My VTEC Morris Mini : The Car in my Shed

[Guff]

BRIEF UPDATE 1/12/15:

It's amazing how life gets in the way of everything!

I've been in Dallas for the last few weeks, but hardly have had time to work on the car. In the time I did get, however, I did a couple things:

-I bought and bent all brand new Napa brake lines for every brake line in the car.

-I towed the car to my local exhaust shop and got a wonderful exhaust made!

Now, turns out the new brake lines are leaking as well. Why? Well, the gentlemen at the muffler shop tell me that it is because the brake line fittings are not long enough. Apparently, they need to be longer in order to hold the line with more tension and seat the flare better in the fitting. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get new lines/modify these ones, so that'll have to wait till the spring.

The exhaust on the other hand, sounds absolutely sick and isn't leaking (I don't think), so props to Miller Muffler of Lewisville for hooking me up!

And with that, my brief update comes to an end. As you guys already know, there's lots of time in between my updates, and unfortunately that is just how it is, so I apologize to any and all of you who just want to see this damn thing finished. Trust me, I do to. But going to school in a different state, in addition to working full time, and boosting my FRS--

WAIT WHAT? YOU'RE TURBOING YOUR FRS TOO?

Yes, I am. Who needs a daily, when you can just have projects, right? But that's a story for another thread...

I leave behind a present for all of you, in the form of a YouTube video. Let it be a taste of wonderful times to come....

[ame]http://youtu.be/9nXSV1XZHmA[/ame]

[Guff]

Ladies and Gentlemen....

WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS!

I'm back for the summer, and I'm ready to finish this thing! I'll keep this update brief and hopefully add pictures and more info in the next few days.

I dropped a couple Gs on seats, a new fuel tank/pump/accessories, a new steering column, and a whole bunch of other assorted parts. Overnighted from Japan and everything! I'm slowly putting everything together and will hopefully be finishing the brakes in the next few days. After that, maybe we'll get a driving video! But who knows...

Stay tuned!

[Lunatic]

Good luck with your build. Wife and I are Mini Lovers. We have had 4 of them and still own a real 98 John Cooper Works, one of only 3 in North America. (the Blue Car)
I thought about a V-Tec my self but decided to stay with the 1380 A+ because of weight distribution. I built it with ancross flow aluminum head with MED Injection and a 5 speed straight cut gear box with Quaife limited slip. (green car)
But my best mini is my fiberglass GT-5 with mid engine turbo charged Hayabusa. (white car)
Have fun and enjoy your Mini.

[Lunatic]

By the way, if you haven't check out 7 enterprises. Great guys to deal with and every part in the world for classic mini's
http://www.7ent.com

[Guff]

Originally Posted by Lunatic

Good luck with your build. Wife and I are Mini Lovers. We have had 4 of them and still own a real 98 John Cooper Works, one of only 3 in North America. (the Blue Car)
I thought about a V-Tec my self but decided to stay with the 1380 A+ because of weight distribution. I built it with ancross flow aluminum head with MED Injection and a 5 speed straight cut gear box with Quaife limited slip. (green car)
But my best mini is my fiberglass GT-5 with mid engine turbo charged Hayabusa. (white car)
Have fun and enjoy your Mini.

Originally Posted by Lunatic

By the way, if you haven't check out 7 enterprises. Great guys to deal with and every part in the world for classic mini's
http://www.7ent.com

I'm moving in!

Those are some beautiful automobiles! Funny enough, I've never even ridden in a Mini before and you own all the cars that I've dreamt about driving for many years! I'll bet that Busa powered beast is absolutely bonkers!

And yeah I spend most of my day on 7ent and MiniMania. I actually bought everything I mentioned in the last post from 7ent. They're super helpful and very prompt with their emails.

Thanks for sharing! I'll try to get some stuff myself to share soon!

[Lunatic]

Originally Posted by Guff

I'll bet that Busa powered beast is absolutely bonkers!

!

Yep, nothing like pulling paddles at 11,000 rpm. 1140 lbs wet with me in it, 0 to 60 in 2.6, close to 2 "G"s cornering force. 242 hp at the wheels at only 9 lbs boost on pump gas.

check this out. A couple of laps at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.
https://video-lax1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hv...f5&oe=55888984

[Guff]

Originally Posted by Lunatic

Yep, nothing like pulling paddles at 11,000 rpm. 1140 lbs wet with me in it, 0 to 60 in 2.6, close to 2 "G"s cornering force. 242 hp at the wheels at only 9 lbs boost on pump gas.

check this out. A couple of laps at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway.
https://video-lax1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hv...f5&oe=55888984

That's wild! Unfortunately, I can't view the video (I'm assuming its because I can't view your personal Facebook videos), but dang, I'll bet that thing makes a fool of a lot of supercars on the track. Do you have the video up on YouTube? I should be able to view it if its there.

[Lunatic]

Originally Posted by Guff

That's wild! Unfortunately, I can't view the video (I'm assuming its because I can't view your personal Facebook videos), but dang, I'll bet that thing makes a fool of a lot of supercars on the track. Do you have the video up on YouTube? I should be able to view it if its there.

