86 replies to this topic

[DougieMc]

Here we are nearly a year on from when we finished the car, we've promised a build thread, and here it finally is.




Since then we've had one successful year drawing crowds wherever we've taken the car, in one way or another it seems to appeal to everyone. We've attended all sorts of events from Mini Shows, Classic Car Shows and Pistonheads meets along side million pound Hypercars. When you pull up at an event and the crowd walk away from a Ferrari Enzo to see the 'old mini' that turns up, you know you've created something special.

Yes the car has one multiple trophies, had 2 Magazine covers, but its all credit to the team of people who spent 2 years building it. During the build we didn't really have time to post up, plus we wanted to keep it top secret so that we could hit last years show scene with a bang, which we did! Skunkworkz, Chris, Danny, myself and a load of other mates worked very hard as you will appreciate below.

We've included as much as possible without giving everything away.


Firstly, lets answer the main frustrating questions of 2010
Is it all Carbon Wrap Vinyl?
afraid not, all real Carbon Fibre

How much is the front extended by?
its not, standard length roundnose

Is it Fibreglass?
nope, all metal panels apart from the Carbon Fibre. The front is a 1 piece removable aswell

Where's your Zeus Fasteners?
we hate them, all our fixings are hidden

Is it a VTEC?
nope its an Vauxhall 2.0L 16v XE, this was partly because of our background and because i work for Vauxhall HQ

We hope this clears up any confusion )


Breif history is it was my Grandfathers car from new in 1972, it stayed in the family until 1991 when I sold it after my little appearance in Miniworld May 1995.


Then in 2008 I found it again with only 120miles extra on the clock since I sold it, but in a sorry state, I then bought it back, which is where the fun began.

2.0 16V C20XE Allspeed Kit
QED Jenvey Throttle Bodies
Emerald Management
Z20LET Injectors
Piper 286 Road/Race Cams
Ported, Milled & Polished Head
Power Speed Custom 4-2-1 Manifold, 2.5” Bore, 3” Tailpipe
Quaife LSD
ProAlloy Custom Radiator, Header Tank, Pipe work & Oil Catch Tank
SFS Silicone Hoses
Rocker Cover Smoothed and Colour Coded with Oil Filler Cap & Removed & Breathers Rerouted
Custom Carbon Fibre Plug Cover
Custom Thermostat and Sensors
8x13 Revolution Split Rims
175-50-13 Yokohama A048

Front - Hi-Lo’s & Spax Adjustable Shocks
Rear - Hi-Lo’s & Spax Adjustable Shocks with Rear Camber Kit
Wilwood Dual Master Cylinder / Pedal assembly
Metro Turbo 4 Pot Callipers
Repainted in Ford Imperial Blue
Standard Length Full Metal, Fully Removable Roundnose with Hidden Fixings
Custom Metal Bonnet with Removable Hinges
Carbon Fibre Roof Skin
Custom Carbon Fibre Mirrors & Internal Covers
Carbon Fibre Miglia Arches
Mk2 Pop Out Rear Windows
LED Number Plate Lights
Custom Red Rear Lights with LED Bulbs
Crystal Clear Headlights
Clear Flat Glass Front Indicators with LED Bulbs

Carbon Fibre Shell Seats
Schroth 4 Point Harnesses
Custom 2” Diameter 6 Point Rollcage
Custom Carbon Fibre Dashboard with Rollcage Fitment
Custom Carbon Fibre Steering Column Shroud with Illuminated Starter Button
Custom Carbon Fibre Instrument Surround
Custom Carbon Fibre Gear lever Surround & Linkage Tube
New Mini Style Illuminated Switches with Loops
ETB Digital Dash
Corsa B Electric Power Steering
Momo Quick Release Steering Wheel
Carbon Fibre Gearknob
Handbrake Moved 8” Back
Custom Carbon Fibre Pedals
Custom 2 Speed Heater with Sealed
Custom Carbon Fibre Heater Cover
Custom Carbon Fibre Door Cards
Custom Billet Door Handles & Window Winders
Custom Made Wiring Loom
White LED Interior Puddle Lighting
Retro Re-trims Carbon Fibre Leather Headlining & A,B & C Pillar Covers
Retro Re-trims Carbon Fibre Leather Handbrake & Gearlever Gators
Retro Re-trims Carbon Fibre Leather Boot kit
Custom Carpet & Mats

