A friend of mine and I ran a Mini autocross car in D Prepared in the '80's (it trophied one year in the nationals with my friend driving). We both went on to other projects so the car ended up stripped mechanically and the body, filled with squirls nuts, sitting in a field for 16 years. With a lot of effort, I resurrected the car in 2000 and raced it in the Phoenix area autocrosses for two years.

The car has the rarest of all classic Mini engines, a full race 1071 cc short stroker. It has all of the 80's era go-fasts, including a 45 DCOE Webber, big valve ported head, forged, high compression pistons and special Jack Knight gears. There is no distributor. An MSD crank fired ignition system with a 9000 rpm rev limiter (!) is used. The front subframe is highly modified using specs from the early Fortech Mini race car. The pickup points for the suspension were all raised about 2" to reduce the bump steer caused by lowering the car. The front trumpets were discarded and replaced with a custom flat plate. Ride height, camber and caster are all adjustable, as is height and camber in the rear. The car is right at the legal limit, 1200 lbs. and is great fun to drive. It is now stored in California (under cover this time) as I have moved on to a MINI autocrosser. Here is a link to a picture of the car.

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/wetoddimage.wtdr/wODAwMjk4NnM0MTNkZmQzMXk1NDE%3D.jpg

 

Great looking car! BTW, did you post this for informational purpose or are you trying to sell it??

 

I frequently read this forum because for years classic Minis were a big part of my life. Most owners who were a part of the San Francisco region Mini culture were into modified cars- we had everything from big bore A series cars to twin-cam transplants. I thought a little nostalgia might be of interest to new generation Mini enthusiasts. No, I'm not trying to sell anything. If anyone is interested I could post some details of my last Mini, which I sold in 1995. Don Racine, owner of MiniMania, described it as the fastest street-legal Mini he had ever driven.

 

Thanks for posting it up. Many MINI owners are developing interest in the classics and this helps them understand a little more of the potential of the Mini.