133 replies to this topic

[johnR]

That engine's looking great - what colour will the rocker cover be?

[GraemeC]

Just use a short length of 1/2” heater hose for the bypass

[Gillybobs]

That engine's looking great - what colour will the rocker cover be?

Just going to do it black as it was in the standard engine.

[johnR]

As it's an Italian Job car I feel it should be gold!

[Gillybobs]

My mate Simon popped round yesterday and welded the engine steady bracket to the bulkhead. He's made a tidy job of that so I don't think will be breaking off again !


Also my Dads got the cylinder head fitted and the engine timed up . The engine is looking very smart indeed !




I now need to crack on with engine bay and make sure it looks as good as the engine !

[Gillybobs]

Well I was intending to crack on with the preping and painting but as always events have transpired against me!
3 weeks ago my youngest son who's just turned 2 was taken ill. He was taken to hospital and admitted and diagnosed with type one diabetes. He's spent nearly a week in hospital while me and my Mrs had intensive training on how to manage the diabetes. Very frightening time indeed.
So he's come home and doing very well!
I had a week of work while we settled into caring for bed new condition .
So one afternoon while I was off i thought I'll have a couple of Hours on the mini. I was rubbing the engine bay down and thought I'd have look under the nearside wheel arch and remove the charcoal canister . After doing that I was looking at the shock mount and thought it looked a bit shabby around it. I had a brain wave and thought I take the mount off and take it to my mate garage to bead blast it. What I didn't count on is that it was totally rotten behind the bracket !

So now I'm going to make a plate up and get the hole welded up.
My Dad has been plodding away at the engine. He's had all the nuts and bolts zinc plated and they look stunning.

Just a few more shots of the engine.





He's now stripped the gearbox and once again it's in remarkably good condition. We just discussing what we 're going to do with it . We're not sure weather to replace the baulk rings as the ones in the box seem to be hardly worn.



Got a bit more time off work soon so hopefully will get the engine bay painted when I'm off.

[johnR]

that engine is looking lovely - good move getting the fixings etc re-plated, it's much nicer using new looking parts. it seems some replacement baulk rings are odd sizes so might be better to retain the old ones. Are you fitting a central oil pickup in the box?

[Gillybobs]

We've decided to use the original baulk rings as the measure up with minimal wear. We're just using the standard oil pick up as the engines very standard and I'm not building a track weapon just trying to build a reliable car to take my family to a few local car shows .

[Gillybobs]

The engine is now finished!




Had my mate Simon found to repair the where the shock mount fits .


Now the engine looks so good i thought the engine bay needed some attention . I've cleaned it all up and got it primed hopefully I'll get it painted later this week.



I 've also bought one of the spi style engine stabilizers


I have a had it bolted to the bulkhead but it seems to flex a bit so I don't think I'm going to bother with it .


Also the front sub frame has been powder coated and other parts blasted ready to be painted.
Need to get all new sub frame and engine mounts sorted . Hopefully going make a bit of good progress soon !

[Jgguinness]

Looking really good!!  Well done.

[Gillybobs]

A bit of base coat an lacquer ! See how it looks when it dries .

[jamesquintin]

nice. what paint are you using?

[Gillybobs]

I've used some rattle cans that have been mixed by a paint shop .
Really impressed with them for what I've used them for as I've not got a compressor or spray guns at my house. Think the paint cost about £35 and the cans are easy enough to use so its a good way to paint something like the engine bay yourself .

Edited by Gillybobs, 22 September 2018 - 09:06 AM.

[Gillybobs]

Starting to get things back together!
Bought a bulkhead foam which I had trouble with that didn't have the correct holes in it but the vendor sent me a replacement that had the correct holes and fits really well.


So after fitting that I fitted a really good condition second hand wiring loom. My old loom wasnt in the best condition and needed a few repairs so I decided a replacement loom was the best option.


I've also run a new brake pipe from front to rear




The wiper motor is ready to be refitted


Also the front sub frame is rebuilt ready to be fitted back into the car. It's got new suspension cones and brake lines ect .

[Gillybobs]

Subframes fitted !



Hopefully refitting the engine very soon .