87 replies to this topic

[Guennie]

Hi guys,

I haven't been on here for a while but am now back and thought i'd give you an update!

I haven't managed to hit my christmas deadline for the turbo conversion! not by a long way! I've been collecting as many of the parts as i can whilst using the mini as a daily drive. In october i decided that the turbo conversion wasn't exactly going to be a quick swap in a weekend, and that it wasn't going to be the most practicle car once finished! so decided to take it off the road and bought myself a cheapish but sound pug 306.

Having a car that i can now drive without worrying about where i park it or whether it gets scratched is great but it isn't exactly fun! So one of my new year resolutions (which i deffinatily will keep!) is to get the mini back on the road before my birthday and the london to brighton (May). In theory there shouldn't be too much to do. i have some minor bits of rust that i need to sort, but other than it's mainly rebuilding the engine.

Today me and dad decided to swap the cars over, so i could work on the mini in the garage attached to the house. Basically this means that the garage i'd cleaned and sorted in the summer now needs to be transferred into the other one! Annoying but at least i have electricity and lights in the new one, and it's relatively warm and has easy acsess to mum with the kettle!

Anyway, I'll try to keep this thread updated if people are interested, and will take pictures at each stage.

Cheers,

Guennie

[Jordie]

Look forward to seeing the conversion.

Have you got all the bits? Tank, regulator, 8mm feed and return fuel lines,bulkhead box etc?

Jordie

[Guennie]

Look forward to seeing the conversion.

Have you got all the bits? Tank, regulator, 8mm feed and return fuel lines,bulkhead box etc?

Jordie

Hey, i've not quite got everything yet.

I've got the baulkhead box, Plenum chamber for an intercooler and dumpvalve, an MPI fuel tank (and a right hand tank too). and loads of other random bits and bobs!

I'm starting to look for thinks like the regulator, 10PSI wastegate actuator, megajolt setup now.

I started the old 998 thats in it at the moment up the other day and it sounded awesome! made me want to get it on the road again ready for the good weather!

Guennie

[Jordie]

I know what you mean. Saw my car the other day sat in the garage and i need it on the road. 1380 going in there in next few months

Make your you get the proper rising rate MG turbo regultor. As the fuel pressure increases with boost.

Dump valve is cool, i loved mine. Suprises people when a mini dumps out driving through town.

Megajolt is defo needed if you are going to think about increasing boost. Have you worked out the CR yet? or u doing this during the engine build?

[Guennie]

I've not worked out the compression ratio yet. I'm going to do that during the engine build. The last thing i want to be doing it running a CR thats too high and going through head gaskets and valves every 5 mins! Although its going to be a weekend/summer fun car i dont want to go too over the top with the boost! I'd like it to be resonably reliable! 10psi shouldn't be too high should it? though i know i'm going to have to make sure i dont keep turning it up lol

Guennie

[Jordie]

Actuator is the best bet for 10psi. As with fitting a bleed valve, u get tempted to turn it up.

On the 1310 turbo I had, it would run 15psi boost. But we run it around 10psi and it was plenty fun/fast. Torque steer is the thing to watch for. Pull out then floor it to overtake or work on them arm muscles a little bit.

Should be a nice reliable motor at 10psi. If you can afford it, when fitting the intercooler pipework, fit 2 temp sensors. One before the intercooler and one just before the plenum. This will mean u can keep an eye on the boost temp. If it gets too hot, it can lead to problems.

On turbominis they suggest fitting an air/fuel ratio gauge too, but i dont know much about these.

Jordie

[miniboo]

Is it defo an MPI tank you have as i have an SPi tank and could do you a swap for the fuelpump as i need the higher PSi one.

Also i will have a MJ setup available soon including loom and EDIS unit(need to keep the coil)

[edi57]

Glad to see you've got your page updated!

When you need that bulkhead box welding in let me know.

Have you seen my latest work? I'm now ready to start on the big stuff!

Ed

[Guennie]

When you need that bulkhead box welding in let me know.

Have you seen my latest work? I'm now ready to start on the big stuff!

