32 replies to this topic

[IS300]

Just wondering what peoples opinions are to this kind of thing? Some people say its destroying minis and they don't get looked after etc, but mines possibly better looked after than some road minis, as it gets greased etc once a month, after doing less than 100 miles. If this is a pointless or whatever thread remove it, but i was just wondering

[oliver122]

i think its a good way of saving some mini's that wouldnt be fit for road use again , think its abit of a shame when someone takes a road going mini and turns it into an autograss one mind

[alex71]

I raced autograss for 2 years before I got my first mini. I only chose to race a mini in class 1 because it was the most competitive car, I had no real interest in them other than racing. We used a nice mini 30 shell which was a great find from a local scrap yard, and sold all the good parts on ebay, like an unused RC40 which was lying inside the car, HIF44, and a really nice walnut dash. it's only now that I wish we hadn't turned that into a racer, because the shell was so good it could have gone back on the road, and I'm trying to buy back the same parts that we sold. But at the time, i was only interested in racing. From that point of view, it's a shame that minis are used, but it was those couple of years of racing that got me interested in minis, and that experience has saved one other mini from the crusher. The last I heard, my autograss car was still being raced, 4 years after it was built, and hopefully someone else has been inspired by it to get into minis!
i believe that NASA are trying to get different cars into class 1, but while the mini is still the best, that is what everyone wants to use.

Edited by alex71, 20 November 2011 - 10:09 PM.

[DAVEY_C]

imo its a waste of a classic and alex i hope its not too late to rectify the mistake. some members have resurected alot of mini's that had more rust than metal so by saying that its a way of saving a car that wasn't road worthy is no excuse... if you can make it solid enough to race then it can be brought back to road worthy condition...i don't mind the racing but the car choice is criminal.

[IS300]

Its not really a waste though, as they're still alive, being looked after. Yeah they might(do) get bashed around, panel damage, but they are still minis at the end of the day, being driven. Theres as much chance they'll get written off on the road, or in rallies etc... And Alex, yeah, theyre bringing in micras, Ax's, 106's and that kinda thing:)

[leaky]

Arrrrrrr these topics annoy me. Some idiot always pops up and starts slagging people who race minis off. I love my minis as much as the next bloke. My project threads will show you this. But at the end of the day a mini is a car.

I'v got in to racing over the last year and a bit mainly helping my mate working on bangers and more recently with my girlfriend who races prod a's. In a mini would you believe. Ok so yea they bump in to each other and they get knocked around but unless you done it you cant even begin to understand the effort that goes in to keep those cars race ready.

Not only that but it gets youngsters in to minis and shows them how to work on them and look after them at a young age. Go to a race meet and ask any of juniors that race minis what they want as their first car. I'd put a months wages on most them them saying a mini. Loads of people who race prod a's have road going minis as well. My girlfriend has a road going one as well. Her sister has a race mini as well as a Hornet which is being restored and put back on the road after 20 odd years of being sat in a barn plus I wouldn't even like to guess how many other ones her dad has put back on the road and sold on.

So is this killing off minis. No not really the way I look at it is its getting younger people into them, Keeping the mini in motor sport which lets be fair is where it got its reputation from in the first place and keeping spare parts available for the road going ones. Really struggling to see a down side here.

[giner88]

imo its a waste of a classic and alex i hope its not too late to rectify the mistake. some members have resurected alot of mini's that had more rust than metal so by saying that its a way of saving a car that wasn't road worthy is no excuse... if you can make it solid enough to race then it can be brought back to road worthy condition...i don't mind the racing but the car choice is criminal.

it cost alot more to restore a mini to road worthy condition than for auto grass. so would you rather he left the mini to rot in a scrap yard never to been seen again or buy it up and put a few more years of life in her. i think there seems to be alot of people on here with bottomless pits of money to spend. when 99% just cant do it. granted i would rather see a car put back on the road than turned to autograss buuuut i'd sooner see it driving about on a track than rotting in a scrappy. IF your going to moan at people moan at the people who brake perfectly good minis for profit. thats just evil.

[IS300]

Arrrrrrr these topics annoy me. Some idiot always pops up and starts slagging people who race minis off. I love my minis as much as the next bloke. My project threads will show you this. But at the end of the day a mini is a car.

I'v got in to racing over the last year and a bit mainly helping my mate working on bangers and more recently with my girlfriend who races prod a's. In a mini would you believe. Ok so yea they bump in to each other and they get knocked around but unless you done it you cant even begin to understand the effort that goes in to keep those cars race ready.

