155 replies to this topic

[Nino]

This simply looks fantastic !!! :) 

 

- Nino

[Elliskwleisk]

This simply looks fantastic !!! :) 

 

- Nino

 

Thanks Nino! Glad you like my work. 

 

 

Hopefully get another update done soon! 

[Elliskwleisk]

Small update with some random bits and pieces. 

 

I have decided to modernise the dash as I just prefer it to the centre gauge set up. On hind sight, I do have some regret, I would have liked to have had a more original set up but anyway, the money is spent now and I love it. I got together a good set of dashboard rails and sent them away to Ashley James Autotrim:

 

 

And they came back recovered in Alcantara with red stitching so then I stuck the switch panel in:

 

 

They're not perfect, the bottom rail has some wrinkles and the stitch pattern isn't what I requested so I'll probably have it all redone in the future. 

 

 

However, they did make a cracking job of the door cards. I told them want I wanted - top two thirds in black quilted alcantara with red stitching and the bottom third in black vinyl and they did exactly that. I wanted the bottom bit vinyl so it doesn't get ruined with dirty foot scuff marks. 

 

Couple of small wrinkles but hopefully they'll fall out. All in all, well chuffed. 

 

 

 

So with all the new furry bits, I couldn't help but offer them up! So first I found the best set of air vents I had, sealed them up with this non curing, butyl sealant stuff to make sure it's air tight for maximum demistation  and then popped in the top rail. 

 

 

 

The top rail I used already had one of the side studs snapped off so instead of modifying the car by drilling two holes because it's too old to have the pre drilled holes, I decided just to cut the remaining stud and a half off, stick a big bit of adhesive backed high density foam on it and put the centre clamp on proper tight! 

 

 

 

Ta-da! 

 

 

 

As a wee after thought, I decided to buy this mahoosive sticker because I think it's relevant.   I am not a fan of stickers on cars as I prefer a clean look so I'm not sure if I'll keep it, but for the mean time, it can stay. 

 

 

Unfortunately, because the screen is a curve and the sticker comes as one piece of vinyl, it did wrinkle slightly. SO, obviously, another eight quid had to be wasted on another one for me to butcher and use the letters that had wrinkled.   So that is now sorted. 

 

 

On another note, the guttering on the engine bay wasn't perfect so I applied this trim to it. Luckily I had like a million clips so they got put to use. Ill get a finished picture of this up shortly. 

 

 

I finally got around to swapping the cable ties on the outside of the steering rack gaiters to proper metal clips - what a fiddly job!   Then I slid a piece of adhesive lined heat shrink on and fitted the track rod ends. Once I have had the geometry professionally set up I will heat the heat shrink to seal the threads to prevent any rust. 

 

And for some reason photobucket isn't working... I'll edit this post and continue it when it decides to work again. 

 

 

 

 

[Elliskwleisk]

I am so sick of writing for an hour and then losing the page. TMF should really setup a system for autosave because I am fed up with this and It is making me lose interest in writing this four times over. I'll write it in word from now on, if I can be bothered anymore. 

[Elliskwleisk]

Okay so where was I, I finally got around to swapping the cable ties on the outside of the steering rack gaiters to proper metal clips - what a fiddly job!    Then I slid a piece of adhesive lined heat shrink on and fitted the track rod ends. Once I have had the geometry professionally set up I will heat the heat shrink to seal the threads to prevent any rust. 

 

 

 

But what a pa-lava I had with the track rod ends! I'll just copy the wee bit from the other thread that I wrote about it in. Here's the link if you want the full story:

 

http://www.theminifo...ot-long-enough/

 

My NEW steering rack from minispares was sounding a bit rough so I spoke to minispares and they said that it will just need "Bed in". The car is now on its wheels and has been rolling about from lock to lock for the past few months. Admittedly, this is very unlikely to "bed in" the rack, however, it has quietened down dramatically and sounds much smoother - result! 
 
