FrankenMini
In 2002 I bought one of the first run of "new" MINIs, 6 months later I was competing in my first SOLO2 (autocross) event. Two months after that I was doing my first driving school at a real race track. I was SERIOUSLY bitten by the track bug. 2.5 years went by in which time I had done more lapping days than I can remember. I had also managed to come 3rd overall in the 2003 (my first year doing solo2) and 2004 Trillium BMW Club Autocross and at this point wanted more.

It was at this time, spring of 2005, I started searching for a purpose built race car. Not having the garage space for 3 cars (MINI, racecar and family hauler) I sold my 2002 JCW MINI Cooper S. I gave up driving a MINI every day and moved to driving a Minivan every day in order to have a true toy, talk about commitment. After having looked at all sorts of cars as a track weapon from BMW e30 and Porsche 944's nothing was "connecting" with me. I wanted something unique, something people would remember, something fast.

I LOVE Minis and my family has a long relationship with the brand. My dad, Sid Monaghan, raced a Cooper S back in the late 60's. So when I came across a 1967 Mini Countryman (Aka Estate) hence forth called FrankenMini it was more or less "love at first sight." The car was in pretty rough shape having sit for 2 years before I got my hands on it. The previous owner and builder had come down with an illness so was looking to sell the car. The car was in far worse shape than my original plans had called for, I was looking for something near turn-key, I wasn't looking for a project car. But as the saying goes, sometimes you choose a (race) car and sometimes it chooses you. FrankenMini choose me.

FrankenMini
This website documents everything that it has taken to get FrankenMini ready for competition. The "build" took 2 years starting on April 4th, 2005 and "ending" May 5th, 2007 with the first Solo2 event. 18 Months into the build I had the original builder, Paul Plunket of Breadbox Racing, now healthy again, help me speed up this rebuild process. I was tired of building and wanted to RACE!

The plan is to start with Solo2/autocross events and progress to SOLO1/SoloSprint as soon as I believe the car is ready. I like driving the big tracks so SOLO2 is purely a jumping point for me to sort the car and get it ready. This "about" update is effectively being written at the end of the "build" phase, the website will now shift to the driving and competition phase where I will document every race, every run, and every event the car and I compete in.

Wish us luck! :)


Here are the specs to FrankenMini: