Category: Maxxd News

  • MODIFIED R55 MINI CLUBMAN: CLUB TROPICANA

    This modified R55 MINI Clubman provides all sorts of family fun. And who wants to be a grown-up anyway?

    Feature taken from Performance MINI. Words: Dan Bevis. Photos: AS Design.

    We’re all big kids really, aren’t we? No matter how much we may pretend to be grown-ups, with our mortgages and pensions and ponderings about National Trust membership, there’s always a little part of us that just wants to watch cartoons and eat ice cream and play with Hot Wheels. This largely explains the arguably quite silly cars we spend our money tinkering with: on paper, it makes most sense to simply buy something that will be reliable and frugal and cheap to run, but where’s the fun in that? You only live once, you’ve got to listen to that child-like voice in your head once in a while.

    Modified R55 MINI ClubmanModified R55 MINI Clubman

    This is the reason why, when Arthur Linney decided to settle down and get himself a sensible car, he somehow ended up with the slightly bonkers Clubman you see before you. “Before this, I was heavily involved in the Ford scene,” he explains. “My previous three show cars were a Mk2 Focus ST500, a Mk1 Focus RS, and a Mk2 Focus RS.” A bit of a theme there, then – but eventually it got to the stage where the RS was sitting out on the drive more than it was being used, and there’s a lot of money tied up in something like that when you’ve got your adulting hat on and you’re saving for a house. “Thinking back for ideas of a cheaper toy, I thought of my old R53 and how much I loved that,” he recalls. “But having sold that due to its size and having two daughters, I needed something bigger – so I started looking at Clubmans, and made my mind up that I wanted one.”

    Speculatively browsing eBay for cars is something most of us are guilty of on a fairly regular basis, so Arthur’s idle wondering was now given a purpose as he set his sights on the right Clubby to tick his assorted boxes. Before long, he found the car you see here, which had the usual N14-related issues sorted with plenty of reassuring paperwork to back it up.

    Modified R55 MINI ClubmanModified R55 MINI Clubman

    An inspection revealed the car to be just as good as it seemed, and in no time it was on the family drive and ready to be pressed into sensible utilitarian service. Except… well, acting sensibly is dull.

    “Being the Performance Product Manager at Euro Car Parts, I had access to numerous suppliers and could pretty much get everything I needed through work,” he explains, and you can see that there was only one way this was heading. He hadn’t bought a grown-up car, he’d got himself a project! “First up was an AEM induction kit and strut brace, as after a lot of research these seem to be the best on the market. Once fitted, it sounded great and felt a lot more responsive. Our friends at H&R sorted me out with a set of Monotube coilovers; I’m no stranger to using H&R springs, but this was the first time I have tried their coilovers and I must say they’re the most comfortable ones I have ever run. Still firm and hold the car when you need it, but they absorb today’s roads so well.”

    Modified R55 MINI ClubmanModified R55 MINI Clubman

    Since he was up to his elbows in chassis bits anyway, it made sense to swap in some Powerflex bushes next, while a set of EBC discs and pads did the business with the stopping power – again tapping up those supplier contacts for the best prices. It’d be silly not to maximise those connections, wouldn’t it?

    “I sourced a JCW Aero front bumper, which was lucky enough to be in the right colour to go straight on the car,” Arthur continues. “However, when the Airtec intercooler came I realised I had the non-turbo Aero bumper, as it required a bit of extra modification to fit it in! The intercooler itself I custom painted with a larger than standard gold Airtec logo, with the RS intercooler stencil I still had. One of our suppliers, Top Gear Exhausts, sorted out a custom cat-back, and this coupled with a Milltek decat gave a much better exhaust note… but a bit more neighbour-friendly than the exceptionally loud system on the previous RS!”

    Things were really starting to come together by this point, although there was one element that was starting to bug Arthur – the wheels. It was running a set of gloss black GP reps, but they just weren’t doing anything for him, and he started casting his eye around for an appropriate replacement. After a fair bit of searching, his roving eye was caught by a set of Rotiform LAS-R which had previously been fitted to a MINI, so he knew fitment wouldn’t be an issue. The stretched tyres they came with looked a little bizarre juxtaposed to the Clubman’s broad flanks, but a set of 205-section rubber soon sorted this, ensuring that the arch gap was adequately filled with no concerns about rubbing. Job done!

