836 replies to this topic

[Steve220]

ahh man I am sooo jealous!

Where did you get your door rubber grommet from as I need to do the same to my MPI. Which central locking kit did you get? I was planning on the A-series one as it links to the Rover alarm fob

Q

 

Hi James,

 

Don't be, there's still a lot of work to do before i'm happy with it completely. The grommets are actually VW Mk1 golf boot grommets. They were £20 new delivered. The issue i've come across is where i've drilled holes for it to go, its double skinned and the grommet themselves are designed for single. Some minor tweaking with a hot Stanley knife has sorted that issue though. I've used the minispares kit and 5AS link harness they do. I'm not impressed with A-series spares at the moment; they owe me money.

[jamesquintin]

oooh, ok touched a nerve there... ;)

[Alice Dooper]

ahh man I am sooo jealous!
Where did you get your door rubber grommet from as I need to do the same to my MPI. Which central locking kit did you get? I was planning on the A-series one as it links to the Rover alarm fob

Q

That’s the kit that I fittedand have it linked to the key fob. It’s a good job,

[Steve220]

oooh, ok touched a nerve there... ;)

I dont like any company thats happy to take money from a customer but takes their time to give it back.

[Steve220]

Yes, you've guessed it!

 

One of the biggest annoyances I've always found with the Mini's bonnet is their annoying nack to bend down the side. As i'm fitting minivation hinges, and refuse to pay the extortionate amount for their 'reinforcement bars', i made my own and bonded them to the bonnet :)

 

Template for depth

 

 

Cut out and bent to go round the double skin part

 

 

 

Ground all old paint off, sprayed and bonded on

 

 

 

 

Next are the reinforcement plates for the front subframe. First I refitted it. Found out very quickly that it didn't fit properly and the body took some careful working with a wooden mallet to get it comfortably on.

 

 

With all but the rear mounts on, i made a template

 

 

Cut out and test fitted. Really pleased with these!

 

 

I made some minor adjustments before I finally bond/weld/bolt these on, so standby for updates!

 

Next were the fuel pipes. These have been sat for ages gathering dust but are straight (which is a relief) although have a bit of minor corrosion. Stripped back, primed, underseal sprayed and sprayed black.

 

 

 

Finally managed to get hold of a Rover turbo oil return pipe. When it arrived it had a few dents that with a bit of heat and some socket extension bars, I brought back into shape to work! The next stage involved refitting the head, the turbo, doing some lining up and drilling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I get too many questions - The swarf was managed by a large lump of play-doh on the inside of the gearbox, nothing got further into the casing than that! And my nephew now is in a mood with me The return sits around 2" above the oil level and importantly, below the windage tray. It will be bolted from the inside-out using aerotight nuts on the outside. Before fitting the gearbox to the block, I will plug the hole in the gearbox case and fill with oil to check for leaks as the last thing I want to do is pull it all apart to gain access to the bolt heads 

 

That's about it for now!

Edited by Steve220, 30 December 2017 - 04:16 PM.

[mini13]

cool, how are you going to flatten off the casing to get a seal against the pipe?

[Steve220]

cool, how are you going to flatten off the casing to get a seal against the pipe?

 

It's flatter than it looks. I've got a dry fitment at the moment it hasn't leaked on initial test. For the final it'll be block-RTV-gasket-RTV-flange.

[mini13]

I'd be tempted to flash a sandinw cheel across just to take off the high spots, but thats jsut me.

[Steve220]

Might give it a go!

[Steve220]

Taken the clamps off the bonnet today, it's much stiffer! Surprisingly so! Which is good :)

 

The last thing i'm going to tat with before the new year is the alignment of the front subframe to the rest of the car. This was something I was dreading as not sure what to do if its way out. I got a square dowel pole that I am happy is straight (visually) and threaded it through the CV holes in the subframe, it was then measured off to the front subframe in a few places and clamped in place.

 

 

 

So after fitting the arches (again) and doing measuring against the bulkhead, flitch panel, front panel and arches themselves it seemed to be a bit too far forward on the O/S. Not by a lot, say around 3-4mm. I always thought this side was off when i fit the frame the other day, so undid the top bolt, stuck a shim in the teardrop mount and its now about 2mm out in the worst area. Putting another shim in takes some measurements way out of what I would call a 'happy tolerance'. So that's where i'm leaving it until mid next month!

[GraemeC]

Some good thinking here, but isn't putting your toe-board reinforcement between the toe-board and the subframe mounts counter-intuitive to trying to perfect the alignment?  You've effectively just shimmed that out by a good couple of mm and hence raised the front panel.  I've always put that strengthening on the inside. 

[Steve220]

Some good thinking here, but isn't putting your toe-board reinforcement between the toe-board and the subframe mounts counter-intuitive to trying to perfect the alignment?  You've effectively just shimmed that out by a good couple of mm and hence raised the front panel.  I've always put that strengthening on the inside. 

Hi Graeme,

I see why youre saying, however there is movement in the rear mounts, enough to slide the plate in behind.

[Steve220]

So happy new year all!

 

So cracking on with all that is mini!

 

First was the rear panel where the boot lid mounts, it has never been straight since it got back so slit it open with a 1mm cutting disk and began to see what i could do. I removed all the seam sealant to find rust underneath it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not perfect, and frankly I think i'll just leave it to Sleaford Mini Centre to sort it for me.

 

Next was the upper arms now they're back from paint!

 

 

 

ps - I'm aware the hardware is backwards in the next photo

 

 

After experimenting with the oil return feed on the gearbox, i've decided to cut my losses and just put a weld on boss onto it! That'll be welded on this week :)

 

[Steve220]

Trying to make the car a bit more OE

 

 

So onto a bit more of the engine! Surfaces cleaned up, O ring and half moon seal installed and bolted together!

 

 

Well wasn't happy with the rover oil return so got the AN10 boss welded on. Its not a pretty weld, but its bloody strong! And that's what counts.

 

 

 

 

The cam shaft sensor plug hole was tapped and plugged

 

 

 

Timing cover installed and cam timed up! This took about an hour as kept going over and over and over again to make sure it was right! Happy now :)

 

 

Then found out my KAD water pulley is 6mm out from lining with the crank. Put the standard water pulley on and it lines up perfectly Really liked that KAD one too.

 

 

Also trial fit the minivation mk3 hinges. Was expecting great things for these, bit disappointed by the amount of movement they have when locked. The bonnet sits up at the back but i can take up the slack with the rear bonnet seal.

 

 

[Midas Mk1]

In terms of the pulley, could try a different pump. Ive had pumps where the mating flange is a different offset,  to the one I've take off, where its not been pushed as far / or further onto the shaft.

 

Looking great though, one thing I've spotted in the last pic is the arch looks a little low for the side repeater compared to some sportspacks (just looked at mine)

 

Bet you can't wait for paint, such a good feeling building a freshly painted shell up