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Cliff Bruning races his '57 Minor in the Pre-65 class in New Zealand.
Racing under the River Rat Racing banner Cliff's Minor runs a 1622cc B-series engine that has seen some extensive modification. It now sports big valves and a 45mm Weber carb, and the head is fully ported. The block has been bored to 1650cc to take Mitsuibushi pistons and home-made H-section conrods. There's also a nitrided crank, an alloy flywheel, electric waterpump, 6-point roll cage, and Spax adjustable shocks on all corners. Braking is by Triumph Herald discs and a Morris Oxford diff is driven by a Ford close-ratio (bullet) gearbox.
It does in excess of 110mph.
All glasswork has been replaced with polycarbonate for extra lightness.
But the most important feature of all (because you cant take these things seriously) is a seriously loud flame job!
Cliff is the one in the middle of the picture and the girl is his girlfrend. The other guy is Cliff's crew who also races an XM Falcon Coupe when he can. The B-series engine is heavy but can be lightened by replacing the steel engine plates with alloy. The 1622 is lighter than the 1800 and also revs better than the 1800.
These pics were taken in Invercargill. The guy that did the flames on Cliff's car used to race a Minor at the Nelson beach races and in Christchurch 35 years ago.
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