Alexander/Ramco conversions

[steve]

Welcome to the Alexander/Ramco section of the new "VTEC Mini's" site. I am Steve and my partner is Kirk. We build a Subframe and component package for installing Honda and Acura B- series engines and transmissions into left hand drive classic Minis.

Our conversion is unique among all other designs:
1) no body extension is required for any of the Mini models
2) no wheel base extension is required
3) no widening of the wheel track is required
4) 10" wheels and any Mini brake system can be used.
5) no coil over shocks required; stock Mini rubber springs or after market coils can be used
6) no special or custom made intake manifold is required
7) no cutting big holes in the firewall/bulkhead necessary
8] no big fender arches are necessary
9) light weight high tensil tubing result in the Lightest subframe available, at 36 pounds
10) 4 extra gusseted frame to bulkhead attaching points eliminate torque steer
11) urethane motor mounts prevent excess engine movement and decrease frame flex.

You can post information and questions regarding our conversion, here, or e mail us direct. We are dedicated to ensuring our customers are happy and successful with their Alexander/Ramco conversion.

[stevealexanders@netzero.net

[william75]

hey steve, awesome work buddy...love to see your car when its finished....keep up the great build and good luck on the frames!!!

Will

[boosted]

I would like toknwo more about one of these subframes.. You can pm me with the cost... I do nto want tomodify the outside of my car but would love ot have the Honda motor in it for drive and fly ability..

[MiniMike]

Steve, looks great, are there any mods required for the firewall or the intake manifold? Or do you need an aftermarket intake?

[surpip]

6) no special or custom made intake manifold is required







my question is, the valve cover looks real close to the inside fender lip, are you worried about it hitting the lip under hard acceleration?

[MiniMike]

Ya, I need to learn to read! :lol:

What happens to the brake and clutch masters? Appears to be no holes in the firewall for these?

[steve]

Hi Mike, Are you planning to build another car? We do a pedal box modification that gets the masters out of the bay. I just cleaned up the bulkhead on my car by welding up all the holes that are not necessary.
To see a pic of the pedal box, click my profile, then my Galery
Cheers, SA

[N. J.]

Good looking stuff there, Steve! Best of success.

N. J.

[MiniMike]

Steve, I have a shell sitting at the side of the house begging for a VTEC or something besides the A series..I want to sell my Moke first to finance the build. Pedal mod looks good, so everything sits inside the car, which makes some of the clearance issues I had with my conversion go away. Need a Canadian Demo Car? :shock:

[steve]

Mike, I hope you can come down for MM West in June. Get bussy and build that shell; There will be a gang of VTEC cars there. They snagged me and Graham for the Auto cross event again. I will try to load most of our display pictures into our Gallery but it will be slow going, 10 or 20 hours worth. I am just waiting to find out if I can put them in proper order once they're all in.
Cheers.

[Shant]

Nice job brotha, Keep up the good work.
Nice to see you right down the street.

[Quickcarnut]

Hi Mike, Are you planning to build another car? We do a pedal box modification that gets the masters out of the bay. I just cleaned up the bulkhead on my car by welding up all the holes that are not necessary.
To see a pic of the pedal box, click my profile, then my Galery
Cheers, SA

Steve like to know all about the peddle and master idea
i am at that point I planed to use a stock set up with a remote idea

[steve]

Here is some info from a previous post:
We now offer modified Mini pedal boxes that use two Wilwood master cylinders mounted under the dash; The box just bolts back into the stock holes after you drill three additional holes and you can plumb in remote fluid reservoirs that can be mounted under the hood. this allows space for the Honda intake manifold to be used. The pedal ratio is increased about 20% for less pedal effort. Price is 385$ US with choice of 5/8 or 3/4 masters that come installed and pre-adjusted; does not include brake lines or reservoir.
We require your stock pedals and box as a core. See our photo gallery under my profile for pic.
Please email for more pictures of the box or updated display frame/engine pics:
stevealexanders@netzero.net

[surpip]

my question is, the valve cover looks real close to the inside fender lip, are you worried about it hitting the lip under hard acceleration?


any ideas on this?

[steve]

No problem, the motor doesn't move more than 1/16", there is over a quarter inch up to the gutter lip, the inner wing is bent out slightly. There are several closer spots than this. Not a problem.

