58 replies to this topic

[TheFabMini]

Hi,

 

Just a thought, when walking around L2B last weekend and a few other mini shows the past few years, I feel like I'm seeing less and less of the mad random builds... Theres still a few shortys but not as many as I remember when at shows 10-20 years ago. I am sure they are still out there, but there used to be minis on Suzuki 4x4 chassis or hot rod style cars with chopped roofs.. the odd stretched limo. There didnt even feel like I could see many deseamed ones.

 

Lots of beautifully restored originals or race style builds but not a lot that stood out as being a bit nuts.

 

Is this just the current trend in classic cars? Are there more regulations and rules meaning the custom cars are struggling to stay road legal? Or am I alone in thinking that there are less? 

 

 

[nicklouse]

The rules were changed. Not as easy to put those on the road any more.

[IronmanG]

And its not like you can pick a donor up for 200 quid anymore. They price for originals are so high
The BMW shorty there was ...interesting

Edited by IronmanG, 19 May 2022 - 06:46 AM.

[Nial]

As they get rarer having a tidy original car is a more attractive thing in its own right.

 

?

[Colinmac1330]

I have noticed this myself, and I can't say I'm a big fan of looking at 500 standard minis to be honest! I personally feel the scene has lost something without the custom/modified cars.

[IronmanG]

I think the black pickup with extended b pillar and bench seat is interesting.
Lot of work gone into that

[sansamn]

Funnily enough I was having a very similar conversation last night. Mini’s have always been modified from the very start. People always made them their own, a little stamp of their personalities. While factory original cars are lovely it is nice to see some more crazy builds. I have to confess that many weren’t my cup of tea a lot of time but you could enjoy the creativity and engineering (and some time lack of) that went into those cars

[Icey]

Personally, I don't miss those kind of builds. They had/have very little appeal. It's all been done before. While a line of bog standard cars is not all that exciting, well executed restomod builds are far more interesting than some of the extreme stuff.

The 'why' is likely fairly simple to understand - aging owner groups, increasing base costs, decreasing space/time/money for hobbies.

[Chris1992]

The styles of custom builds may be changing, but I would say the world of mad custom Minis is still alive and kicking. It is however slowly migrating away from the main Mini scene and towards the general modified car scene due to the Mini scene becoming less accepting of these sorts of build as the cars get older. The general modified car scene is a much more welcoming place when it comes to more radical builds incorporating styles and trends from other car cultures like hot rods, stance, race cars, etc. These builds also tend to be created by younger people who focus more on social media rather than online forums (I try to do both!).

 

Of course everything I've said above is just my observation as someone who is headily involved in the Mini scene and custom/modified car scene at the same time. That being said, I was at London 2 Brighton over the weekend with my car, and I received many lovely comments during the day, despite some of the things I've seen said about it online 

 

 

 

 

[TheFabMini]

The styles of custom builds may be changing, but I would say the world of mad custom Minis is still alive and kicking. It is however slowly migrating away from the main Mini scene and towards the general modified car scene due to the Mini scene becoming less accepting of these sorts of build as the cars get older. The general modified car scene is a much more welcoming place when it comes to more radical builds incorporating styles and trends from other car cultures like hot rods, stance, race cars, etc. These builds also tend to be created by younger people who focus more on social media rather than online forums (I try to do both!).

Of course everything I've said above is just my observation as someone who is headily involved in the Mini scene and custom/modified car scene at the same time. That being said, I was at London 2 Brighton over the weekend with my car, and I received many lovely comments during the day, despite some of the things I've seen said about it online

These sort of builds look great and really stand out from the crowd of BRG cooper replicas (which also look beautiful) but I kind of think of car shows like visiting a car museum... would you visit a museum with all pretty much identical cars in different colours or would you prefer different concepts and people's imagination gone wild on the same canvas

I think whoever said about the days of £200 minis has a good point... as some of what I remember seeing at shows growing up was essentially a rotten shell put onto a random chassis.. or like the early 2000s show Chop Shop where it was just filler formed in to any old shape over some hacked and tacked bit of bodywork.

But even IMM in 2019 I saw the orange air ride mini bouncing about.. one with a Harley engine out the front.. 6 wheeled pick n mix van and I'm sure a few more weird builds.. but it seems every year/event is less

[Marky Tizz]

A pic came up on my memories from 2014 today of my mini parked next to one on a monster truck chassis in the queue at Crystal Palace for L2B. Was thinking the exact same as OP when I saw it.

[Vanman20]

If I win the lottery I'm converting my van to 4wd electric 😁

[sonscar]

I have two modded MGBs,when they were poor men's cars people were accepting.Now they are often owned by wealthy people who have had every nut and bolt renewed often by others,they are less so.I have had comments such as,you have ruined that!its not very good is it?is it safe?they never came like that etc.
I suspect that Minis are going the same way,some frown upon welding an "MOT style" patch to get more life from a reasonably sound motor,some advocate £5K paint jobs instead of rattle cans.There is a home for both,the important part is to have the passion.Rant over,Steve..

[Homersimpson]

 I think as mentioned above the regulations have tightened up a lot nowerdays, back in my youth I shortend a mini and it was great but it was still registered as the original car and no one batted an eyelid.

 

If you want to do anything that even mildly involves changing the structure like a flip front then it probably falls foul of the regs.

 

I've always wanted to put the running gear from a Jaguar XJR into a Jaguar Mk2 (a new zealand company called Beachams do this) but to do it now would be a major headache, there are always people who do these things and don't both following the rules but if something goes wrong they are in the mire.

[rhidmogz]

Totally agree! but i think this is same in all the car scenes atm, it seems that car culture has changed alot over the years certainly since i started driving. i grew up in the fast and furious era where max power magz were still around and you saw all crazy custom build in the car scene as a whole, now though it seems unless your part of that specific car sub culture the main stream is shiny out of the box factory fast cars or some dedicated of the shelf turner guys. 

 

i also think though that peoples personal preferance changes as they age themselves, i know mine certainly have from my first mini made to look a rally style/boy racer to a more subdued classic look and this iteration will be with more creature comforts and a mix of some tech. When i first started the mini was still a cheap classic, much looked down on i feel in the wider classic car scene as they were still quite common a poor mans classic if will due to avilabilty of them etc. but now with their prices shooting through the roof and an ageing population i feel that they are now seen more as a proper classic where people want them as standard as possible because of the price tag that comes with them. when i started it was a common sight to see minis as daily drives and as said in the post mot repairs etc were common place as they were used. but now i feel its very much a frowned upon to carry out the sorts of repairs. 

 

i suppose its the same with fashion where every style has its time and will eventually come full circle and we'll start to see some of these trends creeping back into the scene along with the car scene in general