As for the track rod end's, they were too short! - I purchased two of the competition longer track rod ends - C-AJJ1572, from minispares, painted them up all pretty, fitted them and discovered my issue that they only threaded on to the track rod approximately eight threads or eight full turns. I didn't feel this was safe considering some modern cars can have eighteen or so full turns! Then, while pushing one of the T.R.E.'s out of the steering knuckle, I managed to knacker the threads on one of them. So, I ordered another C-AJJ1572. When it arrived, straight away I could tell it was different. It had a totally different shape and it is noticeably larger. So after you clever folks supplying me with the dimensions of the different T.R.E.'s on offer, I discovered that the first two I had received were actually standard length! Or there about's, maybe a tad longer. So, problem solved. Or so I thought. I then painted up the new longer T.R.E. which was actually longer, got it all ready to fit, tried to screw it on to the track rod but it wouldn't bite. So a quick look inside and I discovered that I had received a dud! Not a single thread!  
 

 
Anyway, here are the three different T.R.E's. From left to right, The longer competition C-AJJ1572 that was usable, the longer competition C-AJJ1572 that was a dud! And the standardish length T.R.E. that confused me. The picture doesn't really show it well at all but the T.R.E. on the right is almost 10mm shorter. 
 

 
So I got on to the phone to minispares North because I find they are much more helpful than that dull, miserable and darn right rude guy that I ALWAYS get at the London branch. I honestly don't understand why he stays in his job if it is such a major inconvenience for him to answer the phone. Anyway's, I told the Northern branch the story and they had a wee giggle and laughed at me and said they had never seen anything like it before. They then continued to try and make me feel better by telling me some unfortunate faulty part stories that they had experienced. Fortunately, they were sympathetic and sent me another two longer T.R.E.'s for free!    This time they were actually longer! Got them painted up and fitted and now they screw on a total of approximately 11 turns, which if Dusky is correct, should mean that it is perfectly safe. Also, I now known that tracking should be set with the wheels on the ground, schoolboy!    

 

 
Moral of the story, cross reference the part numbers on the boxes! Don't just assume you've been sent the correct item!  

 

I then began to restore my fuel tank. I had previously had it sand blasted by Hendersons Metal Cleaning in Edinburgh - Top notch company! So I began to paint it with Hammerite Smooth Black in aerosol format. One side at a time.

 

 

I am really pleased with the finish that I have achieved for an uneven surface and aerosol cans, It is almost mirror like! Fine sanding in between every coat pays off! Took me like a week though.   

 

 

So once it was totally dry, I started my internal tank treatment - POR15 I saw it over on "Project Trig" and Andrew recommends it. As he says, it's not cheap and its a pain its in three different steps but it's well worth it!

 

 

So here is the tank before I started, not bad nick, just lots of surface rust:

 

 

Introduced stage one with lots of boiling hot water:

 

 

I then sealed up the tank with duct tape and swirled it around and around. I then left it to sit and rotated it periodically. It worked quite well because it was a scorcher of a day so with the black paint, the sun kept the tank and therefore the formula inside, roasty toasty!

 

Once it was finished, I rinsed it out four or five times and then left it for half an hour with the hot air gun on full blast to bake it nice and dry on the inside. 

 

 

 

 

 

I then repeated the steps for the second prep fluid. Except I can't remember if you rinse out after that one, it was a while ago... 

 

Once it was baked totally dry, I then threw in the sealant goo, taped it up and whooshed it about, once again, periodically rotating the tank. And here it is!   

 

 

Well chuffed! Before it had totally cured I blew through the breather and outlet so that they weren't blocked, or so I thought...

 

A week later, after the sealer had totally cured, I went back to the tank to assemble it with the sender unit and gubbins. And what do ya know, it was chocked solid!  I guess there must have been some excess sealant in the tank and it must have seeped in to those pipes when I moved it for storage.  So, after half an hour, I decided that the tank was scoobered! No breather and no outlet. All my hard work wasted.  SO, after looking at the prices of new tanks -   I got on to ebay and I came across and bought another tank, tank strap and gubbins which claimed to be "New old stock". Ha! Well, for Christmas, I'm going to send the guy a gift voucher for specsavers because the tank has been around the block before a lick of paint!     Anyways, Once I received it, I laid it next to my pride and joy of a tank and realised that it was tiny in comparison!

