It hasnt turned a wheel for months. Some of the tyres have now gone flat.
I need to register it. I cant register it untill it has passed inspection. It cant go for inspection untill its insured. I cant insure it untill its registered.
yay for french paperwork.
Mini Van Rebuild - Slow N Steady.
Started by
dave21478
, Mar 02 2008 09:19 PM
141 replies to this topic
#137
minimininut
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Look Out For My Haynes Minature Engine Install Project
Posted 22 December 2009 - 06:20 PM
It hasnt turned a wheel for months. Some of the tyres have now gone flat.
I need to register it. I cant register it untill it has passed inspection. It cant go for inspection untill its insured. I cant insure it untill its registered.
yay for french paperwork.
Oh dude, that's rubbish!! How do people get round that kind of nonsense?!? Such a shame that you are facing yet more hurdles when you've come so far, but hopefully this will be the last mountain to be climbed... good luck and keep us posted
#138
dave21478
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Super Mini Mad
Posted 20 April 2010 - 06:27 PM
4 month passed? must be about time for an update then.
Well, Its sat for 4 months and not turned a wheel. The tyres had gone flat again and it had a decent layer of dust on it.
I dusted it off a few days ago, put some wind in the tyres and finished a few details in the interior - check straps to stop the doors opening too wide, door cards etc.
I took it for CT (french MOT) today, which was its first run in months, and the furthest and fastest it has driven under its own power since it last saw the road in the 90`s.
It sits fine on the road up to about 50mph, then scary vibes hit the steering wheel. The front wheels are unbalanced, so I assume that's the cause. My neighbour has a balancer so I will get him to sort that.
In for the test and it failed, but nothing serious. Firstly, its missing the front number plate. This is a ball-ache, as I need to source a uk plate, fit it, get it retested, then switch to french plates. I had hoped this would just be an advisory, but no. Hassle and expense I could do without.
Next up was a loose bolt on the front tie rod, where it meets the lower arm. The bolt is hanging in the hole and the nut is only on the end by a few turns. I guess I just missed tightening it during the build. Easy to fix though.
Thirdly, the rubber boots on the track rod ends have completely disintegrated. Those *melon*ers were brand spanking new and have done absolutely no mileage! I assume cheap chinese toss is to blame here.
Lastly, the emissions practically melted the probe on the test machine. CO should have been reading under 500, but was over 6000. The tester was sound and tried a few sneaky tricks to get the readings down but the end result was "computer says NO". So, a tweak of the mixture screw should hopefully clear that up. It smelt very rich on the run and smokes a bit still. I had already wound the mixture down massively as it was so rich when I first got the engine running that it was fouling the plugs every few minutes. God-knows why it was wound in so high.
Overall, Im pretty happy though - its a very minor snag list really after a complete bare shell strip down and nut n bolt rebuild, plus the drive there and back, which was a 90 km round trip gave me a lot of confidence in the car. It pulls pretty strongly, handling seems sharp and it never faltered. I had visions of it breaking down en-route or something spectacular like an electrical fire in the custom loom or a hub coming off and catapulting me into the scenery (I suppose if that bolt on the tie rod had dropped out this might still have happened!) but it went fine.
Its a bumpy mofo though, even more than I remember being normal for minis. I suspect the original rubber cones are past their best, so am debating on whether to invest in a set of coil spring replacements. If I do that, it will needs new dampers too, so its a fair few pennies, but might be worth the investment long-term.
Not too bad.
Well, Its sat for 4 months and not turned a wheel. The tyres had gone flat again and it had a decent layer of dust on it.
I dusted it off a few days ago, put some wind in the tyres and finished a few details in the interior - check straps to stop the doors opening too wide, door cards etc.
I took it for CT (french MOT) today, which was its first run in months, and the furthest and fastest it has driven under its own power since it last saw the road in the 90`s.
It sits fine on the road up to about 50mph, then scary vibes hit the steering wheel. The front wheels are unbalanced, so I assume that's the cause. My neighbour has a balancer so I will get him to sort that.
In for the test and it failed, but nothing serious. Firstly, its missing the front number plate. This is a ball-ache, as I need to source a uk plate, fit it, get it retested, then switch to french plates. I had hoped this would just be an advisory, but no. Hassle and expense I could do without.
Next up was a loose bolt on the front tie rod, where it meets the lower arm. The bolt is hanging in the hole and the nut is only on the end by a few turns. I guess I just missed tightening it during the build. Easy to fix though.
Thirdly, the rubber boots on the track rod ends have completely disintegrated. Those *melon*ers were brand spanking new and have done absolutely no mileage! I assume cheap chinese toss is to blame here.
Lastly, the emissions practically melted the probe on the test machine. CO should have been reading under 500, but was over 6000. The tester was sound and tried a few sneaky tricks to get the readings down but the end result was "computer says NO". So, a tweak of the mixture screw should hopefully clear that up. It smelt very rich on the run and smokes a bit still. I had already wound the mixture down massively as it was so rich when I first got the engine running that it was fouling the plugs every few minutes. God-knows why it was wound in so high.
Overall, Im pretty happy though - its a very minor snag list really after a complete bare shell strip down and nut n bolt rebuild, plus the drive there and back, which was a 90 km round trip gave me a lot of confidence in the car. It pulls pretty strongly, handling seems sharp and it never faltered. I had visions of it breaking down en-route or something spectacular like an electrical fire in the custom loom or a hub coming off and catapulting me into the scenery (I suppose if that bolt on the tie rod had dropped out this might still have happened!) but it went fine.
Its a bumpy mofo though, even more than I remember being normal for minis. I suspect the original rubber cones are past their best, so am debating on whether to invest in a set of coil spring replacements. If I do that, it will needs new dampers too, so its a fair few pennies, but might be worth the investment long-term.
Not too bad.
#139
jayare
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- TMF+ Member
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Up Into Fourth
Posted 21 April 2010 - 11:20 PM
That's not a bad list - pity about the UK plates though - bit of a waste to have to buy one for effectively one day and then bin it.
JR
JR
#140
analogue_radio
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Up Into Fourth
- Location: Melton Mowbray, UK.
Posted 22 April 2010 - 11:32 AM
Odd about those rubber boots! who manufactured them, do you know?
#141
dave21478
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Super Mini Mad
Posted 22 April 2010 - 05:02 PM
I ordered them from Minisport - just the first ones I saw, I cant remember if there was a choice.
I will get some photos at the weekend, but they have both completely disintegrated. Since fitting them a few months back, the car has done almost no distance.
I will get some photos at the weekend, but they have both completely disintegrated. Since fitting them a few months back, the car has done almost no distance.
#142
sonikk4
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Twisted Paint Polisher!!!
- Name: Neil
- Location: Oxfordshire
Posted 24 April 2010 - 09:07 PM
Ye gods, suitably impressed. For you to continue on what was a bucket of rust and to get it to its present state you either have the patience of a saint or barking mad (i suffer from the second malady with my sons car.)
Don't sell it you will regret it.
Don't sell it you will regret it.
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