Freestyle Build Diary

Rear Panel

2007-12-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Nearside fixing on sub frame seam.

Offside fixing on sub frame seam. Note cut out in panel to clear lower exhaust pipe & clamp

Sierra Master Cylinder

2007-12-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

Close up of the modified push rod & clevis

Donningto kit car show

2007-09-16T02:10:00.000-07:00

Had a great day at Donnington . Now have a roof box so no excuse for not camping next year. We just had to drive up the mound for those photos - GREAT!

SVA Pass

2007-09-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

SVA re-test was a doddle and took less than 10 minutes. Two trips to DVLA Worcester and the registration process is complete and we now have 50 miles on on the clock. Only problem so far has been over heating. Have adjusted the ignition timing, tightened up the fan belt which had come loose and fitted some additional "cooling" capacity as can be seen in the photos.

Off to Donnington Park two weekends in a row in the buggy. Renault World Series next weekend followed by Kit Car Show the weekend after.

SVA result

2007-07-12T10:59:00.001-07:00

Well, just 2 fail points. I was not expecting a first time pass but am a bit miffed it has to be said. The tester was a very nice chap and was very fair so no complaints really but while doing the brake tests he pulled the hand brake on so hard he destroyed the hand brake cable. As you can see from the photo the cast metal ends were shattered as he yanked the hand brake on. The only thing I can think off is that the holes in the mounting bracket were a bit to big which allowed the lug to pull thru and it then shattered. Even so he must have given it one hell of a pull. "hand brake inopperative"

The other fail was "no self centring"

More SVA preparation

2007-07-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Final touches - covering up all the sharp edges round the front suspension area.

SVA preparation

2007-06-25T13:49:00.001-07:00

Ready for Newark Kit car Show

2007-06-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ready for Newark - just in time. SVA application form went in the post this morning.

Chasis powder coating

2007-05-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

Chasis stripped and loaded onto the trailor ready to be taken for powder coating

And back in the garage looking a lot nicer.

Pedal Box

2007-04-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

After much messing about with the old Mini Brake Master Cylinder I was never very happy with the idea of trying to plumb in a remote fluid reservoir. After a visit to see Paul Stares (R1FREESTYLE) it was pretty obvious that fitting a Sierra Master Cylinder was a much better solution.

So out with the angle grinder and cut out the front face of the pedal box as so:

Then prepare a new piece of steel with same hole centres but with a larger hole to accept the Sierra Master Cylinder and weld it on. We had to get the new plate a low as possible to ensure that it cleared the nose panel. After a bit of fiddling about I realised that tilting the top of the new panel back away from the pedal box by about 8mm not only gave more room for the nose panel but also got the reservoir closer to "level"

Very pleased with the result - Thanks to Paul for the idea and for sourcing the Sierra master Cylinder for me.

Rear body work and lights

2007-04-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

The idea for the rear panel came from having a sheet of ali chequer plate left over that was the right size. It took some effort to bend by hand !! The panel is fixed to the sub frame underneath and sits flush with the sub frame and exhaust. Still have some trimming to do to clear the gear linkage etc but I am pleased with it so far. The mesh is stainless steel stuff that had been lying around the shed for ages, it looks good but I need to find some more from somewhere to use for the sides.

Final decision on colour scheme has been taken by Matt (my son) and he definitely wants orange & black with the ali chequer plate for that "you,ve been tango'd look)

Rear frame and brackets

2007-04-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

This week we decided to remove the original rear light mounting brackets and fit a simple frame instead. The idea is to have a rear body panel in ali chequer plate and to mount the lights and number plate etc on it. This will continue the theme of making our Freestyle slightly different from the norm, covers lots of sharp edges and the hot exhaust etc for the SVA man.

Well tacking the new frame in place I also made a small bracket to pick up the clutch flexi hose and welded it in place.

Then started to make the brackets that will hold the rear mud guards in place.

Head take off

2007-04-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

As we don't intent fitting a heater we removed the Mini heater valve that bolts to the top of the cylinder head and replaced with this simple plate/pipe. Using the standard Mini gasket we refit to the cylinder head and run the water pipe from this straight thru the heated inlet manifold and back to the top hose. If we find cooling is a problem we will add an electric fan and could also fit an additional radiator / heater matrix for extra cooling.

Seat back panel

2007-04-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Also cut the seat back panel which is hinged at the bottom to allow easy access to the engine. Also started to fit the additional chasis tube that will have the seat belt mounts for the 4 point harnesses.

Although I am still not totally convinced the "no seats" design will be suitable for long journey's I am starting to grow in confidence as it does seem very comfy and snug when sat down nice and low.

Nose Cone

2007-04-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, been quite busy the last week or two. Cut the ali chequer plate nose cone and fitted it along with the fibreglass "bonnet".

Removed the original headlight brackets as they were no good for the budget headlights we are using and made some replacements .

Shortened the brake and clutch pedals to create a little more leg room.

Fitted the front flexi brake pipes. Picked these up at show recently for £7 each !

Seats

2007-03-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

As both my son and I are both over 6 foot tall we decided not to fit aftermarket seats. Instead we are trying to maximise the available head and leg room by basically sitting on the floor.

We have used aluminium sheet to make a tunnel, back panels and leg support and this has created the basic seat shape. We will then add some 4 inch thick foam covered in waterproof material to complete.

Not sure how comfortable it will be but it has worked out really cheap and we are happy with it so far.

Exhaust

2007-03-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

Started off with a budget 3 into 1 manifold. Cut the manifold just after the point where the 3 pipes become one. You now have a single pipe pointing straight at the floor and a 90 degree bend.

Turn the 90 degree bend until it exits under the back of the sub frame at the correct angle and tack it back on with your MIG welder.

You now need 2 further 90 degree bends and some straight pipe to link the manifold up to the silencer. Tack everything in place and when you are happy with the position weld it all up. I used some slightly bigger pipe to sleeve the joints.

Two rubber bobbins and brackets are used to mount the silencer to the sub frame and I also added some steady bars to the silencer which attach it to the gearbox / engine. Solid !!

Progress so far

2007-02-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

We collected the chassis from Dave Smart in July 2006. First job was to find a suitable donor Mini and get it stripped. We found the donor quite quickly but it seemed to take ages to get it stripped down and de-grease all the parts we needed for the Freestyle. We decided to completely strip and re-build the engine and refurbish all of the hubs and suspension components etc.

The Mini front sub-frame complete with engine, gearbox, and suspension simply bolts to the back of the freestyle chasis. By Christmas 2006 we had got a rolling chasis and had managed to get the engine running after doing some temporary wiring and plumbing.

Over the last couple of weeks we have fabricated the fuel tanks. We reckon that each tank will hold just over 20 litres of fuel. The tanks are connected by a large pipe that will allow fuel to flow into the second tank once the first is full. The breather pipes on top will allow the air to escape as the tanks fill up.

There is an outlet pipe at the back of each tank that will go to a T piece and then on to the fuel pump so both tanks will gravity feed the fuel pump at the same time.

We have re-used the original mini fuel level sender.

My Dad works in a factory and has access to lots of nice machinery so cutting the steel sheet and tack welding the 2 tanks was done on a Saturday morning at the factory. We had the tanks welded up by one of the fabricators and then pressure tested them to find any leaks.