September '04 Mini moved to Perth, staying
with Sam ("Sam One" Mini enthusiast)
for engine overhaul, brake fitting and "getting
it going". The rats have damaged quite
a bit of the wiring so a pretty much total
rewire will be required I think.
.
It took Sam and I about
90 minutes to pull the engine out and get
the head off...and have a cuppa.. Sam's
done this a few times before!
Freshly
cracked open.
The block looked great, no head gasket leaks,
pistons all look good. At this stage rings
is all we think we need.
Head
and valves looked great. Only one valve
looked a little dry. Head will get hardened
seats to run ULP.
16.9.04
Check out these babies!
The brakes are in, new brake lines, new
brake caliper seals, 8 new brake caliper
pistons, new brake discs, front suspension
back together, replaced all bushes, ball
joints and cones. 12" wheels are on.
Camshaft followers will be reground, double
timing chain going in, set of rings, new
oil pump, water pump, replacing the thermostat
housing.
Rear wheels stick out nicely,
up on stands in these pics, will be lowered
as far as possible, without being a problem
for the guards (flairs ready to fit, going
to leave them black at this stage, should
look good with the RED paint :)
Up on stands. 12" Performance Superlights
with Yokohama 539's all round :)
8.10.04 With the gearbox and engine both
wrapped in glad wrap in readiness for the
fitting of all the new parts, including
polished crank, rings, bearings, twin timing
chain, bits and pieces, I managed to get
Sam to take the glad wrap off the gearbox
for one pic. I was allowed to have it open
to the air for around 2 minutes before he
wrapped it up again, sealed until it would
be reunited with the block later this week.
He wouldnt let me take the glad wrap off
the block for fear of dust getting in! I
did take a pic but the glad wrap spat it
right back at me with the flash from the
camera. As you can probably guess, the budget
has grown with this project, but Sam is
doing an excellent job, so on we plod :)
It will be worth it I'm sure. I'm using
the original gearbox from the 998cc '78
Clubman Van, topping it with the 1275 which
was previously bored out to 1300cc in an
earlier rebuild. This rebuild will make
no difference to the engine capacity it
previously had, but it will have added reliabilty
with a few things replaced to make it stronger,
to last longer.
Finally,
the Mini is home!
Sounds great (temporary exhaust), a borrowed
SU to get it home, with the Weber being
reconditioned, hopefully pick it up later
this week or next week.
New frigging just about everything, including
oil pump and new electric fuel pump.
I still have a heap of wiring to replace,
battery to install, new oil feed line to
the oil pressure gauge to replace (eaten
by rats), replace wiring to the tacho, remove
borrowed exhaust and replace with hotdog,
remainder of exhaust pipes and bottom extractor
pipes.
Its still sitting very high (new cones),
but will wait to see how it settles before
I go and order hilos. Settling could take
several weeks apparently.
The gearbox/shifter feels like shit. The
gear change is SO stiff and crunchy it worries
me, but Sam assures me it will get better...
it better. At the moment its so hard to
change gears I'd call it almost undriveable.
Will hope that gets better.
Serious positive/?/negative camber sees
the top of the front wheels pointing outwards
- that will need to be rectified also. As
the car lowers or I lower it, this will
be taken care of, but if that's not enough
to fix it then I'll have to install adjustable
arms.
Its running Penrite 20/60 and was pushing
70lbs when tested.
The cam sounds as lumpy as it ever was,
just love it :)
The new red engine, new leads, hoses, bushes,
seals, mounts....
Next:
Pickup and install the freshly reconditioned
weber.
Install new battery.
Replace oil pressure guage feed line and
tacho wiring.
Replace any other wiring crucial to run.
That should see it being able to key start
and take it for its first drive!
Then:
Replace borrowed exhaust system with hotdog
and pipe.
Paint engine bay, interior of doors, floor,
etc.
Repair 2 small dents in the roof, apply
numerous coats of luscious red paint followed
by several coats of clear. Fit the new flairs.
Refit interior trim, new mirrors, carpet.
Fit a radiator overflow tank.
Polish or rechrome if necessary, then refit
bumpers and chrome trim.
