Identical Twins

Mini Spares need no introduction. For Mini nuts it's a Mecca for spares and tuning and even the non-converted can't have missed the company's involvement in the Minis comeback in the Monte Carlo Rally. Yes, it was their car that was nicked from the back of a trailer and later turned up, stripped of parts, 'in a disused quarry (we won't dwell on that episode, just the thought makes the Mini Spares team angry). ' Now you might expect Mini Spares to produce a limited run of Timo Makinen replicas, and they are. After all, the company and DR Engineering which put together the car, deserve to cash in on the achievement of building a new rally Minj for Timo in just 48 hours. But these will be rally, not road replicas. For the road Keith Dodd, managing director of Mini Spares, was after something different. He wanted a Mini which would convince the unbelievers. A car to convert those who don't take the Mini seriously. So was born the 8-port project car.

8-Port

Let's face it, either you love Minis or you hate 'em. Rover's baby excites extremes of opinion. For some they're cute little bugs ith a fantastic race/rally pedigree, for others they're outdated biscuit tins, sadly lacking in power and refinement. But this is a Mini with a difference, and it certainly convinced this sceptic.
The 8-port EFl car produces big power without the hairy-arse noise, and all-or-nothing delivery of the average tuned Mini. The secret is twofold: firstly in the 8-port fuel injection system developed by Mini Spares themselves, and secondly in the company's good sense not to build a Makinen replica for the road. Timo's car, which is owned by Mini Spares and uses mostly Mini Spares parts, is a fabulous vehicle and fit for its purpose. But the qualities that make it so formidable on the rally stage make it a miserable road car. The gearing is so low it runs out of steam at 90mph, it generates enough noise to make your ears bleed, the cabin is half full of scaffolding, and it cost as much as a small flat in Kensington.
The project car is faster, handles nearly as well, and produces the sort of fat torque curve that belongs to engines twice its 1275cc size. of course, Keith Dodd's team had the advantage of starting from a clean sheet of paper, whereas DR Engineering were restricted by Group A FIA regulations when preparing the Monte-Carlo car. Many parts that would have been chosen for the rally Mini had to be rejected because of homologation rules. For instance, the rally car was stuck with the restrictive standard inlet and exhaust manifolds because free flowing modified systems had not been homologated. There were no such problems for Mini Spares and the team fabricated an 8-port fuel injection system that gives the charge a straight shot through the engine with none of the usual strangling siamesed port business. This heavy breathing and careful engine balancing and assembly gives an end result of 104bhp, up from the original 49bhp and 9bhp up on the rally car. That's a very satisfying amount in a car as small and light as a Mini, but not an unusual output, there are plenty of tuned Minis out there that make just as much. But the remarkable aspect of the 8-port EFl car's power is the calm and step less way in which it is delivered. Unlike most tuned jobs that come on and off the power with the progession of an electric light switch, this engine pulls from tickover in a seamless surge, all the way to the rather conservative 6000rpm rev limiter.
Torque is strong with 60lbft showing at only 1500rpm, building to a peak of 871bft at around 4500rpm.
Out on the Chobham test track, this translates into an engine that is as easy to use as the kindest shopping car's, yet produces real stomp. The MG Metro Turbo clutch is a joy to use and the engine takes up from each gear change without hesitation. It also likes to rev and spins almost too quickly to the redline in each of the five gears. Taller ratios would enhance the already considerable refinement. And the 8-port project car is very refined. The wooden dashboard (made in Turkey) sets the tone, and the classy Cobra seats are more comfortable than they appear. Our test car was beautifully quiet apart from an aggressive induction roar which will be sorted by the adoption of an MG Metro Turbo air filter box inside the right front wing (although most owners will probably rip it straight out, revert to the foam filter and revel in the noise). The boy racers amongst us will be catered for with a choice of three cams with appropriate electronic programs. Our test car shared the 286 Kent cam specification with the Monte car, but it breathes well enough to handle more radical profiles. From the 286 you graduate to the more ambitious 296 and on to the 310, which Keith says makes for a real flier and is suitable for racing.
As delivered, showroom fresh and K-plated, the project Mini's suspension was set up very strangely, and showed a marked preference for right hand corners. Keith descibes the Rover as a 'Friday car' - "Built about four 0'clock in the afternoon, just before the weekend". Measuring the distance between wheel centres on each side showed that the off-side was half an inch longer than the near, putting the right wheel further forward than the left. The ride height, camber and castor angles were equally crooked and it took some time to set the car up as well as the competition version. Now the. project car handles iust like Timo's rally car. In fact it's unlikely anybody will try to improve on the handling of the 8-port. With the handling package fitted it can manage the sort of cornering speeds that will have passengers hiding in the foot well. I thought I was travelling quickly, but I was nowhere near the limits. When Keith took the wheel he pushed a lot harder, and still there wasn't a squeak from the tyres. Even braking at the wrong time - right the way through the crazily-sharp bends of Chobham's 'Snake Pass' - didn't unsettle the little beast.
The newly released A510 profile Yokohama tyres (unidirectional and running at 32psi at the front and 26 at the rear) mounted on Mini Spore's Minilife wheels must take a lot of the credit for the proiect car's limpet impression, but Koni shox and careful preparation ploy their port. (A handling package which is ovailable separately and comes complete with (Yokos, wheels and Konis for £496). Perhaps in a perfect world you could hove the Monte for the weekends and on 8-port EFl for the week. But without  doubt, the 8-port is a car to convert unbelievers to the Mini cause.

Monte Mini

Considering these Minis were developed around the some time, you may find it strange that in many respects they are completely different. It's all because the current Group A rules are very restrictive. For example, the standard inlet and exhaust manifold, block and head castings must be retained . This prohibited the use of the proiect vehicle's 8-port conversion. Therefore, to improve breathing within the rules, both the manifolds and the head were gas-flowed. Even the stock valve sizes must also be retained, although the inlets were replaced with Rimflo items. This limited power and the choice of camshafts

The Kent 286 was chosen because it produced the best spread of power on the dyno, peaking at 95bhp, with 90lbft torque. With the rev limit restricted to 7500rpm by the regulations, there was no need to use forged pistons so Omega flat top items were used . Meanwhile the crank was wedged, crossdrilled and Tuftrided, as the rules allow. The reliable transmission of power is obviously important on these endurance rally cars, so an MG Metro Turbo diaphragm and sintered race clutch plate were filled to the lightened flywheel. Mini Spares' five-speed gearbox was also used, incorporating the new four-planet, double-cross-pin differential, straight-cut gears and a newly developed transfer gear system with Timken taper rollers. Other transmission reliability mods included a reduction in steering lock to ensure the driveshafts don't pop out, while the shafts themselves were replaced w;th hardened steel items with the square circlip groove deleted. Chassis wise the car was stripped, removing all the unnecessary equipment, including 32kgs of sound-deadening. Safety Devices' scaffolding was erected in the interior along with a pair of specially made Cobra Kevlar CF seats and Luke harnesses. Koni dampers handle the demanding wheel movement, while negative camber arms and adiustable rear camber brackets provide the correct geometry. AP Racing four-pot calipers, rather than Mini Spares own items, hod to be used because the AP units homologated. Carbon metallic pods grip the vented discs while Mintex M20 shoes and KAD alloy brake drums stop the rear wheels. Sadly, we shall never know iust how competitive this combination is as the car exited the Monte-Corlo Rally on stage-two with a mysterious fuel problem. That is, unless they plan to run the car next year.