Month: August 2005

Paul & Phil, members of NEMO (New England Mini Owners) have been hard at work converting a classic Mini into something completely different! From the front, you might think it is a Mini panel van with body kit … But wait till you look in the back:

Paul writes:
The Minivan is a 1964. Phil & I imported it as a shell from Wales about 3 years ago and have been working on it since (see all the progress at: www.philds.net/mini)

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 Saab radiator and Vintage Air condenser;
Master brake and clutch cylinders relocated and pedals cut/reshaped fro improved accessibly.

Body:
Bumper moved back to the body and welded to the body;
All steel ground effects with air dam to improve cooling;
Headlights frenched; LED parking lights frenched; LED tail 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 to over the window;
Exterior door hinges removed and 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;
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, “Suburban” style windows, power opener, license plate cutout;
DuPont Hot Hues 3 stage pearl paint.

Wow! This machine is going to be stunning when finished (Paul says I still have to wire it, plumb it, install the brake lines, and build an exhaust system)

Better than a new MINI?

I recently received a gift pack in the mail, from Craig (“Cooperation“, or “rawk“) – this MINI owner is massively talented in graphics …  Originally I contacted Craig to get a button for GBMINI#2; more recently Craig decided to make a new button for me to match GBMINI#3, then with the recent death of Ed, Craig did a special button and rushed the package to me (along with a button ready for next years MINIsOnTop):

Craig does not generally make individual buttons; he explains:
The MINI badges, event shirts, club shirts and other items are just a sideline that has sprung up from being a part of the MINI community for the last 4 years … a sort of hobby.
I’ve never solicited business from anyone in the MINI community, it has come to me through many different channels and I like it that way … if someone is looking for me they can find me on many, many MINI sites.
My problem with doing individual badges orders is I’m not really set up to handle the distribution side of it… I would rather work with event organizers and clubs and leave the distribution up to them. Our regular price for custom badges is between $.50 and $1.00, depending on the quantity. Because of the amount of work in individualizing the MINIs, I’ve found that $2.50 is a fair price for the MINI badges. That also leaves room for the groups to charge more and make a profit themselves.

So if you need a bunch of really nicely made custom MINI buttons, you know who to contact …