The Cost of Ownership

[scalpel_ninja]

What was the shipping cost?

35.21 GBP, so $47.21

[94touring]

What was the shipping cost?

35.21 GBP, so $47.21

Yeah they definitely billed you wrong. Seems like DHL can't figure this out yet. 

[MiniDave]

My MiniSport order came in today, $500 of parts and no tariff charges.....yet!

My buddy Zac says he didn't get charged either on his last "Sport" order, and that was weeks ago.

I'm building up a front subframe for a Mini buddy - he's owned his car for many years now and has been working on it a little at a time, a few months ago he suffered a stroke, and while in the hospital they discovered he has Afib and bladder cancer.....so several of us in the Mini community are banding together to see if we can get his car together and drivable while he's still with us. He came out of the stroke much better than I expected, he's mobile and can speak just fine, but he's weak and his brain is not working 100% now....and of course there's the heart and cancer issues.

My part is to build the front sub so they can get it on its wheels and over to another guy's shop to put the motor and wiring harness in. The rear sub is in already. The motor came out of another car and should run just fine once it's bolted into the car.

[Dan Moffet]

Poor guy.

Afib: been there, done that. I lost count of the number of times I was in emerg for it. 4 ambulance rides before it was suggested I wait an hour before getting help, but not to ignore it because the turbulence it produces causes clots, which can lead to stroke. After that my wife would just drop me off at emerg. In the cubicle section I would be put in, there are 10 beds. I used 8 of them.

(The only cost to me was a nominal ambulance fee of about $40. No personal health insurance involved.)

[MiniDave]

Yeah, Bill's been an active part of our racing and Brit car group far longer than me, he's been a photographer for the Lawrence All British Club and has been at all our events, it's sad to see the sudden decline. Like all of us he's had other health issues his whole life and that's why we're trying to get his car together - so he can drive it at least a few times and feel the accomplishment after so many years of effort.

I got most of what I need to put the front subby together, the only thing I'm shy are ball joint shims, somehow they all went missing, even tho I have a full set of new ball joints. I didn't realize they weren't in the package with the ball joints till after I'd made the order to MSport and Bill has looked all over his house and can't find them. I've managed to scrounge a few used ones from local guys and probably have enough to do two ball joints now, but still need some for the other side. I'm hoping I can get some from one of the local Mini guys....

[94touring]

Yeah, Bill's been an active part of our racing and Brit car group far longer than me, he's been a photographer for the Lawrence All British Club and has been at all our events, it's sad to see the sudden decline. Like all of us he's had other health issues his whole life and that's why we're trying to get his car together - so he can drive it at least a few times and feel the accomplishment after so many years of effort.

I got most of what I need to put the front subby together, the only thing I'm shy are ball joint shims, somehow they all went missing, even tho I have a full set of new ball joints. I didn't realize they weren't in the package with the ball joints till after I'd made the order to MSport and Bill has looked all over his house and can't find them. I've managed to scrounge a few used ones from local guys and probably have enough to do two ball joints now, but still need some for the other side. I'm hoping I can get some from one of the local Mini guys....

I'd measure the OD and ID and go to Amazon for shim sets. 

[BruceK]

Today marks 4 full months since I filed my dispute over unspecified "government charges" with UPS over vague import items having something to do with tariffs and brokerage fees.

Of course I have heard absolutely nothing back from UPS on this issue.

[MiniDave]

But you got your money back from the CC company, right?

I was surprised as anything when I got the credit from DHL!

I don't know why we're not getting dinged on our MSport orders, however one of Zac's buddies bought a BUNCH of sheet metal from Sport (close to $2K worth) and it was held up in Memphis for over 2 months, they finally shipped it to him and they did hit him with over $600 in tariffs.

So who knows what the hell's going on.....

I did look at Amazon for shims, everything they had seemed to be for shimming gun barrels - couldn't find anything in the correct size tho. Mcmaster didn't have anything either....MPlayle has some, he dropped them in the mail today but who knows when they'll get here if this storms screws things up.

I'll put the word out to the locals and see if anything turns up.

[BruceK]

Yes. The credit card company did make me whole when I disputed the charges with them. However, UPS does not know that and my UPS dispute is lost deep in their corporate bureaucracy. Or they don't care to ever deal with it and are just hoping I will forget about it. Yeah, if they ever get back to me, I'll ask them to detail their mysterious charges – just out of my curiosity – and I will eventually tell them it was taken care of on the credit card end. So at this point, it's just kind of a novelty to see if they'll ever, ever address the dispute.

[MiniDave]

I got the left side done on Bill's subframe, and have packed the bearings and installed them on the right side, as well as replaced the needle bearings in the upper control arm, so those parts are ready once (or if) I get the shims I need for the ball joints.

[MiniDave]

So, between all my local Mini friends and my own stock and one far away friend (thanks, Michael Playle) I managed to find enough shims to get all the ball joints done. I went to install the axles and found that I had ordered only one stub axle nut, because there were a couple used ones in the parts he sent me, however after I got the axles all put together I found two things - the threads on the end of the stub axles fit my new nut, but not the old ones. Second, I wonder if these axles are long enough? I know they came from a drum brake car but I also think I've done brake kits like this and re-used the drum brake axles. They just look too short.....

As there was a used set of disc brake stub axles in the parts box and I had a few old axle nuts, I checked and those fit each other. So, either I take the completed axles apart and swap out these stub axles or I need to buy one more of the correct nuts so I can use the new ones. The used stub axles look to be in perfect shape.

In the meantime I went ahead and bolted in the used stub axles so if nothing else they can get the car to roll once the subby is installed in the car.

[MPlayle]

The castle nut threads are determined by whether the outer CV joint is for drums or disks.

The axle length is determined by the type of inner joint.  Pot joints are shorter and take a slightly longer set of axles than the older style 'u' joints or Hardy-Spicer joints.

[MiniDave]

Yes and no, I have two sets of stub axles with different threads on them, one set fine the other coarse. So you're suggesting one set were from the original drum brakes? Cause I always thought the drum brake CV's were smaller, and used a smaller nut on the outer end?

Also since we're using the standard rubber u-joints (it's just a 998 motor) these axles should be the same as on disc brake cars? Because I'm assuming these were the drum brake axles.

So it sounds like I need to find another of these newer axle nuts with the fine threads or just use these drum brake outer CV joints.

[MPlayle]

I know the drum brake outer CV joints are different from the disk brake CV joints.  I think the nuts are the same size, but different thread as well as the actual CV being different.

I have doen the disk brake convertion on a 998 with the inner rubber joints.  The axles are fine as the "missing length" in taken up by the rubber 'u' joint end of things.

You would use the disk brake outer CV joints.  I may have extras of the castle nuts.  I will check my "stash" and let you know.

[MPlayle]

Dave,

I stand corrected.

I checked my stash where I know I have a set of the castle nuts for disk brake CVs as well as a spare, new drum brake CV with its hardware.

The drum brake CV is indeed smaller diameter thread size and thus a smaller castle nut.

I know you can use the axles you have as they are the same as were on the white Moke I restored and I converted it to disk brakes while still using the original axles.

I do not know if the disk brake castle nuts I have are fine thread or coarse thread - nothing to compare them with.  I am willing to donate them to the cause as well if needed.  Call me and let me know if you want them.