149 replies to this topic

[Duncy H]

Hopefully tomorrow fingers crossed, I'm tempted if all is well to try and make the trip down to bingley, never been to a mini show before and it seems it would be a shame to miss out. It is however a long way :/

[ToM 2012]

all the best and cant wait till sunday bargain hunting time lol

[Duncy H]

Got the wheel bearing fitted the other day, now is so lovely and smooth. Well it wouldn't take much to be better than the last one :L

Managed to get the centre clocks wired in, speedo cable was a right bar steward!! Also damaged the temp guage when cleaning it up (N) I'm not sure if the fuel guage is working though, should have checked how much fuel was in before It's sitting at about half way and i haven't noticed it move. No pics of the dash yet as it isn't finished as i have no soundproofing to go in yet.

Anyway got the car going and went for a spin round my estate, was great to be back on the road however, i lost the side trim piece for the grille and also the tracking was way out and didn't feel as good as before through the steering wheel. Had a look around and it would appear i have a bent tie bar. Lovely lol. It was however just a standard one so not totally surprised.

Anyways, I ended up getting over to bingley, shame i wasn't in the mini however :/ I was impressed though, was my first mini meet/show that I have been to and enjoyed it :) Picked up a few bits while i was there...

Adjustable tie-bars, -1.5 degree necagive camber bottom arms, poly bushes, track rod ends and grille end piece.


Replacement water temperature guage.


And a mug for a mug


Can't wait to see the end results :) Not sure where I'm going to get it all set up propelry though, anyone know a place in sheffield??

More photographic updates to follow soon :)

[Duncy H]

Well today I had a go at taking the suspention apart. It was a real ball ache. Can't get the bottom arm pin out so decided to come back tomorrow when i was in a better mood

The ball joints on the near side don't want to come off either :/

However i managed to plum in the oil pressure gauge and put my new water temp guage in. Here's a picture of the dash's current state...

Need to get myself sound soundproofing for behind the dash before i put it all back together.

And here is how i left him for today....

[Duncy H]

A day of mixed feelings today...

Firstly the ball joints came off, yay and also i managed to get the bottom arms out. Progress finally...


Here is the other parts stripped off so i can get at and change the ball joint.


New shiny track rod ends on.


It was about time i changed them don't you think?


Comparison to show tie-bars, the one thats been cut is the one that's bent but you can't see it all too well in the picture unfortunately.


Got the old arms out that were in a sorry state...


Check out the difference in bushes, about time they got changed don't you think?


However here comes the not so good bit, I eventually pulled the pin out of both bottom arms but the metal bush sleeves are rusted onto them and it would appear that they are not going to budge

Also the most frustrating bit, the new tie bars i got, one of them is cross threaded, i never really check since i got them from bingley. So unbelievably frustrating that they are supposed to be new and yet one of them is totally and utterly useless I was hoping to finish the car off tomorrow as i have a day off. Will be on the phone to minispeed in the morning to vent my anger.

Piece out.

[2-alex-2]

realy nice mini you have there and looks like you got some nice upgrades shame about the thread which en is it the crossed

[Duncy H]

Small update for tonight, sorted out my new ball joint, here it is lapped up compared to the others...


Anyway got a nice package from minispares today that i will reveal tomorrow and also minispeed are sending me another tie bar to arrive tomorrow, however i have paid for it :/ They are going to take a look a the damaged one and hopefully ill get refunded on that one.

[Duncy H]

Yaya for progress :) i overslept for college so had the morning to crack on with the car :)

Anyway, new ball joint sat in place, nice and smoothly with not play :)


Box of bits that came yesterday, mainly ball joint kit, few unf bolts, earth strap, accelerator cable etc.


One side built up all ready :)



While i had the driveshaft out i cleaned all the bearing up and packed it with plenty of grease


The other side taking shape with the hub in place.



With drive flange and brake back on and torqued up :)


Pretty much how the cars been sat for two weeks.


Wouldn't mind some hi los to sort out that rear arch gap but can't afford it at the mo (N)


And a better shot of the dash :)


Would be nice to hear your comments people!!

[Midas Mk1]

Looking Good! I'd remove the top dash rail, paint or cover the bottom rail and fit a cig bin and stainless air vent surrounds :)

[Duncy H]

Well i'm up at this time finishing off a bottle of chocolate milk :)

Anyway, It moves and lives!!!!!


Check out the camber yo...



Finally got the other tie bar, but seriously when i ask will you deffinately send it today and say yes and i pay £7 postage i expect you to keep to your word, especially after selling me faulty parts before. Never going to touch minispeed again, not even with a barge pole.


This was the damage caused by the accident :/


Anyway, need to find a garage that can set it all up for me nice and propper. The handling through the steering felt a hell of a lot nicer though :) Probably the new bushes, ball joint and track rod ends etc.

It's about time i went to bed...

[grahama]

Always nice when you are pottering around with clean parts ! Nice rebuild and not too much damage to the front. I take it you lapped the ball joints in using the drill method that's on t'internet?? If not how did you do it as I have mine to do soon?

Graham

[Duncy H]

Yeh it's nice fitting new parts if they aren't broken

I did use a drill as it makes life a lot easier and used some past out of a valve lapping tool set as i couldn't find any anywhere, i suppose with lots of patience and effort you may be able to do it by hand but i don't advise

[2-alex-2]

wow that looking realy nice glad you got it finished and yes a goot garge will be good i dea to set it up right unless you know what you are doing then you can do it your self with very little tools but jsut easy er take it some where

[Duncy H]

Been driving it around recently while i have been trying to find a suitable place to set it up for me. The feeling through the steering wheel is so much nicer and more responsive :) Also in the bends i can feel it being more willing to hold on :) Can't wait to find out what it is like when it is actually set up properly

Had a bit of an update on the dash, for sound proofing i plastered it with flashing tape, seems to have done a decent job :) Today the oild pressure gauge leaked so i tightened it up and finished of the dash by putting the cards in. Here's the result... :)




I ended up taking the top dash rail out cause i thought it was ugly and obstructed view, think i'll end up putting some sort of vinyl on there.

One dissapointment that i have found is there is more damage than first thought, the dent on the front wing looks like it has pushed back and bent the a panel slightly (N) You can sort of make it out in this picture...


And here's what he looks like these days all mucky (N)

[2-alex-2]

its looking very nice there in the last pic. glad yo got it back on the road now