Blue Thunder
aka "Mental rear wheel drive mini"
(Article from pre 2008)
Pics: Dinks - Barf: Dinks - Tech Info: Cooper
Blue Thunder is its name, and unlike any other mini, it has humongous thunderous roar when its fired up. This is because, also unlike any other mini (that we know of), its powered by a 2.1 litre Ford lump. Once a Pinto, now who knows what the engine is!!!
This car is currently owned by our mental mechanic man, Cooper. Its current mental motor power is completely down to his insane ideas and abilities!
He bought it several years ago, it had the sexiful body you can see but the engine had been left a bit by the wayside. Cooper being a performance Ford expert decided that this could not remain the case. Soon he had the engine in bits... rebuilding, manufacturing, and redesigning it. The engine has had about £4000 worth of work on it. At one stage it had a home spun Oxygen/Methanol conversion. He tested it at the Ultimate Fast Car event at Santa Pod last year, but alas a simple nozzle problem meant the car got some severely disappointing runs in.
The front end is now fully poly bushed, front struts rebuilt, and front crossmember is fully braced and seam welded!, so it flex's not ! Ok, so the easiest way to explain this car's latest engine mods, as usual, is to throw a specs list at you! coz there's too much to do waffly banter around!... so take a deep breath and here goes!
-Steel crank - lightened, balanced, polished, tufrided, and knife edged crank webs
- Four Burton H section steel rods
- Four acrolite forged pistons
- 205 Cossie block, bored to 93mm (2.1litre)
- High pressure oil pump
- RS2000 ali sump
- All pulley wheels lightened extensively
- Fully ported big valve head with welded and reshaped inlet ports
Phosphor Bronze valve guides
Dual valve springs
race-rally camshaft
shortend valve stems for increased lift
vernier cam pulley
Osselli ali rocker box
Magnacore 8.5mm plug leads
Electronic ignition
Exhaust manifold 2" with anti-reversion
And thats it, I think.... what isn't that enough?
As you can probably see... its utterly mental. below is the full specification of this incredible chariot. This car is about as much a British Leyland product as an Escort Cossie.
Imagine the situation, you're at the lights, waiting for green, and this big arched monster pulls up next to you. "No problem" you think slyly to yourself... surely this is at the best a 1400cc conversion? couldn't be that bad to beat.... the lights go amber, your hit the gas.. but wait, what is that race bread engine note? can't be the Mini? must be mistaken... oh shit why are the back wheels spinning? (and now straight cut gearbox whine!). Why am I being tossed into the weeds? Have I just entered a parallel universe, where all mini's are rear drive monster power beasts?.... no you just had a close encounter with Blue Thunder... what a serious Mini?? oh yes indeedy...
They just don't come any more individual than this car... it really does turn heads where ever it goes, and lip reading is essential!. If they don't see it coming, then they certainly hear it. Blue Thunder is not just its name its also its occupation!!!
Oh yeah, on a final note, if you think this is mad, and Cooper must be completely without sandwiches in his picnic, then listen to his latest plans for Blue Thunder.... Nitrous, fuel injection, 270bhp??????? oh bugger!... I think he needs a special place to store the passengers supply of incontinence pants
Specification:
+ Professionally built Race/Rally 2.1 Litre Ford Pinto engine. Driving rear wheels.
+ 45 DCOE Weber Carbs
+ Quaife straight cut needle roller conversion 5 speed gearbox.
+ Front brakes are combination of 2.8Litre Capri and 3.5ton Luton Transit callipers!
+ Rear brakes from 3.0Litre Capri
+ 4 paddle AP racing clutch (extremely heavy!!!)
+ Homebrew aluminium flywheel
+ 2.5" system, 2"manifold (tuned length), homebuilt exhaust.
+ Ford Pacifica Blue paint work.
+ Professionally built STEEL wide arche body kit, braced for extra rigidity. ABSOLUTELY NO GLASS FIBRE IN SIGHT!
+ XR2i front bumper unit
+ Aluminium Revolution wheels all round. 205/60 13" tyres at front on 8Jx13 rims, 235/50 13" tyres on 11Jx13 rims at the rear.
+ Bucket seats
+ Roll Cage
+ Useable rear seats
+ Recently re-wired electrics
+ Wood Dash
+ Part wood interior
+ Fluffy Dice fitted as standard. (Something so cool has to have
a balance to it!!!!)
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