Restoration-Mini

Technical Forums => Restorations => Daves Garage => Topic started by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 01:37:24 PM

Title: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 01:37:24 PM
1990 Cooper 1275, 57K miles, LHD, 13" wheels and clean as a pin! I pick it up on Sunday.....
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: LilDrunkenSmurf on August 19, 2016, 01:41:53 PM
I'm so ridiculously jealous right now.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 19, 2016, 01:48:59 PM
Quote from: LilDrunkenSmurf on August 19, 2016, 01:41:53 PM
I'm so ridiculously jealous right now.

If you only knew what he paid...
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 01:50:03 PM
I did OK, there are a few small rust issues that will need addressing, but overall it's a solid car.

LDS, that's right, it's very similar to your car! Not Japanese spec tho......
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: LilDrunkenSmurf on August 19, 2016, 02:07:06 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 01:50:03 PM
I did OK, there are a few small rust issues that will need addressing, but overall it's a solid car.

LDS, that's right, it's very similar to your car! Not Japanese spec tho......

Not Japanese spec is what I wanted. LHD, BRG, 1275cc, 13" wheels, big flares. Bang on with what I want.

What did you pay for it?
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 03:25:58 PM
I don't want to say, but it was a good deal.......I'd swap someone a KM speedo for a Miles one.....
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 19, 2016, 03:35:14 PM
Your other mini might have a miles one...and Vikram might have one out of his spi engine too.  I will confirm this week, unless he reads this and peaks at them.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 03:58:13 PM
The one out of the other Mini could work, I'll most probably be using an electronic or GPS speedo in that one. However, they may be different, I've read that the injected cars had a different cluster - could just be the warning lights tho - although they had taller diff ratios too - that could be the difference.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: stan360 on August 19, 2016, 04:02:13 PM
Agh ... you beat  me to it Dave ...that was a good deal. I thought I was going to drive that home this weekend
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Jims5543 on August 19, 2016, 04:04:20 PM
I am just trying to figure out how he drove it onto those ramps.



Great find supper jelly....
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 19, 2016, 04:32:50 PM
Quote from: stan360 on August 19, 2016, 04:02:13 PM
Agh ... you beat  me to it Dave ...that was a good deal. I thought I was going to drive that home this weekend

Off topic, but nice David Bowie pic.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Vikram on August 19, 2016, 04:46:43 PM
I have a mph cluster that you can have. Not sure if it's any good for you
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 05:24:22 PM
Oh, I like the white dials, and the miles are close! Thanks!
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MPlayle on August 19, 2016, 05:34:24 PM
I'm jealous.  I had to give up the Tahiti Blue Mini due to family health situations that became the passing away of my father last weekend.  A whole lot of things may be in transition over the next few months.

I keep "lusting" for another classic Mini (or maybe even another Moke).  Some day ... sigh.

:(

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 05:38:42 PM
Sorry for your loss Mike........

Things will change, that much we know - and that you'll have another.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Jims5543 on August 19, 2016, 07:51:40 PM
Dave in all seriousness, great find and great get and great deal.

I love the color and the look of that car, it looks like a great car.

Best of luck with it.




Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MPlayle on August 19, 2016, 08:03:07 PM
Dave,

Thank you.

As Jim says, great find on that car and best wishes for enjoying it.

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 08:04:15 PM
Danko.....I'm anxious to pick it up....I could have gotten it tomorrow, but my buddy is going to drive me up on Sunday so the guy can check out his Vtec P'up.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Vikram on August 19, 2016, 08:20:39 PM
Dave,
If you're interested in the gauge, I can either mail it to you on Monday, or leave it at the shop if you plan on dropping by in the future. I have no use for it.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 19, 2016, 08:52:58 PM
Just leave it with Dan, and thanks!
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: stan360 on August 19, 2016, 09:33:09 PM
Quote from: 94touring on August 19, 2016, 04:32:50 PM
Off topic, but nice David Bowie pic.

ha , yeah.....Ziggy Stardust man !
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: jeff10049 on August 20, 2016, 08:42:55 PM
Way Cool 4.gif
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 21, 2016, 03:17:55 PM
OK, so I drove the Racing Mini home today from Lawrence via Baldwin City and a bunch of back roads - way more fun than the boring interstate! The car ran great with no issues - it ran a little warmer than I wanted but if I slowed down it dropped back to normal again - I think my Aluminum radiator will probably cure that. I do wish it had taller gears, or a 5 speed!

But I've decided to just have fun with it for now and leave it be.

The one thing I'm considering is a set of coilovers to help the ride a bit.

Other than that it's pretty much good to go. The Play Mini exhaust really barks and pops on decell - fun stuff!

Vikram, if you could send the gauges after all I'd appreciate it - it's a PITA trying to do math while driving (converting Kms to miles) also, those dark green instrument faces are difficult to read, I think the white ones will be much better. Thanks again and good luck at school this fall!
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 21, 2016, 03:44:15 PM
How'd I know the aluminum rad was going in! 
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Vikram on August 21, 2016, 03:47:28 PM
Well I'm off to mail a set of vents tomorrow anyway, so I'll send the gauge too. Could you pm me an address?
Nice mini btw. What's the bore of the playmini exhaust?
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 21, 2016, 03:58:20 PM
I think it's 2".....

PM'd address already.

Dan, you were right! It's didn't get hot - about halfway between the N and H, and when I dropped back to 65 mph it came back to N again, but it was only about 80* today. I think it will need the extra cooling when it really heats up next summer. This rad will work fine for the engine test stand......
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 21, 2016, 04:15:42 PM
That's the same problem I had.  Put in the aluminum rad and that problem went away, even in 90+ temps.  I do have an extra thick rad, so not sure what size yours is, but either way will help.  Only time it creeps between N and H now is sitting in traffic in 90+ temps, but the external fan I stuffed between it and the inner wing kicks in and the temps drop immediately. 
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 21, 2016, 04:23:30 PM
Mine's a 2 core, I think......could need to be cleaned out too.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Dmulder on August 22, 2016, 07:51:06 AM
I don't mean to sound stupid but what is a "play mini exhaust"?  Also my mini has one gauge. That is the speedo. It has one red dummy light for the ignition and that is it. Should consider adding some gauges like a teach, oil pressure, water temp?  Keep in mind I live in Michigan right along the lakeshore of Lake Michigan so hot here is a relative term. We might get 5 days a summer of 90+ temps.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 22, 2016, 07:52:31 AM
Play mini is a brand. 

Oil pressure and water temp are good ideas.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 22, 2016, 08:32:48 AM
Right, Play Mini make stainless steel exhaust systems that I think sound pretty good, mine just has the box at the back, no resonator - I haven't driven it with the windows up on the highway to see if it drones or is too loud, but so far I like it!

My friend John Styers has one on his car, that's where I first heard one and I really liked it, but they're not common over here.

I agree, temp and oil press gauges are a good idea, but not critical.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 22, 2016, 02:46:50 PM
Here's a quick vid to show how it sounds.....

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Willie_B on August 22, 2016, 02:58:39 PM
 4.gif 4.gif 4.gif sounds nice
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 22, 2016, 03:20:27 PM
Sounds good from here!
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: LilDrunkenSmurf on August 23, 2016, 07:39:13 AM
Just sell the whole car to me.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: roadhouse on August 23, 2016, 07:46:01 AM
Looks and sounds great. Nice score
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: Jims5543 on August 23, 2016, 12:01:09 PM
Sounds awesome, which I could stumble upon a deal like that, it would force me to sell off the E30.

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 23, 2016, 04:15:07 PM
Obligatory Mini/MINI pic.....

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 26, 2016, 04:26:13 PM
After doing a bunch of vin sleuthing and googling, turns out my car is actually a 1990, although it originally came with a 998, not the 1275 A+ that's in it now.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: 94touring on August 26, 2016, 04:42:02 PM
Very cool.  Still out romping around in it?
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 26, 2016, 04:57:32 PM
Of course, I buy em to drive em!   ;D

Got caught in a torrential downpour the other day and it was definitely a little squirrelly, so tomorrow after Cars and Coffee I'm headed up to school to balance the wheels and check the alignment. However, the good news is I saw no leaks, and the wipers wiped!

I also need to do something with the carb, it needs a rebuild or sumthin, it runs fine but it's very cold natured, yet seems rich as hell when running and idles at 1500 rpm.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 29, 2016, 11:08:39 AM
Sunday I took the car up to school and raised it on the lift and I'm happy to report I found no rust on the underside of the car, the sills, floors, boot floor etc are really solid.

I did find a leaking shift rod seal so there was a bit of oil on the bottom of the car. I also found some new stuff - new steering rack, outer CVs and tie rod ends - even the ball joints looked recent if not new.

While it was on the rack I decided to balance the front wheels. it had an intermittent but really strong shimmy in the front and I'm happy to say the balance job seems to have eliminated it. I still have a tiny bit of shake at speed so I may take another run at balancing them but I'm glad that's all it was.

Next up I'll change the radiator out and if I can figure out how to reach the wing nuts that hold the wood dash in I'll change out the instruments that Vikram sent me (thanks again, buddy!) so I won't have to try and do math while I drive. I also will wire in some 12V ports for my Garmin GPS and dash cam, tho I think I need to find a better spot than on the windshield for the cam after re-watching the vid I posted. In that vid it looked like the camera was mounted on a gimbal instead of suction cupped to the glass!

Then I'll be sending off an order of suspension bits and such for winter projects. It's great having access to the school's equipment so I can set up the suspension and such on the Hunter laser alignment machine, wish I had access to a set of scales so I could corner weigh it too.....oh well.

Lastly I'm looking at making a rear sway bar - the car handles well as is (don't they all?) but I really wanted one on Buzz and never made it happen so this time for sure! I already have the Miata bar and bushings, all I have to do is locate it and make some drop links and attaching brackets.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: jedduh01 on August 29, 2016, 12:59:32 PM
Do you have any instructions or Destructions for the Miata swabar mod? (what years . front or rear? etc) or is this your own buld/
  Has this  been a regular thing for mini people to do?   I think I have both bars still from my miata days (stock)

= for the dash removal.

2 of the brackets will be touched from the glove box opening =  One is By the vent = and Beside the radio opening.
The 3rd worst one is on the steering side outer most bracket.  Have to reach up thru small hole in the lower parcel shelf to access the bracket and wing nuts..  Not fun but accessible.

check your dash too = is there a felt strip around the entire outer edge.  adding felt around the dash REALLY cushions the dash in the shelf openings to eliminate ALOT of rattles and squeaks.

Dont try to just take out the Gauge cluster from the wood dash = its very easy to chip the wood veneer when working around it= removing the whole whole dash is easiest - Speedo cable plugs on with a springy plastic clip end.

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 29, 2016, 02:05:36 PM
Miata sway bar - I've seen one done - my buddy has one on his P'up. It's the Miata front bar, and on his trucklette it's mounted ahead of the axle, vs all the aftermarket Mini ones that are mounted across the rear bar of the rear subframe. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it yet, but I plan to find a way. When I do I'll post up the details here......I already have the bars, but no end links. On my buddy's, they made the endlinks out of a couple of female threaded heim joints  and a short length of all-thread, attached to the lower shock mount - very simple. It really sticks in the corners and rides nicely too.

As for the dash, mine has an actual box for the glovebox, behind the door. Is it attached to the wood dash? If so I'll have to work around it. I was able to put my fingers on three of the four sets of what feel like wingnuts holding it in.

My plan was to leave the wood together and simply remove the instrument cluster from the back, it's only held in with some phillips head screws.. I need to remove the steering wheel anyway as it's an aftermarket wheel and doesn't have any lugs on the back to cancel the turn signals. I made some for my last car and it was nice having signals that self cancelled instead of finding myself a mile down the road still winking away!   ;D

Thanks for the tips!
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: towjoe on August 29, 2016, 03:04:45 PM
Sway bar..................
Some photos of my install.

I had the links laser cut.

Regards
towjoe 77.gif
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: John Gervais on August 29, 2016, 04:07:34 PM
I don't want to seem negative about these forward-mounted rear sway bars, but what happens when the car is on the ground and the rear wheel comes up over a bump?  Is there clearance or will you risk shearing the brake pipe?

I installed the MSC rear-mounted ½" rear sway bar (the 3/4" bar is adjustable and comes with rose joint drop links).  The metalastic-bushed drop links, located behind the brakes, swing forward between the rubber cone and backplate as the wheel comes up, avoiding potential contact with the brake pipe or emergency brake.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on August 29, 2016, 04:19:24 PM
Two questions.....

Joe, does your bar have a dip in the middle to clear the exhaust?

John, since you have a side exhaust, does the bar go up over the exhaust pipe?
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: John Gervais on August 29, 2016, 04:31:45 PM
I've got a center exhaust - custom-made Maniflow LARGE rear box (normally used in the 2" competition systems) twin-box system made with 1.75" pipe work and internals.  (now available as part number CLST001A)  Yes, I called Maniflow and asked if they could make it for me.

Since these photos were taken, I've changed the rear-most hanging bobbins to Maniflow's heavy-duty mounting bobbins.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MPlayle on August 29, 2016, 04:36:06 PM
One of my Minis had a forward mounted rear sway bar installed when I got it.  I removed it during the work I was doing and did not re-install it.  passed it along to the new owner when I sold that Mini.

Its drop links mounted to the shock stud at the wheel hub - between the shock bushing and the nut.  This put them clear of the hard brake line and hand-brake cable.  I did not trust the drop link approach it used - looked like standard eye-bolts.  The eye mounted on the shock stud, the threaded end had: nut, washer, rubber bushing, bar end, rubber bushing, washer and a final nut.  The bar was solid and the ends flattened.  The ends were slightly slotted were the drop link went through.

It did have a dip in the middle for clearing the exhaust.

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: towjoe on August 29, 2016, 05:10:34 PM
My sway bar has a dip for the exhaust.
The sway bar has been on since 2011 , no adverse affects.
I tend to drive hard , ask Guido.
Regards
towjoe 77.gif
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: John Gervais on August 29, 2016, 05:46:25 PM
Cool - just didn't wanna see brake juice and a soiled seat cushion.   :-\
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MiniDave on September 11, 2016, 01:41:58 PM
Mike and Joe, where did you get your bar?

Most of the ones I've seen for sale are like the one John has on his car.
Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: MPlayle on September 11, 2016, 06:07:46 PM
I don't know where the one on my former Mini (sold the Mini a few years ago) came from.  It was on the car when I bought it.

Title: Re: So this happened today.....
Post by: towjoe on September 11, 2016, 11:06:24 PM
Hi Dave ,
The bar came from my 60 mini . I kept it after selling the car. So I decided to put it on my 92 in 2011.
I think it was from a company that produced sway bars in the 80's , although I cannot remember the name.
regards
Joe
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 13, 2016, 11:18:09 AM
Today's project - swap in the instrument cluster Vikram so kindly gave me, not only do I like the magnolia faces better, it also has an MPH speedo....we'll see how accurate it is, but the KM one that was in it was woefully off, maybe this one will be better. Of course it won't matter when I change the diff ratio.....

Several things I learned.....there are three different methods of attaching the speedo cable - the old  tried and true threaded nut, the newer single tab that you push down to release the cable (Buzz had this style) and this third one used on the late style Seiki Nippon clusters. On this one you lift up on the tab that isn't solid and it slides right off......I used a thin blade screwdriver.

