This is my current mini project. Miniac II. This project is destined to be better than the first one. (See project Miniac 1 posted recently)
This project started out as I nice driving fairly rust free mini I found in Texas. Previously came from Germany. I managed to rip it apart within days of owning it.
So far:
-painted roof black
-stripped and rebuilding interior (newton commercial lighting bolt) modified Mazda Miata sets with custom made rails for mini. *** these are currently listed for sale if anyone wants. Just not working for me with my harnass set up. Switched to Corbeau.
- 13 inch JBW Revolution wheels. Sent out for custom chrome plating. Custom made cooper emblem caps.
- cut out fenders and fitting group 5 flares.
- Installed crazy JL audio Amps 1600w and subwoofer with Rockford Fosgate speakers.
- Motolita steering wheel.
- "Hillbilly carbon fiber" dash as stand in till install of "charcoal with extra three clock" and smiths magnolia gauges.
- bolt in rollbar by minitech.
The list and photos will continue.
Engine just came out. Going for complete buildup using billet crank, VmaxScart supercharger, forged pistons etc etc... my wife calls it the Mini Money Pit.
Wheels from JBW Custom Chrome plated.
Roll bar PIA to install!
The chrome really changes the look of the wheels in a good way. That roll bar looks good, far enough back to be safe from head strikes. Will be looking forward to more updates and photos.
I'm liking it so far, looks and sounds similar to my own. is the black factory paint?
Factory paint. Roof was white, so painted that as I prefer black on black.
If you don't have a use for that wood dash, and if it's in good shape - I can use it.
So, it will be all black? I sense a theme here.......Darth Mini ;D
So, will you keep this one and drive it or is it a build to sell? I understand what she means about the money pit!
Does MiniTec sell those roll bars? I haven't been on their site lately.....
Dash is spoken for already, sorry. The wood one going in is piano black enameled with matching door cappings. Planning to keep and drive this one, as it will be unsellable for a profit...
Minitech sells the bars. Way less cost than bringing to USA from England. Though these bars are a challenge to get it. Have to "squeeze the bars with ratchet straps to get it in. Then it did not expand back out all the way. Had to use fence post and bottle jack to expand it back out. Total pain, not sure if I would do it again. The last one I had was a bolt together 6 point from safety devices, (I did not install it), though I heard they are all very uncooperative.
What do you think of that sound skin material?
Where did you get the center caps for?
Looking good. Excited to see the outcome of the motor.
Soundskin works great. It does add weight. Cost wise better than Dyna Mat. Also have used Noico available on Amazon. The sound deadening materials do really work. Even used it in my heating ducts at home and behind fridge!
Thanks. That was supposed to be where did you get the center caps from not for.
Sorry.
Center caps cane from MiniSport. They are 50mm Cooper emblems. I just drilled the caps that came with wheels and used 3m super two way tape and socket cap screws. I can track down part number for emblems if you need it.
I would think the sticky tape would do it without the screws?
Yes. However the emblems had pre drilled holes so I filled them with socket caps. Paint them first! The black is gone after 1 day!
More pics!
Stereo
What are all the blue cables? And how do you know which goes where?
Most likely audio cables for the stereo. Usually tape or labels so you remember which set you hooked to front, rear and sub.
Blue cables are coax out from stereo head unit. All carefully labeled. Before a laid down carpeting I laid down all speaker and signal cables. All the wires coming our are audio outs (blue) and speakers.
Front mid/tweet, rear mid/tweet, subwoofer.
Cables
Coax
Sorry for duplicate post of speakers.
Yea, I've been doing car audio way to long. Nice thing with the mini is the battery is in the boot so you don't need long power cables and you can keep them away from the audio cables.
Trial fitting flares for the big wheels.
Jet-Hot ceramic coated "classic polish" my contact at jet hot is Debi Heath
DEBI HEATH
Jet-Hot, High-Performance Coatings
2611 LaVista Drive, Burlington, NC 27215
P 336-447-2000 | F 336-447-2020 | D 480-838-1815
www.jet-hot.com
And once again I have shop envy! ::) 77.gif 62.gif
New Donuts and Hi low (as lo as they will go!)
