Im doing my final year at school this year and have been working on my project for Design and Technology. Thought I might post it up here to see what you guys think and get some feedback.
My brother is into minis and he bought this mini to get the engine out of. It had a 1340cc twin SU but unfortunatly the body was full of rust. He stripped it down and I decided to make a bed out of it for my project. I cut the front off it and my friend is making a BBQ out of that.
Thats what I've done so far, still got alot to do before its due date on Sep 1st.
Simon
kroozzn63 ·
looking good
ian.mezz ·
nice idea
but how are you going to get that into the house????
I have enough trouble trying not to knock a hole in the walls, when i am just moving my normal bed through the door ways .
trickysimon ·
The bed is detachable from the body of the mini and then the mini can be turned on its site. It is really light as it only the ass end of it so two people can lift it no worries.
Simon
ian.mezz ·
ok
Maybe you could make some money selling the beds and BBQs 😎
trickysimon wrote:The bed is detachable from the body of the mini and then the mini can be turned on its site. It is really light as it only the ass end of it so two people can lift it no worries.
Simon
pete wood ·
noice to know minis are useful for something. ha ha ha 😂
Just kidding, they are rustbuckets though 🥲
trickysimon ·
Dont let TheMiniMan hear you say that lol 😂
Maybe I can find uses for my brothers other two minis while he isnt watching 😂
Simon
amazeer ·
pete wood wrote:Just kidding, they are rustbuckets though
Yeah, not like our VW's that are always solid as.
trickysimon ·
Did some more work on it today. Cut out the window sills on both sides and bogged up the holes. Will sand back the bog tommorow to leave a nice smooth surface *fingers crossed* 🙂 Also cleaned up rear of car with trusty angle grinder. Never knew how much rust converter stunk until I used it for first time today as well. 😂
Made up a rear shelf where I will be able to fit two 4inch speakers. Plan is to have Flat screen TV on parcel shelf with fullysick wicked doof doof sound system in boot and maybe even an Xbox 360 or PS3. Still got to finish rear legs and paint before I'm up to that part though.
Simon
squizy ·
Whilst you're mucking around on it, maybe use it as the opportunity to learn to weld as well. Then you won't have to use so much bog and spend extra time waiting for it to cure because it's too thick.
Looks like a great project. Maybe use the fuel filler as a stubbie holder?
trickysimon ·
Really wish I had time to but unfortunately its due September 1st and I don't have the time to get things fixed that I might stuff up. Good idea about stubbie holder, will see what I can do.
Anyone else got suggestions?
Simon
trickysimon ·
Well since I had time to kill since I didn't go to Valla, I did some work on the bed. Did a really shit paint job on the bed frame on which I blame my hangover. Anyone got any ideas on how I could mount the wheels to the legs?
Simon
trickysimon ·
Not long to go 😀
byronmcmanus59 ·
hey bud thats pretty sweet.. im doing DT at the moment.. sept im making a TV thing.. its pretty different.. gunna look good i think.
speaking of beds.. made my gf a real nice cast iron one during the hols.. ill post some pics..
keep it up.
TheMiniMan ·
Hey Tricky, what are you doing with the door handles (interior & exterior) & the window winder handles? i`m keen on them if you`re thinking of selling them :-)
trickysimon ·
I asked my brother for you cause it was his mini. He needs all the door handles but you can have the window winders. $5 sound good to you?
Simon
trickysimon ·
What sort of tv thing? Sounds interesting. Post up some pics. 😀
Simon
bajachris88 ·
for the wheels, when they are attatched to the bed, do u want them to be rolling..?
I had an idea.
I am not familiar with mini's design of hubs, hub carriers and drive shafts.... but...
The hub itself, not the hub carrier, will/should have the wheel stud pattern on it for the wheels to mount too. its USUALLY bolted tight to the drive shaft via a BIG axle nut and thread on the drive shaft itself... This bolt which fastens the hub with the wheels stud pattern obviously stops it from moving in and out.
Maybe if you could remove the hub, you could fasten it up to the bed via the same guage bolts. HOWEVER! although you may use the same bolt thread size where the axle nut feeds on, there may be some free play between the hub and the bolt, as the driveshafts are usually machined to have like a cog/mesh pattern to turn the hub around (and hence turn the wheel that is bolted to the hub). So u may have to fill the free play space up with maybe a larger bolt and nut, or use the stock bolt and nut size, but fill the gap with some piping on top of the bolt...
so in short...
remove the hub and work out a way to bolt it on! IF u bolt it on, then u can bolt ur wheels on, but i am not sure if u will be able to move it very well though. if you want ur wheels to move, go to a bearings store (we got one here called beenleigh bearings /autopro, and get a 'sealed' bearing with an OD the same as the inside of the hub, so it fits snugly inside the hole of the hub.
Then with the bolt, its got to be the right size to fit in the ID of the bearing.
