The original plan was always to convert it to a rally car at some point and the first rally version ran a standard 998 engine (not the Rallycross blue printed engine). With my son driving, it was used as one of the demo cars to convince the MSA that they should allow 14 year olds to drive rally cars. Unfortunately it took them a while to decide, so my son grew up and just had to start driving again
After a year of being beaten by the incredibly light and nimble F1000 Micras, it was time to move on. But not before I did a Rallysprint in Belgium, beating 'Jumping Jeff' (a former rallycross driver from the 70's) who was driving a seriously spec'd 1380 Mini.
In 2009 the car only did one event with a nice 1300 engine that I built with MJ, 45 DCOE, Ultra-light flywheel, SW5 cam, etc. It also ran with the original Rallycross suspension setup (which was probably a bit soft) and a gearbox that had seen better days. For 2010 it has been further upgraded to include a SCCR box, still with a 4.1 diff, coil over suspension, 4 pot brakes and a DIY internal gear linkage.
I have been using the Forum for quite a while and picked up some bargains to help get the car to its current spec, thanks to all those that helped get it this far.
I am next out at Sculthorpe on 10th and 11th April. Unfortunately they don't let Spectators in to this event (but once in, it's a pretty good event for spectating), but if anybody is interested in pretending to Service for me or fancies Marshalling (no experience required), please let me know.
Thanks, Mark
