ausmini
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/

couple for Coatsie
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=91886		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  TheMiniMan [ Sat Feb 20, 2016 1:53 pm ]
Post subject:  couple for Coatsie
Just been sifting through some old pics trying to find some mini van race car pics from years ago for another thread & stumbled across these (ive been looking for them for a while :-) )

So,,, a long while ago, a mate of my Dad`s (John Lungren) built this beautiful little mini, stunning it was really, way back when rules were loose & everybody was trying new fandangled things, well John took the very lightweight, streamlined approach & came up with this.
it really was basically the fastest little sports sedan mini in the country for a while, until he crashed & nearly killed himself... & as what happens when you do something a little "out of the box" , he was eventually shuffled into the "Sports-car" category because after absolutely flogging every-thing in his class they (the powers that be) decided that suddenly it didn`t "Look" like a mini anymore,,, the silhouette was no longer the same as a mini,,, hence some "sports sedan" rules changed to suit following this incarnation & category change :-) (just some trivia for you all really)

& i must admit i find it quite strange/weired & very un-like-my-normal-me that i would say this but--> it probably was a little too light :-) ,,, maybe "Flimsy" would be an accurate description & probably would have handled a great deal better had some more triangulation/strengthening been accomplished

anyways,,, Coatsie has this car now & i hope he restores it wonderfully as i have a whole lotta heart & soul in both this car & the original builder & have been at the tracks watching it/him run & "helping" (cough) :-) over the years,,, i was really young when this car was born but not young enough not to know this thing was quick, real quick... my dad helped heaps with lots of Johns stuff & i wish both john & dad could get back together with this car when Coatsies finished it, but hey, at least the car is coming back.

2x pics i`ve found so far,,, & still trying to find another one that i know i have somewhere

Image

Image
Author:  AFF Motorsport [ Sat Feb 20, 2016 2:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
That's really Cool :)
Author:  Mick [ Sat Feb 20, 2016 2:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
That finish!
Author:  low n blown [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 6:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
Thanks Matt,
The car really is very cool and your right, John took it to great lengths to make it fast. The car is currently undergoing a resto and the more I get into the repairs the more I find out how much is actually modified to make it look like this. For example I had to remake the left hand A-Pilar as it was badly damaged in the smash. The A-pilar is made up of no less than 9 pieces to get the shape right. Also if you look carefully at the scuttle panel, a normal mini has a convex scuttle panel bulging up toward the windscreen. John wanted the windscreen to have a more open look as many other minis that are chopped have a windscreen that looks like a letterbox. As a result the entire scuttle was removed and re-shaped. Consequently the bonnet is custom made. John having an engineering background wanted to use the aero knowledge of the day and the bonnet is actually concave much the same as a current lotus to provide downforce. The car is now straight and almost all the fab work is finished, ready for final finish and paint. It will be on the track again by Christmas and will be running again next year in the East Coast Mini series.

John lives a few min drive from my place and despite his ill health is around often to check on the progress. Johns health concerns were one of the reasons he sold me the car, as he wanted to see the car run again and wasn't in a condition to restore it himself. He has a great sense of humour and every time he calls I'm greeted with "Greg I have spoken to the Doctor.....you had better hurry up"

Matt the old girl is in great hands and the resto will be as true to its originality as possible, except for a few improvements (he was friggin mad to drive it how it was). When its done I can assure you this thing will be very, very fast.

John was meticulous in keeping records and parts, and fortunately the hand formed steel guards were still in his shed with the car. They have been welded back on and the car stretched into shape. The front guard had to be replaced, along with the firewall (which had been swapped out for aluminium, and is now back in steel)
Here are a couple of pics. I'll take a few more today of its current progress.

Image

Image

Image

Image
Author:  low n blown [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 6:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
A couple more

Image

Image

Image
Author:  FNQ [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
Looks like someone accidentally left the cross member in the cylinder head boring machine..... i wont even talk about the tme spent on that handbrake lever,,, put it on the scales Greg , it looks great, reminds me of the original 1930's era batman movies ( you know the ones where you actually didn't see the violence.. but the baddies somehow ended up on the deck) very gangsta,
Author:  low n blown [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
car weighed in at under 1000lb thats around 450kg. Car will have a bit of weight put back in it so should be around 480kg but a lot stiffer and safer.
Author:  9YaTaH [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 9:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
Great to see another old race car being looked after 8)

It may be a "southern" urban myth, but I always thought that it was the Lakis Manticus lightweight that largely brought about a CAMS re-think of Sports Sedan rules...
Author:  Morris 1100 [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 10:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
It was the state Sports Sedan associations that reformed the class from "Sports Racing (Closed) into Sport Sedans and not really CAMS.
The highly modified cars could have kept racing as Sports Cars.
Author:  coatsie [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
I have the suspension and other peripheral parts for the car that are readily transportable like lights, brackets, hand brake, pedal box, gauges etc at my place for restoration. We are keeping as much of the original equipment as possible so as not to lose the car's history. John followed the Lotus mantra that to make a car go faster "just add lightness" and he certainly did that as you can see from the holes drilled everywhere. Have a look at the clutch pedal and, as commented by FNQ, the hand brake which incidentally has 78 holes in it! Even the pedal box has thirty additional holes drilled in it and the foot pads on the clutch and brake pedals each have eight holes in them. Holey smoke, he was committed.

Richard
Author:  slide [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 12:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
Anything special about the engine? Or was it all down to power to weight ratio and an ultra low/slippery body that made it so quick?
Author:  low n blown [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 4:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
The engine was originally a 5 port Mk1 S engine in race spec. John was good friends with Richard Longman and acquired a head and split webers on manifold off Richard own race car, whilst he was in the UK. John also had a supercharger setup for the car, which I sold on here to I believe was Monaco (from memory). Was a really nice kit and great for a road car, but not an ideal setup for a race car. Appart from that, yes the lack of weight and aero advantage had something to do with the car's performance. John was quite well off compared to most racers, and always managed to have the best money could buy, so looking through the engine and spares that came with it, theres no wonder it was competitive.
Author:  coatsie [ Sun Feb 21, 2016 8:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
Ah, motoring from yesteryear when no-one seemed too stressed about minor issues like safety. Have a look at the door latches. They are situated on the outside of the car and needed someone in the pits to actually lock you in before you went out on to the track. If you just happened to need a hasty exit from the car for whatever reason you were probably in a fair bit of trouble to try and get your arms through the tiny window to unhook the latches. This is one part of the car's patina that we won't be preserving!
Author:  Hobson [ Mon Feb 22, 2016 8:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
I could see that being a base for a real mini modern variant. would need the Koenigsegg Dihedral syncro-helix hinge aka the pushy-outy-twisty-turny-thinga-maggiga.

Image
Author:  9YaTaH [ Mon Feb 22, 2016 8:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: couple for Coatsie
Morris 1100 wrote:
It was the state Sports Sedan associations that reformed the class from "Sports Racing (Closed) into Sport Sedans and not really CAMS.
The highly modified cars could have kept racing as Sports Cars.


Yeah-but, what was the trigger for the change Mike? :D
Page 1 of 2 All times are UTC + 10 hours
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/