11 replies to this topic

[paulrockliffe]

9 Years after Jason arrived and over 6 after I made the monumental mistake of selling him, I've got another Minus!

I'm not sure what this one is called yet, but here are some pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn't really looking for another car as I've got a young child, another on the way and I've got a house to finish off, but these don't come up for sale very often, so I couldn't say no.  You can tell I wasn't looking as I've recently plumbed the sink into my workshop in front of the garage door, so the first job was to turn this:

 

 

 

Into this:

 

 

 

The workshop is now a complete tip, and it'll take a bit of work to get the sink plumbed properly again and I don't know what to do with the dryer as the vent is behind it and I don't want to knock a hole in the other wall, but NFR is now tucked in the corner out of the way.

 

He is a properly registered Austin Mini Minus, with a 1275 engine, recently MOT'd so he's legal as soon as I sort out insurance.  I bust my ankle up recently, and I can't use the throttle without a lot of pain, so there's no rush on this.

 

I'm not planning to do a great deal with him in the short term, part of getting sign-off from the wife was that I wouldn't let it side-track the house work, so I'll get in trouble if progress is too quick!  I'll find time to give him a proper once-over and make sure everything is OK and do any small jobs needed to make sure he's OK to go on the road.  The headlights keep turning themselves on, so there's something electrical to fix, the drivers door internal latch doesn't work and there's a lot of wiring that needs to be tidied up as there used to be a decent sound system in there.  The indicator stalks are loose on the column, which should be an easy fix.  Gear lever feels very loose, so there's something there to look at too.  Needs some mirrors fitting too.

 

Longer-term, the doors are shot, so they're to be replaced.  There's a few bits of bodywork to tidy up, so a respray is on the cards.  I'd like to get the bonnet sitting properly, though I'm not sure what my options are to lower the carb.  Jason had twins that sat under the bonnet, but I could never get them setup, so I'm scared of them.  Did sound awesome though!  

 

Needs a new dashboard, switches and clocks, I'll probably make something simple that brings the switches forward as they're a pain to operate where they are as you have to have the drivers seat a long way back.  Will replaces the seats etc too to get a bit lower and the seat belts are pretty old too, so they're to be swapped out.  Inside needs a general tidy, a parcel shelf, but is generally OK.

 

Anyway, generally just really excited and looking forward to having something to tinker with again.  I'll keep this thread updated as I do things, but don't expect loads of updates.  If anyone can think of a name, based on the number plate, I'm open to suggestions!

[Archived2]

Bought from Norwich... how's about 'Turnip'

[paulrockliffe]

Brief update, I gave him a proper once-over working round everything when I had a spare few minutes.  Fitted some mirrors, tightened a few bolts and reconnected a few wires and sorted out some insurance.  He's all good to go now, so I finally took him out for a spin last night.  I live on the edge of some very quiet roads, open countryside and awesome roads, but I wanted to take the first drive when it was quiet so I wouldn't have to bother with other traffic while getting the hang of it, so I managed to sneak out last night well after dark for half an hour.

 

Awesome!  It's ages since I've driven a Mini and when I last had them I was in Manchester and didn't venture much out of the city, so not used to open country roads.  Started off, felt mega mega quick, looked at the speedo and was doing 30mph!  Ventured up to 40 and was glad there was no traffic about as I was a rolling road block.  Once I'd got the hang of things, I made it up to around 50 or so but that was about the limit in the dark.  So much fun, I'd forgotten how these things feel to drive!  Totally awesome

 

I got to the bottom of the lights coming on at random - the main beam stalk switch isn't working right, it doesn't hold in position, so you have main beam all the time, unless you hold it in the middle.  Need to fix that before I go out again, as it's a bit of a menace if there's other cars about.  I also need to move the throttle pedal as a priority, it's cramping me up far too much because of the Minus body, which is odd as the brake and clutch are OK, but I'll have to find a way to lift it up.  It's got a tight spot too, so need to check the cable.  

 

And we've decided that he's going to be called Nigel.  

[paulrockliffe]

Since my last update I've managed to find the time to do a few little jobs:

 

New indicator stalk fitted; that's a pig of a job removing the steering wheel means removing the column, but once I'd figured that all out it was fairly easy.  The wheel isn't straight on the boss though, will need to pop that off again!

 

I've now got the car sat on axle stands while I do a few more bits and pieces over the next few weeks, wheels off and swapped the shocks for KYB Adjustarides.  Fairly straightforward, though getting the fuel tank out and back in took hours and a couple of jacks!  It's still not sat quite right either!

 

Taking the wheels off highlighted that one of the studs had had it's splines stripped when the nut was fitted, so now brake disc required.  Getting the last nut off involved making a mini-jack to jam between disc and stud head so the stud couldn't spin.

