108 replies to this topic

[george91]

Nice one mate, good to see another rio on the road, although just like mine there isn't much rio left, keep up the good work.

george

[adam_93rio]

Nice one mate, good to see another rio on the road, although just like mine there isn't much rio left, keep up the good work.

george

i still have a lot of rio let in her, ive still got the original interior in good nick, (in my bedroom) lol
i dont use them because being limited i dont want them to wear out, they go in for big shows and runs tho,
theyll be in for the london to brighton this year

i really like yours aswell tho, been looking at your project thread its coming on well

[george91]

Nice one mate, good to see another rio on the road, although just like mine there isn't much rio left, keep up the good work.

george

i still have a lot of rio let in her, ive still got the original interior in good nick, (in my bedroom) lol
i dont use them because being limited i dont want them to wear out, they go in for big shows and runs tho,
theyll be in for the london to brighton this year

i really like yours aswell tho, been looking at your project thread its coming on well

Ahh thats good, when i bought mine it had none of it left and the owner had got rid of it, wish i still had it at times, its geat you still have yours. And thanks my projects early days but its a long term project, i'll update it when i do something major, but weathers not good atm and i have to work outside, good luck with the project i'll keep a look out for the next update.

Edited by george91, 24 March 2010 - 12:37 PM.

[adam_93rio]

ok been out in the garage for a little while tonight, still forgot the picture of the wheel brace tho, im tempted to put another few coats on it first tho

ive changed the ht leads for the new ones i bought a while back, and cleaned the wether shield back up and refitted, checked all fluids while i was under there.
i was about to check tyre pressures and adjust my idle speed screw but got rained off ( picture tomoro)

decided a while back that i wanted a standard rocker cover back on so i set about cleaning up the original one that i still had
so got some pictures:
getting it back out of the box the alloy one came in


removed cap and old seal, the rubber bungs got taken out after


i gave it a quick clean with parrafin to degrease (also shows the rubber bushes taken out)


then started to clean with the grinder and a flappy sanding disc


once all cleaned i give it a coat of kurust all over (just in case and my dad had a bit spare i needed to use up)


if i get a chance tomorrow i will give it a couple of coats of primer and choose a colour for it, it should only be a temporary paint job untill i respray my car, but all this is a secret

[adam_93rio]

riiight then, bit of a big step here

got the 'damage to the fibreglass front end sorted by stiffening it up a bit
so, the front end as it sat


slight crack in the front from storage, (will get a new front end later in the year)


so bought a fibreglassing kit and cut into strips ready


and stengthened the back of the crack


i decided to strengthen the 'slam panel' as it seems quite fragile


got nicole to start stripping the front end down, (in the rain lol)


even got her to put it all in a box instead of spreading it out on the drive


then we both painted the inside of the front end in bitumen


so yesterday after work i had an hour or so on the car

removed the arches and bumper, and unbolted the front subframe mounts


the got to work with the grinder,


and thats how i left her yesterday, before covering her up to keep warm

today i may get on with it and have the a panels off, clean the rest of the wings off then get the new a panels on

if i get enough time for all of that, i might start to bolt the front on!!

[adam_93rio]

bit of an update,

got outside and finished cutting the excess of the wings off and got one lip ground down flat and then got rained off

so i have come back inside and will have to do it in the morning

[adam_93rio]

another quick update, around half 7 it got slightly sunny again and stopped raining, so i went outside to get the grinder out once again
ground the remaining lip off where the wings once were. ive left it double thickness

then scott arrived and help lift the fibreglass front into place, it fits well but still needs a little bit of trimming

i didnt bother with cutting the rest off as it had gotten dark and the wiring loom is close by, so i will have another update with pictures tomoro

ive also decided (thanks to scott) that im not going to bother fitting the a panels untill summer when i can get the doors off and not worry as much about the rain getting in

[scoticus]

haha.. thats meeee!!!!!

good plan though

[BenH]

Nice project you've got mate. Might get to see you at London to Brighton as long as mine is ready! Keep up the hard work

[adam_93rio]

Nice project you've got mate. Might get to see you at London to Brighton as long as mine is ready! Keep up the hard work

thanks, i was there last year so i should make it, just gotta get my dad and sisters finished in time. if you see us come say hi!

[adam_93rio]

right then, been on the car quite a bit this weekend, shes almost back on the road... almost

just got a couple of pictures to show todays progress, will take a few extras of individual bits some other time

so, the front end being bolted in place


ive been struggling with wheel clearance so will need to make it a bit higher at one side

not too bad on this side but forgot about taking a picture of the other side

and how ive left her after many hours swearing and freezing


the bonnet is just rested on top to protect electrics, everyting is still connected


also, has anybody removed the charcoal filter crap from under the passengers wing? do i just block off all the pipes now its gone?

