Hi All,
I thought I would sit down, do some typing and tell you all about 'Barbie'. Barbie is a 1973 Mini Clubman owned by my mate Tony. Now some of you might recall seeing snippetts about Barbie way back when. Barbie was the 3rd QBR conversion and the 2nd Clubman. Well I thought I would bring you up to date on whats happening with Barbie.
Now a lot of you are asking how did the car come to be called Barbie. Well this was all JC's doing. You see, Barbie is painted in a really nice shade of aqua, and JC made the connection ---------> Aqua (band) --------> "I'm a Barbie Girl" ---------> so Barbie, and the name has stuck ever since. Good work JC!!
Tony was originally going to install in Barbie a 1380 A-Series engine. He hd already asembled some go-fast bits for the car and was well on the way. But after some serious badgering by myself and JC (JC being one of the best badgerers I have ever seen!) Tony finally succumbed to peer group pressure and decided to do a 4EFTE conversion.
After about a month, a chance came about to buy a 4EFTE front-cut from an Ausmini forum member who wasnt going to go ahead with the conversion. A deal was brokered, money changed hands, and hey presto, Tony was the proud owner on one Toyota front-cut.
The car was booked into the workshop and work was begun in earnest. After three days of toil, Barbie had a new heart and everyone was happy and the minstrels did sing. This is a pic of the car near the end of the operation. Cant remember why we had it jacked up like that - seems kinda silly now though.
And here she is outside getting some sun:
And the fruits of our labour. Barbie is modelling for us the latest QBR Mk III subframe for Clubmans. All you Morris owners, check out how much room there is!
Now for some close-ups. Here is some pics fo the passenger side engine mount and engine mount bracket:
Lets not forget the drivers side engine mount bracket:
This is the passenger side spar - note new brake line tabs and how close the water pump pulley is to the tower.
And a shot of the passenger side showing the clearances we have to deal with:
And finally, a close-up of the rear engine mount.
Now, before Barbie even came to QBR to get the engine conversion done, Tony had spent quite a bit of coin on getting the interor done. I kinda like the simple, yet elegant use of colours. Its not underdone, and certainly not overstated:
And even a new, home made hoodlining:
So, like Hefty, Barbie was complete, and off home she went to wait for the next stage of her transformation. And wait she did, waiting, waiting, waiting (Tony has no understanding of the word urgency or timeliness). Until the day came whereby I bought the purple morris with the 13x7 wheels. Tony, who put me onto the Mini, was first in line for the new hoops. This was the old but brand new 10" genuine British Superlites with Yokohama A532's (also brand new) that were on it originally. They now reside on a clubman down in Tassie:
(Shown swapped over onto the Purple Monster)
And here are the new hoops. 13 x 7 Superheavies with Sime 175 tyres (all brand new):
And this is the reason why. Tony was running 7.5" solid discs on the front of his Clubman. As we all know these have to be uprated to ventilated brakes. So it was out with the old, and in the new:
And Tony scored these Metro 8.4 vented, with hubs and flanges for a miserly sum. They were in need or reconditioning though:
And after reconditioning and ready for painting:
And here they are drying on the clothes line. Its a nice blood red to match the previous brakes colour and other suspension components:
And then, some more waiting. Forever waiting. Here is a picture of Barbie looking all forlorn and in need of some love and attention. She has got the big hoops on though!
And then low and behold - Tony springs into action after months of dormancy. This had led me to believe that Tony is actually some kind of sloth or bear that hibernates through long dormant periods. It also explains why his back is so hairy!! The trigger was driveshafts. JC rings and says he is ready to do his driveshafts. Right I say, it would be good if both Hefty and Barbie get done together, less mucking around.
So, Barbie's suspension is changed over to the new trick adjustable type, and out she rolls, gets a tub, and is ready for the driveshaft engineer. Then we orgainise for Barbie to be dropped off to the metal fabricator to get the exhasut manifold done, the dump pipe and the 2 1/2" exhaust. As well, they can even modify the front mount intercooler that will replace the top-mount. This will all take place tomorrow (Sat 14th). So, here are some pics of the Old Tart all washed and ready for her big day out.........
I will keep you posted on the outcomes of Barbies Big day Out!!
Cheers,
Tricky