 

Removing the brake disc I managed to snap the brake caliper mounts - I reversed a stud to jam it against the caliper to undo the axle nut.  A 9' bar wouldn't shift the nut and the caliper mounts sheared instead!  So a new caliper to buy and fit now too.  In the end I smashed the nut off, so when the new nut arrives I can make a start.

 

The irony is that swapping the shocks I could have done with the wheels on, but the stud problem would have to be solved eventually.

 

Corrected the plumbing of the crank-case breather system and added a length of pipe to the carb fuel overflow so that it can't piss all over the exhaust

 

Last night I sent three hours removing the mechanical fuel pump!  The car has an electronic pump, so doesn't need the normal pump.  Last night I learned why the pump hadn't been removed, must be the most fiddly job I've had to do on a Mini, can't get a spanner in, had to use a socket, but you can't have the wrench too close or too far away from the bolt or you can't get any rotation on it!  In the end I used a socket for my impact driver with an adapter onto a wrench as it was the only thing I could get at the right length.  That setup gave me too clicks of the ratchet, a third click meant the curve of the pump pushed the wrench off the adapter, so it took ages to undo and one of the bolts being tight left my arm pretty sore!  

 

Anyway, it's off now and fitting the blanking plate should be relatively easy with out the pump getting in the way.

 

I've replaced the oil filler cap and the rocker cover gasket as both were leaking oil.  The rocker cover gasket was leaving where there was paint under the gasket, so I've scrapped that back and hopefully that should sort that leak.  Next job is to get the drive shafts out and replace those seals, do the gear box rod seal and then look to see where else is leaking.

 

I should be getting an alarm and a dashboard over Christmas, so the new year's job will be getting those setup and fitted, will be nice to be able to reach the switches from the seat!

[Northernpower]

Looks like a nice project. If you don't want to drill the wall for the tumble dryer vent just fit a condenser box on the end of the hose, like this one.

[paulrockliffe]

Thanks for the suggestion, I did come up with a better solution in the end though.

 

I realised that the front end is lower than the worktops and that I needed to bring the worktops around the corner anyway to give me a bit more work space.

 

So I drove Nigel in tight to the wall until the exhaust wasn't catching on the door, then put the tumble dryer in front of the car with a couple of spare inches and the worktop on top.  The worktop over-hangs the car by about a foot, and the dryer is now only a couple of feet from where it was and the hose can still be plumbed in.

 

That stops the car taking up loads of room and there's enough room that I can drive him in at an angle to be able to work on the car too.  Now I just need to re-plumb my sink and get some cupboards built and gumtree some stuff so I've room on the worktops to work!

[paulrockliffe]

I've not done loads over the last couple of months, but I have made some progress.  

 

Firstly I got the sink plumbed back in and the workshop tidied up properly and built a mezzanine loft above Nigel to get loads of stuff up out of the way and give me a bit more space to work.  Still more to do, but the workshop is getting there.

 

I bought a MIG welder recently with the intention of using it for general jobs until I'm good enough to think about tackling the doors.  In the meantime a former Minus owner got in touch as he'd sold a Minus but the buyer didn't want the doors and they'd been sat in his shed for nearly 10 years!  So a 10 hour round trip and £60 bagged me a pair of doors cut down ready and in great condition.  Eventually I'll find out what colour grey the car is and spray them up, they need the door bottoms welding a bit better as they're just tacked too.  Swap the doors and I can repair mine without any pressure.

 

I bought some Sparco Sprint seats, which I've started fitting.  They're a different spacing, so I decided to make some adaptors for the original frames as a starting point, once I've worked out exactly where I want them I'll knock up some better mounts, but the plan is to move the drivers seat towards the centre of the car, then fit the passengers seat around that as there's better leg room that way it's a bit more comfortable.  The first mount is made and just needs bolting back in the car, the second one just needs the seat offsets working out. to get that in.  Luckily I've got mounts for a harness bar already, so I'll be able to quickly add the harnesses too.

 

I've spotted another problem; the steering column is angled towards the driver, I don't know why, but moving the seat means I can move  the column mount and get it all a bit straighter.  JB Fabrication mount is on the way.

 

I've got an alarm system ready to go in, but I'm not touching that until I've got a new dashboard ready to fit.

 

Probably should look at oil-leaks next.....

[paulrockliffe]

Just realised it's been nearly a year since I updated the thread.  I've done quite a bit, though I've not looked at oil leaks yet!  I'll get some pictures up once I've finished what I'm up to at the moment.

 

I got the seats and harnesses in and tried (and failed) to undo the hi-los and correct the ride height.  I've bought some new ones for the rear and will cut out the old and have a look at sorting that in the next couple of months.  

 

I added a new steering column bracket and got that all mounted up nicely then I drove it for a while until it was MOT time.  Then it failed on te exhaust leaking and te CV joint gaitors being damaged.

