need gearbox help

[mushroom]

hey all i am currently in the process of building a stroked n/h bp powered classic mini deluxe, the problem i have is the size constraints so i cant fit an f or g series box. has anybody on here successfuly built a reliable e25mr box out of a late model 1.5l festiva (i believe ford badged them as aspires in the usa) i will be hoping for around 200hp. the other option is trying to mate a different box, i know people have used the camry and mr2 boxes but i am led to believe the are larger than the f and g series box, has anyone tried to use the c52 box from the 4efte starlet gt's? as i know the can handle more power than the mazda boxes and a quite a small unit and definately fit into a mini. i know there will be quite a big cost involved but im not worried about it as i would rather pay for reliability than having to change the box all the time. any help would be greatly appretiated.
cheers

[htchbck]

G series isn't really a whole lot bigger than the E series, at least in terms of fitting it in a Festiva. The Toyota one is bigger than the G and H.

[blkfordsedan]

What he said^^^

Here in the States, the Aspire had the same box as the Festy, except for the final drive ratio. We can fit a BP and G25 into a Festy without much issue. In order to increase the gearbox capacity, the shaft centers and gears must get bigger....at least from a design standpoint. I'm sure you could mod an E-series to handle more if you want to spend the money, but then you have the small clutch issue as well.

I seem to recall in some of my Classic Mini magazines imported from The UK.......guys were using the front subframe from the later Rover version (or maybe a Metro) to fit larger engines and stuff into classic Minis. The V-tec swap appears to be common.

[Bert]

Not a lot of room under the hood in those cars and the driveaxle system was pretty archaic (rubber u-joints). The original trannys were directly below the engine too. All I can say is; if you can horn a 1.8 twin cam in there along-side a Festy tranny (that is going to 'grenade' on you somewhere along the way) then surely I can figure out a way to horn a VW 1.6TD into a Festy.
I cut off the front end sheetmetal of my last Mini (a 1970 model, back in the mid-70s) and had the whole front end (hood and fenders welded together as a unit) on a pair of removable hinges. Was easy to work on the engine ever after. The OEM ruse of venting the rad through the drivers side wheel well wasn't a bad thing back then either.
All I can say is "good luck"!