Rally Car Goals

Before I get to my questions... my mini had an oil leak and now I must rebuild the engine. This means it's time to do what I originally intended with it and make it into an electric car. I'm already deep in the electric conversion planning and will start as soon as I have the money. But I have two issues. I need to make the ride as smooth as possible and protect the engine area from rocks and bump. I want to start racing my car on and off roads as soon as it's done under the knife. It's going to be a few years before I'm close to where I want to be but I'm ready to start working towards my goal piece by piece. It's important to me that the car stays lightweight and keeps its classic appearance.

Questions:
Keeping the 10in wheels, what are the best shocks and breaks that I can get for off-roading?
What is the best, lightweight engine shielding?
What are the best wheels for general on/off-roading?
Do you suggest making alterations such as raising the car from the ground a little bit?
Is there anyone in the area who has converted a mini to an electric car?
Is there anyone in the group that could talk me through what I need to know about mini off-roading before I make decisions? You can call me.

and... for good measure...
What are the specs for your dream rally mini?

I know I'll think of more questions as I learn more. I'm new with minis, with racing, and with electric conversion and I'm hoping I'll find people who like to blab who can teach me things.

Thanks,
David K
(215)435-5578

[BIGSHOT]

Here's the guy to talk to, David. You may be able to find more sites like this.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/electric.mini/

Here's another Brit electric-car site. This one's for the BINI (a hybrid).

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006...ybrid_mini.php

Sounds like your chances for success will depend on how much weight your electrical system adds to the car. Sounds, too, like you need to get on the Electric Vehicle Discussion List. Good luck.

Dan

[minied]

Don't know nuthin' about electric cars but there's a couple of guys that have been rallying a Mini around here for a couple of years. If you're interested in the off-road capabilities of a Mini you might want to talk to John and/or Brad at Autosport Seattle, 206-621-1940. Better still, stop by the shop, one block south of Denny Way on Westlake Ave. N.

[BIGSHOT]

Uh, David's in the Philadelphia area, Ed.

Dan

[minied]

nevermind....

[Dixminion]

Dan's a real whiz with those area codes! Don

[BIGSHOT]

I was going to suggest Autosport myself until I noticed the phone number.

As far as the rest of David's questions, I think most normal Mini-rallying considerations go out the window when he adds a stack of batteries. Not a lot of people will know how the car is going to respond to all that weight. I don't know if Hi-Lo's will take the strain, for example, or the value of engine-shielding when there's no engine. David's really getting out of the Mini realm and into the electric car world.

Dan

[DaveB]

our you can just cut the floor pan out and drop the shell over an toyota tacoma motor/frame and drive gear (i acutally met a guy that thought this would be a good idea)

[David K]

I'm working with someone who knows a lot about electric cars so I'm going to talk to him about that side of it and how to make that work so I just need your help with the rally stuff. Thanks Dan for the links to the electric minis. That second one's way out of my league, but the first link looks like it'll be very useful.

My phone number is from Philadelphia but I've moved back to Tacoma and am now a paying member of SAMOA but I didn't go to the Italian Job party. I'll be at the While Elephant party this month!

I'll definitely be checking out Autosport Seattle, Ed. Thanks for everything. I think I can actually go from here. You guys put me in the right direction... THANKS!

Comments/suggestions/ideas are still welcome!

David K

[David K]

A note:

the conversion keeps the car the same weight until you factor in the batteries. The first set of 6 used batteries I'm getting will add about 360 pounds. As soon as I get my mini back from the shop this weekend, I'm going to start taking out the parts I won't be needing and figuring out the new electrical system. Once things are started, I'll create a new thread called "Mini EV" unless someone is kind enough to change the name of this current thread for me and I can keep you updated right here. I'm hoping to have the vehicle operational enough by the end of the summer to start working out some of the kinks before going on to the next stages.

Thanks again

David K

[Flygirl]

David, you might want to give the rules a good read prior to starting the build of your rally car. Every sanctioning body has their own idea of what equipment is non-optional. It is a really good starting point, as most of the rules cover all cars.

I can see weight being an issue. Unlike road racing, you are going to have to factor in the weight of the driver and co-driver(extra seat/harness, etc.), spares, tools, and safety gear/first aid kits, etc. How much you need to carry in the car in the way of spares and tools will depend on the nature of the rally.

Check out the Targa Newfoundland site for car classifications and rules they run under. I would also read the Forum section, as there are a lot of experienced guys on there. Of course, this event isn't your typical rally since it is run on public roads that are mostly paved.
Here are a few more links:
http://www.carsrally.ca/CARSRally/
http://www.flatovercrest.com/

Good luck with the build. It sounds very interesting!

Cheers,
Rachel

[James T]

Cool idea,
I've kicked the idea around myself a few times but the price tag was always too high. You really have to start with a car that has a blown engine or no engine at all to justify the price of converting. What happened to you engine? Is it really that far gone or ya just using it as a reason to move forward with your plans?
A twin tank mini has about 80lbs of fuel when full, so really it should handle about the same as driving with a couple of passengers.

Good luck, and please keep posting through the good and the bad.
Maybe I'll get to it also one of these days.

[Miller Rallyesport]

Rally cars

Hi all,

I thought maybe I could help with providing a bit of insight to the world of rallying. I have been involved in some form or another since 1985. I am currently the owner, mechanic and driver for a Group 2 Honda Civic rally car. I just bought my first Classic Mini.

A couple of good sources for you would be the two sanctioning bodies here in the states rally-america.com and nasarallysport.com. They will have online versions of the rule book. I would also be happy to speak with you, just drop me a line.

Later,

Chip Miller