looking out for cheap mini for project for me but will final use for my godson.

silly question but i assume that if we bought a auto mini to change to a manual is just a case of removing the gearbox and bolting on a new one.

everthing else is the same is it not (apart from the gear stick)?

You'll need the clutch pedal assembly and slave cylinder too....

It's not possible, Block , oil pump and IIRC the crank is totally different ,I think the only thing the same is the cylinder head .Keep looking for a manual . Sorry to give you bad news. PS The front subframe and driveshafts are different as well

Just buy a manual to start with, auto Mini's are painfull.

They also tend to be worth double a manual, the old dears love them

You also need to change the subframe as it's different.

thanks for that, did not know sub frames where different.

will keep on looking for a manual one then.

They made well over 5million of them so it should'nt be too difficult!

and prob 5 or so autos! I think the auto engine was also detuned from the manual too.....

atb
steve

The auto engine was in fact very slighly higher tuned to replace mechinical loses which is why they had a 1.5 in SU when the early manuals had a 1.25in

Minis have rocketed in value round here over the last few years. I would worry about buying the best car for the money, regardless of whether it was auto or manual, as its not that hard a swap if you drop the whole subframe and engine out, and replace with a complete assembly from a scrapped manual car.

As discussed the auto engine is different, in that it does not have a a dipstick hole,as its on the gearbox and the oil gallery in the block needs drilling from the gearbox mating surface on the engine,
I am not sure about the crankshaft being different, but the one i converted 25 years ago from auto to manual was still on the road last year

I would not bother again, it was a pig of a job ,

Also from memory the subframe may be different but it still worked with the manaul setup

Yep it can be done without changing the subframe.

Another thing to remember is to join the start inhibit wires together.

not bothered about how much work it is as i am looking to do a full strip down and rebuild, i have booked my welding/restoration course for jan. trouble is finding local ones as most of the cars have no mots and so would have to be able to tow back, if not we have to some one to move the car and this will eat into our small budget.

if you have a small budget, then dont go anywhere near to rebuilding or building a car

as it it willl most defintley come out way way over budjet

My uncle converted an auto A+ block to manual as it was virtualy brand new. It is a lot of work though, you have to drill out a lot of bits and fit a spacer to the oil pump.

The crank is the same IIRC.

There are usually loads of Minis on ebay so keep an eye out there. Also have a look at The Mini Forum as there are often some on there - and quite a few mini experts too!

it is rare to find a mini in a scrapyard these days - tehy have more worth when sold as parts than scrap value so most don't get there complete, and there are specialists who buy most write offs.

"if you have a small budget, then dont go anywhere near to rebuilding or building a car

as it it willl most defintley come out way way over budjet"

I know about budgets when i built my super 6 completely over, did not help buying a kit for a pinto engine then changing my mind to a zetec.

we had a very very rough budget of
£500 for car
£200 for repairs to panels (done by me)
£200 for for misc items
£200 for paint (done by me)
this does not include for any additional tools that i will need,

hopefully that will get a decent little first car and at least we will know that it is sound rather than spending £1000 on a car that you know nothing about and will still need more work done on it.

and then may be if do a decent job might be able to get my hands on the orginal mk2 cooper s which somebody at work has got in bits in his garage.