There is no reason the 'a' series can't be reliable. On second thought do the vtec. I'm in St.louis and might be interested in the 1275 and then the van when you get frustrated in the middle of the conversion!

best suspension i have found to my taste is s-racer blue coils all around with his hi-los and the rear sway bar, use AVO gas adjustable shocks as i think they better than any of the others i have tried, very gentle car with shocks turned down but if you want to autox on the weekend or do some street racing just click them up 20 times and you have a very flat stiff car, again my 2 cents, jim

Right now it has a 1275 metro motor.

I am not so much worried about the power. More so the reliability.

I bought this to advertise my business and will be driving it alot around st louis.

It needs a suspension upgrade. Any suggestions.

The reason i gave the vtec a notion was for the reliability of a Honda motor and for fuel injection.

My first car when I was 17 in Scotland was a 1976 clubman with twin weber carbs and a few other upgrades. That was twenty years ago so i'm a little rusty on the subject.

Thanks for your imput

 

so very true also a mini-me will do it  SOHC D16 put out over 163HP+

 

I recommend the Non-VTEC B18 for a few good reasons:

1 The extra 10mm of block height comes in handy when you want the intake to clear the bulkhead without a nose extention.

2 You can get a good one for $1000 with trans, shift linkeage, and ECU (compared to $1600-$4000 for VTEC)

3 142HP and 129lbft of torque stock. (same torque as a Type R, but 1500 RPM sooner)

4 You can always add a B18 or B16 VTEC head later (frankenstein LS/VTEC) for another 30-40 HP

5 Most important:  The Non- VTEC gearbox has the tallest final drive and tallest 5th gear- you'll want that with a 19" tall tire that the mini uses vs. a 24" tall tire in a Honda.  Most people with the extra money will just buy a 3.4 Final Drive for $1600, though.

6 I've found that 150HP and 130 lb ft in a Mini is enough to frighten yourself and your friends silly.  Any more is just for bragging rights and tire smoke.  You simply can't get more horsepower to go thru those little front wheels.  That said, when I come back from the UK in a couple of years, I'm going to add a VTEC head to mine just to make it a bit scarier...

latka is 100% on with his first post, don't do anything until you spend some amount of time driving on or riding in one, hopefully more than one.

than decide what you want the car for? b18 typr r? turbo? it all looks very cool but not that practical for everyday and way more power than you will ever be able to get on the ground. my last vtec one ( i have had/have more conversion minis than anyone this side of the pond) i upgraded my b16 to a b20 as it seemed so cool but like i said not very useable. b16 is more than enough or a d16zc like tim and ringmini have is good and plenty.

come to a minimeet and spend more time reading on all the sites before doing or buying anything, just my 2 cents.

How about an L15 VTEC from the Fit...I bet it would fit....not big on power though, only like 109 from the factory, but the engine is narrower and shallower than the B series mostly because it is SOHC.

 

http://asia.vtec.net/Series/FitJazz/lseries/

Nothing is so bad that you can't make it worse by doing something rash or going berserk.

I used to live in St. Louis years ago,what a drive.I also do custom built mini that will allow standard metal nose with no extension,can even make it RH drive if wanted,i see yours is lh drive which helps a little,mine is d16 and is the jdm version plenty of power,you should come to ky to test drive mine only 4 hours away.nice van by the way!

http://austinmini.ositech.net/Hosting/WrenchHead/wrenchhead.htm

1996 silverbullet limited edition @ tim's aka (wrenchhead on MM board)  year-to-date progress > photos  > see photos here: http://s58.photobucket.com/albums/g251/pologround/test/Silverbullet%20mini/

I have the k20 and will most likely be adding a supercharger like Meno.

I suggest looking on some of the tuner/import sites for a complete engine that someone has already built up.

I saw a k20a2 that was VERY nice and set up that was selling for $2000.

Try clubrsx dot com in the for sale section or look for the k20 I was talking about on  houston-imports dot com.

There are several sites that you can look into. You will see what I mean after a bit of searching......

 VERY nice van by the way.......

 

 

 

 

Travis        

 67' Cooper S 

 62' Mini Cooper Vtec Project underway (Operation Kwik-E- Kart)

What a nice looking van!  What a shame to rape such a nice specimen.

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

Bitchin' van!  Have you ever seen the "Ringmini" videos?  He's got a van with a D series engine - and he runs his van around the Nurburgring.  I'd probably go for the B16 or D16 myself, but if you can find one you might want something crazier like the B18 that the Integra Type R used (B18C1 or C5 - can't remember off the top of my head)... or the B16B which powered the Civic Type R.  

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My Higher Authority is the German Purity Law of 1516 . 

It's going to come down to how much money you have, how much skill, and how much time.  A B16A2 would provide ample power to your Mini.  Then again, you could go the Meno route and put a Supercharged K20 in there.  ...and ride around with your hair on fire.

I'd suggest a few things:

1.  Find someone with a Honda powered Mini and drive it.  

2.  Check www.16vminiclub.com.  LOTS of info.  Many different types of builds there too.

3.  Superfast Minis.  (I think if you chuck a .com on that you'll get their site).  Kits for D, B, and K series powered Minis.

4.  vtec.minimania.com

5.  I think Steve Alexander is still building kits, but I don't know if he's got a website yet or not.  Last time I remember hearing he was indeed building, but he wasn't trying to crank out the kits rapidly.  I believe his username on the board is SAlexander.  At one time Brian Campbell (sp?) was building frames, but I'm not certain if he is anymore.

As for the motor, it's all going to depend on what you can get your hands on.  Don't count out the D series motors - I think it was the D16y8 or somethin like that which made 135hp.  Lots of parts for it out there too.   B16 and B18 are still around, but it all depends on what your local junkyards are like as to what the supply is.  Also - what do you want to use it for?  Daily driver?  Track day / weekend blasts only?  I would think the answer to that plus the "how much 'ya got ($)?" would help point you in the right direction. 

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My Higher Authority is the German Purity Law of 1516 . 

Alright, Alright. I guess I deserved the abuse.

In my defense, I had just drove the mini from West Chester PA to St Louis.

I was a little tired.

Im sure you knew what i meant so can we please keep it on topic.

I have a 1972 Mini Van which I would like to do a vtec swap into.

What motor do you recommend? B18?

 

Mr. Duck, turbo that sucka and watch those shapes fly out da windows when you take a corner hard!

Life ain't no use, if you ain't got the boost.  The boost you get from Loosener's!   Loosener's Caster Oil Flakes, the "All Weather Breakfast".

Have you ever tried filling out the paperwork to get money back from AFLAC?  In this case it would not be worth the effort for what they 'might' give me for my missing shapes.

Quack.  Quack.   Orange Cream soda.  Shaken, not stirred.
Served with a side of melted peanut butter toast.

Brown Duck, shouldn't your AFLAK policy cover the missing shapes?

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

I really like my VTECH Mini.  Especially the music it plays when you turn the switch on and use the string to pull it along the ground.  It does have a catchy tune.  Yes, VTECH does make more than just phones.  And I would even sell my VTECH Mini for $5000.  But I guess I would have to take less than that for it since I think I am missing a few of the shapes.

Quack.  Quack.   Orange Cream soda.  Shaken, not stirred.
Served with a side of melted peanut butter toast.