I have a 997 which is soon to be ready to go in my Mini. The engine bay is bare and was once occupied 1310 before it met it's unfortunate demise. Question I have is the 1275 gearbox had a 4 pinion diff on it and both the box and the diff are in very good condition. Will the whole gearbox/diff set up bolt straight onto the 997 short block??

I remember modifying an 1100 gearbox for a 1275, just wondered if it worked backwards. I'll be needing the 4 pinion for the 997 and would prefer to just swap boxes so I dont have to stuff around with the bearing pre-load again.

Any answers, questions, opinions or general cries of "Bloody Idiot" welcome

Should be no problem at all as I have put a 998 standard block onto a 1275 gearbox whilst the 1275 was being rebuilt. The only thing to be careful of is that the primary and idler gears are the correct matched pair (primary gear shaft diameter is bigger than the 997) and that the shafts on the idler match the bearings in the gearbox and casing (as in diameter).

I thought so. Yere thanks for the warning, I am aware that the primary gears are different, but I'm sure I'll forget again when it's time to start putting things together.

I just got a call from my mechanic who says he has found a crank for my 1100S block now which is sweet and might mean I dont need to worry about it at all