hi guys i'm keen on doing this conversion to my new mini as the engine is rooted.

i have access to tons of excellent metal work equipment have brothers that are A class welders and all this is of no help to me at all.
why you may ask well because i don't see the point of me reinventing the wheel.

this conversion has been done so my times now and no one is will ing to step up to the plate and put up drawing of the mods required to the sub frames and no one will even look at building subframes as the world today is so f@#ked up because every one is worried about getting taken to court over crap.

any way what i would like and i know i'm sounding like a c*&t i would like someone who has put the hard yards in to make some money and relesae plans for sale of there sub frame that has passed engineering. that is another piont the frames have to me the standards of an engineer.

if i'm able to get my hands on these plans i would look at making them up on an exchange bases and they would only be tacked together which would mean if you buy one then you have to get it fully welded if some one who has done this conversion could email if they have plans / cut sizes for steel and also put a dollar figure on these plans i will contact you.

i love working on cars this mini i'm doing is for my wife. i'm into escorts mk2 2drs but that project is on hold as i'm going to put a yb turbo in.

so my current project is the mini and i would like to help other people in the same postion as myself.

i have rebuild a few cars over the past few years these include a s3 landrover ( ground up, was bored) a mk2 escort panelvan (striped rust remove reassemble daily driver work in progress) mq diesel short wheel base ( ground up daily driver 90% complete) my mk2 (fully strip rust removed sandblasted fully respay still in bit)

and now 73 mini clubman (sitting in garge waiting for price on guards and apron and for it to warm up i live in orange nsw.)

so let get real about this conversion and make it happen

we all love our cars and we all love helping people out.

hope to hear from someone soon

PS i rang mr enforce in sydney to day re a subframe. he won't sell them he can fit the engine for you he will need the car the subframe and the engine so he can mod it and that will be $$$$$3500 ( then you can take the car away and do all the wiring etc etc )

i'm sure if i get the plans i will be able to do it for less.

Does that mean he does all the craziness like driveshafts for you?

I hope someone is willing to get plan to shorty, I too wouldn't mind doing the conversion. Someone help him out!

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1978 Mini Clubman 998cc...for now

don't know that i rang him re buying a subframe but he said he can't do that bring him the car and the motor and he will mount the the motor and you then can do the rest of the conversion yourself.

I think you won't find anyone who would sell you plans given such nominal gain for the substantial risk associated with them.

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

not to mention every mini is different....

Look mate if you got someone handy with a welder then have a go at designing one yourself... Place the motor/box in the engine bay, line up the driveshafts with the hubs and then weld a frame around it so that the mounts have something to hang onto.
There are a few pics on my site and i know matt (minstar) has 100's of pics of his frame on his site.

Here is a quick detail of my frame

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1974 Moke - 998cc
76 Clubman B16a2 Vtec AWD Turbo 12.9@105mph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9PW49e1hYs

well theres to hoping if anyone does want to do a deal i will be keen and your idenity will never be named.

as for the legal bit i guess none of the people who have converted minis will ever be able to sell as they will have to be destoryed due to the fact that there could be some come back if anything ever happen to the new owner.

i know what you guys are saying and i don't want to sound like a pig or anything i just hate reinventing wheels. i know how long it take to custom build stuff. my trade is a poly Technician which most wouldn't have heard of but i'm like a boilermaker i just work with plastic instead. which in itself require a lot of time as things build out of plastic have to be designed to give them strenght etc etc.

and with regards to the legal bit of things as a part of my job i'm licenced to weld up 1mtr dia polypipe and i have to stamp every weld with my licence no. i just completed a job on the nsw southcoast of a sewage outfall i weld 405mtrs of 710dia pipe which is approx 40 welds this pipe is now out into the ocean. if one of my welds should everfail it will cost millons of dollars and close the company i work for and i will lose everything i have worked for. so i understand what people are worried about but these days someone robbing you house can sue you for them getting hert while they where taking all your stuff.

if i have to i will start from scratch and build a sub frame and i will get my boss to do detailed drawing as he happens to be a pattern maker.

but i would prefer to take someone elses plans who has spent the time and shorted out the problems and spend more of my time work on my mini and get frames fabed for
people.

anyway thanks for your input and the drawing as it will come in handy.

i take alll input into projects like is seriourly

Shorty I can understand your frustration but I was faced with the same predicament (ie. no plans to work from). I asked (and still do) Brad heaps of questions before starting. But ultimately I wanted to build my own frame and just sat down and thought about it for a long time. Given your skills and the skills available to you I would suggest you do the same.

I have a friend up in Burpengary, Andrew who contacted me after seeing my website and asked if he could use my subframe design to work off. I readily agreed but ultimately said I couldn't furnish him with plans. In fact I don't think he ever asked for plans just went off the photos on my website. By doing this I think I remove myself from any responsibility for his design as I haven't supplied any details.

Before I started this I had never held a welder or worked with steel. If I can sit down and create a subframe (of which I am proud) then I think anyone can, including you. I understand you don't want to reinvent the wheel but the possibility of litagation is real. As for selling the car, this is why they have to be engineered. The engineer carries personal indemnity insurance running at $10M usually. If they certify it then and legal action afterwards is directed to him not me (theoretically anyway).

Anyway I have attached a sketch of my subframe (which isn't quite accurate but its something...