My Facebook page is public, anyone should be able to see it. Try just going to Facebook and type in Lunatic Racing.

[Guff]

Okay, you guys are more than due for an update!

SHE DRIVES! AND BOY IS SHE FAST! The car pulls hard in honestly every gear, it's insane. I'm interested to see how much it weighs because it pulls way harder than I expected. Plus I only got into VTEC (yo) once and that was for less than two seconds. Here is an assortment of videos that were taken while I was giving everyone rides:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsS5H8NzvWs"]Taking the Mini Out Pt.1 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YroIcvkG9Ww"]Taking the Mini Out Pt.2 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liJ9MD483cU"]Taking the Mini Out Pt.3 - YouTube[/ame]

The exhaust is stupid loud, as it is basically a straight piped Honda, but it sounds good and I'm happy. You'll also notice that the rear rubs because I need new rubber cones and there's a pretty gnarly belt squeal that I need to figure out.

Obviously, as you can see there is a lot to be done still, but this is definitely a big milestone in the build.

To get to this point, I was putting in some work getting the brake lines done and finally figured out the reason why I was getting leaks at the master cylinder no matter what I did. Turns out Wilwood taps their masters with a 1/8-27 NPT outlet, despite the fact that everything else is 3/8-24 UNF. So all this time, I have just had the wrong thread and needed to buy some $7 adapters. I sure wish somebody would have told me that a year ago, but I digress. I got the brakes bled and ready to go:



I also got a new Mini MPI fuel tank with pump assembly and sender and the promptly got rid of the pump and threw in a Walbro 255.



Then I installed the original seat frame (with some old pillows for padding) and the new steering column and steering wheel.



Then after a late night "first drive" (I got about ten feet), I realized the tire was fouling on the radiator at only a little bit of lock. (Thanks MiniTec...)





So I busted out the angle grinder and my handy Flux-Core Welder (Please Santa, get me a MIG) and made a mount that mounted far more inward. Then I braced it to one of the valve cover bolts for stability...

(I'll get a picture of this soon)

And this brings the Mini to where it sits now!

I have a bunch of parts on order and a bunch of parts waiting to be installed. Including a set of Corbeau A4s in Alcantara and some 4-point harnesses.



Plus, I got some KAD steering rack limiters and some rear Hi-Lo Adjustable trumpets and upgraded rubber springs on the way. Hopefully over the next month I'll get it to a point where it will be a solid driving car and then send it off to paint.

Fingers Crossed! Thanks for reading!


Oh yeah! I forgot to mention! I designed a logo that I am putting on my custom gauges!





(The logo ended up being a bit smaller and actually red, not pink)

It's gonna be MAAAAADDDDD!!!!

[Guff]

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates! I haven't really had a chance to touch the car in quite some time. So much stuff has happened in my life and the Mini has really been put on the backburner.

So let me update you guys:

This was my daily driver:



Don't mind the hail damage! It is a 2013 Scion FR-S, with a couple of choice mods. This car was my first true love. Owned it for 3 years until this happened late last year:



Modern cars are hella safe! Hit a Hyundai Accent going about 40 and thankfully nobody was hurt. It happens, we have insurance, so we move on.

So, then I went on a hunt for a new daily! I searched for months! All the while driving my brother's diesel Passat. But eventually I found this:



Hooray!


So, now I have a daily and I don't have to worry about having to walk inside the local KFC. I can roll through the drive-thru mad JDM BRZ style!

Plus, this means it's time to work on the Mini again! But, if you guys read the OP, you'll know that the car is in Texas, and I'm in Illinois! That's a problem.

So what do I do? I fly down to Texas, grab our Suburban, and tow that Mini up to Illinois!







Awesome!

But, alas, the car lay dormant once again, as work and school take priority... Also, I had to finish this thing:




But, now I'm motivated! This car will be done by Summer! I swear by Flurpy himself!

[Guff]

Remember how I said the car will be done by summer? Yeah, that didn't happen. But like a fat middle-aged housewife's gym membership, the New Year has me renewed, and as such, we're working on the Mini again!

Now, since I enjoy making videos, I'm gonna try making video build logs, as well as updating this thread with detailed specifics, so stay tuned for that.

I won't make any more empty promises about finishing it by summer or any specific date. While I do have my goals in mind, it'll be done when it's absolutely perfect, and so it's full steam ahead for me until that happens.

Here's the introductory video to the Build Log, I don't do much but I clear out some space for the car and go over what is left to do:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xpsQzFQnqY"]Building a VTEC Classic Mini [ALBON Garage] Ep 1 - YouTube[/ame]

[ztrevs]

An update the same day the fellas over at mightycarmods unveil their mini build? ?? Coincidence?!?

Never the less, awesome build

[Guff]

Originally Posted by ztrevs

An update the same day the fellas over at mightycarmods unveil their mini build? ?? Coincidence?!?

Never the less, awesome build

I literally shouted in excitement when I saw the MCM episode drop, I was expecting them to show the EZ36 being built so this was such a surprise. I was in the middle of color grading my video when I found out too! How fortuitous! Maybe I'll get more views as people will be interested.