5 replies to this topic

[ianmcgoo22]

Hi Everybody,

I'm not sure if this is the best place to put this, but I thought I'd try it. Way back in the Dark Ages, (okay, probably the 1970's) you could buy a kit to adapt a Ford Kent engine to a Mini gearbox. I understand the main part of the kit was an adaptor to bolt onto the end of the Ford crankshaft to make it "look" like a Mini crank and take a Mini flywheel and clutch.

Apparently these kits still come up on E-Bay occasionally, though I've never found one. Does anybody have a photo of one of the crankshaft adapters you could either post here or send to me by PM? I'm interested in duplicating the same general idea. I have a good idea of what the adapter must look like, but the only photo I've been able to find is a poor one in David Vizard's book "How to Modify Your Mini." I'd like a bigger, better photo or two if I could find one.

Thanks!

[minisilverbullet]

Hi Everybody,

I'm not sure if this is the best place to put this, but I thought I'd try it. Way back in the Dark Ages, (okay, probably the 1970's) you could buy a kit to adapt a Ford Kent engine to a Mini gearbox. I understand the main part of the kit was an adaptor to bolt onto the end of the Ford crankshaft to make it "look" like a Mini crank and take a Mini flywheel and clutch.

Apparently these kits still come up on E-Bay occasionally, though I've never found one. Does anybody have a photo of one of the crankshaft adapters you could either post here or send to me by PM? I'm interested in duplicating the same general idea. I have a good idea of what the adapter must look like, but the only photo I've been able to find is a poor one in David Vizard's book "How to Modify Your Mini." I'd like a bigger, better photo or two if I could find one.

Thanks!

The April 2010 mini magizine featured a mini with Lotus (i know not a ford) twin cam block on a mini gearbox. could be worth checking out!

[mini13]

the lotus twincam mentioned above uses the ford crossflow block, so it uses the same kit.

[mk1leg]

There is a great clubman with a ford lotus twin cam on a mini box..................

[Yoda]

Many years ago, I did this conversion, I bought a kit from an advert in (i think) streecar magazine, and found an old twin cam lotus engine in the breakers yard. the block was completely shot so i used a 1600 block from a capri and swapped over the lotus head etc.

I seem to recall you got an adapter for the crank, an aluminium plate about 1 1/2 inch thick to adapt the block to fit the transfer case and had to drill two new holes in the block to take the gearbox, and maybe a little reshaping of the box to fit. Sadly i never took photo's, because in those days it was all on celluloid, No digital stuff way back then!

So i ended up with a 1600 lotus twin cam, on a mini gearbox. almost identical looking to the picture above, but in a roundnose car. ( took a bit of reshaping the flip front and the carb trumpets stuck out through the bonnet.

It went like stink, but at 18 years old, you can guess it did not last long. The last i saw of the engine it landed in a ditch along with the subframe, at the side of Swanley bypass and i was left sitting in a mini with no front end.

Needless to say, I walked home


Google this "lotus twin cam on a mini gearbox"

Edited by Yoda, 04 September 2011 - 09:43 AM.

[hazpalmer14]

isn't it a "manx" conversion or something that may be worth a google.