Okay, which one of you did this?

Hey, look you'll notice he didn't stretch/widen the body ala Proj Binky. thumbs up here, well with the exception of the bonnet to be.....

This is the kind of project a newly minted meth head builds while they still have a good paying job.

You guys are too critical.

I'm with NoHome on this one. I think it's awesome! I mean if GRM is not the place for automotive misfits, then what are we good for.

I've never dreamed of doing this to a mini, but I sure have spend WAY too many hours daydreaming about similarly wacky mixes of mechanical goodness!

DeadSkunk wrote: In reply to NOHOME: I'll bet he didn't cut the firewall and didn't set the engine back very far. That leaves no room for the radiator, so he stuck it in the passenger compartment.

I'm sure after creating a tunnel for a RWD transmission, there's isn't much of the firewall left. The "safe from drifting damage" theory is plausible.

OK... I don't disagree with NOHOME about the wisdom and experience bit, I suspect it'll be tough finding another dreamer with the same dream who happens to have $6000 sitting around.

Now if he were keep his 600HP engine and sell the rest for say... $1500 or so, the whole package could be more enticing from a potential Challenge POV.

But guys, it's got a "B&M Rachel shifter"!!!

I would most definitely finish it and drive it every day!

I'd go look at it in person if it were actually in SD. Not worth a trip to backwoods Riverside.

The potential is inspiring though.

In reply to Indy-Guy:

It wasn't really a matter if being critical. What I said was that I don't understand RWD conversions.

There are SO MANY great RWD chassis to choose from, the idea just doesn't make sense.

Start with a chassis that is heavy to being with and balanced and engineered for a particular purpose, with geometry at all 4 corners to accomplish very specific goals, then cut the darned thing in half to add a tunnel, add braces everywhere to hold it together, force geometry both front and rear to do things they were never designed to do, then throw off the balance entirely by putting the weight in all the wrong places.

It's so easy to build something wonderful when you start with a chassis already setup for the proper drive, and so easy to build an undriveabke abortion when you do a RWD conversion. American, British, Japanese, German, whatever you like.

I just don't understand.

SVreX wrote: In reply to Indy-Guy: It wasn't really a matter if being critical. What I said was that I don't understand RWD conversions. There are SO MANY great RWD chassis to choose from, the idea just doesn't make sense. Start with a chassis that is heavy to being with and balanced and engineered for a particular purpose, with geometry at all 4 corners to accomplish very specific goals, then cut the darned thing in half to add a tunnel, add braces everywhere to hold it together, force geometry both front and rear to do things they were never designed to do, then throw off the balance entirely by putting the weight in all the wrong places. It's so easy to build something wonderful when you start with a chassis already setup for the proper drive, and so easy to build an undriveabke abortion when you do a RWD conversion. American, British, Japanese, German, whatever you like. I just don't understand.

Curious your thoughts on the Renault Clio then. They took their normal hatchback and then made it mid engine and rear drive instead. Only difference is it was a factory effort.

Devilsolsi wrote: Curious your thoughts on the Renault Clio then. They took their normal hatchback and then made it mid engine and rear drive instead. Only difference is it was a factory effort.

Being mid-engine probably helped the weight distribution problem significantly. And I'm sure the factory put a little more engineering thought into it than an average guy in his garage would.

In reply to SVreX:

Yes, you are correct. What he has done to that Mini isn't logical.

It's ridiculous, but that's what makes it Awesome.

But it's not logical to marry the (stretched) chassis of a Miata to the rusting hulk of a Volvo either, but that is what makes NoHome's build so awesome. Let's face it motorsports really isn't all that logical either, but we all Love it anyway.

The unexpected, uncommon and yes Illogical is automotive greatness is my book

In reply to Indy-Guy:

No one likes quirky cars more than me.

I have seen hundreds of cars destroyed in the quest to change something from FWD or AWD to RWD.

Quirky and odd makes sense to me. Undriveable does not.

I'd be happy for you to prove me wrong. I really would welcome it. Buy this car and prove it. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt this car will ever run again and if it does, I doubt it will out perform a stock MINI S. That's not cool.

It's not about logic. It's about making it better, not making it E36 M3ty.

I'm with SVreX on this one. Projects like this are cool if you can make it work and make the end result be something cool / weird that actually works decently. But when it's just janky, hacked together and doesn't really work, then it's just janky and a wate of time.

rslifkin wrote:

Devilsolsi wrote: Curious your thoughts on the Renault Clio then. They took their normal hatchback and then made it mid engine and rear drive instead. Only difference is it was a factory effort.

Being mid-engine probably helped the weight distribution problem significantly. And I'm sure the factory put a little more engineering thought into it than an average guy in his garage would.