Second, the aftermarket wood dashes do not angle the gauges the way the factory surrounds do, so not only are the gauges flat to the dash, but you have to modify the tubes that show the turn signals and such so the gauges will fit in the surround. It only takes a few minutes with a hacksaw.....but that explains why the gauges were slightly difficult to read....the angle's wrong so it hides the upper part of the gauge. I can deal with that. Come to think of it, I've never driven this car at night, so I have no idea if the gauges even light up! I should probably check that while I'm in here......

Next I found out why I wasn't getting any air thru the left side vent - it wasn't connected - plus it was full of debris. I cleaned it out and put a short length of flex tube between the vent and where it exits the firewall. It may or may not work now, I won't know till the next time I hit the highway. 

I have two projects I want to do while I have the dash out, I want to wire up the 12V sockets so I can plug in my Garmin, phone or whatever and I'm going to make a simple blanking plate for where the radio was removed. Later this winter I'm going to install an oil pressure gauge, volt gauge and clock where the hole is - but that project can wait for now. One of the members here contributed a magnolia faced clock a while back (thanks!) and I'll order the other two gauges with my big suspension order. I have white faced gauges in the test stand that I could use, but I want to try and match what I'm putting in the gauge cluster. What the hey, it's only money!   ;D

Turned out there were three sets of wing nuts holding the dash in place, two sets were easy to reach, one was an absolute bitch kitty and instead of a wing nut on the top one, there was an actual nut, so not only did I have to squeeze my hand in the tiny opening I also had to feed a short 10mm wrench in and manipulate it to loosen the nut! I'll be changing that.....I doubt I can find a 6mmx1mm wing nut, so I'll relocate the one to an easier to reach place.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 13, 2016, 11:35:17 AM
Yeah when I did the dash on flur I found out there was fab work involved in getting the dash mounted to it. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 13, 2016, 12:00:35 PM
So, did you name one or was that the color (flur)?

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 13, 2016, 12:14:01 PM
That was the Tahiti blue build.  The previous owner named it flur.  I think that was before your time here.  The owner had a build thread going, fell into hard times, I bought it and built it for a guy in Indiana, then MPlayer bought it and has since sold it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jedduh01 on September 13, 2016, 01:05:17 PM
Told ya so = about the Drivers Side bracket  50.gif  - Its not Fun!   youll get better with it

Also - I see your vent backs  are still "full length"
  My car had the backs of the vents cut off= and then an Accordian style tube was a bit larger FIT Well between the vent and the body vent.

Very much pictured in this video here, and mentioned the 'cutting' of the vents in Part 1.  I think the accoridan vents allow the fit of the air to flow better than that rigid stuff.


https://youtu.be/TT4HCDFZH_8?t=1m34s
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 13, 2016, 02:21:23 PM
Wow Judduh, good eyes....yes my vents are still full length, so I'll mod them like the guy in the video, also I can remove that bracket like he did since the cluster is now attached to the dash.

I also liked his tip about using a bit of hose over the ends of the brackets to keep them from vibrating, although truth be told I never noticed hardly any rattles and vibrations in this car - except for the sunroof panel.

I made a simple black painted panel for a radio blank out, but I wonder if someone has their old wood blanking plate from putting a radio in their car - I won't install one in mine.....I rarely turn it on and don't miss it - besides, I doubt I could even hear the thing, especially on the highway!  ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 13, 2016, 03:38:28 PM
OK, so I cut off the ends of the vents, and I removed that bracket which really opens up the room under the instruments. I also made a blanking plate for the radio opening, but I ran out of black paint so it didn't come out great. Still, it fills the hole.

Next up, I need to wire in the power sockets, then make some lugs for the steering wheel boss so they will contact the ring on the turn signal switch and my signals will self cancel again. I'll need to replace that T/S switch at some point, the spring that holds the lever up off the high beams is weak or gone, and I find myself driving along with the high beams on, or they stay on after I shut the car off and run the battery down.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 15, 2016, 03:40:37 PM
And all back together now, I have since sourced a wood radio block off plate, should get it next week sometime but I'll leave my metal plate in for now. Next challenge is to see if the instruments work! I'll take it for a run tomorrow and see what happens. I did turn on the ignition and the oil and alt lights come on - that's a good sign. Plus nothing let any smoke out, so I have that going for me, which is nice........

I also got the self cancelling turn signals worked out, and the aux power sockets are wired up so I now can use my Garmin to see how fast I'm really going!  ;D

The last thing I did was cut a little notch in the fender for clearance for the corner of the radiator, these aluminum rads are a little wider at the top than the regular ones. The last drive I took the ambient temp was in the 90's and the gauge ran right where it's supposed too....I think this will be the answer to the hot running issues I had, just like Dan said. For $60 shipped these chinesium radiators are the tits!

Next up, suspension parts. I'm going with the Protech coilovers from Huddersfield, and I'll add adjustable lower arms, tie bars and camber plates for the rear, then take it up to school and align it up.

This winter I'll pull the motor, replace a few leaky seals like the one on the shifter rod and change the diff ratio. I also have new seat foams coming, and since the covers are in good nick it won't take much to straighten them out.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on September 15, 2016, 05:51:24 PM
Dave, where are you getting the seat foams from? I could use some for both the seat in my car.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 15, 2016, 07:47:34 PM
Mini Spares has them, the back is pretty cheap - $15 but the bottoms are $45 - so $60 per seat. A little spendy and I'll bet a good upholstery shop can make them for similar money, but I decided to try them......I'm only doing the driver's seat. It has a small tear in the vinyl that wraps around the bottom too, so I'll take the seat up to the local shop and have them sew a new piece of black vinyl on there, then put it all together. These later model seats are a whole lot better than the early ones, even the ones in Buzz (1980) were pretty awful.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 17, 2016, 04:29:48 PM
Ordered a couple of box loads of parts, fully adjustable suspension bits, coil overs, 3.1 diff ratio and so on, however they did not have the damn seat foams!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 18, 2016, 05:52:22 PM
After Dave's first post about the seat foams, I checked MSC's website, as my rear seats have long been on my 'someday' list.  Sadly, not available, nor are the vinyl covers.  They could probably get them from Newton Commercial though, as can we...

I think I'll end up trying to find a local boat upholstery shop and asking if they can whip something up. 

I'm toying with installing a fire extinguishing system and having the bottle mounted between the left & right seating sections of the rear seat, so won't be needing foam between the L & R sides of the rear seat, just the base and back sections where someone might sit and a vinyl cover that'll tie the two sections together - the extinguisher bottle would be bolted through this bit - as if a passenger could get behind the roll cage's 'X'.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 18, 2016, 07:53:55 PM
Yeah, since they didn't have the ones I needed either I'm going to take the seat apart and see if I can just pad it up some....it's not bad as it is, but could be better.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 22, 2016, 01:26:10 PM
Newton Commercial has the seat foams in stock, FWIW....that's probably where everyone else gets them anyway....about the same prices too.....

My suspension bits came in from Huddersfield today, everything looks complete and well made, the upper shock bracket in particular is one heavy piece of kit. I won't get to mess with them till next week, we have a KC MINI Club event this Sat and it may or may not rain buckets on us, if it does I'll drive the Blue Clubby, it doesn't mind the rain. If I like the way these ride and drive I'll do another set for my project Mini too...these were about $150 cheaper than the Gaz kits Mini Spares and others sell, and came highly recommended by John McGee of McGee Custom Minis, he's used three sets of them so far on his builds and swears by them, so we'll see. These are made by ProTech. I know Don's P'up sure rides better than any other classic I've ever driven and it has coilovers on the front only.

I had organized a classic Mini run for Sunday, but weather for where we were headed says 100% chance of thunderstorms, so maybe next Sat instead.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 22, 2016, 04:43:21 PM
Nice bits you've got there!

Yes, I've also looked at the Newton Commercial stuff.  MiniSpares used to feature their products in their catalogs, but I'm not going to pay their prices.  If I can't get something suitable sewn & stuffed locally, I'll probably simply dye the rear seat and call it good 'nuff.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 22, 2016, 05:58:18 PM
Boat shop is a good idea actually.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 22, 2016, 08:43:23 PM
I have a guy in the uk that does my covers.  Very affordable.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 23, 2016, 05:13:33 PM
We have a KC MINI Club event tomorrow that I wanted to drive the green Mini on so I took it up to school to try and balance the tires a little better - I decided to move the rears to the front and in doing so discovered a 1/4" spacer on the left rear wheel and a 1/2" spacer on the right rear!

So, I decided maybe some new drums were in order, but I can't decide if I need to bother with the superfins or just go with the regular Cooper S drums with the built in spacers. I figure with the coilovers and the 13 X 6" wheels I'm gonna need the spacers......

While up there I also found I have an alternator bearing making a lot of noise, and on the drive up the clutch pedal went to the floor! On top of all this my MiniSpares order came today.......looks like I get to make another. Lets see, new master, new slave, might as well get the hose too......drums, longer studs....the list just keeps growing!

On the good news side, all the instruments worked - mostly - the gas gauge is intermittent, the speedo is about 10% slow, but as I'm going to change the diff ratio that might work out. At least I have my Garmin to get the real speed now as my power sockets worked too.

I did manage to get the wheels really smooth - at 70 mph - but at 55 they shimmy a bit......who drives 55 anyway?!?!?  ;D

What a day. This car is becoming Buzz - Part 2!

Tomorrow I'll drive my 2009 Clubman S instead - it's gonna rain anyway!  ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on September 23, 2016, 05:56:09 PM
I think that car should have had drums with the built-in spacer from the factory.  They should have been like the Cooper-S drums - a 1" built in spacer.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 23, 2016, 06:02:54 PM
Yes, it should....you're right. Although this car was originally a 998......

Can't decide whether to get the finned drums or the standard ones.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on September 24, 2016, 04:58:48 AM
Anything that was originally after about 1984 (whether 850, 998, or 1275) had the 8.4" front disk brakes and rear drums with built-in 1" spacer and 12" wheels.

Most of the Minis I've had over the years had just the plain steel drums.  I had one that had the finned and really did not notice any difference in normal driving.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 24, 2016, 05:41:59 AM
Yeah.....the only reason to get the finned ones is style, and they're twice the money, even in the knock offs.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 24, 2016, 01:54:44 PM
Found a work around to keep my rear windows popped out - a short length of fuel hose fits right in, is unobtrusive and stayed in for about 100 mile run today. Next time I'll turn it around so the writing doesn't show...   ;D

Oh, and 90+* today and running 70-75 mph the temp ran right in the center of the gauge - these chinesium aluminum radiators are a heck of a value for $60 shipped - and they work!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 24, 2016, 03:15:15 PM
I love my chinese radiator! 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 25, 2016, 03:51:32 PM
I use MSC's Super MiniFin drums during the summer and change to cast iron drums in the winter.

EBC makes nice cast-iron drums -

I got these at Demon Tweeks (EBCDM016 (http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/brake-discs-vehicle-specific/car/austin/mini/1970/1275-gt/ebc-brakes-oe-replacement-rear-drum-single-rear-178mm) - the 'disk' image doesn't reflect the product, in this case a spacered drum).

This is the non-spacered drum:

EBCDM019 (http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/brake-discs-vehicle-specific/car/austin/mini/1984/1000/ebc-brakes-oe-replacement-rear-drum-single-front-178mm) - and again, the image doesn't match the product.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 25, 2016, 03:55:40 PM
Why in the world would you go to the trouble of swapping the drums out twice a year? Seems like a lot of work.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 25, 2016, 04:27:44 PM
Nice opportunity to clean and service the brakes, and don't want the salted roads to chew up the aluminum drums.  So, every autumn, the winter tires / steel wheels go on and the alloys get shelved, and the car sits with it's winter brakes and tires in the garage until late spring and dry roads...  But it's ready to go if needed.

Of course, this might all change if i can't find a job, so I'll likely sell my daily driver this year - 2 years and still looking for something - anything, have been rejected for literally everything.  I could bore you with tales of woe; about a thousand rejections to date for all kinds of ordinary jobs (customer service, quality assurance, production management, all types of sales, building / property management and a whole lot more) to parking attendant and supermarket clerk, gas station - you name it, I've applied.  Sitting on 2 bachelors, partnered in a business in the U.S., was an Army officer - tactical intelligence and am apparently dumber and more useless than snot.  Yeah, I'm a bit sour now...
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 25, 2016, 05:32:05 PM
Wow! That's hard to believe......or understand.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 25, 2016, 06:19:46 PM
Sorry for the thread hijack - I don't get it either - the few interviews I go to, they're impressed with my background and love meeting with me.  But, they end up giving the job to someone else, recognizing that there's no doubt I could handle the job and would fit in nicely, but that I'd be bored after a couple of months.  'They' prefer to take folks who haven't done anything other than within the solitary 'box' they fit in.  If I were to start something on my own, I don't know what it'd be.  I'm much better at helping someone else succeed than helping myself.  So, all (our) work at being debt free and having 'all the stuff' is pretty much in jeopardy now.

After I'd been turned down to 'lead' 6 people who empty trash cans on the sidewalk (I previously had TS-SCI clearance and charge of 54 analysts deployed all over the world), I realized that if I'd been to prison, or was a recovering junkie, I'd have better chances.  They told me they'd found someone better qualified.

I met one guy I'd interviewed with, at the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix this year.  He's an engineer - I caught him ogling my mini, I walked up, surprised him and he asked if I could help him with his Sprite.  Um, figure it out - you want me to volunteer my time, skill and knowledge so that you can save money?  Couldn't give me an entry-level customer service job, yet you ask me for materiel advice?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 25, 2016, 07:35:22 PM
Well, under the old theory that those who can't do, teach....(I know you can do - so can I) but I took a job at the local college teaching car related subjects. This has led to all sorts f potential openings in industry just from the contacts I made. I'm not interested in a career anymore as I'm too damn old and broken, but it sure is a good place to make contacts. And you get paid in the meantime.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 25, 2016, 08:20:41 PM
Tried to get into a vocational training job too - wasn't educated as a mechanic, so no luck.  Tried 'parts guy' also - same story.  Tried bicycle repair guy, nope - wasn't educated as a bicycle smith...  Once tried for a job selling tools - was told basically that since I wasn't educated as a mechanic or machinist, I can't know what 'tools' are.  Since I've never worked in within my uni education, so it's useless - only completed to get the box ticked off.  Potential means nothing, and mention to anyone that you're looking for 'a job' and everyone disappears.  Nobody knows anyone. 

I've pretty much given up, hence the 35 jars of marmelade and 10 bottle of sloe liqueur made this year.  The mini likely become my daily driver and I'll continue to develop it whilst chewing up my savings.  It'll be the coolest car at the pigeon feeding park bench.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 25, 2016, 09:01:16 PM
Sounds like me in 2007-2009.  Royally sucked.

Back to brakes.  I like my mini fins solely for weight savings if nothing else.  They are much lighter.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on September 25, 2016, 09:55:07 PM
Wanna move here? I can't find anyone to hire we have several ads out for over six months now.
It's putting the brakes on our Business growth.



Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 26, 2016, 08:04:32 AM
Can you afford the housing there? I heard it's like LA in Bend anymore.......