    “Happy with the supporting mods I had, I needed to get it mapped,” says Arthur. “So I got in contact with UberTuning, whose Stage 2 map with over-run made for a much better drive home! Annoyingly due to the car being too low, we weren’t able to dyno it – but we estimate it’s running around 250bhp now. And the final touch was to change the colour of the wheels to keep in with the blue, black and gold colour scheme; I tried Foliatec spray film as I’d never used it before, so the wheels can always be reverted back to their standard silver by peeling off the gold if I change my mind. I’m over the moon with how they have come out, they completely transform the look of the car.”

    Modified R55 MINI ClubmanModified R55 MINI Clubman

    This, in essence, is a colourful lesson in how to do adulting properly. Where’s the fun in giving up on the concept of pleasure and settling for a Qashqai when you could be doing this?

    “The Clubman is still used mainly as a weekend car, but it has plenty of room for all the family,” he grins. “It often gets double-takes as people hear the noise and look, not expecting to see a MINI estate making it! Then they look again when they see the loud-coloured gold wheels and how low the thing sits…”

    It turns out that, as we knew all along, growing up and being sensible isn’t actually a real-world option, is it? You only live once, you might as well enjoy yourself; besides, your kids will think you’re infinitely cooler if you’ve got a sweet ride to roll into the school car park. Question Time and The Antiques Roadshow can wait, let’s go and play!

    Modified R55 MINI ClubmanModified R55 MINI Clubman

    Tech Spec: Modified R55 MINI Clubman

    Engine:

    N14 1.6-litre turbo, UberTuning Stage 2 map, Airtec intercooler, AEM induction kit, Forge recirc valve, Forge noise-maker delete, Forge resonator delete, Mamba braided oil feed pipe, Milltek decat pipe and custom 2.5in non-resonated cat-back exhaust system

    Power:

    250bhp (est.)

    Transmission:

    Stock manual

    Suspension:

    H&R Monotube coilovers, Powerflex bushes

    Brakes:

    EBC dimpled and grooved discs, Yellow Stuff pads

    Wheels & Tyres:

    17in Rotiform LAS-R – sprayed in Foliatec Gold, 205/40 Nankang NV2 tyres

    Interior:

    Stock Cooper S leather, JCW carbon gearknob and handbrake

    Exterior:

    Atom Speed bonnet scoop – colour-coded, Osram colour-change LED demon eyes, stickers and graphics from LTI Performance Ltd

    Source

  • BAGGED MK3 GOLF CABRIO – FC TV EP18

    Welcome to Fast Car TV! With awesome builds, new products, tech talks and which cars we’d buy to modify, think of it as the magazine…but moving and talking. In this episode, Jules from Fast Car is joined by his boss, Phil Weeden, to discuss retro project cars for under £5000, what modifications you should avoid and have a walk around this stunning bagged Mk3 Golf Cabrio. Make sure you check out Ep17 here and don’t forget to subscribe to our channel

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  • KENMERI SKYLINE: YOUNG AT HEART

    During the decade-long restoration of this slice of Seventies JDM perfection, Pat Soliman’s Shakotan-inspired Kenmeri Skyline has picked up a rather impressive engine swap along the way to make it some of the hottest property in Southern California right now…

    Feature taken from Retro Cars Spring 2018 issue. Words: Sam Preston. Photos: RonV Photography

    “Just last week, some guy was driving through the parking lot, staring at my car, totally not looking where he was going and he ended up creaming a central divider in the road.” Californian JDM tuning hero Patrick Soliman grins as we ask him just how much attention his latest project receives when it’s spotted by the general public.

    But it’s hard to be that surprised at such reactions when you own a car as special as this: a faithfully restored yet heavily modified ’73 Kenmeri Skyline which has succeeded in kicking butts and generally taking the SoCal scene by storm since its recent reappearance on the streets.