The bearings i'm talking about are the same as those used on skate boards or on those aluminum skooter wheels, but bigger to fit of course.
but goodluck buddy 👍
bajachris88 ·
if the bed legs can't fit far enough into the wheel wheels, u might ahve to look at bolting the hubs to the body somewhere.
but it will ahve to be somewhere strong enough to tke all the weight of the bed, the mini, and the person on it... (like don't pick any soft body metal and what not)
and then u could do away with the bed leg all together! and mount the bed itself to the mini rear just like the bed was mounted to the bed leg.
Geebuz u can tell i'm keen on this bed buisness... been thinking abotu it for the last 30 mins... bed sounds good, i'm off for a sleep.
Get me drift?
trickysimon ·
Wow, you certainly did put a lot of thought into that!
The subframes have been removed from the mini, so there is no hub, no suspension......nothing in there. Took it all out cause it was way to heavy to lift and manouvre with it in. Don't need the wheels to turn, more aesthetic. Already have the legs bolted onto the car body. Have had suggestions of welding a plate to the leg and either weling 4 bolts to that plate or drilling holes and putting bolts through. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. May even just sit the wheels there, seeing as it tucks in under the guard and doesnt move anyway (Biggest reason is im lazy 😂). Also doesnt help that I don't have a welder and I've never welded before.
Dug up some pics for ya.
Thanks for taking the time to think of somthing 😀
byronmcmanus59 ·
haha well once i have the time to see if my memory card is fixable.. (put my phone through the dyer by accident haha) then ill post some pics of my TV thing.. its weird though and pretty hard to understand but interesting in design..
was orginally aiming for top designs but its not that good unfortunatly..
trickysimon ·
😂 Yeh I'm just hoping I pass. I still gotta do a shit load of folio work.
Simon
amazeer ·
pssst. chris dont tell anyone, but minis are front wheel drive. no drive shafts on that end. Theres not a lot there in mini rear ends. Just put the entire thing back in, if thats what is wanted.
trickysimon ·
Yeh confused me a bit when he started talking bout driveshafts hehe🤪
Simon
bajachris88 ·
You can tell i neva owned one :P 😎 would luv one though.
i'm sure u will figure something out buddy. the 4 bolt idea would do it, but u might need to bolt it to a flat plate first, then onto the bed leg or sumfin
trickysimon ·
Well I fitted a CD player to the parcel shelf yesturday. Found an old 12v convertor under the house, so all running sweet now. Only wired it up for testing so still gotta redo that today. Will be working on the boot today as well.
Simon
whatnow ·
simon, i like the project it's looking good, the only problem is it's a single bed, a queen is far better when your entertaining guests.
btw, please use earmuffs when you are using the grinder, you will regret it in later life if you don't.
trickysimon ·
Yeh so I get told everytime. 😂
My dad is an audiologist so theres no getting away from the constant nagging.
Simon
trickysimon ·
Well made up the board for the boot today. Still needs carpet.
Still looking for sheets, dooner and pillow cases in red and black. Anybody got any in Double?
Also need suggestions for number plate. Will get a sticker made up.
Simon
bajachris88 ·
SHAGN- WGN
🙂
butidontunderstand ·
how come you need a sound system in your bed?
and get onto your folio! its super duper important, my dad is a d&t teacher and marker and even with all his help I didn't do enough on my folio i can't remember my marks, but I was pretty pissed off coz I put a f**k load of work into my project (I held a photography exhibition fundraising dinner thing which I might add was amazing for a 17 year old to organise by herself) and yeah didn't care enough about the folio
trickysimon ·
Haha dont think the teachers would be too happy with that. Good idea though.
Simon
trickysimon ·
Yeh your right there. Have still got sooo much to do on my folio. Haven't updated my diary in like a week either. 😊
Whats wrong with a sound system in the bed 😂 Its gunna be great for those lazy days laying in bed listening to music.
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
isnt that what your laptops for though? i think cds are far too much effort for bed time lazy listening
trickysimon ·
Yeh but you don't get the doof doof from a laptop that you can get from headunit and speakers 😂
Simon
Notch Nut ·
As a thought, why not (time depending of course)
- make a pair of wheel spats to cover half the wheel arch
- grind off the un-necesary bits of wheel above the wheel arch to save some weight and attach what is left over of the wheel so it looks like the car is lowered majorly without adding too much extra weight of having full hubs/wheels etc. It may also solve your problem of attaching the wheel and making it functional if you decide to go that way.
If you need to manouver the bed, why not join some castors under the boot area or on your stands and use the wheel to hide them.
Just a thought. BTW. Get to work on that folio!!👍👍
- Adam
trickysimon ·
-Already have bought flares for the mini so they would kinda go to waste.
-Don't really understand what you mean about grinding off wheel. Dont really need castors as it is so light. Two people can lift it no worries at all.
