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Back on topic on the recent exposition on dogbox for R5X Minis. As I infer one can convert the Getrag 6 speed that lacks the bloody proper straight cut gears musik (like the Midland 5 speed) with some aftermarket conversion kit. I suspected Quaife has something for it. Strangely surveying thru their gearbox kits there is nothing under Mini or BMW. So I check to see if they have something for Found On the Road Dead, and they have Focus and Focus 2.
I wonder if one of these is for converting the Getrag R5x box. A quick email to them will answer the itching question only if I am convinced 3415 diminishing Britcoins is a worthy investment. The Brit vendors had always been a pleasant bunch to intercourse and were generally receptive from my limited experience.
No R53 for me at this time. I have been driving the wife's R53 as of late but still on the fence if i want to sell the R50 and get a 2019 Miata RF GT-S. It would cost about the same to make the R50 as powerful as the R53 with a lot of work and parts from RMW. The Miata ND2 has 181hp and 154 ft/lb and 7500 red line due to all the "old fashion" hot rod tricks they put into the motor. They opened up the intake and throttle body, Opened the intake and exhaust valves, changed the cam, lighter piston heads, lightened con rods, lightened and re-balanced the crank and then put a lighter dual mass flywheel. The motor just screams. The RF tips the scales at just under 2500 pounds. So slightly more hp than the wife's R53 and about 100 pounds lighter with a near 50/50 weight distribution. All that makes for a very compelling argument to get one. The biggest problem is that I am cheap and the wife and I love to take long vacations. So parting with the $30K+ for a fully loaded FR GT-S is the biggest hurdle for me. It did take me 2 years to decide to buy my R50 at $19750 in 2004. We will see what the future holds.
The wife and I have hit 6 of 7 continents. Antarctica is next. Just got back from Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar.
Back on topic on the recent exposition on dogbox for R5X Minis. As I infer one can convert the Getrag 6 speed that lacks the bloody proper straight cut gears musik (like the Midland 5 speed) with some aftermarket conversion kit. I suspected Quaife has something for it. Strangely surveying thru their gearbox kits there is nothing under Mini or BMW. So I check to see if they have something for Found On the Road Dead, and they have Focus and Focus 2.
I wonder if one of these is for converting the Getrag R5x box. A quick email to them will answer the itching question only if I am convinced 3415 diminishing Britcoins is a worthy investment. The Brit vendors had always been a pleasant bunch to intercourse and were generally receptive from my limited experience.
:
They used to have a MINI-specific gearkit available but I think it's no longer in production?
It weren't proper straight cut gears though,
bloody semi-helical...
No R53 for me at this time. I have been driving the wife's R53 as of late but still on the fence if i want to sell the R50 and get a 2019 Miata RF GT-S. It would cost about the same to make the R50 as powerful as the R53 with a lot of work and parts from RMW. The Miata ND2 has 181hp and 154 ft/lb and 7500 red line due to all the "old fashion" hot rod tricks they put into the motor. They opened up the intake and throttle body, Opened the intake and exhaust valves, changed the cam, lighter piston heads, lightened con rods, lightened and re-balanced the crank and then put a lighter dual mass flywheel. The motor just screams. The RF tips the scales at just under 2500 pounds. So slightly more hp than the wife's R53 and about 100 pounds lighter with a near 50/50 weight distribution. All that makes for a very compelling argument to get one. The biggest problem is that I am cheap and the wife and I love to take long vacations. So parting with the $30K+ for a fully loaded FR GT-S is the biggest hurdle for me. It did take me 2 years to decide to buy my R50 at $19750 in 2004. We will see what the future holds.
The wife and I have hit 6 of 7 continents. Antarctica is next. Just got back from Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar.
First of all, someone is a very good photographer. All excellent shots. I love travel also but not as extensive as you two. My love is culinary cultures.
The Miata ND2 seems to be a great choice. Getting FR make sense in Oregon. Your R50 is well used and gotten the money worth so just do it.
They used to have a MINI-specific gearkit available but I think it's no longer in production?
It weren't proper straight cut gears though,
bloody semi-helical...
Flipped through the catalog, I had no idea Quaife has such an extensive products. Most impressive and the company has the reputation to go with them too. I thought you can modify the 6 speed by defeating the synchromesh more or less. Something to fill in the voids left by the synchro rings. I wonder is the kit has some of the gears machined from that of Getrag.
After watching the Rotrex Mini video had me searching to find out more. Before long I found this big build tread on MT, which sadly ended with the OP parting out the car, wrote an honest postmortem and shortly the thread got locked.
The thing that stand out for me is these video looks amazing but you never know the blood and tears behind getting that much power out of the tiny engine.
After watching the Rotrex Mini video had me searching to find out more. Before long I found this big build tread on MT, which sadly ended with the OP parting out the car, wrote an honest postmortem and shortly the thread got locked.
