27 replies to this topic

[Biggelmo]

Another Fiat powered Mini, I started my own Punto engine conversion about 2 years ago but I went for an 8v Punto 75 engine and 5 speed box.
The 8v P75 is only 5bhp short of the 16v but because its a single cam means I can retrofit an Uno distributor,my original plan was to use 32mm motorbike carbs but making an inlet manifold was a right pain so I may go to plan B and modify the standard P75 inlet manifold to take some type of Weber twin choke.

Here's a link to some pics of mine.....

http://www.16vminicl...ead.php?t=29435

Good luck with you build.

[woody78]

Another Fiat powered Mini, I started my own Punto engine conversion about 2 years ago but I went for an 8v Punto 75 engine and 5 speed box.
The 8v P75 is only 5bhp short of the 16v but because its a single cam means I can retrofit an Uno distributor,my original plan was to use 32mm motorbike carbs but making an inlet manifold was a right pain so I may go to plan B and modify the standard P75 inlet manifold to take some type of Weber twin choke.
Here's a link to some pics of mine.....
http://www.16vminicl...ead.php?t=29435
Good luck with you build.

Thanks bud, good luck with yours too. Just had a flick through your thread and really like the look of your subframe. Given me a few ideas for when I re-do mine. I think my whole engine is slightly further forward than yours as there was no way the driveshafts would have gone through the original holes and the gearbox clashed on the front of the frame too!

[woody78]

Went up the workshop again today and made a list of panels I need to get ordered and roughly how much sheet steel I'm going to need.

Also got the KA dash stripped and had a look at how I'm going to get it to fit.

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Got loads of photos of other peoples that have been fitted and there's little bits from each I like.

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Think this one looks really good painted

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But like the flocked look too

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I'm going to cut mine the same as this one as would like to keep the vents at both ends

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Also going to try and keep the original mini heater and modify the panel in the KA dash for the on/off switch and adjuster from the mini one

Been speaking to someone breaking a Punto about cutting out the floor out where the gear stick mounts to. Would like to weld the whole thing into the mini floor as at the moment the Punto gear stick I have is trimmed down to fit in the mini tunnel and isn't as stable as I'd like. May also move it backwards slightly to make more room for the gear stick with the KA dash.

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That will probably mean that the handbrake will then need moving back slightly too but as it's had a dodgy repair in the past I'll be making new brackets for that anyway

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Other than that just got the old sound proofing up from the rear floor to see what condition it was in underneath. All looks pretty good really

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Anyone know where I can buy these metal blanks for the floor? A couple are a bit bent up in the rear and the ones in the front foot wells will get replaced too

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Edited by woody78, 04 January 2014 - 08:39 PM.

[Biggelmo]

Hi again,on the subject of gear levers/changers I did buy a Mk1 Punto cable set up but the cables looked to be a bit long, so I was going to try and look at a Panda or Uno set up to see if they were any shorter.

Also check out the EPER Fiat parts catalogue on the Fiat Forum http://eper.fiatforum.com

[woody78]

Was at the workshop Tuesday evening. Started with a lot of poking about to find more rusty bits and found a couple more. Waiting till the end of the month though to get all the panels and sheet metal I need ordered in one go.

So then I started having a look at the KA dash again. I got a photo of the rear of the dash today to show the steel bar that runs through it.

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I'll be cutting out the mini's lower dash rail and using the KA's rail so that I can utilise as many of the dash components as possible. Otherwise a lot of the glove box is lost due to it clashing with the lower rail

So after taking a load of measurements this happened...


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Having the two halves meant I could trim each end into the mini quite easily, then with them overlapping in the middle with a few clamps and a load of cable ties I could see it taking shape

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There is hardly any room between the dash and where the gear stick mounts so this is why I will be moving the section of the floor backwards. I'll probably also move the crossbeam and handbrake backwards too to maintain a good driving position

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And there's even less room with this lower part of the dash fitted but I definitely want to keep this section

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It looks like in going to be able to use the mini's heater too and just make up a new face plate to fit the KA dash

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So last thing I did was strip the Corsa power steering column down to the bare minimum of what I need on it and size it up. Looks like this will fit fine under the dash too :)

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[MrBounce]

I really like this. Good work!

[Dusky]

Nice! We had a punto,never knew this would work

[woody78]

Cheers for the comments guys

I got this frame from work as it was gunna be scrapped. Figured I'd be able to use it for making my subframe jig

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Little bit overkill but I'll chop it down.....

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So here's where I got to today. Made the top mounts which unbolt for ease of getting it in and out

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Then chopped it ready to make it shorter and then I'll start with the front section

[h4wx1e]

Nice project their, I put a ka dash in mine years ago if you need anymore inspiration or ideas click my signature below or visit Sutton Coldfield classic mini club and search for me under the same name as this one and have a look at the pics theirs quite a lot which might help, but as I kept the a series their was a lot more messing with the dash to overcome all the problems you mentioned. Good luck with project

[woody78]

Thanks bud I'll take a look

[woody78]

Just ordered a load of panels and repair sections up so hopefully get started with the body this week or early next week

[woody78]

Panels turned up this week :) outer sills, rear valance, valance close outs, heel board repair sections, rear quarter repair section and floor pans. So that's enough to keep me going for now.
Except I'll be returning the sills as they turned up like this.....

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Anyway Wednesday night I did some more trimming on the dash and held it together with some 1"x2" aluminium plates that will be riveted with countersunk rivets and filled over once finished but for now they're just held in with self tappers

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So today I got the metal support bar that goes behind the dash cut down to shape and welded up so next job is to make the mounts for each end and weld them in

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So once I've made these up I'll look at moving the gear stick mounting point backward before moving onto the rest of the floor.

[woody78]

Haven't had much to report the last few weeks as I've mainly been trimming and fettling the dash. But now it's in and mounted

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I made the mounts on each side and then cleaned up all the edges except the top as I don't have a compressor yet and need the die grinder to get in there!

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You can barely see these when the dash is mounted and shouldn't notice them at all once they're painted properly along with the interior

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So here's a few photos of the support in place. From this I'll mount te heater matrix and possibly steering column support, but unsure now whether to use the power steering column from the Corsa....

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I put a few of the trim pieces in to get a better view of how it will look when finished. I still need to sand it all back and fibreglass and fill bits but I'll do that once I've started that stage with the shell

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So the next task is to start welding the floors and to sort this problem....

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I need to move the mounting point for the gear stick backwards quite a bit. I think I'm going to go for MG ZR seats so I need to start measuring up to make sure wherever it's mounted is still comfortable

Edited by woody78, 07 February 2014 - 04:03 PM.