Most liked posts in thread: Another Rally MINI Build

i will but after winter rally.
here's my oil catch can filled with stainless steel scrubber
bought a pack of three for a whooping $1.25 from a dollar store.
yes i know i know but i couldn't find anything cheaper lol



and later on tonight:
man this hood weights a ton!!!

 

painted front end



got the tubes and borrowed tube bender from a friend.
it's a hundred yrs old but hopefully will do the job.
weighed the tubes: 45 kg total.
made a template for main hoop first to test fit the seats because i know at least two guys who welded cage in
just to find out seats can not be installed.
even in my previous car i wish i moved it back more





main hoop is ready

 

at first i was gonna let the shop to do the cage
but a friend of mine took his subie there first and guys started building his cage.
every day he sent me updates of it being built: welding and such and then finally cage was painted
but guess what happened next: scrutineer came to certify it, took measurements and found out
the tube walls were too thin!
can you believe it?
long story short they had to cut the whole thing out and weld in a new one.
the whole process took two month!
on a top of everything his engine was drugged back and forth on a concrete floor and it made a hole in oil pan!
then they broke his windshield and every time those guys needed bolt or nuts they could just unscrew them from his engine and such!
guess what: i decided not to take it to that shop lol.
anyway cage was fully finished tonight and i'll paint it later if i have time for it.
still can not believe it took me only a few days instead of couple of weeks as i thought originally
but then again i don't remember when was the last time i worked this hard!
and i still need 50 to 60 hours of work to get the car completely ready! :mad2:



view from above: that's what sunroof was for lol



and look at the mess i made in my garage: everything is covered with a thick layer of dust!

 

here http://bigwhiterally.com/
just noticed there's a nice promotional video on the site
it's less than a month away and though i registered car has TBD :biggrin5:
because worst case scenario i'll rent a subie from a friend

 

muffler shops have no clue about bending tubes!
i've been super busy finishing my car.
welded sunroof shut



painted it.
could do a better job but since i'm in a rush did a sloppy work



took her out to get some sun tan
and drove around the block for the first time in like 6 or 7 months!
have couple of electronic glitches to fix
also seats to be installed when harnesses arrive
which is scheduled for tomorrow

 

skid plate is done, only have to apply a proper ski lube lol
interior is done too
i don't like my seating position but i guess i just have to live with it for now.
for the next rally i'll move both seats further back.
now seat brackets are bolted down to OEM points
and it'd take too much time to fab all the new crossmembers





you got to love my carpet though.
i was freezing my feet last two winter rallies and said to myself: enough is enough,
time to put some carpeted carpet on da floor!:biggrin5:

 

oh trust me i always find them!
i think i shared this pic with ya: does this one look like a meteor rock?
...and i think photographer rolled it onto my path just for a nice shot.
it was right after the jump and i had no way of seeing it
tire was blown and rim surely cracked

p.s. got the car log booked yesterday!

 

cut and studded and ready to wear





and for spares i'll just use two cut winter tires

 

won P2WD and 3rd in 2WD among open 2WD class cars overall.
17 out of 35 overall.
considering we had 23 4WD cars i'd say Mini proved itself to be a great rally car even on snow and ice on street studded (Gilslaved Nordfrost) tires =o)
i think this pretty lady in red liked snow and ice!
...still lots of work to be done on it
https://goo.gl/photos/sjXzahpwPZ4meTXA7