12" moto lita. I think I can still drive even with handcuffs on...) lol
New Monster energy coil.
Charge cooler pump for supercharger.
Supercharger by Stuart Gurr of VMaxScart. He is also doing the cylinder head mods for this killer combo. His work and consultation has been stellar. www.vmaxscart.co.uk
Where does the intercooler go?
I have a friend who did one of these recently on his 998 Clubman, very happy with the results, although it still took a bit of fettling and tuning after the install.
Also, we have a forum member who did one on his 1275, he said he re-engineered the idler pulley as it wasn't strong enough and he came up with a much better bracket to support it. He has a thread on it here on the forum.....
http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=1009.0 (http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=1009.0)
Awesome. Great thread. Wondering what final drive is best for the supercharger setup. Leaning toward 3.1. Not sure with the 13 inch wheels. Can't go back to 12's.
Well, remember he has a 5 speed, so I'm pretty sure he has a 3:44 final drive...with a 4 speed I'm confidant it would pull a 3:1 or even a 2:76
The "intercooler" is a "charge cooler" device a very small radiator and the pic is of the circulation pump. The base of the supercharger has a plate that is plumbed to circulate coolant. Suppose to cool the inlet air inbound past supercharger. After studying the thread you forwarded (thank you) I believe a heat shield of some sort is in order. The one exhaust tube looks like a it could be a "flavor bar" like my Weber grill. But we don't wanna cook the carb. I do plan to wrap header. It's currently at jet-hot for ceramic, then wrapping it. I might get a small heat shield for the exposed pipe under carb. Thermo tech USA (that I got header wrap from) sells pre made ceramic heat shields. They have a baby one (3.75x5.75 ) that might be just right to rig above the LCB "cal rod". Just hard to plan out before it's in the engine bay as I'm not sure where it all gets stuffed in.
I'm thinking about splitting the difference and going with 2.9. There is a website I was referred to that has a nifty calculator where you can plug in wheel/tire combo, speedo type etc and get a really good picture of the speeds/gears plotted and graphed. www.guess-works.com
Thank you to all for the wealth of info and sharing. I appreciate all the input from fellow members. Glad to have found this community.
Perfected minifin valve cover
Maniflow stage 3 large bore LCB ceramic coated then wrapped with ThermoTec wrap.
Really nice stuff! I have the older Gurr supercharger in the other thread (I think I actually bought it in '16) - I answered the final drive question over there instead of here - My FD w/ the MiniSpares 5-speed is 3.44.
I agree w/ your comments about Stuart Gurr - he was easy to work with on the other side of the world, and he built my motor as well - an A+ unit from about '84 that he took up to 1310. I will say that it appears he is constantly improving his product. In the shot above of your package from Gurr, I see steel idlers in the plastic bag in lieu of the black plastic ones that came w/ mine. Did you go w/ the 44 or 40 Weber?
Keep it up! It's almost a shame not to be able to see that header!
Thanks. I agree about the header. Though all in the interest of getting the heat away. Not sure about the idlers. I believe in the plastic bag are hose barbs and thick flat washers for LCB. which idlers are you referring to? I can check to confirm which type I have. There is a bracket with idler as tensioner for the belt attached to base of charger (not seen in photo) this appears to be stainless amd bearing.
Went with 40. Also have the charge cooler. He is also doing the head for me. Just doing the final math once it arrives to calculate final CR so I can get crank, rods. Then the final frontier. Making custom pistons via ROSS in USA to get the exact dish for the other components.
Thoughts or concerns on the 5 speeds from spares?
I got the Minispares HD Helical gearset (4 speed). Using Quife ATB, and 3.1 Final Drive Helical. Going with S/C 1:1 Drop gears. I had to change me way of thinking as different now with Forced induction. The 3.1 should work will with the 4 speed. 5 speed would be nice, but I doubt I want to go over 100mph very often. My previous car had 3.44, SC JKD 4 speed and would do about 96 mph at 5k rpm, which would have been nice to have one more gear, but that car was not super fun (safe) to drive that fast...
I top out at 96-100mph at 6k, but would be nice to have the overdrive for the highway driving. I don't want to give up my gearing cause I like it aside from the 4500rpms at 75mph.
