MINI2

MarsLandingParty · Sep 5th, 2007, 03:13 PM

Hi All,

A few weeks ago, I left my car with the fine guys at 1320 autos who replaced my 5 speed Midlands gearbox with a facelift Cooper S gearbox, with LSD. 1st I'd like to say that they did a fantastic job - the car was turned around very quickly and the job was done brilliantly, I couldn't recommend them enough for this conversion, or indeed any MINI tuning in general, very thorough, down to earth and honest people

So anyway....the feedback from my life with 6 gears. The 1st thing i noticed was the increased acceleration. Once the car has gone above 4k revs in 1st, working through the gears is marvelous and with the altered gear ratios, it is much easier to keep it in the ideal rev range to keep the car moving at a half decent (naturally aspirated

) pace. Combined with the LSD I feel a lot more confident to throw the car round corners faster, it really has give the car a new lease of life. Why the Cooper doesn't come out of the factory like this is beyond me (aside from the incresed cost of course!).

Not only do i no longer have the worry of 'will it/won't it come out of 1st' but the car is a real joy to drive now, and with careful choice of gears the MPG has seen an improvement after a week of having fun in 1st and 2nd.

The true test is the big black strip, at Showdown my car did a 16.75, can't remember my speed, but it's in the 1/4 mile & 0-60 times for those who care to check. I'm going to be at the BMW show in a few weeks time and intend to run up the strip, hopefully with the different gear ratio I will see an improvement, but wouldn't like to speculate and will report back my findings.

Once again thanks to Tom & Paul @ 1320 for doing an excellent job of getting my car turned round quickly and doing such a great job and if you're umming and ahhing about this conversion....let me say you won't be let down, it really does do the car wonders.
Regards

MLP

Bhozar · Sep 5th, 2007, 03:27 PM

What was the cost and time taken for the conversion? I am sure many MC owners with the old Midlands boxes will be interested in this conversion the older their cars get.

Mess · Sep 5th, 2007, 04:08 PM

ive got an 06 MC and would be interested!
Ive always felt that it needs another gear when driving so this might be the thing to get.

Prices and time scales would be nice.

Cooooooperslad · Sep 5th, 2007, 04:13 PM

Wow, so good to hear such positive feedback. Tom and Paul and such great guys and I there knowledge is amazing!

Just another plug for them as they deserve it, I wouldn't hesitate at all in taking my car there for any more work

MarsLandingParty · Sep 5th, 2007, 04:48 PM

Timescales were excellent, but I guess it's on a case by case basis to a certain degree but...

I took the car in Wednesday, around 10am, sat around and drank tea, and ate hob nobs for a while, left them to it around midday, Thursday they had other work on, so no work was scheduled on my car, they started it again Friday, I could have picked it up Friday evening if i had a means to get there, but ended up picking it up Saturday morning. was VERY pleased with teh turnaround.

As for cost, this Im guessing will vary...I had LSD fitted and opted for a post facelift box, all in all the bill came to around £2000, but I would recommend speaking to 1320 about this. Considering the number of parts that needed changing (gearbox, clutch & flywheel, driveshafts, and a few other things i can't remember offhand) the price was VERY reasonable, you only need to ask a dealer for a quote as a comparison and they're worlds apart!

MiniPetrolHead · Sep 5th, 2007, 06:44 PM

What mods have you done to your cooper? and if you have had it dynoed what were your results? would be very interested to know!

Alex

MarsLandingParty · Sep 6th, 2007, 03:42 PM

It's a pre facelift Works upgrade, so it's got JCW head, cat back, go louder JCMS air filter, and an slightly altered ECU map (apparently).

Last time it was dynoed, at 1320 autos it mate 100whp on the dot, i think 131bhp at fly from what i remember, this was before new gearbox, not been done since but i believe it wouldnt make a difference to the WHP, Paul - is that right?

Cooooooperslad · Sep 7th, 2007, 10:18 PM

shouldnt increase power but maybe help get power down on the road and make it more available.

Paul Webster · Sep 7th, 2007, 11:51 PM

Only one way of finding out

MINIdriver85 · Nov 2nd, 2007, 02:45 PM

Can you make a complete list of things that need to be changed to make this conversion? Till now I know it's gearbox, clutch, flywheel, drive shafts, starter but I noticed on RealOEM.com Online BMW Parts Catalog that the facelift has some different parts in the clutch control too...

ham00di · Dec 27th, 2007, 11:23 AM

great post! after reading like a million threads and looking through every single page on Google you saved me ! i just rung them up and they are gonna get back to me regarding the prices. hope to hear some good news!

Buz999 · Dec 27th, 2007, 12:54 PM

When they reply please share with us because many of us early Cooper owners will be interested, cheers.

