Wow.  I have a stock mini and slightly modified 930 (maybe ~400hp). While the 930 is probably worth ~10X the mini, the mini gets 10X the attention and I have to say it's as much fun to drive even in stock form.  It's got no power but I have no desire to punch it like I do when I'm in the 930, just different kinds of thrills.  Whatever you do, don't mess with the body (extend the nose or something silly like that). 
 

Considering my motor is sitting on the garage floor right now, it wouldn't be difficult. Turbobrat, if you haven't caught on yet, there are a few members here that should just be ignored. There are other forums that support your style/plan a lot more as well.

turbrat, look on the minimania car for sale, there is one for sale for $5k, 1973 and it has 1275 in it breathing under the hood. it's cheap i dunno why members here are not talking or even mentioning about it, maybe they are silently calling the owner and trying to haggle and don't want other to know about it... the guy is from Kansas, his mini has the 1275 in it, its waay faster and more powerful than jeg and mighty rodent's mini... for sher!!!!

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TB930, this is now (as of a few hours ago) on it's way to Cailforia. Sold and will now concentrate on the mini. Thought I'd share.

I'm be following your build with interest.

SxS

I never took that you were "slighting" my build.. I know its just if one looks at the car, without seeing any of the underside or inside, one would not see the extent of the mods that went into the build.

Hell, I may end up doing a turbo Honda in the AWD classic mini, instead of the rotary. But, For now, thats my plan.

My biggest issue now is going to be... Where do I find a classic mini, thats in decent shape fora decent price??   That may be the hardest thing of the build...LOL

I'm pretty dang excited to see it. If I can help in any way, I'm more than willing to. And I didn't mean to slight your Porsche build. It's a really nice build. I was just trying to illustrate the differences of building a badass porsche from a porsche and building a rotary powered monster from an under powered FF car from the 50's. lol

I get the next year thing. My build has taken a while in itself.

I forgot about the Ro80. I think that is a longitudinal FWD application though, not transverse, so it might be hard to fit in the confines of a Mini engine bay. Also, I would be very skeptical if the semi-automatic NSU transaxle will take 600+HP (or even 200+ HP.) It's also a rather rare piece of kit, but I don't know how valuable, scarce, or precious those parts might be to the Ro80 community.

I always thought the Ro80 was a very cool looking car, way ahead of its time, but it's pretty unreliable from what I understand. Early Wankels are not known for their durability or efficiency...

NSU has a FWD rotary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSU_Ro_80 - I know of one in California - tripped over a wierd looking lump, thought it might be a Formula drive train, nope, just some ol' pedestrian German 4 dr rotary drivetrain with big inboard disks, apparently the first production car with a rotary? Since it's a rotary in a German car, you might want to watch this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxsY4lEGRBI and becuz you are a P-car guy and that a custom 930 and a splitty aren't enough to wet your appetite. (I have to make do with a Prius & salvaged silverado...yes I'm jealous...)

How about just an engine adaptor for a rotary to a FWD gearbox? I hear the 3 rotor (why not 4?) is what you'll want

Brapppp brappppp!

You are correct... Cooling and exhaust noise are going to be a big factor. I remember back in the late 90's at the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona of an open cockpit prototype car running a rotary engine. The entire right side of the car had a HUGE, round muffler. And not only was it still ear splitting loud, but the damn thing glowed bright red the entire time!!  But, OMG did it sound A-MAZ-ING!!!!!

I understand its hard to see from the limited pictures that were posted, but everything on the car had to be made to fit. Rear suspension camber boxes needed to be cut and welded into existing suspension structure. Transmission is from a completely different 911, requiring a lot of fabrication to make it work. Intercooler fab, headers, turbo location, brake calipers (custom fabricated mounts), etc, etc...

Yes, I understand it would be a big undertaking... but one I am not scared of. To me, thats half the fun

And you are right. Its going to be AT LEAST a year or better before this gets rolling. There are a few other things that are more pressing at the moment. BUT, I am doing my research now, and I will be that much further ahead once I start buying parts...

Two of the biggest challenges will be keeping it quiet and cool.
One of my single turbo RX-7's is making over 500 hp and about 450 lb torque with a very streetable port and 14lb of boost to the wheels.
More than enough to move a 1100ish lb car down the road.  
Good luck with the project.

I'm in the final stages of wiring my turbo K series AWD project.

There was a Mini rebuilt with a rotary in it here in Oz years ago. They used a VW transaxle, with the gearbox forward of the motor.
Sorry, I have no other details.

Interested to see where this goes. I enjoy engineering new ideas. Your Porsche is very nice, but it seems that (less a few pieces) most of the modifications you've done have been well paved. What you're talking about doing on the classic is a completely different animal. Not to say that you can't do it, but it's going to be a completely different build to the Porsche or any other resto-mod. You're build an entirely new car from scratch with a rotary.

I am not discouraging you here. I WANT to see a 600hp rotary classic mini. But for now I'll sit back with my popcorn and wait until next year when this begins.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimfai

turbobrat930 "I just have had a classic mini cooper in my head now for a couple of years. It will be a definate project of mine. I am just not sure which direction to take it.... (Honda, Rotary, AWD, turbocharged, etc)" looking at the pix of your Porsche the workmanship looks fantastic, your beefed up mini will look equally as nice as it cruises along at 55mph next to my 850cc mini

lmao!!!!  Thanks for the compliment    And I dont drive 55.... (well, maybe in a 45)

looking at the pix of your Porsche the workmanship looks fantastic, your beefed up mini will look equally as nice as it cruises along at 55mph next to my 850cc mini

Well, I do know that Minitec has the AWD kit, and has no issues that I know of. For me, if I was to go the turbo route, I would have no exhaust down the center tunnel.. I would vent the exhaust out of the side.... probably right in front of the front door

I'm just curious about the Honda & AWD issue; the center tunnel is barely big enough for the exhaust pipe and not really enough distance betwen the seats for widening it, would you increase the height of the tunnel for the driveshaft to clear or would you do as many have with V8-powered minis and build it as mid or rear engine? 

you know, one of the reasons why i don't put too much money on my classic mini is because when i buy a LOT of parts, do lots of modifications,upgrades ,buy new accessories and at the end i sum up all the money i have spent for the build, THEN when i surf on ebay or craig'slist and i see a mini for sale with tons of upgrades, newer, better and the entire car only cost a fraction of what i had already spent on my mini project, it just feels sux.  i tellya there are crazy classic mini owners out there after they modifiy their minis extensively and used it for a while, then other priorities came by,they end up not using them anymore, they'd sell them cheaper for a quick buck just to get rid of it.