 

 

This just wouldn't do because I plan on doing some long journeys and I cannot be bothered to fill up every ten miles. Not to mention all the time and effort I put in to measuring and welding in the bracket for the larger tank! So I built up a bit of motivation to have another bash at my previous tank. After half an hour of screwdrivers of various diameters that kept getting the handle stuck on the tank taper, Keith suggested an allen key. Well, why didn't I think of that.   Slotted it in, tiny tap with the hammer and whala, one breathable, breathing, breather!  

 

 

I then did some research on here and read that dklawson has used this POR15 system and recommends it. His advice for the intank filter is to put a big bar in and knock it off. So I did just that!   I am a bit uncertain about it because it is obviously the first filter for the tank but I have no choice as it can't be changed really.   So, In with the bar through the sender unit hole, bash bash bash, off it came. Choked solid, other than the bits I broke obviously. For anyone with the same problem, it just bashes off but make sure you're actually hitting the filter and not the ribbed bit of the pipe that it mates with. 

 

 

I have fitted an in-line filter in the boot so the fuel will be filtered immediately after entering the system. Just a shame that large foreign objects could block my fuel line... Not that any of those should be getting in the tank anyway!

 

To finish the job off, I fitted a new sender unit, seal and retaining ring. 

 

 

 

Oh and totally off topic but I saw this photo when I was looking in to my wheels and I just came across it. I found it helpful and thought I would just stick it here in case anyone else wants to save it for reference. 

 

 

 

 

[Marco1972]

Nothing worse than poor quality parts !!!!

At least they did the right thing and sent you out some freebies

Well done on the tank paid off in the end looks great

Dash rails look good too we did the same with ours lower dash rail is a fiddley job nice to see even the pro's leave the odd wrinkle

Keep it up .

[Elliskwleisk]

Nothing worse than poor quality parts !!!!

At least they did the right thing and sent you out some freebies

Well done on the tank paid off in the end looks great

Dash rails look good too we did the same with ours lower dash rail is a fiddley job nice to see even the pro's leave the odd wrinkle

Keep it up .

 

Talk about Quality Control! 

 

Yeah I'm very happy with the tank, I'll have to get some pictures up of it fitted. 

 

Tell me about it, I have recovered them myself before but I came across the same problems so I thought I'd get it done "properly" this time... Anyway, it'll have to do for now because I have run out of money. 

[lawrence]

This build is looking more and more awesome with each post, keep up the great work!
Lawrence

[Elliskwleisk]

Long over due update. I've lost a lot of motivation because the electrics are taking absolutely forever and I know that the car won't be on the road this year so I've had some time away from the project. 

 

However, I got some goodies: 

 

 

Sold another limb for my dashboard from somerford but clearly well worth it. Such a deep shine. 

 

Now kids, look away, 18+ only for the following pornographic material.

 

 

 

Safe to say that DSN make some beautiful stuff. But somehow I ordered the LHD one.     So I sent that back and got it swapped. 

 

I also bought the glove box kit from custom consoles. 

 

 

It just seemed to be held together with duct tape? Bit cheapy but actually worked out in my favour because it was way to big for my glove box aperture. 

 

 

 

So I chopped it apart, got it down to size and just stuck it back together but I covered it in tape so that it wouldn't fall apart. I then screwed it in to the wooden blocks either side which are used to mount the dash to the car.

 

 

 

 

I then bought one of these twin 12V Cig lighters with the USB port and attached it to the side using its little tabs. 

 

 

 

So it doesn't look very pretty from the back but I'm pleased with the visible result. 

 

 

 

 

I then couldn't resist offering it in to the car! Gonna be the cats whiskers! It's going to be a similar finished product to that chosen by Andrew over on Project Trig. 

 

 

I then got on with building up the dash. So I started with the air vents. I decided that I wasn't going to use them because I don't have the piece that goes in to the flitch panel and I felt that with water ingress in mind, they would be better just blanked off. I also had another issue which was where to locate my tweeters. So! 

 

 

 

 

When the dash is in you cant even see them so that's a result! I also only fitted the chrome outer ring because I think the centre bits look tacky in chrome. Finally, I got some wooden rings to which I fitted the what are soon to be, front speakers. I'll make stainless brackets for these later and hang them under the dash somehow.

 

Then I fitted the gauge cluster to the dash. Before hand though, I had to remove the blobs of glue that they had left which prevented it from fitting flush.   I then painted the wee fibre rings black so that they didnt stand out. 