The thing that stand out for me is these video looks amazing but you never know the blood and tears behind getting that much power out of the tiny engine.
YOWZA!
That is a big build thread no doubt.
It is epic as hell and highly intensive.
Thanks for the link as it is interesting.
Blood, sweat, tears, and bucketloads of cash.
The emotional highs and lows must be like a rollercoaster.
There is a great quote at the end of his postmortem. That is, when you start modifying a production car, you expose its weakness. That is SOOOOO true! When I bought my current MINI I told my wife, “Just brakes and camber plates”...
After I found a YT video from M7 posted in 2008 about a "sequential" paddle shift conversion, I came across this wind tunnel @ UNCC video M7 post recently. It is too good not to share here of the streamline-not aero-dysfunctional Mini hog, especially why there is always the dirty butt that requires constant hogwash .
It would be interesting to see a wind tunnel test of a R56. Its rear spoiler is larger and a different shape and the rear corner panel glass is different. In particular, that glass ends before it starts to curve to the back as it does on a Gen I MINI and, on the R56, the panels that MINI put in to make that curve have built-in vertical spoilers. I think both of these are areo aids that actually work. I have very little in the way of a dirty butt on my R56, but the R50 is always dirty.
It would be interesting to see a wind tunnel test of a R56. Its rear spoiler is larger and a different shape and the rear corner panel glass is different. In particular, that glass ends before it starts to curve to the back as it does on a Gen I MINI and, on the R56, the panels that MINI put in to make that curve have built-in vertical spoilers. I think both of these are areo aids that actually work. I have very little in the way of a dirty butt on my R56, but the R50 is always dirty.
While I am aware R56 rear glass ends before the curve, I had not noticed the vertical spoiler until now. I agree that must be done to improve aero. Rounded abruptly ending tail design cause a lot of turbulence in the wakes. You are better off chopped it off like the AMC Gremlin.
image credit Wikipedia
The wing spoiler is larger also. My hog needs a butt hogwash constantly but fortunately being white does not show as bad.
That is a big build thread no doubt.
It is epic as hell and highly intensive.
Thanks for the link as it is interesting.
Blood, sweat, tears, and bucketloads of cash.
The emotional highs and lows must be like a rollercoaster.
Originally Posted by Eddie07S
There is a great quote at the end of his postmortem. That is, when you start modifying a production car, you expose its weakness. That is SOOOOO true! When I bought my current MINI I told my wife, “Just brakes and camber plates”...
I am still reading the thread. It is most unfortunate that most of the photos are lost ( foto-kicked-the-bucket or f*ckr ). I am reading in reverse chronology which makes it more difficult to follow what had transpired. Also you don't get to know what happen to the posted that was censored and deleted, except to infer by reading between the lines - rather between the posts. Just by reading his first post you know it is one with a big hole in the ground that you pour Britcoins into. I have seen all too many ambitious builds that ended without little closure. I like the OP being very honest and that the best reward for him is the journey as a personal growth.
My Dad had a sailboat that, as a kid, we sailed a lot in the Thousand Island area of the St. Lawrence River. He would periodically joke that it was a hole in the water that you threw money into. A track car or car build is the same thing. A lot of car restoration projects go the same way. Most people who actually complete one of these projects are people who pay someone who is in the business of doing this sort of thing to do the job for them...
As for making a 3 - 400 hp MINI out of the parts that are there, well, one might be better off going this route:
My Dad had a sailboat that, as a kid, we sailed a lot in the Thousand Island area of the St. Lawrence River. He would periodically joke that it was a hole in the water that you threw money into. A track car or car build is the same thing. A lot of car restoration projects go the same way. Most people who actually complete one of these projects are people who pay someone who is in the business of doing this sort of thing to do the job for them...
As for making a 3 - 400 hp MINI out of the parts that are there, well, one might be better off going this route: https://youtu.be/my_J7lmd_-4
That one is actually located near me and I got to see it in person...
That is called liberating yourself from the major design constraint.
Often doing engine swap makes economic sense, especially when you can fabricate a sheet metal bracket in a few seconds that takes pro metalsmith all day. Help too if you can weld like a Dickens, and only need to pause for a cup of tea and biscuits.
Pretty neat but I'm sure it took lots of fiddling to get sorted.
I watched that twin engine Mini by Jay's Garage before. My immediately thoughts were the gear shifting must be awful. Even if it is well sorted including the clutches, how well does it really perform on say a track?
I think Hayabusa (and the newer likes) is one of the best power plant swap for classic mini. The other is Honda JDM Civic high performance engine the code name escapes me.
Here is a wicked Hayabusa purpose build track car from a local legend. Palatov. He custom built the ultra-lite trailer too that all are so light that can be towed by a crossover SUV - S as in Small.
that requires constant hogwash 
.
