The license plate is a odd story. My last name is Huff and at one point I operated a paintball field. Paintball is still a huge thing for me, and I was trying to think of something for the new plates when I first got the Mini. The plates on my last rig were HUFNPUF, because that was a nickname I've had for a very long time (not because of drugs). I decided I didn't want a plate that could be taken as a drug reference, but somehow was completely oblivious to huffing paint when I filled out the form. I ended up just going from one accidental drug reference to another.
Well the roof is done. Never tried painting that large of a surface with a rattle can, but it turned out alright after sanding and polishing (just doesn't look smooth when up close). Only really bad part on the paint is from when I was cutting the hole for the roof scoop and the cutting wheel ripped apart somehow. Caused a nice sized mark that I had to try and touch up. A buddy who works for large glass company was able to hook me up with a 4'x10' sheet of 3/16 UHMW plastic for a good price. Now I get to start figuring out the underbody protection. Also, while I was under the car I noticed a decent dent in my exhaust I hadn't noticed before. So I will add that to the list.
hahaha that's true. my tire shop don't have a safety cage and sent me to find another shop. i think i'll share the story later. great build BTW. i'm gonna show pics of the cage to my cage builder if i decide not to build it myself.
Looking good! I'm really thrilled to have 3 rally Mini's being built with slightly different approaches
Well today was disappointing. I was originally excited when I got home from work and this was sitting on my front steps. This box is a bit big for the suspension mounts and a couple bushings.... I got sent a different order... I have been working with Dirtfish Rally School to get my Reigers, so hopefully this was just one of their orders and not another customer. I'm waiting to hear back on where I need to send these, but I know Derik is super busy thanks to GRC in Seattle this weekend.
I know it has been a while since I made any updates. So here is the news. Eventually the suspension issue got worked out after a lot of back and forth and me making use of my dremel. I wound up re-doing all my wiring for the lights so I can actually have a light bar that is easy to remove. It's mostly been working on small things. I was slowed significantly by some time issues and some plumbing issues with my house that decided to eat the rally budget. Anyway, last weekend I did a rallycross as an initial shakedown of the vehicle. It was a very last minute event so I didn't have a chance to get an alignment, which is really bad because I had replaced struts, control arms, tie rods, and bushings. I also didn't even have a chance to test fit the new wider gravel tires that I got. I did a rough guess type of alignment (rough is being nice). Then threw the tires on and had to add some positive camber cause they were rubbing on the springs. After all that, I got a good number of laps on the course and really finally got a good test of the car on dirt. It was a little uneven in how it turned, but that seems to be an alignment issue. Overall it turned great on dirt. After some practice I was able to get the car to turn as tight, if not tighter than I was able to get the STIs that I trained on. Overall I was extremely pleased with the car. I really have to work on my skill so I'm not holding it back.
Thank you. I also have video from the event. This is just a small clip from one run. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CAz7aZHhA"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7CAz7aZHhA[/ame]
on dirt alignment is almost irrelevant. anything remotely close to factory specs works just fine :wink: ps. to offset Mini's oversteer ask the alignment guy to dial REAR toe in slightly.
Looking good around the cones! I do like the rally cross for some nice sideways low speed fun. Alex is correct, I have my alignment as the factory after the increase in height. The Mini handles great on the street so I figured it is going to be fine on the gravel
Well I know updates have been sparse, so here we go. I just completed the first one day stage rally in the Mini. It performed great, exceeding mine and my co-driver's skill. While several cars found themselves going off the road, on their sides, or rolled down an embankment, the Mini kept moving forward. The only mechanical failure we had was with the service truck cracking its radiator. The irony was not missed by me. I had a great time, and now it is time to start prepping for the next rally. Shortly after unloading from the trailer. Tech inspection had me very nervous, but the car passed without issue. My co-driver posing with the car after throwing up the previous stage. (yes, there is video)
I will post video eventually. I have a lot of it to edit. Video also includes my co-driver throwing up in the middle of a stage, haha.
nice! is podium picture coming next? You kids did great for the first timers in freshly built car! PS. can not believe how many teams DNF'd. WTF? and how did You like Zestino's? are those 175 or wider?
The roads there were really tough. Lots of crests and jumps into 1 or 2 turns and if you missed the turn the car would go off an embankment. The roads were also very rough and if you went off there wasn't really any hope of getting back on without a truck helping you. Lots of broken drive shafts, control arms, etc. Everyone I talked to said they were some of the harshest roads they had competed on. The Zestinos worked great. No complaints, they gripped well. For a soft compound, it still looks like they have been hardly worn. I'm running on 195s. I wish they had some that were 175 wide. But the price is good, they perform well, and they actually seat at a reasonable psi.
Good to see you out there having fun. The Mini is fun on the lose stuff as you know by now. looking forward to a video.