1966 Sunbeam Minx F20C

Here is the second build to be featured on Speedhunters.

The first build I showed you was pure American muscle, from the body, to the frame, to the guy’s working their magic on it. For this next build I’m not gonna go all JDM or Euro on you, but the engine choice does come from the land of the rising sun. I know how much you guys love the Japanese stuff (as do I), but I do try to feature some of the more obscure builds to keep it interesting and fresh.

This next car is a 1966 Sunbeam Minx in the stages of receiving an F20C transplant and 4-link rear end. The guy behind it all is named Mike, he’s a master metal fabricator and I’ve featured one of his builds before. Let’s get started…

The unassuming Minx being brought home coincidentally on an almost colour-matched trailer.  If only it knew what was in store for it.

Opening up the hood we can see the standard powerplant. Everything looks so neat and tidy, it could easily be left alone or restored with little effort, but that would be boring, wouldn’t it?

This engine needs no introduction. One way to add a few more rays to a Sunbeam is to mix in a little F20C goodness.

Mike also purchased a wrecked and gutted S2000 so he could cut out some of the frame work, such as the shock towers, to graft into his project.

The standard front suspension from both the project car and the donor car sitting side-by-side. It’s interesting to see the different ways to address issues like steering and bump absorption when viewing the complete front ends of two cars manufactured over 30 years apart.

After some careful trimming around the engine bay, the modern engine makes it’s way into it’s new oldschool home.

Since the independant rear suspension from the S2000 was deemed too wide for the Minx, a 1970 Jeep DJ-5 differential setup was used instead – diversity at its best. The diff was cleaned up, had it’s mounts removed, new bearings and retainers pressed in, and the axles reworked to fit the S2000 rotors. You can see the diff being worked on by Mikes trusty garage helper.

To allow the 4-link rear setup to work properly, some sections of the rear floor/seat area had to be removed.

What project would be complete without some sweet rolling stock? It’s always fun to throw some parts back on your car, mid-project, just to do a quick mock-up. It’s a great way to motivate yourself when you think the end of the build will never come around. I love how the hot rod stance transforms this little classic sedan.

Now you can see why I chose to feature this build. The above image shows the very beginning of the S2000 shock towers and partial frame rails being integrated to the Minx bodywork.

After more cutting, grinding, welding, notching, and some slight adjustments, you can see Mike’s vision coming to light. Ingenious!

Another trick piece of work is the way Mike converted the standard speedometer from manual to electronic, allowing the classic instrument to take orders from a new high-tech source.

Still on the instrument panel, the original cluster only gave out readings for speed, fuel, and water temperature. Provisions needed to be made for more gauges without hacking the dash to pieces.

The modified unit now shows speed, fuel, oil, water and the all important RPM. Notice the tacho has a 10k redline, smart move with the choice of engine.

Speaking of the engine, it received a new emblem atop the spark cover to give it some oldschool flavour. Apparently there are more changes in store for the powerplant to help it suit the era of the car even more.

This is seriously the tip of the iceberg, Mike has done so much intricate fabrication with this build and I urge you to see the full project for yourself by reading his build thread at http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=332026. I have been told that a huge leap in progress is due soon, so keep an eye on the thread for updates.