Original Pics - 1991 (First Owned)



In the Barn - 2008 (Found after 13 years)


Moved to my parents house in Stranraer where we picked it up


The journey from Stranraer to Bedfordshire

[DougieMc]

What we found





Strip down the whole car main shell and floor was still good as my grandfather used to coat the underneath with waste tractor oil (The best Waxoyl money can buy)

[DougieMc]

After stripping we took it to Alex at A.B.S. Blasting who blasted the shell with Plastic granules to remove the paint then olivine to remove any rust








They opened up the sills to get any rust out

[DougieMc]

Once it was blasted, we took it to the bodyshop where they started chopping






The part were listed, bought and then Lee at Crash Care Centre Hitchin started to make them fit







The bodyshop finished the welding including the fabricated Throttle body box, Allspeed brace bars, gear linkage hole removing the rear bins and tubbing the rear arched then finally the car was Etch Primed

[DougieMc]

Carbon Roof
This was an off the shelf item, but again as with most other parts that have been 'off the shelf' it didn't fit straight away, in a way it was good as it allowed us to trim it down to get it to the perfect size.
Also we wanted the minimum metalwork left on the roof so 95% of it was chopped out leaving 1" around the edges to give us something to bond the Carbon to.
And after 17 coats of lacquer to make it the depth of Carbon that we wanted for the project.







Then the engine bay, interior and boot were painted bodycolour
This would allow us to start fitting things up and being able to leave them in as apposed to removing them again before final paint.

[DougieMc]

Once we got it back we started to get it rolling
We needed to get the car on its wheels to make it easier to move about, and to preserve the underseal/stonechip that had been applied at the bodyshop.





First chance to get engine subframe in and the engine mounted, started to piece together the suspension, steering etc..




Trial Front end first fitted on to see what would need chopping, this was later replaced with all new panels





It was a bit higher than we expected.... this was where the fun started

[DougieMc]

Exhaust by Powerspeed
As part of our challenge to fit this huge engine under a standard length roundnose steel front end using an Allspeed subframe, we were going to be faced with a few problems, hence nobody had done it. Yes people have fitted XE's under roundnose mini's, but they are on custom made subframes that work for their application. But for us sadly we needed more ground clearance as we wanted to run the car nice and low.

So we needed a custom made exhaust. We'd been recommended Powerspeed by a friend who has a Dax Rush with a 450bhp C20LET out of a Calibra Turbo, they shoehorned a trick manifold into his small space so we knew they were the people for the job.

As with any custom exhaust we were asked the normal questions and from them gave our answers. We wanted a super skinny 4-2-1 manifold & downpipe that hugged the engine block as tight as possible, taking the standard route under the sump into a flexi joint, then into a straight 2.25" centre pipe, this would then join up with a medium sized backbox that needed to be tucked up as high as possible inside the rear subframe, then we wanted a 3" outwardly rolled tailpipe in the same position as many other performance exhausts. Oh and it needed a lambda boss welding in for when the car went for mapping. Not much eh!

[DougieMc]

Then we removed the manifold and wrapped it in heat resistant exhaust wrap to try to keep the engine bay temperatures down.



Then we painted the wrap in heat resistant exhaust paint



Radiator & Pipework Manufacture, & Thermostat mods by Pro Alloy








Coolant Expansion Tank & Breather catch tank & Pipework by Pro Alloy

[DougieMc]

Rocker Cover Modifications by Pro Alloy
This picture shows the original rocker cover at the front, and the modified rocker cover at the back.


These were the 3 main mods that were carried out by Pro Alloy as well as Hotrod Guru and mate Jon Gurney.

Firstly the front breather was removed and smoothed over to fit under the bonnet.


Then the rear breathers (2) were chopped off and 1 large one was welded in instead, we also squared off this area of the rocker cover to make it smoother. Also note the removal of the oil filler cap, this is a modification that we have carried out before on other cars and really smoothes off the top of the engine, especially when its poking out of the bonnet! Not many people notice this unless you know what a standard engine looks like.



