Introducing Colin - a Mini-ature WRX

In reply to Patrick :

I know that is the way forward, I just have to believe it too.

Took a break today to make sure the Miata still runs.

The miata runs.

I think you're just percolating on what you already know, but it is hard to imagine this particular car ever being the best path to a stock Mini at some future date...

Yeah, chop it up. That particular car can be sacrificed without moral issues. 

Honestly, cutting it up is probably the only way it will actually be saved. 

Something fell out while I was taking a break.

Had a Nik Blackhurst moment.

Oh dear.

Have I mentioned berk seam sealer?

I am calling it a weekend here, gotta be home by 10

EvanB said:

The miata runs.

Phone clips off most of the percussive bangs from the exhaust, but 4:16 when the exhaust wasn't pointed at me is Megumin-approved.

Note to viewers:  There's a thread in the main section about a man who totalled his Corvette shortly after leaving pit lane because he got too happy with the throttle on cold tires.  This is exactly why the first couple laps of the backyard look fairly tame: Evan is a skilled driver with the experience to know that you don't lap the backyard hard until the tires are warm.

In reply to EvanB :

Those wheels and skinnies look just right on it in the snow.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Oh dear.

Are you going to add wheel flares at all? Because a Renault R5 homage would be pretty sweet.

(The STI wing would need to go on the roof, of course)

In reply to RandolphCarter :

The goal is to keep the car low enough that we don't need to make it wide enough to need flares.  Flares are not stock looking.

Dusterbd13-michael said:

Yeah, chop it up. That particular car can be sacrificed without moral issues. 

Honestly, cutting it up is probably the only way it will actually be saved. 

Well... if I berk anything up, or modify in excess of The Rules, then it's all wasted.  I dunno how much Evan has into this but I am at about $3000 in parts and still don't have suspension, cooling, etc, and haven't gone through the engine and trans yet, not to mention fuel costs wrenching on it every weekend.  I figure we will end around $6000-7500 in parts and $2000-2500 in consumables.  A lot to sink in to a project to find that you overdid it and now your car won't pass tech

Replacement Mini shells seem to be crazy expensive and usually in worse condition...

I know you said constructors but this is still Mod AWD legal is it not?

In reply to MrChaos :

That is a loaded question because Mod rewrite is still getting bounced around.

I am using this thread in part to document everything I am cutting out and what I am putting back.  "Strength may not be reduced" is a really loaded phrase, you know...

Interesting

Hard to believe I totally missed this build because I did not see where it was going on the first page. Totally in the spirit of Binky and cant wait to see it come together.

Well look at it this way.... part of wanting to build a Constructors car is because I didn't expect the black RX-7 to be Mod legal next year because of the floor alterations that I did in 2010.  The red RX-7 is great but doesn't scratch the "brutally excessive" itch.

By a strict reading of the current rules floor modifications are already illegal, as are probably almost all current mod class competitors in one way or another. The thing is nobody ever paid attention to or cared about what the rules actually are so it never really mattered. But lately people have started actually trying to read and understand the rules and figured out that they're borderline incomprehensible and almost everyone is violating them in some way, so it's time to make some real rules that people can actually understand and follow. In the new rules (which from the sound of it aren't necessarily official ye?) floor/firewall modification is specifically prohibited (ish...IMO there's still some gray area/lack of clarity), with the current rules it's just strongly implied.

In reply to dps214 :

Well... the way the current iteration is structured, floor modification is not allowed except the minimum amount to accomodate additional brackets or clearance.  So, by that interpretation, the black RX-7 would still be legal because I cut just enough floor to make clearance room, and the box I made to surround the hole IS the suspension bracket.

Nonetheless, the interesting thing is that it will be easier to make the car Constructors legal than Mod legal.  Mod will have a 1:1 track width to TOTAL VEHICLE HEIGHT rule.  Constructors goes to the top of the roll cage, which gives us another inch or two to play with.  I'm okay with having a roll cage, I can actually FIT in one of these with a roll cage.  Well.... I can fit in a stock Mini with a roll cage.  It remains to be seen how I fare sitting in a Mini where a Subaru 4EAT is hogging half the interior room.  It's a good thing we are going with the automatic because there may not be room for a clutch pedal.

For reference, a Stock class 2002 Impreza wagon will not be Mod legal unless it has 10mm wheel spacers.  Rear track according to the Internet is 57.3", height is 57.7".

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

It remains to be seen how I fare sitting in a Mini where a Subaru 4EAT is hogging half the interior room.  It's a good thing we are going with the automatic because there may not be room for a clutch pedal.

I missed the AT part until now.  I know of your affinity for ATs, but this still surprises me.  Last I knew, Subaru ATs were not so great for power.  Maybe my information is out of date.  

VDC centre diff so you can lock it into 50/50 and open it for handbrake turns? Shouldn't be hard to find in a junkyard in a Legacy or Outback.

GasTungstenArc said:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

It remains to be seen how I fare sitting in a Mini where a Subaru 4EAT is hogging half the interior room.  It's a good thing we are going with the automatic because there may not be room for a clutch pedal.

I missed the AT part until now.  I know of your affinity for ATs, but this still surprises me.  Last I knew, Subaru ATs were not so great for power.  Maybe my information is out of date.  

The WRX version of the trans has a lot of things going for it.

It's stronger than the 5 speed manuals, while being about as expensive to replace or even slightly less.  Significantly cheaper than the STI 6 speed.  I would figure it is about as strong as a late Torsen 016. The 5 speed is a fair bit weaker than an 01A.

It has a planetary center diff with a 45/55 split, which is kinda neat, but the important thing is that it also has a clutch pack that I should be able to control with the engine computer, which will be fun to play with.  Imagine an 016 trans with variable lockup instead of locked or 50/50 open.  This is where it'd be nice to have a GPIO board that could read the ABS sensors so I could log wheel speeds.  

I think they are better suited for rallycross, having driven Subaru manuals and automatics.

The fact that it has a Park position means we do not have to have a working handbrake, which saves fabrication and expense.

Most importantly, the car came with it, so it happens to also be the easy way out 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

All of that combined with presumably less shock in the drivetrain due to the squish factor of a torque converter, and maybe it's a winning package.  Plus, it'll be easier to drive in city traffic and more suitable for taking a date for a night on the town.  

The next part of dealing with the front floor is to figure out where the exhaust is going to fit, so the tunnel can be built around that.  So, I found myself at Summit buying some exhaust bits.

This feels weird and somewhat liberating.  My mindset, having been playing with rotaries and higher end street rods, has been stainless everything and schedule 40 mild steel for everything else.  It felt very odd to buy exhaust bends that were 16 gauge mild steel.  I spent less on some 3" U bend than I spent for half of the double 1 7/8" inlet for the black car's rear muffler...

I mean, the 4" downpipes I used to install on BGNs were mild, so I know it'll be fine, but still... feels weird.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Mild steel has the virtue of not work hardening *as badly* as stainless steel.  It all becomes brittle with time, but the mild is much cheaper to replace and you don't have to feel guilty about not purging it when you weld it.