Classic MINI

[Grippy]

Posting for a friend

79/93 RHD Mini Cooper for sale. 1275cc. Ready to go. $14,250 – Uxbridge

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/3965478062.html

[breakaway500]

Never realized the Minis radiator was on the side...wonder how they get any air flow through it. Interesting car.

[Grippy]

It is a cute car, the owner drives it to work all the time. Seems in real nice shape.
What class would it be in? T10?

[breakaway500]

I know they are quite popular in Europe for racing. I thought the "lowest" COM class in touring was T30? A T10 class...filled with Smart cars,vintage Minis,Citroen 2CVs,Yugos and maybe a Prius or two..

[962porsche]

we really need a class lower than T30 with comscc .
i have a mazda AZ1 and a smart roadster coupe i would like to take to the track but there is no class lowenough to run them in .
i have worked on a hand full of the old minis they are great little cars . about a year and a half ago i even installed a honda goldwing motor in one with rear drive fiberglass body with a tube chassis . the last i knew he was doing hill climbs and doing quight well in his class . i tried to talk him into coming to some comscc events but he said he did not like the class he would have to run in .

[Grippy]

V-tec Honda is a popular conversion, so I hear. Must go like stink in that little car.

[breakaway500]

"we really need a class lower than T30 with comscc"

Yea,it could be just like driving on track in an ALMS event... ...

I still don't see how they get any cooling air through that radiator...

[962porsche]

Mark i know you know the back side of the wheel house is open and wheel houses are a high pressure area so air wants to push out of it were ever it can !

one of the minis i worked on (body and paint ) the owner installed a 1.8 Vtec motor into the car the headers ran over the top of the front upper cross bar . some would call it a radiator support but not on a mini ! i did take it for a little ride down the street it could bake the tires in 2nd gear ez .

[breakaway500]

"the wheel house is open and wheel houses are a high pressure area so air wants to push out of it were ever it can"

Are you saying the fresh air enters the grill,and the mechanical motor fan pushes the air through the radiator, and out the wheel house? That would explain why the fan blades (yellow) are dirty on the "top' surface (pushing)instead of the bottoms (pulling).

[962porsche]

when the fan turn on it's pulling air from the wheel house . any air coming thru the grill just dumps out the bottom of the car .
you have to remember what country built the car .
have you ever worked on a MG ? any car maker that designed a car were you have to remove the windshield to replace a fender tells me they should get off that little island more .
and if you think mini put the radiator in a screwed up place take a look at there suspension design .
if you think MGB's are bad with what looks like some thing that was made to close a door then mini has that beat by a long shot !

[Stynger]

"the wheel house is open and wheel houses are a high pressure area so air wants to push out of it were ever it can"

Are you saying the fresh air enters the grill,and the mechanical motor fan pushes the air through the radiator, and out the wheel house? That would explain why the fan blades (yellow) are dirty on the "top' surface (pushing)instead of the bottoms (pulling).

That's how it works!

The early Mini's used a side mounted radiator that fit in the left side wheel well. Air enters through the front of the car, takes a 90 degree turn and is pushed through the wheel well by an engine driven fan.

It must work OK, I don't think they ever changed that design.
I know they had an optional "tropics" fan, but was made from metal and was heavy.