I dropped off my Mini at the builder yesterday, Greg Carter at Go-Autoworks. The car is a classic Mini with all the bells and whistles from Mini-Tec. It has a JDM B18 Type-R engine in it with a 3.47 F/D. It now sports a functional but not nearly finished in any way, one piece flip up fiberglass front end. This was a great improvement in every way. Sound deadening alone was worth it. Access is incredible....but right now I don't have the fender flairs, trim, grill or lights on it, etc. Then I'm going to paint the whole car....next year. Out of money for this year.

If Greg can get the intercooler to go where I would like, between the valve cover and firewall, facing up like a Subaru, I can a small scoop in the hood right over it.

When Greg saw it for the very first time, he was just dead pan. It finally came out that he didn't expect the car to be as small as it is. It was also clear from the smile that would shoot across his face like lightening every now and then, he was very excited about the prospects of building this car.

While this is clearly NOT "a cost is no object build". It is a build that will not cut corners. It will be done correctly. I made sure I have the budget at hand.

I told Greg that I was looking for overall performance that was dead nuts reliable, I said, "don't give up engine longevity or driveability for power." The type-r that that I have stock is 200hp. I told Greg that if we got another 75 HP, in all the right places in the power band, then I would call it victory and drive it home.

Then there was his dead pan face staring back at me. A crack of lightning shot a across his face. He smiled and said he didn't think he could get that little out of this setup. Well if that's the worst he can do....I guess I'll just have to live with it.

I'll keep you all posted as things progress. Nothing is set in stone so we can change some of the details if the opportunity or idea presents itself.

I had just a flash of an electric water pump

 

Sounds like this is going to be a great turnout

 

Tuned in for this one. I want pics!!

 

Pics pics pics!!!!!

 

He never shows them, just writes these pointless novels. Weren't you asked to stop posting these story threads a while back?

 

go-autoworks put up a pic on facebook couple days ago

 

Here is the car with just the B18 engine. I imagine Greg will send me pictures as things progress.

Again, The car looks terrible because the fiberglass front end isn't even close to being finished.

 

I hadn't realized Greg posted a pic on his Facebook page so quickly. We literally dropped the car off Saturday, the 9th about 1pm.

Greg strikes me as a quiet, reserved, introspective guy that lets his work speak for itself. Like I said, there were flashes of a bright smile that showed how excited he was about taking this on and doing some engineering artistry with it. It's easy to hack something together but Greg doesn't appear to be that way. He's extremely thoughtful. There seems to be no "well, lets try this" in him. He knows exactly what he wants to do in his head before he ever puts his hands on the car.

There was a quiet confidence about him that put me at ease.

Obviously he's gong to update his page ad I'll post here...if you're not interested just pass me by . If you have any questions...please ask, I'll do the best I can to get you an answer.

 

I have multiple pics of the car/build. It is still here in our shop getting final touches done on the fuel and interior.

 

ITR swapped Mini + Boost
(grill and cowl still are going in...but will still be low key)

 

I have to get the fender flares on, the hood scoop installed and the chin spoiler on. I just ordered the chin spoiler. I have all the grill pieces and trim.

The hood is still rough so I have a fair amount of finishing work on it but it fits really well...and would have never have anything but a one piece flip up glass hood.