35 replies to this topic

[DomCr250]

It's a standard JDM spec Mini as per xrocketengineer above. The specs don't follow exactly what happened in the UK and there is technically no MPI as even the later cars with coil packs and MPI type blocks used the SPI unit and retained the side radiator.
No problem with parts and a lot less rust (at least to begin with).
Same as my 1996 35th Anniversary Cooper engine bay although the I don't have much use for the air con in West Scotland

FS

With the way the weather is playing up at the moment you may well need AC sometime soon

[dyshipfakta]

If your going to buy it I would budget on getting the under side and arches more protection as I would imagine once exposed to our duff climate and salty roads it won't take long for tin worm to set in.

[Screwdriver]

^ Ofcourse - I waxoil all my cars :) 

 

 

No airbag and not a Cooper, which makes it a Tartan standard edition. I suppose the ideal would have been a Cooper SPI with Aircon, more power, same reliability. 

[Spider]

That's pretty much the models that the private importers bought here, most from Japan.

 

That has the MPI head to take the raised alternator bracket.

 

That was the only 12G940 they were casting by around that time (one of the many many 12G940 incarnations!)

[xrocketengineer]

That's pretty much the models that the private importers bought here, most from Japan.

 

That has the MPI head to take the raised alternator bracket.

 

That was the only 12G940 they were casting by around that time (one of the many many 12G940 incarnations!)

 

If it is like mine, it has a standard head with two longer studs for the the alternator bracket. The compressor attaches to the side of the block with a huge bracket with a belt tensioner, mounted on the original alternator mounting points. There is a third longer stud for mounting the coil upside down.

 

 

 

Edited by xrocketengineer, 27 December 2015 - 08:10 PM.

[spiguy]

don't be put off by the engine bay, as Flying Scot says, that is a proper spec Jap mini of the year. I also have a Jap mini and you simply can't beat them for being rust free. If the price is decent, it would be WELL worth buying over a UK car of the same era, as it should be literally rust free. Stick plenty of good quality wax on the underside and in the box sections and it should stay that way for a long time.

[Wise Old Elf]

So the Sidewalk was renamed the Tartan for the Jap market? Interesting.

 

http://www.mini-le-r...ic.php?f=9&t=44

[jaydee]

To be fair the mpi engine was developed by rover engineers

BMW only put the money and their 'quality control' 

[mab01uk]

To be fair the mpi engine was developed by rover engineers

BMW only put the money and their 'quality control' 

 

There is a good write up on the 'The Last Mini's' website about the BMW Years of the classic Mini and the MPi development story (see link below).

 

"Ever-tightening EU regulations were plotting to kill the Mini. In order for it to survive, it would need to be refined and redeveloped in a number of ways - all of which had previously been considered too expensive and too complex an engineering feat to be worthwhile. Now though, with BMW & Pischetsrieder at the helm, the outcome was likely to be very different indeed. If his plan to launch a successor to Issigonis' original was to succeed, he would not only need Rover's Longbridge plant to keep producing the almost 40 year-old design until the new car was ready, but to complete the work of former boss Graham Day and fully re-discover the Mini's long-lost mojo.
Rover's engineers had a tough task ahead of them, then. Lowering emissions, reducing noise and boosting safety were all on the agenda, while the designers were faced with the considerable challenge of reinstating the Mini's once-enviable reputation as a fashion must-have."
Read on to find out how they did it:-

http://www.thelastmi...chapter-ii.html

Edited by mab01uk, 29 December 2015 - 03:19 PM.

[grahamy]

Hi All, I'm new to the site and the mini scene but I have just bought a Japanese Mini in the last two weeks. Awesome car and has a host of performance upgrades. It's a 1994 Cooper but been converted to twin carbs and goes like stink. I'm unsure of the output but the previous owner tells me it's a 1340 and certainly feels like it. It's in the paint shop just now but will post some pics once I get it back. As said above. It's great having a rust free car which has never been welded.

Can I ask a silly question. What's MPI and SPI?

[Wise Old Elf]

Multi Point Injection

 

Single Point Injection

[grahamy]

Thanks!

[FlyingScot]

These are injection cars SPi (Single Point Injection) MPi (Multi Point Injection)
Converting to carbs can be done but passing the MOT on emissions is another matter (which was the reason for injecting the A series in the first place)

FS

[inim_repooc]

It look like it is a standard SPI with air conditioning since it has a standard coil and distributor. I have a 1994 Cooper model and it is pretty much the same animal.
 

 
The difference is the Cooper has 63 HP and the non Cooper 53 HP I believe. The easiest way to determine that is by the ECU number, Cooper is MNE101070 and non Cooper MN101050. The Japanese models do not have factory alarm nor immobiliser. Being a 1996 it probably has the fuse box inside rather than the four fuse unit on the engine side of the bulkhead like mine. It uses standard SPI items, coolant hoses, ECU, injector, multi function relay unit, etc. What is different are the brackets for the air conditioning compressor, the attachment for the ECU, condenser, and the engine compartment electrical harness. 1997 and later models are a mix of MPI and SPI parts with a unique ECU and other parts, in my opinion it is probably a lot harder to find the right parts for those.
Other than the crammed engine compartment is standard SPI stuff.

someone correct me if wrong, but I'm sure these late minis are all identical in power , cooper or non cooper? All should be 63

[timmy850]

1994 Brochure confirms the 53 and 63ps engines (page 13)

 

http://www.minipassi... range 1994.pdf