the Mini, would it give me any more power and are there any problems I might encounter when fitting it?
Ben
A The Metro unit can easily be fitted complete with gearbox straight into your Mini with little more effort than that required to swap the Metro engine mounts over for those currently on the engine you are taking out.
The main problem is the cooling system design. You will have to drill the heater tap takeoff point on the head, but the retaining stud holes are already drilled and tapped. You will also have to use the Mini thermostat housing set-up.
“The new wheels and tyres are going to have quite an effect on the way the Mini handles”
The thermostat will need a half-dozen 3mm holes drilling around its periphery to allow water circulation until the thermostat
