Venom: 1961 Morris Mini Cooper with Toyota AE86 SWAP
Spider Man is an interesting hero, but he is mostly clueless and his biggest assets are his perky persona and agile reflexes…sorta like a classic Mini. But imagine, for a minute, if you poured some of the awesome power of someone like the vampire hunter Blade into Peter Parker’s suit and spider-abilities…now you’d have a bitchin’ superhero like this 1961 Classic Mini Cooper with Toyota AE86 SWAP offered for $10,000 in Santa Cruz, CA via craigslist.
From the seller:
1961 classic Moris Mini Toyota AE86 swap FI DOHC 16 VALVE 1.6 litre swap. RWD you read that right. Rear wheel drive!! Real front suspension (Coilovers ) not stock rubber blocks. Disc brakes, IRS rear end with shortened 930 axles. Twin radiators (and fans) new tires, new battery. Has both hand and foot clutch (Hand clutch uses vacum over hudraulic so you literally can pull lever with your little finger) oil cooler. plexi driver and passenger windows (less weight ) This car is very very spirited. If it doesn’t make you smile you don’t have a heartbeat. Please clear this purchase with your wife, attorney, third base coach, life partner or anybody else that makes financial decisions for you prior to contacting me. CASH ONLY, NO TRADES, Cash in hand for test drives. I WILL NOT REPLY TO ” DO YOU STILL HAVE IT ” If you’re reading this I still have it. I don’t need help selling it and no I won’t ship it or fall for lame scams. This is not a rebodied car like most you see on CL this is an original rust free body.
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The tangle of wires against the firewall gives me pause – though everything else looks intriguing. This drivetrain swap deserves a massive write-up!
I bought a K20a engine swapped Honda Insight some time ago and spent another metric ton having talented individuals sort out bad wiring, so I'm PTSD about that now.
Why is there an orange cord running to the steering wheel? I would love to see the underside of this thing to see how much metal they removed to get power to the rear.
Deadman Switch like jet ski
Not sure if I want to drive a car that needs a dead man's switch. It means that (a) i might be violently separated from the vehicle at speed or (b) I might die during operation.
I'm sort of curious about the transmission and rear axle ratio. Tiny little wheels got to spin pretty fast so you would think there would be a mention of that.
There are a lot of different servo clutch systems out there dating back to the 60s , some of them even match the revs for you. I am curious what's in this.
It's always dangerous, buying someone else's project. Like when the seller says "90% done" you know that the remaining 10% will take HUNDREDS of hours to finish. The best swaps are done at a shop in Florida, using Honda Civic motors and retaining front wheel drive: clean, straightforward, but costs $24K.
There is one time in my life that I actually wired a car correctly. All new modern harnesses, master fuses and relays, gang terminals, heat fiberglass wrapped wires, everything soldered and heat shrinked. It is a luxury for sure.
"There is one time in my life that I actually wired a car correctly" –said no engineer ever at Saab.