They were out of stock on the MiniFins, so I bought the regular Cooper S drums with the spacers built in, and I ordered the longer studs too....but forgot to order the longer retaining screws! Oh well.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on September 26, 2016, 08:12:39 AM
The retaining screws are nice to have, but opinions on their necessity vary.  A couple of my past Minis had them already missing when I got the cars.  If they are there, I try to make sure I don't lose them.  If missing, I have not bothered to replace them.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 26, 2016, 08:16:24 AM
Personally I never bother with the screws. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on September 26, 2016, 12:41:47 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on September 24, 2016, 01:54:44 PM
Found a work around to keep my rear windows popped out - a short length of fuel hose fits right in, is unobtrusive and stayed in for about 100 mile run today. Next time I'll turn it around so the writing doesn't show...   ;D


Excellent!  This rear window solution is just what I've been looking for!  I really want the rear windows open to help with airflow, and I am so tired of having them just blow closed at speed.  I have given up on trying the tennis ball solution - they don't stay in place and I just end up with tennis balls bouncing around in the rear side pockets.  I was going to experiment with using a big-ass binder clip on the rear pulls - that might have worked but would have been very ugly.   This is much more simple.   

Why couldn't BL just had later cars use the design of the Mk. I and Mk. II cars?  That over-center latch worked great.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 28, 2016, 02:53:55 PM
Today was alternator rebuild day....I'd been hearing a noise and got out my trusty stethoscope and sure enough, I heard bearing noise in the alternator.....

Every alternator I've ever seen uses a 6202 sealed bearing on the fan end, this one had the same at the other end too, and both were rough as can be.

I had to get out the big tools to get it apart, but once it apart it was fairly easy to knock the old bearings out and press the new ones on, the assembly is just the reverse as the Haynes says.

One small wrinkle....the brushes are mounted to the very end of the shaft and you have to unsolder the two wires and remove the contact ring to get the end bearing off. No biggy, just mark which went where and resolder.

Back together the rotor turned smoothly, but when I started the engine I still heard a whine....so, water pump bearing? fan too close to the alternator housing? (I did this when I overhauled the Jag alternator, straightened the fan out nicely and it was noisy as hell - bent it back the way it was and it quieted right down again)

Next I'm going to tackle the brakes, there is so much shake and pulsation on braking - I might have a slightly sticking caliper or piston too, plus I have the new rear drums (with spacers) coming so I'll probably wind up replacing all the shoes, wheel cylinders and hoses before I'm done - isn't that how these things always go?

We may have a run this weekend (weather permitting - we got rained out last weekend) so I can't get too far into rebuilding stuff, but after this weekend I'm starting on the suspension......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on September 28, 2016, 03:16:25 PM
Wait.  Removed it, rebuilt it, and did not paint it, before reinstalling?   Dave, are you trying to be Edd China?




Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 28, 2016, 03:24:02 PM
It actually was a "Gold Seal" unit, and already painted.......I did not want to disturb the original factory "patina"   ;D

I've also decided not to go crazy on this car and redo everything I come across, performance enhancements and needed repairs only.

Good thing I had that big ass puller.......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jedduh01 on September 29, 2016, 07:53:51 AM
For the brakes=  check + probably plan for replacing the Pistons in the Calipers + seals (need a rebuild)
  I had to do mine when 1 caliper stuck on for a trip + cooked the rotor . when digging in  found half rotten rusted pistons inside.

Another friend= had a MPI= Exact Same issue= he replaced both calipers with remain units.... simply cheap original caliper pistons RUST.

http://www.7ent.com/products/caliper-piston-1984-on-114713.html

Stainless steel!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 29, 2016, 09:27:26 AM
Funny you should mention that.......this morning I was changing the pads and rotors and guess what? Yep, stuck nasty rusted piston.

Parts ordered - again! - this am. I bought the SS pistons.....https://usa.minisport.com/114713s-mini-1984-onwards-stainless-steel-caliper-piston.html (https://usa.minisport.com/114713s-mini-1984-onwards-stainless-steel-caliper-piston.html)  and the rebuild kits and the hardware kit....watch, the calipers are not leaking but I'll find corrosion in the housing and wind up buying new calipers......

The car shook pretty badly on braking which is why I was changing the rotors, now I know why they were so warped. Oh well, you can't scrimp when it comes to brakes.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 29, 2016, 09:43:49 AM
Lets see....for a car I wasn't really going to do much on, I've ordered about $1500 in new parts and so far changed the radiator, swapped the instruments, rebuilt the alternator, fixed the seat, will rebuild the brakes all around, will change all the suspension and the final drive ratio (requiring a motor pull, which means seals, water pump and a carb Ohaul to start - I'm sure there will be more!)

Yikes!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on September 29, 2016, 11:00:21 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on September 29, 2016, 09:43:49 AM
Lets see....for a car I wasn't really going to do much on, I've ordered about $1500 in new parts and so far changed the radiator, swapped the instruments, rebuilt the alternator, fixed the seat, will rebuild the brakes all around, will change all the suspension and the final drive ratio (requiring a motor pull, which means seals, water pump and a carb Ohaul to start - I'm sure there will be more!)

Yikes!
And there's the reason MiniSpares, MiniSport, MiniMania, Huddersfield, Seven, etc. flourish! 

We can't stop ourselves.



.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 29, 2016, 11:22:37 AM
Ha! Ain't it the truth?????

Just found the lug nuts I ordered aren't the right ones.....and there's the problem with ordering from overseas, it's hard to return stuff when it's wrong.

So if anyone needs a set of new chrome lugnuts pretty reasonably let me know, they are the 60° seat but narrow - I need the wide seat 60° nuts for the wheels I have. My bad, I didn't look at them closely enough when I was on the website......I paid $20 for the set of 16.

Plus as you own a car you discover it's little secrets, like the sticking brake piston, and the bad fuel sending unit that works fine on a full tank then drops to nothing at about 1/2 tank. Scares the crap out of you the first time if you didn't notice it and you're driving along then you look down at the gauge and think you're out of gas.....and you're MILES from town or a station!

The only good news is I bought this car cheaply enough that I can afford to spend some money on it to both make it right and make it more fun to drive......so I'm OK with it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 29, 2016, 04:17:40 PM
"I'm sure there will be more!"

Ain't that the understatement du jour...  I installed MSC's stainless caliper pistons a few years ago - trying to fit the thin steel rings is not a job I'd want to do again.  Glad I did it, and if I ever needed new calipers, I'd probably change the pistons and avoid problems later.

If you weren't 'over there', I'd take those wheel nuts.  I wonder how much they'd cost to send to Denmark?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 29, 2016, 05:00:14 PM
Probably more than I paid for them, and probably more than it would cost you to just buy some from Mini Spares like I did!   ;D

But I'll look into it just for fun - copenhag
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 29, 2016, 05:09:49 PM
Dave, don't bother - it's not worth it - as you said, MSC is the sensible option, and since I have no income, my wife would be pissed off.  Not worth the hassle...  I have hubcaps and correct nuts for the winter steelies already, so these would just be something to put in a box.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 29, 2016, 05:26:46 PM
I don't think these are right for steelies, are they. Shouldn't that be the rounded end ones?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on September 29, 2016, 05:27:27 PM
I use 12" - here's a picture in it's 2015 winter garb.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 03, 2016, 10:16:40 AM
Next up...suspension.

I decided to do a rear one first, just to see how it all went together, and mostly it was no issue. Getting the trumpet and cone out was a bit of a hassle, but the right prybar in the right spot and out she came. Putting the new one in involved widening the braces at the top just a bit to make room for the width of the coil spring with judicious application of a ball peen hammer, but even that wasn't hard. Of course I did the right side first, as the left involves removing or at least moving the gas tank so you can get behind it to reach the top nut.

I set the spring perch at the lowest setting to start with, I'll even it out once they're both on, but I won't set the final height till I get it on the alignment rack and can check it accurately with the frickin lasers.  ;D

One small disappointment....well two actually.....the set came with no fitting instructions and the lower spring perch collars do not fit inside the coils. I wrote Huddersfield and they said just turn it over so the spring just rides on the adjuster. That's not how it should be done and in fact the fronts are done correctly, but it will work of course.

Lastly, even an inexpensive motorcycle comes with a cheap aluminum wrench to set the spring heights with, but not these. The problem of course is getting one the right size that will span the nut properly. I can find them pretty cheaply on Ebay if I can find the right size. Adjustables are fairly expensive.....

I got ready to do the left, drained and removed the tank, pulled out the old shock and ran into a wall......the car is not sitting square on the lift and the left side won't drop far enough to get the trumpet and cone out. I can't start the car and back it off and put it back on again - the gas tank's out. I can't get a floor jack under it cause the lift is in the way, so I may be stopped for now till my neighbor across the street and his strong son get home tonight.

Maybe I'll work on something else......

I received the radio blanking plate from the guy in England, but my dash seems to  have faded considerably from what his plate is - there is a really noticeable difference in color. Might go back to plan A, which was to put the gauges in that radio hole...there's enough room, I'd just need to make a proper surround and mount. gonna hafta give that some more thought.

The pin I made for the steering wheel to make the turn signals self cancel didn't work either, it just rode over or under the plastic collar, so I'm going to have to come up with a better design for that too.

It wouldn't be a Mini if anything were easy, I guess.  ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 03, 2016, 12:08:49 PM
Quote from: John Gervais on September 29, 2016, 05:27:27 PM
I use 12" - here's a picture in it's 2015 winter garb.

Hey, you've got a Mini Mascot model!  I remember seeing those when I visited Copenhagen about 15 years ago.  I also remember my Danish hosts telling me how stupid crazy expensive it was to own a car in Denmark.    I imagine that hasn't changed over the years.     
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 03, 2016, 12:19:36 PM
Thanks for the update Dave.   Regarding the different color of the radio blanking plate, it's kind of counterintuitive, but sometimes it doesn't take much time to 'age' wood like that. You might want to try just exposing the plate to the sun for a week or so and see if it becomes similar to the color of your dash.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 03, 2016, 03:20:39 PM
Quote from: BruceK on October 03, 2016, 12:08:49 PM
Quote from: John Gervais on September 29, 2016, 05:27:27 PM
I use 12" - here's a picture in it's 2015 winter garb.

Hey, you've got a Mini Mascot model!  I remember seeing those when I visited Copenhagen about 15 years ago.  I also remember my Danish hosts telling me how stupid crazy expensive it was to own a car in Denmark.    I imagine that hasn't changed over the years.   

Yup - I've had this car since '98 and our daily driver cars cost about 2½ times what they would have elsewhere - soon to be selling mine (unemployed...) as I can't afford to have both a toy car and a daily driver.


Dave,have you considered that perhaps the turn signal cancelling ring on the steering column (steering column upper bush) is perhaps upside down or might be worn?

GSV1095 (http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Steering/Columns/GSV1095.aspx?1801&ReturnUrl=/shop/classic/Steering/Columns.aspx%7CBack%20to%20shop)

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 03, 2016, 03:36:22 PM
On these later cars the ring is part of the turn signal switch, I bought and installed a new one as the old one had a broken high beam switch......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 03, 2016, 03:42:22 PM
I remember once that my indicator switch didn't work properly after I changed steering wheel boss, or maybe it was after I replaced the lower column felt and upper bush; I can't remember which, but in any event, I ended up flipping something over - believe it was the upper bush and the indicator switch more solidly engaged the steering wheel's split pins.

I'd have to see it again to relive the moment...  "There was this problem and I did something which fixed it" probably doesn't help much...  I'll sit back and sip my Pimms...
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 03, 2016, 05:16:32 PM
 ;D ;D ;D ;D

I'll take a pic of it next chance I get.....

So, got both rear struts in at last...neighbor came home and we lifted/scooched the car over a bit till the control arm could drop and the rest was just the same as the right side.

Next I went to the gas tank, I had a feeling the sender was bad, so I had already ordered a new one.....and since the tank was already out for access to the shock........ releasing the lock ring was no biggy even tho I didn't have 'the tool", a good sized pair of channel locks did the trick. Once out I hooked it to my ohm meter and sure enough, about half way down the travel it went to open. Just to be sure I checked the new one and got a good increasing signal from one end of the travel to the other. Result! as Edd Chinar says....

I need to get a new piece of vent tubing, this one was broken off just inside the boot, I'm hoping that's where I'm getting raw gasoline fumes from as I don't see any leaks anywhere.

I also need to make some new gaskets for the boot hinges, these were dry rotted and fell apart when I took the boot lid off to get easier access to the strut top mounts and tank fittings.

Lastly, as I took the tank over to the bench to change the sender I heard something rolling around inside, once I had the sender out I got a slim flashlight in there and found this little gubbin. Apparently a "72" didn't have the restriction for unleaded fuel, either that or they took it out so they could run regular leaded fuel across the pond, cause we sure don't have any here in the states. I think this car may have come from Belgium or Holland, being left drive and having a KM speedo and so on......and it doesn't have any German market indicators like my old 62 Cooper S did. Who knows?

Tomorrow I have to work all day, so I won't get to play with it again till Wed, then I'll start on the front suspension. We have a club event the weekend of the 16th, so I need to have it drivable by then
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 03, 2016, 05:55:55 PM
Wow, cool 'gubbin'!  Never seen one of them before; it looks almost aftermarket or dealer add-on as they received cars built from old-stock bits.  I'm inclined to agree that it could be Belgian.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 05, 2016, 11:27:02 AM
I'm debating with my self whether to put I back in, it's just held in place with three grub screws.

So, got one side figured out and installed, but I have yet to remove the rubber spring, I could be in for a fight.....some guys just cut the support in two, but I'm not sure the rubber spring will come out with the upper control arm still in situ. This is just a trial fitting, I have to take it back out to get the spring and trumpet out.......

More as it happens......

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on October 05, 2016, 12:44:12 PM
Having been down the road of replacing the rubber springs on the green Panel Van I had a little while back, you will indeed have to pull the upper arm to get the old spring out even with cutting the trumpet.

You will also find it helpful to compress the spring to relieve pressure while removing the arm and trumpet/knuckle joint.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: LilDrunkenSmurf on October 05, 2016, 12:56:49 PM
I was able to get the new cones in/out with the upper arm in place, but not with the trumpet.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 05, 2016, 01:15:01 PM
I'm thinking a lot will have to do with how collapsed the springs are......more as it happens.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 05, 2016, 01:52:02 PM
I've done my front cones a couple of times and I've never been able to get either the old cone out nor the new cone in without removing the upper arms.  In fact, the new '687 cones I installed this past Spring didn't allow the fully-shortened RipSpeed hilos to be installed without first being compressed.  Pain in the butt!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 05, 2016, 04:06:49 PM
Well, I couldn't get my cones out either, even tho I wasn't trying to save them or going to put new ones in again so I had to remove the upper control arm too. It's just as well, just like on Buzz the shaft was knackered....I had anticipated this so on my last parts order I added two repair kits. I'll knock the bearings out then take the arms up to school and blast them, then give them a coat of paint - so BruceK won't accuse me of being like Edd Chinar again!  ;D

Taking mplayle's suggestion, I made a tool to pull the cone up out of some all thread, a few nuts and some tubing and washers, and it worked a treat! Popped the trumpet out then set to work on the control arm shaft. It didn't take long and she was out and on the bench. Comparing the front and rear cones, the fronts were definitely compressed more..........

I've had a funny low speed wobble in the front end, so I hope all this front end work and new parts will result in getting rid of that once and for all......I'm replacing the lower control arms and tie bars with adjustables so I'll be replacing all the bushings at the same time. Once it's all done I'll run it up to school and set the ride height then do a good 4 wheel alignment and see where I'm at. If these springs act anything like the ones I put on Buzz I'll be resetting the ride height a couple of times as they settle in..... I wonder why they didn't use a longer spring on the fronts, there's plenty of room for it.

