Dads Subframe pics - (Updated 16/05/2009)

[Smurfy]

I called home today so I got a few pics of my dads subframe whilst I was there. Its going in a fixed, std length roundnose. It still needs a bit of work. He needs to strengthen some of the engine mounts, add some braces to the back and bottom of the frame.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/2007_0427Random0007.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random030.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random029.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random033.jpg

Engine mounts (not finished)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random031.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random034.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random037.jpg

This shows how much he has had to remove from the inner wings, and where he is boxing the bulkhead
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random025.jpg

He's moved the steering rack tighter to the car and modified the rack to give a little more clearance.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random026.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/random028.jpg

There is a few more pics here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/

[Swiftmini]

I wish i had the skills that your dad has.

[B20GT]

Looks good.

Alternator looks difficult to sort out :?

Keep us updated.

[fbm-spec]

I would dump all that honda inlet manifold , get some bike TB's, it made lots of ' spare ' room in my engine bay :wink:
Nice to see you at Olivers Mount BTW.
cheers FBM.

[Smurfy]

Dad has just sent me some more pics, he has made a little more progress.

New rad:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/other/P5250135.jpg

Tie bar mounts and bottom subframe braced:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/other/P5250137.jpg

Made a start on the rear engine mount:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/other/P5250139.jpg

If anyone has any questions he posts as 'steve s'

[Swiftmini]

That is looking mint, well done Steve s.

and thanks for putting up the pics.

Kev

[Smurfy]

My dad emailed me some more pics and it fits:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/other/philsminis002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/other/philsminis003.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/other/philsminis005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/other/philsminis007.jpg

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Mark D]

Its looking good. looking forward to seeing it at scarborough

[crazykamper]

looks very very nice!! keep us updated....

[Miniintegra]

thats sum achievement, keep it up. :wink:

[Smurfy]

My dad has e-mailed some more pics.
The frame is nearly ready to come out of the car and be finished off (tidy the welds and paint).

His progress slowed down a little recently as we had a few problems with my car which he has now fixed :D

Anyway. Here's a couple of pics of the finished alternator bracket.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture003.jpg

[mincento]

brilliant progress and thought as always by steve s, the frame looks well thought out and keeping it standard length like matt from 16v shop is pure comitment :shock:

the only thing that concerns me about both your mini smurfy and this one for steve is the position of the alternator being purely under the wing and therefore open to pure road spray of which there is plenty of in minis, does this not cause problems with the alternators or elctrical system? as neither of the cars run arch liners? :?

apart from that good luck with both cars and after readinbg through both your threads in detail im now thinking of making my own frame :shock: :D

wayne

[noisymini]

the only thing that concerns me about both your mini smurfy and this one for steve is the position of the alternator being purely under the wing and therefore open to pure road spray of which there is plenty of in minis, does this not cause problems with the alternators or elctrical system? as neither of the cars run arch liners? :?

Neither myself or vtec steve have had any troubles with our alternators in the wing. Though our Mini's only really come out in good weather they have been out in some pretty bad weather to and from shows (L2B 2005 for example, v wet :shock: ) which, i think, would have highlighted any possible problems.

[daveuk]

is it no possible to just to fab a cover to stop the water spraying onto it?

Dave

[Smurfy]

I haven't had any problems with my alternator.

It has a cover over it, made out of 1/2 of a round ice cream tub :lol:

[Smurfy]

He has sorted the clutch out now....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture011.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture009.jpg

Half of the wiring is done (including putting a read switch in the mini clocks)

Pics to follow soon

[peskett]

Any updates on this?

[Smurfy]

The subframe is pretty much done, it just needs tidying up and painting.

He is currently sorting out the bodywork at the moment.

I will try and sort out some pics.

[Andy_S]

So is your dad aiming to get it sorted for the Auto66 Sprint series next year?

[Smurfy]

I don't think he is planning on doing the whole series, but he certainly wants to have a few races :D

[Smurfy]

Thought it was about time this thread was dragged back up . :lol:

My dad has started working on his mini again :D.

He has started doing the bodywork, the front end is nearly finished (scuttle, A-panels, wings, frontpannel, inner wings welded) and he has re skined both doors. Now all it needs is a small amount of welding on the floors and a new pair of outer sills. I think he is planning on modifying the subframe slightly to give him a little more ground clearance too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture_065.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture_068.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture_066.jpg

Hopefully there will be some more updates over christmas.

Also, there are now no longer any plans of running it in the sprint championship. Other plans are being made but it wont be ready until at least next season (and this one is finished :lol:).