 

 

 

 

I also got the gauge faces digitally recreated and produced in black. Much nicer than the old bluey grey colour. All reassembled and ready to go. Just need to adjust the mileage up to the correct reading. 

 

 

 

Anyway, I then carried on with the mammoth task of cleaning up the waxoyl and sound proofing. 

 

 

I started on this area so that I could get the pedal box fitted. So I got the pedal box that I painted and recon'd earlier assembled up and fitted. 

 

 

 

I then decided to just fit the new master cylinders and servo along with the bracket I painted. I just dropped the servo in because obviously it'll have to be removed again to drop the engine in. I decided to make my own gaskets out of the non curing butyl strip. 

 

 

 

I then carried on with sound proofing the rest of the car. 

 

 

 

 

But I ran out so I got a shed load more, including the correct side throttle pedal and got to work on the rest of the car. 

 

 

 

 

Next job was the rear quarter light windows. I had the original ones on the car but they were a wee bit rusty in the usual places but I was going to use them after a good clean anyway's because they are the rarer thicker ones with the curvy latch.So after fitting the seals, I got them out and gave them a good clean.

 

 

 

 

The N/S one went on fine.

 

 

However, when I went to fit the O/S one... 

 

 

A few swear words were said. So I am on the look out for another pair, preferably mint condition if anyone has a set or knows anyone who reconditions these? I have already bought three other sets and they've all been described as "mint" and quite frankly have all been ready for the bin. 

 

All for now! 

[timmy850]

Wow, that's an awesome parts order and that dash looks so cool.

I am so sick of writing for an hour and then losing the page. TMF should really setup a system for autosave because I am fed up with this and It is making me lose interest in writing this four times over. I'll write it in word from now on, if I can be bothered anymore. 

I've found I had similar problems, especially using my iPad. Now I tend to use the notes app to get my post written up, then paste it in. Also if you copy everything you write before clicking reply, you won't lose it all... Keep up the posts!

[Ben_O]

Love the soundproofing!

 

How much did that lot cost?

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Ben

[Marco1972]

Looks awesome fella

[Elliskwleisk]

Wow, that's an awesome parts order and that dash looks so cool.
 

I am so sick of writing for an hour and then losing the page. TMF should really setup a system for autosave because I am fed up with this and It is making me lose interest in writing this four times over. I'll write it in word from now on, if I can be bothered anymore. 

I've found I had similar problems, especially using my iPad. Now I tend to use the notes app to get my post written up, then paste it in. Also if you copy everything you write before clicking reply, you won't lose it all... Keep up the posts!

 

 

 

That's good advice, I've started writing it in a word document and then copying it over. 

 

 

Love the soundproofing!

 

How much did that lot cost?

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Ben

 

 

With regards to the sound proofing, I can't remember how much I spent in the end but iirc it was over £200 with the aluminium tape. Pennies in comparison to the weeks I have spent laying it all down. 

 

 

Looks awesome fella

 

 

Thanks Marco, might try and get another update done today. 

[Elliskwleisk]

Next step was to get the engine ready. The engine which I will be fitting to this car for the mean time is a 998 unit with a stage one kit which I have removed from my blue mini. I purchased it two years ago from mini speed when I knew nothing about minis. I bought it as a fully reconditioned engine, gearbox and diff unit with a new clutch and unleaded head. I had heard and read several bad reviews about them but decided to give them a chance and seeing as they offered a warranty, I slapped down two G's for an engine that I have had nothing but problems with. Other than buying my blue mini, buying the engine from minispeed was the biggest mistake I have made so far in my mini timeline. In hindsight I should have just bought a second hand unit for a few hundred but hey ho. Anyway, within days the engine leaked oil out of absolutely every possible gasket and fixing. within weeks the head gasket had gone and the synchro on second gear didn't like to show up for the party from day four. When I contacted them they said my warranty was void because I didn't have an oil pressure gauge fitted. I thought this was a bit cheeky as the car didn't even have one from the factory?! Maybe minispeed look at it as an alternative to servicing because you are constantly changing the oil because you have to top it up every ten miles, who knows! So I ran it for about 5000 miles until the bodywork of the car matched the condition of the engine. In addition to all the drama they caused me, I actually phoned them up the other week to get an exact spec on the engine. So I gave them my engine number and their reply was "Ah yes! Gary, from spain, 1380?" Eh, no.   I then gave them my invoice number and they had "no record of ever building the engine" but they did have a copy of the invoice on their system? In conclusion, from experience, I DO NOT recommend Minispeed. 