I'm really hoping for a ride improvement with all this......between the extra travel in the coil springs and the adjustable shocks.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 05, 2016, 04:48:38 PM
When I rebuilt the upper arms this past Spring, I didn't use the bearings that came in the kits, as one kit had the genuine Torrington bearings and the other had something else which looked similar but didn't have as many rollers.  Apparently there are 2 different bearings used in the kits, genuine Torrington 88G302 which has many needle rollers laid tight against each other and another bearing which is often substituted and has more space between the rollers.

I ended up ordering and using these:  88G302 (https://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Gearbox/Replacement_Parts/Bearings/88G302.aspx?150701&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/88g302.aspx%7CBack%20to%20search)

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 05, 2016, 04:51:14 PM
I wonder if I could get those from the local bearing house, I've gotten other Torrington bearings there.....I'll have to look into it. Thanks, John!

Edit: Your comments made me curious so I went down and looked at the ones in the kits from MiniSpares....I don't think you could get any more rollers in there! I think these will be fine, and as I remember these are the same ones I got from 7 Ent when I did Buzz's upper arms.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 05, 2016, 04:55:28 PM
Happy to help when I can, it's a bear of a job to have to do it again...  Oh, that's right, not for you with coil-overs... 62.gif

It's a full-compliment bearing, I'll try to find the Koyo-Torrington number.

Here it is:  Upper-Arm, use: Koyo B1212 full-compliment

I've attached the catalogue (catalogue page B-2-57 (119/274 in the .pdf download)).
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 05, 2016, 05:38:35 PM
Yes - those are the good ones. 

On my (messy) workbench I've got the 'other' - I'll try to remember to get a picture.

I'm sure the other type would be fine enough, especially with more than frequent greasing, but it just seems better with more support on the shaft.

I also wonder sometimes about how quality conscious folk are when assembling the kits.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 05, 2016, 05:44:20 PM
Aha!  -

I have a habit of saving message threads and useful information.

Check this out:  http://www.minimania.com/msgThread/109110/1/1/on_the_upper_control_arm_rebuild_kit (http://www.minimania.com/msgThread/109110/1/1/on_the_upper_control_arm_rebuild_kit)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 05, 2016, 07:13:39 PM
Ha! Recent thread too......I'd love to have one of those bearing removal tools too, but not for the $125 it sold for on bay!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 05, 2016, 08:10:09 PM
About 30 years ago I owned a Mini that used to live in Canada.  Which is one of those places that puts loads salt onto their roads for 75% of the year they call "Winter".  This caused the Canadian Mini rust even more than a regular Mini.

I was trying to replace the broken knuckle joint on the Mini's right front strut, and I was using a cone compressor to reduce the pressure on the strut to retract it up into the subframe.  As I applied more tension to the cone compressor I heard a loud bang!   In the center of the rubber doughnut, the very rusted nut simply broke out, taking much of the center of the cone with it, leaving me with a mess. 

No way to compress the cone now, and no easy way to extract the strut either.  I came up with an idea to try drilling holes into the rubber cone to try turn it into Swiss cheese and weaken it so I could wedge strut out.  I found that I could access the rubber cone through a small window of the subframe sort of above the clutch arm.  So I found the biggest drill bit I had, a 1/2" one, and I began drill a hole. This won't take long, I told myself.  But when I pulled the drill bit out I was shocked to see it left no hole where it had been -- the rubber was so very dense that it effectively sealed itself back up.  I attacked the rubber again with the drill, but no hole resulted.  I kept going at it, and I could sort of see an area where the surface of the cone looked a little different, but still it still no holes!  It took many many curse words and a lot of drilling, while I got madder and madder and kept attacking the rubber cone with the drill.  Eventually, it was weakened enough that I was able to pry out the strut.    I still have nightmares.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 05, 2016, 09:02:36 PM
I've decided to just go ahead and do it all......

Tomorrow I'll go ahead and remove the hub and pull the bearings, if the bearings are rough I've got 2 new sets of them too. While I'm in there I will go ahead and rebuild the brake calipers, when I changed the pads and rotors last weekend before our run to nowhere one of the of the pistons would not retract so I pushed it out as far as I could and cleaned it up with some fine emery paper, I did manage to get it back in and it didn't drag on my 300 mile run, but just to be sure I ordered some caliper kits and 4 SS pistons too and those will be here tomorrow as well.

So, the only things I won't have done is repack the CV joints and replace the boots....they look fine right now but I'm wondering about the wheel bearings as there was a roaring noise in the front that I could not pinpoint.

So....new upper control arm bearings and seals, new adjustable lower control arms and bushings, new tie bars and bushings, all new hardware, repacked or new wheel bearings, rebuild calipers, new rotors, new pads........what's left?

I'll do the axles when I pull the engine this winter to change the final drive gear and I'll reseal the trans then too - new axle seals, shift rod kit and whatever gaskets I need.

I'm glad this car doesn't seem to have been eaten up by the tinworm, I was encouraged when I pulled the shock mount off and found good metal.....historically that's been a rust haven.

That should do it.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 06, 2016, 05:11:59 PM
Ran into a problem......the new bracket won't clear this fresh air hose...choices right now seem to be to lose the hose or lop off the top of the bracket - I'm only going to use the lower holes anyway, but I hate to do it......

Going to think about this for a while before I do anything.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 06, 2016, 05:18:45 PM
I'd probably crush the hose around the bracket - how much is it interfering?  Air will still flow through it...

I carved the snorkel down to a retaining ring for the hose in order to mount my ignition and I still get some air flowing through the system.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 07, 2016, 02:51:40 PM
I may just go with a smaller hose, for now I just took it out so I could get the bracket mounted properly.

I got the "hard" side done (right side) and I'm pleased with it - please note the new paint, BruceK!  ;D

No question, trying to do these in the car is way high on the fiddle factor scale. But it is do-able, obviously - Jory (Little Drunken Smurf) did his recently too on his Jap spec SPI.

Letting my bac take a break for the moment, I've decided to leave the brake overhaul for another day and concentrate on getting the suspension done so I can get up to school over the weekend and align it when no one's there...even tho they don't teach steering and suspension classes in the fall, I can't always get on the alignment machine when other classes are in session.

Just got to see a drawing of the new shop they're building for us - $20 million building just for us....24 work bays all with lifts vs the 10 we have now.....to be completed in time for fall 2018 classes! Unfortunately spring 2017 is my last full class - I'm being retired......again! But this time I'm OK with it...I'll make myself available as a sub so I can keep my keys to the shop!

Oh, and while my head was right next to it I noticed my slave cylinder is leaking, BruceK knows how much fun that's going to be as he just did his before our trip this summer.

Thinking about taking one of the old cups and cutting the lip off then putting it back in that hole upside down so it doesn't fill up with dirt and crap......if I can find a rubber plug the right size that would be even better.....maybe a quick trip up to the local Ace Hardware is in order......

My wheel bearings feel fine so I'm just going to clean and repack....I'll save the new ones for another day or another car. I do have to reshim the upper ball joint on one side, someone didn't have the right shims so they didn't put any in, just tightened the nut to take out the play and tried to lock it down with the lock tab......jeez, some people!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 07, 2016, 03:09:16 PM
Leaking Verto clutch slave?  Oh, you boys with the steering wheel on the wrong side have it easy.  Since my Mini has steering on the side God intended, I had to deal with the massive brake booster (and washer bottle) sitting right in my way.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 07, 2016, 03:54:24 PM
Kinda like mine?

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 07, 2016, 04:27:41 PM
The silver paint looks sharp -  77.gif

How'd you get the upper arm dust shield/excluder to sit so perfectly?  Mine wouldn't fit flat - I stretched them onto the arm before fitting the arm to the subframe, then installed the thrust washers and shafts; the seals wouldn't fully seat once everything was in place.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 07, 2016, 06:24:44 PM
I'm good, that's how!   :D

No really, I did it pretty much exactly the way you said...put both seals on the arm first, inserted the washer in the rear one and slid the arm into place. Next the shaft goes in - that was fun...I laid a shop  rag down first, then laid the shaft on it, then grabbed the little bit of the shaft I could reach between the body and that brake line with a long set of needle nose pliers and maneuvered it into the hole, then just kept moving it till it slid in. Put the forward washer in and moved it into place while I worked the arm up and down, then slid the plate over that and put the outer 1/4" bolt and nut on to hold everything together. Then I put the rear nut on the shaft to hold it still so I could get the front one on, snugged both up then did the inner 1/4" bolt, which was the hardest to start. Tightened everything up and there you go.....

Greased it all up good and I'm ready to start the other side. I'm hoping the left one will be easier, with the hole under the radiator that you can stick your fingers thru.....

Once I get those done I'll pull the bearings out, clean and repack them, shim that loose ball joint and I'll be ready to install the new lower control arm and tie bar.

The paint is actually darker than it looks in the pic, it's "stainless steel" paint. Bead blasting the parts sure gives the paint a good key to stick to....I did Buzz's arms that way and 2 years later it still looked like I'd just done it.

I haven't seen that style of bump stop before, is that on early cars or just a different style?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 07, 2016, 06:50:07 PM
That there is a hydro-spastic bump stop.    Also used by BMC sometimes for the works rally cars.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 07, 2016, 08:13:34 PM
Dave, if you think the left side has adequate space for fingers under the radiator, you'll love tryng to do the 1/4" retaining plate screws.  Also, you'll probably need a long extension and wobble bar to get under the radiator for the shaft nut.

Quote from: BruceK on October 07, 2016, 06:50:07 PM
That there is a hydro-spastic bump stop.    Also used by BMC sometimes for the works rally cars.

(On my dry-suspension car...  Notice how I shortened it and re-profiled the top?  It's also got the EN24 damper (shock absorber) pins and upper mounts for lowered cars.)  Spastic indeed!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 08, 2016, 11:54:20 AM
I got the left side installed today with little drama and most of the skin still intact on my hands!  ;D

John, I was able to tighten the large nut with a ratcheting wrench - very handy little things to have - I used the same style wrench to tighten the 1/4" bolts too.

So, next up - adjustable lower control arms and tie bars.

A while back BruceK gifted me with some offset lower control arm bushes (danko!) the idea behind these is that if you run larger than normal amounts of caster for better handling, the bushes are able to compensate for the change in angle of the lower control arm, so they don't get deformed and fail early. I tend to run pretty normal caster angles - about 3° - but if these will help I'm all for them.

Here's how you fit them according to MiniSpares......

Fitting:
........... the bushes need to be properly orientated to achieve the correct angle of fitment for the offset steel sleeves. The bushes are therefore marked with a fine line on the narrower side of the bush flange (check top and underside of flange). The front bush (nearest front of car) should be fitted with this line pointing down the centerline of the bottom arm towards the wheel. The rear bush should be positioned with it's line 180 degrees the other way, so pointing in towards the centerline of the car. Trial fit the bushes and bottom arm pin to the arm before fitting to the car - the pin should fit easily through. If the bushes are not correctly aligned the pin will not fit easily.

(http://www.minispares.com/article/Technical~Information/Suspension/image.axd?type=product&picture=350/C-STR631.jpg)

However, before I can fit them I have to get the steel sleeves of the old bushes off the pin...options right now are to drag my acetylene torch up from the storage in the basement, or try to carefully cut thru the sleeve without damaging the pin underneath. The old rubber bushes were absolutely knackered, that could have been contributing to my low speed wobble......

More as it happens.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 08, 2016, 02:40:51 PM
Well, it took the torch to get those sleeves off the pins, and one side was really stuck on....but a little cherry red heat got them in the end.....I bought this torch set to work on my first Mini, my 62 Cooper S.....that was in the late mid 1960's. Still works perfectly too!

Here's a pic to show the difference in how the pin goes thru the bushings in the lower control arm with offset bushings.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 08, 2016, 03:14:33 PM
I've been using those offset bushes since September 2004.  I like the idea behind them; makes sense.

I've also got a slight vibration above 60mph and have recently begun hearing a 'clunk' when I take my foot off the throttle - something's amiss, hopefully just dogbone/engine stabilizer bushes.

I gave a half-hearted tug on the lower arms when I changed rubber cones and they seemed OK, but maybe I should remove the arms and check them.  I have a replacement C-STR632 bush set on hand, just in case.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 09, 2016, 07:46:24 PM
I agree, if you're running extra caster or camber, but if you're just running standard numbers? I have a set of standard poly bushes if I need them but I'll put the offsets in and see what they look like.

I took the old suspension parts up to school and bead blasted and painted them, I also bead blasted the hubs and gave them a coat of SS paint - I know they're supposed to be black but I didn't have any black paint!  ::)

Tonight I thought I'd finish up the hubs by cleaning and repacking the wheel bearings (which are all in good shape) and cleaning and reshimming the ball joints, but as always I ran into a problem....2 of the ball joints are just done for so I got an order in right away in hopes they'll be here in time for me to get them installed and the car aligned in time for our event next weekend.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 09, 2016, 08:09:00 PM
That swivel pin is just a bit past its prime.   Are you going to use the "genuine" ones, or the aftermarket ones?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 09, 2016, 08:17:02 PM
I'm using the Genuine Mini Spares ones!  ;D

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Front/GSJ166MS.aspx?1902&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/ball joints.aspx|Back to search (http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Front/GSJ166MS.aspx?1902&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/ball%20joints.aspx%7CBack%20to%20search)

Those are two different pins in my pics BTW, both the right side pins were toast (what, you mean those holes aren't there just to hold extra grease?), left side both were fine.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 09, 2016, 08:27:50 PM
I've purchased both the Rover ball joints and the MS ones too - I can't see any difference in quality between them.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 08:02:04 AM
Considering the tiny number of miles most of these cars get driven now compared to when they were new, I think many aftermarket parts are just fine. Not to mention the cars are babied, protected, rarely driven in rain, garaged at all times and benefit from modern lubricants........

Today I'll get the left side put together - MiniSpares has ready shipped my parts and I've gotten notice from DHL that they expect to deliver Wed, so I should be fine for getting it all back together in time for the show on Sunday. Really quick service from them. After I placed my first order I remembered a few small things I wanted to get for spares (extra lock plates, split pins and other small parts) so about an hour after the first I placed the second order and sent them a note asking them to combine them to save on shipping, this morning I had an email from them saying they had done just that. Really good service from these guys.......

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 11:09:53 AM
Got the lower control arms installed - it's a bit of a brain teaser as the hole where the ball joint pin goes is tapered, you're looking at the top one which has the taper to the top and you have to remember the bottom one has to go the other way.

I put the left arm in, decided it was wrong and changed it, then realized I had it right the first time and changed it back!  ::)
Title: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on October 10, 2016, 11:45:58 AM
Those look pretty slick  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 12:50:01 PM
I prefer this style of lower control arm, it's easier to adjust......I'll be happy when it's all back together and I can drive it again!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 10, 2016, 02:25:49 PM
Those arms really are quite nice - not from MSC, where from?

Unfortunately, I suspect they'd likely be illegal for road use over here and I'm already pushing my luck with respect to modifications that deviate from bone-stock standard, so I'll be staying with my cast arms.


Tell, me though - what do you make of this sentence:

"When increasing negative camber ST Abingdon always advised fitting a 3mm plate under the top arm where the bump stop 2A4267 hits to prevent undue strain on the driveshafts."

I simply cannot imagine how to affix such a plate, and I'm running a small amount o'negative camber with 'ordinary' negative camber cast arms.

The link:  C-AJJ3364 (http://minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Front/Hydro/C-AJJ3360.aspx?190202&ReturnUrl=/product/Classic/Suspension/Front/Hydro/C-AJJ3364.aspx%7CBack%20to)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on October 10, 2016, 02:36:11 PM
John,

Perhaps it was to raise the bump stop to restrict the downward range of the upper arm and thus the angle on the driveshaft to outer CV joint?

