Major minor

Care for a Morris Minor capable of hitting 60mph in 5.5sec? Leamington Spa-based Moggie specialist Jonathon Heap of JLH Restorations can sell you one. He's developed a kit that squeezes a Rover K-Series engine under the Minor's snout. The startling performance figures relate to an 1800cc K-series 'with the right gearing'. Heap says even the 1400 version is good for 125mph and a sub-9.0sec 0-60mph dash.

He reckons the A-series engine found in most Minors ran out of tuning potential a decade ago, and anyway, people have been stuffing bigger lumps into these cars for years, especially Fiat twin-cams. These are now ageing, so the K-series seemed the ideal substitute.

Minors always handled well, but to deal with the massive gruntage increase, Heap chucks away the front suspension's lever arm dampers in favour a of coil-over-shock arrangement. The back end gets adjustable Spax dampers and a Mk2 Ford Escort axle (an independent set-up using Sierra and MGF parts is pending). A purpose-built bellhousing attaches a five-speed Sierra gearbox to this mechanical ensemble. The basic kit costs about £1500, sans mechanical bits, but getting Heap to build it for you could swallow up to £12,000.

Whatever, brief exposure to a raucous, injected 1400 Traveller revealed a mentally fast Morris. 'Push it harder, go on!' shouted Heap as we took roundabouts in Mini-like four-wheel drifts. In fact, his Morris handles and steers uncannily like its diminutive front-drive brother, but with Mondeo-man-baitng straight-line performance. It's safe, forgiving and very, very funny.

The Minor was originally designed to take a flat-four engine, and for an even bigger laugh Heap reckons Rover's KV6 could be made to fit.

Martin Gurdon