    Kenmeri SkylineKenmeri Skyline

    Faithfully replicating the fabled Zukosha and Shakotan styles we’ve all seen on those historic YouTube videos (but rarely get to experience in the flesh anywhere outside the Land of the Rising Sun), it’s taken this US Navy mechanic the best part of a decade to slowly put this piece of JDM history back together the way he wanted. Still, it looks like it was well worth the wait, eh?

    “Back in the Nineties, me and my friends would watch old vintage Japanese racing videos and dream of maybe one day owning an old Skyline,” Pat explains how it all began. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved all types of car models and styles, but the old-school Japanese cars were always something special.” Growing up during the infamous popularity explosion of JDM metal in the States also didn’t help, with Pat’s dad one of many to get his hands on as many retro Celicas, RX-7s and Datsuns as possible to see which could kick out the most power when a little heat was applied under the bonnet.

    Another benefit of older metal for young Pat was, of course, its affordability. Swapping a couple of hundred dollars for a ropey ’72 240Z finished in metallic brown as his debutant car was a fantastic start in JDM ownership. “It was an auto with no reverse,” he laughs. “I planned on converting it to stick but that never happened. I primered it red, cut the springs, threw on a front lip, removed the front and rear bumpers and welded a cherry bomb muffler on it. It wasn’t the fastest thing on the street, but it looked awesome and spit out flames on deceleration.” And what more could you possibly need as a plucky teenage car fan?

    Kenmeri SkylineKenmeri Skyline

    With some light-fingered losers putting an end to his fun just months into ownership, the theft of Pat’s Datsun thankfully did nothing to deter him from classic Japanese car loving. “I’ve had lots of everything since; 260Zs, 280Zs, 280ZXs, a ‘74 Mazda RX-4, a Mitsubishi Cordia, Datsun 510… Oh, and the Skyline of course.” A decade and a half after losing the ill-fated 240Z, Pat finally hit the JDM goldmine by finding the Kenmeri classic of his dreams. “It’s a bit of a story,” he reveals. “The history of the car goes back to the Eighties. The truth of how it got to the USA, different engines it’s had, where it was raced and how many times it’s been painted is very fuzzy, though.”

    Paul, the previous of this Seventies coupe, admitted to Pat that his true weakness was the previous-shape ‘Hakosuka’ Skyline, Pat got to work tempting him to part with his beloved Kenmeri Skyline. Recruiting the help of his friend Mike, who just so happened to own a tidy Hakosuka he wanted to get rid of, a rather convoluted deal ensued that Pat became the owner of the car he’d always dreamt of. Thankfully, little cash was involved, but Pat knew he’d have his work cut out once he’d given his new machine a once-over. “The thing was a nightmare to be honest,” he shrugs. “The interior – what there was of it – was not installed, lots of parts were in boxes, no brakes, no wires, the dashboard was removed with broken gauges, welded R180 diff, major rust, funky paint, the front bumper was crushed and cut, the rear window was gone… It was junk really, a major project for sure.”

    Kenmeri SkylineKenmeri Skyline

    Originally planning to stick to the same route many Kenmeri Skyline owners have gone down: a faithful restoration in either silver or white, possibly with some GT-R-inspired parts thrown in to add a little muscle, Pat soon figured that based on his car’s sorry state, and the fact it was a fairly lowly model in the range, could give him a little room to get creative instead of following the pack. “Since my car was already chopped up, rusty and wasn’t a real GT-R with a twin cam S20 engine, I decided to throw out the rulebook!”

    “Mike had half installed an SR20DET when I got the car,” Pat explains. “I finished off the swap and actually drove it around for a while like that, but that motor had a tendency to blow up quite a lot.”

    It wasn’t long before the holy grail of Nissan drivetrains made its way towards Pat through the SoCal grapevine: a tuned RB26DETT from an Nissan R33 GT-R, complete with a two-wheel-drive gearbox from the RB25. “It was really a case of cutting out all the existing motor and trans mounts, slicing open the transmission tunnel and firewall, dropping in the drivetrain and then fabricating everything to make it work… simple as that.” Pat then modestly explains how dumping this huge hunk of engine perfection into his humble Kenmeri Skyline came about, citing the then-patchy bodywork as a help rather than a hindrance. We expect tweaking with US fighter jets on a daily basis had something to do with his nonchalance towards this job!

