136 replies to this topic

[Monstrous]

looking good mate , would you recommend the suspension as i thinking im going convert but some of the other sites , there prices seem abit steep to be honest.also what do you get in the kit exactly? cheers
ollie

Well i honestly couldn't comment, having not actually driven the car with the coilies in

So im experimenting with them, but i have heard good things about them, so im hoping for the best

[Monstrous]

Made the most of the nice weather yesterday and sat out in the garden and rebuilt my HIF44 turbo carb







Am currently in the middle of re-doing all the fixings for the fibreglass front end, as i was unhappy with the dzus fasteners on there previously

Once ive re-done these, ive got the thankless task of chipping out all the factory sound deadening on the floor pans

[Monstrous]

Sound deadening removed, all the residue removed, cleaned out and bare metal etch primed









Also jacked the back up, wound the hilo's up, and put the wheels on the right way round so it is now moveable, while up in the air, i noticed that the stonechip i applied underneath obviously didn't take well in certain areas, and you can see the hammerite underneath. I think once it's back from paint i will jack it up and just underseal the whole underneath with a brush, that way i can be certain there are no vulnerable spots



Also finished faffing about with the front, changed all the dzus fasteners for M8 Stainless bolts, much sturdier, and even though they take a bit longer to undo, compared to how often i will be removing the front, it's not a massive problem.

Also finished lining the bonnet up, had to remove material from the edges to get the panel gaps right, and im going to go with leather straps on the front for extra security





So, it is now OFFICIALLY READY FOR PAINT!

[Monstrous]

Picked up this little gem today, complete metty turbo engine with 16k on the clocks

I'll be taking off the turbo, manifolds, carb, dizzy etc. and flogging all that, and put my T2 setup on, so if anyone is after a T3 setup, let me know!



Got the fuel pressure regulator and turbo fuel pump thrown in





Also got the dash out of the metty, with the original clocks, im half tempted to try and use the dials

[DaveVader]

How much would you want for the exhaust manifold?
I may well be after one.
I will be after the dizzy for definite.

[Monstrous]

Once again, back for summer, so some real work can start again

discovered the engine i bought hasn't been converted to unleaded, so stripping and building the engine will have to wait until i've converted the head.

Been cracking on with some other bits though, mainly the turbo. First of all i rotated the turbine housing so the oil drain is in the correct place, which was more hassle than i thought, had to heat up the housing to rotate it.



Then cut the actuator tab in half and re-welded it on the other side as the actuator will be on the other side. (have also ordered a 7psi actuator so that i can run with the standard C/R for now)



Had to drill out the helicoils that were in the turbine flange so the studs from the manifold can fit through, and then finally i mocked it up on the back of the engine, and im very happy. The manifold needs a tiny bit of tweaking so the studs on the head line up with the manifold, however it's all good.

Obviously the compressor housing needs rotating upwards, but i don't have any circlip pliers big enough, so will have to beg/borrow/buy some.





So really the next job is to get the head converted, and clear up the garage so i can strip the engine down.

[Monstrous]

Still havent cleared the garage (it's full of old kitchen ) so got another little job out the way today, made the oil return for the turbo

started by cutting two 45 degree pieces of tube



welded together



removed the outlet on the standard metro turbo return plate



welded on the new outlet



then bolted to the block, need to get hold of a hose to go between the tubes



Also intercooler turned up, i believe it's from an escort

[Monstrous]

Made meself an actuator mount today

obviously it doesn't fit in the standard place so had to turn it around. Ive seen other actuator mounts that come off of the manifold studs on the head, but the space is so tight in there already, that adding a bracket in there would make it impossible to do the nuts up.

So decided to mount it off the exhaust flange bolts instead, fairly agricultural looking, but i had to make it stiff so it doesn't flex

Started by cutting the old mount up



welded a strip to it



put another strip on





all mounted up







Also, finally found a boost signal nipple

[M44K TS]

Some good progress there mate, am I right in thinking that using the mirage manifold and a T2, you don't have to do bulkhead mods?

[Monstrous]

Some good progress there mate, am I right in thinking that using the mirage manifold and a T2, you don't have to do bulkhead mods?

Correct Sir!

it just fits in, it's very tight, so im going to have to put a few additional steadies in to stop the engine rocking too much and hitting the bulkhead, the block also needs to be tilted forward slightly, by means of an extended top steady/steadies.

The T2 also spools up quicker than the metro T3 so there's a little less lag

Im going to be running at around 7psi to start with, so i don't have to open up the chambers in the head

after running it for a while, i will then pull the engine out, enlarge the chambers, and beef up the internals and crank up the boost.

7psi should give a nice bit of power anyway, especially because ive only ever driven 998 minis before!

[M44K TS]

Cool, sounds like it'll be fun then.

[Monstrous]

Not a huge update, but got a few things done

Firstly, i have now tubbed the rear arches, no pics of the finished article as i forgot to take any







All good and finished now, and seam sealed the welded edges

Have also started stripping the engine but as some of you may have read, i buggered up my crank, as my flywheel puller broke, and embedded itself in the end of the crank nose, so im stuck for now, waiting to get the flywheel off. I have ordered a new crank, and it's been sent to MRA-minis for a regrind, so looks like it'll be a more involved rebuild than i first thought, hence i have constructed a rough and ready worktop to rebuild it on.



Also, as im now at a standstill, i started cleaning up and priming some of the tinwear, so it's all ready to go once it's needed

[Monstrous]

Not a huge update, but i have FINALLY managed to remove the flywheel assembly

Resorted to taking and angle grinder to it, and with a tiresome amount of hammering it finally gave way, will get some pictured of the aftermath tomorrow, it's not pretty

Also had word from my paint guy, the mini is being picked up this week for painting!!

After spending the whole day getting the flywheel off, i didn't do much more to the engine, but will be stripping the rest down completely tomorrow and removing the crank, hopefully there won't be any more surprises inside

[Monstrous]

Got it all stripped down, left the pistons in the bores as there's no need for them to come out, everything came apart fine with no surprises

Put in a huge order with minispares and a few other places, so hopefully will have all the bits to put it back together this weekend, if i get my crank back from grinding.







One buggered crank nose..

[Monstrous]

Lovely little shiny bits megajolt trigger wheel and sensor mount

Also all my parts turned up minus the exhaust manifold gasket which is on back order.

Crank should be reground today, it's all coming along