9 replies to this topic

[Crumbly]

Hi all.

Just bought a 1980 Mini 1000 (Photos to follow once I’ve removed some unwanted bling “upgrades” such as Cosmetic extra headlights, bars, chrome internal door fittings & bonnet straps as pretend Italian Job).

However, one of the real headlamp’s full beam wasn’t working & I thought one useful upgrade that was worth doing would be a conversion from sealed beams. I bought the Wipac conversion set and started fitting them. Had to change the sidelight/pilot terminals which I stupidly did before trial fitting. Then found out the sidelights on the Wipacs fouled the inner headlamp aim adjustment ring/bowl so new ones won’t seat properly!
Managed to rewire the terminals with a temporary connector so I could put original back in but has anyone else found this issue. Do I need to get a different fitting instead (eg Quadoptics where sidelight wiring is slimmer as no bulb holder sticking out the back) or have I possibly got a non-standard bowl/ fitting I should replace instead?

Many thanks

Dan.

[Ethel]

Could be any of those, nothing involved is Mini specific. It shouldn't be too hard to work a solution, perhaps some different sidelight bulbs/holders with wire tails or leds?

[Crumbly]

Thanks Ethel, looks live the Quadoptics may fit the bill then as just has two wires coming out from sidelight rather than bulb holder.

Here’s a photo of car as originally bought. Extraneous headlamps (not wired in) are now removed. Next step is to drill out rivets holding on the bonnet straps (which again are purely decorative and don’t actually hold down bonnet). The eight holes will need infill caps (small grommets may fit & look ok) or filler/prime/paint. There’s a rust patch on near side Lower A panel which needs attention at some point so may do the two together.

Clutch is a little harsh on take-up so needs adjustment/ investigation.

A couple of other minor jobs to do.

Apart from that it all seems good and ready for driving - day trip to b-roads around the foothills of Pennines planned for this week.

Dan.

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[Crumbly]

Update - Bought some P700 tripod headlights- no fouling at rear, fitted straight in & looking good.

Found out that clutch release spring is non original & too stiff so causing clutch to engage too harshly. Temporary fix of adding an extension between spring & lever (bit of old key ring) seems to help. New spring on order

[sonscar]

The spring pulls the arm and pedal back,is it so strong it overcomes the pressure of your foot on the pedal?Steve..

[cal844]

We cut a chunk out the adjuster ring for the side light

[Crumbly]

Hi Steve, no. Not that strong but so strong it took two of us pulling on it to remove it. YouTube video I watched didn’t seem to need half that effort.

Mine was a fair bit shorter than the spec I read somewhere but elsewhere suggests using stronger spring to overcome judder! Will have to see what happens when I fit original spec one! Cheers.

Edited by Crumbly, 16 April 2023 - 06:36 PM.

[Crumbly]

Hi Cal844. Thanks. That would probably be the next step but fortunately not needed now as the P700s fit well.

Cheers.

[Crumbly]

Fitted an original spring which was a different length. Clutch a little better, and even better after adjusting free float more accurately. Thinking it through though, that spring is mainly for pedal return rather than clutch itself isn’t it! Still not perfect and still juddering a bit so likely clutch internals need looking at for wear or oil contamination.

[Crumbly]

My local classic friendly garage agrees it’s most likely some contamination on the clutch and suggests an upgraded oil seal. They’ve unfortunately not got the tools for the job anymore (?) so does anyone know a place/expert around (south) Manchester UK that would be able to do this as it’s beyond my current limited spannering capabilities. Or even better, someone able to come & show me how to do it myself! Thanks.

Edited by Crumbly, 12 May 2023 - 06:35 PM.