Mini City E
The stage is set: three days, a bare shell and a kit of parts
With the shell of our Mr Bean Mini project welded and expertly painted by CBR Motor Bodies, and a huge pile of new, high quality components from Mini Spares Midlands, he live stage at the 2017 Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, with Discovery, was set. The bare shell had been delivered to the stage from the Practical Classics workshop lifted onto the CJ Autos dolly, for ease of movement and accessibility both on and off stage. Subframes were disassembled, having had bushes and bearings pressed out and replaced back at PC HQ, and parts were scattered across the stage for final reassembly.
When the curtain went up on the first session on Friday morning, the enormity of the task ahead was clear even to the expert team on hand. Editor Danny expertly compered each session, interviewing guests and keeping the crowd engaged as I was working on the Mini alongside PC’S James Jefferson and Andy, Jon and Jordan from CBR Motor Bodies in Cannock. Specialist advice was supplied by John, Paul and Euan (all from David Manners Group) throughout the sessions to ensure that all went smoothly. They even grabbed a spanner and got stuck in!
In went the windows, steering rack, and Dynamat soundproofing. The swivel pins into the top and bottom arms on the front subframe, complete with hubs and 7.5in discs and modified Cooper calipers to allow clearance for standard 10in wheels. Uprated and adjustable tie rods held the bottom arm to the front of the subframe, and the front subframe which meant it could then be trial fitted back into the shell.
The next session saw the front subframe removed again, ready for the engine to be fitted into it so the whole assembly could be raised into the car as a complete unit, production line style! John from DMG fitted the handbrake cables to the rear subframe once the trailing arms were in place, and the whole lot was lifted and bolted into place. Meanwhile, Tom from Longstone Tyres fitted a set of Oe-spec Dunlop 145/10 tyres to the freshly painted wheels, possibly the most fundemental change, other than colour, required for the Mr Bean conversion.
The big lift
A new alternator, starter motor and LCB manifold were fitted to the engine along with the cylinder head, then a new radiator joined the party, with
‘Blood pressure shot up installing the completed subframe live on stage’
a fresh Powerspark ignition system completing the engine ‘pack’, which was then fitted to the completed subframe. With this ongoing, the rest of the team had been busy fitting up the shell with brake master cylinder and servo, headlight bowls, wiring loom, rear seat and more. It was coming together rapidly and beginning to look like a car.
Now it was time for the scariest moment of the weekend – the big lift. Utilising a hydraulic car ramp from CJ Autos under the gearbox sump and the Strongman lift built into the stage under the car’s floorpan, both could be raised and lowered with precision to ensure a safe mating. Brummy power from the CBR boys was employed for side-to-side and fore-and-aft movement.
Anyone who’s been interrupted mid-flow on a critical job like this will be able to sympathise, I’m sure, that in front of a live audience of 300+ people, with a microphone being periodically thrust under your nose and a stage manager tapping his watch, insistent that the car is off the stage pronto at the end of your 30 minute session, makes for slightly high blood pressure. With superb teamwork, all the parts fitting together beautifully, though and all went smoothly. We had all the bolts tight and wheels fitted with a couple of minutes to spare. Down with the lift, and the Mini was rolling on its 10in wheels for the first time. Success!
There was still a huge amout to do before we could call the job finished, though. There were brake and clutch lines to connect and bleed, heater hoses to connect, centre-dash conversion to build up and wire, bumpers and grille to fit, doors to build up and fit, lights to bolt on and wire, an interior to fit and probably a lot more that I, writing this still befuddled from the madness of the show, have failed to recall. Fear not, though, because not only did we have all the components we needed to hand (well, almost. A couple of mad dashes to the autojumble were required!) we had a superb team who worked flat out, both on and off stage on the Sunday to not only bolt the car together, but achieve a phenomenal level of fit and finish in difficult circumstances. The penultimate session saw a stumbling block to overcome in the form of a lack of power to the starter, but by the final session, we were ready to fire it up for the first time and drive off the stage. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped to make this such a roaring success. matt.tomkins@practicalclassics.co.uk