[Andy_S]

Hurrah for Pappa Smurfy, good to see that there's been a re-kindling of enthusiasm.

........... but what plans are afoot?

Is there a hillclimb special under development?

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[Mini_Filip]

Very nice work!

Is it going to be a cable clutch - judging by the pedal your father made..

[Smurfy]

Yeah its a cable clutch. Similar to the way he did my suzuki clutch.

Is there a hillclimb special under development?

Not just yet, but hopefully next year when this is finished and we can make some space in the garage.

The Honda mini took a back seat this year whilst 2 other non mini projects were finished and we prepped/repaired mine for last season :lol: .

[Smurfy]

His subframe is finished (the next project is in the background of the pics):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/dads_mini_007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/dads_mini_009.jpg


He has finished getting rid of all the rust, new sills, floor sections, rear valance etc. Paint has been ordered and should be going on soon.

[Andy_S]

Looking good.

Will the Smurf boys be racing against each other at any point this year?

[Smurfy]

I doubt it, not in the sprint championship anyway.

Now that we have the other project car, I think he is just going to run this as a road car and build the other on as a race car.

[Smurfy]

A small update:

The car still isn't painted. This is mainly due to a misshap with the supplier not packaging it properly. However, the local post office floor and all their letters and parcels were a nice shade of red. They did send a replacement but it was the wrong colour :? .

Anyway, The engine bay is painted and the engine has been fitted for the final time:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture073.jpg

Alternator and belt fitted:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture074.jpg

Steering rack clearance:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture078.jpg

[Smurfy]

He finished making the driveshafts last night and started to re-assemble a few parts. He's finishing off the paint prep next.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture083.jpg

[Smurfy]

He has fitted his home made driveshafts and re-assembled the hubs . Its ready to go back on its wheels now:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture088.jpg

[mikko]

how did he make his driveshafts? i've been searching but cant see how people do this

[evolotion]

how did he make his driveshafts? i've been searching but cant see how people do this

http://www.16vminiclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3499&highlight=fbmspec+drive+shaft

[Smurfy]

A few more pics now that its painted (colour looks strange in the photos):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture089.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture090.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture091.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/psmurfy/Dads%20mini%20stuff/Picture092.jpg

It's getting there slowly.

[Andy_S]

T'is lurvely :cool::cool::cool:

[digitalfriction]

What sort of paint have you used, looks a good finish !

[Smurfy]

Its 2k. It needs flatting off and polishing up yet.

[Allan McD]

It needs flatting off and polishing up yet.
Yea we can see that ;)
It looks ace as is pity about the engine (Honda) but he has to start some where:D
Allan

[mikko]

i wanna thank steve s for taking such good pics of the frame when building it, i've pretty much copied the design for my own. prob couldn't have done it without this thread. will be copying the clutch pedal later on this evening, then just alternator to sort, which reminds me, do you know what belt was used? is it off another car? mine is too short.

[steve s]

Belt is, Gates 48369 from local motor factors. Did a few laps of barkston with sprint lads and cable clutch worked fine realy pleased with car, allmost finished just needs some interior bits/mot/tax.

[johnburnt]

if your thinking bout selling the moped in the background let me know

[steve s]

Mot'd the mini today,I thought it was about time it got some use :D, I will be having a trip to the coast at the weekend to watch the olivers mount hillclimb, It will be good to put some miles on it over the bank holliday weekend, Here's a couple of pic's of it finished.

[mikko]

your work is so good i copied most of it and have been on the road now for a few months and lovin it. cheers steve.

[mikko]

just look through previous posts and i've already thanked you, forgot.

[steve s]

your work is so good i copied most of it and have been on the road now for a few months and lovin it. cheers steve.

Hi mikko, I am glad that the build diary has been of some help, I allways try to keep things as simple as possible, By not over complicating things find i can adapt most parts to fit in the mini without too mutch trouble, Every thing is a tight fit in a standard length,fixed front,round nose mini, But as you will know it is all possible.I love building cars and the next project is a hillclimb and sprint mini, Its a joint project between phil (smurfy) and myself, steve.

[Bfeboi]

ive been reading the mini world magazine here in Aus and saw pics of you car out on the track. looks epic and alot of fun

congrats

[steve s]

ive been reading the mini world magazine here in Aus and saw pics of you car out on the track. looks epic and alot of fun

congrats

Mini world magazine have asked to do a feature on the car :D, I have recieved the long questionare and i am filling it in at the moment, I need to arrange the photo shoot and a location , I have booked another track day as i really enjoyed the last one.
Steve.