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Q I’ve recently bought a 1996 Mini Mayfair. The car is a real survivor and is in lovely condition. It came with full service history, has less than 50k miles on the clock and has the 1275cc injection engine.
Back in the day, I owned 998cc Minis, and it may be that my memory is playing tricks on me, but although my new car is much smoother, the performance is quite disappointing. I believe the engine is different from the contemporary Cooper unit but it’s not what I expected from a 1275cc motor.
Can you recommend which modifications would best suit this engine?
Robbie
A To get an appreciable improvement in performance, you would need to fit one of the performance kits available from Mini specialists. These kits typically contain all the components which are needed to add some 30-plus per cent to the standard power output, boosting it from the standard 63 bhp to a much more respectable 85 bhp. The components are: exhaust rear section, replacement free-flowing air cleaner element (perhaps a complete replacement), 1.5:1 ratio rockers (invariably roller-tipped in most kits), spark plugs and a modified cylinder head.
The cat on the injection cars is not at all restrictive until big horsepower numbers are likely, so removal is not
