Took a nice drive out to the Franschhoek Motor Museum with some friends on Wednesday. The Mini drove super well, apart from wanting the stall (the idle was a little bit low) and a crunch when shifting down into second (more on this later).
Some of the cool cars at the Museum.
Here are some pictures of the Mini during the engine removal and gearbox swap.
Fixed engine steady bracket.
Damaged water pump bypass.
The engine all shiny and clean with a re-cored radiator and the breathers plumbed in.
Got the reflectors on, so the front looks correct again.
Rear parcel shelf speakers look just right in the car.
I rather like this little parcel shelf and the radio fitted under the switch panel. I sourced some fascia panels and I need to get those mounted so that the radio is secured under there.
Now, back to the gearbox. Took it to Stuart to have the breather pipes fitted and the idle raised. We took it for a drive and he confirmed that the synchro is second gear is stuffed. Which is a shame, because they were brand new items purchased and used in the rebuild. He's already said I can bring the car in in the new year and we'll get it sorted. It doesn't really affect the driving of the car on the upshifts, and if you blip the throttle on the downshift, the shifting is mostly ok. So going to continue enjoying the Mini until next year rolls around :)
