SMCO Honda Conversion

Total costs vary depending on what options you go with and what engine you choose, but from our experience a basic running driving car could be built for $10,000 to $15,000 CAD in parts including the subframe if you hunt around and find a good used drivetrain.

Builds start at around $60,000 CAD for parts and labor. This includes a fully rebuilt engine and gearbox, all the ancillaries, new engine wiring harnesses and stand alone Haltech ECU.

A basic swap takes around 8 to 10 weeks, with custom builds needing additional time.

The SMCO subframe will fit any single cam Honda D series engine and hydraulic clutch manual transmission. Specifically, we recommend the D16Y8 variant and s40 transmission. This is what we build the subframe around, and what we run in all of our in house builds.

The Honda D series is in our opinion the best pairing for the classic mini chassis. It is the smallest and the lightest of the Honda engines and fits the best in the car. It also has double to triple the hp of a stock A series engine and is the perfect amount of power to be a fast car without overwhelming the chassis.

Our subframe will fit both LHD and RHD cars. On RHD cars clearances are much tighter between the transmission and the steering rack so some light profiling of the transmission webbing is required. We include detailed instructions on how to do this. For RHD swaps we also include a slim profile steering rack pinion cover that gains you even more clearance for engine movement. Unless requested otherwise we convert all of our in house RHD builds to LHD. It is safer for North American roads and is any easy conversion for anyone who is doing the engine swap themselves.

Yes our kit includes an integrated mount for an Sanden 4622 style AC compressor. It is run off the outermost pulley on the D16 crank pulley and allows for the compressor to be neatly tucked under the left side wing keeping the engine bay clean.

In our basic kit we include the SMCO subframe and hardware, custom length drive axles, custom front tie rods, engine and transmission mounts with integrated AC compressor mount, and engine steady mount and bracket. This is everything you need to get a Honda D series in your mini and the car on its wheels.

Our kit requires a stock intake manifold to be modified by cutting and re welding in order to fit the firewall. We also will be offering our own custom fabricated manifold that will be a direct bolt on and require no fabrication. 

As for the exhaust manifold, a custom one can be made, or if you want a bolt on solution we have a bespoke 4-2-1 header that is custom designed to work with our kit and bolts on directly to an off the shelf large bore LCB style mini exhaust, no welding required.

The SMCO subframe includes a set of engine, transmission, and engine steady mounts. The mounts are OEM style rubber mounts and work for any 2 bolt D series engine such as the d16y8. We use rubber mounts as they last much longer than polyurethane and provide more NVH damping. The engine and transmission mounts are a softer durometer to dampen engine vibrations and the engine steady is a higher durometer to limit the rocking movement and give the most traction. Our engine mount also has an integrated AC compressor mount for a Sanden 4622 style compressor should you want to run air conditioning. 

The SMCO subframe was designed around our bespoke side mount alloy radiator. The subframe has an integrated mount for our radiator and the sideways mounting provides the most engine bay room possible and harks back to the classic minis traditional design.

The SMCO subframe mounts to the chassis using stock mini rubber mounted subframe mounts. We recommend the use of solid subframe mounts available at any mini parts supplier. Our kit is also designed to work with our own custom lower mounts and let you remove the top mounts to lower the chassis on the subframe, allowing for a lower ride height and center of gravity without affecting the roll center.

Yes we offer early style solid mounted subframes on request

Alignment settings are very critical when setting up your D16 powered mini. Because of the unequal length of the axles, if you do not set the ride height and alignment to spec, then there will be torque steer. The settings we recommend are 4 degrees of caster, zero toe, and -0.3 degrees of camber. The ride height using 10” wheels should be set at 24cm from the pinch seam to the floor.

Shipping with UPS within Canada and to the contiguous United States is approximately $300 CAD, and approximately $600 CAD to the UK.

If accessories or engine is ordered, it will be shipped via freight and a custom quote will be provided. Please send us an inquiry using the contact form below.

Our subframe is designed to work with manual gearboxes only. Any hydraulic clutch D series gearbox will work, however we recommend using the base model transmissions as they have longer final drives which will result in better gearing for the small wheels of the mini.

The mini will actually lose a little weight off the nose of the car after the swap is done. Our heavy duty subframe is heavier than the stock subframe, however the Honda engine is lighter resulting in a car that is slightly lighter than it started life as, and with triple the power.

Yes, our kit uses all stock mini hubs and brakes as well as arms, cones, shocks etc. It fits any wheel from 10 to 13”. We suggest 10” wheels as they ride the best and give the most clearance for the arches, as well as just looking the coolest (100% true fact).

Yes, if you wish to ship us your old subframe we give you a $400 CAD credit towards your new subframe.