Project "Marginal gains..."
Turbo Mini Forums

Keep pushing, post all photos so I can borrow your ideas

Team www.sheepspeed.com Racing

Cheers Jim,

But 'My' ideas are usually either recycling stuff that I have seen elsewhere (Mini or otherwise) and re-applying the same 'rules' that I've used before.

Cheers

I'm still on light duties but bizarrely I have saved more weight on trim and fittings type parts than I had been able to on the more obvious candidates I wanted to look at, just over 2.0 kg saved during the Christmas break without spending.

Bumper_sml by Aubrey Boy, on Flickr

The bumper as and example, I have made the rear bumper fit tighter to the bodywork and the speed slots are quite difficult to see from most angles, I will fit the bumper to the front panel to see how much more obvious it is and see if it's viable on the front.

Cheers

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 4th Jul, 2017.

Thats pretty cool! Its hard to tell where the wholes are from reflections etc.. are they in the top fold? Looks smart!! What else have you done to lose the 2kg? Surely not all bumper holes?

You dont want to lighten the front bumper, being the furthest most forward part of the car you want to fill it with lead really

I seriously doubt it!

I'd agree if I was purely interested in traction say for a drag car

When I designed the front subframe geometry / kinematics I did consider having another set of wishbone pick up points in case I tried drag racing and liked it but it was just so different to what I wanted as a track car that I had to make a choice.

I've done lots of things which will make the pure straight line traction worse than it could be, moved the engine and gearbox (170kg ish) 50+mm back, tilted it backwards, all mainly for driveshaft angles but also to get it all under a std length roundnose, seating position is deliberately far back, the springs, dampers, anti dive, bumpsteer, rubber bushes, camber change and roll centres are all aimed at road / circuit use and definitely not what I'd use on the strip through choice.

I really need to get more weight out of the front as all the big weight savings have been rear biased and the weight distribution is a long way from where I want it at the moment.

Have you tried ballast as you've got lighter?

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 3rd Jan, 2016.

It was never really in doubt but the prepreg CF rear valance from Steve W fits perfectly:

ps1_zpsfvsvpgyo by Aubrey Boy, on Flickr

Not in my plans but when I was digging through some of my parts for my '64 car I couldn't ignore the potential weight saving the MK1 rear lights give along with some further associated weight savings:

ps2_zpszcg38a19 by Aubrey Boy, on Flickr

I'll dig the total weight saved figures out but at a time when I have struggled to find new relatively inexpensive savings it was very worth while, but it fits in with the self imposed rule of saving weight while retaining the original level of function

Cheers

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 4th Jul, 2017.

Does that mk 1 swap assessment take into account the conversion pate and welding and sealant/filler etc needed too?

Edited by robert on 18th Oct, 2017.

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

Hey Robert,

Absolutely, weighed everything, conversion plates, rear panel with MK3 openings, with MK3 bracketry removed, conversion plates as shown have just a blow over with a rattle can, very little filler required.

MK1 conversion plates lightened, MK1 lights lightened

The rear panel still isn't welded to the car, so I can still weigh it before it is fitted, the weight will be near identical to the std MK3 panel so all savings are down to the very pared down MK1 lights with LED bulbs, very worthwhile IMO...

I had absolutely no plans to make a MK1 look-a-like but the weight saved was more important

Cheers

nice job that man , did the conversion plates just fit and weld in ?

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

Rightly or wrongly I used the ones from Minispares which are very similar height wise to the MK3 aperture but there is a fair amount of leeway laterally so you do have to make up some of the gap on the sides.

The inner profile, i.e. the side nearest the boot lid seems a tad strange but looks OK now.

As usual it's just about patience getting everything lined up, especially the relative surface height which will dictate little if any filler required and this was paramount considering the sole purpose was to save weight.

In hindsight as I bought a replacement rear panel anyway I should have bought the full rear panel which has MK1 lights already and save myself a job but too late now...

Hoping to get back on it full time now as I had a small operation just before Christmas which has really stopped me doing anything meaningful and caused me to look at this really as a smaller type job.

Cheers

I've had to revise the rear end set up slightly but I think it's finally done now so can all be nailed in to place.

The plan has always been to have 10" rears as an option as well as 13", so I have been trying various options on Minispares 4.5J C-21A1968 wheels for coilover and trailing arm clearance.

DSC_6323 by Aubrey Boy, on Flickr

The wheels are nicely finished and with wheel nuts seem pretty good value.

Cheers

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 4th Jul, 2017.

Been a while,

It's embarrassing how long it has taken to get to this stage with the seat back, but getting there...



I haven't welded it in purely because I have yet to make the harness bar and I need access all the way around to weld it in fully.

Hopefully the boot floor wont take quite as long as this has!

Cheers

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 17th Oct, 2017.

Have you made that from scratch? Or from an earlier bulkhead?

Looks like one from m machine? They have started making them now, could of done with one 2 years ago when I started my mk2. Excellent work as always.

My first attempt I wasn't happy with the fit, they are made using 21 - 22 gauge steel measuring about 30 - 32 thou thickness and a couple of attempts at welding didn't fare so well amongst other problems so I started again.

I think once the harness bar / 'strut top' brace is welded in it will help disguise the fact the coil over mount is now inside the car.

Cheers Callum, if it's anywhere near the fit of your's I'll be very happy

Cheers

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 17th Oct, 2017.

Will the bulkhead be joined to this rear quarters or will there be a gap as per the factory bulkhead?

have you a big rubber bung/cap to cover the shock top ,and protect the elbows of all the fit ladeeeez you will be carrying around in the back?

Edited by robert on 18th Oct, 2017.

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

I was hoping to call upon your foam forming skills Robert... They may well also object to the harness strap which is trying to cut them in half !

i think my foam forming skills have progressed from epileptic trying to kill a wasp with a breadknife,to drunk bloke trying to push boiled spaghetti into a rugby ball with a toothpick.

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM

Sorry Rob H...

Yes the plan is that the seat back return edge is extended and will butt up flush with the quarter panel and get bonded (too risky as far as distortion goes to weld) to it to help with stiffness a little.

More importantly I've never liked how the seat back and the rear parcel shelf just seem to be left floating in mid air where they 'don't join' at the 'C' pillar, so the plan is that both the seat back and the parcel shelf will all mount / weld to the 'C' pillar waistline directly and not with an air gap so it's a proper sealed bulkhead.

Cheers

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 17th Oct, 2017.

I'm guessing BMC left the gap to simplify production, can't say it way a feature I liked but I'm liking your solution.

Started on the boot floor.

Just getting it all trial fitted first

Cheers

Edited by Aubrey_Boy on 17th Oct, 2017.

nice job..

Edited by robert on 18th Oct, 2017.

Medusa + injection = too much torque for the dyno ..https://youtu.be/qg5o0_tJxYM