New Animal on the block

[Mini Mouse]

Greetings to all from Holliston, Massachusetts, USA. I found this site after reading about one of your members, Mark, in Mini World Magazine. Congrats to him and the rest of the club for the recognition. Since his custom Mini is accepted, I thought I'd be safe showing you my custom Mini, a 1964 van. I also own a 1966 Morris Mini, slightly modified, and my son owns a 1973 Austin Mini from New Zealand.

I imported the van as a shell from Wales and have been working on it ever since. Sorting out some hydraulic clutch problems and fitting an exhaust system are all that remain before I can drive the van. A complete history of the build and a slide show can be seen at: http://www.hotrodmini.com/mini/

I hope you folks like the result. I tried to stay faithful to Iss's design, with a touch of today's technology and ten times the original horsepower - all while being comfortable driving it (heat, A/C, power windows, doors, hood, and rear doors), LED lights all around, etc.).

Regards,
Animal

[Siano :)]

i absolutly loves it :D fantastic mini!! welcome to the forum, im very excited even recognition in america wahoo :) and were based where your mini came from ;)

[Mini Mouse]

Thank you, Siano. You are very active on this site. I've seen your comments on many of the threads. I'll try to find out where in Wales the van came from. I bought it from someone named Nigel. I have the paper work somewhere and will report back when I find it.

Thanks for your comment. Glad you like my van. Animal

[Siano :)]

:D lol active aint the word lol , its is a stunning mini how long it take you??!! lol, would love t help u find out exactly where it came from but wales is a big place lol (nowhere near as big as half the places in america tho lol) :rolleyes:

[Mr_E]

What a beast! That looks like a whole lot of fun!

There is some serious amount of fabrication and steelwork gone into that too!

How long did it take?

[K333th]

That car is ace, fantastic, ive had a brief look on your website aswell, what size engine is in the van must have some power if you have to have wheelie bars on it aswell

[moddinmad]

that looks serious haha. love the interior very tasefull :D

[Deano]

Hello and a big welcome to the Miniaddicts forum :) the General & a mte of his Nigel have sent a few mini`s over to America it might have been him:) The van looks fantastic.

What Motor you got in the back ? what power?:D

[TONYELF]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vantastic! theres a challenge for you Mark LOL:D

[Mini Mouse]

Thanks for all the comments.

I've been working on it for about 4 years now. The motor is a small block Chevy, bored and stroked and race prepared to 427 horsepower. Details of the mods are as follows:

Mechanical:
427 hp, 350 ci Chevy tied to tubular steel chassis and roll cage.
Porsche G5050 5 speed transaxle, inverted and converted to side shift (same as the new Ford GT40)
Fiero coil over performance struts and disc brakes in the rear; Metro 8.4" 4-pot calipers in the front
Custom 13" Minilites up front, 15" 5-bolt Minilites on the rear with street-legal drag slicks.
Custom 10 gallon fuel cell up front behind Audi 5000 radiator and Vintage Air condenser.
Master brake and clutch cylinders relocated and pedals cut/reshaped for improved drivability

Body:
Front Bumper moved back to the body and welded to the body.
All steel ground effects with air dam to improve cooling
Tri-Star headlights frenched. LED parking lights frenched.
All body lap seams cut, butt welded and smoothed.
Roof gutter removed and reshaped over the doors
Hood corners rounded and hood hinged from the front with remote power opener
Wiper holes filled. One wiper relocated over the window
Exterior door hinges removed and doors converted to suicide (front opening)
Sliding glass windows removed. Power windows and power door latches installed
2" x 4" frame rails from front wheel wells to rear suspension.
Scratch built all steel dash to cover Vintage Air heating and air conditioning unit, including Dakota Digital instrumentation, center console, A/C vents, misc switches and lights.
Scratch built firewall with window, insulated for sound. Lower half removable for access to front of motor.
Fiero seats, cut down 6" and re upholstered.
Flaming River tilt steering column with 13" X-Force steering wheel, matching shift knob and emergency brake handle.
Custom steel rocker panels/ground effects and wheel arches.
Side scoop to bring cold air into engine compartment.
Rolled rear pan with screened vents
Wheelie bars
Rear doors modified to internal hinges, Chevy "Suburban" style windows, , license plate cutout, power opener.
Frenched LED tail lights and third brake light.
DuPont Hot Hues 3 stage pearl paint.

Regards, Animal

[Deano]

427bhp:eek: :D wow i want one Great to see such a nice job. Fantastic work

[Gr4H4m]

wow. lots of work there.... on metro 4 pots.....:eek:

[Mini Mouse]

Great to hear from more of you MiniAddicts! I bought the van from Nigel Sincock, apparently from Mold, Wales. Is he a friend of this group? My dream is to bring the van back over there one summer to take in the sights and participate in as many Mini gatherings as possible. Obviously, I like Minis alot. but I also like other cars. I've owned a '59 Healey for over 40 years, having bought it as a wreck. A few pics are attached of my current and past rides. Lots of talk about me, but I'll be asking questions of you addicts next.

Regards, Animal

[Gr4H4m]

Great to hear from more of you MiniAddicts! I bought the van from Nigel Sincock, apparently from Mold, Wales. Is he a friend of this group? My dream is to bring the van back over there one summer to take in the sights and participate in as many Mini gatherings as possible. Obviously, I like Minis alot. but I also like other cars. I've owned a '59 Healey for over 40 years, having bought it as a wreck. A few pics are attached of my current and past rides. Lots of talk about me, but I'll be asking questions of you addicts next.

Regards, Animal

ooooh baby a DMC..... very nice.

[TONYELF]

Miniplow! I've seen everything now! nice motors though, keep up the good work:) What do you do in your spare time!!!!!:D

[KAYE (Mrs Jones)]

Wow vantastic is the word. Love it. We live not far from mold. Small world. Hope you get the chance to come over very soon :D

[Mini Mouse]

Hi Kaye. Thanks for the kind review. Speaking of small world, I'm looking at a van for sale by M Teck in Somerset. Its gold in front and green in back - a little funky. Do you know M Teck and is that near you also?

Do you know Nigel?

[Gr4H4m]

Mini Mouse

Somerset is the far end of the UK miles away

[Mini Mouse]

Does anyone in the club know of M-Tech and their reputation?

thanks