1102 replies to this topic

[Gingerjoe]

ive Just spent atleasst 40 mins looking & reading this thread, it looks absolutely amazing mate, you must be so stoked with it so far! gonna book mark this & check it daily see if youve updated! I think im more excited that you!!! well.. I dout that, but im still excited, cant wait to see some videos of it on the move! very inspirering, everything so tidy, argh!

so good!

[cptkirk]

what design softwear do you use? its all looking rather nice

Thanks

These drawings were done in AutoCAD 2007, I have recently got AutoDesk Inventor at work so will be moving over to that soon. AutoCAD is an under rated program, you can acheive quite a lot with it, even up to photoreal standard if you have the time. I do intend to model a mini at some point in the future as building this has inspired me to design something of my own to be built in a few years time - out and out race machine though.

ive Just spent atleasst 40 mins looking & reading this thread, it looks absolutely amazing mate, you must be so stoked with it so far! gonna book mark this & check it daily see if youve updated! I think im more excited that you!!! well.. I dout that, but im still excited, cant wait to see some videos of it on the move! very inspirering, everything so tidy, argh!

so good!

Thanks, stoked is a word I often use when talking about it.

I'd check it weekly more than daily as I dont have the spare time to update daily, although it doesnt seem that way at the minute.

Videos are going to be a must once done and hopefully plenty of them, you tube is lacking in the zcars mini videos considering how many of them are out there.

Oh and as for things being tidy, tidy takes time, lots of time - but it's all worth it in the end.

[mini93]

what design softwear do you use? its all looking rather nice

Thanks

These drawings were done in AutoCAD 2007, I have recently got AutoDesk Inventor at work so will be moving over to that soon. AutoCAD is an under rated program, you can acheive quite a lot with it, even up to photoreal standard if you have the time. I do intend to model a mini at some point in the future as building this has inspired me to design something of my own to be built in a few years time - out and out race machine though.

Its a good skill, just started using CATIA at uni' and its going to take some time to get hold of really but definatly something i want to pick up well
would be good to model a mini but i woulnt think theres much exterioral i would change without then modeling an engine and working positions of coolers etc

[Gingerjoe]

weekly it is.

was reading the thread, what happened to your back dude :S? sounds nasty!

I want to vtec my clubby at some point in the future, but I wouldnt be able to afford the issurance atall.

rebuilding a gt block atm with ac dodd, is real fun, should be hitting around 85 bhp, nothing like yours!

one day

[e11evns]

Hi, nice build, quick question for you did you go 8 or 7 inch on the front rims? i too am building a mini or rather z cars is (dont have the time anymore) you might of seen it there, its red with black arches and roof, engine start on the gear tunnel, they are currently forging the engine and fitting a rotrex supercharger with nitrous, just in the process of ordering some image alloys 9's on the rear and 7's on the front, i have seen the pics of your car and the wheel sizes look good hence the question.

[cptkirk]

Hi, nice build, quick question for you did you go 8 or 7 inch on the front rims? i too am building a mini or rather z cars is (dont have the time anymore) you might of seen it there, its red with black arches and roof, engine start on the gear tunnel, they are currently forging the engine and fitting a rotrex supercharger with nitrous, just in the process of ordering some image alloys 9's on the rear and 7's on the front, i have seen the pics of your car and the wheel sizes look good hence the question.

Hi There

Wow Rotrex and Nitrous that thing is going be insane - good work.......I was last up at Gallows Farm in January and I think I remember seeing yours in the corner.

I used 7's front and 8's on the rear. The reason for this was the amount of tyre choice out there, I was thinking 9's for the rear but very limited to suppliers for road legal tires. I have room for 9's as I have a 10mm spacer in mine at the minute and intend to use 9's with slicks.

You will have to get some photos up on here of yours.

[Custom_Minis]

Looking Good!

What offset/inset are you using on the wheels?

Also, Toyo have just released a 225/45 R13

Cheers,
Les

[cptkirk]

Hi Les

As for offsets I am sure I had a conversation with Richard at Zcars regarding that and if my memory serves me right they had an offset of zero (that was about a year ago though).

