Dan,
I could imagine cramming a V8 in to a Mini.
First order of business is to rip out all the interior and move the
front seating to where the back was and then install the engine and
fabricate a firewall somewhere in the former passenger compartment.
That would mean the driveshaft would be extremely short. It like the
Cheetah of earlier days, the tranny could be coupled to the differential
by a single U-Joint.
Interesting Thought, but I don't think I am man enough to drive
something like that at any appreciable speed.
Joe
DANMAS@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 98-11-04 12:37:04 EST, fergie@ntplx.net writes:
>
> > Now HERE's a car for ya...!! Saw the ad in the Baltimore Sun.
> > Dan, you interested?
> >
> > '51 AUSTIN MINI
> > 350 V8, 400 turbo, new brakes & tires, lots more. $9800 or BO. Buying
> > house, must sell. 410-679-3305
>
> Michael,
>
> I'm not sure what kind of car the ad is really talking about, but I would at
> least like to see it, it not own it.
>
> During the late fifties, early sixties, one of the more common swaps was
> putting a big V8 into one of the small European cars. Many, many Anglias and
> Fiats were done this way, most of them for the purpose of drag racing (big
> engine, small car - just the ticket for acceleration contests). The rules of
> drag racing changed, making these cars obsolete, or at least non-competitive.
> As a result, most of them wound up, engineless, in the back of someone's
> garage, where they've sat for all these years.
>
> The latest fad amongst the Street Rod set is to find these cars and refurbish
> them, modifiying them for street use. More and more of these are beginning to
> show up at various street rod shows around the country, and for sale.
>
> Would I like to have one? You betcha, I would! But, finances being what they
> are, I guess I'll stick with my TR6V8. If finances were better, I would add
> one (or two, or three) to the other cars I would have in the 40 acre garage I
> would own!
>
> If this truly is a Mini, I would drive a long way just to see it. Putting a V8
> in a Mini would be a lot like pulling your lower lip up over the top of your
> head. I'm not sure there is enough metal in a Mini to cover a V8.
>
> Dan Masters,
> Atlanta, GA for a few days (spoiling my grandson again!)
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