27 replies to this topic

[DAVEY_C]

Well I'v started collecting old pick up bits for a planed project ..............more to come keep an eye out in complete rebuilds soon........

ah come on, ye can't just leave on that note, help a brother out dude ..... ye gotta let me know when ye start it
i've been picking up mk1 bits the past while illuding myself into thinking that i might have 1 one day ..... looks like if i do it'll be "built not bought"

[mk1leg]

Well keep this to yourself............a mini mini pickup



I have found a donner mini and I got the back of a cab from a pickup and the floor and rear side panels so far

[DAVEY_C]

looks sweet and my lips are sealed .... i'm rebuilding my city's body 1st and then i can start collecting panels.
good job done on the rendering,it realy puts my idea into perspective and i can see it a bit better now.
i'll keep an eye out for the build, should be interesting.
thanks

[minidream94]

Thats the sort of thing i was getting at mk1leg, although it would still have the curve of the saloon back as you cut just behind the b pillar and chop the C pillar and take that section of roof out, get a pickup back panel and weld that in and i think it would look really smart

I know of the white saloon with the rear opening doors, there was a kit in one of the mags advertised for sale .................................................. £5000 for the kit and work i mean granted its a lovely car, but why would u spend that on a kit :/ id rather just buy a van or pup to be honest with ya A saloon van would be different tho as i dont think anybody has built one before

Theres a sr20 4wd mini being built over in aus by the way davey http://www.16vminicl...ead.php?t=20148

[DAVEY_C]

it has been done lots of times and does look well but for me it looks too much like a shorty and i hate them bloody things, pity because otherwise i would have considered it.
a pic to give an idea
http://ozsoapbox.com...ownship-taiwan/

i seen that project alright,its the same conversion i have because i broke my gtir but kept the parts needed to shoehorn it into a mini, i don't like the idea of putting it into a saloon shell though. i'd prefer the longer wheelbase but there's probably no difference but i'm a fussy fecker

[mab01uk]

How about the Red Bull Mini's (Classic and New)?
http://redbullminis.yolasite.com/

Edited by mab01uk, 11 November 2011 - 11:46 PM.

[CLM]

i'm with chris... although i would prefer to save a rotten pickup they just aren't cas common as in the uk and even a rotten 1 is like gold dust (and costs as much) nobody sells them and if they do even needing work swings them into thousands. i have a rotten saloon without any identity that got me thinking, i picked it up for 50Euro few months back, it was going to be scrapped but i hadn't the heart to let that happen so i took it and spent many nights wundering what the hell to do with it now

she's a 91 cooper shell and needs alot of panels but the way i see it she's still being saved. i'm not looking to build an exact replica of a derivitive but something i'll enjoy using. i was thinking a van/estate because i was going to build an sr20det powered mini and fancied the extra wheel base but was only a thought... think i might go with either a pickup or hornet instead because of lack of resources with regards the others... it will probably end up a track day weapon but by scratch building you can do what you want with it which is the main apeal i think

chris, you have my interest mate. the conversion you are doing, are you much into it?

I have mostly been collecting panels, I was going to go with a saloon at the beginning, but I found the wagon shell for $600, I plan to swap rear load floors in it with my van shell which gives me the load floor for pickup, which more or less covers the price of buying the wagon heh. I was going to do this with a saloon, but the mk1 saloon style door frames were giving me issues, the wagon has the correct door frames for a pup as well as the correct front cantrails. I just finished my spit frame, and my back went out or something.. ugh. but as soon as I can get the wagon on the frame so I can peel out the load floor and brace it against flex I should be able to start it's conversion.

As for your floor, no need to stick to the shorter wheelbase unless you want to you can get the http://www.minispare...600/14A9023.jpg to extend it.

