This mod will only apply if you are a large economy size stocky dude, like me. Ever since I got my MINI the left downtube has always bothered me. It just kept me from putting my right leg where I wanted it. I kept wanting to lay my leg over to the right just a little bit.

So I carved out a scoop of the tube and made it more comfy. This mod has made my driving comfort a totally different world. Best thing I have done yet. Really feels nice. Note, this mod is still in Beta testing but I think the shape is what I want. Now I just need to remove it again and do the final finish (paint still a little crude).

YD

 

damn, nice job.

 

Yo'sDad...Whoa...really nice work! Did you just repaint the whole down-tube? How bout the right one...same paint, to match?
What's the next Ergo Mod?

 

Thanks, but if you saw it in person you'd say it still had a pretty crude finish. Right now, I'm just going to drive it more and try to find some paint that is a better color and texture match to the right one. It is easy to pull out, sand, paint and put back. If I don't find a good enough match, then I'll paint the right one to match.

But what I'm so happy about right now is that it feels so good.... I'll deal with the paint later.

YD

 

That's some really fine fabbin' skills right there!
Very nicely done!

 

did you just sand it down? well done!

 

There's a lot more work to it than that cause the tubes are hollow.

Looks great

 

If there is enough interest, I'll post some progress pics.

YD

 

Nice job! I vote for pics. I'm not xtra large in size but after a full day of driving my right leg is sore from leaning up against that downtube.

 

I don't have a pic of every step by this is simple enough that I think I can explain it.

First I put water on my jeans in the right calf area and then mashed my leg against the downtube. I then took a pencil and drew a crude oval around the wet part and expanded it a bit and made it conform to rigorous compositional alignments and organic shape according to Renior and Van Gogh's teachings.

I then took a grinding wheel on a high speed dremel sort of tool (much larger) and ground out the cut out piece and got it pretty close to the shape I thougth I wanted.

I sanded the edges and reinstalled it in the car and sat, then drove, then removed and reshaped and sanded, about three iterations till it was right.

With the shape correct and the edges smooth I applied duct tape (quack, quack) over the front side to make the shape I wanted and filled the inside with rattle can foam from Home Depot. I think there is better foam for this job if I ever do it again. This stuff (Great Stuff) didn't work like I remembered. It didn't get hard like a year old marshmello, it stayed soft.

The purpose of the foam was to make a support for the subsquent fiberglass layer. I cut, soaked, applied and painted two layers of fiberglass.

I then trimmed the fiberglass and started sanding (a lot of sanding. After sanding, the shape was close but not smooth, so then I applied two coats of bondo with a lot of sanding. Eventually, it was smooth and I put some silver paint on it, then sanded and painted more.. I still looking for the right color and texture of the paint, so this project is not finished. Here are some pics.

I don't have any sanded pics or bondo pics. One note, the fiberglass mixing and curing part will get you a quick divorce, it stinks and will penetrate your whole house, so do this outside and it needs to be warm to cure.

YD

 

YD,
Are those the silver downtubes I sold you? Very cool project!

 

Yes, I finally got around to doing it. Sorry I cut up your tube, but now a part of your MINI is now part of my MINI... does that make us related???? hehe Remember, I live in TN, so it doesn't take much.

YD

 

Thanks for the pics. Plenty of info there, although I'm not sure about the Renoir - VanGogh part. I wonder if Georgia O'Keefe ever did any bondo work on those skulls she painted?

 

Hey Dad, I'll tell you what, that's some of the neatest 'home engineering' I've seen in some time. I wish I had a tenth of your talent. Then again, maybe not, I'd be making too much stuff, and never get anything done! Great work.

 

Wow. I want one of those! But I have no fiberglassing skills. Any chance you'd turn that into a production process? I'd buy 1 in a heartbeat (assuming the price was reasonable). I'd even send my current downtube back to you as a core for the next one.

 

dang..! nice work.

 

I've got the same issues....that damn downtube feels so awkward there.

 

Amen to that!!
Being 6'8", that's the only area that gives me any discomfort. This could really be marketed as the "Tall Dude Tube"!
Great Work!!
Jim

 

You did a great job. I would paint both downtubes in black crackle paint.

 

That. Is. Awesome.

And ditto, this is a PRODUCT opportunity for SOMEBODY...
I would buy one...

And I understand the motivation. My emergency rations for the next ice age (known to most people as my "thighs") do not allow my legs to stick forward in that unnatural, eh, parallel arrangement...

 

If'n I got crazy and started making them, how many orders do you think I might get and what sort of price would be acceptable? There was a lot more time in labor than I would have guessed. Of course, once I get the procedure optimized and do several at one time, sort of an assembly line, it would get quicker.

The price would need to include your old tube as a core.

It would also make it easier if I just primed them and let the future owner paint them whatever color they wanted. Leather covering, or the fitting of a small, thin leather pad over the cut area would look and feel nice too.

Just thinking out loud. I need another job to take on... I only work one full time and two part time jobs right now... getting bored, hehe.

Mayhaps I could make a dozen or so and take them to the Dragon????? Getting the cores at a reasonable price (not retail from MINI) might be the problem.

If anyone wants to sort of get the feeling, just take the tube out and drive it that way for a couple of days.... it'll spoil you, I promise. Actually, my cut out tube is more comfy than no tube at all.

YD

 

Whoa...for a second there, I thought you had cut up your femur

 

YD, great mod and good work on the fab. I would DEFFINATELY buy those from you. I would want 2 though, one for each side.

BTW, other than the cup holder, do you really need the downtubes?

 

Count me in on a pair. Nice work!

 

Iiiiiinteresting... Not sure I LIKE it, but...

Iiiiiiinteresting...