Wouldn't increased negative camber increase the angle of the outer CV joint in relation to the main driveshaft?  Then droop of the wheel crossing a hole would add to it further, possibly reaching the max angle for the joint?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 10, 2016, 02:38:34 PM
By the way - 21A1307 Spacer between seal and inner bearing 0.229" inches thick isn't needed.  My AKM2 6th Edition manual says it was deleted from production cars and no longer required.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on October 10, 2016, 02:43:56 PM
Quote from: John Gervais on October 10, 2016, 02:38:34 PM
By the way - 21A1307 Spacer between seal and inner bearing 0.229" inches thick isn't needed.  My AKM2 6th Edition manual says it was deleted from production cars and no longer required.

Correct.  I remember being confused pulling them out of old hubs and not having them in to put back in. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 10, 2016, 02:48:03 PM
Quote from: MPlayle on October 10, 2016, 02:36:11 PM
John,

Perhaps it was to raise the bump stop to restrict the downward range of the upper arm and thus the angle on the driveshaft to outer CV joint?

Wouldn't increased negative camber increase the angle of the outer CV joint in relation to the main driveshaft?  Then droop of the wheel crossing a hole would add to it further, possibly reaching the max angle for the joint?

Yes, exactly - but how does one attach such a plate?  I could slip a shim (washer) under the 2A4267 rebound buffer (the text called the rebound buffer a bump stop), but then the screw hole in the rebound buffer won't align with the screw hole in the subframe.  Raise the rebound buffer vs. lower the strike surface of the upper arm?


I suppose one could elongate the 2A4267 screw hole downwards and create a slot for the screw, but it just seems like a flimsy way to attach the rebound buffer - there's not a whole lot of metal down there.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 03:13:22 PM
Maybe, but I know if you don't have them it's easy to shove that inner seal in too far and then the water seal is no longer on the end of the stub axle.......maybe they don't use those anymore either?

John I think the 3mm spacer plate is only for cars running more than 1 1/2° of negative camber, anything up to that unless you're running really lowered is not a problem in my experience.

I only run 1/2° neg camber, so it's not an issue. In fact I took the upper bump stops out just to see what it does, since I'm running "normal" height and the coilovers have bump stops built in.

This afternoon I reinstalled the fuel tank, I decided to put the gubbin back in too, if I lose it again I know where to find it! I replaced the fuel line off the tank, which was interesting as it was a bit thicker than what I removed (which seemed to be a pre-formed hose) and the hole it passes thru is formed so as to not use a grommet - I used a little silicone paste and was able to push it thru, but only one way, so when I needed to pull a bit back to bring it up to the tank - that wasn't happening! so I pulled it thru and put it back in from the top, this time leaving enough to reach the tank.

I also installed a new vent hose as not only was the end deteriorated, I found about a 4" split near the top too - I'm hoping that's where the raw gas odor I was getting was coming from.  So, new sending unit, new hoses, rattle removed, restrictor installed, should be good to go.

I have to work tomorrow so I won't be back at it till Wed when my parts are supposed to be here from Mini Spares.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 10, 2016, 03:43:49 PM
I guess the rebound buffer shim was more of a curiosity issue than anything else  - I wasn't panicking, I've been running with the neg. 1½° arms (giving just a tad under  neg. 1½° camber) and slightly lowered (only to get the driveshafts parallel to the ground) since 2003 and haven't broken a driveshaft or balljoint yet.

I really like the look of the fuel filler neck restriction flap, it looks modern and replacing the split vent hose will surely help reduce odors. 

You're really making good progress on this!  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 04:30:09 PM
I'm a little disappointed at just how much "progress" I'm having to make, I really thought this car being as late model as it is would be a "buy and drive" kinda car - but it's a Mini - I should have known better!   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 10, 2016, 06:35:00 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 08:02:04 AMMiniSpares has ready shipped my parts and I've gotten notice from DHL that they expect to deliver Wed...

I had a bit of a shock today when I also got a text message from DHL saying my parts from MiniSpares would be delivered this Wednesday.   The thing is, I just placed my order with MiniSpares last night (Sunday night) at 10pm.    And today, less than 12 hours later I got a DHL shipping notice (not to mention informative emails from MiniSpares themselves!) saying my package was already in transit to me.   

That blows my mind.  I'm getting goodies from the UK to here in Texas in the same amount of time as when I place an Amazon Prime order!   
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 10, 2016, 06:42:13 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 03:13:22 PM
I also installed a new vent hose as not only was the end deteriorated, I found about a 4" split near the top too - I'm hoping that's where the raw gas odor I was getting was coming from. 

Remember at the spring Fun Run in Eureka Springs when I also had a strong gas order in the boot?  We replaced my vent hose and it took care of the problem promptly.  Besides being old, I think the thing killing the hoses is the crappy ethanol in the gasoline in this country - it just eats the stock UK fuel and vent hoses which just were not designed for that fuel. 

That's why I replaced all the rubber fuel hoses, from tank to the carb, with ethanol-capable hoses.   
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 10, 2016, 07:21:13 PM
Good news, I poured about 4 gallons of gas in the tank and when I turned on the ignition it reads just under half full...result!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 12, 2016, 03:45:02 PM
My parts finally showed up about 4 pm....much later than usual for DHL in my hood, they're usually here about 12-1 pm

First thing I did was dig out the boot lid hinge seals - mine were broken in several pieces - and got the decklid re-installed, I have a new seal for the boot lid - does anyone know if the lip goes on the inside or the outside of the seal body?

Next I went to work on the ball joints, then packed up the wheel bearings and installed the seals, then took the whole assembly to the car where it went together easily. I love it when a plan comes together! I now have the right side complete and torqued up, time to take the bride out to dinner.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: towjoe on October 12, 2016, 04:40:32 PM
Nice looking install!!!
Regards
towjoe 77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 12, 2016, 05:08:27 PM
Just realized I forgot to put the disc brake backing plates on.....oh well, my other car didn't even have them!   ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 12, 2016, 05:23:36 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on October 12, 2016, 03:45:02 PM

First thing I did was dig out the boot lid hinge seals - mine were broken in several pieces - and got the decklid re-installed, I have a new seal for the boot lid - does anyone know if the lip goes on the inside or the outside of the seal body?

Well, I was about to point out that on early Minis the seal was actually attached to the boot lid itself, not around the boot opening on the body like on later Minis.  Then I went out to look at the boot seal on Emma to tell you how the lip on my seal went. 

And I discovered that my '88 Mini has the seal around the boot lid itself - not the car body.  Surprise.  So I guess that's a little retro touch on my Mini.  The seal was installed even without the clips (or the little holes they fit into in the boot lid), just by glue apparently.   



Separately, I am jealous of your clean and painted front hub parts - they look great. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on October 12, 2016, 05:38:12 PM
Clean parts are sooo nice to work with. Looking very sharp.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 12, 2016, 06:10:01 PM
If I wasn't on deadline I would have redone the brake calipers too but they'll have to wait till after the event this weekend.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 12, 2016, 07:52:24 PM
All buttoned up now, even got the wheels on it. I also got my new correct lug nuts on......tomorrow I'll set it down on the ground and see how much I need to adjust it so I can drive it to school. On the lazer alignment rack I can set the ride height up properly.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 13, 2016, 10:55:48 AM
My buddy Seth sent me a pic of his.....the seal goes over from the inside.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 13, 2016, 03:58:29 PM
Looking good there, Dave!

I'm wondering if you shouldn't try to find a rubber cap to blank-off the top of the upper arm's knuckle joint cups.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 13, 2016, 04:43:46 PM
Yes, I'm either going to cut the lip of the cups that were in there and turn them upside down or find a rubber plug that will fit tightly.

Got it down on it's wheels this afternoon, I had to raise the back an inch and drop the front by 2 - it's still too high in the front but it's good enough to get it the 5 miles to school where I can even it out.

I needed to change the fluid in my parts washer, the last time I did it was probably more than 12 years ago, maybe more! I called Safety Kleen as that's where I got the last barrel and I was floored when they told me how much - last time I paid what I considered a pretty hefty $170 for 25 gallons, this time they want $420!

I checked at school and they use Crystal Clear brand, so I called them, they will deliver 26 gallons to my house and haul off the old fluid for $165. Done. I'll see them tomorrow morning.

It was a good chance to clean out my tank too. Mine is an old Harbor Freight tank that I paid less than $100 for in 1990, I took the pump out and mounted it on a shaft about 10" above the bottom of the tank and it's worked perfectly even since. I'm a little surprised at that actually, as the pump was designed to use water based solvent and I've had mineral based spirits in there ever since....the water based stuff that HF supplied took the paint off the tank - pissed me off, that's why I changed it and built it to work this way. It also was not supposed to be a recirculating tank like this, but the 5 gallons or so of juice it held got dirty pretty fast...this is much better as it's lasted all these years, I've cleaned a LOT of parts in this tank.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 13, 2016, 04:52:38 PM
I once needed an odd-sized rubber plug, so I went to the local 'shop' and picked up a couple of rubber tips for walking canes.  They're tapered and can be cut to size.

I wouldn't cut the tabs off, I'd leave them there, as well as the rebound buffers.  You never know if you'll eventually re-install rubber cones.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on October 13, 2016, 06:58:23 PM
Looking good Dave,

I was wondering about the boot seal as well.
I know mine was on the lid originally, I ordered a seal from seven that said it went on the lid but I got it last week and it looks like it is designed to go on the car?
I dunno guess I'll figure it out  also it came with no clips but maybe they're sold separately.
I have read somewhere that the seal that goes on the car is the better one to have .
I don't really care what I got just want to know how to properly install it. I might give seven a call and see what they say.


Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 13, 2016, 08:40:11 PM
Well, I got the seal on, but I just about can't get the boot lid closed, I may put the old one back on!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 14, 2016, 10:47:11 AM
Drove the Mini down a few blocks to the local glass shop to see if they could install my new chrome locking strips  but they are booked till Monday - since I can't get them done before the show I'll do them myself next week, a friend has the tool.

Since this was the first drive on the coilovers, initial impressions are good....I'll need to get the alignment set and play around with the shock settings before I can say for sure, but so far so good.

Got my solvent/parts cleaning tank back together.....could not believe the price difference between this stuff and SK, since we use this stuff at school I know it works just as well too.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 14, 2016, 02:42:32 PM
Took the green Mini up to school to align it and got it pretty good, I didn't have time to do the rear camber/toe adjusters so that will come later.

After I got the ride height evened out I set up the front caster/camber /toe.

On the ride home I'm not sure how I feel about the coilovers......I'm going to have to play with shock settings and ride height some more...right now it feels like a race car, very little travel and a little darty. I also need to drive it some more to settle the springs down then I'll mess with it again.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on October 14, 2016, 03:59:03 PM
Bet it was a strange ride getting there.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: roadhouse on October 14, 2016, 04:00:26 PM
Looking much better now!!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 15, 2016, 10:01:55 AM
Progress.............of a sort. On the drive home from school yesterday I was pretty underwhelmed with my new setup, so today I pulled all the wheels back off and raised it up a bunch. I also set the shocks 4 clicks (out of 13) stiffer from their lowest setting and while I only drove it around the neighborhood it was noticeably better.

I'm going to install the rear camber/toe brackets and then set both ends again and then just put some miles on it.......our big club event is tomorrow, once that's done I won't be under any time constraints. I can go ahead and rebuild the front calipers and replace the leaking slave cylinder too - I'm taking extra brake fluid as it's leaving a puddle now.

Gave the car a bath today in preparation for tomorrow - I can't believe how many bugs we killed last weekend - for October. My car was covered in bug guts!

More as it happens....I'll have pics from tomorrows event in the evening once I'm home, weather is supposed to be hot and sunny.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 19, 2016, 03:03:43 PM
Today's challenge, rebuild the driver's seat.

The foam was all squished down and the cushion cover was torn at the back, it also had a piece of black race car tape covering up a tear in the vinyl just under my knee.....so yesterday I pulled it out of the car and took it all apart. I ran the cover up to the local upholstery guy who charge me $100 to take the black vinyl out and resew everything - he promised it today and sure enough by noon he called and said it was ready.

In the meantime since I couldn't buy the foam inserts as they seem to be constantly out of stock I decided to make my own foam insert. I found a place downtown that sold the foam I needed - I was after the stiffest stuff they make and he sold me everything I needed for $20. Of course, I had to assemble it! I've watched enough hot rod shows to think I could do it too, so I found the electric carving knife and set after it. I think it turned out pretty good, it sits well at least and the cover looks terrific....I had to run the seat back up to the upholstery guy as I just could not get the last bits clipped in place and he helped me finish it up for no charge.

It's back in the car now and ready to go.

Tomorrow I'll tackle the rear camber/toe adjusters and see if it needs rear brakes and the bearings repacked, the Friday back up to school to set the alignment yet again. I'm hopeful that this will take some of the darti-ness out of it too.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 19, 2016, 03:35:25 PM
Very cool news on the seats Dave.  I've always thought it would be fun cutting foam with an electric knife. 

Pix?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 19, 2016, 06:21:36 PM
I'm afraid I only took a couple while in process......in the first pic you can see how the foam has a big indentation in the center, this makes for a very uncomfortable seat as there is stiff foam below and above the indentation - weird. So I put some foam in to fill it out level.

The bottom cushion has been squashed almost flat, tho this one isn't as bad as some I've seen. The foam I bought was the stiffest they had and doesn't squish much when you sit on it, but it's still comfortable.

When you look at the final two pics you can see the difference - the right seat covering is wrinkled compared to the driver's seat because the foam under the cover has collapsed down over the years.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 20, 2016, 04:50:07 PM
Got the rear camber/toe brackets installed today and tried on my other set of 13" wheels - the ones I ran for a short time on Buzz. They don't fit, the offset is different. I could add some spacers (1/4" would do) but then I'd have to change the studs too....I'll just use the wheels that came on it. I was wanting to see if the change of wheels/tires would eliminate the low speed wobble I get.

Tomorrow I'll take it back up to school and align the whole car - it shouldn't need hardly anything in the front...it will be interesting to see how close the numbers are to where I left it the other day.

I think I prefer the Mini sport style brackets to these, but we'll see when I go to set it up.......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 20, 2016, 05:09:12 PM
Which brackets are those?

I got mine from MSC (MS70 (http://minispares.com/product/Classic/Body/Panel/Repair/MS70.aspx?030703&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/MS70.aspx%7CBack%20to%20search))and the small 90° adjustment slider through which the bolt/locknut passes is quite soft metal.  I tighten the center nut once the car is back on the ground, not sure if this is correct - would have to check my binder full of instruction sheets...

They also don't seem to have an extraordinary amount of adjustment, either.  Both sides on my car are adjusted 'full-up' to give maximum neg. camber, yielding only ½° - precisely what I wanted to achieve, but not leaving any room for any more. 

I use CK17 shims between the camber brackets and subby the to adjust the toe.

Edit - as you can barely see, the locknut sits in a braced box and is really hard to access.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 20, 2016, 06:03:25 PM
They were part of a kit from Huddersfield that included the front adjustable lower control arms and tie bars.

