So my mini is one of two cars in the driveway. The other is a 328i, which is what I take whenever I need to drive long distances. The mini is really just a get-around-town car that I have fun with (although I do spend a LOT more time in it than I do in the BMW).

Anyway, given that I have a car for comfort and practicality, I have been toying with the idea of stripping the interior down to the bare bones and making my mini as light as possible.

I am thinking:

Rear seat delete
Replacing front seats with lightweight racing seats
Racing battery
Radio/speakers/amp delete
Door panel delete
Sun roof delete (not sure how yet)

Has anyone done this? Any other things to remove? I also plan on going to some 15" wheels and rock hard suspension.

 

Don't forget AC
Sounds cool, I would like to get another MCS strictly for track.
More like a Diet MINI, race weight is closer to 2200lbs
Check out Propane's thread on preping a race car, it includes a lot of photos here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...r-project.html

 

Of course, cant forget AC. But how do you route the serpentine belt if you get rid of AC?

Also, anything I can do quick and easy for the sunroof? Could I just make a plug out of aluminum sheet? I have followed all the threads about it here, and they seem pretty inconclusive.

 

Where is your girl gonna sit? in the hard racing seat?
She will not gonna like it.
I say do it! You will have a performance car without messing the engine.

I have a Lotus 7 - the weight (full tank & me) approx. 1,068. I can toast any
Z06 with my 9,000 rpm Honda s2000 engine...yes fr the dead stop & to next light. In 60Ft, Z06 will not even read my plate.

 

Idler Belt Pulley
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...817-post3.html
For like $400 bucks you can get a oem roof and have bodyshop install.
I'd prefer this option:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...75-post13.html
But I have seen pretty good job done of sunroof deletes by SpecE30 racers, one I even had to confirm that it was not a (1991) 318is body on one of them. Seen, aluminum, "cardbord", carbon fiber, plastic sheet and crazy glue, sheet metal and grind, sand and bondo. Most of them are shoddy though, they don't really care about form but just the utilitarian function of getting rid if excessive weight at worst possible place on a car.
Here's a MINI that did nice CF inserts and removed frame rails, too.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...72-post22.html

 

Well your biggest weight saving will be removing the sunroof. Otherwise removing all that other stuff won't do much. Keep your car "nice" to drive, you'll be happier long term.

 

Mine is stripped bare bones......

 

Any pictures of it? I would love to see it.

 

Ummm......Im too high to look for pics right now. I had a Sawzall blade go 4" into my leg muscle.....I will post it up in the next day or so....

 

Sawzall? Wow, you must be really serious about cutting weight out of your mini.

Just kidding, sorry to hear that. Hope you recover quickly.

 

Did it happen while you were trying to cut a wheel off your car?

http://www.carlustblog.com/2009/11/w...bly-wrong.html

 

Ouch!
Maybe I should take a Sawzall to my big gut?
That might remove more than the 56.9lbs the sunroof would.
Get well soon UK

 

haha...no..that wasnt me. Although it was a VW....lol. The tree fell on our 06 Touareg....

 

search for posts by TonyB. He took a real lot of weight out of his car as well.

Matt

 

Hey s2k7 had Lotus 7 that I raced in SCCA F prod. for 3 years (1962 -1964). What a ball, blowing of the MG's, Triumphs, etc in class then passing most of the E class stuff was exhilerating. Have had some hot cars since then but the MINI in the corners is so like the Lotus, just wish we had 6 speeds and the tires of today. Can't imagine what fuel injection would have done instead of the SU's.

 

Hey s2k7 had Lotus 7 that I raced in SCCA F prod. for 3 years (1962 -1964). "What a ball, blowing of the MG's, Triumphs, etc in class then passing most of the E class stuff was exhilerating."

Could you imagine a powerful engine of today in a paper weight car like a 7?
You will be blowing the big boys like Cobra, Z06, Viper and Porsches.
Weight means a lot. Weight is always my performance focus.
Before I put an S2000 engine, http://yfrog.com/04s2k211j
I used to have a 407 hp Suzuki Hayabusa turbocharged in this 7
http://yfrog.com/04img0966zj I blew it in Limerock boosting 18psi.

1975 I used to have a 65 Mini with Lotus Elan engine (twincam big valve engine). I sold the car in Japan.

 

They still make the 7, its a Caterham these days.

 

Same here, I hope you heal and are able to start your project soon. Yikes, sounds painful.

 

If you go full track interior with weight loss then expect up to about 200 lbs less.

However this would not be a daily driver or street car. Expect lots of noise from the car and from the outside. You can take it a step further by removing door glass and if you don't mind a car in tow then delete the headlights and rear tail lights. Put in a fuel cell instead of the gas tank.

Rear seat delete is easy- no need to put anything back in it's place.
Racing battery about 11 lbs but goes dead easily in about one year and costs a lot unless you have a trickle charger to keep it alive when you are not driving it.
No stereo is fine.
Race seats are OK but not comfortable, and you loose the seat airbags so not as safe.
You can remove the carpet and the dash, downtubes and door panels to save weight but it's not that much.

Lighter wheels are a big thing. 15" but wider is possible. Think about what tires, wide but not too heavy. Get the header and delete the cat, change to a single exhaust like the Quicksilver or Alta.

Basically what you end up with is loud and noisy. It's usually no fun for the passenger but good on the track with the right suspension mods and aggressive alignment. Track tires are required or you won't have enough grip.

 

I'd feel better about having racing seats and harness than stock seats w/ airbags.

Racing seats are pretty safe (thats why they use them in race cars) as long as you dont buy the cheap chinese ones off ebay. Your insurance company probably wont agree though.

Just sayin

 

Stay away on those chinese made stuff from China.
Never ever, ever, ever, ever buy a tire made from china, its a death wish!
Don't gamble your family.

 

I have stock seats with airbags AND Schroth racing harnesses for both front seats.

Comfortable and snug. Airbags for safety in collision. Just not as lightweight. Insurance rates better with more airbags.

I have lapis blue leather seats in good shape.

 

^^Not to get off topic here but what'd you do about the seatbelt sensor? Id love to run harnesses instead of regular seatbelts, I just dont wanna listen to my car yelling at me to put my belts on.