How`s about i build a fleet of R1 Yamaha powered, front wheel drive buggys like mine (The MTR1), except with 30more hp,,, 30kgs lighter,,,,, & with duel suspension settings where you can opt for "off-road", long travel, High ride-height suitable for almost anything like off-road racing, rally-cross, speedway, rough autocross & the Beach etc ---> (The MTR2)

But also just swap over a few things,,, re-wheel align it,,, & you have a tarmac warrior for hillclimbs, street sprints, smooth autocross, motorkhanas & cuircuit racing etc

??????????????????????????????

a Full field of 30 of these things all Buzzing around each other, mad as a cut snake, on our own rally-cross tracks & bitumen circuits

yeah???

of course my own personal buggy would the 4x4 version (belt drive to the rear) & turbo injected (The MTR4T)

ok,,, so who wants one,,, line up here

OH & they all have clip-on, 3/4 sized, polly-carbonate mini body shells on em all, like over sized remote control cars yeah?

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Will they be road-registerable?

What do I think? - you've been spending too much time down at Byron.

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Is there beer behind this?

Sounds fun. I'll volunteer to be a test pilot customer.

'S funny because I was imagining a project like this with a similar approach. Two sets of suspension arms, some method of rocker arms with several mounting points for the shocks so they can do both 'modes' etc. The concern I'd have with your setup is the front engine/front wheel drive format. My idea was mid mounted bike engine driving the read wheels, possibly through a quad bike diff or small car diff.

You can get away with minimal bodywork as the Ariel Atom shows, just a heavy duty tube chassis.

You could even have a 'supercross' version which has to cope with tarmac & gravel sections, possibly small jumps.

The idea has huge merit. Affordable & versatile motorsport; who'd 'ave thought?

As someone who has watched Matt's buggy race i can tell you Angusdog, the front mounted front wheel drive format works a treat

Matty , your near death experience ( crazy stuff people , i seen the thong marks and where the kombi smashed and moved the power pole beam... !! NUTS !!) is bringing out your best ideas. stuff the xr6 turbo i been thinking about buying.... might have to get me some buggy action going.

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PrOuDlY aSkInG qUeStIoNs FoR uR aMuEsMeNt

hee hee,,, thanks guys,,, Yeah Matty,,, near dead i was,,, one more meter of trying to stop that damn kombi & i`d be chatting with God, my mum & Malcom Douglas (no diss-respect of course)

close call,,, getting too damn old to try to stop run-away Kombi utes especially in my good going-out thongs

anyways,,, Angusdog---> the mid-engined , rear-drive buggys have proven quite good,,, however,,, there is quantify-able proof that they are quite twitchy, pushy & rather a hand-full,,, the small, short, lightweight buggy such as this is "FAR FAR" better as a front engine , much more control ,,,, & even better as 4-wheel drive

i had this feeling years ago,,, just didn`t get around to test my theory till recently

now we`ve prooven it ( like mini-mad-matt has witnessed)

it`s insane how much quicker we are & with how much ease we`re doing it compared to the likes of the rear-drive rear-engined buggys,,, were simply "FLOGGING" them

soooo,,, 4-wheel drive is just a natural progression,,, & with the ability to make my cars even lighter "WITH" the 4-wheel-drive set-up,,, well,,, you just have to think about it for a half a sec,,, really

we have this silly little advantage over all the EVOs & WRXs called "weight",,, or rather a distinct & dramatic LACK of it

the grip level & steering ability with the front engine is FAR FAR superior

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

When I first started reading I was imagining a little shack on the beach front where you can hire these for the day to crash about in the dunes. And in said shack Elvis serving cocktails.

Not sure why.

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Manda
---------------------
Madam Cheglair - 1970 Mini K

Hey Matt.

Great idea but put it sideways a bit.

If I'm not mistaken you have a marcos mould lying around somewhere... care to put it to good use?

Same idea but with the marcos shell on it instead of a mini one...

Food for thought maybe.

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Cheers
Alec
1275LS - July 78 - XNFAD18Y/102918

all sounds very much like Aussie Cars

http://www.aussieracingcars.com.au/

but better and cheaper

HHhmmmm,,, Now let me work this out for a minute--->

Aussie race cars are 120hp & 450kgs

mine 160hp (plus possibly a turbo version) & approx 250kgs


Hhhhmmmm which one would be the better one?????? Damn i must be getting old,,, can`t seem to work out the better of the 2 the maths is just too hard for me,,, can someone help me find the calculator please???



I have a Monaco,,, & a mould for a Monaco roof

i also have a complete Marcos & could easilly make an upper skin mould,,, Stwey & i have already discussed this option,,, but the hardware (running gear & space-frame) is what i`d like to confirm & commit to first,,, whatever body we choose will come later,,, Marcos would obviously be the slippery-er one tho ,,, However, i do like the idea of a mini-ture mini race car ,,, Marcos bodys are not that well known here in Aus, but the mini would be a far better sales item & much more appealing to the general public if our own race series came to fruit

Lap times are already better than most race cars with the one we have now (130hp & 250kgs & front wheel drive),,, i have a 160hp engine now so we`r toying with just fitting it & running it, as is, for now,,,, or stuffing the turbo onto it & adding the rear drive set-up straight away... i`m probably just a little impatient cause i`m sure i`m onto a damn good idea,,, just need a few hundred thousand dollars to make it all happen

glad for the feedback guys, keep it comming please? i`d like to hear all angles, good or bad,, don`t be shy,,, if i`ve missed a mute point (or 3) i`d like to know about it (them)

what colour would you like yours ???? turbo or N/A ??? & front drive or 4x4???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

anymore video's of your current one mat? good quality videos i mean....

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100% Pure A Series Turbo
Morris - The Original RedBull Racing

i'd take the one with established national series, over 30 cars competing at events and full sponsor backed support?

The aussie race cars started of in the same way any other series does, and it doesn't take long for the ball to start rolling once there is a display car, to show people what its all about.

For example, did you know there is a new Suzuki Swift racing series starting up? Unless it all falls in a heap (which it doesn't look like it will) then next year you will see them racing around nationally, and hopefully in New Zealand as well, as a trans tasman series.