[adam_93rio]

ok got some done after work tonight, i really wasnt happy the other day with the quality of the firbreglass front ive got. ive no idea who made it but its a terrible fit, the wings on it wouldnt lin eup with the a panels at all, and round the scuttle took some working aswell. and i thought the steel panels were a pain!!
anyway...

first thing was to make a bracket up to hold the wings to the a panels

i did make some new a panels with mountings welded on but i have gone a different way with it now

i went on a hunt to find the fibrglass bonnet, (can you spot it?)


took a picture to show the fixing for the wings


and used a peice of angle iron mounted to the existing hinges for the bonnet pins


this shows the hinge down how it will sit and masking up on the wings


i marked where the brackets were then put the bonnet in place and drilled through, then used a special drill bit to elongate the holes, then drilled the brackets through and bolted pins in place
showing the pin hole, and marked holes for the top plates


and the pin mounted


i decided i would want the back of the bonnet raised, and i could do this by just unscrewing the threaded bar, however it vibrated as it wasnt a tight fit.
so out came the thinking caps
hmmm


sorted


for the slow ones out there, i cut the rubber seal off some old ht leads, this then pushed over the threaded bar and although it was quite a snug fit, i decided to put a nut behind it to make sure when i push down on the bonnet to secure the pins, i dont push the rubber down too

this rasied the bonnet lovely


and this is how she was left tonight


you can see at the front i have started to mount the spring hooks but i had no nuts and bolts small enough to mount the othe half
so tomoro i should be off to the bolt shop to get that sorted, then i should refit the indicators (need to do some soldering for the earth) and reconnect and align the headlights. gotta find a way of fitting the number plate untill i get stick on ones
im thinking if i can mount it sort of in front of the alternator i can get away with no grille for a bit till i get one off scott

oh, also need to trim the wings to get wheel clearance and refit the arches (staying with standard ones for now, untill funds allow for group 2's!

Edited by adam_93rio, 06 April 2010 - 08:02 PM.

[camp freddy]

ok got some done after work tonight, i really wasnt happy the other day with the quality of the firbreglass front ive got. ive no idea who made it but its a terrible fit, the wings on it wouldnt lin eup with the a panels at all, and round the scuttle took some working aswell. and i thought the steel panels were a pain!!
anyway...

first thing was to make a bracket up to hold the wings to the a panels

i did make some new a panels with mountings welded on but i have gone a different way with it now

i went on a hunt to find the fibrglass bonnet, (can you spot it?)


took a picture to show the fixing for the wings


and used a peice of angle iron mounted to the existing hinges for the bonnet pins


this shows the hinge down how it will sit and masking up on the wings


i marked where the brackets were then put the bonnet in place and drilled through, then used a special drill bit to elongate the holes, then drilled the brackets through and bolted pins in place
showing the pin hole, and marked holes for the top plates


and the pin mounted


i decided i would want the back of the bonnet raised, and i could do this by just unscrewing the threaded bar, however it vibrated as it wasnt a tight fit.
so out came the thinking caps
hmmm


sorted


for the slow ones out there, i cut the rubber seal off some old ht leads, this then pushed over the threaded bar and although it was quite a snug fit, i decided to put a nut behind it to make sure when i push down on the bonnet to secure the pins, i dont push the rubber down too

this rasied the bonnet lovely


and this is how she was left tonight


you can see at the front i have started to mount the spring hooks but i had no nuts and bolts small enough to mount the othe half
so tomoro i should be off to the bolt shop to get that sorted, then i should refit the indicators (need to do some soldering for the earth) and reconnect and align the headlights. gotta find a way of fitting the number plate untill i get stick on ones
im thinking if i can mount it sort of in front of the alternator i can get away with no grille for a bit till i get one off scott

oh, also need to trim the wings to get wheel clearance and refit the arches (staying with standard ones for now, untill funds allow for group 2's!

oooh, what are the mk1 /2 doors for...

[adam_93rio]

the mk1 doors are for my dads mk1, his project thread is here, which is long overdue an update
http://www.theminifo...p;#entry1758779

[adam_93rio]

bit more of an update!

my dad went to the bolt shop and got me some small nuts n bolts, youll understand what the washers are for soon


passenger side on


drivers side


figured these would be under a bit of tension and didnt want them ripping through the bonnet, so the big washers were drilled to match the hooks

then bolted through to spread the weight

and found a memoir of the previous owner




as im planning on getting a multiplug some time so the front end can just unplug in one fair swoop, i just cut the bad bit out, twisted together and soldered

then were heatshrunk afterwards

looking mean!! with the hooks on and raised bonnet


i love this shot but i had to cover the wheels up, thats just asking for my licence to be taken


i fastened the arches in place then when i took them off i cut just below the mounting holes to give extra clearance, then i hollowed out the inside of the arches but forgot to take a picture

also, while i had the soldering iron out i soldered the earth connection to the passenger side indicator (the drivers side has gone too now grr)


so last night i got everything sorted and set off for a test drive


only to find that i couldnt rev passed 2K rpm under load. something was up and i thought it had something to do with the removal of the charcoal filter
i sorted that out tonight with a lot of head scratching, the whole thing doesnt do anything. and i had the vacuum advance from the distributor to carb as you should. then everything else is supposedly blocked off. DONT BELEIVE THIS!! the vacuum does need to go straight from the dizzy to carb and everything else blocked except the left hand side of the carb (front pipe) which goes to the breather on clutch housing, still needs to be connected. with that sorted i can now drive again! went up to the garage where my sisters mini is to find this all out, while i was there i ordered a new tyre which will be fitted when i go for the MOT sometime this month

so this is how she stands at the moment


(ignore my dad in the background, must of been seeing how long he can stand on one leg for when i took the picture)

Edited by adam_93rio, 09 April 2010 - 05:22 PM.