53 replies to this topic

[Miniowner123]

i've owned my cabriolet for just over a year, been running well with only minor incidents, since buying it i've done a few bits and pieces to make it look a little nicer but now its time to sort out the underpowered engine

heres my cabriolet at the last l2b and a few just after of bits done, like dashboard, sub, new grille etc






so heres what i have so far for the engine and build

* 1275 a plus block, deck skimmed and bores honed
* metro turbo pistons and rods with new rings
* standard crank polished
* hif44 turbo carb
* metro turbo plenum chamber
* stainless carb heat shield
* metro turbo inlet manfold
* mpi fuel tank
* fuel pressure regulator
* saab gt1752 turbo
* minispares cross pin diff
* big ends
* mains
* thrust washer set
* turbo oil pump with bolts
* block gasket set
* gearbox gasket set
* headgasket
* oil pressure switch
* upgraded verto clutch pressure plate
* 190mm organic clutch plate
* core plugs
* clutch oil seal
* duplex chain and rota slide steel gear set
* new water pump
* water pump fitting kit
* minispares head stud kit

stuff thats in the post, well i hope it is

* dsn classics timing cover with crank sensor bracket
* phase 2 cam kit from avr classics

and bits i still need to order include mirage manifold, med s damper pulley kit and also ned a head but need to work out compression ratio before ordering

plan is after l2b in may get the car off the road for a couple of weeks, get the engine bay sprayed and car back and fit engine along with fresh subframe and 4 pot brakes etc

well anyway heres the start i've made on the block

crank installed along with new mains and thrust washers, also fitted piston rings to pistons along with new big ends ready to fit to crank and block another night

Edited by pinhead, 29 April 2012 - 01:48 AM.

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

Fantastic car! I like it when i see a color i haven't seen before

What seats do you have? i love them!!

I also have a Hif44 but i didnt realize it was meant for turbos I'm interested anyway

[briain]

yeah the car looks great what are the wheels on it really suit the car

[Miniowner123]

Fantastic car! I like it when i see a color i haven't seen before

What seats do you have? i love them!!

I also have a Hif44 but i didnt realize it was meant for turbos I'm interested anyway

thanks for kind comments, the seats fitted are the standard genuine cabriolet seats, pretty similar to recaro's out of the old rs fords, hoopefully i'll retrim in leather later

also hif44 came fitted to n/a metro's and metro turbo's, the difference....i forget

yeah the car looks great what are the wheels on it really suit the car

thanks, wheels are speed star racing mk1's (ssr) 12" splits, they came with the car but i managed to track down a couple of sets, 2 for my trailer and a whole 13" set for my other project, i know i have a problem lol

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

hehe

are the seats more sporty or more comfy?

[Miniowner123]

yeah quite comfy and they hold you in place under heavy cornering, couldnt really ask for more from them

apart from wishing they wasnt so flammable, long story short, taking roof down, sun hits sun visor mirror and reflects to seat, seat burns

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

thats actually what i've been looking for! do they recline aswell yeah?

Does the seat literally burn?! haha

[Miniowner123]

seat would of done if i didnt put it out lol

anyway yeah seats recline and fold forward for back seat access, look on ebay for some ford rs turbo recaro's or similar, they usually pop up quite cheap, you will have to mess about and make some subframes up though, pretty easy job though

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

oh god haha

i'll get a look :) yeah i though it would

[Miniowner123]

no progress as i've been in bed with flu but some new parts turned up

dsn classics timing cover kit with trigger bracket for med setup (which will be ordered soon)



avr classics phase 2 turbo camshaft, only the camshaft was sent out so im still waiting for the rest of the kit, once that turns up i can get this engine together

[Miniowner123]

no progress due to a bit of a problem with piston rings

turns out the piston rings supplied were faulty, the oil control ring would not close enough to fit in the bore, the spring being the issue, took them back to minspares and they've been made aware of the issue, and said they will return them to the manufacturer

so i've dicided to get the block bored 20 thou to 1293cc and go down the route of new omega pistons etc, sorting everything in next couple of days and hopefully start getting this engine together next week, this time without issues hopefully

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

no progress due to a bit of a problem with piston rings

turns out the piston rings supplied were faulty, the oil control ring would not close enough to fit in the bore, the spring being the issue, took them back to minspares and they've been made aware of the issue, and said they will return them to the manufacturer

so i've dicided to get the block bored 20 thou to 1293cc and go down the route of new omega pistons etc, sorting everything in next couple of days and hopefully start getting this engine together next week, this time without issues hopefully

hope it all goes well second time round

[Miniowner123]

thanks mate

block has now been sent off for boring out, so just got to wait and see how much its gets bored before ordering my pistons

in the mean time my new med pulley with trigger wheel turned up

[Miniowner123]

while i had a day free i popped over to ml motorsport and exchanged an old mpi gearbox i had sitting about (was crunching in 2nd) for a nice shiny working one

obviously the mpi box had the 2.7 final drive so i went for a 3.1 final drive instead, my spi has a 3.2 and i find thats nearly perfect for motorway use plus it doesnt feel like it lacking low down so i thought the 3.1 was a safe bet with the turbo engine

i will be swapping the diff out for the minispares cross pin diff i already have, just need to sort out the speedo drive on it to match my needs, and of course central oil pick up will be fitted

[Miniowner123]

well l2b is now out the way, the car performed mechanically perfect, but from crystal palace to brighton my indicators wouldnt work, oh well new loom will be fitted so i can forget about all that

engine is now back from being bored, its been bored 20 thou to 1293cc, also purchased some omega cast pistons with a 10cc dish to suit the application


then while the weathers been good i've removed quite a few bits from the car ready for some paintwork to be done in just over a week, gives me time to get the subframe out and prep some bits up






and afew shiny bits i bought from dsn classics while at brighton, including one of their new verto slave cylinder brackets, plus i got a free keyring

Edited by pinhead, 25 May 2012 - 09:30 PM.