Thanks for some good ideas 👍
Simon
Notch Nut ·
Because the top half of the wheel is going to be hidden behind the wheel spat, you can grind off the parts of tyre/hub above the spat to save weight.
It also might make it easier to fit the wheels and look better as they can be recessed into the wheel arch easier (maybe??).
Notch Nut ·
I noticed in the pics of the rear wheel in standard fitment that they are too wide to accomodate a wheel spat and still look astheticaly pleasing which is why the grinding option might be better. If you visualise how a wheel sits in the wheel arch when the beams are narrowed you might get my drift cos I can't explain it too well😊😀
trickysimon ·
I think I sort of understand what your saying. You sure you aint on the rum again? 😂
Good idea but I think too much work for me. Would require welding which I dont know how to do.
Simon
Notch Nut ·
Hehhhe😎 I'm on the beer tonight so I should make more sense!🤓
Ran out of rum last night 😵💫
I am not sure if you can get around it without welding anything. Im no expert in welding anything either but I can burn holes in even the toughest of metal🥷
byronmcmanus59 ·
butidontunderstand wrote:isnt that what your laptops for though? i think cds are far too much effort for bed time lazy listening
has that headunit got RCA input at the back or a 3.5 aux jack at the front or something for the ol' ipod?
what you've done it sweett.. i just think you need more speakers..
trickysimon ·
Nah unfortunately doesn't have RCA or AUX cause its just a CD player my brother had lieing around. Does play mp3 on CDs though so should be able to put a good 100 or so songs onto a disk. Finished the boot today and got the number plate made up. Will post up some pics when I get back from guitar practice.
Simon
trickysimon ·
Well got the carpet in today and went and had a look at what dooners were available. None really in red and black so a family friend is gunna make one for me 😀 Ordered a number plate from a sign writer which should be ready tommorow morning. Started trimming boot lid with black vinyl. Also picked up a lava lamp for that extra touch 😂 Just gotta fix up wiring, trim wheel arch next to bed and I'll just about be done.
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
i have that same lava lamp!
except i got mine about a decade ago when they first came out...
trickysimon ·
lol how can you tell? Dont they all look pretty much the same?
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
the blue and red, unless if the watery stuff just looks blue because of the tarp behind it
hhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm
trickysimon ·
Yeh just clear liquid sorry. Better luck next time 😂
Simon
Woo 200th post 🙂
butidontunderstand ·
oh you totally should have gotten the blue liquid one, it makes very nice mood lighting 😘😘😘 hehehe
trickysimon ·
But thats what the CD player is for 😂
Simon
trickysimon ·
Well got the number plate today. They did a really good job. More to come.
Simon
bd-850 ·
bloody awsome, beats allthe coffeetables and entertainment unts most people do, or one guy in my ear did a sub box, (ohh how easy)
but, it you had more time, flat screen in the boot, but is on a hydrolic lift, so it lifts up through the parcel shelf, and have it connected to the speakers. just a idea.
trickysimon ·
Yeh that would be great! Would have to add another leg as well if I did that as its a bit back heavy as is 😂
Simon
Notch Nut ·
Now that bed is PIMPED HOMIE😀
trickysimon ·
Haha thanks man. Now I know I've done a good job. 😂
Simon
trickysimon ·
Well my brother moved out today so I jumped at the opportunity and moved the bed into his room. Was having some movement issues between the bed and the body even when bolted together, so made up a second set of brakets for front of body. Doesn't rock or move and inch now. Didn't like the look of how the boot lid was going so might grab the boot liner out of 1 of my bros minis. Managed to scratch the black a bit getting it inside so will have to give it a quick touch up later. Will be hooking up stereo soon.
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
looking pretty sweet, when is it due?
have you been working on the folio>?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! 🤓
trickysimon ·
Due September 1st but gotta have it at the school and set up a few days before. So got like 2 weeks left 🤪
Will be working on folio most of tommorow 😀
Simon
byronmcmanus59 ·
hey man.. as i said ill post a pic of my work. its no where near finished but we have a little longer than you guys.. for some reason. im just filling and sanding and filling and sanding etc etc atm but it'll pay off.. so here it is
as i told you.. its pretty unusual.. the TV sits on the flat bit and DVDs stack in the curved shelf in the end.. the small curve at the closest end also opens as a hatch like a bonnet.. im painting it soon..
trickysimon ·
Wow, that looks great man! Looks like you have put a lot of work into that. Love the idea of the bonnet type hatch. What colour are you painting it? Whens it due?