Plug Cover
We wanted a Carbon plug cover to break up the engine, especially as the engine would now be on show. Because of the changes to the rocker cover, there would be no 'off the shelf' cover, so the original one needed to be modified.


With the oil filler cap removed, there would be a small 1/8 of a circle part missing. So Rich filled it. Whilst he was there he filled the back of the cover with carbon fibre & resin. Then flatted the raised letters on the front down until the top face was flush.



Once we'd tested the fit, it was then wrapped in Carbon. Admittedly its not complete Carbon, but it’s definitely not vinyl, so it was the best option available.




Rich also Carboned the plug lead holder that keeps the leads tidy (yes very *******, but attention to detail is everything)

[DougieMc]

Bonnet Fabrication by Crash Care Centre
Now if you've either come and spoke to us at a show or if you've read one of the magazine features you may know the story behind this one.

When we started looking at a few things such as how we wanted the engine to look with all the original covers, and obviously the engine position which finished above the wing level and how it would have had to be part of the front wing we knew that bulge would have took up half of the bonnet and gone into the wing.


So one night whilst having a 'thinking night' as apposed to a 'doing night' around the car, Chris's wife Karen who's house we were building the house at came out and suggested 'how about just cutting a hole in the bonnet?' At first I looked dubious, but as soon as the others heard it they was sold! After an agreement that we were going to have 2 bonnets, 1 for general use and 1 for show, I was sold! To this day we've never seen a 2nd bonnet, shows how much we all liked the crazy idea!

Luckily we had a spare bonnet, so we chopped a hole in it just to see what it would look like.


We got on the phone to top metal fabricator friend John who was up for making a frame for the bonnet, we dropped him over a spare rocker and some dimensions and days later he'd produced 2 identical frames that were rocker cover shaped with an even 10mm gap all the way around.

Now we had the parts needed we moved the car back to Crash Care Centre and explained the plan to Lee who luckily has a good imagination, and was well up for the challenge. Next thing you know we were cutting up a brand new bonnet and cutting in the edging strips ready for welding. We then handed it over to Lee for some expert welding.











Anyone would think he knew what he was doing 



When Lee had the car back for final painting he added some more details to the bonnet including extending the bonnet centreline down the new metalwork on the bonnet.

[DougieMc]

Rear Lights
Being a fan of the Euro Cleaned scene, Rich - Skunkworkz, needed to add some touches such as the 1 off rear lights. Also we wanted the older look of all red rear lights.

So we started with a spare old lens to check that the colour would end up right. After multiple coats all the orange was gone and the colour was even, it worked a treat!


Then some would call it *******, some would call it ingenious, but really its Rich's attention to detail that followed. To be honest these little touches of Rich ******* ness is what has made the car what it is (but don’t tell him that).
A brand new set of lights were purchased:

and then totally flattened back with wet and dry to remove all writing including E marks etc..


Resulting in these:


With the addition of LED bulbs for both Stop/Tail/Indicators it really brings the rear end up to date. All colours show through the red lenses perfectly.


We've had lots of comments about them, such as 'are they Australian spec?'

Front Arches
We wanted the car to have a low wide stance, so Miglia Wide Carbon arches were purchased.

We'd seen too many other cars with arches that had been poorly fitted with uneven heights and gaps, visible screws holding them together. We wanted to do something a bit better so a lot of time and attention was spent getting them right. Original, Rich insisted that we fitted the arches with no rubber beading at all, which would have looked great and actually did as the arches were made to have a perfect fit, but knowing the car was going to be used and the car was going to flex and things would move he finally gave in and we sourced a 3mm P strip to sit between the arch and bodywork.

After we'd set the ride height with the 8x13 wheels, we then started trimming, fitting, trimming, fitting.... each arch! It was a never ending task.
We were somewhere near where we wanted to be. So the arches were mocked up as close as possible and taped in place to show us what part of the front wing would need trimming to allow tyre clearance when the wheels turned.






The arches were not going to be finally fitted up with the brackets bonded on until final fit up. And it took a fair amount of taping, clamping and bonding to get them perfect, but after a bit of work it all turned out good.

