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#16 Purple Tom

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 09:09 PM

Did your pickup have foam filled cills? I dont know if it was standard but ive just have to dig it out of my cills.



Yes but i don't think it was a standard fitment, the foam was bits of chip shop chip trays cut up and pushed inside through a hole at the back of the sill, the hole was then bodged over with filler and mesh!!

it just wouldnt die!



I know the feeling, i took the fuel tank off mine, (which had 7 year old fuel in it), and was using the car as a drogue for testing what my dad's AA battery tester said were scrap batteries (ie, crank for 15 seconds and see what the voltage drop on the battery is). We were on the 4th battery (bearing in mind this 850 had not run since 1996, had no fuel tank and a carb full of C**p), happily cranking away, when the thing bloody started! Scared the c**p out of us because it has no exhaust so it sounded pretty loud! I'm sure it was just trying to tell us it still wanted to live! :D

I think my pickup was used like that, it was a farm hack till it failed its mot, then it sat in a barn.



Exactly the same as mine, mine was part of an ad for 3 scrap Minivans, but i managed to get the owner to split. It was in the shadow of Snowdon (literally!), and had been in a barn since '96, gathering dust and junk in the back!

I'm looking forward to this summer because i'm going to strip it down to a bare shell (its been under a tarp since last summer as the Clubby took priority), but this summer i'm going to ravage it and start putting it right!

Going to take some time.............................. :tongue:

Tom

#17 bluebottle

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 09:33 PM

mine was a farm hack as well before i bought it from out ely way, but yeah, its long dead now...i think(pve 399n was the reg), sold it to a bloke in newmarket for a tenner. you have to bear in mind this was about 12 years ago, and then it was just a cheap hack to get round in, the pick ups and vans weren't as desireable/trendy as they are now. you could pick up (no pun intended) a half tidy van or pick up for around £250 then.

#18 Pickup76

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 09:54 PM

Both my cills were full of expanding foam with filler pushed into the vents and down between the load bed and quarter panel. I think it was an attemp to keep the rust at bay, failed badly though as the foam is like a sponge.

My experience with neglected engines is the same, my pickup had spent 12 years in a barn and with a fresh battery it started even on the old fuel! Crazy!

Mines already bare shell and im just getting started this week! Been looking forward to getting forward to starting since christmas!

Yours doesnt look to bad, but has it been attacked with filler?

A decent one for £250! I wish, i paid £120 for mine and it needs a full restoration, at least its totally original and unmessed with.

#19 Purple Tom

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 09:57 PM

wish it was like that now, bloke wanted £500 for mine, reckoned he could get it MOT'd in a week. I knocked him down to £420 on account that the suspension was siezed, it had no brakes, the engine hadn't run for 7 years and the floor wasn't strong enough to support my weight!

He seemed to accept that and seemed glad to be rid of it! But £420!!!! I paid £225 for the Clubby, which just about made up for it i guess, even though it needed a fair amount of welding, it was a bargain in other ways.

#20 Purple Tom

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 10:01 PM

Yours doesnt look to bad, but has it been attacked with filler?



In some places yeah, like on the top of the rear side panels where stuff's been dropped on it, but to be fair the panels are 'reasonably' filler free. However, they aren't rust free, so either way they need doing!

I just wish they weren't such rust traps, when mine's finished its never going to go rusty, its going to be prepared so well before spraying, then treated with waxoyl every week! :D

Well, praps not every week, but i don't rust to claim it for many a year after its done!!

Have a look in the 'my projects' bit for what my plans are for it.

Is yours a 998 or an 850? I think the smaller engines are indestructable!

#21 Pickup76

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 10:10 PM

Ive just looked at your work list. Yikes! Are you going to build it up on a jig or something as your taking so much out?

At least the main bits of the body are sound on mine, i dont thnk id like to cange a heal board or a load bed!! abit to structural for me.

Im making a few mods to the cill and the load bed to make sure it doesnt rust away again. I dont think id cope if it was just as rusty in a few years time.

I think one of the main reasons it went rusty before was the paint. Mine had barely seen any, really thin, bring on the etch primer and 2 pack!

#22 Purple Tom

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 10:19 PM

the hardest thing to do will be the floor, what i'm planning on doing is welding some struts from the front bulkhead to sound places on the rear bulkhead, to act as braces when i take the floor off, as the heelboard and complete floor assembly needs to come off, so the braces will stop it collapsing in on itself. I think i'll start at the front and work my way back, so it gradually gains strength as it continues. Once the floor is done I can concentrate on the load bed repairs, and then finally the side panels and rear valance etc.