I like the MiniSpares 5-speed (helical w/ x-pin); it's precise, not noisy. I can cruise all day 75 at about 3700. The throw to 5 is pretty long - my back comes off the seatback to reach it, but it's not like you're in and out of it a lot.
Gears finally in!
This is complete build list for those interested. Should be driving this spring.
A SERIES BLOCK
MED (Arrow Precision) 81.33 EN40B
Billet Crank 81.33 stroke
MED Main cap and AFS Steel Main Studs
ACL Race Bearings
Setrab Oil cooler
Carillo 5.75 Rods
Carillo 18cc Dished pistons
Calver ST SuperSports Large Bore head
Payen BFK 450 head gasket
MED 1.5 roller tip rockers
Minifin chromed valve cover
Jaguar flip top oil cap
MED heat treated steel push rods
Swiftune SW 10 cam
MED Superfinished cam followers
MED Vernier belt drive
VmaxScart Supercharger kit with 40DCOE Weber
VmaxScart charge cooler kit
Maniflow ST2 LCB Header Powdercoated polished Silver/Ceramic wrapped
MED Ultimate Radiator
Vacuum advance Dizzy (supplied by VMaxScart)
Hi-Torque Starter
70 Amp High Output Alternator
Swiftune catch can
USA based Chicago,IL
Average field elevation 1000ft MSL
Shell Nitro @ 93 octane
Weather
summer average 24-29 Celsius
A+ GEARBOX
Polished silver Powdercoat box
Non wettable (Teflon coated) inside box
Evolution heavy duty helical 4-speed gear set
Centre Pickup Oil pipe
S/C 1:1 Drop Gears
3.1 final drive
Quaife ATB Differential
MED ST3 Ultralight Flywheel/Gray Clutch
OEM axles
EXTERIOR
Black on Black paint
Carbon fiber NACA duct cold air intake in bonnet
Revolution 7x13 4-Spoke custom chrome plated
Yokohama A539 175/50R 13 Tires
Group 5 arches (Black)
Bullet mirrors
Rover spec Twin driving lights
Stainless steel grille with buttons
OEM brakes
Maniflow Stainless Steel exhaust with
Fletcher polished twin DTM muffler
INTERIOR
Cooper trim
Black charcoal 3 clock dash +3 Smiths Magnolia accessory gauges (oil pressure,oil temp,water temp)
Black charcoal door cappings
Red carpeting by Newton Commercial
Polished door hardware
Moto-Lita steering wheel
Cooper short shift with bias spring
Sparco shift boot and chrome Shift Knob
"Lightning Bolt" interior panels and back seat by Newton commercial.
Sparco polished pedals
Corbeau racing seats
Corbeau 4point harnass
Carbon fiber look vinyl door pillars and map pockets
Minitec 4 point roll bar
Halon Fire Extinguisher
SOUND SYSTEM
Alpine head unit
Garmin Dash mounted GPS
Rockford Fosgate 3-way front speakers with satellite dash mounted tweeters
Rockford Fosgate 6.75 2-way rear speakers
JL Audio W6 10 inch sub in sealed enclosure
JL Audio HD 1200 watt Sub Amp with sub controller
JL Audio HD 800 watt 4 channel Amp
That motor should be a beast!
We have a stroked 1380 in our Innocenti, no supercharger tho. I went with a 3:1 final drive too.
I am hopeful of a totally different experience and dynamic from my previous build (similar quality components but no supercharger and close ratio S/C Gears and FD) I had to learn the strategies involved with the forced induction and the FD "taller is better". Miniac 1 was awesome fun but this engine should be even better!
Normally with that cam and those 1.15 rockers it wouldn't have anything down low in the rpm band, but the supercharger should make up for that depending on how you have it "geared". Sometimes it helps to actually retard the cam timing a touch. MED should be able to advise you on that.
Anxious to see what you think of it when you get it broken in. Like I said, it should be a beast!
Dash is finally in.
Are you about ready to start blasting around the neighborhood? 62.gif
Spectacular! Source for Jaguar flip-top oil filler cap & coco mats please.
In about 6-8 weeks! Waiting for pistons and rods from Carillo. Just received my cylinder head from Keith Calver.
Floor mats https://www.cocomats.com/coco/
They have my template. LHD Under "Bruce Starrenburg" If I recall you can download and test. I re drew from their existing template. I like my fit, but you might want to verify amd play with the design of the under pedal area. The mats are thick so you really don't want them under the pedals. My design is a bit goofy but it is safe and clears the pedals and steering column post.
The flip top cap I got from Moss Motors Jaguar division. Had to machine the collar to fit the minifin. I had one years ago that was a direct fit but they do not make anymore. Not a big deal to turn down the collar amd chop it shorter.
Corbeau seats.
Quote from: Miniac on October 02, 2019, 04:45:00 PM
Jet-Hot ceramic coated "classic polish" my contact at jet hot is Debi Heath
DEBI HEATH
Jet-Hot, High-Performance Coatings
2611 LaVista Drive, Burlington, NC 27215
P 336-447-2000 | F 336-447-2020 | D 480-838-1815
www.jet-hot.com
Ok, your resto is looking fantastic! I've just found Red-Hot today and here I see it again. Have you been pleased with all the results?!? Live how you did the entire engine block...
I have been very pleased. I used HPC Coatings years ago that was acquired by Jet-Hot. Back then I coated many parts including the entire exhaust of my AT6 WW2 airplane that had a Pratt Whitney 9 cylinder radial engine. I did have a problem with that project as the exhaust tip shed the coating. It was due to extreme temps at the end of the exhaust. I had not chosen the "extreme high temp" coating so it really was not their fault. Just did not research how hot that big pipe got at the end. They do have a 2500 degree high temp coating but it does not come in "silver polished".
I had my previous Mini for 9 years running with the coatings absolutely intact.
So really. No problems at all.
The gearbox was "silver polished" coated. I had to sign a waiver as Jet-Hot recommends against this one "polished coating" as the process involves "tumbling" the parts in media to get the shine. The media they use in this process are small plastic balls of various sizes. They don't recommend this process as the media sometimes gets caught in critical places like oil passages etc. I signed the waiver and committed myself to an absolute obsessive "once over" to catch and rid any stray media lodged in nooks and crannies. Found 3 little pellets. So if you do the polished finish just make sure you check check check obsessively.
Debi at Jet-Hot is very helpful and I think they are THE best.
Hope this helps!
Interior coming along. Corbeau seats are awesome. Tight fit but look and really nice!
Quote from: Miniac link=topic=2056.msg39471
Debi at Jet-Hot is very helpful and I think they are THE best.
Hope this helps!
/quote]
Awesome... thanks for the input
More interior angles. Just one more seat and the whole interior is done. One of the corbeau seat rails did not line up correct. They are making another...
Quote from: Miniac on February 28, 2020, 09:04:48 PM
The gearbox was "silver polished" coated. I had to sign a waiver as Jet-Hot recommends against this one "polished coating" as the process involves "tumbling" the parts in media to get the shine. The media they use in this process are small plastic balls of various sizes. They don't recommend this process as the media sometimes gets caught in critical places like oil passages etc. I signed the waiver and committed myself to an absolute obsessive "once over" to catch and rid any stray media lodged in nooks and crannies. Found 3 little pellets. So if you do the polished finish just make sure you check check check obsessively.
Debi at Jet-Hot is very helpful and I think they are THE best.
Hope this helps!
You can also hand polish the coating with auto paint buffing compound and a foam pad even hand work shines it up cotton wadding type of polish works great in fins and such if you are worried about the pellets. I hand polished the transaxle for a Pantera and it only took about an hour.
Good call. I have more parts to do!
Pistons arrived.
Whew - shiny!
Indeed!
Rods are coming from same supplier. They have them in stock. I held back order until the lockdown is over as no engine building going on yet. The pistons were custom made per omega 18cc dish sample. These are made in USA and ceramic coated. The Omega was out of stock so I went to Cp-Carillo. Someone in the mini community was kind enough to give me a sample I could use for the design.
Neat. I'm still building motors, and my engine machinists are still open, in fact they say they are really backed up with work!
I imagine when we come out of this there will be a lot of beautiful "fruits of our lockdown" !!!