Mini Magazine - Summer 2018

Not an easy fit, Tom had to
grind the lips off the front
panel and some off the bike
engine mount to get it in place.
Reservoirs for those uprated KAD brakes.
Extra radiator to keep the
Yamaha engine cool.
“There have been many hair-pulling
moments and still are every so often”
JBW Mamba wheels look period correct.
three-weeks’ holiday booked off work,
it was time to get this project finished!
“I worked on it all day for two-weeks,
fitting up the Lexan windows and the
interior. Then I started hanging the doors,
boot and bonnet. Finally, it was just a
tidy up of the wiring and everything.”
Then off it went for a date with the
MoT tester. The Hornet passed and was
on the road by the end of that month.
So after two-years in build I asked Tom
what problems he comes up against now
the car’s terrorising the tarmac? “There
have been many hair-pulling moments
and still are ever so often! It might be
Mini-based, but there are a few Hornet
parts that are not available, like the rear
valance and front panel.”
Tom also had a brake bias problem, as
he didn’t have the original brake bias valve
and aftermarket versions just didn’t seem
to work on the road! “I finally got hold of
a Mini one to go on the rear subframe.
Then, because everything in the car is
solid mounted, there’s a lot of vibration
and this caused the clutch line to fracture
on the slave cylinder. I solved that by
making a few coils in the copper pipe!”
KAD rear disc conversion.
Eventually, the R1 engine was running
slightly warm, this was due to it not
getting as much air flow in the Wolseley.
Tom solved this by adding a second alloy
radiator on the other side, which has
thankfully brought the engine
temperature down.
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