I thought I'd start a thread where we can show bodges and screwups and downright deceit we've discovered.
This one is minor - but annoying. I was looking at the carburetor overflow pipe on my car and was wondering what's the deal with all the electrical tape that is wrapped around it? Was it done to dress up the pipe in engine compartment because it really needed to be painted? Nope. The tape was wrapped around there to hide some big holes in the pipe! Lovely.
Yeah, like THAT's going to contain gasoline!
I don't know where to start.....
How about using a solid line to connect a slave cylinder on a moving engine to a solid body!
is this thread for found or perpetrated bodge? ;D
When I replaced my floors I found that someone at some point welded rocker panels over the rotten rocker panels.
but to be fair, my repair was a bit of a bodge in itself...
Yes, you may confess past sins here my son.
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My first Mini had some interesting wiring done by a previous owner. He used home electrical wire, such as for a table lamp, and secured the connections into the Mini's loom with beige masking tape.
Covering cills and other various panels with panels is a fairly regular occurrence when I dig in. Sometimes I find rags stuffing holes or chicken wire with bondo over it. I'd even call what I found on Bruce's right wing a bodge considering a pro shop did up the car. I will admit the first mini I did was embarrassing how poorly I went about things. Just young and didn't know better.
Quote from: 94touring on August 28, 2018, 06:55:39 AM
I will admit the first mini I did was embarrassing how poorly I went about things. Just young and didn't know better.
me too. I've had to have my own handiwork repaired by a professional. That seam at the bottom of the kickplate had to be rewelded because my welds had cracked, and it felt like the front subframe was going to take off without the rest of the car...
Quote from: BruceK on August 28, 2018, 05:59:31 AM
My first Mini had some interesting wiring done by a previous owner. He used home electrical wire, such as for a table lamp, and secured the connections into the Mini’s loom with beige masking tape.
I had this in my 66 Mini that I had in the 70's. Big puff of smoke from the engine bay. Zip cord had been spliced in and soldered in poorly, then it weathered a bit.
I'm gonna count this one as a bodge. I pulled my water pump off this evening and discovered that my engine has a later model head without a bypass hose. But that didn't stop someone from using the wrong water pump and adding a slug of metal to fill the unnecessary bypass outlet on the pump.
By the way, that's only four years of rust and crap in there. And I flushed and flushed and flushed the cooling system. And that crap was still in there.
So, do I need a different new water pump? Because I just ordered a brand new pump and of course it has the bypass outlet.
Beige masking tape - interestingly enough, I pulled a small wad of masking tape out of my heater fan today.
Last weekend, I took the mini out on it's first drive since June for the club's last drive of the season. Horrible day, but had a great time. Cold and sunny, cold and windy, cold and rainy - biblical rain. Needed to run the heater, and all of a sudden it started making a heck of a racket. Decided not to run the heater until I got back to the garage.
I'd taped a nut and washer to a wrench in order to install the new ignition coil to the inner wing and the tape fell off of the wrench and into the fresh air duct; turning the fan on sucked it in.
Quote from: BruceK on August 28, 2018, 06:23:00 PM
I'm gonna count this one as a bodge. I pulled my water pump off this evening and discovered that my engine has a later model head without a bypass hose. But that didn't stop someone from using the wrong water pump and adding a slug of metal to fill the unnecessary bypass outlet on the pump.
By the way, that's only four years of rust and crap in there. And I flushed and flushed and flushed the cooling system. And that crap was still in there.
So, do I need a different new water pump? Because I just ordered a brand new pump and of course it has the bypass outlet.
I ordered the fancy one from spares without the bypass.
I have a pretty slick little kit you can use on your new pump to block off the pipe.....I bought the same pump for mine not realizing I needed the newer style too....I have a spare if you want it.
Quote from: MiniDave on August 28, 2018, 07:51:47 PM
I have a pretty slick little kit you can use on your new pump to block off the pipe.....I bought the same pump for mine not realizing I needed the newer style too....I have a spare if you want it.
I'm interested. What's in the kit?
Just a little rubber cap held on with a hose clamp....Looks like the rubber tip off a cane or something.
The new MiniSpares 'Evo' water pumps won't fit under the old, small pulleys, so you might need to check before you install. If you're using a large pulley, you might be ok - I haven't checked. I ended up shelving the new pump and using the small pulley on my 'not-so-old' old pump.
Quote from: MiniDave on August 28, 2018, 08:22:25 PM
Just a little rubber cap held on with a hose clamp....Looks like the rubber tip off a cane or something.
And it can deal with the heat and pressure? Sounds like a better solution than what I have. Yes I want it, please. Trade it for the choke cable?