[surpip]

cool, thanks

[Quickcarnut]

Hi Mike, Are you planning to build another car? We do a pedal box modification that gets the masters out of the bay. I just cleaned up the bulkhead on my car by welding up all the holes that are not necessary.
To see a pic of the pedal box, click my profile, then my Galery
Cheers, SA
:shock: i need your master idea steve how long do you keep peddles and what do you do and what comes with your kit :oops: :mricy: [b]
my number is 505-385-2769 Mark/quickcarnut

[steve]

We added a bunch more pictures to our gallery. click my profile button and then the gallery link at the top of the page.
SA

[Ironraven]

I love how clean that engine bay is... your car looks amazing, I can't wait to order my full setup from you!

[minimogul]

Steve, any progress in the radiator dept. yet? Gunnar

[steve]

Gunnar, how is your project going? Your customer contacted me a few days ago about getting a kit. I assume you would be doing the work? I bet it is getting cold up there lately; still having warm, even hot days here. I am also building stainless header sets now, inc 1 set for my car.

We have 2 alloy Radiator designs that are out for quotes now. One mounts at the right side under the fender drain channel, and the other fits behind the right side of the grill and extends under the right fender a few inches. Both have about the same core area and thickness. We may go with a two-pass design if the price does not go too high.

[minimogul]

Steve,
My project is stalled a bit. before I remove the sub and engine I want to sort out the radiator situation. I have seriously entertained a rear mount (up in the available area in the rear subframe (re-rout the exhaust and use a swirll tank up front). My only issue is cooling lines and space to either run them on the interior , maybe up through sills (trick but difficult) or flattening copper pipe and using the tunnel.. How would you know if your rad design will provide enough cooling, will you try runnng it in a car 1st? G

[minimogul]

Hey Steve,
Some progress on the car (not much though).. A few new pics in my profile..G

[steve]

Wow, You've been bussy. Class A work on the wiring. I didn't even know you could use a non vtec ecu. How did you figure all that out. Do you have a schematic for the Honda wiring?
Looks like a bike Rad; Hayabusa maybe? I'm still curious if the intermediate axle you have will work with our kit. Looks like you will be driving soon; are the brake and fuel lines in yet? Keep on it!
SA.

[minimogul]

The car is still bare metal and needs tons of prep and a full paint job, so I don't think it will be on the road any time soon..I still need to clearance a few areas where the motor is too close to the frame and I also need to relpace my cams and valve train w/ a set of Type R. The rad is a Hyabusa and it took some work to make it work thats for sure ( I hope it will cool the motor).G

[rl48mini]

Steve,
Regarding the pedal assembly, the brake master cylinder appears to be a single line unit. Will a pressure limiting valve have to be installed to keep the rear brakes from locking up? Do you happen to know if a dual line master (split front and rear) available that will fit in the limited space?
Thanks,
Bob

[steve]

Bob, You can use a split master for the brakes but they are about 3" longer and will protrude from the dash board. I do not find any advantage with it either; if you loose the front line pressure(as I once did), the pedal goes to the floor and the rears are useless. Set up the hard lines in protected locations, make sure the soft lines don't rub in any wheel position, and remember that there is a hand brake for such emergencies.
Minis already have a valve in the line to the rear wheels. there are two types, and they both work very well. I have the inertia type which is simple and works by shuting off the fluid to the rear wheels when sufficient vehicle weight is shifted forward during hard braking, thus keeping the rears from locking up. It can even be adjusted simply by changing the mounting angle of the valve unit.
The main benefit of our design, aside from moving the masters out of interferance with the intake, is a lighter pedal feel resulting from changing the pedal ratio (at the master cyl end) from about 4/1 to about 6/1, similar to adding a booster servo, but without the added weight and space required.

[steve]

Gunnar, We have a Busa radiator that we considered too, but since it was designed to cool a 1300 in an exposed, high velocity area on the bike, I was concerned that a larger 1600 or 1800 motor with less available air flow around both the rad and engine, might be a problem. Now, I guess I will find out. I hope it works out.
Cheers, Steve

[Mini Type R]

When I installed Civic disks up front, the back would lock up way before the front (drums require less pressure to work). I installed a proportioning valve from summit racing ($40 I think) and plumbed it in right after the F/R split block on the rear out going pipe. I then dialed down the rear untill I could jam on the brakes in the middle of a turn and not have the back spin around. Cheap and works great. Now my car stops like a dog hitting the end of it's leash! By the way the civic brake swap was around $110.
Todd
Mini Type R

[steve]

How did you get the Civic rotors to go with the Mini drive flange or did you use the whole Honda corner?

