The starting point here is a classic Austin Mini turned into a turbocharged, four-wheel-drive machine, and the latest instalment, episode fifteen of the series, concentrates on the front suspension and underbody. What caught my attention is how one clash snowballed into a full redesign. The stock Celica cross-brace fouled the newly made exhaust downpipe, and its front bracketry would have pushed into the space meant for the radiator. On top of that, the original rubber stabilizer mounts had deteriorated and were too bulky for the room available. Bad Obsession Motorsport answered all of it with a bespoke tubular cradle built from 19 mm steel tube, plus a smaller solid rubber bushing taken from a Ford Mondeo to replace the oversized originals. The construction methods are a joy to follow. Paper templates drawn on card were traced onto plate, cut with an angle grinder and drilled with lightening holes using a step drill bit. Bent tubes were test-fitted across both suspension mounts and tacked in place, while perforated gussets were welded on an I-beam jig to keep distortion down. I also admire the trick of welding with a dummy steel bushing in position, leaving the real rubber one safe from heat. The 1.5 mm skid plate skin started as a paper pattern taped under the brace, then was peened and curved over tube in a bench vise. The finished brace now forms the underbody's lowest point and doubles as an impact skid plate, yet it comes off for scheduled fluid changes, which strikes me as a very thoughtful compromise. One open question hangs over it all: whether the complex cradle can be finished before the raw tubing supply runs out.
Project by Bad Obsession Motorsport. Watch it on their YouTube channel: