The V8 Owners Forum -

I am planning/building a project and its time for me to chose an engine. im building a V8 rear wheel drive mini. i want it to be a street legal car but i will take it to the drag strip ocasionally. i would like it to be easy to drive for normal road use so not having to slip the clutch but when i push the throttle it picks its feet up. i have no rush to get an engine so i can wait to find the right one and parts for it. any size or age. I am still looking for a shell to put it in but i will get one thats registerd before 1973

should I get a carb or injection engine? ( i am thinking of a megasquirt system anyway )

what camshaft?

should I turbo/supercharge it?

im aiming for around 300ish brake with boost and 200 ish without

(might be wrong section) but would a gearbox from rover sd1 handle the power?

if i put an engine from say 1995 into a car from 1971 what year will the emissions be tested against? and taxed from?

thanks for any help or advice

If you make a Mini rear wheel drive, I suspect that strictly speaking you will have changed so many parts that you should re-register it anyway.

I would go for at least a fuel injected engine, that way you get the stiffer block (thicker ribs in the valley).

Chris.

Hi
I would look out for an injected engine, pre '86 (I think it is that year to avoid cats) and megasquirt it, you will be glad of the ability to get a smoothe throttle response as you add power, also I would set it up for traction control !
Personally the last thing I would do is turbocharge it, have you thought about wet roundabouts and turbolag yet?? if you must boost it use a centrifugal supercharger so you have a chance of having the rear wheels stay stuck. Have you considered a front engine rear transaxel set up (like the alfa 75 or Porker 928, just it might give it the stability to make it drivable and would involve less butchery to the bulkhead.
First of all though I would build it with a mild cooking 3.5 or 3.9 of about 200 bhp on a nice docile cam (back to the real steel blower cam again) with 9 to 9.25:1 compression, big exhaust valve heads but otherwise basically stage 1 tune then when you have learned to catch the tail in the wet add the blower, an intercooler and about 9 or 10lbs of boost and a nappy .
Best regards
Mike

I'm with kiwicar here.
You are looking at a monumental task to do that conversion.

If you really want to go that route then look at a panel van or a pickup and stuff the engine in behind you through an AUDI box as a mid engined set up. You will still need a nice thick, absorbent diaper though as it will be a lively drive.