Sep 5th, 2007, 03:13 PM	#1
MarsLandingParty Lobster Boy My Classifieds Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Peterborough, UK Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 40 Offline	6 Speed Gearbox Conversion - Feedback Hi All, A few weeks ago, I left my car with the fine guys at 1320 autos who replaced my 5 speed Midlands gearbox with a facelift Cooper S gearbox, with LSD. 1st I'd like to say that they did a fantastic job - the car was turned around very quickly and the job was done brilliantly, I couldn't recommend them enough for this conversion, or indeed any MINI tuning in general, very thorough, down to earth and honest people So anyway....the feedback from my life with 6 gears. The 1st thing i noticed was the increased acceleration. Once the car has gone above 4k revs in 1st, working through the gears is marvelous and with the altered gear ratios, it is much easier to keep it in the ideal rev range to keep the car moving at a half decent (naturally aspirated ) pace. Combined with the LSD I feel a lot more confident to throw the car round corners faster, it really has give the car a new lease of life. Why the Cooper doesn't come out of the factory like this is beyond me (aside from the incresed cost of course!). Not only do i no longer have the worry of 'will it/won't it come out of 1st' but the car is a real joy to drive now, and with careful choice of gears the MPG has seen an improvement after a week of having fun in 1st and 2nd. The true test is the big black strip, at Showdown my car did a 16.75, can't remember my speed, but it's in the 1/4 mile & 0-60 times for those who care to check. I'm going to be at the BMW show in a few weeks time and intend to run up the strip, hopefully with the different gear ratio I will see an improvement, but wouldn't like to speculate and will report back my findings. Once again thanks to Tom & Paul @ 1320 for doing an excellent job of getting my car turned round quickly and doing such a great job and if you're umming and ahhing about this conversion....let me say you won't be let down, it really does do the car wonders. Regards MLP

Sep 7th, 2007, 11:51 PM	#9 (permalink)
Paul Webster MINI2 Master Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Beds Cambs Northants Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 1,956 Offline	Only one way of finding out Slicks 11.77@115.92mph Street tyres 12.162 @ 119.02 It's not how much you spend but how well you spend it

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Sep 5th, 2007, 03:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
Bhozar Overly excited!! My Classifieds Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Worcestershire Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 1,280 Offline	What was the cost and time taken for the conversion? I am sure many MC owners with the old Midlands boxes will be interested in this conversion the older their cars get.

Sep 5th, 2007, 04:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
Mess Go Go Gadget Mini My Classifieds Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 730 Online	ive got an 06 MC and would be interested! Ive always felt that it needs another gear when driving so this might be the thing to get. Prices and time scales would be nice.

Sep 5th, 2007, 04:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
Cooooooperslad MINI2 Senior My Classifieds Join Date: Apr 2007 Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 579 Offline	Wow, so good to hear such positive feedback. Tom and Paul and such great guys and I there knowledge is amazing! Just another plug for them as they deserve it, I wouldn't hesitate at all in taking my car there for any more work

Sep 5th, 2007, 04:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
MarsLandingParty Lobster Boy My Classifieds Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Peterborough, UK Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 40 Offline	Timescales were excellent, but I guess it's on a case by case basis to a certain degree but... I took the car in Wednesday, around 10am, sat around and drank tea, and ate hob nobs for a while, left them to it around midday, Thursday they had other work on, so no work was scheduled on my car, they started it again Friday, I could have picked it up Friday evening if i had a means to get there, but ended up picking it up Saturday morning. was VERY pleased with teh turnaround. As for cost, this Im guessing will vary...I had LSD fitted and opted for a post facelift box, all in all the bill came to around £2000, but I would recommend speaking to 1320 about this. Considering the number of parts that needed changing (gearbox, clutch & flywheel, driveshafts, and a few other things i can't remember offhand) the price was VERY reasonable, you only need to ask a dealer for a quote as a comparison and they're worlds apart!

Sep 5th, 2007, 06:44 PM	#6 (permalink)
MiniPetrolHead 263bhp / 284.55Nm Torque My Classifieds Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Eastbourne E.Sussex Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 670 Offline	What mods have you done to your cooper? and if you have had it dynoed what were your results? would be very interested to know! Alex

Sep 6th, 2007, 03:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
MarsLandingParty Lobster Boy My Classifieds Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Peterborough, UK Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 40 Offline	It's a pre facelift Works upgrade, so it's got JCW head, cat back, go louder JCMS air filter, and an slightly altered ECU map (apparently). Last time it was dynoed, at 1320 autos it mate 100whp on the dot, i think 131bhp at fly from what i remember, this was before new gearbox, not been done since but i believe it wouldnt make a difference to the WHP, Paul - is that right?

Sep 7th, 2007, 10:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
Cooooooperslad MINI2 Senior My Classifieds Join Date: Apr 2007 Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 579 Offline	shouldnt increase power but maybe help get power down on the road and make it more available.

Nov 2nd, 2007, 02:45 PM	#10 (permalink)
MINIdriver85 MINI2 Regular Join Date: Oct 2007 Local Time: 10:56 PM Posts: 247 Offline	Can you make a complete list of things that need to be changed to make this conversion? Till now I know it's gearbox, clutch, flywheel, drive shafts, starter but I noticed on RealOEM.com Online BMW Parts Catalog that the facelift has some different parts in the clutch control too...

Dec 27th, 2007, 11:23 AM	#11 (permalink)
ham00di MINI2 Newbie Join Date: Dec 2007 Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 3 Offline	great post! after reading like a million threads and looking through every single page on Google you saved me ! i just rung them up and they are gonna get back to me regarding the prices. hope to hear some good news!

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Dec 27th, 2007, 12:54 PM	#12 (permalink)
Buz999 What mod next? Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ludlow,Shropshire Local Time: 09:56 PM Posts: 248 Offline	When they reply please share with us because many of us early Cooper owners will be interested, cheers.