Hi All,

I have been trying to decide how I should approach the engine situation in my mini.
At the moment it has a 998 in it that is in serious need of some TLC. It needs a tune up for sure but I don't think that would be worth it without first giving it a rebuild (at least seals and gaskets).

My longer term plan is to find a 1100 and do some work on it (bore it, maybe think about turbo), just for something with more oomph but that is a few years away.

My question is if I aim for 3 years to get an 1100 and get it rebuilt, should I put the effort/money now into giving the 998 a rebuild?
I have had a look at this kit: https://minisport.com.au/engine-rebuild-kit-1000cc but for someone with low budget should I spend that or just get by for the next few years on a rough 998?
I'm also thinking of adding the "stage 1" kit - is this worth it?

Note: I have worked on cars before but I'm new to engines and minis.

Thanks and sorry its a bit of a vague question.

If the car is on the road at the moment I’d be tempted to run the 998 as it is, and then buy another engine to rebuild in the meantime (I’m doing this right now). The stage one kit is worth a bit of power and you can do the swap in an afternoon. If you get the right kit you can keep all the components to swap to your next engine.

Doing a budget rebuild to your current 998 isn’t far from a full rebuild, will essentially be the same as doing it to an 1100. The rebuild kit you’ve linked would involve:
Rebore and/or hone block
Regrind and/or polish crank
Full strip down, clean and rebuild.

You can pick up an 1100 in need of a rebuild very cheaply. Then if you had a good solid engine you can modify it further in the future - cam, performance head etc.

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The first thing to do would be to get a gauge on how your current engine is. The standard 998 engines are really pretty sluggish when new. If you have a later clubby, the 3.44 diff keeps the revs down, but makes it even more sluggish.

There's a good chance that a carb tune and a service will make a lot of difference. But if you can get a compression test you'll be able to see where to start - you might need a rebuild, you might just need a tune.

If your engine is in good nick, I'd first recommend getting an electronic ignition kit. You can usually pick these up for around $60-$100 depending on your distributor type, and they're very easy to install. You'll get a much nicer idle and you'll never need to worry about setting the points again.

Your next step will be the stage 1 kit - and these do make a very noticable difference. If you can, get a kit with set of a maniflow (or similar) 3-into-1 extractors. The LCB ones will fit, but not as nicely, and the exhaust will bottom out easy and will be hard to seal. A stage 1 kit and a tune will make a huge difference.

Both of these mods are a good start and a pretty good into to working on minis.

Back on the topic of rebuilding the engine, if it's got low compression, that kit you've linked will work well. However, a 1098 will be better for rebuilding for a road car. There's no point in rebuilding your 998 just to replace it soon after, and a replacement 1098 shouldn't cost much if you can find one locally.

Your 998 block is the same as a 1098. Rebore and build it with an 1100 crank and pistons. But crack test the crank before buying.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Would that be worth doing with the 998 head? I was under the impression that the 1098 head was better. By the time you're buying a head + crank + pistons it's probably worth getting the entire engine.

Having said this, you can't crack test the crank or head if you're buying the whole engine.

There are lots of 1098 motors about with a 998 head on, I owned one that was built years ago by Mini Kingdom.
But 1098 heads (12G202) are still common, they sold thousands in the Morris 1100 and early 1098 Sprites.

If you really want it to go hard they need head work, anything you do to a 202 head can be done to a 998 one. Just there's more metal to grind out.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Thanks for all the tips/ideas.

I think I will just find an 1100 engine and work on it and keep what I have as it is for now.
Will do a tune up soon though to see if that improves things a little.