Not only that but it gets youngsters in to minis and shows them how to work on them and look after them at a young age. Go to a race meet and ask any of juniors that race minis what they want as their first car. I'd put a months wages on most them them saying a mini. Loads of people who race prod a's have road going minis as well. My girlfriend has a road going one as well. Her sister has a race mini as well as a Hornet which is being restored and put back on the road after 20 odd years of being sat in a barn plus I wouldn't even like to guess how many other ones her dad has put back on the road and sold on.

So is this killing off minis. No not really the way I look at it is its getting younger people into them, Keeping the mini in motor sport which lets be fair is where it got its reputation from in the first place and keeping spare parts available for the road going ones. Really struggling to see a down side here.

Well said that man. I could name at least 10 people off the top of my head, that buy a shell, shotblast it, completely re-panel it in Heritage panels, then spend thousands on painting and wrapping it, purely to be driven around a muddy field, with 7 others. And yep, my first car was my race mini, which i got at age 9, in a sorry state. We did it up for autograss, then bought another mini for the road, my first road car, then another, and we have recently bought a 1961 Austin.

By the way, i didnt intend on this ending up in an argument, it was purely to see peoples opinions

[DAVEY_C]

yes and i gave my opinion and what makes people say i haven't raced and don't suport a friend racing in time attack and irish touring that started off in autograss... i'm not making assumptions like some of the above, i'm going on personal experience .... i know what goes into these cars and there's not a chance i'd stick 1 on the grass track.
giner88 says it costs less to restore a mini for grass track but yet is300 can name at least 10 who use heritage panels and shotblast the shell??.... sounds like it costs just as much if not more in some cases to me so who's talkin poo

i say there's enough young lads lookin for a mini to restore for the road so my opinion is leave these cars to them ... opinions were only asked for mini's in autograss not breaking mini's or any other form of racing so my opinion was givin

[mini-luke]

If it wasn't for the Mini's dominance in autograss, I'm sure we'd have a lot less performance parts available.

[Timinichelsea]

Motorsport at any level always pushes development.

Some of the Class 1 are amazing, the TBR engines they run are completely standard 998's yet push out something in the region of 60bhp just be building and optimising everything.

A friend was second in the national juniors last year and his car was fantastic.

[Artful Dodger]

i read through this and agree with most of what has been said, especially mini-lukes point.

serious question, whats wrong with a 1l saxo or metro, surely theyre cheaper, more power and no one cares if they die???

[giner88]

yes and i gave my opinion and what makes people say i haven't raced and don't suport a friend racing in time attack and irish touring that started off in autograss... i'm not making assumptions like some of the above, i'm going on personal experience .... i know what goes into these cars and there's not a chance i'd stick 1 on the grass track.
giner88 says it costs less to restore a mini for grass track but yet is300 can name at least 10 who use heritage panels and shotblast the shell??.... sounds like it costs just as much if not more in some cases to me so who's talkin poo

i say there's enough young lads lookin for a mini to restore for the road so my opinion is leave these cars to them ... opinions were only asked for mini's in autograss not breaking mini's or any other form of racing so my opinion was givin

so your saying it cost more to make an autograss, then a shiny road car? are you out of your mind, so what if you know 10 people who use 'heritage panels and shotblast the shell??' for every 10 autograss minis like that there is a 100 that are not. and if your going to restore a road car your going to do there things anyway PLUS much much more? so if you think it cost more to make an autograss than a nice road car fine. but i think it is you sir who is full of poo

[IS300]

I didnt want this to become an argument, all i was saying, some people spend lots of money on their grassers, and some dont, same as on the road. Some spend lots of money restoring them, and some are on a budget and maybe havent got as much to spend

Edited by IS300, 21 November 2011 - 08:05 PM.

[leaky]

i read through this and agree with most of what has been said, especially mini-lukes point.

serious question, whats wrong with a 1l saxo or metro, surely theyre cheaper, more power and no one cares if they die???

For starters their no where near as simple to work on. An a series carbed engine is pretty much as simple as it gets and when your in a racetrack trying to get your car going for the next race simple is what you need. Plus parts are far more easy to change.

Plus I bet if you put that comment about Saxos on saxperience they would disagree. Probs suggest they used an old crusty mini instead. That just comes down to a taste really. No matter what car you suggest you use someone will disagree.