[imgr]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/595/medium/Kreacher0011.jpg[/imgr]1. Please tell us about your MINI when it was delivered. Option Packages along with the Year, Model and Color. 1968 Riley Elf MKIII. Damask Red and Whitehall Beige. Originally had a 998cc with single SU carb, 10 inch wheels, and 4-wheel drum brakes. Well, it’s a Riley Elf, which was a bit of an upscale option to the standard Mini. 2. Why did you choose a MINI? I was selling off my motorcycles and was looking for a new toy. I saw the classic Minis driving around Charleston during Mini Meet East 2004 and started looking into getting one. This Elf popped up on ebay for the right money just as I was closing the deal on my last bike. 3. Please tell us about the various phases your MINI has taken as your mods progressed. [imgr]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/595/medium/Kreacher1171.jpg[/imgr] When I bought the car it was definitely a 10 footer. It looked okay from 10 feet away. I suspect that it had been rescued from a scrap heap at some point. The doors didn’t match the car. They were blue under the thin coat of red paint. It had been advertised as “no visible welding†or something like that. Well, the welding wasn’t visible because it was hiding under a layer of Bondo. The four 10 inch tires on the car were all different brands. The only thing they had in common was they were all round. The engine overheated after about 15 minutes of driving, which turned out to be because the radiator was full of rust. It got a new radiator and water pump along with a good flush of the cooling system and a new set of Kumho tires, and then it was good to go. It really didn’t run and drive badly at all for a 998cc motor pushing out somewhere around 30 HP at a guess. 4. What has been your modification philosophy? Keep it as close to original appearance as possible while updating it to more modern specs. 5. What has been the most difficult mod completed to date? Why? Well, in a nutshell, this isn’t the same car it started out as. I looked at DOHC VTEC engine conversions on other classic Minis and was almost ready to go for it except that I didn’t like the idea of extending the front fenders and hood, which was the standard procedure at the time. I talked to BJ and Norm from Mini Tec at Mini Meet East 2007, and they showed me the new SOHC VTEC conversion they were working on. No body extension required! So in August of 2008 I dropped the Elf off at Mini Tec. When they started stripping the car, they found the nasty welds under the Bondo and repaired the damage. After getting the engine bay ready for the new subframe and D16Z6 motor, they painted the car with as close as they could get to the original colors of Damask Red and Whitehall Beige, The code for the red actually came up with a color called Blood Red, but it’s pretty darn close to Damask and I think it looks right. The roof was Old English White when I got the car, but that wasn’t the correct factory color. When they started putting on the basecoat of the Whitehall Beige, they called me and asked if I was sure that was what I wanted, because it looked like gray primer. Once the clear went on, though, it looked beautiful. 6. Where do you research and source your modifications; materials, parts, etc? [imgr]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/595/medium/Kreacher0841.jpg[/imgr] Well, nowadays I go to the Honda parts counter for tune-up parts. A lot of the parts for the Elf are interchangeable with the Mini, so I’ve sourced quite a bit of stuff from Mini Mania, Seven Enterprises, and GB Car Parts. I’ve also gotten things from Somerford Minis, Mini Sport, Min-E Bitz and Newton Commercial in the UK. Some thing on the Elf are unique to the car, or interchangeable with other cars, like the Auston 1100, so ebay.uk is my good friend. I’ve also made a lot of really great contacts through the Elf-Hornet Forum. 9. What are you planning next? What remains to be done? What are your goals? I need to finish the interior of the car. I need to strip it out and coat the floors and put in some dynamat. I also need to get the rear seat recovered. 10. Please list all current mods. [imgr]http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/595/medium/Kreacher1321.jpg[/imgr] Honda SOHC D16Z6 VTEC engine and 5-speed. Outlaw 9.5 inch racing disc brakes in the front. Upgraded Superfin spacered drums in the rear. Original Hydrolastic suspension replaced with Mini Tec coil-over suspension in the front and coil springs with adjustable hi-los in the rear. 13 inch Australian Performance Superlite alloy wheels with Yokohama A539 175/50-13 tires. Custom fiberglass wheel arch extensions. Air flow increased by opening the front panel and custom made extra grills added. Additional 5.5 gallon right side fuel tank added. Original front seats replaced with Mazda Miata leather seats, custom dyed to match the red interior. Original wooden dash replaced with custom built stained birch dash fitted with Auto Meter electronic gauges. Matching rear dashboard fitted under rear seat to mount stereo head unit and speakers and 12vdc power outlet. Mountney leather steering wheel. Custom Riley center caps on all four wheels and steering wheel. Lots more images can be found in the Gallery
A little history of the Riley from Wikipedia. The popularity of the original Mini spawned many models that targeted different markets: Wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf (1961–1969) Built as more luxurious versions of the Mini, both the Wolseley Hornet and the Riley Elf had longer, slightly finned rear wings and larger boots that gave the cars a more traditional "three-box" look. Front-end treatment, which incorporated each marque's traditional upright grille design, also contributed to a less utilitarian appearance. The cars had larger-diameter chrome hubcaps than the Austin and Morris Minis, and additional chrome accents, bumper overriders and wood-veneer dashboards. The Riley was the more expensive of the two cars. The name "Wolseley Hornet" was first used on a 1930s sports car, while the name "Elf" recalled the Riley Sprite and Imp sports cars, also of the 1930s. The full-width dashboard was a differentiator between the Elf and Hornet. This better dashboard was the idea of Christopher Milner the Sales Manager for Riley. Both cars went through three versions. Initially, they used the 848 cc engine, changing to a single carburetor version of the Cooper's 998 cc power unit in the Mark II in 1963. The MKIII facelift of 1966 brought wind-up windows and fresh-air fascia vents; also concealed door hinges two years before these were seen on the mainstream Mini. 30,912 Riley Elfs and 28,455 Wolseley Hornets were built.
A good thing my Mum-in-law, never got to drive one like yours. She thought the one she had was more than enough. I would have liked it though. Her's was a "G reg" making it a 1968 0r 1969.
NICE CAR!!!!!! I'm sure that you didn't get that car in such pristine condition but rather had to invest a lot of time,money, and labor; and it shows. :cornut: Jason
http://www.motoringalliance.com/gallery/data/595/medium/Kreacher0011.jpg So which item in this photo is "full Size"?:lol::lol::lol: Congrats, Nice work
Well, the guy next to the car is Extra Large..... Thank you to everyone who voted for my little Kreacher!
I saw Kreacher in the metal at the MEMW in West Consin last summer, and it's every bit as sharp as it looks in the pics. Well done!
Hey gang! In case you haven't seen the January issue of Mini Magazine yet, my VTEC powered Riley Elf "Kreacher" is in the running for Mini of the Year! I was thrilled just to get into the magazine back in April, and thrilled again to win the Mini of the Month here on the Motoring Alliance forum. Now this is really amazing! I'd appreciate your support by going to www.futurecompetitions.com/minigrandfinal10 and voting for your favorite car. And of course I hope it's my Elf! Cheers!