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 Posted: Dec 10, 2017 05:11PM
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derwood.. I found a SPI throttle body and ECU unit..  make me an offer.??. came off customers running mini.  He had me convert to carbs.... later bc

 Posted: Nov 30, 2017 07:22AM
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And if you want to "upgrade", Specialist Components in the UK offer the Typhoon CPU (not cheap) which is a plug and play replacement with modern (hook it up to your PC) programming and diagnostic capabilities.

 Posted: Nov 29, 2017 08:05PM
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Oops forgot about those parts Lee but don't see too many issues with those. For the most part unless you find one that has been hacked these SPI's are pretty reliable and tend to stay that way if used regularly.

If in doubt, flat out. Colin Mc Rae MBE 1968-2007.

Give a car more power and it goes faster on the straights,
make a car lighter and it's faster everywhere. Colin Chapman.

 Posted: Nov 29, 2017 04:46PM
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My business has serviced and repaired numerous SPI cars over the last 10 years. Never had a bad ECU. Malsal has listed the most common issues and easy to fix issues. In recent times we have had a run of cars with bad throttle position sensors which are NLA new but do pop up on beau every once in a while. Also had quite a few stepper motor issues of late.

 Posted: Nov 29, 2017 04:11PM
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US
Mine came without the relay box, so I had to buy one for about $120 or so.
Then I found my CPU was bad, but fortunately found a local guy with a small electronics shop who was able to detect and replace a diode for about $20.

Once working, it has been fine.

 Posted: Nov 29, 2017 05:21AM
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Thanks Malsal. This is great info to know. Especially that they are not trouble prone, but also that they require good vacuum hoses. In my limited experience with stomberg carburetors I always found that it was the elbow that was leaking and not the pipe itself. I’ve dug into my Haynes manual and it has decsribed the heater unit for quick warm up of the catalytic converters . The location of the rest of the sensors is new to me....I must try to store it away in my memory ??. Thanks for the help Malsal, it really appreciated. I will be posting pictures as soon as I have my car either en-route or in my driveway. Peace all , Darren.

 Posted: Nov 28, 2017 09:22PM
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They do not go bad often and afaik are not available new but they can be re built for around $400 in the UK.
The SPI's are quite reliable requiring mainly vacuum lines and sensors for maintenance. The most common sensor to go bad is the coolant temp sensor which requires removing the inlet manifold to replace. There is also the o2 sensor and inlet temp sensor, there is a small heater under the intake which helps with warm up. There is a relay box that can fail and is around $150.
If it has not been done already replace the vacuum lines as believe it or not the computer needs vacuum to work correctly. The lines themselves do not go bad it is the 90 degree elbow ends that disintegrate and there are 7 of them.
There is also a fuel trap mounted on the firewall which needs to be clear so vacuum can flow.
Also all the grounds need to be in good shape and clean.
There is a Sykes Picavant code reader that is a good tool to have but they are not cheap and really usually only available in the UK. If your car has had codes stored you cannot erase them without using the code reader so it is worth the investment or find one locally.
There is a Mini site in the UK called theminiforum.co.uk and it has a good article written by sprocket that is worth reading.
The good thing about an SPI is that if you have trouble you can convert it to carb if you decide you want to go that route which is harder and more expensive to do with an MPI.
Congrats on the purchase.

If in doubt, flat out. Colin Mc Rae MBE 1968-2007.

Give a car more power and it goes faster on the straights,
make a car lighter and it's faster everywhere. Colin Chapman.

 Posted: Nov 28, 2017 06:22PM
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Member since:Jul 13, 2017
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Hello my friends. I am still tracking down my classic mini. There is a good chance that I may have one delivered from Ontario before Christmas....I WHAT A GIFT !! But I thought it might be prudent to ask how much an SPi CPU unit would cost. Do any of you folks know how expensive the CPU is ? Are there more than one model for all SPi equipt cars, or only one. Do these CPU units quit very often ? I’m just trying to get a quote on the very expensive part ( CPU at this time ) in case mine should go and quit on me. Also, are there any frequent parts that go often ? The car I’m looking at is a 1993 Rover Cooper SPi .

Any help is appreciated my friends, Best regards, Darren.