Actually, the first generation Clio V6 was known for some pretty sketchy handling. Second generation was better. The main reason they did it was the Renault 5 Turbo, which was really a Group B homologation car instead of a marketing exercise.

Now, for those of you who are critical of drive conversions, there exists a V8, FWD classic Mini. Although it's rear-engined. That's right, rear engine, FWD, V8 and about 10' long.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/a31663/1964-mini-cooper-v8/

Pictures

Keith, you are Awesome !

Thanks for sharing that

Me and common sense are having a trial separation

I respect the builder's ... enthusiasm?

NOHOME wrote: Me and common sense are having a trial separation

No arguments there, but having done what you have with the Molvo, would you deny there are things you would do different knowing what you do now? Having had the same basic idea as you did (and I even looked at a parts Miata before you started your thread), I know there are a lot of things I would do after watching what you've gone through.

I have nothing fundamentally against a RWD MINI. Just not in the way this car was done. I would have sourced a Fiero transmission and done a mid-engine conversion.

Ian:

You are not only 100% correct, but I should mention that there are a lot of things that I gone back and done over because I was not happy with the results. Then again, you have to be careful of "Engineers Disease" where as soon as you start to wind up a job you want to start over because you found a better way to do it.

Yeah, some things on the Molvo got the "That will have to do" stamp, but I have done enough projects in life to know that it does not take too many of those to undermine the original vision; that's when the Craigslist add goes up.

I like to grade each task. If I were to declare that "Good enough" was a C grade, and settled for a bunch of C work, then the car would be a C when done. I am aiming for a solid B with the Molvo.

The above all said, I will quote an apropos exchange that you and I had early on regarding fringe projects:

NOHOME said: Ian, you are an engineer and I assume familiar with the 4 gate product development cycle. At every gate 1 meeting there is a person who has very good reasons why the product or project should never be started; mostly risk based or technical uncertainties that they don't see economical solutions for. There is always another person or group who is arguing that the fruits of the effort will be worth the risk. Neither group is wrong if you think about it. I think you and I would be on opposite sides of that argument.

Ian F said: Yes, the "realists" and the "dreamers". Fortunately, there are enough bull-headed dreamers to forge ahead regardless of what we realists say, otherwise we'd still be rubbing sticks together and living in caves...

I know i was talking E36 M3 earlier about the 600 hp claim, but geez, when did haterade become the official beverage of grm? The guy took a tiny car that is plagued with engine and tranny problems and crammed a big hammer in it. That has been the formula for greatness since the 40's. We are spoiled by the internet. We are used to seeing megabuck builds by world class fabricators. Anything less that crosses our monitors are considered crap. This guy had the guts to go for it in his garage, and what i see isnt crap. Now i dont know if this car will ever be any good at anything in particular. It may not handle, or stop, or steer very well. It seems like a quarter mile pass would be kind of terrifying in something that short and imbalanced. But if that thing were finished i challenge anybody to say they couldnt have boatloads of fun ripping around empty streets and parking lots with it. And if having fun wasnt the point we would all have beige camrys. So, if the builder has stumbled on to this thread let me just say, dont let the haters get you down. Get back in the garage, and let your freak flag fly, because this cool, pointless and crazy, and thats what this hobby is all about.

OK the guy who built it chimned in on FB. It runs anyway

I'm not even sure what to think about what I've done. #minicooper #r53 #ifitfitsitships #letsgetweird A post shared by Curtis Mowery (@cm_fabman) on Jan 13, 2017 at 9:05pm PST

Well apparently that doesn't work.... more pics here https://www.instagram.com/cm_fabman/

If I had an aluminum LS engine and a short 4wd transmission and transfer case with a drivers side front driveshaft and a 4wd front differential designed for a passenger side driveshaft I'd sure measure it up to see if the engine could mount in the passenger side footwell. I imagine with the weight of me, plus moving around the battery and fuel tank I could get the car pretty close to stock weight balance for a car carrying a passenger, still FWD with triple the hp.

Nice find, that was interesting. He's got some fab skills. I do want to see this thing actually driving. Looks like he was making real progress just a few months ago, I wonder what stopped it?

Keith Tanner wrote: Nice find, that was interesting. He's got some fab skills. I do want to see this thing actually driving. Looks like he was making real progress just a few months ago, I wonder what stopped it?

Probably that young lady that he keeps posting pics of.

Or maybe this post explains it all

Certainly not this guys first rodeo. As I suspected, it's drifter stuff, so like semi-disposable is OK cause you know it is going to get smooshed.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

It appears he did an AutoX with it caged and whatnot before the V8 happened.