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DDolfelin

By DDolfelin
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Rugd1022

Rugd1022

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This one's for "Rugd1022" - unusual things to find in a Mini.

 

Looks like a Mk3 shell with tail lamps sans reversing lights (MkIV onwards had reversing lights), the Honda jobbie has been done a few times in Minis of various vintage, I saw a Mk1 with the same transplant at a show a couple of years ago, fully deseamed in bright yellow with a 5-speed 'box and still on ten inch wheels... bit of a screamer so the owner said! Quite a few Vauxhall 2 -litre conversions have been done over the years too.

 

Just ordered some more old car books from Amazon including a long forgotten one on Lotus Elans and Europas. Goodbye, cruel world...  ;)

Edited by Rugd1022
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Horsetan

Horsetan

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Looks like a Mk3 shell with tail lamps sans reversing lights (MkIV onwards had reversing lights), the Honda jobbie has been done a few times in Minis of various vintage, I saw a Mk1 with the same transplant at a show a couple of years ago....

I'd imagine that the Honda VTEC changes the character of the Mini quite considerably....

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Rugd1022

Rugd1022

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There were quite a few of these engine swaps done on Minis in the early to mid '90s, I think the first Vauxhall 2 litre conversion I saw was done c.1994 by a young lad in his late teens or early 20s at the time so the insurance must have been eye watering. It had its own bespoke subframe and engine mounts, can't remember which gearbox it had though.

 

IIRC there is or was a Minivan featured in one of the magazines at the same time with a yank V8 mounted in the back...!

Edited by Rugd1022
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Horsetan

Horsetan

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....I think the first Vauxhall 2 litre conversion I saw was done c.1994 by a young lad in his late teens or early 20s at the time so the insurance must have been eye watering. .....

 

Speaking of which, does anyone remember the fashion for stuffing Vauxhall 2-litre engines into Vauxhall Novas? There was quite a lively industry turning these out for a while, and I imagine the insurance quotes on those must have been similarly crippling.

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RANGERS

RANGERS

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Speaking of which, does anyone remember the fashion for stuffing Vauxhall 2-litre engines into Vauxhall Novas? There was quite a lively industry turning these out for a while, and I imagine the insurance quotes on those must have been similarly crippling.

 

Still plenty of them around, they come up for sale frequently on the usual auction marts. The 16v, 'red top' engines are the most popular although there are plenty of 8v versions as well. As the packaging for the Nova, Astra and Cavalier was all based around the same OHC engine envelope, its a fairly straightforward swap, although I gather the ancillaries and cooling pack can be bit of a tight squeeze.

 

There was a white mk1 Astra GTE with a 16v conversion being touted for a while but the five figure price would have put most sane folks off. It was a bit of a shame that one really, a waste of a good mk1 which are scarce enough and even with a shot engine, it would have been easy enough to have found a replacement original spec' to transplant.

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PatB

PatB

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There was a mini pickup with a yank V8 in the bed racing at Santa Pod in the late 60s. I doubt it was road legal though.

 

I believe there was also a Mini van (or, at least, something vaguely Mini van shaped) with a Jag 6 in it at around the same time. Stripteaser, I think it was called.

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PatB

PatB

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I recall back in the day (way back) there was someone who chopped two minis and welded them together so they could be driven from either end.   Not too sure of how well that was done but I suspect not very.

Didn't  BMC themselves do something not totally dissimilar with a double engined "Twini Moke" prototype in an attempt to turn the Moke into a real 4wd without too much new engineering work? OK, well, maybe quite dissimilar really :).

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PhilJ W

PhilJ W

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Didn't  BMC themselves do something not totally dissimilar with a double engined "Twini Moke" prototype in an attempt to turn the Moke into a real 4wd without too much new engineering work? OK, well, maybe quite dissimilar really :).

They built about a dozen 'Twini Mokes' and they were even tested by the US army but they were simply too complicated. Its a pity that the Austin Ant (ADO19) wasn't continued with. It was intended as a replacement for the Mini-Moke based on the 1100/1300 with a higher ground clearance and it was intended to produce a 4X4 version but with just one engine/transmission.

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PatB

PatB

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They built about a dozen 'Twini Mokes' and they were even tested by the US army but they were simply too complicated. Its a pity that the Austin Ant (ADO19) wasn't continued with. It was intended as a replacement for the Mini-Moke based on the 1100/1300 with a higher ground clearance and it was intended to produce a 4X4 version but with just one engine/transmission.

 

That would explain why, in the photos I half remember seeing, the driver was in decidedly un-British uniform :).

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alastairq

alastairq

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This has doubtless been seen before.....but demonstrates the Haflinger's abilities well..

 

Even though they would now be in the  same category as 'classic cars', they are that old....somehow they are the antithesis of all most enthusiasts look for....

 

Not a lot of power, not very big,not full of broohahahah!

 

I love 'em

 

[Plus, from these wee portal-hub'd, spine-chassied tots came the Pinzgauer, loved by the Royal Marines.]

 

 

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RANGERS

RANGERS

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I recall back in the day (way back) there was someone who chopped two minis and welded them together so they could be driven from either end.   Not too sure of how well that was done but I suspect not very.

 

Hednesford Raceway had one built from two Austin 1100s which did its party piece between races at meetings there in the 1970s.

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PhilJ W

PhilJ W

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This has doubtless been seen before.....but demonstrates the Haflinger's abilities well..

 

Even though they would now be in the  same category as 'classic cars', they are that old....somehow they are the antithesis of all most enthusiasts look for....

 

Not a lot of power, not very big,not full of broohahahah!

 

I love 'em

 

[Plus, from these wee portal-hub'd, spine-chassied tots came the Pinzgauer, loved by the Royal Marines.]

 

 

  1.  

 

Thats the Haflingers bigger brother the Pinzgauer. Here is the two together >>

And heres the Haflinger on its own >>

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brianthesnail96

brianthesnail96

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Speaking of which, does anyone remember the fashion for stuffing Vauxhall 2-litre engines into Vauxhall Novas? There was quite a lively industry turning these out for a while, and I imagine the insurance quotes on those must have been similarly crippling.

I well remember pulling into the overtaking lane coming up to a set of red lights alongside a boy racer'd Nova, the lights changed while we were both still rolling and he got ahead of me and stayed there. Considering I was in a 4.0 Jag XJ40 this was most embarrassing. Unfortunately we never had a repeat with in my friend's car- he had a XJR at the time, 4 litre supercharged V8 and just shy of 400bhp, there weren't many boyracermobiles that would upset that.

 

Traffic light GPs ignored the XJ40 was a lovely car though, especially for the £950 it cost me.

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runs as required

runs as required

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What are those things that hill f armers swarm all over the N Pennines with these days, if not Haflingers?

 

My favourite UK telly on returning from overseas at the end of the 1970s were events where things from Haflingers, Mokes and bikes to Alvis Saracens were pitted against one another in 'point to point' racing across open tank training terrain and filmed from helicopters.

We were all brutalist macho modernist 'progresssives' in those pre-guiltridden days.

 

dh

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PatB

PatB

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I'd dearly love a working Haflinger...... :)

 

Happy to oblige...

 

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Steyr-Puch-Haflinger-1974/SSE-AD-4992918/?Cr=0

 

Do bear in mind that it's an interesting classic vehicle in WA and so stands a good chance of being both utterly knackered and grossly overpriced.

Edited by PatB
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