Simon
byronmcmanus59 ·
yeah its hinged at the base and opens out.. ill take some pics.. yeah iv finished one side of filling and sanding and id say that took prob 15 or so hours sanding. but the finish will pay off.. im painting it in a 2pak gloss black. i made speakers last year the same.. you can see yourself in them which isnt bad for something made out of chipboard.. the idea was so you cant see any joints.. anyway im crapping on.. due im not sure its not long but its not the 1st of september or what yours is.. its a lil longer i think my teacher said.. then again my mums taking the textiles DT class and her students work isnt due till week or so into next term. all depends. the folios an absolute pain in the ass though arrr i hate it!! anyway man your bed its looking the nuts keep it up.
trickysimon ·
Thanks man, good luck with yours 👍
Simon
trickysimon ·
Well have to have it at the school on display this coming Friday and it is due for marking on the following Monday the 1st🤪
Figured out how the wheels will be mounted to the body. It may seem a bit dodgy but since the wheels will only be there for looks it wont really matter. A piece of rope will be looped around the leg and tied off at the wheel. Also got the wiring done on the cd player and lava lamp. Still have to tidy it up. Unfortunatly found a flaw in the 240v to 12v convertor i found laying around under the house. It is only 1 Amp so if you turn the cd player up really loud, the power cuts out. Hopefully the markers don't like loud music 😁
Was originally going to use the Minilight rims off my bro's mini but needed to cover the rope so will be using these hubcaps. Still gotta clean em up a bit, do a bit of painting and finish my folio then I should be set.
Simon
trickysimon ·
Cleaned up the wheels and got em attached today. Also cleaned up the wiring with some zip ties. Only 3 days till I gotta hand it in 😵
Simon
Notch Nut ·
You might want to get the holes in the floor pan welded up.
The dream police might book ya for unbedworthyness!😀😁
trickysimon ·
Those small pinholes? They should buff out 😂
Simon
trickysimon ·
👍
Jay_1965vw ·
Nice work Simon, you've done a great job!
butidontunderstand ·
dude you have to ditch the pillow, it looks too feminine otherwise THAT IS SWEET!
hows the folio going?
donn ·
Racing stripes on a Mini bed, cool as. Top job mate
trickysimon ·
Thanks people 😀
Haha yeh I told mum I didn't like the pillow, but she insisted. Now I have proof that its girly.
Not going out at all this weekend so I can work on and finish off my folio 🥲
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
so you should stay in all weekend! i wasn't allowed out of the house for like a week before my major project was due! (I may be exaggerating a little)
trickysimon ·
That would have sucked. I'm just happy that this is my last assignment thingy (I think). It's gunna be good as not having school work to do on the weekends, although I prob should be studying for the HSC.....nah 😂
Simon
trickysimon ·
Well finally have finished! Got the carpet on the boot lid. Will screw the flares on once I get it to the school cause they are only plastic and I don't wanna break em.
trickysimon ·
Well took the bed into school yesturday and was up until 1am last night finishing off my folio 🤓
Ended up with around 50 pages plus another 20 page diary and about 100 photos, so I'm pretty happy with how I did.
Got some pictures of some of the projects but camera ran out before I could get em all.
Thanks to everyone who made suggestions along the way 👍
Will post up rest of the projects once I get some shots
Simon
trickysimon ·
Heres the last of the pictures 😀
The Mini BBQ is the front of the Mini I used.
Notch Nut ·
Remind me not to park my EK Holden anywhere your school!!🤪
Some pretty damn fine projects there. Nice bed BTW. Great job.😉
- Adam
trickysimon ·
😂 He did that car a favour. It was like his uncles or somthing rotting away in a paddock. The boot was pretty much the only thing not completely gone. Also helps that his dad is a fibreglasser.
Cheers, I'm just glad that its in and marked. Still can't wait to sleep on it for the first time 😂
Only 2 weeks untill I'm finishe school! 🤪
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
wow your class had 4 half car turn it into something else projects
what is this?
trickysimon ·
Thats my mates. He designed a car. Using different softwares and programs. As you can tell from the name, he drives a Honda.
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
i'm meant to be able to tell from the name he drives a honda?
and your bed looks pretty sweet, bet you can't wait to get it home!
AND GO STUDY FOR THE HSC!!!!!!!!!
trickysimon ·
GTEC= VTEC= Honda engine 😉
Whats HSC? hehe
Simon
butidontunderstand ·
oh...
and you were complaining about staying up until 1 to do your folio, now that I started thinking about mine I remembered that I didn't sleep the friday, saturday and sunday nights before the folio was due on monday. It was hideous, I distinctly remember finishing 7am monday morning (even though we are meant to stop work at midnight), taking all my shit into school then heading straight back home to sleep
ooooohhhhhhh the memories, gotta love highschool 😍
trickysimon ·
Haha I went straight to the pub after I handed it in on Monday morning 😂
Simon
kombivw ·
Thats amazing Tricky. Great job. So what were your marks?
trickysimon ·
Thanks 🙂
Unfortunately, they combine your project mark with your mark from the whole year, so you never really find out.
Prob could have done a better job on the folio though 😂