82 replies to this topic

[Black.Ghost]

MTB! With the wheels off, I could easily fit my bike and some kit in it. I reckon I could fit two bikes in there with the wheels off, and hopefully a tent. Thats a weekend away easily! I could disappear to the West Country or Wales quite easily. And compared to a Van or Pickup, it would be bloody cheap!

 

Plus its just cool. Simple. 

[mab01uk]

The original Minki-I with the hatchback was scrapped and the surviving Minki-II was built by Rover to much higher standards for BMW but without the hatchback.

Quote:

"The vehicle would have to be driven by the BMW hierarchy, and exhibit excellent levels of refinement. For this reason, the rear end changes (hatchback) were not made, as the body stiffness and water sealing issues would be too risky, anyway we still had the Minki-I photos."

The Minki-II vehicle then earned a well-deserved rest, going on display in the Heritage Museum at Gaydon

http://www.austinmem...e46/page46.html

[DugganC17]

yeah that was some of the thinking behind it was the practicality and the fact that even with the cost of materials and time would still be less than a rusty van or pickup shell although i got a pickup sat waiting for restoration

 

was thinking of storing the spare wheel in the same palce as in the van but would mean i would have to raise the floor and insatall a taller heel board but to get round this the solution is to either store the wheel upright between arch and b pillar or make awell in the in the rear subframe area to store wheel and battery similar to the clubby estates

 

Dan

[DugganC17]

The original Minki-I with the hatchback was scrapped and the surviving Minki-II was built by Rover to much higher standards for BMW but without the hatchback.

Quote:

"The vehicle would have to be driven by the BMW hierarchy, and exhibit excellent levels of refinement. For this reason, the rear end changes (hatchback) were not made, as the body stiffness and water sealing issues would be too risky, anyway we still had the Minki-I photos."

The Minki-II vehicle then earned a well-deserved rest, going on display in the Heritage Museum at Gaydon

http://www.austinmem...e46/page46.html

i think what they were trying to say was when they widened an original bodyshell they thought it was not rigid enough to cut a hole in the back for the hatchback

 

but as mine would be unaltered i beleive it would be fairly acheivable with not a difficult amount of fabrication

[Alex_B]

This would definitely need an iva test as the mini is a monocoque, every single panel contributes to the structure and so removing a large part of it will mean suitable modifications and testing to ensure that in the event of an accident the shell won't buckle into nothing, the white "shorting break" mini pictured is a grp kit I believe and does look very good but the amount of work in installing it is huge, sealing it will be tricky but I wouldn't want to be the one designing the shell reinforcement, but good luck to you!

[DugganC17]

fair enough then an iva will be required but stregthening wont be a problem as had the idea of making a door frame which to be welded to the rear of the opening so visual aspect will be minimal but also giving support to the doors and their hinges and strength to overall rear of car then brace these back to the quaters and close the quaters in maybe to produce sleek look

 

Dan

[Ryan n Angela]

I asked the guy in Japan what they did to brace it,  unfortunately his english wasnt great but we managed to work out that all the seams at A and C pillars were seam welded from the inside as to retain the outer seam looks and then the c pillar was reinforced with a frame that runs across the floor and roof plus a heavier weight bracing rolled to fit the shape of the back end running side to side above and below the new door opening. I think this was also attached to the frame at the C pillar but... as I said his english wasn't great (but still a million times better than my Japanese!  lol)

[Ryan n Angela]

as to the spare wheel why not use the rear seat base as the hight of the new load bed then make drivers or passenger rear footwell the place for the spare utilising the under seat space. if you used a standard 12" steel it should fit in if butted right up to the z plate cross member without fouling your seat.

[DugganC17]

I was thinking of putting the spare wheel there but if you look at the van and pickup they have a higher heel board so therefore a higher floor to store the wheel

i wanted to keep the new floor level with the standard heelboard to maximise load capacity

Dan

[Ryan n Angela]

then why not go with a roof rack and keep a spare or 2 on the rack a'la 60s rally mini

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[Ryan n Angela]

and it keeps a utilitarian feel to the mini mini van

[smev]

Perhaps you could put the spare standing upright in front of the rear wheel arch at the side, with a strap or something to hold in place.

[DugganC17]

Perhaps you could put the spare standing upright in front of the rear wheel arch at the side, with a strap or something to hold in place.

yeah had that idea on the last page and will probly put a little trough to sit the wheel in aswell

[DugganC17]

been thinking about a complete separation between cabin and load bay

 

 

what you think guys too much? impeding on leg room and making it feel cramped

 

Dan

[cubby1701]

Pretty cool idea
if you were to fabricate a fuel tank could you use the spare wheel hole.