[sachilles]

I think the joltfreak civic brake setup turns down the rotor, but the hole in the center must be enlarged to accomodate the drive flange

[Mini Type R]

Use the 85-87 (if I remember correctly) disks off a civic or crx. This works great if you have drums to start with. Then grind a chamfer on the inside hole to clear the bevel on the mini flange. Build some backing plates, drill three holes to bolt them to the mini hubs, have the rotor cut down (if keeping 10" rims like I did), bolt everything together and grind as needed on the calipers (outside ears or corners/edges) to clear wheels. I needed 1.25 inch wheel spacers to clear my rims (aluminum thick wheels) the bigger the spacers the less grinding. Also, when bolting the calipers up to the backing plate I had to locate them in as close as possible to the mini hub which required grinding or cutting the brake pads on the inside radius on one of the two pads. Wear a mask and protection if grinding on asbestos pads, or use a cutting blade and run a hose of water on it to keep dust from becoming air-born. Then just have a new end swaged on your brake hose to mate up with the Honda calipers. Best mod I ever did. I plan on keeping them with the 10’s when I do my VTEC swap. The disks may turn blue if I take it racing but they are awesome on the street (plus you get better leverage with smaller tires so that helps keep the brakes cool). I have yet to have them fade on me but I can only go so fast with 35hp…
-Type R

[steve]

Can't quite picture what you are talking about. The Mini drive flange is bolted to the rotor which has about a 3" neck to space it back to align with the caliper.

http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_102_0295_img.jpg
http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_103_0321_img.jpg

[steve]

Just ran across pics of a friend's brake setup: All titanium. About 7,000$ worth.

http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_103_0304_img.jpg
http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_103_0308_img.jpg
http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_103_0315_img_1203755401_693333.jpg
http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_103_0372_img.jpg

[Mini Type R]

Yeah, that's why it works great if you have drums to start with because the drum brake setup is a slam dunk for the swap. I don't think you can go from old disks to Civic stuff without buying drum hubs. I'll take some pics. I know the major difference is Civic brakes are mounted right on the drum drive flange and then a 1.25" spacer then the wheel (and longer studs). I’m not sure what’s under your old mini disks or if your hub is different.
Todd

[Mini Type R]

http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_95_copy_of_civic_brake_on_mini.jpg

This pic is from the joltfreak site. Notice how far in the castle nut is, if you take off the outer spacer then you are looking at the rotor which is screwed (with those recessed flat head stubby screws) onto the drive flange the mini drum was bolted to originally. Again this is based on the drum setup. In fact I think the front drum setup is alot like the back. I guess one could stick disks back there also for another $100, not that they're needed as I had to dial down the pressure for the drums in the back as it is.
Todd

[steve]

Yikes!! That puts the wheel center way out past the bearings! Not good, not to mention the big chunk of added unsprung weight in the spacer; I hope it is pocketed out in the back.
The drum brake CVs are tiny compared to the "S" and late model CVs, so that will offset the added weight of the spacer, but I wouldn't want to put much torque against them. Consider that when the CV breaks(at the inside end of the splined section)the only thing holding the wheel on the car is the Caliper, (hopefully)
I guess it would be a cheap way to get discs for a small motored Mini with radiused fenders for tire clearance. I don't know how long those ball bearings will last though. It would be a bad idea to put a VTEC against those little CVs, especially with the increased leverage caused by the spaced out wheels! Thanks for putting up the picture.

http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_103_0325_img.jpg

[Mini Type R]

Steve,
What you say is correct! The bearings are under more load with the wheel being moved out 1.25" (as is any setup using wheel spacers). Personally I think the CV will hold fine, the diameter is plenty large for a car under 2000 lb. 6000 lb. trucks use shafts not much larger and they aren't full floating either, it's the bearings that will go first. I saw this problem with some of my friends' 4X4s with offset wheels. The bearings tended to wear out faster on certain models (Jeep Cherokees in particular are very sensitive to wheel offset). If it's a problem, I'll have to change something. Currently, I only drive about 2000 miles a year with that car, as for a manufacturer such as you, stick with moving the brakes inboard not the tire out, it is a better way to go if you have the $$.
Todd

[Thudmeister]

Thanks Steve for this PM Reply. I hope you don't mind me posting it....

