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Ben Afford’s Starlet Powered Leyland Mini ‘S’
The mini started life in 1976 as a standard 998cc engined Leyland Mini S. Thirty years down the track, things have changed slightly. The interior remains original with few modifications and the paint is a normal Scarlet O’Hara two pack job. The addition of twelve inch Superlite wheels does little to fool the casual observer into thinking this might be slightly quicker than your standard brick, but look a bit closer and you start to spot some interesting features.
Looking at the underside of the car reveals a distinct lack of that finned sump we all know and love about the Mini’s engine. Furthermore, a 2.25 inch exhaust pipe protrudes from the front of the engine and makes its way towards the rear of the car. A closer look at the grill reveals more changes behind with a radiator and the intercooler from a Nissan Skyline R33 mounted in the front. By now it is abundantly clear that this is by no means a standard Mini and clearly this wolf in sheep's clothing is packing an intercooled turbo engine of some description. A quick look at the petrol cap reveals some more clues as it is a screw on cap. Those gauges in the cabin are starting to make sense. The VDO speedo and tacho are mounted in the original binnacle with an Autometer boost gauge.
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Ben
Afford has recently completed an impressive Mini project, starting
with a Leyland Mini S.
Looking
under the wheels reveals spacer drums on the rear, but the fronts
are a bit different. Hiding under those rims are four piston KAD
7.9 inch vented discs, a bit of a clue to the possible power of
this engine. Looking more closely at the front end, and things start
to get really interesting.
Opening the bonnet
reveals the final details. A ‘93 Toyota Starlet GT 4EFTE engine
sits in place of the normal A Series donk. Those KAD brakes are
back up with a dual circuit Mazda master cylinder and the whole
thing sits in a custom front sub-frame designed to suit the engine.
It retains the original fuel tank but has been modified for fuel
injection