Hill Climbing. Preparing a mini.

[Julzes]

My Partner's son who is 16 is preparing a mini for Hill climbing. His at the stage of a bare shell ready to have some welding done. Any input would be welcomed.

[Fatboy]

If anyone has any input, I'd love to hear this too, as I'd like to do something like hillcliming with my mini if I ever get her running again....

[Methane Bloke]

The key with any sprint, drag race or hill climb prep is shed as much weight as possible. If you improve your power to weight ratio you will go faster.

Getting more power can often be expensive however losing weight is normally a lot cheaper.

Regards

Chris

[Cooperman]

Methane Bloke said:

The key with any sprint, drag race or hill climb prep is shed as much weight as possible. If you improve your power to weight ratio you will go faster.

Getting more power can often be expensive however losing weight is normally a lot cheaper.

Regards

Chris

Absolutely, cut out any and all metal not needed. This can include the inner sides to the rear glove boxes, the extended lip on the rear seat base panel, the inside door structure, the front parcel shelf, remove all the sound-deadening stuff that's sprayed onto the floor (that weighs about 20 kg - I weighed all mine when I built my last rally car). If the regulations allow, you can cut out the entire rear seat vertical panel leaving just a couple of inches around the edge and pop-rivet an aluminium panel in its place. The same goes for the rear parcel shelf. The boot must be fireproofed, of course, so use a good silicone sealant when assembling. I always think the front sub-frame is very over-engineered and it would be entirely safe to cut large holes in the almost-vertical webs of the sub-frame.
Buy lots of angle-grinder cutting discs. That should annoy the neighbours when you get going!
By the way, don't skimp on the roll cage. The Safety Devices ones are expensive, but the best. They always fit first time as well. It's quite a knack getting a roll-cage into a Mini. The key is to get it all in place first, then bolt it together lightly before finally tightening the main fitting bolts (or welding, as the case may be). Finally tighten all the other bolts. I always weld some extra attachments between the cage an the 'A' pillars near the top of the screen aperture.

I hope this helps. Good luck with the project.

[xxxy]

Just before you start hacking the shell to pieces I would suggest that you decide which class you want to compete in.
If you decide on Hillclimbing you may want to run in the road going classes, if so you cannot cut the shell up.
This class tends to be the least expensive so you may choose this to begin your competition career.
Regards
Dave

[EarLMR2]

Something else to consider doing is seam welding the shell. Added stiffness is one of the keys to better handling.

I raced Mini's many moons ago, and would never have dreamed of putting one on a track competitively until was seam welded.

EarL.

[Mr Nordic]

Engine size is also very critical as well as class, for example if your car is greater than 1300cc you will be up against potentially 2000cc cars which are usually very powerful and difficult to compete against without spending vast amount's on engine work.
Check with a local car club what they run plus look up the RAC FIA rules this will be key to your preparation.

Also - If you enter a FIA class and your car will need to be officially Log Booked/inspected.
Another thing I came across was - If your car has a glass sunroof it cannot enter anything other than like vehicle type meeting/race. As i mentioned before it will save you a fortune to do your official homework before you commit to a car.

[77cooper]

I suggest speaking to some of the guys that drive at hill climbs, they'll tell you what to do.