Chris

[DAVEY_C]

mab01uk... the classic looks a tidy job... more of a roadster but the only difference would be making the rear lid removable to make it a pickup but i do sorta like it...
told ye's i was a fussy git lol

chris.... between the 2 cars you'll draw a compermise, i like how you impervise haha. i assume you are going to swap the loading floors and then tackle the side panels... i would have assumed it would be easier to keep all straight if it was jigged up on a bench top? i was considering getting the full sides so i could convert to mk1 doors because i quite like the shape and external hinges but have to go with a budget unfortunately... are the front floors not the same lenght in the pup as in the saloon??... i was led to believe the rear subframe was in the same position and the loading floor extends to the back of seats to give the extra lenght in the rear...OR is that floor section to extend a pup?? confusion lol... i will have to do a bit more research into that now

[CLM]

Actually, the pup is based on the van, they just swapped out the vans sides and roof for pup versions pretty much. The van/wagon/pup all share the same wheelbase. Turning a van into a pup would be the easiest conversion actually pup rear window and bulkhead, pup b pillars inner and outer, pup rear quarters and lamp panels, pup tailgate, and the various braces. Going from a wagon you also add the load floor and heel board.

The door openings are the same in a pup/van and a mk1/2 saloon, but the quarter panels and b pillars don't fit without modifications. It's because the saloon door frame is stamped one piece with the a panels and quarter panels, where as the long wheel base cars had the rear quarters and a pillars as a separate panel spot welded to the door frame. Now if you go with a mk3 or later with roll up window doors you are going to need to mod the quarter panels anyways as the shape is different there between external hinge and internal hinge door. However that is more or less minor if you are doing the conversion.

Another thing you want to think about is the roof, only the early vans and wagons have a smooth roof which is easily modified to work on a pup, later ones have ribs that would need dealt with, either leaving the ribs as is or filling them smooth. If you work from a saloon, you will find the roof line drops drastically right after the door. That will require a fair amount of work to get the gutter line flat for the conversion and bringing the roof in the correct profile over the rear window, the van and wagon have the correct profile of the gutters and roof line however so wont need working up.

As for the improvising bit... I saw some photos of the rare estate floored van, and thought it made more sense, with more storage, spare tire stored under the deck at back... It also allowed me to steal the decent load floor from it for the pup... which would have cost me over $1000 for the pup load floor if I were to buy it new... heh

Chris

[mk1leg]

Thats the sort of thing i was getting at mk1leg, although it would still have the curve of the saloon back as you cut just behind the b pillar and chop the C pillar and take that section of roof out, get a pickup back panel and weld that in and i think it would look really smart

I know of the white saloon with the rear opening doors, there was a kit in one of the mags advertised for sale .................................................. £5000 for the kit and work i mean granted its a lovely car, but why would u spend that on a kit :/ id rather just buy a van or pup to be honest with ya A saloon van would be different tho as i dont think anybody has built one before

Theres a sr20 4wd mini being built over in aus by the way davey http://www.16vminicl...ead.php?t=20148

I'm using a scrapped pick up I found at the local dump some years ago it was very rotten the only part was from the cab backwards so I cut it up for the parts I required............ still need a tailgate but I will get a new one from BMH.........

[roofless]

anyone got any pics of the 'franken-mini' being built by Derek's Mini Centre for about the last 10 years?

that consists of bits of saloon, hornet, cabriolet....a little bot of everything in fact......and 3 series BMW if memory serves.....

[liamharries]

do a shortie

[tiger99]

The big problem is that many rear end panels for vans are no longer available, and would be very difficult to fabricate by hand. And, even a floor, which does seem to be still available, is horrendously expensive. Sad, because I like vans.

If I was going to do something like that, I would have a go at a 6 wheel saloon model, at least you can get, at reasonable cost, all the outer panels that you would need. Obviously you would need almost two rear quarter panels per side. But the internals, floor and structure would be difficult, and the roof would be very challenging. with problems due to the taper.

Yet it is done on a commercial basis with Binis. I guess it gives them twice the opportunity for rear suspension fractures, to which they are notoriously prone, although BMW deny it.

A 6 wheel saloon would present an interesting dilemma. Where do you put the engine, and which wheels should it drive? Obviously, either rear pair, or maybe all 4, are possible, with a much larger engine than an A series, as there is no width lost for steering movement at the rear.

Has anyone ever thought about stretching the nose, and having 4 wheels at the front?