34 replies to this topic

[Madmax]

right guys, the minis being re-shelled heres some relevant details:

The Donor: 1275GT Clubman 1972, nearly scrap due to bodges in the past, there isnt a single good panel on it

The new shell: 1989 Mayfair, no ancilarys/subframes/windows/anything, bare shell
to have paint job, decision has been made on Cooper Grey and black roof, BMC stickers

TO BE DONE:

excellent condition subframes, radius arms, from clubman to be fitted inc new fitting kit
new wiring loom to be installed into new shell
new engine, brake and clutch masters, to be installed into new shell (see pic of engine at bottom of post)
all new bushes for EVERYTHING
new discs pads (metro 4 pot system)
interior from clubman to be fitted into new shell (RS Turbo recaro seats and re-trimmed bench seat to match)
AVO fully adjustable gas shocks and hi-lo's to be fitted to new shell

what kind of time period do you think i will need to get this done?, bearing in mind i have 4 people mechanically experienced in mini's and mechanics, 2 of which will be working on the car in every spare bit of time

ive been told from someone who's built a mini before, that once the body/paintwork is done it is only a matter of a couple/few weeks to get it built up and running




cheers for ur input guys

james

(this has to be done BEFORE AUGUST)

[Dan]

Whooaahh there Madmax!

Your subframes WILL NOT fit that shell. The change point is '76 from solid mounted to rubber mounted. There is no easy way to convert one to the other so you will need to replace both frames if you buy that shell.

[Madmax]

i see thanks dan, i overlooked that, i will look into it

[Madmax]

umm the '89 has '69 CLUBMAN subframes on it at the moment...

or do you mean because mine are solid mount as standard? confused lol

Edited by Madmax, 21 February 2005 - 11:32 PM.

[Dan]

Personally I would be worried about that. I don't know of an easy way of fitting an early front subframe to a Mk4 shell. It could be done with a curious mix of mountings but the most worrying would be the tower mountings. Changing one for the other properly here would be complicated and expensive as you would need to open up the cross member and fit some reinforcing tubes into it. If this really is an '89 shell with '69 subframes then I would tend to suspect bodgery, where are you getting it from?
Also it shouldn't pass an MOT like this I don't think as it's not how it was designed to be put together, or if it's not a problem for the MOT it is definitely outside of it's type approval and would possibly need an engineers report on the conversion to be insurable and legal.
If it were me I would look into this a bit more.

(That's a damn strong chair in the photo! )

Edited by Dan, 21 February 2005 - 11:53 PM.

[Madmax]

i tell you, that chair is alot stronger than it looks! lol, its about twice as old as i am too!

anyway, im having words with my friend (who happens to own A: the 89 shell, and B: the 69 clubman the frames came off, thanks for that advice dan!

[Mini_resto]

couldnt you possibly use a clubman shell, its a shame to losse a 1275GT, (or any clubby for that point), also u might have some problems keeping the clubby's tax exempt registration.

ps, is your clubby bonnet a standard 1 or modded in anyway

[TimS]

its a std bonnet mini resto. the 89 shell doesnt have any subframes on it atm, and they wernt clubby ones they were the round nose ones, the rear of whihc is on my car now. Dan i see what u mean about the front subby on the clubby beign a different shape, but in not sure about the rear, how did these differ?

[Madmax]

yeh, there arent any subframes on it at the moment, dont know why rich (owner) told me they were, ANYWAY, shell should be going to a friends double garage within a week or 2, and then shell prep shall begin, poss new front end, but we'll see, still sticking with cooper grey and black roof

watch this space folks

[Mini_resto]

stick a clubman front end on that shell

[TimS]

thats gona b difficutl we need tog et this thing on the road a good month b4 the nurburg run!

[Madmax]

front end ive been told is solid but ill have a good look around it on saturday, if it is solid and nothing needs doing to it, then nothing will be done to it.

[clubman_dan]

the difference is the newer post 75?? frames are rubber mounted and mount to the bilkhead using one massive bolt thourgh each side, the earlier ones are solid mounted the the panel and flooer and use two smaller bolts on each side to mount to the bulkhead, swapping means a new front panel for solid mounted frames and modifications to the bulkhead which probably isn't a good idea.
the rears i'm not sure about but i know there are differences.
source the right subframes for the shell you end up using if it doesnt come with any .
DAN

[Madmax]

i understand exactly what you mean clubman_dan, the rubber top cap then a diamond shape mount with 2 bolts either side, compared to the roundnose's single large bolt

[Dan]

Clubby subframes aren't any different to standarad subframes, it's just the '76 change date which is important in subframes really. The rear one is basically no different itself, it's the type of mounting trunnions that changed at the rear of the car. Both types of mountings should fit any car, but I'm not certain if both types of rear frame front mounting will fit either subframe. So if you have the right type of mountings for your frame it should fit any car, but the later larger mountings are a big improvement, especially when replaced with polyurethane.

Edited by Dan, 23 February 2005 - 07:39 PM.