Deal, I'll mail it out to you today but you can bring the choke cable up in Oct, no need to spend money to ship it.
Super! That way I can use my brand new water pump. Thank you
On it's way
Just found another &/$#%* bodge! The brake pressure regulating valve was secure to the firewall with a friggin' wood screw wrapped in electrical tape! Argh! I am pissed.
Haha!
That's the kind of stuff that makes me crazy! Really? You couldn't find a friggin 1/4-28 bolt?
Quote from: MiniDave on September 01, 2018, 12:56:43 PM
That's the kind of stuff that makes me crazy! Really? You couldn't find a friggin 1/4-28 bolt?
The hole where the bolt would go looks screwed up (sorry for the pun). Not sure there was ever a captive nut there - I'm going to have to run a tap in there to see if I can cut some threads for a proper bolt. But the sheet metal is a quarter inch thick there at most... I can kinda see why this was done.
Can you put a nut on the inside?
Quote from: MiniDave on September 01, 2018, 01:57:28 PM
Can you put a nut on the inside?
No, not accessible. Behind the hole is where the big bolt drops into the tower of the subframe.
That is not even the correct location for the regulator valve. It should be over more towards the engine steady - at least on cars without the horizontal mater cylinder and brake booster combination.
I am used to seeing that valve mounted just offset from where the engine steady mounts to the firewall, such that a nut can be reached from inside the opening for a RHD pedal box.
Quote from: MPlayle on September 01, 2018, 02:37:56 PM
That is not even the correct location for the regulator valve. It should be over more towards the engine steady - at least on cars without the horizontal mater cylinder and brake booster combination.
I am used to seeing that valve mounted just offset from where the engine steady mounts to the firewall, such that a nut can be reached from inside the opening for a RHD pedal box.
Thanks. That is what I was thinking. But I think I will install the new valve right where the old one sat, the rationale being I have 4 good brake lines bent up that run to that location now without any issues, and I really don't want to have to mess with creating new brake lines. And I have seen some photos on the Internet of the valve in that position, so my car is not the only one with it in that place.
(http://www.myminiproject.co.uk/images/mini201.jpg)
(http://www.myminiproject.co.uk/images/mini187.jpg)
Like Michael says, I think you can get a nut on it from behind the pedals, it's all open there.....What I do when I have an inaccessible like this is put some JC weld on it to hold the nut, then tighten it up. that way the next time I can just unthread it as the nut will be held by the JB.
If you can get any threads in the sheet metal, it should hold fine as the brake lines will keep it there.
Yeah they put it in the wrong spot. In the correct spot even if there aren't threads you can get a nut on the backside..
I found a solution. If I pull the big subframe bolt out, down in that empty cylinder I can see the back of the hole the wood screw came through. So I should be able to drill out the hole, try to tap it, and I should be able to get a nut on the back of it.
If you can drill it out then why not a riv-nut?
I had never heard of those, but I just looked up and I love the idea.
Edit: I love the idea, but a quick search seems to indicate I'd need a special tool and have to buy the riv-nuts in quantity. I've only got the need for one captive nut, so buying all that stuff would be overkill I think.
Uh.....I have the riv nut tool and rivnuts......
You do? But you are still doing the JBWeld a nut in place method?
I have the tool and rivnuts as well.
You can buy the tool and a "starter" selection of rivnuts (about 10 each in 4 different sizes) at Harbor Freight for about $20.
That's much cheaper that what I was seeing. I'll make a trip to HF tomorrow and check it out. Thanks guys! 4.gif
Quote from: BruceK on September 01, 2018, 07:24:34 PM
You do? But you are still doing the JBWeld a nut in place method?
Depends on the application, sometimes a rivnut is fine, sometimes I like a bolt and nut.
I used rivnuts instead of Dzus fasteners on the side covers of the Moke.
The new shell did not come with the wires/springs for the Dzus fasteners and a few of the posts in the covers were partially broken. I removed all the old fasteners when refinishing the side covers and used bolts, washers and rivnuts to give a clean look. Also makes the other covers consistent with the battery cover which uses welded captive nuts (which the new shell did come with).
or just put self-threading a sheet metal screw in it and be done as Dave said the brake lines alone will hold it just need it to not rattle around. You could also file the hole square and snap one of those plastic things in it like the mini voltage reg uses. Or some license plates use a bigger version.
Or the Riv nut they are kinda neat and worth having but when they spin in the hole later when trying to remove something what a PITA put some antiseez on the threads.
