RICHARD MANSFIELD'S TWINI MINI

Our customers car is a 1962 Austin Mini, which originally cost £250.00 and now looks absolutely standard
and truly immaculate. Only when you look inside do you realise it is a car with a difference.

Richard has already restored two Coopers to a very high standard and his criterior on the Twini was to use
as many secondhand production car parts as possible to keep the cost down. In January 1990 the shell
was delivered to the welders where the fabrication under Richard's guidance was carried out in sheet metal
giving the appearance of factory pressings in keeping with the original design ideas of the Mini itself. Firstly
a section of the rear seat and boot floor were removed corresponding with the shape and size of the front
subframe power unit. A bare front subframe was bolted in position at the back edge of the rear floor pan
once the correct position had been established. The mounting ''turrets'' were fabricated and welded into
position. Additional longitudinal box sections were welded along the floorpans on the outer edges. Then
came the fabrication of the engine cover, the spare wheel well and the ducting for the necessary airflow
required for cooling, this was achieved by removing the bottom of the glove box bins and ducting the air
from those holes to the radiator. All other panels were the original factory fitment apart from sill panels and
a n/side hinge panel. The shell was painted in July 1990 and collected in April 1991 . A front subframe with
'S' running gear had previously been purchased for £40.00 and two Austin 1300 power units complete for
£20.00 and £60.00 respectively. All other parts were gathered secondhand except for a trim kit and four
yards of fabric which was used for the non standard trim panels and re-upholstery of the seats.

Special mechanical items had to be made or adapted for the Twini so Richard emoled at Southgate Technical
College in an engineering workshop evening class in order to make the non standard parts that needed
workshop facilities and expert advise.

The standard rear back plates were machined to fit the front hubs and lockable steering arms made to fit
the front subframe that was to be fitted in the rear. Two dutch slave cylinders were sleeved to redu.ce the
bore size down from 22mm to 18mm, therefore enabling the master cylinder to have enough displacement
to operate the two clutches. The gearchange was easier to fabricate than expected, a slot was cut in the
underside of the front remote housing and an 1/8" thick plate 2" x 1" welded onto the inner rod, an adjustable
rod was then connected running under the car to a similar plate welded to a cut down remote at the rear.
The throttle cable splits into two cables via a junction box under the front bonnet, each cable running to its
respective pair of twin 1 1/4 SU's.

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