Trunk Space - Part 2

In doing a ton of research for ways to modernize suspension, I've learned quite a bit in terms of dealing with the rear end of the car. I've found this site called carbibles.com that has a very good description/explanation for many aspects of vehicle design, so I've taken some notes of what I've learned and of course am trying to update accordingly in order to balance the car for the amount of HP I'm adding to it while still maintaining it as a daily driver.

Currently, Minis were outfitted with a suspension system similar to this Hydrolastic setup;

Additionally, here is some reference from the Haynes Manual for Alignment of the subframes onto the body of the car.

Here is a sample image of some photos of a rear subframe I pulled off the net from someone else working on a resto.

While this setup allows this small car to have a very short suspension setup in the back, and comfortable riding at near any speed, the responsiveness for more aggressive driving really suffers. I'm looking at what mods will need to be done in order to achieve something more like a 4-bar shown below.

Modern racers have this typical setup due to the adjustability and stiffness of the setup. My design problem at hand will be figuring out how to eliminate the axel thru the center, and build more of a framed unit with fuel cell, battery, etc. all residing in the same real estate.

There is an outfit in England using motorcycle engines vs. Honda motors... this company makes this below framework to house the motor in the rear of the car, and still has a flat coilover system in order to reduce height of the suspension system. I'm thinking that there may be a possibility of building a similar framework, without the need for the motor, but substituting the motor for the fuel cell and battery location in my application.

Lately, SuperFastMinis has come out with a Rear Subframe Kit (approx $1000.00) that takes all of the existing parts and pieces, and replaces them with a fabricated sheet replica in order to incorporate a coilover suspension system in the rear of the vehicle. Below are some images from superfastminis.com of the product.

While this setup is awesome, my budget is really tight, so I'm going to try to utilize as many of the original parts as possible in order to cobble up a similar setup. Below you'll see some imagery of what will be needed to be done to the rear wells in order to make a shock tower. What's not shown here is that because we're going to a 7" wide tire, I'm going to need to widen the well prior to adding the tower. If I dont do this, 1. the wheel will sit out way too far. 2. The whole car will look 'jack'd up' in the back end, and I want my car to sit relatively flat with minimal rake.

Licensing Ideas

I've been looking into what different kinds of license plates I can get in South Carolina due to this being a historic vehicle.  I'm very happy to report that because my car is technically a 1972 vehicle, I'm allowed to register the car WITH a '72 plate!  This is great news considering the following...

Here is a picture of today's 2009 South Carolina Plate:

Here is a picture of the 1972 South Carolina Plate:

As you can see, this plate is going to look a ton better on a white car vs. the one above.