    Kenmeri SkylineKenmeri Skyline

    Turning up the heat with a massive, single Precision turbo, as well as extensive internal and fueling upgrades, Pat explains how the car is now safely pushing over 550bhp out to those dished rear wheels now. “There’s nearer seven hundred in it, but five and a half keeps it reliable and I don’t really want to blow this one up by over working it.” The whole thing has also been packaged beautifully, with the tucked, shaved and polished bay looking like a work of art in itself, and just adding to the shock factor when Pat’s asked to pop that long bonnet to see what’s inside.

    Getting that swooping body back up to scratch was slightly more challenging, and took up a larger part of Pat’s life with the Skyline. Friend Erik at West Jones Auto Claims Solutions in Rancho, Cucamonga got the call  to save the rust-ravaged shell, with almost every panel requiring the kiss of life to bring back to life. “Some parts took literally years to find,” recalls Pat, “the rear glass, for example, was a six-year mission to find, buy and ship from Fiji of all places. If any parts weren’t available we fabricated new ones.”

    Ordered directly from Japan, those works-style wide arches are Pat’s favourite part of the car, and it’s pretty hard to disagree with him – those unforgiving flares bringing so many retro JDM racer vibes to the party, especially with those period-perfect SSR splits poking out underneath. “I was coming out the bank and a guy was admiring a SR20DET-powered Datsun 510 I had a while ago. We talked for a few minutes and as luck would have it, he mentioned he had a set of SSR Techno Phantom wheels for sale,” reveals Pat. “I’d been looking for a set for ages; needless to say I ran back in the bank and we did the deal right there.”

    The fact he still cites this car as a work-in-progress shows Pat’s attention to detail. A refresh of the interior in the shape of some retro Recaros, a Nardi steering wheel and Autometer gauges are already in the pipeline. So, it’s hardly surprising that he’s already filled up his garage with trophies too!

    Kenmeri SkylineKenmeri Skyline

    Tech Spec: Kenmeri Skyline

    Tuning:

    2.6-litre RB26DETT turbocharged straight six (from R33 Skyline GT-R), rear sump conversion, Precision 6262 ceramic ball-bearing turbocharger, Hybrid Performance turbo manifold, Precision 46mm wastegate, 50mm TiAL blow-off valve, 850cc fuel injectors, AEM 320lph fuel pump, custom intercooler, GReddy boost controller, NGK iridium spark plugs, Griffin dual-pass radiator, SPAL fan, NISMO fuel pressure regulator, Microtec LT-16c ECU, RB25DET six-speed manual gearbox, OS Giken dual-plate clutch, Wilwood clutch master cylinder, R200 limited-slip differential (from Z31 300ZX)

    Chassis:

    10×15-inch (front) and 12×15-inch (rear) SSR Techno Phantom split rims, 225/50/15 (front) and 235/50/15 (rear) tyres, Eibach springs (all round) with custom-mounted QA1 shocks (rear), TEIN camber plates, Techno Toy Tuning adjustable trailing arms, custom cross-member, 280ZX front brake conversion, 200SX rear disc brake conversion.

    Exterior:

    JDM ‘Works’ wide-body arch kit and front lip, GT-R grille

    Interior:

    Recaro bucket seats with Sabelt harnesses, Nardi steering wheel, Autometer Ultra-Lite gauges Razo pedals

    Thanks:

    I’d like to thank Paul Bischoff from Boss Garage for tuning and wiring, custom paint and bodywork by Erik from West Jones Auto Claims Solutions, custom wheel size by Araya Wheels, help from the homies Skyline Mike, Gill, Topher, 510Mel from Wild Cards, Jesse from FYS, Edd from Stack of Dimes, Matt, CRX Phil and last but not least I want to thank my wife Sterling and the kids for understanding my passion for cars.”

    Source