Sender: steve
Date: October 01 2008, 23:55
Subject: Re: Vtec Conversion
Text:

Web site is still in progress, but you can see many pics in our personal gallery on this site; here is the link for page 2. also see other pages. (cut and paste it into your browser)

http://www.vtecminis.com/album.php?...r_id=6&start=20

Here is some info and prices:

Alexander/Ramco VTEC conversion revised June-08

The Alexander/Ramco VTEC swap frame was developed for the classic round nose Mini, and accepts the B series Honda engines with post ’94 transmissions. It is a strong and compact assembly, with an emphasis on light weight and strength. It will fit all left hand drive Minis with NO wheel base, track, or body extension required. The car will look completely stock on the exterior and has the most ground clearance of all VTEC kits. This is the only conversion kit available that will meet all these specs to date.
The special headers, included, leave enough space behind the engine for the stock B16 intake manifold to be retained, without cutting a large hole through the bulkhead stiffener; another first. Also, the included headers save 29 pounds over the stock exhaust system. For the frame, we use high strength,1020 DOM round tubing welded to the stock Mini rear half of the sub frame; This way, all the standard Mini suspension, brakes and 10" wheels can be retained, even the very effective rubber cone springs, thus maintaining the Mini's great handling and low stance.

We are currently in full production of our frame packages and are offering all major parts necessary to complete the conversion; that includes the sub frame, modified track rods, engine and transmission mounts, alternator brackets, optional heavy duty, adjustable, stainless track rods, 300,000 PSI tensile strength, Honda-to-Mini axles, the exhaust header, and Radiator, as well as your Mini pedal box modified to include twin Wilwood master cylinders that fit under the dash and use remote master cylinder mounting. Many of the stock Mini parts can be retained: suspension, 10" wheels, front and rear wheel track and brakes; exterior sheet metal is all retained as standard. Even the stock Mini shifter can be attached to the Honda tranny shift yoke and brace stud, or you can just shorten the Honda linkage rods if you have a Honda shifter assembly.
The stock Honda injection, manifold, ECU, sensors and harness can be used as well as the Honda gauge cluster if desired.
Torque steer is eliminated with 4 additional frame mounting bolt locations and beefed up suspension tower bracing.
Another major benefit is a huge weight savings; 30 to 90 pounds lighter than other conversions. We strongly believe in reducing weight as much as possible to ballance out the heavier Honda power package, in order to maintain the excellent handling of the original car. Due to space limitations, this frame will only fit LEFT hand drive cars without making major modifications.

Full installation instructions with corresponding on-line build Photos are
included with the kit. Photos of our display frame and parts can be e mailed
on request, or a smaller selection can be found along with pics of our own demo-
car build, on the VTEC minis site:
http://www.vtecminis.com/album.php?...r_id=6&start=20 (two pages)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Conversion parts available:

The bare frame, with modified track rods is 1980$ with your straight, clean, stock sub frame and track rods in exchange. Otherwise, there is a 300$ core charge. We sand blast all frames at no extra charge. But, if we have to de-grease your frame first, there will be a 75$ charge.

The two piece, high performance design, 4-2-1 merge-collector header runs 530$ when purchased separately,(included in basic kit).

There are 2 main motor mounts and an adjustable rear floor mount at 330$, when purchased together. (included in basic kit)

The alternator bracket and tensioning assembly is 215$,(included in basic kit)

Special, 17-4 stainless steel track rods with rose (Heim) joints are 135$. (If you can not supply us with your stock track rods for modification, these special rods will be necessary). Teflon lined (maintenance free) Heim joints, with higher load ratings, are
available as an upgrade over the standard joints at 40$ the pair.

High strength (300,000 PSI tensile) axles are equal length and make the best choice for mating your VTEC Honda Differential to the Mini wheel CVs. 350$ the pair

The Mini pedal box conversion requires you send us your standard Mini box with pedals. This bolt-on set up allows twin Wilwood master cylinders to be mounted out of the engine compartment and under the dash using remotely mounted fluid reservoirs. Our system is less than half the price of other pedal box conversions, is light
weight and retains the stock pedal appearance. Choice of 5/8 or 3/4"master cylinder piston sizes for both brake and clutch. 385$ for the bolt in, pre-adjusted assembly. The non standard, Wilwood style, fluid inlet fittings included in price.

The all aluminum, custom cored radiator uses louvered, high count cooling fins and 1.5” tubes for maximum cooling in the space available. Price is 450$. Either pusher or puller electric fans can be used.

If you want us to do the oil pan corner patch for you, we charge 100$ plus 20$ shipping within the USA.