 

Now, for the wee lumps new chance on life, it will be built properly! So I woke the wee beasty up, pulled it out of the old garage, stuck a good quality Wurth engine flush in and got to work!

 

 

 

Love having my own engine crane! About the only tool I have that has actually paid for itself. 

 

So out it came and in to the back of my brothers urine coloured mondeo.   Guess who got the sensible motoring gene...   We took the crane too for ease of removal.

 

 

 

Seeing as I had the car out I decided to tear the other bits and pieces off of it that I needed. 

 

No wonder the suspension was pants, talk about a collapsed cone. Actually it doesn't look as bad from that angle, the trumpet had pretty much disappeared through the centre of it. 

 

 

I also pulled out the battery and stuck it on charge because it is only a couple of months old. 

 

 

I will also be reusing the drive shafts but I will renew all the joints and tidying up the shafts. So I made a mess and pulled them all apart on the side of the road. I don't mind doing engine changes on cars, I just hate faffing around with drive shafts and CV grease. 

 

 

 

I then removed the steering column and pulled it apart, painted it all up and fitted new bushes either end covered in lube. Nice, tight and smooth now. Ready to be fitted and my steering wheel added which I ordered back in May which still hasn't arrived. Typical Italians. 

 

 

 

I also removed the manifold because It is no longer required. It has surface rust but is perfectly usable. It has been on the car for the 5000 miles that the engine has covered. It is a "Maniflow Cooper Freeflow Exhaust Manifold" Here's the link in case anyone is after a second hand one:

 

http://www.minispare...|Back to search

 

The only issue with it is the small nick where I caught it with the grinder (pictured) upon removal. It has not cut all the way through. 

 

 

 

I then decided to strip apart my gear linkage. I had two to chose from so I chose the one with less play in the selector shaft. Stripped it apart, cleaned it up, re-greased and painted it. I also replaced both of the cotton reel mounts. 

 

 

 

I then fitted a Paddy Hopkirk quick shift kit. 

 

 

For anyone else doing this job, the small pin which is laid on the top here, is punched inwards (make sure to stick a piece of paper towel in the hole otherwise you'll have to take the bottom plate off to get it out) Then, put the punch through the small pin hole and knock the larger pin outwards. 

 

 

I then tapped the holes so that the bolts that hold the quick shift base on would get a good secure bite and then stuck it all together ready to be fitted.

 

 

 

I used a linkage with the reversing sensor fitted in case I want to fit a reversing light at a later date.

 

I did have a slight issue with the gearbox end of the linkage. It appeared to be slightly bent as if whoever removed the engine last had forgotten to disconnect the linkage and had properly cranked the crane upwards. So I have straightened it as best I can in the vice. Hopefully I don't have any issues with it. 

 

 

I then continued on with the dash. I have used my radio out of my blue mini because it's not that old and it has a built in iPhone dock which is great. I then purchased two new smith gauges, a mechanical oil pressure gauge and a volt meter. I also purchased and second hand smiths vacuum gauge because I couldn't find a new one anywhere? Unfortunately though, It had a slightly different bezel to the other two, typical.   So I bought another smiths voltmeter, butchered it and stuck the bezel on the vacuum gauge. 

 

So here is the old gauge stripped down:

 

 

and here it is with all the new parts salvaged from the new voltmeter:

 

 

Tucked the new seals in:

 

 

 

My only concern is that because the internals are different, I doubt they will all have the same brightness. But anyways, the finished product:

 

 

 

And to finish off, once the battery was all charged up, I sound proofed the box, trimmed and slotted in a battery mat that I got from Moss so that it is comfy and warm, dropped the battery in and got it strapped in with a new bracket. The cable will be shortened later on when I sort out my isolators. 

 

 

 

Edited by Elliskwleisk, 15 October 2014 - 03:55 PM.

[Petrol]

Fantastic project - superb attention to detail. Where did you get the non curing butyl sealant and also the black dial conversion?

Thanks
Pete