Nickaford 31 Posted January 16, 2021 I’m still looking out for a new project - my interest has been piqued by looking at a Mini Cooper M-03 on EBay (missed out on it!). I have come across the FF02 chassis - there is an old thread on here which discussed the differences between the 2 - mainly the wheelbase. What I am wondering is - if you leave out the chassis extenders for the FF02 (parts D3 and D4), does that make the chassis the same wheel base as the M-03? Reason is - I fancy a Mini Cooper body but they need the short wheelbase - and there aren’t a whole lot of M-03s out there! Thanks in advance Nick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mad Ax 9313 Posted January 16, 2021 Essentially yes - the FF02 is a M03 with a long spacer in the middle and the suspension arms from a TL01. You can easily convert one into the other if you have the right parts. If you wanted to fit the Mini Cooper body (assuming it is the Rover mini body and not the later BMW one) then removing the spacer will give you the correct wheelbase. The BMW Mini is slightly longer than the Rover and a lot shorter than the FF02, and it needs a different spacer to achieve that. Also you will need to source M03 suspension arms, track rods and driveshafts, and if memory serves, either the front or rear shocks are slightly longer on the FF02, so they would need to be modified also (it is probably a case of changing the shock eyes from long ones to short ones but off the top of my head I can't remember.) It wasn't long ago when the world was full of M03s - I guess people have been buying them up recently. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nickaford 31 Posted January 16, 2021 Thanks Mad Axe - do you think the Rover Mini Cooper (the real one!) body would fit on the shortened FF02 without the changes to the suspension arms etc or are those changes essential for the fit? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sosidge 624 Posted January 16, 2021 3 minutes ago, Nickaford said: Thanks Mad Axe - do you think the Rover Mini Cooper (the real one!) body would fit on the shortened FF02 without the changes to the suspension arms etc or are those changes essential for the fit? They're essential as the FF-02 is much wider than a mini. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DayRider 311 Posted January 16, 2021 They lots of M05's out there if you want a FWD chassis, and it's a great platform. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
