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Amazing how slow this process is when you are learning the skills as you go. Rear diagonals are roughed in and the feet are welded to the rear arches. I also tacked the wind screen bar in at the front, the longacre mirror arrives later today and I can make sure it’s all going to fit before I hard weld it in. I’ll keep pushing on with incremental gains.

I just ordered up a set of poly-carb windscreen, quarter windows, and rear screen. I had shopped around and ended up going with plastics 4 performance. I really appreciated that they donated to the mk1 raffle and wanted to support a company who supports Macmillan and the forum.

Making some progress again after a forced hiatus due to Covid exposure. We have the door bars fully welded in now. We used the ratchet strap trick that we learned from urch fab where you pull the rear legs together to weld on the backside of the door bar that is up against the shell. The door bar design is a little different from anything else I’ve seen. I wanted it to be easy to get in and out of but also look good. May not be to everyone’s taste.

Thanks @oneball for the idea on the seat mount solution. I used a bent plate on the tunnel side and a vertical on the outer rail.

I was worried that 3/16” wasn’t going to be stiff enough, I was pleasantly surprised at how rigid the mount is. I ran tube seat rails off the lower roll cage tube in the main hoop and it all feels very secure.

Today was a big milestone for my build. I welded in the remaining bars in the main hoop and welded in the steering column support. A few more odd jobs to tackle with the welder before I start painting the interior and getting ready to put it all back together. I have a plan for the dash and I’ll get started on that soon.

I started drawing up the dash today. I’m wanting to keep it simple with the tach in the center and oil pressure and water temp either side. I started out with the cardboard template and then transferred to fusion360 to be sent out to laser cut.

I cut out the boot floor and fitted the fiberglass floor. I ordered the floor from Archangels and I’m very impressed with the fit of the panel. The 5 gallon fuel safe fits nicely and I’m happy with how it turned out.

Still plugging along with the build. I mounted a Hoosier on one of my Compomotive wheels to make sure I had plenty of clearance and the subframe is freshly painted and back in place.

Shiny Weber DCOE 40 for the build.



I was finally able to get a cross pin diff from Minispares. Great quality and built up so easily!




Plumbing for the fuel cell. All AN fittings should make it easy to service.

I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried my hand at painting. I got the paint matched at the local auto paint store and it’s just a single stage paint with a hardner. It’s not perfect but I think it’s good enough for a racecar.

This shows the color match. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

It isn't easy painting the inside of ANY Mini. Must have been a damn sight harder getting around all those tubes and stuff and making sure you've covered every angle. Well done with it

Thanks, OEW. It was a real pain to get on the backside of all of the tubing. I had to plan it out really well so that I didn’t paint myself into a corner.

Now that the interior is painted I can finally start assembly. I have the dash built and I wanted to do something unique and mini inspired, I will eventually paint the outer dash skin black to avoid reflections. I’m really happy with how everything is turning out. I also got the polycarbonate windscreen from plastic4performance installed. That locking strip is such a pain!

Bit of brake line bending this evening. I’m planning to run the lines internally.


I also did a test with my dimple dies on some 16 gauge aluminum. It deforms quite a bit around the hole, I need to figure out how to avoid this before punching some holes in the dash panel.

Lots of work going on with the 850RS. I got the crank back from the machine shop where they balanced it with my new clutch assembly. I’ve plastigauged my new bearings and all is ready to go back together once I install my cam bearings.

I have also started work on plumbing in the fire suppression system. I’m taking my time and having a rethink on how I want my nozzle setup to go. I’m thinking two on the driver, two in the engine bay, and one in the boot with the fuel cell. I welcome any input or personal experience anyone might have with this. The system is a Lifeline 360 2.25kg NOVEC.

I’m also working on installing the lifeline harness. I need to make some backing plates for the mounts. Still so much to do before drivers school in the spring.

The 1027cc race motor is ready to drop in! Just need to hurry up and get the subframe finished.

Looking great!

850RS wrote: ↑Mon Jan 23, 2023 5:17 pm The 1027cc race motor is ready to drop in! Just need to hurry up and get the subframe finished.

What’s the spec on that?

SMOKE GREY wrote: ↑Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:04 pm

850RS wrote: ↑Mon Jan 23, 2023 5:17 pm The 1027cc race motor is ready to drop in! Just need to hurry up and get the subframe finished.

What’s the spec on that?

It started out life as a 998 Cooper motor. Still has the tag on the top of the block. It has been bored 40 over and with the flat top cams it’s running at 11:1 compression. Kent 544 cam timed in at 110°. I upgraded to the minispares lightweight flywheel and pressure plate. Had the new assembly balanced with the crank and the machine shop said the original Cooper crank pulley had a bit of a wobble to it so I ordered the MED damper pulley. Fuel is metered by a DCOE40 carb into a 5” maniflow intake that I bought off a forum member. Hoping it pulls decent and more importantly somewhat reliable. I’m in a class up to 1100cc. Not many other cars show up so it will be me and an NSU, maybe a few other odd ball cars with small displacement. The run group mostly consists of 1293cc sprites/midgets and a few Datsuns 510s. Quite a mix.