We'll see tomorrow how it all works.....but they don't look very substantial to me, compared to the ones from Minisport or KAD.

https://usa.minisport.com/mslms0510-fully-adjustable-mini-negative-camber-tracking-rear-brackets-pair.html (https://usa.minisport.com/mslms0510-fully-adjustable-mini-negative-camber-tracking-rear-brackets-pair.html)

(http://cdn1.bigcommerce.com/server5600/79cdd/products/2905/images/9889/SSS0044-classic-mini-cooper-adjustable-rear-camber-toe-bracket-set-seven-mini-parts-www.7ent.com__99757.1469123519.1280.1280.jpg?c=2)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 20, 2016, 06:38:08 PM
The KAD items are indeed a very (elegant) simple design and appear to be very robust.  I'm not sure about the big square hole for the radius arm shaft in the MiniSport brackets (looks like it'd be difficult to control the toe measurement), though, and might want to weld the serrated plate a bit stronger.

I've thought about trimming the box-gusset on the MSC brackets to better gain access to the nut, and try to replace the small adjuster with something a bit beefier, and perhaps using a wheel stud as the adjustment screw.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 20, 2016, 07:43:07 PM
I had a set of the MiniSport adjusters on Buzz and they worked perfectly - you did have to get the nut on the end of the shaft good and tight, but once there it showed no inclination to move. I didn't realize you need shims to adjust the tracking with these brackets....they sure didn't send any -  or any instructions.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 21, 2016, 05:12:41 AM
I got the shims from KC, but MiniSpares has them now also.  (CK17 (http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/CK17.aspx))
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 21, 2016, 08:15:14 AM
Well, once I get it on the machine today I'll have the answers.....but shims would only work if the wheels were already toed in too far, cause you want a little bit of toe in in the back.....we'll see what happens once I light it up with the frickin lasers... ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 21, 2016, 02:43:10 PM
I had one side more toe'd in than the other after I changed the rear subframe, and neither radius arm was bent.  Preferring 1/16" total rear toe-in, I think I now have one, maybe two shims on one side and one on t'other.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 21, 2016, 03:47:45 PM
Well, I got it closer, but I do not like this style of rear adjuster one bit, I much prefer the Mini Sport style. I had to make some shims and still couldn't get it toed out far enough or the camber where I wanted it with these and I do not think anything is bent.

It's better, and starting to drive like I want it to, but still a bit to go.......I may take these adjusters off and modify the original brackets instead......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 21, 2016, 04:06:17 PM
As you can see in my crappy bit o'picture, I ran out of camber adjustment and barely made ½ degree negative, even with elongating the supplied slot to tweek out just a tad more to get to the adjustment screw's lowest possible thread.  I also had to elongate the bottom holes to allow the toe-shims to 'push' the brackets rearward.

If I had access to a couple of small pieces of heavy metal, and if I had welding materials, I'd make myself a new 90° bit with a longer captive wheel-stud adjustment 'bolt' and extend the range of negative camber adjustment.  The MSC brackets are certainly strong enough, just too 'short' for my mini.

The KAD are super nice, but I'm poor now.

You could easily modify the new Huddersfield brackets to something similar to the MSC brackets - strengthen the base, etc.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 24, 2016, 05:03:15 PM
John one side of my car is like yours, I had to open up the top and the adjuster is almost all the way up, the other side was about halfway but - I could not get the toe in set, it was toed out already, and if there are no shims to take out - how the heck to you get it to toe in? The other side was toed in considerably so I made some shims and got it dialed in.

I wound up modifying the bracket considerably - I opened up the slot where the end of the bolt comes thru, I lengthened the slot in the bottom of the bracket where the adjuster bolt goes thru, and finally I removed the web between the two bolts that attach the bracket by screwing into the panel next to the front trunion bolts.

I won't know for sure if my mods will result in proper geometry till I get it back on the alignment machine  - yet again. Third time's a charm I guess.

I had the left side dialed in, hopefully I'll get all of it done this time!

Sorry I don't have any pics of the process, I was just intent on getting it done.

However, I did have one of the only opportunities when it's OK to use vice grips (mole grips over there in Yurrup) -  one of the bolts was rusted in tight and the head broke off as soon as I put the wrench to it, so I got out my trusty acetylene torch, got it glowing cherry red for a few moments, then went after it. Got the little bastard out whole too!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on October 24, 2016, 08:43:15 PM
May have skimmed over it but what camber, toe, and caster numbers are you going with?  I've been reading the intrawebs about good street setups. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 25, 2016, 05:26:21 AM
I use...

Front -
1/2° neg camber
3 ° caster
1/16" total toe out

Rear
1/2° neg camber
1/16" total toe in

Seems to work well, I've set a number of local Minis like this and all have said it transforms the car, makes it easier to drive and very stable. Of course, most of them have had their cars either aligned very wrong (Don had 4° caster on one side and over 8° on the other!) or to performance specs that might be fine on a racetrack but are not fun to drive on the street, so any change was an improvement. I've also seen significant tire wear improvements with these numbers - 12-15K on a set of 10" 008's is easy.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 25, 2016, 07:02:47 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on October 25, 2016, 05:26:21 AM
I use...

Front -
1/2° neg camber
3 ° caster
1/16" total toe out

Rear
1/2° neg camber
1/16" total toe in

Seems to work well, I've set a number of local Minis like this and all have said it transforms the car, makes it easier to drive and very stable. Of course, most of them have had their cars either aligned very wrong (Don had 4° caster on one side and over 8° on the other!) or to performance specs that might be fine on a racetrack but are not fun to drive on the street, so any change was an improvement. I've also seen significant tire wear improvements with these numbers - 12-15K on a set of 10" 008's is easy.

I am one of guys that followed Dave's advice and used those alignment settings.  Huge positive transformation for my car. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 25, 2016, 04:32:18 PM
It's a good baseline setup, easy to go  a little wilder from there if you want.....but Styers was running the 1 1/2° camber and he said the car was fun in  the twisties but miserable the rest of the time. He's also much happier with the settings I use (I did his car too)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 27, 2016, 10:28:22 AM
So.......last thing I wanted to do with the interior of this car was to give it a couple more gauges. I bought new oil pressure and volt gauges to go with the clock that was graciously donated to me by one of the members here. There is a small difference in the bezel - the clock's is thicker, but I've decided the only one who will notice it is me.

So today I got brave and laid out the holes on some tape, drew them out and got out the small drill press and went to work. They call for a 52mm hole saw, but those don't really exist over here in non-metric land, so I went with a slightly wobbly 2"....still I had to open the holes up slightly by wrapping some sand paper around a smaller hole saw and using the drill to enlarge the holes slightly, that gives everything a nice snug fit.

While I have the dash out and I'm doing electrical work, I have to find out why the dash lights don't work and figure out how to make a gizmo to attach to the steering wheel to make the signals self cancel. Once all that's done the interior is finished, then up to school again on Friday to align it once more (and hopefully for the last time) then it's ready for the Cars and Coffee on Sat.

Still have to rebuild the front calipers but they're working fine for now.

(Dan, still need that 3/4" wheel spacer if you have time to look for one in your stuff)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: towjoe on October 27, 2016, 11:32:08 AM
Mods to dash look great.
Regards
Joe 77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Vikram on October 27, 2016, 12:06:21 PM
Looks great!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 27, 2016, 12:10:02 PM
I really  like the magnolia faced instruments and I appreciate your giving them to me!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 27, 2016, 01:43:22 PM
Ha! found out why my dash lights didn't work.......no bulbs!   :-[ ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on October 27, 2016, 02:47:34 PM
That'll do it every time! 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 27, 2016, 06:12:31 PM
Aha!!!!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on October 27, 2016, 08:00:00 PM
Now you get to try to find the proper bayonet bulbs that fit.  That is unless your old gauge cluster has the same bulb holders, but even then you may be short one bulb.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 27, 2016, 08:41:25 PM
Nah, I just pulled the bulbs out of the other gauge set, it's all working now.  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 28, 2016, 09:40:27 AM
I think it turned out good......but I think the little knob that adjusts the time is broken off the clock, so I'll unplug it till it's right, then plug it in again - it works tho!  ;D

Can't start it to check for oil leaks till the wife gets up in a few hours tho, the noise and fumes would kill her sleeping in the bedroom right above the car.

I also fixed the fog light, I found the wires taped up and hanging under the dash, so in my last order I bought a switch, today I fixed the wires and plugged it in - Viola! - fog light.  4.gif I think I'll take the brake check light switch out of the center plate and put the fog light switch in it's place.

That's about it for the interior - I may takes BruceK's advice and leave that radio blanking plate out in the sun for a few days and see if it matches better.

About all I have left to do is rebuild the front calipers - rears are good, no leaks and plenty of shoe left - and of course take it up to school to do the last alignment. I do need to order a couple of tires tho, two of these are petty well knackered. If anyone has some good 175/50-13 Yokomama A008's they aren't going to use, let me know.

Over the winter I'll pull the engine and change the final drive, fix any oil leaks I might find and clean and paint it up a bit, that should be the last of it....then I'll just drive it and have fun with it till it's time to sell and start on the hot rod. Probably need to sell my old Jag first, both to make room in the shop and to get some funds available. If I could sell the Jag first I wouldn't need to sell this Mini, it might be fun to have a stock one and the hot rod.

I'm also going to attempt to replace the chrome filler strips around both windshields - I borrowed the tool from another Mini owner, we'll see how THAT goes....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: roadhouse on October 28, 2016, 12:50:26 PM
New gauges look right at home in that dash. well done  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 28, 2016, 02:45:30 PM
Thanks Roadhouse!

Finally got the alignment done, now to put some miles on it......I need to order some tires ASAP tho......

Worst case I could pull the tires off the wheels that don't fit and put them on these, but I think I'd rather just get 4 new ones........
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on October 28, 2016, 07:43:06 PM
The clock should be a "push" on the button to set the time.  Pushing the button makes the clock run faster to swing around to the correct time.  It does not twist.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 28, 2016, 08:19:44 PM
OMG!   :D

Once I put my glasses on and got the trouble light down close to it I could see the little indentation in the end of the button, I used the pointed end of my test light and it worked exactly as you said....perfect!

I was just going to unplug it and wait till it read the correct time, then plug it in again   ;D ;D ;D ;D :-[ ::)

Thank you!

I was a little concerned about oil pressure on this engine as it took a few seconds for the oil light to go out on cold startup, although the engine sounded fine......now that I have the gauge on it, it reads 70 psi hot at rpm and 40 at idle - I'm no longer worried about the oil light!  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 29, 2016, 12:35:07 PM
I thought maybe I'd wired it up wrong or one of my wires had come undone as I wasn't getting any reading on my voltage gauge - turns out the damn thing just doesn't work! I took it back out of the dash and hooked it up directly to the battery with a couple of jumper leads - nuttin. So I sent a note off to Mini Spares to see what they want to do about it - I have an order in the basket waiting for me to push the "Buy" button so they could just ship it with that......we'll see what happens.

In the meantime I have a customer car coming in tomorrow for a gas tank. The lady's husband spent several years restoring the Mk1 and just after he completed it he died.......he had fitted a 5 gallon fuel cell which takes up the whole spare tire well in the trunk (I have no idea why) so I told her I would put a regular 9 gallon left side tank in if she wanted. She ordered all the parts and she'll drop it off tomorrow.

She's talking about coming on our Texas road trip too, so she'll need the extra gas!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 29, 2016, 01:03:12 PM
Wow. Great progress.  The dash setup looks much like mine does.

Get that radio plate sitting out in the sun for a week or two letting the UV rays to their thing, and I think you'll see it start to match the color of the rest of the dash.

So, how do you like the coil over suspension now?

Great to hear another Mini may be coming for the Spring run!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on October 29, 2016, 02:14:28 PM
Also glad to hear about another potential attendee.  At the car show today, I got some interest in the drive from one of the other classic Mini owners as well.

The Moke performed nicely driving out to the show and back.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 29, 2016, 04:03:45 PM
John Styers said he's up for the trip too, but it's a little far out to make a firm commitment as his job and living arrangements are in "flux" right now....but if he can he will come.

Susan (she's a member here but hasn't posted anything yet) is the owner of the Mk1 that I'm changing the tank on, she's planning to go too.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 30, 2016, 11:36:02 AM
Quote from: MPlayle on October 29, 2016, 02:14:28 PM
The Moke performed nicely driving out to the show and back.


Great!  Any pix?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 30, 2016, 11:55:44 AM
Quote from: BruceK on October 29, 2016, 01:03:12 PM
Wow. Great progress.  The dash setup looks much like mine does.

Get that radio plate sitting out in the sun for a week or two letting the UV rays to their thing, and I think you'll see it start to match the color of the rest of the dash.

So, how do you like the coil over suspension now?


Yep part of the reason I did it was how much I liked the way yours looked.

We're not getting a lot of hot sun this late in the year, I'm not sure how much good it would do till spring time.

Mixed results on the suspension, I think I have it set pretty much right now, but it tramlines something fierce (could be the tires) and if you hit a bump with a sharp edge it's really harsh, however in general driving it's way better than it was and rides nicely. I'm going to play with the shock setting a little more yet too.....I have the fronts set at 4 and the rears at 5 right now.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on October 30, 2016, 12:24:23 PM
Quote from: BruceK on October 30, 2016, 11:36:02 AM
Quote from: MPlayle on October 29, 2016, 02:14:28 PM
The Moke performed nicely driving out to the show and back.


Great!  Any pix?

Sorry, no pix - forgot to take my camera.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 30, 2016, 05:19:05 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on October 30, 2016, 11:55:44 AM
We're not getting a lot of hot sun this late in the year, I'm not sure how much good it would do till spring time.

I don't think it is the heat of the sun as a much as the direct rays no matter what the temp.   At my home I removed a big built-in book case the previous owner installed right over the wood flooring.  Once removed, the floor was very much a different color where it once stood protecting the floor underneath it and it was obvious the sun had faded the rest of the floor.  But 3 months of the sun shining through the windows one winter and now you can't even tell where the bookcase used to be. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 13, 2016, 04:58:31 PM
Today I worked on my own car for a change!  ;D

I put the four new Yokohama 539's on and balanced them up - I was super impressed when the worst tire took 1.5 oz, one took .5 oz and one .25oz, one took no weight at all.

I was less impressed when they shook like crazy on the way home..... :(

One of the other instructors was there while I did them and we both thought the balancer was not working correctly, so I'll take another run at them next week. They weren't that bad, and the strange part was the shaking came and went.......weird.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on November 13, 2016, 05:01:40 PM
My car has been shaking like crazy.  Hoping to balance them this week.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 14, 2016, 09:01:58 AM
Where do you get your 10's done? It's hard to find a shop around here that will even try to do them....

When I got this car the wheels shook like mad at anything above 50, I balanced them at school and they were smooth as glass after that, but they looked like they were really old tires, the rears were worn terribly and they were all weathered, so I was glad to get them off the car.....just need to get them smooth again.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on November 14, 2016, 10:45:04 AM
I bought them mounted. Hopefully I don't have any issues finding a place that can do them.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Vikram on November 14, 2016, 10:58:08 AM
I bought my wheels and tyres separately, and had them mounted at Tate Boys up in Bartlesville with no issue. That being said the car has not been driven so I have no idea about the balance.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on November 14, 2016, 11:31:08 AM
Well now I know where to go!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on November 14, 2016, 05:47:40 PM
I've also had a bit of shaking and suspect the 539's as well.  I haven't had it out for a while, but expect to drive it again soon - need to put a coat of paint on yet another set of new rear drums (this time not EBC's - thinking of scrapping them, but a set from MiniSpares) which arrived Saturday. 

