10 replies to this topic

[gordo1983]

hi I am building a rwd mini and trying yo figure out how I can use the front mini hubs on the rear. Anyone done this or have any ideas I can use?

[benjy_18]

Should be as simple as making up a set of upper and lower arms, using the original ball joints then just using a track control arm on the original steering arms

Obviously you can do this in many different ways

[Tupers]

Have a looks at the COX GTM or the GTM Coupe. They both use a full front subframe in the rear of the car with locked out steering and modified rear drum set-ups to allow for a handbrake. 

[Sam Walters]

Unless you plan on keeping mini components for a bit of token originality I don't see all too much point. Id use something much more suited to the task.

I think you need to look at the suspension design of your planned setup and picking a hub relative to the required geometries.

 

[gordo1983]

I want to keep mini stud pattern. I donf want to use custom made parts. want it so wheel needing new dics or bearings etc I can buy parts off the shelf.

[ibrooks]

Where is the engine going? If it's front engine rear wheel drive then you'll be having a diff and maybe a rear axle at which point you aren't using Mini hubs at the rear. A Spridget rear axle would let you use Mini wheels at the rear.

 

If you are making it mid-engined then you might as well just copy what GTM did. There are variations depending on whether you use rear discs or drums. The drum braked version uses a slightly modified rear drum backplate (so it will bolt to a front drum hub) with the Mini rear brakes complete. The disc brake version uses a standard front hub with the brakes and then an additional bracket to carry a seperate cable operated caliper (of 2CV origin I believe) for the handbrake.

 

My Coupe uses Mini front hubs with 8.4 solid discs but I've slightly modified the hubs to take MGF rear calipers so I've got handbrake and service brake in one caliper. The balance with a single circuit master cylinder and no bias device is spot on when combined with Metro Turbo front brakes. It's quite well documented on the GTM Owners club forum if you want to follow suit.

 

Iain

[gordo1983]

it is front engine rwd with diff. I planed on using mini disc hubs modified to take the 200sx rear caliper which has handbrake built in.al have a look on there and see.

[Sam Walters]

Was writing out a post in regards to MGF calipers.

 

13 inch mini wheels will fit over these brakes.

I dont think it would cost all too much to have the disk and hub re drilled.
 

[ibrooks]

OK so RWD with a diff. If you were planning on using Mini hubs then it's IRS rather than a live axle I assume. So disc braked hubs with A.N.Other caliper or drum braked front hubs with Mini rear brakes will all work assuming you can sort wishbones or similar. With the GTM's we've seen the higher power cars snapping the CV's on drum braked hubs as they are smaller - West is running disc CV's and not reporting problems (he's got pics of his car leaving the line at Santa Pod with air under both front tyres so they get some abuse).

 

Iain

[gordo1983]

thats good to here it is disc one's I have. using s14 200sx rear calipers.I am thinking of using mini front top arm on the bottom and home made on the top which will be made to lock the hub.

[ibrooks]

Making life complicated. The Mini bottom arm and tie-rod form a bottom wishbone and it's easy enough to make a different tie-rod that would be easier to locate on a frame (rose joint at the forward end maybe). Retain the top arm pretty much as-is. Keep the steering arm with the Mini track rod end and get a length of hex bar threaded 1/2" UNF at each end with one left hand thread and one right hand thread. On the left hand thread stick a rose joint (less than a fiver from McGill Motorsport last time I got one for this job) and fasten it to a bracket on your rear frame (near to the top arm pivot or you get changes in the tracking as the wheel moves up and down due to the different lengths). Turning that threaded bar now adjusts your rear tracking - simples. Your mountings for all this can be measured from the Mini front subframe and you know that the geometry is somewhere near right to start with.

 

You really need the lower wishbone to be longer than the top one to keep the wheel something like vertical as it moves up and down with the suspension and the top arm is a very short wishbone in your proposed setup. You can get a good visualisation of what will go on with strips of cardboard. Push drawing pins through them at the length of your proposed wishbones and into a board of some sort. Another strip of card to represent the hub and you can move the whole lot up and down and play with lengths to see what sort of camber changes go on as it all moves.

 

Iain