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This mini started out as a plain stock silver Mayfair, the mini was in great condition but the previous owner already had in mind to completely modify this mini to a fast sports mini to soot his son�s dream. So one day this man and his son started to completely rebuild the car and immediately set about stripping everything away to reveal the bare shell. The first thing they got their hands on was a six-piece full-roll cage from a grasstrack Mini, and so they prepared the shell for it. Putting this massive roll cage in meant the rear seat had to be sacrificed, but for a good cause.
The wheelarchers were trimmed and finished off with a Rover Sportpack arch kit. After that, the shell, complete with new front wings, A-panels, bonnet and front wings, was ready for a new coat of paint.
The steering geometry was enhanced with a new subframe, steering rack and ball joints etc, and while they were at it, they also fitted nylon front subframe bushes, adjustable Hi-Los and spax adjustable dampers all round. The car was really coming together, and serious power hikes began creeping onto their agenda. They also updated the front breaks before bolting on the 7x13 inch superlites, so they put a massive Metro turbo vented discs and four-pot calipers, assisted by a Cooper servo unit.
A 1275cc engine bored out to a 1310cc was drafted in from MiniSport to replace the old engine. The bottom end featured a �bullet proof� crank to slice, rather then wade, through the oil in the sump. Along with the crank, the clutch and flywheel were lightened and balanced, then coupled to Hepolite pistons via MG Metro con-rods.
The unleaded head-also from MiniSport-is a stage 2 big valve effort fitted with 1.5 full roller tip rockers, which get their marching orders from a Kent 286 cam enforced by a Vernier Duplex timing gearset.
A combination of single 1.75 inch SU carb and K&N air filter deal with the induction, plus a four-branch manifold and an Ashley competition center-exit exhaust system get rid of the waste products. Other advances include heavy-duty oil and water pumps, a four-core radiator, a Mocal oil cooler and electronic ignition.
Their favorite gizmo seems to be the gearbox, though, or at least the noise it makes. It�s a straight-cut, the main case is Metro turbo, but the whine, of course, comes from within. The principle behind straight-cut-as opposed to helical-cut- gears, is that less power is consumed between the crankshaft and the final drive. Still a four-speed unit, it�s a $1.300.00 package that comes assembled, straight from MiniSport. The first and second gears have higher ratios than standard, and they modified the transmission further with the addition of Timken idler gear.
Looking inside the car you�ll find the aforementioned roll cage now assembled and painted sickly Yellow to match the head and block.
The seat comes from a Ford Escort (MKIII) RS 1600i leather Motorsport seats make up the bulk of the furniture and plenty of attention was given to the subframes and mountings so that they still tilt and recline.
Comfort was very important to them because at 6 ft 5 inch tall, space is at a bit of a premium in the old saloon shell. The seats were mounted as low as possible in the interests of maximum head room, and the heater box was junked to free up his legs. Sabelt three-point harnesses keep anyone strapped in.
After this man and his son completed this massive project this mini was featured in the march of 2002 MINIWORLD magazine with 8 pages filed with pictures and words from the son telling their amazing adventure.
These pictures bellow shows how the mini looked when they had finished the project.




Go to next page for the second massive restoration.