I'll then be able to drive with the winter Hankook tires and find out if it's my Yokos out of balance or something not right with the suspension.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on November 17, 2016, 03:09:03 PM
I took the mini out today on it's winter tires and there wasn't any shake whatsoever.  I wonder if the Yoko's could have slid on the rims, because there was severe shaking at the steering wheel last time I drove on them.  Either that, or they may have developed a flat spot from the car just sitting parked.

In any event, I'll take them to the tire shop and ask to have them re-balanced.


There is one issue with the car, though, and I'm at a bit of a loss to find the cause.  There's a distinctive 'clunk' (believe it to be on the RH front, but I'm not sure) on 'sudden' deceleration.  No problem if one is easy/gentle when coming off the throttle, but if driving somewhat spirited, then it's very apparent.  I've lifted the front end; pulled, pushed, jostled, tugged and wiggled and can't find anything amiss.  The suspension was apart for new cones and bushes recently, but everything seems tight.  The engine has 4 stabilizers (2 x lower to subframe legs, 1 x lower forward (at the oil drain-plug area), and the standard dog-bone)  All use poly bushes - I wonder if they could seem to be good to a solid tug/jostle, yet worn in an almost linear point-to-point section along the axis of compression or stretch (I didn't have time to remove them to inspect).
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 17, 2016, 03:11:05 PM
That would be my guess......do the poly bushes really do that much better on the engine stays? I would think they'd stop engine motion at the cost of NVH.

If your tires are smooth, why have them rebalanced? I'd bet you had flat spots and just hadn't rounded them out yet.

How did she run? Did you do an hour or more or just a quick trip around the block?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on November 17, 2016, 03:39:04 PM
I took it out for a proper drive.  Gave it a decent warm-up and then took it onto the highway.  Cruised at 55mph for a while, brought it up to 65 mph for a while, back to 60, up to 75, then 85 for around 15 minutes, back to 60 and cruised home.  I think I was out on the highway for around an hour or so.  Sounds really great with this Maniflow Twin Box-Big Box exhaust (very British) and I believe I've sorted the ignition issue.  The car felt a bit twitchy at speed though, so I increased my caster angle slightly (bumped it up closer to 4°) and will take some measurements this weekend to ensure symmetry. 


Fueling was also pretty much spot-on, though it could use a tad more through the needle at 75-85mph (but where to remove it from (HIF38)...  I've already reduced the needle diameter at positions 5 (-0.0005"), 6 (-0.0015") & 7 (-0.002") and while I have 3 additional new AAA needles to work from, don't want to waste any more of them than necessary.)

Maybe I'll pump the summer Yokos a bit firmer for winter storage and see what happens - can always re-balance in the Spring if needed, air is still free.

I installed poly 'road' and poly 'race' bushes in order to secure the engine as much as possible, without resorting to solid engine mounts.  I'm thinking that installing normal rubber bushes, maybe at one end only, might provide a bit more 'give' without being too soft. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 07, 2016, 04:50:06 PM
Today I replaced my leaking slave cylinder, I had known I needed to do this for a couple of months now, but it wasn't leaking that bad, till Monday when I tried to follow the owner of the 73 Mini the six blocks to the upholstery shop and lost the clutch entirely less than half way there.

Surprisingly it only took about 1/2 hour, I was prepared for the fight of my life based on BruceK's description of changing his....but I dunno....I took out the washer bottle, removed the two screws, removed the banjo bolt for the clutch hose and off she came. Installation was the reverse, as they say. Bleeding it was easier than expected too.....I hooked a hose and small bottle to the bleed screw, opened it, pumped the pedal three times, then closed the bleed screw - pedal felt perfect again.

Result! as Edd Chinar says.....

Helps to have all sorts of odd, weird tools too, I guess......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 07, 2016, 05:09:25 PM
Yeah, I've always thought it to be pretty straight forward.

I bought an EZ-Bleed kit several years ago, which helps a lot when working alone, but before that I'd always closed bleed nipples by used a stick to hold the pedal down.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 08:52:55 AM
BruceK's car is right drive, I'm not sure if that makes a difference tho as mine has the firewall mounted servo too.

(http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1076.0;attach=5527;image)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tmsmini on December 08, 2016, 09:20:54 AM
Definitely buried with the later style RHD/LHD firewall/pedal box mounted servo.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 10:08:42 AM
Yes, but my LHD car has that too - same unit......that's my car in the pic above.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 08, 2016, 10:31:51 AM
Yikes!  I understand now.  I reckon many of us plumb forgot about the possibility of having a servo.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 11:14:09 AM
Today - even tho it's about 39* in the shop I decided to swap out the studs on the left rear wheel so I could match the 3/4" spacer on the right rear - the left had a 3/8" spacer for some unfathomable reason.

I found two interesting things, it appears that whoever put the longer studs in for the spacered drums silver solder or brazed the inside ends in place. It was no issue to knock out the studs - my 20 ton press made short work of them - but I couldn't put the new ones in till I had carefully ground the remains of the solder/braze off so the stud would fully engage and sit square to the hub.

Second, I now know why the back end came around on me when I made the panic stop in my video I did for the exhaust sound thread......I found a slightly leaking rear brake cylinder and some gummed up shoes. I'll save that job for a warmer day, at least for now. I cleaned it all off with brake cleaner in the meantime. The drums look almost new inside for wear.

It's always sumthin with these little cars, isn't it?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on December 08, 2016, 03:45:08 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 10:08:42 AM
Surprisingly it only took about 1/2 hour, I was prepared for the fight of my life based on BruceK's description of changing his....but I dunno....I took out the washer bottle, removed the two screws, removed the banjo bolt for the clutch hose and off she came. Installation was the reverse, as they say

Hmmm.  Well, you are correct that I don't have a u-jointed socket in my toolbox.  But you are also more skilled than me too - that is probably it!   I really don't remember - it's been nearly 2 years and I was in a hurry to get mine installed like the night before leaving for our Spring Run in Arkansas IIRC. 

Also, I had fond memories of changing out a non-Verto slave on an old LHD Mini, so this was definitely more fun in comparison.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 08, 2016, 03:54:02 PM
Maybe they brazed the studs because the hub's holes were loose?  Sure sound odd, though.

By the way, us pre-verto guys without servos can swap slave cylinders in just a few minutes...   4.gif


Always something...  I checked my rear wheel bearings this past summer and found that my RH brake shoes had some serious heavy grease on them.  Lucky for me it was still 'fresh' and hadn't soaked into the shoes.  I apparently had dirty fingers when I installed the drums and hadn't noticed.

And if it's not 'something', we're sure to find something.  I just ordered around $300 of battery cable, heavy-duty crimp tool (which I'll likely use only once), terminals, high-amp relay,  and other fun electrical stuff.  Not that there was anything wrong with anything installed, but it could be better... I think I'll install that 70A alternator after all, and beef up my aux. fuse box's capacity.

It's always something. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on December 08, 2016, 04:36:11 PM
You need a shop heater  77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 04:47:42 PM
I have a shop heater, but it's electric and expensive to run so I use it sparingly....however it does get the garage tolerable. I also knew I'd be opening the door a little later to go get the 73 from the upholstery shop - which had a dead battery, probably from him having the door open all day and the dome light on. I should have shown him the battery disconnect I installed.

So the 73 is back on my lift, battery charger topping up the charge. Going down to single digits tonight and I have to change the outer CV boots on the wife's Audi, so I'll be taking it up to school anyway.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 08, 2016, 04:54:42 PM
You're a busy guy!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 05:23:36 PM
You don't know the half of it! I need to replace the rear rotors, pads and brake sensor on the 09 Clubman, plus change the oil and filter, wipers, rotate the tires and align it - plus I have a code light on which will probably turn out to be boost control valve.

The Audi needs both outer CV boots replaced, an alignment and new wipers.

I have an A/C unit in the master bedroom with a noisy fan, either I'm going to take it apart and find something in the fan or replace it with a spare new unit I bought last year when I thought the bearings were bad but turned out to be condensation not draining out.

I just replaced a toilet in the master bathroom....

and on and on and on.....

After all, a man's home is his hassle!  ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 08, 2016, 05:28:05 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 05:23:36 PM
... a man's home is his hassle!  ;D

Hadn't heard that one before, love it!   77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on December 08, 2016, 06:18:08 PM
Speaking of dead batteries, mine isn't liking the cold spell we've had.  It's not even an old battery  8.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 06:38:33 PM
Now that my volt gauge is working, it's only just reading 13V, I may have some more work to do in the engine compartment....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on December 09, 2016, 06:47:55 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on December 08, 2016, 06:38:33 PM
Now that my volt gauge is working, it's only just reading 13V, I may have some more work to do in the engine compartment....
My Mini's volt gauge (Smiths) doesn't often go above that - the needle basically sits covering the "3" most of the time.  I was concerned at first, but even after a full day of driving (headlights on) when I come home and put it back on the battery tender it reads fully charged within 20 seconds, so it appears the alternator is doing its job just fine.   I haven't checked with other equipment, but I'm thinking the charging voltage is near 14V and the gauge just reads a little low. I dunno. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 09, 2016, 09:04:50 AM
Good to know....the car always cranks over just fine.....even after sitting a week or more. I guess I'll just drive it and see what it does.

Mine also just covered the "3".......I wonder if there's an adjustment I can make that will show actual voltage or if that's really it? Guess I'll get out the meter and see what it's really doing.

I know when I tested Don's P'up with a meter it only read 13.8, and his gauge on the dash shows discharge (below 12V) when his lights and engine cooling fan are on, however my meter still showed it was making 13.8V under those same circumstances.

Since I now have a spare gauge, maybe I'll play with it a bit.......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: DS1980 on December 09, 2016, 06:43:23 PM
Mine always cranked well. 12.3 at idle.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 09, 2016, 08:18:38 PM
Nominal battery voltage should be 12.6V
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 11, 2016, 09:53:57 AM
Quote from: 94touring on December 08, 2016, 06:18:08 PM
Speaking of dead batteries, mine isn't liking the cold spell we've had.  It's not even an old battery  8.gif

Getting all the way down to the 50's is it?   ;D

We haven't been down to 0 yet, but we've been into single digits already.....I have a feeling January and Feb are going to be brutal.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on December 11, 2016, 10:15:22 AM
Am I the only Mini owner here who uses a Battery Tender to keep my car's battery at full charge?    If so, why don't you guys use one?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on December 11, 2016, 10:47:04 AM
I have often used one in the past.  Currently, the one I have is on the sidecar rig - see my avatar.  When I want to be sure the Mini's battery is up to charge, I transfer it from the bike to the Mini.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 11, 2016, 11:23:17 AM
I don't use one because I drive my car often enough and far enough to keep it charged up!   ;D

On my old Jag tho, I just leave it disconnected and charge it once a month or so.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 11, 2016, 02:10:24 PM
I sometimes hook up to mine, but only if I'm not going to touch the car for a while.  When I do, though, I leave it hooked up for several weeks at a time.  The CTEC charger has a cigar-plug socket adapter that plugs into the battery lead kit, so I just open the boot and plug into the cigar plug socket.  To keep the socket clean and free from debris, I use a rubber tip from a walking cane.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on December 11, 2016, 07:17:03 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on December 11, 2016, 09:53:57 AM
Quote from: 94touring on December 08, 2016, 06:18:08 PM
Speaking of dead batteries, mine isn't liking the cold spell we've had.  It's not even an old battery  8.gif

Getting all the way down to the 50's is it?   ;D

We haven't been down to 0 yet, but we've been into single digits already.....I have a feeling January and Feb are going to be brutal.

Lol it was in the 30s and barely turned over.  Hopefully this isn't the 2nd old alternator that's going bad on me.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 22, 2016, 10:47:42 AM
I feel better about my charging system now, after I hadn't started the green Mini in weeks, it popped off fairly quickly and the gauge went right up to about 14, then dropped back a bit after it had run some......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 14, 2017, 10:31:43 AM
Got a little more work to do on the Racing Green Mini, when I drove it up to school it was really cold, and it had one heck of a dead spot just off idle, I don't know if that's a function of a lean carb or just the cold weather and the K&N air filter....I ran a stock filter on Buzz and plumbed it for heat so I never had this issue on him. Don't know how I'd get heat to this carb, tho I do have the tube thru the intake manifold so I could plumb it for hot water from the heater circuit.

Edit: Turns out this is super easy to do as the hose comes out of the fitting on the head and goes across the top of the intake to the heater valve, all I need to do is replace that long hose with two short ones = done. I'll head down to the auto parts store and see if they have some flexy 1/2" heater hose once we lose this ice off the streets. The cool part of this arrangement is that I only have manifold heat when the heater is on.

Installed my towbar today too, it fit's so well that I'm just going to leave it on till the trip and during our runs.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on January 14, 2017, 10:53:28 AM
I really like the idea of carb heat only when the heater is on. That's a great way to plumb it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on January 14, 2017, 11:09:40 AM
I've been thinking of trying a pair of 'T' connectors on each side of the intake manifold's heater tube and a short 'U-shaped' bit of copper tubing around the carb suction chamber. 

I was really worried about carb icing yesterday, as I had a heck of a time trying to keep the car at normal operating temperature.  On a 200 mile jaunt on extremely salty highways (Grrrr) , in severe fog (got to use my front and rear fog lamps!), I struggled to maintain 80 - 82°C.  The instant I turned the heater on, temperature would drop to just below 80.  This was with the grill 2/3's blocked off and allowing air to enter the vehicle's nose through the right side of grill.  The car is a mess right now, salt really shows on the black paint - hope I can find a carwash somewhere that won't destroy the arches.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on January 14, 2017, 12:56:04 PM
John, That should work I did the same to a truck I had that would ice like crazy I had my work commute planned where I could coast in neutral with engine off at several areas and then restart that would give just enough time for the ice to melt and make the next hill. After wrapping a heated copper tube around the carb. base it was fine.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 20, 2017, 12:57:44 PM
Two steps forward, one back......

When I did all the other suspension work I used a set of rear camber brackets that came with the coilovers....I said at the time I preferred the style from Mini Sport as I had used them on my last car with great effect - they were easy to set up and not fussy.

I've never been completely happy with the alignment with these, so today I changed them out again for a set from Mini Sport. Tomorrow I'll get the car back on the alignment rack and hopefully get it set once and for all.

Here's a pic showing the difference.....the MiniSport are very similar to the KAD design, very robust metal but well less than half the cost of the KADs. The MiniSpares design is closer to this style (I got these from Huddersfield) with the screw adjuster.

These work just fine, but in order to set the toe you use shims behind the bracket, which is fiddly - on the Sport versions you just loosen the nut and slide it forward or back till you're in spec. The serrations are good for about .5* each in camber.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 20, 2017, 01:05:19 PM
Quote from: John Gervais on January 14, 2017, 11:09:40 AM
I've been thinking of trying a pair of 'T' connectors on each side of the intake manifold's heater tube and a short 'U-shaped' bit of copper tubing around the carb suction chamber. 

I was really worried about carb icing yesterday, as I had a heck of a time trying to keep the car at normal operating temperature.  On a 200 mile jaunt on extremely salty highways (Grrrr) , in severe fog (got to use my front and rear fog lamps!), I struggled to maintain 80 - 82°C.  The instant I turned the heater on, temperature would drop to just below 80.  This was with the grill 2/3's blocked off and allowing air to enter the vehicle's nose through the right side of grill.  The car is a mess right now, salt really shows on the black paint - hope I can find a carwash somewhere that won't destroy the arches.