I purchased the riv-nut tool at HF, and I tried it out on some scrap metal. Works okay, but when I looked at the thickness of the sheet metal on the bulkhead, I judged it too deep for the riv-nut to work correctly. So I decided to tap it. Worked great.
At the top is the carburetor fuel overflow pipe that has rust holes in it (I posted about it at the top of this thread).
For a replacement, I decided to make my own so I bought some 1/4" copper tubing at the hardware store, filled it with fine sand so it would not kink when bending, and I attempted to copy the three dimensional S-shape and twists of the original. I had extra tubing so I tried it a second time and like that result better. I was going to paint it silver to match the original, but decided to polish the copper instead. And then I clearcoated it to maintain the shine - at the bottom.
Can you post the rivnut tool? I can't find it on harbor freight website. Or I'm not looking right. Thanks
Nice job!
Quote from: gr8kornholio on September 05, 2018, 07:28:59 PM
Can you post the rivnut tool? I can't find it on harbor freight website. Or I'm not looking right. Thanks
Here is the website link: https://www.harborfreight.com/45-piece-threaded-insert-riveter-kit-1210.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/45-piece-threaded-insert-riveter-kit-1210.html)
Thanks for the link.
When getting additional rivnuts (I needed a few more than came with the tool), I went with ones that have the ridged shaft. They are supposed to grip better into the hole and resist spinning loose better.
They work great for where I needed something instead of the Dzus fasteners on the side covers. Dzus fasteners are much more expensive, especially in small quantities.
I was not impressed with the quality of the riv-nuts that came with the HF tool. They seem to be chromed plastic with a metal threaded insert.
Mine were aluminum. I ordered a couple small bulk packs via Amazon and used those.
Quote from: Whee on October 11, 2018, 07:18:15 AM
Very minor, but amusing nonetheless. Here's the slave rod I just replaced on my pickup.
BTDT on the side of the road for a repair to get my clutch to work and make it home, although i used an acorn nut.
I'm been using this riv-nut tool with good results.
https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-1442-Setter/dp/B003TODXQW/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1539402882&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=Astro+1423&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/Astro-Pneumatic-Tool-1442-Setter/dp/B003TODXQW/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1539402882&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=Astro+1423&psc=1)
The hand-squeeze type from Harbor Freight seems like it wouldn't proved enough leverage. It take quite a bit of power to crimp the rivets. My latest riv-nut job was fastening the top of the grill to the engine bay lip. Yeah, I have quick-release grill buttons, but alway had a nasty grill rattle. The riv-nuts took care of it. A little spray can touch-up w/ black satin and I'm done.
I did the same for my grille screws. So much nicer this way. Also don't have to worry about the wiring harness rubbing on sharp screws.
A couple of weeks ago I did the same for the grille too.
I have been working on a customers car = 76'ish Canadian mini = Came with a 998 and Rod knock and no oil pressure. Customer had to replace the engine.
He sourced /FOund an engine sort of locally = brought it in for Install and running.
Last week = Hey = it runs pretty good =- all checks out = Let me bring your car back! Im done..
I get on the interstate and start going = its going ok . but strangely...
after 8-10 miles== I watch the oil pressure = from 65- to 55 -to 50 to 40 //Pull her off the road.. Stops on side of road.
I get it re cranked= 25 or less at idle..
Aint pretty.
limp it home (under 50Psi) whole time = less at idle... No knocking = no death.. but check things out,
Oil plunger = Why is a 1/4 Nut in there.?
Oil plug magnet + like s spikey tree - Not good strike 2
New plunger = no improvement to oil pressure.
=- Tear it down = Bye bye bearings.
Someone HAS been in this bottom end before= random hardware in wrong places./ New oil pump = cam looks 'new'
Bearing (rod and crank= are STANDARD = and Country brand == Look original.
I think we bought an engine on its last legs.. And some extra trash inside the trans + case made it done and done.
Also now found the spider gears in the differential are VERY Worn = Differential rebuild too! Upcoming!
Those bearings are toast!
Cross pin diff might be worth the money.....
Yea dont bother with a 4$ gasket.. Just put a glob of silicone on it
Oil Supply Hose = A+ block has crush washers...
Yeah, I have yet to see silicone or JB Weld hold against oil pressure......
My story, 79 Toyota pickup, pouring oil out of what looked like the head gasket, a great big gob of JB Weld stuck on the side of the block - my guess is to stem the flood of oil coming out. Pulled the head thinking I would find a bad head gasket, instead I found the front cover about 1/16' lower than the cylinder head surface. Pulled the front cover - missing the dowel pins that locate the front cover. replaced the dowel pins, new gaskets, put it all together - didn't leak a drop.