166 replies to this topic

[MGMT]

wow are you sure thats the same garage?!

[oli8925]

haha sorry. no, just to clear up, the clear garage is not the same one as the stuffed garage above.

the bad one is at my dads and the clear one at my mums where i and the car live. as im not going to need to use my dads anymore, he can do what he likes with it im not clearing that up!

[oli8925]

asking for some inspiration and motivation! i need to go outside and sweep the garage, straighten out my bent seat brackets, attach the seat back into the mini, then fiddle about under the bonnet taking some things off. but ive just got back from work and its so cold and dark, i really dont want to help me!

[twiglett]

have a cuppa
take it outside into the garage put some headphones in and have a little jig while you are sweeping, that will keep you warm
or alternatavely wear a coat.

if you sweep out the garage and move the other bits then surely you could push baby in there and into the warmth(ish).

[oli8925]

cuppa and a coat will do infact i think its colder in my room than it is outside anyway need to get some gloves!

i dont really fancy moving her myself. id have to push her backwards, then forwards and right up a hill, then back down and up again as i mount the pavement leading to my driveway, then down the driveway where im worried if i dont leg it back to the drivers seat in time it will just roll down and ill have a written off back end too then theres also the manuvering into the garage as ive got to get tucked in as close to the wall as possible. i can see it going wrong

[twiglett]

cuppa and a coat will do infact i think its colder in my room than it is outside anyway need to get some gloves!

i dont really fancy moving her myself. id have to push her backwards, then forwards and right up a hill, then back down and up again as i mount the pavement leading to my driveway, then down the driveway where im worried if i dont leg it back to the drivers seat in time it will just roll down and ill have a written off back end too then theres also the manuvering into the garage as ive got to get tucked in as close to the wall as possible. i can see it going wrong

i can come round quickly if you want

[oli8925]

ok, well ive just come in from sweeping the garage (now coughing and spluttering everywhere) and put the seat back into the mini. not very secure though as the door side holes of the beam running across the floor of the mini is more out of shape than i first thought and therefore cant fit that bracket on. this is one of my big worries about the repair, how do i repair that? pics on their way.

the brackets i couldnt straighten either so ive used the ones off the passenger seat and will do them tomorrow with the aid of my grandads big vice.

and another thing is im still worried about the sills. sorry david i know you think itll be fine, but they have creased slightly. got pics of the drivers side but not sure how well theyll come up. and was also looking at the patches i previously welded into the floor, and thought if im spending so much getting the rest of the car nice and rust free and immaculate as possible, i might as well get new floorpans and sills welded in anyway, after straightening of course. 1. for my own satisfaction, 2. to make it look nice, and 3. so my dad stop moaning about weakness of the floor so much...although i doubt that will stop. and i suppose redo the boot as well as that wasnt the tidiest of welds, although solid and well done. rear valence could do with being replaced anyway and rear subby will be out to have everything cleaned and checked over then resprayed black. its red at the moment which clashes or summit

ho hum. well see when we get to it i guess. cant wait to have my min all safe inside a heated garage with a nice bright light for good evening workings

Seat thing:


Sill

Edited by oli8925, 25 November 2008 - 11:11 PM.

[oli8925]

just confirmed i have sunday off work but im working saturday instead which will be hell so ill be really tired. nevermind.

and bad news on the engine stand situation, but maybe that skateboard will be of use after all. i did keep it for a reason.

just about to force myself out into the rain to take some more things off the min in preperation for sunday.

[oli8925]

just got in 15 minutes ago from working on the min. my back is killing me! and my now immediate problem is i have work tomorrow serving arsey customers coffee, and i have black dirty hands. it looks pretty bad.

but anyway, progress...

started off with taking the heater out, didnt go so well and ended up doing the manly thing and got angry so one of the hoses still has its pipe thing attached to it as it snapped off the heater. so thats my working heater done for. me thinks MPI heater as a replacement.

then i moved on to getting the carb off. so started with the air filter but as the engine has been pushed back the filter was right up against the bulkhead so wouldnt move. so i tried removing the carb and filter from the manifold. got a bit of movement but still no luck...so i went on to removing the inlet manifold with carb and filter attached from the engine, and at last everything came off. so now there a lovely big gap at the back of the engine, and also found a couple of lost spanners!. by this time it was 11.30 so i packed up for the night, but not before removing the engine steady.

so not bad for one and a half hours in the dark with steady rain. time for a cuppa and bed



also, what should i use to clean the manifolds etc, and what should i use to paint them?

Edited by oli8925, 28 November 2008 - 12:09 AM.

[Junior Mini]

The best thing I have found to paint manifolds with is V.H.T (Very High Temperature) paint. Should be able to get it from most places.

Keep up the good work

[beaubrad]

thats what i sprayed my manifold with then i rapped it in that cloth stuff that keeps the temp down in the engine bay

[oli8925]

BIG thanks to david, mike and andrew for helping me out today. and sorry for standing around and doing nothing for most of it

finally got the engine out and the car in the garage. so no more freezing cold days out in the rain, might need to invest in a heater for the garage though. as for today my toes are just starting to thaw! hopefully ill now be able to crack on with stripping back and revealing the damage a bit more. and we'll see what we find.

as for the engine, what to do next? i need to find out if the gearbox is still ok, sort something out with my fillered sump plug (thanks for the nod mike), then do i just get it running, clean it up and paint it to sell? or do i take the head off and check it and replace all the gaskets and servicables?

P.S. Are you getting jealous yet heather?

right now, time to get number crunching...after food and tea!

Edited by oli8925, 30 November 2008 - 02:02 PM.

[WiredbyWilson]

wasn't a bad job, and forgot to take the seat belts off the engine - never mind haha.

have a nice red bruise on my thumb now, damn clutch slave bolt - was amazed i didn't swear with was good

have a look around on salvage sites oli to see what you can find in relation to mikes advice, straight front end panels etc. but you know where i am and will call the guy and see when he can come over to have a look.

will look forward to see how you get on with it, also ebay is a good source for panels to save a few beer tokens.

im stuck as to what to do with mine now. have the weber box and a "proper" manifold (cheekrs mike - diamond). Part of me wants to whip the dash out, fit the weber box and new manifold .

hmmmmmmmmm

[WiredbyWilson]

Floor Panels - in Kent! - £12

in factthat shop has quite a lot of the panels you might need if you went down that route Oli

[oli8925]

wow! thats cheap! even if i dont use them it would be worth getting just incase as i could sell them without loss!

hope your thumb gets better soon mate. thanks for doing pretty much all the work haha. i swear im not usually that lazy! ill take your seatbelts off and you can have em back. never thought about using seatbelts for such tasks stupidly. ive got 3 useless ones so they will be useful

haha, no leave it and stick it on your new special one that way itll be like having just got an even better more expensive toy to play with. im very much looking forward to seeing/hearing/feeling your new one. should be nippy