8 minute read
STRIPPED-OUT SALOON
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
Since he was nine, Rhos Jenkins has owned 124 Minis and he currently owns 12. Being an aeronautical engineer, he is well-skilled for building Minis and he shares his latest project with us…
Words: Rhos Jenkins. Photos: Simon Cooke.
In 2014 I bought a bare 1980s shell, in order to re-shell a Mini that was beyond saving. Having collected Minis for so long I had all the parts to build one from scratch.
When it came to the look of this Mini, I was inspired by examples I saw in MiniWorld and on Facebook and Instagram and decided to build something to my own taste. I really wanted a period Mk1 racer look and particularly liked the styling of Swiftune’s Mini racer, Willow 2.
I did the welding in my own garage, at home, starting with welding in Mk1 rear light infill panels and I made the mods to fit a Mk1 grille. I made a swaging tool to cut holes in the bonnet but, when I accidentally made them too big, I didn’t let the metal go to waste as I used it on the passenger side A-panel and parcel shelf and to repair the rear valance. The replacement bonnet is steel, easily removable and I cut out the centre rib along the middle.
I welded on a new front end, including the A-panels. The floor was solid and the shell even had its original sills. I wanted a cleaner look under the bonnet so I welded the hole for the fresh air vent. I love BMC Willow Green but didn’t want Old English White on the roof so opted for a Fiat colour called Cappuccino to paint the roof and steel reverse rim wheels which I bought on eBay for £80. I bought a set of Yokohama A032 tyres for them.
I painted the car green underneath, inside and the engine bay. A friend, who owns paint shop Albion Accident Repair Centre, offered to paint the outside. I love Minis without arches so I fitted a Deluxe trim along the sides. The bonnet and boot are secured by tan leather straps. The Mini also has H4 headlights, a parcel shelf-mounted brake light, green-tinted windows and Downtonstyle mirrors on Swiftune door mounts. I added a genuine right-hand fuel tank which I bought for £100 via Facebook.
I wanted to keep the interior simple, in line with the racing theme, so there is no carpet in the Mini. Two 1970s »
OWNER PROFILE
Rhos Jenkins
What is your Mini ownership story?
I’ve owned 124 since 1994 and currently own 12.
Minis of note currently owned:
A track-day Mini with an R1 motorbike engine, Van, Pick-up, Shorty Clubman, turbo and a rare Mini Stripy.
fibreglass seats came from eBay for £60 and I had those, and the door cards, re-trimmed by C&S Custom Upholstery. There was a spare rollcage in the garage so I painted it in the Cappuccino paint and fitted it in the Mini, along with a Works rally-style dash in a crackle black paint finish. I made my own internal linkage, replicating the KAD version. The wiring loom also runs internally.
A 120mph Cooper speedo sits in an oval pod above a simple switch panel with just the ignition barrel. To the right of the pod I fitted a selection of random gauges with toggle switches. I chose a Moto-Lita steering wheel and a columnlowering bracket. Below that you can see a pedal extension in the footwell.
Both subframes were stripped and painted black and I fitted new bushes, Hi-Los front and rear and Koni dampers. I chose the Mini Spares Cooper S 7.5” disc brake conversion on the front and used braided hoses. The single-circuit braking system utilises drums at the rear.
The engine was bought as a 1275cc »A-series but, when I removed the head,
The wiper motor is located behind the passenger side dash. The fuse box is also inside, along with the washer bottle, which is a Jägermeister bottle. The wiring loom runs inside the driver’s side wing.
The stripped-out interior follows the motorsport theme. Rhos bought the seats online and had them re-trimmed. The rollcage is colourcoded to the roof and wheels.
I discovered it had actually been rebored to 1293cc. After an inspection, I fitted Mini Spares roller rockers, a larger alloy rad and a Weber 28/36 downdraft carb. I wanted to add an 8-row oil cooler so I removed the front number plate brackets and fabricated a frame for it under the grille aperture, an ideal location for airflow. The number plate is now on the front bumper. I changed the four-blade radiator fan to a plastic one for better cooling.
The Mini has a 12G940 ported and polished head with Mini Spares 1.3:1 roller rockers and I opted for an electronic distributor and Champion plug leads. I bought a Maniflow Freeflow exhaust manifold plus a Powerflow exhaust.
I fitted KAD 1:1 straight-cut drop gears and added a new cross-pin diff. The only problem I came across during the project was that, when I installed the engine, I couldn’t select gears. After a while of head scratching I removed the clutch to find gasket sealant on the clutch plate. A quick clean and the problem was solved.
Now that the Mini is complete I enjoy using it when I can but, sadly, I rarely find time to drive my Minis so I was really pleased when I was able to take it to the 2021 Mini Action Day at Castle Combe last summer as it won first place in the show ‘n’ shine in the Top 20.
The 1293cc engine is fuelled by a Weber carb.
Above: The 1293cc engine achieved 78bhp at the wheels on a rolling road. It is solid-mounted with an extra three steadies. Right: An electronic fuel pump is mounted inside the boot between the two fuel tanks.