We recognize that some builders will have more skills than money or may just enjoy building your own stuff, so you may not need some of the above items. We offer any of the pieces separately.

Current back log............................................... ..2-3 weeks

Pricing summary:

The basic kit (everything to get the Honda eng. in your car), includes:
VTEC frame and modified track rods (heim joints added)..............1980$ + your cores
Upper motor/tranny mounts............................................ ..........……..330$
Alternator mount and tensioner assembly...................................…….215$
Custom exhaust headers .................................................. ..........…….530$
Modified tranny detent bolt, (clearanced).............................…….no charge + your core
Complete build instructions with corresponding photos.................included
Engine/tranny selection guide............................................. .....…...included
Total............................................. .........................................……….3055$

Additional items we offer for the conversion are:
Modified pedal box with wilwood master cylinders.....................…..385$ + your core
Chrome molly axles............................................. .......................…….350$
Stainless, high strength track rod upgrade, with std. heim joints.........135$
Maintenance free,Teflon lined Heim joint up-grade, …………………40$
Custom, Alloy radiator.......................................... ...............................450$

*No special intake manifold is required, nor is cutting & shortening of the stock runners.
*No extended front end is required
*No coil over shocks required
*No questionable changes to the Mini suspension geometry are required
*No relocating the front valence sheet metal to the front bumper
*No fender flares are required; (wheel track can be left standard width if desired)


My partner and I both have day jobs making more money than we do building these conversion kits. We don't expect to get rich building conversion kits for Minis. Our goal is to use our skills, machinery, and experience gained with our own swaps, to help other car guys that don't have our recources, to build a really top notch Mini power and tranny conversion at a decent price. we are always available for questions or advice on your build. We want to hear from our customers on their progress and finished results, and we are always open to suggestions on how to make the Alexander/Ramco conversion even better.

Steve Alexander and Kirk Ramsey
Alexander/Ramco Conversions

[steve]

Here is a better pic of the first Plug/play harnes that we shipped recently: click pic to enlarge

http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_6_009_1260259630_396935.jpg

[Mini fab]

http://www.vtecminis.com/files/posted_images/user_95_copy_of_civic_brake_on_mini.jpg

This pic is from the joltfreak site. Notice how far in the castle nut is, if you take off the outer spacer then you are looking at the rotor which is screwed (with those recessed flat head stubby screws) onto the drive flange the mini drum was bolted to originally. Again this is based on the drum setup. In fact I think the front drum setup is alot like the back. I guess one could stick disks back there also for another $100, not that they're needed as I had to dial down the pressure for the drums in the back as it is.
Todd

Was this brake set up safe?

[steve]

"Safe" is a relative word; You could rightfully say a Mini is not safe. On a low powered car or for conservative driving, I would say it is probably ok. but then under those conditions, the stock brakes would get the job done.

[Pepper]

Re: The joltfreak Brake conversion:

Seems like a tremendous waste of time & effort; in the end, the person that buys & builds that kit, will end up getting a "real mini" brake kit.

Hopefully he won't have hurt him/themselves in the meantime.
I can't stand it - WAKE UP! U must consider putting at least 10% of the cost of the conversion into life insurance --or at least "real" brakes.
These vtecs are a missile, or capable of being, & U R going cheap on the brakes -this borders on suicide or at the least, a death wish.
We won't even get into the issue of the scrub radius or the freaking bearing load on those tini tiny whl brgs -they were considered unusable 40 years ago &
now U have some HP.
Would U use/buy Kmart rope for mountain climbing? I doubt it.

------- And I am being nice & polite about this.
Speak to me.......

-pepper

[steve]

That's what I meant to say :wink:

[Mini fab]

So in short Tech GuruS scrap this Idea of conversion? By the way Steve are you sure the original Mini brake set up will work just fine on your B16 conversion? And Steve I hope you won't mind your frame is quite nice really gave me an inspiration on bend tubes in doing such frame but it seems ... I haven't seen any of your projects running or "Finish project" in any of of the builds, Just wondering? :wink:

[steve]

Yeah, I haven't seen any either, except mine. But then, there are not that many out there. Don't know yet if the brakes are up to track use, but I am sure they will be OK for highway use. The power is up but the speed limit is still the same. I plan on upgrading to Titanium 8.5" discs with 6 pot KAD calipers this spring, when Track Days start up. Also will be starting on our next Mini project; An ultra light Sprint with Mid engine Bike power, for my partners car. Can't wait!!!

[Mini fab]

Copy Bro! 8)