Interesting news on the Toyos, I take it they are the R888's? will have to take a look at the front tyre sizes from Toyo and see if they have anything with a smaller profile to match the new 45's....good info thanks.

[irishdude]

Car is looking great.. Can't wait to see some videos of this thing driving around.. Its superb!!

[Custom_Minis]

Hi Les

As for offsets I am sure I had a conversation with Richard at Zcars regarding that and if my memory serves me right they had an offset of zero (that was about a year ago though).

Interesting news on the Toyos, I take it they are the R888's? will have to take a look at the front tyre sizes from Toyo and see if they have anything with a smaller profile to match the new 45's....good info thanks.

Yes, the Toyo's are R888 medium hard compound. Unfortunately they have no plans to match the profile at the front. I already asked them that. Weird really as the fronts will still be a popping 185/60 - could have done with a 185/50 really.

I meant rim offsets from the hub. I'm assuming you're using a 4" inner rim and 3" outer on the front and 4" inner and 4" outer on the rear?

Hang on, by zero - do you mean ET of zero? does that mean both inner and outer on each wheel are equal then?

Can't get my head round this stuff.

Cheers,
Les

[cptkirk]

Irish Dude - Thanks for the comment. I also can not wait to get it running and make some vids - progress is still zero at the moment but things are on the mend. I aim to start doing little bits in fortnight or so.

Les - I went and measured from the inside rim to the face that meets the hub on the rear wheel and it measured 92mm and with 4" being 102mm I dont see how my 8" wheels could have an offset of zero?!?!? feck knows...I dont understand it either. Fronts wheels still on so cant measure at the mintue but once I am able to get it off I will measure it and let you know.

I know what you mean about the profile of the Toyo's and when I first saw them on the car I was a bit dubious but over the months the big ass walls have grown on me and give it a proper retro look, plus it'll take some of the shock out of the bumps. I might even get the white tyre paint out on the lettering and give it proper retro white writing, I do like that look.

Edited by cptkirk, 22 February 2009 - 02:32 PM.

[1987_ParkLane]

This really is looking good, would love to do something like this in the future .

[cptkirk]

Its a been a long time since I posted anything about the build so I have found the time and the energy to do a quick update.

I have to start by saying that I have had one of the worst runs of bad luck going, needless to say that L2B 2009 is well and truly out the window and I will be lucky if I have it ready for the IMM at this rate.

Firstly an engine problem, the specifics of which I will not go into (so please dont ask), has led to me needing a replacement engine, so my car went from this:



to this:



then this:








The fact that I had to tow the thing up to the my mates workshop meant that all electrics and stuff had to come out just incase it rained.

So I find myself about 20 steps back from when I started, which is quite demorallizing, one of the factors in not posting recently.

On a lighter note it has allowed me much greater access for building the bulkhead up and I am quite tempted to fab up some inner arches while I am in there. So the last few weeks has seen some progress in that area - unfortunatley I have photographed any of that. I have, however, found a solution to the steering rack now being mounted to the subframe leaving a wacking great hole in the floor. Going to a fresh thread for that one.

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

life a *woman of ill repute* and then u marry one in many cases just keep ploddin on youve got my support

the mini will get there and show many many many cars up

[cptkirk]

For those of you that have the newer race spec of newer front subframe that has the rack attached to teh subframe you may notice the void between the shell and the face of the rack that once sat neatly up against it. Something I definitiley wasnt expecting.

So I got the old thinking cap on a sat and pondered, then sat some more, then a little longer and finally came up with a fix.

So here goes in the first installment of how to fill what I am calling - "The Rack Gap"

For those of you who arent familiar with The Rack Gap allow me to show you:





Now its not just a simple even gap between the two, its got a lovely angle to get over also - yippee.......

So I started out by cutting out the hole to what you in the above (80mm wide by 75mm deep) then cut a peice of Ali 200x80 and formed it into what you see now:






Check out the angle of rack:





So with this part made I went about making up some side to match:








I am taking the bits to my good friend Stevie G in the morning to get them welded together, when I get the part back I will post the results.