40 replies to this topic

[sonikk4]

Radford did something similar

[sonikk4]

You may find that there is some serious bracing in there that is very well hidden. Certainly for the hinge points alone there will be reinforcement built in.

[conlad]

I was only jokinggggg... I thought I'd carry on the trend of populating every topic with VOSA at least somewhere once

[Bungle]

is he in the UK ?

[Alex_B]

It says England on his profile, so one would assume so,

and yes

we all know what that means!

IVA talk !

[SolarB]

What did the estates have in the way of additional bracing?

[Bungle]

It says England on his profile, so one would assume so,

and yes

we all know what that means!

IVA talk !

all i get is

• Noobies
• 
• 40 posts

• Local Club: Not in one... yet!

but lets educate him and maybe he will be the first ever mini owner to do the conversion properly with all the correct paper work

[MaxAndPaddy]

Has anyone tried to do A shorting break mini?

Hi guys and girls.

not a regular poster or anything on here so be nice!....

im a big fan of the shorting break and would love to do the build my self, but a little nervous about doing so...

Has anyone attempted the build? Either buying the kit from france or trying to do it them selves?

I'm not interested in the radford style conversions so if you could leave that stuff out that would be appreciated.

I just want any info of someone taking on their own shorting break...

and for those of you who are not familiar with it, here it is.....







Thank you, Dominic

Never seen one before...stunning car!!

Good luck with yours

[tiger99]

I have never seen one of these with twin rear doors, and it looks just fantastic.

BMC, as they were at the time, built two with a one piece rear door, and one went to the silly twit of a Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples, before Radford jumped on the bandwagon. But the door was a bit smaller, leaving a heavier, and as far as I know, boxed frame around the door to replace the lost torsional stiffness. There must also have been bracing in the sides. It was known to be a fair bit heavier than a standard Mini.

It definitely would need IVA. As the fuel tank seems to now be beneath the floor, that is the biggest single obstacle dealt with. Next are edge radii, needing reprofiled seam covers (please, don't make a deseamed one, it would ruin both looks and stiffness), and something clever done with the roof gutter edges. Then there are lots of other minor things, bumper ends, interior fittings, maybe grille, possibly need a double UJ steering column (good idea anyway, and you don't need an IVA for just such a purely mechanical mod), probable difficulties with brake balance, and lots of other stuff. But this is one case where I think that going the IVA route just to get a very nice, and legal, car would be fully justified.

With all that work, a stretched version would not be much more difficult, biggest problem being the roof taper. About a 9 inch stretch would be nice, not an imitation stretch limo, just a lot more rear legroom.

But please, a standard roundnose front so it looks like a "proper" Mini, not that hideous Radford front with what looks like Mercedes headlights.

[Artful Dodger]

OH MY GOD thats awsome. i need to build me one of those!


to anwser your questions, no, there is no one to my knowledge currently building one of those conversions with or without the kit you mention) on this forum

please put up a build thread, would love to see this being built, and where you build in strength, with some kind of hidden rollcage maybe?

[JustSteve]

That is all

[domdee]

Thanks for all the concerns. Many if them pointless and useless but thanks all the same.
Finally got an answer that I was looking for though... The artful dodger!
No one has attempted it.
That is all I wanted 😊
Thanks chaps

[miniman retford]

I saw this at a show, think it was IMM2009 in Birmingham.
looked really good.

[domdee]

Radford did something similar

clearly didnt read the very first post...
thanks though

[domdee]

That is all

I love the clubby estate, but for me its just the rear side windows let the whole car down. They dont look that proper. And yes before you say it, I know they are factory standard. I just think the design is a bit of a 'that'll do'. They should be fitted like the rear door windows... In my opinion.

Thanks