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225hp atw on 14psi. 1/4 Mile no idea. Take one 1971 Mini Clubman, one Starlet GT Halfcut, Simmer over a warm MIG Welder, and Voila Minstar! www.mpdesign.id.au

thank you for that i have just read your whole web site front to back and i would like to say you have done a great job.

after reading you web site and using the pic you have take between me and the guys at work we should be able to come up with something pretty quick. i have also been studing my mini manual as it has a pretty good page on the front subframe sizes.

i will be broke for the next few week as i'm getting an interior and some other stuff from steve at brickworx this week,

i also found some motors and boxs today for under a grand so i won't be telling anyone where and they should be there in a few weeks when i want them.

when i get this frame happening i will post the details that everyone really wants . thanks for the help guy and i'm sure i will need more.

agian great web site and thank for the pic.

i personaly wont modify my mini any more just so as i can cut sick with a starlet conversion, i cant see why you would want any other smal capacity motor in ur mini, its more reliable than a suzi, and can produce more tourqe and power with less revs than either a v-tec or suzi. why wouldnt you?


but just as above, i too am at a stop sign with subframe design. go for it shorty, i for 1 will be following urprogress and cant wait to do it to my round-nose!!

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68' Morris, 1100,

Willson Automotive
Tasmania's ONLY mini Specialists
(03) 62725056

http://photobucket.com/albums/a323/the_white_one/

Shorty the names Matt by the way and I am glad you like the website. Its there to answer the questions people have without getting myself into hot water. I too would like to post the details that everyone wants but feel I would leave myself open. And as with Brad, Baracade, 92, myself et al, just have a go... .

At least you attempt it knowing that it can be done...

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225hp atw on 14psi. 1/4 Mile no idea. Take one 1971 Mini Clubman, one Starlet GT Halfcut, Simmer over a warm MIG Welder, and Voila Minstar! www.mpdesign.id.au

well hi matt my names william and this actually my wifes log in her name is jemima.

she is the whole reson i'm doing this i would love to spend the cash on my escort but she has got me hooked on these minis now. anyway the escort has been a project for the last 2 years so a few more won't hert.

i'm trying to do the mini quickly and cheapiesly if thats possible it is to replace her 2003 holden astra. we don't like it as you can't do anything to it( it's a heap of crap been back to holden 5 time in 12 month cause computer crap itself) and she has always wanted a mini so i brought her one after look for a while i bought a little purple 73 clubman from brickworx it has no rust and only damage is the front apron and lh gaurd and by the end of this week i will have the parts to replace them. the old 998cc motor is a bit tired and after looking at what it would cost to make it go. i think this conversion is the way to go.

so wish me luck and maybe we will meet up in the next 12 month for a quick drag.

G'Day Shorty,

My name is Andrew and I am Matt's friend from Burpengary in QLD.

I originally saw the idea of the 4EFTE conversion from Brad's website
(Mini Hybrid I think - Brad is this right?) and decided I needed to convert my
A-series smoker to something more modern. I went down the path of
the Suzuki G13B as well but a couple of engineers in QLD said that they
would not certify it. I originally got the idea of the G13B of Con Torissi's website.
Anyway, I saw the great job that Matt did on his front subframe and decided that that was the route I would take and purchased a Starlet front cut from Rolin
Automotive.

I used Matt's model as a guide. His engineering philosophy is very sound
and the aesthetics of the subframe are pleasing. My subframe came out quite
different to his though, as a matter of fact they are only the same for about 30%
of the total.

So, I never asked Matt or Brad to supply drawings or plans, or even a dimension. I did not and would not put them in a position where they are liable or responsible in any way for anything that might have gone wrong and resulted in an accident. If you are going to commercially make these subframes available, then you are subject to the same laws, codes of practice, statutes and standards that would surround any manufacturer/supplier of any automotive part in Australia - and its a big ask to comply with all this including extemsive testing and compliance procedures.

I wish you luck.
Andrew

Andy it is funny you should say that because Con Torresi was thinking about manufacturing a limited number of subframes for the G13B and he indicated that it was going to cost him around $40K to do testing (impact testing etc). Before he even got off the ground which meant each subframe based on supply and demand would cost around $4k. Con might like to confirm in case my figures aren't quite right, it was a long time ago...

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225hp atw on 14psi. 1/4 Mile no idea. Take one 1971 Mini Clubman, one Starlet GT Halfcut, Simmer over a warm MIG Welder, and Voila Minstar! www.mpdesign.id.au

i understand all the legal crap and that is why i would only supply the frames in either componet or tack welded form as you will need a jig to do the whole thing properly.

and yes to put them together and sell them as a bolt on mod i would require it to be fully compliant. but as these mods require each car to be engineered on there own and there for upto the engineer to approve and the production of the steel work will only be sold by me as a guide only. if you chose to weld it up and put it on your car i can't help that.

i know that i'm leaving myself open to all this sort of crap but a the end of the day i don't care. if you do anything include breath these days you may get taken to court.

has any one on this forum sold modified honda disk brake or moded camira brakes. they are all the same. i have brought moded stuff before and i know fair well there is always a risk with this sort of stuff. but at the end of the day if you have your head screwed on then you will see and engineer and do it right the first time.

and any on here that think my frame will be a bolt on item your wrong you will need to weld it up they will only be tacked together or i will just give out the mesurements but i to will not provide a ready to bolt in frame.

cheers to you all i think we can let this go for now

i will post here when i have the frames sorted out.

william