Mini

Hi there, welcome to the site.

Basically, I’ve taken the engine, gearbox, complete wiring loom, ECU, seats and speedo cluster from a MK2 Suzuki Swift GTI and grafted them into a classic mini shell.

Why do it? Well as standard Mk2 Suzuki Swift GTI produces about 110 HP and has a five speed box, you would be hard pressed to get a reliable A Series mini engine to produce that sort of power. The Swift is a very advanced engine, it’s a 16 valve twin can design with an aluminium block, forged pistons and hollow camshafts. These are all the types of things that would cost thousands to put in a standard mini engine.

Putting a non standard engine into a mini means a number of modifications, you need a new subframe, new driveshafts, a modified exhaust system and you also need to try and fit all the Suzuki’s wiring into the mini to drive the fuel injection system.

My motivation for this project started about 5 or 6 years ago, when I saw a Swift powered mini at the London to Brighton Mini Run. After a bit of research on the web, I found a couple of people in Australia who had completed the conversion, however the details were mainly just pictures. After further searching I discovered with 16 valve mini club (http://www.16vminiclub.com/). This has a great forum with some really helpful people willing to lend advice.