The Mini Cooper is an excellent small car with a unique look and is fun to drive. Even though it is not a typical choice for an off-road vehicle, it looks very badass as a monster truck. Trained workers from Grind Hard Plumbing Co. did this job. When the group bought the Mini earlier this year, it was an unfinished project mostly made for showing off. The Cooper’s motor was removed, and the body was put on a Jeep Wrangler frame with a four-cylinder engine from a Jeep. Important parts like fuel lines, brake lines, and steering that worked weren’t there either. Even though it looked beautiful, it was not working. But Grind Hard didn’t let that stop them from taking on the task. It was too hard to resist the appeal of a Mini Cooper with 46-inch tires. The first step was to ensure the engine would turn over and test the sensors inside the Mini. After the problem was fixed, the team started to fix up and replace most of the vehicle’s running gear. The Mini’s hydraulic steering system needs to be redone because it was run by a useless steering rod with many flex joints. This is essential to jacked-up structures because it keeps the steering wheel and steering arms from being directly attached. Instead, a valve on the steering wheel sends hydraulic pressure to a ram, which turns the big front wheels. It makes it easier to turn and makes the car easier to move. Early test runs showed that the suspension and drivetrain as a whole needed to be fixed. The front didn’t move much and didn’t have four-wheel drive. New driveshafts were also made with the beautiful new suspension shackles, which were created and made with a waterjet machine. After a few changes to the Mini’s engine and suspension geometry, the car sat much better and had a better grip on all four wheels. There also had to be a cooling system, a new engine cooler, and a cross-member. Almost nothing was left alone. It shows that putting a Mini on big tires is one thing, but making it work and drive is something else entirely. As it is now, the Mini looks like a lot of fun to drive on the road. Even though it moves well, the tires touching the body limit how much it can move. Without difflocks, it’s not a great rock crawler, but its 46-inch tires can still handle some significant obstacles. The test drive did show a small problem, which was interesting. The transmission cooler fans broke because the transmission was moving, even though that problem isn’t tough to solve. Work must still be done before this Mini becomes the perfect off-road car. Trimming and fiddling will improve the articulation and fix any other problems with how it rides. In general, it looks like a badass little monster truck. Say “win” for that.
