30 replies to this topic

[Yoda]

I'm gonna turn my mini into a three wheeler or maybe a trike, That will be a first wont it?

No, they have both been done too! Bugger.

[Yoda]

Yep, just about everything has already been done. Doh!!

Edited by Yoda, 08 September 2012 - 08:04 AM.

[Spud_133]

I know what I'm going to do, I'm going to paint mine red and put minilites on it. Surely that's never been done?!

[Yoda]

I am pretty sure i have seen that done before, Try some nice white stripes on the bonnet, that'l be different, or maybe some wheel arches as well. you could even call it something stoopid like "sportpack" or "Cooper" just to be sure its unique!



Sparkysteveb

Do it whichever way you want, it's your car and if you want it matt black with shaved door handles and fluffy dice with sidepipe exhausts, its entirely up to you.
But personally, i would use low gloss, or satin. If you want the full Matte finish that is easy to clean, take a look at wrapping instead of paint.

Edited by Yoda, 08 September 2012 - 08:16 AM.

[leroy26]

a mini 4x4 pickup come on thats not been done?

[sledgehammer]

No 2 rust patches are the same -

- so all Mini's are unique

de-seamed convertible roundtail pickup - been done before ??? - with pine air-freshner

[AVV IT]

Only thing I would personally add to the question of handles, what happens if you're in a smash and you're unconcious? how do people get into your pride and joy without causing more damage if the doors are locked ?
Just a thought.....................

Given that scenario it's not so much about the damage that would be caused by gaining entry to the car that matters, it's more the delay in getting to you and getting you out that's the issue.

[Sparkysteveb]

All the points raised are all things i have thought of. This car isnt a daily for me. Its just a project and a bit of fun. Its also not costing thousands etc as im doing it all myself. Im loving the learning curve and experience of working on this particular mini as all the minis ive had in the past have been already done up before i bought them. I have seen all the features i want on my car on induvidual cars but never all together on the same car. At the end of the day im just hoping to end up with a weekend toy that im proud of and turns a few heads.

[Stella87]

I saw a thread on a vw site all about door poppers and shaved doors etc and someone had said as long as you leave the boot on a key and have a release switch its legal. But i dont see what purpose that serves. Ill have a look at the threads on here about door poppers see whats said. As for my car being a one off. I will build it how i want it weather it is or isnt. But i was deep down hoping it would be. Either way it will look the business. I hope.

The reason you need to leave the boot on a key is so that you can still get inside the car if the electronic doors fail..although in a mini you still wouldnt be able to get into it! :S

This was brought to my attention because one of the chavs that lives a few miles from me had a "pimped out" Corsa with a body kit and pearlescent paint, with electronic doors with no handles...and the electronic doors broke xD so the only way he could drive it was by climbing in through the boot and over the back seats haha, was funny to watch

[Sparkysteveb]

I had already thought of the case if i got a flat battery. Thats the joy of the mini. I can open the boot and boosterpack the battery to allow me to use the central locking and door poppers. So im hoping i wont have the same drama the "chav" in your story had. Especially as im too big to climb in a mini window. I was hoping to remove the boot handle to complete the effect but leave the boot so it can still be opened from the outside mechanically. Somehow. Like i say its a work in progress.

[ljs4]

I have seen this done on a mini when I was looking to buy my own. It had TVR style mirrors to open the doors.

Attached Files

•  No door handles.png   389.61K   19 downloads

[Stella87]

He didnt have a flat battery though..The door mechanism just broke. I personally would want a back up way of opening the doors, just in case :) would be pretty cool though!

[Alex_B]

What I wanted to do was smooth the lock in the handle over, and fit an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Unit in the wing mirror that when swiped past with a special card unlocks the car, then a door popper on a button to pop the doors, so the handles still there and I would have the boo on a key with a way of unlocking the car from inside in there, but I wasnt set on the security of RFID systems and thus havent done it, but I do want my doors on poppers because its just cool

[CHUNKY365]

Yes its been done many times before.

Usually the door catches are operated by solenoids. No need to lock the doors, as the Mini handle incorperates the lock.

The thing is you need quite a strong solenoid to get the latch to unlatch.

Quite often we would use the 'bear claw' tupe latch and replace all the Mini gubbins.

As for legalities, pretty much its a case of as long as the car can be opened from the outside its ok.

And as long as it can be opened conventionally from the inside its ok.

So one suggestion is to rig up a car alarm type system. Press the blipper and the control box unlatches the doors.

Yes another way would be to have the switch under the wing mirrors, but remember the doors are unlocked and this is just too easy for a thief (remember they've only got to see you open the doors once).

I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to set up a wireless key system though.

One tip though.

run a seperate feed wire directly to the locks. Then using a simple waterproof connector hidden about the car (under the boot floor, wheel arch or somewhere similiar) you have something to connect another battery or battery charger to if your battery goes flat.

On one car we had a connector hidden in the slats of the front grill.

I think the trick is not so much thats its been done before. But the trick way you do it.

So for example. a system whereby you have a keyless system opened only by a microchip (like modern cars) but hide the chip in something unusual like a model of your car, or hidden in a Smurf (or similiar figure).

[Vegas superstar]

Only thing I would personally add to the question of handles, what happens if you're in a smash and you're unconcious? how do people get into your pride and joy without causing more damage if the doors are locked ?
Just a thought.....................

Smash a window. They are dirt cheap to replace!

Adam