8 port mini in miniworld

[Neil8p]

in Miniworld about the 8 port clubbie with the nos last night.

Fantasic car and I must admit it's everything I envisaged my 8 port mini becoming (except the nitrous and the clubman front )

But £32000 ???

The car has had a few rebuilds over a period of time, but that is serious dosh.

Then I started mentally totting up what I had spent over the 14 years I've owned my estate.

I reckon I must've spent 20k over the years and all I've got to show for it is an engine that doesn't run very well and a rusty shell in the garden currently being used as a shed

Ah well...

[plotloss]

Stunning build though eh?

I just dont get the concourse thing though, build it to drive not polish with a cloth.

A labour of love without doubt.

[Neil8p]

My car was reasonably tidy and shiny when I first put it together (not as good as that car though), and I had some proper fun with it which is probably why it's in such a state now

He's selling it now, which I don't understand either. Like you say, build it and drive it.

He's expecting to go to Japan or the USA, but I wonder if he'll get anywhere near 32k for it.

[plotloss]

If Japan I reckon he may get the money, but USA or domestic I'd say £20K was fair.

Its what a £12K engine or thereabouts?

The suspension and braking components arent all that trick and no one pays for paint etc.

If I'd put that sort of time and work in that would be a car I would never sell I reckon.

[Neil8p]

The injection system alone probably cost more than my engine, which was build new by Swiftune and cost the same as a decent family car!

If you had that sort of money to spend on a mini, would you buy that, or the twin bike engined mini for 25k? (after the the next royalty cheque had arrived of course I don't believe anyone who buys cars like this actually works for a living)

[plotloss]

I'm just about to start a project in that sort of money band funnily enough.

I've been down the VTEC route and the Z Cars route and they both have tradeoffs which let them down IMHO.

The Twin R1 mini though has plenty of engineering in it and the two gearboxes may take the strain better but IIRC that was around £35K to build.

So you are left with a choice of taking the tradeoff or paying through the nose for attempting whats almost impossible i.e making an A series produce around 180bhp...

[Neil8p]

Sounds interesting, can you tell us more.....?

[plotloss]

Its all just about to kickoff as I finally have found a house with a garage.

The donor is my first ever Mini which I have had for 13 years.

No firm plans other than starting by buying just about everything KAD sell apart from the cylinder head.

Its very much a work in planning but subframes are coming off, chopping the front off and the interior is coming out next weekend.

[Neil8p]

Mmmmmm, KAD stuff. Nice

What about the head? 7 port? Turbo?

Know what you mean about a garage. My old prefab garage is leaky, damp, and way too small, but I've this at the bottom of the garden

www.arden8port.plus.com/Pics/garageDscf0007.jpg

Hoping to be done by the end of September

It's 6.3m across the front by 7m down the longest side, the other side being 5.7m

[plotloss]

Nice garage action!

Havent even considered the engine or how its going to breathe as yet there are just so many options.

Do like the look of the Polestar distributorless ignition though (www.polestarracing.co.uk) as fitted to Miglias.

Ideally I want a good handling quick little car which I can carry 'er inside the doors and my daughter in but still have fun on a trackday.

I have recently been thinking about mounting anything not essential to connector blocks and having a fibreglass front end so it can be a road car and a track day warrior in one fitment. This maybe too much work though.

[Neil8p]

I've chopped and changed my mind about fibreglass front ends when looking at reducing weight, but I was inspired by a mini turbo built by a chap called Jon Flanigan (bright yello mini with 10" starmags on it)

His car, IMHO, is what a road legal track day car should be. He's left the structure of the car intact and only replaced boot/bonnet with lightweight panels, fitted perspex windows, stripped the interior of everything not needed and got the suspension setup spot on. The engine has also had a lot of development on it and is powerful and smooth running.

It's very quick and he has a lot of fun with it.

I've tried the track car on the road thing and found it didin't work for me. I've got an idea of where I went wrong so I'm going to have another stab over the winter.

www.turbominis.co.uk/photos/index.php?p=vi&dir=albums/Turbominis%20RR%2009-04-04/&img=IMG_0663.JPG

Edit to add link to pic of Jon's car

>> Edited by Neil8p on Thursday 5th August 11:21

[haynes]

interesting varied thread, one of the reasons i'm thinking of selling my car even though ive only just put in a spanking new race engine is partly the garage situation. I keep mine in a garage block (which leaks anyway) a couple of miles from home rather than park it on the street but now its a pain to go and get it, and a move to a house with a garage has been postponed. Another factor is i've owned this car for 8 years, spent 1000s but it dont look that tidy which again is down to not having a garage at home, and everwhere you look there is still loads to be spent. The final things is when you know you have to drive it home you do tend to hold back on a hillclimb so i'm going to double drive in mate's full race car. What was that godawful song about sunscreen, there was a line 'beauty magazines only make you feel ugly', maybe mini mags have the same effect...

[plotloss]

I certaintly think there is an element of that to it.

I have looked at everything since parting company with the TVR.

Must have 4 seats must be fun.

So anything Caterfield or Elise is out.

Porkers too much money.

Ubersaloons lose too much money a £20K M5 now would be worth about £5K in 5 years same with an S8.

Have always been emotionally attached to Minis so it seems like the best option for me to be honest.

[Neil8p]

haynes said:

What was that godawful song about sunscreen, there was a line 'beauty magazines only make you feel ugly', maybe mini mags have the same effect...

Like it

All my mini's are off the road so I've been driving my wifes 1998 sportpack everyday since January. It's got 40k on it now and it's tired and rusty.

I've just bought a 1988 golf gti for £600. It's 10 years older than the sportpack, 107k miles, it's solid and fairly quick and I'm having great fun driving it.

Cars like this make it difficult to remain faithful to mini's but I'm hangin' on in there...

[haynes]

Despite the reliability, refinement and corrosion resistance of most modern cars, few have the appeal of a min, grin factor. They are just the most amazing fun, passing all other traffic at over a ton is very amusing but so is bouncing around in a standard 998. I do fancy going back to a standard mini with 4 seats, as my 4 year old loves 'em (merrilying bashing up all the corgi collectables except the kimberley miglia which ive managed to keep boxed), it would be nice to all pile in it and go out together.

[Neil8p]

I agree with the grin factor thing. The golf has grin factor at the moment, but then I've only had it a week.

I used to do 600 miles a week in a mini 1000...maybe that's when it stopped being fun

[plotloss]

Blimey thats some mileage!

I used to do around that in big Audis and that was bad enough.

Did 250 a week last summer and that was good fun, except when the traffic hits and you start playing temp guage lottery.

Damned bypass hoses.

[Neil8p]

I did it for 6 months before I moved house, not much fun in the winter.

Plotloss, have you set yourself a timescale for your mini project?

I've got a Mk I currently having panels replaced and I want to get it back on the road by May next year to do Mizen to Malin.

Mizen Head to Malin Head in a mini - now that is fun

[plotloss]

It was originally going to be this summer, but thats probably out now

May next year I think is realistic and means I cant rest on my laurels.