I gotta have one someday! Please tell me all you can about them. Including any links to more info.
Thanks,
Shawn

 

http://www.google.com/search?&q=MiniTec+mini

That's all I know. It does look like fun, the honda engine does put me off a bit, I wouldn't kick it out of my garage though.

 

Google is my BF, and I've done that years ago. I'm looking for 1st hand experience and knowledge.

 

I've been in and looked at a few MiniTec Minis. The ones done by MiniTec have been very nice, finished very well. I haven't actually seen a K20 kit installed only the D and B series engines and they are plenty fast. My only real concern would be the suspension geometry. There are a couple other kits that maintain the Mini geometry and I'm told they allow the Mini to handle better than the MiniTec ones. Personally I would seek out a couple owners and drive or at least take a ride in a couple different ones.

 

I can't speak for the K series MiniTec builds, but my D series handles beautifully. It is not front heavy and has a very neutral balance. In tiwsty roads, I would easily pit it against my 2006 JCW S w/JCW suspension and H-sport rear sway. During track days at the local road course, my P'up performs as well as the JCW--but differently-- old school versus new school.

Last year while driving in Tennessee with fellow classic owners during Mini51, I had no issue keeping up with fully modded' classics in the mountains (we were on the east side of Tenn just out of Erwin--not the Dragon, but equally as fun). Anyway, what I'm aware of is that my suspension is actually more compliant and comfortable than several of the high-performance, modded classics that I ran with. I drove mine round trip from Kansas City to Erwin (with ear plugs, of course).

I've driven one B18 type R MTB build which was very fast, rude and crazy. It had the type of power that I'd expect could/would break components regularly. It handled nothing like mine-had 13x7s which were numb, yet inadequate in keeping the car from zig-zagging when the VTEC came on cam. It was exhilarating and makes my P'up seem anemic, nonetheless, it's not the type of ride that suits my own taste, but I see the appeal.

My MiniTec build was very simple. No fancy electronics or extreme power. That, in my opinion, translates to more reliability. If the car is so fricken loud that you need earplugs on the highway, why bother with expensive ICE? I use an Ipod w/noise isolating ear pieces when I wish to listen to music.

I've done only minor maintenance/mods to my P'up and it serves well as my weekend toy/hobby.

 

Have you seen it yet?
http://www.superfastminis.com/711.dwt

 

I also want something very simple, basically a street legal race car, canyon and hill climb car. But, I want some power, 300hp AWD. Have you seen Simon Mifsud's white Saloon on the cover of the July Mini World magazine? I want it just like that, with, of course a Honda AWD drivetrain. I'll probably have to go with 13's with all that power though.

 

Hah, simple.

 

Don't give me just, "Hah, simple". Explain yourself. What are you thinking?

 

I can't speak for 2phun, but my reaction is your quote "a street legal race car, canyon and hill climb car. But, I want some power, 300hp AWD" already takes "simple" out of the equation.

 

^This^

Ain't nothin simple about that. 300hp AWD is going to run you probably close to 30k+- for the build, and there aren't currently any plug-and-play kits for that, so expect a lot of fabricating, tweaking, tinkering, and adjusting to get things working correctly.

 

Mind you, I'm not in any way shooting down your idea. I'd LOVE to see it done, but it just won't be a simple engine swap.