Dion's mk1

[Dion]

Always wanted a fast Mini, so I thought at the time I would do it the easy way and do an engine conversion. I bought a '61 rolling shell from Doug in Pinetown for R3000 and then cut the front end off and started making the new subframe for the Toyota 16v engine. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of the shell and subframe.


















I bought the engine from Engine Den in Durban and it was only after a year or so That I stripped the engine only to find it was a mess. Full of sludge and worn big ends and main bearings. The head was sent off to be reconditioned and the crank recut.

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After some body work it looked like this



Flip front


Big brakes based on Toyota 240mm discs and Wilwood four pot calipers

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Had some fun with it on the track






Then I decided to get into racing, as the Miniota was not allowed to race because it did not have an original engine I started building the race car. At the same time I started regretting having done the Toyota conversion on the mk1. After some time I decided to convert the mini back to an a-series engine, not much work has been done so far. As the car stands now, it's stripped and all the Toyota parts have been sold.