 

I removed all the exhaust wrap and most of the exhaust fell to dust in my hands, which explained the leak quite well!  So new exhaust and manifold went on, a Fletcher side exit one.  I learned how to smack CV joints off an swapped the gaitors on and got though the MOT.  

 

Not done much since, but I started moving my switch panel after Christmas.  This is because you can't reach the switches from the seat, so I've made a box to sit next to the seat.  The job quickly spiraled as removing the dash revealed a horror show of wires!  I've stripped most of it out, added new earths in the boot, a switched fusebox behind the drivers seat and then a mix of switched and unswitched fuses behind the dash and new earths behind the dash.  I'm slowly working round everything running power to switches, into the existing loom and then moving all the earths.  I've got half of it working again, though I've still got some burnt wires to replace and relays to add to the headlights.

 

I've wired up the alarm and central locking kit that i got over a year ago, and I picked up a set of matching lock barrels after one of mine fell out, so the locks are to sort out next.  I'm also working on a new fuel tank and a few other bits, but as ever it's taking loner than is ideal.

 

Pics later.....

[minimissions]

Nice update, sounds like your getting on those jobs now, you got any more pics? :)

[paulrockliffe]

I will get some pics soon, I can't really take any interesting ones as it's all in bits in the corner, but when the wirings done I'll move it out and take some.

Doesn't look much different really as I've been sorting hidden bits mostly, I suppose I replaced the tape on the doors so that looks a bit neater now

[paulrockliffe]

Still no pics, but I'm making progress.

 

I've moved all the switches to a control box by my right hand and pretty much rewired most of the car to do it.  I've fitted new fuseboxes, behind the dash and behind the drivers seat, with permanent and switched lives and earths behind the dash and switched lives only behind the drivers seat.  The switched lives are run by two 200A relays switched from the key.  Everything else apart from the stalks runs from the new control box.  

 

I was intending to just hook the existing clocks up, but I came across some warning lights on eBay that were cheap so I made a panel of lights to go where the switches were and have moved all the lights over to that.

 

I fitted the alarm, but can't get it to do anything, so I need to look at that.  Not sure if it just needs new batteries int he transmitter or whether I've made a mistake with the wiring.  The central locking box clicks when I press it's reset button, so that seems to be working, but I can't get the alarm to chirp the siren, flash the indicators or flash it's LED.  Hope I've made a mistake as if the wiring diagram is wrong or the box is duff it'll take me ages to work that out!

 

I bought a cheap camera and screen to use instead of the rear-view mirror as the mirror doesn't show anything other than the tiny gap between the seats.  The difference is amazing!  I wired the reverse switch to a manual switch so you can flick it on and off if it's dark and the screen is irritating.  Need to mount the screen and unfortunately the camera proved to be too cheap and has failed already, so need to get another.

 

I've made a new seat base out of 70 x 50 box section that I had in the shed.  It's much more solid and better fixed than the tilters that were fitted and it's dropped the seat a couple of inches so my head is away from the roof.  That's all fitted and adjusted so the driving position is pretty good now, ideally the gear lever wants to come back an inch or two, but it works and I have a plan for that eventually.  Need to make a second one and put the passenger seat back in, but its easier to work on the car with it out, so that can wait.

 

Last night I finally lost my rag with the rear suspension and chopped one of the hi-los in half to get the suspension out.  Ended up with the sledgehammer on the trumpet trying to get it out of the cone and got nowhere.  I'm not sure if the cones are in good nick or not, they're squashed but still just about look OK, but I've ordered new cones and knuckles as nothing is everything is welded solid together.  So I should get my ride-height sorted this week, so long as I can get the petrol tank out without spilling fuel, if not I'll have to drive it a bit first to run the level down.

 

Things still to do for this winter's work:

 

Convert the headlights to relays

Get the alarm working

Get the camera working

Fit new rear cones etc

Adjust rear drums

Work out how to swap the alternator light to LED

Mount the choke cable

Tidy up the front loom and add the wiring for some spotlights.

Take some pictures!

 

There's quite a lot more still to work through, but realistically I need to get it back on the road and focus on my house/garden for a bit once I've got it all working again.  Can't wait to go for a drive again!

 

Oh, my plan for the gear-lever - I bought a lovely Nissan Micra 1.3GX, with just 40k on the clock!  Has a perfect service history and has been faultless apart from rust over he last 20 years, so the perfect car for a conversion.  And about the only swap that'll fit without bonnet modifications.  Just doing research at the moment, but the plan is loosely to get the engine etc out this year, strip the car for parts and get those on eBay so I can get the shell to the scrappy.  I've a huge pile of stuff to go on Gumtree/eBay so should be able to raise the funds for most of the other bits that way.  Once I know how much money I've got I'll start ordering bits and see how we go.  I expect the A-Series to be in for a few more years though.

[rich_959]

Name? Got to be Nefarious!