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English Rodders??

5K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  UncleFluffy 
#1 ·
Hey, another new guy here, both to this site and hotrodding in general. I've admired the custom car scene since I was a kid but never really got involved, untill now! :D I've just found www.ukkustom.com site and I feel really motivated. I currently own a 1994 Rover Mini 1275cc (yeah I know, is hardly usual rodding metal!) but i really fancy doing a few custom tricks to it to make it dfferent, to make it stand out from the crowd! I even have half an eye getting a project car (would have to be someting cheap to buy ;) ), was thinking something along the lines of a VW Beetle or a englis car like a Minor, anywa thats a whole new thread!!

Anyone out there into the UK custom scene??

Matt

MSN: learn_to_hate_me@hotmail.com <<<feel free to add me and educate me!!
 
#2 ·
Hey Matt glad to have you aboard. I like some of the british cars. My dad use to have a 74 MG open top. A whole lot of fun to drive. I also like the morris minors and of course the Jaguars ( who wouldn't?) I came near getting an Austin Princess before the 38 DeSoto but the guy was too busy talking to give me the time of day so the DeSoto won out that day and I bought it instead. Dosen't matter how much or how little you have to put in a hotrod. It's wheather or not you enjoy the heck out of it! Go for it!:thumbup:
 
#3 ·
Has anyone out there seen a hot rod mini??? I'm thinking of using some aspects of the hot rod style on my mini (i've allready smotthed some of it, want to shave the handles next and have solenoid opening, i'm lowerig the suspension over my 10" wheels and have been in talks with a paint man i know about a custom paint job)

Matt
 
#4 ·
Customize anything!

My neighbor customized his lawnmower, flipped it over and wasted the fiberglass nose. My wife is gathering parts to customize her 2002 V-star. My son wants to put a 455 in his 64 Buick special and shave it and lower it. I hope to rewire the 37 Dodge before Christmas, maybe start it before New Year's. I don't see why a Mini wouldn't make a great custom/hot rod!!


Todd


Rat Rods Rule!
 
#6 ·
We'll just have to see how low it will go :) Saving up for some shorter dampers at the moment. England is pretty damn cool when it comes to mods, pretty much anything goes aslong as it will pass it's MOT every year, i know many european countries have it rought, we have it way easy!!

Matt
 
#8 ·
Good luck to ya! And yes, ANYTHING can be customized to look and run better! I have a Morris Minor dash in my 1927 Nash- always thought they'd be cool to rod- From what I've seen in some of the mags (Street Rodder, Rod and Custom)- you English dudes can customize really well!!!
 
#10 ·
That V8 mini is mad, I've seen it at a mini show, sounds amazing!! Looks much more fun than a Vtec or Vauxhall (Opal) conversion, hmmmmm, maybe an idea for the next project!!:D

Matt
 
#12 ·
Theres loadsa wierd set ups people have got into minis, I've seen in mags a impreza turbo engine and an BMW M3 engine, these were on the beds of mini pickups. Theres loadsa Vtec Type R engined minis and Vauxhall 2.0 minis. I've just got a stage one 1275!

Matt
 
#13 ·
Question for ya Matt (and welcome).
I've been trying to get my wife out of her Mazda Miata and into something more socially acceptable (non rice). The Mini has caught her eye and mine. Great looking cars. My question is, how are they in the snow. I'm sure that because of the front wheel drive, it has to be better in the snow than her Miata. It has a posi rearend, but too light and too low. One time I put two Chevy heads, two trolling motor batteries, and two fifty lb bags of salt in the trunk, and the car would still not budge. So does a Mini move in the snow?
 
#14 ·
First off, what mini we talking about, classic mini or the BMW MINI?? I'm into the classic mini, the real mini! :p It's no worse than any other car I've had in the snow, and that was with tiny 10" wheels!!

Matt
 
#15 ·
I was looking at the new ones popping up everywhere around here. I guess those are made by BMW?
Anyway, It doesn't look like BMW changed the basic wheelbase dimensions or weight so I guess there wouldn't be much difference as far as driving in the snow. Am I wrong? I also heard that they might be offering one with a turbocharger?
 
#17 ·
I don't like the BMW mini, looks too much like a normal car, the old mini is unique, somehow tho' I think it would be easier to put a V8 into a beetle than a mini, at least its got bigger wheels, and you can just chop out the back seat.
NE-Matt what about putting a V8 into a VW Bus, you can put it in the middle. There is a great site somewhere on the web that deals with all kinds of mods, if only I could find it again, if I do I will post it here.
 
#18 ·
I'll let you off as you donr have many classic minis over there :p The BMW MINI (caps!) is a fair bit bigger than the classic mini (non caps) and weighs a lot more, tis an all new car, shares no parts with the classic mini at all. As for useage in the snow I reckon they would be fine, they are a nice car. There are no plans for a turbo version, but there is a supercharged version allready on sale, the MINI Cooper S, packs about 163 bhp I think.

Matt

As for VW busses, seen a few with porsche 911 engines in! :evil:

Matt
 
#19 · (Edited)
Matt, I am in South Africa, believe me we have hundreds of classic mini's here, there is a guy about 2 blocks away that has 23 in his yard, I counted them the one day, all in various states of disrepair, I could not believe it when I went to the back of his house, around every corner there was another bunch of them, its times like that when I really wish I could fly over and get an aerial shot. My son's friend has a little red one, with black gt stripes, and a sunroof, the battery is almost as big as the car [audio system - needs big battery], he is about 6ft 3", never can figure out how he manages to drive the thing.:)

The Porsche 911 or 941 seem to be a popular conversion with the bus guys. We have an 1800 in our bus and its a PITA, can barely get 60 km's on a downhill, we had one with a 2.5 chevy motor in it but it kinda blew up on us, so we're going to stick to the original motor in this one, at least for awhile :)
 
#20 ·
Welcome Matt, I confess I did not know that Minis were made in the 90's. I had never heard of a Rover Mini. Did a search and see that they are almost the same car as the Mini Cooper. Original Minis, the only true ones, are very rare here. I've always thought they were a great little car just never found one I could afford. How about some photos?
Moby, we need a way to ship those Minis over here.
Jack
 
#21 ·
The Mini was first produced in ´59 or ´60 and was hailed as a packaging revolution.Although not the first application of front wheel drive, it was a design that gave the occupants a fair amount of space.A whole bunch of little pockets to store stuff.
An apprentice with me used to buy just the body shell and then add those things needed to make it go,just the essentials.
One bucket seat, no trim no carpet, this was in 1970.
 
#22 ·
Jack, the mini was made from 1959 till the end of 2000 when Rover (Rover were owned by BMW and then sold back to an English group in 1999 however BMW kept the "Mini" brand), the classic mini was stopped being made because it would no longer pass safety tests. With a few minor changes the last mini made was virtually the same as the first one over 41 years earlier!

This is my mini, 1994 1275 mini tahiti LE, one of only 500



Matt
 
#23 ·
Jack, think we could make money with them :D, just need to get my own ship.
 
#25 ·
A friend of mine holds the Guiness world record for the lowest Mini...................



He's built some wild looking cars over the years , not always to my liking but always very inovative . How many people you know that have chopped and shaved a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo :thumbup: . He built a beautiful 60's style custom 57 Ford Sunliner just last year. His latest project is a 37 Cord , it's being chopped , couped and will have a small block /auto and 23" wheels

Check out his website.............

http://andysaunderskustoms.freeservers.com/index.html
 
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