I want to have light doors for my project car. I have a pair of 850 doors but the lower half is quite rusty. I have wind-up window doors, one of which has a broken glass frame to door body connection.

So, I got to thinking, has anybody put the wide glass frame from 850 doors onto the top of a wind-up door?? While this would be some work, I reckon it would be less work than repairing the bottoms of the 850 doors.

Thoughts?

Who has suggestions for the lightest practical doors?? By practical I mean, they look like real doors and have opening windows.

M

If I get a chance, I'll take pics of Chris Cotton's race Mini.

heavily modified doors...

Not exactly good for the road.

You could consider a fibreglass skin for the doors.

Removing all the metal around the winders .

Lots of stuff

make up some fibreglass doors

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real men race downhill - keiichi tsuchiya

you could try an aluminium skin, also, if you still want metal...

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yea alloy! if its a race car look you are after, you could mask off the "number circle" when you paint the doors and polish the ally

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speed costs....how fast do you want to go...

Use the 850 doors. Cut the buckets off. Fit some thinner glass. I know you're a catious bloke Mark so talk to Matty Read. I believe he has a part number for "thinner than factory" window glass. Though I can't imagine Mr Inspector saying "Hey....wait a minute.... is that glass in your sliding window doors 1mm thinner than factory?"

Now before any twats go making the predictable "...if you're in an accident... waw waw waw..." comments, if you're in accident and something hits the glass, glass breaks.

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

Alloy skin and also see if you can get the top of the door(window frame bit) made from aluminium as well and bolted on ???? Clutching at straws here but surely something can be done ?

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Road car??? safety! Later cars had side instrusion bars. Besides the last time I picked up an 850 stock door it was darn light as it is...?

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

yer 850 doors are light enough really but if you wanna go all the way, drill swiss cheese everywhere where u cant see like in the front jam near the hinges, cut out the lip for the door card.. cut bit of metal under the window run out and replace it with carbon fibre, drill holes in all the latches and handles... remove anything that doesnt need to be there.. but why do this on a road car for the amount of work there you would get little to no difference in ur road driving expierience.. id be beefing my doors up if anything

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Potato

Yeah thanks JC, i do have a full set of one mm thinner sliding glass window , windows

& they`re ADR approved & made by pilkington

easy-peasy

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Thanks for the replies guys. Anyone who knows me knows I'm tight as hell so no custom alloy doors here. The stock wind-up doors have to be about 18-20 kg or so each with all the fittings. The stock 850 doors would be about 12 or 11 with the buckets cut off. All these numbers are guesses though. Quick calc shows a potential saving of up to 3 kg by re-skinning in alloy, but that isn't going to happen here.

Lexan windows and rear 1/4 windows are also an option to save weight but scratch easily and have legality issues on the road.

If I look at a combination of doors, boot-lid, bonnet, sound deadener, mini-fins and good wheels in combination with coil-over conversion for the rear with the rear 3/4 of the sub-frame removed and the all-alloy G13B, I reckon I could be looking at about a 100 kg saving over the stock car mass. Chuck 30 or so back in for a decent cage and my track day car could be 10% lighter than a stocker.

Oh, and Curley carbon doors are out too at UKP 300 a pair plus P&P... But they are 5.8 kg a PAIR!

M

So what are you waiting for then......

Mark, I have a set of 850 doors with the buckets removed. That is as far as I will go to lighten them so when they are put together you're more than welcome to come and lift em.

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