Ed

Hey,

Yeah, i've seen some of the pics of you lastest stuff and it looks absolutely spot on! I think i'll deffinaily have to take you up on the baulkhead box welding offer!

Today i had a real sort out of the garage where the mini now is. I've cleared and cleaned up a work surface where i can start to rebuild the engine. Whilst doing this we came across a lot of my dads old mini bits. Things like a mk1 grill with spotlight holes, 5 mk2 cooper s wheels, mk2 gearbox and many other bits and pieces. These will most likely end up for sale on here as i have no need for them, so keep your eye out if your interested.

I also had a little prod around the rust bubbles on the front end to see the extent of it. At the moment it seems like its mainly surface rust but i also found a point where the front panel had a little split in it. I'll have to have a better look around it (when it's warmer) before deciding whether i'm going to repair and respray the affected areas or go to a fibreglass flip front (which i am very tempted to do anyway!).

Although i would have loved to do some more work on it today, i got far to cold and decided to call it a day at lunch time! I hope to start stripping the engine tomorrow now that i have a nice clear space to do it.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the rusty spots and split i had a prod at.

Guennie

here's the split


Under the headlight


Scuttle (its worst than this pic shows

[edi57]

It's good to see that things are moving with ur Mini.

I think I'll have to visit sometime soon and see the engine strip. I've never taken an engine to bits properly yet so it would be interesting to see.

Ed

[barrythebodger]

looking good, any updates?

[Guennie]

Hey,

Just thought i'd give you an update of what i've been up to over the last couple of weeks, before i have another good go this weekend!

I decided to start stripping the engine about a week and a half ago. The head had already been removed so basically it was just going to be a case of splitting the block from the gearbox. Whilst this would normally be a straight forward job i came across a small problem that stopped progress dead! After removing the flywheel cover i went to put the 1 1/4 socket on the flywheel bolt only to find that it didn't fit. I'm sure on the other engine i stripped it was 1 1/4 but this one looked to be more 1 1/2. After hunting around my garage or ages i couldn't find a 1 1/2 socket so had to call it a night after less than half an hour

I managed to get hold of the correct size socket from a friend and after a bit of gentil persuasion (sp) the flywheel bolt came off, then the clutch and flywheel assembly came off using the puller. After this it was simply a case of removing the different nuts and bolts, and putting them in labled bags so i don't lose any when i come to rebuild the engine.

I was following the haynes manuel which then told me that when i had removed all the block to gearbox bolts i had to attach the lifting harness to the block ready to lift it off the gearbox. Well i didn't have any lifting harnesses so i had to do my best "worlds strongest man" impression and lift the block off and put it on the bench. The initial inspection of both block and gearbox seams to show that there is very little wear and that it has been looked after really well, which is nice!

I went to bingly hall last sunday looking for a few bits and pieces and mainly some inspiration. As i have mentioned before i've been toying with the idea of a fibreglass flip front, and after speaking to a chap who owned a nicely done orange flip front mini i have made my mind up and am going to go for it! I got paid today so it doesn't look like the money is going to stay in my account for too long!

So this weekend i'm going to make a start on the bodywork by chopping the front end off the mini! I know it seams like im doing too many things at once but i'm a bit stuck with the engine at the moment and am waiting for parts so i need to be getting on with other bits. I also made the mistake (after a beer or two) of telling a friend that it would be ready for the l2b and that i would take him, so now we have a little wager on it, so i have a deadline i really want to hit!

Progress in pictures:

Flywheel removed


Gearbox


Block


Lightened duplex timing chain


Plenum chamber (modified for intercooler and dump valve)


X pin diff


Straight cut drop gears


Hopefully if all goes well this weekend i'll have another update soon.

Cheers for looking,

Guennie

[Ethel]

Who knocked the plenum up? Looks like a nice tidy bit of work

[Guennie]

Who knocked the plenum up? Looks like a nice tidy bit of work

I bought the Plenum from a guy on the Turbo Minis forum. I think his mate had made a whole load of them a while ago. It's really nice though, and the welding is absolutly spot on!

[Brisa]

Looks like a great project and all well thought out without rushing in. Will be keeping my eye on this.

Edited by Brisa, 31 January 2009 - 11:43 AM.