#23 Pickup76

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 10:25 PM

Sounds like a good plan to me as long as the struts are nice and strong.
I started with the floor so it will be sound too. I want it to be ok to move around so i can take it to the restoration class im doing.
Anyway better sign off got A level business exam tomorrow.

Good luck with the project keep me updated.

#24 Purple Tom

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Posted 23 June 2004 - 10:34 PM

You too mate, hope your exam goes well tommorrow!!

#25 Pippy

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Posted 24 June 2004 - 12:12 PM

Also, with this discussion of tyres, i would DEFINITELY go for the Yokohama A008 for both wet and dry use.  I think they only do them in 10", but they are absolutely fantastic!  With my old Camac tyres it would aquaplane and understeer at the first sign of moisture in the air, but with these they grip, and then lose it controllably and predictably, they really are good.

Must get hold of some of those Yoko's, I am on 10" Camac's at the mo and I know what you need mean about aquaplaning!!!!

Nice to meet someone else on 10" wheels tho!!!!

:grin:

#26 Pickup76

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Posted 24 June 2004 - 09:57 PM

Ill be on 10"ers when my pickup is on on the road. Think ill stay clear of the camacs, dont like the idea of aqua planing!

#27 Purple Tom

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Posted 24 June 2004 - 10:16 PM

The Yoko's are 100% worth the investment, a lot of the time tyres are ignored as an aspect in handling, but you can have all the diddley shiney suspension bits in the world they still won't keep your tyres gripping the road any longer!

And 10" wheels rock, they're the best way to go!!

#28 Pickup76

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Posted 24 June 2004 - 10:22 PM

Yeh tires make a big difference, the tires on my mondeo had done so many miles and were really bald but they gripped and gripped. I had to change them for the mot and put some cheapies on. Now it scates all over the place and handles generally C**p! Wish i spent the extra pennies.

10s look best and make the mini handle best! What more do you want.
Im going for Wellers i think.

#29 Cooperman

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Posted 24 June 2004 - 10:55 PM

Yikes a 1293 in a pickup i bet that will go some, pickups are quite abit lighter than the standard mini. Mines gona be totally stripped out but i want to keep the standard 998 for insurance. Im gona put a MG metro 1275 cylinder head on it though and bore it a few thou but i want the engine to look pretty standard. They'll never know!

Sounds like you've got your work cut out, how much have you done?
Did your pickup have foam filled cills? I dont know if it was standard but ive just have to dig it out of my cills.

If you're going to fit a 1275 Metro head, that's a 12G940 casting, be a little careful. You have to machine pockets in the block to get the valves to clear the edges of the smaller bores. The 940 head has much smaller combustion chambers too, so make sure you do the compression ratio calculations accurately or you could have a big problem. The best head for a 998cc block, to avoid all the messing about with the 12G940, is the 998 Cooper head from 1964 onwards. The casting is 12G295. It's a lovely casting, but quite rare. Use flat top pistons and machine about 0.030" from the head and you'll be about right. You can fit slightly larger valves as well.
Whilst the engine is out to do the pistons, why not change the cam to something like a Kent Megadyne 266. It really suits the 998 with the 295 head, especially with a single 1.75" SU carb. on a nice manifold. If set-up nicely, this should give about 60 to 65 bhp at the flywheel and be very tractable.

#30 Cooperman

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Posted 24 June 2004 - 11:08 PM

Yes, 10" wheels are definately best on any road going Mini and the Yoko 008's are very good in most conditions except mud or snow.
They seem to handle best on 4.5" or 5" wide wheels - certainly no wider.
The only problem with the Yoko's is that the levels of grip in the dry, and to some extent in the wet, are so good that if you get a sudden surface change it can get a bit tricky.
I rolled my Cooper 'S' on a rally in Wales when we used a tarmac road into a gravel forest road which went onto mud. The Yoko's were OK on the tarmac, even though it was wet, then on the gravel it was sliding about reasonably OK, but on arrival at a tightening left hander with a drop off the right hand side it just would not turn in and we slid off to the outside, down onto the roof about 12 ft below road level.
We were winning at the time, though, but to finish first, first you gotta finish!
Also, don't lower a road going Mini as it reduces the suspension travel too much and ruins the road holding on everything except really smooth tarmac. The most important settings are the track and camber of the rear suspension. It must toe-in between 3/16" and 1/8" and have zero to 0.5 degrees negative camber on the back.




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