[DougieMc]

Rear Arches
These were actually done twice. Some of you may have noticed that when the car first came out the rear arches had 'dimples' around them, these were where the brackets were too tight. Also the rear arches went a little cloudy. We lived with them for a bit, then we decided to get some more.




The new ones fit perfectly, after some creative bonding.



Bootlid
Its pretty much a standard bootlid apart from it having no badges and the rear number plate bulbs have been swapped out for crystal white LED ones to enhance the modern feel with all chrome work being new.



Alternator
With limited space, we had to come up with something different. We originally planned to run the bracket from the Allspeed kit which mounted the alternator on the front of the engine as apposed to the rear on the standard engine. But even with the small Nipon Denso item that was purchased, there just wasn't enough space, but there was space in the inner wing! So with some research done on the alternator running backwards and a couple of brackets knocked up including an adjustable one plus a new belt purchased of the correct length, we mounted it up in its new position. There were a fair few people who said it would never work with the engine moving about, but for us with it being in line with the bottom pulley we had full confidence in it. With 2000 miles under our belt it has been 100% reliable (touch wood) and with a voltmeter on the digidash it shows a constant charging voltage of 14.2v regardless of how the car is being driven!

[DougieMc]

Paint
When it came to the bodywork, we left it to the pro's.

We entrusted in friend and master bodywork guru Lee, who runs Crash Care Centre in Hitchin, Herts.

With the idea of Ford Imperial Blue in contrast with the Carbon parts, we knew we were onto a winner.

The pictures show it all, so enjoy.






Primer




Painting






Buffed

[DougieMc]

Brakes
When you've got 200+bhp under your right foot, you need something substantial under your left foot. We looked at a lot of the billet conversions that are offered, but had heard mixed reviews on them. We also looked into rear disc conversions, but decided against it for the amount of braking the rear brakes do.

So in the end we decided to go for a Wilwood Dual Master Cylinder / Pedal assembly, along with fully refurbished Metro Turbo 4 Pot Callipers and discs up front with a standard set up in the rear. There is a bias valve installed to aid in distributing the braking power where you want/need it most. The handbrake was also moved back 8 inches due to the gear lever moving back. The car will be getting 'used' more this year so we'll see how the set up holds up under a bit more strain.






The Carbon Fibre....
I've been lucky enough to previously own some nice cars. TVR Chimera, TVR Tuscan and a Porsche 996 Turbo. The Porsche was clad with every piece of optional Carbon Fibre that could be purchased, and when you put the Porsche name on anything things aren't cheap! But the Carbon bug had bitten me!

Luckily for me, Rich works for an Aerospace company that uses lots of different materials including Carbon Fibre & Kevlar, and although he's not officially on the tools anymore, he tells me it’s like riding a bike. So after some persuading we decided it would be good to have some custom pieces on the car, little did he know that it would grow as much as it did.

[DougieMc]

Dash
This started life as an off the shelf item, but its had so many hours spent on it Rich tells me we should have just started from scratch and made our own. It might aswell have been made for a Mk1 escort for how good it fitted. The problem was we wanted it to be functional with the heater, but with the heater hidden, and minimal switches visible.
So again, after a lot of cutting and trimming we had the basic shape fitted.





But this was just the start of things to come...

We then decided to fit Corsa power steering, which meant a bit more of the dash needed trimming to fit snugly.


And then I decided I wanted a 6 point rollcage, which sadly for Rich went straight through the freshly fitted dashboard. Again we have seen rollcages through dashboards, but there always crude holes that either don't fit properly or that you can see through to the wiring under the dash. We wouldn't have been happy with this so Rich got to work, making Carbon tubes that were 1" larger diameter than the rollcage giving a 1/2" gap all the way around the rollcage once fitted. These tubes were made on a 3" x 24" aluminium tube fixture that the carbon cloth was wrapped around. Once the resin was cured the inner aluminium tube was removed leaving carbon fibre tube. The dashboard was then cut to receive the tubes. These were then bonded into the dashboard with more Carbon fibre & Resin.





Whilst Rich was making the tubes he also made some Carbon 'L' shape filler strips to fill i the gaps between the dash and A pillar.