You realize that the running temp of the engine has little or nothing to do with carb icing? It's strictly a function of the temp and humidity of the air going across the carb venturi, which causes the moisture to drop out of the air stream and condense on the walls of the carb. Your heat mod around the carb will help or maybe even cure the problem, but the main help would be to get some warm air on the air intake side of the carb....a tube sitting just over the top of the exhaust and directed at the air cleaner intake would probably fix it, and be easily removed in the summer.

As for your temps, 80*C on a cold day is NOT a problem, it's when it gets down around 65 or lower that you could have issues......I would not worry about it a bit. Blocking the grill helps both issues......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on January 20, 2017, 04:42:13 PM
Yup - I've done nothing so far, only have the panel behind the grill.  I rummaged through a box of carbs and dug out the old, original flexi-hose that was fitted to the thermostatic-valve doodad that sat on the air filter box and might fit this to the filter-box nozzle to pull air from above the exhaust.

Otherwise, I've been thinking that since I've drilled holes along the forward edge of the air filter box, if I were to cap the air filter box's original air nozzle, then it'd suck air from the edge of the head, just above the manifolds. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 21, 2017, 05:05:27 PM
Took the racing green car back to the alignment rack, I'm still not completely happy with how it drives, so I may try a little more caster in the front. It drives straight enough, but it just doesn't feel completely planted like I think it should.

Maybe next I need to take a good hard look at the subframe mounts, I didn't see any broken ones any time I've looked, but maybe I just didn't see it.

Also got a pic of my three new instruments, everything is going well now......more things not to worry about on a long trip. Pic taken at idle, engine warmed up  and the headights on, alternator appears to be alternating just fine now.....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on January 21, 2017, 05:20:09 PM
Looking plush.
I need to have my alignment checked, still not happy with it either. Twitchy at turn-in.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 21, 2017, 05:31:22 PM
That's what mine is doing too....any suggestions?

I'm running 2° caster in front, spec is 2-3°, I thought it might make the steering a little lighter so I went to the low side - maybe I went too light?

I'm running 1/2° camber front and rear, a little toe-in in the back and a little toe-out in the front.

Brand new 175/50-13 tars......and 28lbs air pressure all around.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on January 21, 2017, 07:11:24 PM
I tried a do-it-yourself alignment. So not sure what it really set at. The shop I have used in the past told me they cannot do 10" anymore. I am going to take a steel wheel by to verify. I have been told by Alex that the locating pins can be removed on the machine and flipped so they will grab the inside part of the wheel.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on January 21, 2017, 07:17:26 PM
I like 0° toe and between -½ and -1° camber at the rear.

My front is:

Toe:  1/16" toe in

LH caster 4°, RH caster 4.25°

and LH -1.25° camber, RH -1.0° camber.

Because I'm using fixed, non-adjustable front negative camber arms, it is what it is after my ride height, caster and toe adjustments are made.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on January 22, 2017, 01:18:31 PM
Dave, Try more caster around 4 is what I had on my later mini I'd keep the rest the same.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 22, 2017, 02:26:22 PM
The only problem with running that much caster is that it pulls the wheels forward and they hit the fenders on turns (running 13 X 6" wheels - but it did the same on Buzz on 10's)

I'll move it up to 3 and see if I can detect any difference.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on January 22, 2017, 03:40:17 PM
How about borrowing a set of 12 x 5 wheels and trying 4° caster?  Surely someone has a set with 165 tires that you could borrow for a couple of days.

They'd fit over your brakes, definitely have a performance edge over the 13's, don't look too bad (in my opinion) and who knows, you might like the feel of them. 

Also, have you fitted any shims between the subframe and forward teardrop mounts?

2a4292 (http://minispares.com/product/Classic/Body/Subframes/Fixings_mountings/2A4292.aspx?030801&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/2a4292.aspx%7CBack%20to%20search)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on January 22, 2017, 04:10:13 PM
13s are definitely a performance killer on a mini. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on January 22, 2017, 04:19:36 PM
That's what I've heard.  I've never driven in a 13" mini, but mine had 10" steelies originally and I bought a set of 10 x5 alloys.  Then the 8.4" disks and 12" went on, and completely changed the car's attitude on the road.  (I'm a big fan of 12" wheels...)  The 10's felt somewhat mushy with 165 tires, the 12's feel modern, firm and sporty.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on January 22, 2017, 05:00:48 PM
12s are a good compromise between performance and looks, plus fit over 8.4s.  Imo nothing beats 10s.  My rx7 had heavy 18s on it, which I immediately swapped out for lightweight 17s simply because they perform so much better.  It's noticeable.  Diameter plays a factor in gearing and in turn torque as well.  Anyways...Dave have you gone back to cone/struts yet?  Wonder if the coilovers are having a negative impact?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on January 22, 2017, 05:10:48 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on January 21, 2017, 05:05:27 PM

Also got a pic of my three new instruments, everything is going well now......more things not to worry about on a long trip. Pic taken at idle, engine warmed up  and the headights on, alternator appears to be alternating just fine now.....
Instruments look great!


My trick to let Mr. Sunshine gently fade the radio blanking plate didn't work?   Bummer.   

I think over time all will work itself out...
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 22, 2017, 05:46:24 PM
Bruce we haven't had hardly any sun since then......nothing but grey days.  ::)

John, I prefer the 13's.....I had them on Buzz for a while and I liked how they felt - but I was running more caster on Buzz....so I'm going at least to 3° and see if I can feel any difference.

Dan, no I'm going to run these coilovers for a while - at least till I put the smootharides on the 73 and see how it drives with them.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 22, 2017, 05:50:24 PM
Quote from: Willie_B on January 21, 2017, 07:11:24 PM
I tried a do-it-yourself alignment. So not sure what it really set at. The shop I have used in the past told me they cannot do 10" anymore. I am going to take a steel wheel by to verify. I have been told by Alex that the locating pins can be removed on the machine and flipped so they will grab the inside part of the wheel.

It depends on the machine, both of our Hunters will align 10's, but one is a little harder to attach the targets too. They both work easily on 12's and 13's. If you have a set of those or access to some to borrow, it will make it easier for the shop - maybe then they'll be more receptive.

It sounds like your shop just doesn't want to fuss with it, I suggested Bruce find a race or high performance shop when he needed to align his, and they were fine working on the Mini and did a great job!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on January 22, 2017, 09:30:13 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on January 22, 2017, 05:50:24 PM

It sounds like your shop just doesn't want to fuss with it, I suggested Bruce find a race or high performance shop when he needed to align his, and they were fine working on the Mini and did a great job!

Yup.  I followed Dave's advice and found a local tuner shop - place that was familiar with working on modified street cars as well as track-day cars.  They were more than delighted to have a chance to work on my Mini.  They knew what a Mini was, and having the car in their shop it was a big deal to them, especially since the shop manager was a British expat.

My car's suspension is adjustable front and rear (like a lot of Minis) and they spent over 90 minutes dialing my car in exactly as I wanted it.  In fact, they tweaked it with me sitting behind the wheel.   Cost was a little more than getting an alignment for a Camry at your typical Firestone store, but well worth it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 10, 2017, 06:10:56 PM
Hi Dave, Mark here, I was directed to this site when I met Bruce on BAT.  I've been contemplating putting coilovers on my mini as I'm not currently impressed with the HILOs and the coil springs that it came with when I bought it.  Saw earlier in this thread about you running a set.  What's your opinion on them and how they work with the mini?

Bruce, I'll need to get that shop name from you as soon as I convince the wife to let me do the suspension and brakes before any more talk about repainting the mini.

Thanks for any help. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 10, 2017, 07:15:37 PM
Hey Mark, welcome to the site!

I have mixed feelings at this point......my last car had cones that were like rocks, so I replaced them with coil springs (not coilovers - but coil springs that replaced only the donuts) and hiLos. I was pretty happy with those, it rode much better but then I was replacing rock hard rubbers.

On this car I tried coilovers (ProTech), which are coil springs that fit over the shocks and completely replace the cones and trumpets. So far I have mixed feelings about them......I decided to put some more miles on them before making a pronouncement.

They ride pretty well, but if I hit a bump with a sharp edge it's really harsh. That could be down to the tie rod bushings I used, going back to some stock ones might cure that. I also might need to soften off the shocks too.

A friend has a different brand of coilovers on his car (Gaz) and I think they ride better than mine but I don't know how many miles he has on them - mine are brandy new but his look to be several years old. However his have one issue - the shocks rattle like crazy! Driving him to distraction, so he's going back to cones. He is not a high performance driver so a smooth ride is more important to him....he bought MiniSports "SmoothaRide kit, which comes with new more compliant rubber cones, new shocks and HiLos...... that coupled with a fully adjustable suspension should give him the ride he's looking for and get rid of the rattle.

I won't be installing those for him till I get back from our Texas run, but my thoughts at this point are that if I make a change I'll probably go with stock rubber cones. I drove another car with those a few days ago and I was really impressed with the quality of the ride. The stock rubbers are rising rate, so they have a lot of compliance under normal driving but stiffen up as they get compressed. Those and a set of adjustable shocks might be just the ticket......

Lets see what other people on the forum think of their setups......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on February 11, 2017, 12:20:13 PM
Hi Mark, good to see you posting here! 

This is where I went for my Mini's alignment:   http://www.cobbtuning.com/location/plano/     

They spent about 90 minutes getting everything just right and I seem to remember I paid about $150 for the alignment.  Cheap, considering my car was so badly out of alignment I would have worn through 2 tires if I had not gotten it done. 

I believe the guy I worked with there was called Neil who was a British expat delighted to have a classic Mini in the shop.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 11, 2017, 12:26:30 PM
Mark, which coil springs do you have, Red, Blue or Black?

I'm told the red ones are too stiff, the blue ones too soft and I had the black ones on my previous car, which were supposed to mimic stock rubber springs.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on February 11, 2017, 04:21:44 PM
"Lets see what other people on the forum think of their setups......"

My front cones are the C-STR687 and am using stock genuine rear cones and KYB gas-a-just dampers all 'round.  This is by far the much more comfortable than I thought it would be, even with the 12" wheels, rear anti-roll bar and the other stuff I've got underneath. 

Did I mention how comfortable the ride is?  It firms up nicely if pressed, otherwise it's quite compliant.


Welcome aboard to the new guy -  19.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 05:52:12 PM
Thanks Bruce, I'll write that down.

Mine are the red ones, and yea I'd researched them before and found they are the stiffest.  Think I've seen the springs for sale somewhere, but it was like 350 for a set of them.  No idea what shocks are on my car, they are just plain black. 

These are the spax coilovers minispares has, the shocks look to be adjustable, but I'll have to ask to find out for sure.
http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Suspension/Coil%20over%20kits/RSX520.aspx?1911&ReturnUrl=/shop/classic/Suspension/Coil~over~kits.aspx|Back%20to%20shop

I'm running the stock 10" wheels and I'm planning to upgrade to the 7.5" discs.  Looks like between minispares and minisport I can get all the pieces at a reasonable price.

Thanks again for the info. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 11, 2017, 06:07:48 PM
If you go on TheMiniForum (UK) they deride all coilover kits, claiming that the shock mounts aren't designed to carry the loads of the springs and that the coils springs don't have the rising rate capability of the original cones - there is something to be said for what they say in that the section of the subframe where the cone (and your current red springs) sit is designed to carry spring loads and so on.....

However, there are a huge number of Minis on both sides of the pond running coilovers (including my car), so.......

When you pull your existing shock mounts off you may get a surprise in the form of a huge rust hole under the shock mount! This is very common and fairly easy to fix in a body shop, or if you have welding and sheet metal fabrication capabilities in your shop.

I hope yours don't rattle like my friend's do........the ones I bought don't so there's that but mine are a different brand.

And yes, those shocks are adjustable for stiffness, only on compression tho. I would try them on full soft till you get some miles on them, extremely easy to adjust, just turn the knob and count the clicks!

If you haven't already, you should consider going ahead and putting in the fully adjustable lower control arms and tie bars, that way you can dial in the suspension exactly as you want it......like Bruce did with his car.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 06:08:31 PM
Yea, found the springs on mini mania for 379, um no, so I'll keep looking for a better price.

Concern on the coilovers is changing where the spring works in the suspension.  How the forces act on the body work as compared to where the cones go in the subframe.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 11, 2017, 06:12:02 PM
Exactly.....

I bought my black springs from Huddrsfield, but they came with the HiLos, I think they were about $400 delivered.......don't remember for sure.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 06:14:14 PM
http://www.minispares-online.co.uk/std-coil-spring-conversion-kit-for-classic-mini/

Found these, a lot better priced.  Looks like I can just buy the springs or the whole kit.  Not sure the quality of the HI/LO adjusters I have.

It warned me to read the new post before I posted.  Lol. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 11, 2017, 06:16:41 PM
I found the black coils on sale at Huddersfield for £99...about $120 in our money.

http://www.minispares-online.co.uk/std-coil-spring-conversion-kit-for-classic-mini/ (http://www.minispares-online.co.uk/std-coil-spring-conversion-kit-for-classic-mini/)

Ha! You beat me to it!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 06:18:17 PM
 :D  Did it again. Don't particularly like this statement on minispares.  Google search found their springs.

"These are not recommended for road use and suspension should be suitably set up as these springs can move in "situ" especially when the car is lowered and driven over rough road."
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 06:23:00 PM
Did you like the black coil spring conversion?  If I can get a set of springs for that maybe I'll just change out the springs and get some good shocks, since I don't know what are on mine.  Bet if I dug through all the receipts I got with the car I can probably find them. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 07:14:13 PM
Score, found the suspension receipt.  I feel sorry for these 2 that built this car.  The suspension was actually done by the guy in Rhode Island.  1000 for parts then spent 550 to install.  OUCH!  Hopefully 7 ent. still has these part numbers since this is from late 2004.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 11, 2017, 07:17:44 PM
Those are probably standard shocks, which are fine for most driving, I think the only time you need high performance shocks is if you're going to track or autocross the car.

Hey Mark, why not start a thread on your car and the mods you plan to do?

BTW, Beavis and Butthead fan?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 07:23:35 PM
Yep, those are standard shocks.  The part numbers still work.  Here is the conversion kit he purchased http://www.7ent.com/products/coil-spring-conversion-w-adjustable-struts-for017.html.  But he didn't buy the recommended taller stop, which one thing that started my concern with this set up.  When I jack the front of the car, the suspension droops and the hi/lo and spring flop to the side.  Looks like he also bought upper shock mounts, they seem to just be reinforcement. 

Yea, was favorite show when I was in high school.  Outgrew the Simpsons.  Ok, I started a thread for my car, is there a way to move my part of this discussion to that thread since I seem to have hijacked this one a bit?

If not, notice to anyone who gets to this point we moved this to the My 65 Australian MKI thread.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 11, 2017, 07:36:44 PM
Well, you can just copy/paste your comments if you want, but I think folks will find it OK.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 11, 2017, 08:11:38 PM
Back to the regular scheduled programming.   77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 18, 2017, 02:58:26 PM
A little more work today on the RG car in anticipation of our Texas trip in March, I heard a little crunch when I'd let off the throttle so I assumed it was due for some engine steady bushes......as always with these later model cars there's enough stuff in the way that nothing is an easy bolt on-off operation.....but I digress.

I got the engine side undone easily enough, and when I went to the back end I found the bolt and consequently the ground cable attached to it were finger loose. I went ahead and removed the bolt, but in order to get the steady bar out I had to also remove the breather assembly off the bell housing - the back bolt on that was hidden by an unused bracket that was part of the slave cylinder bracket. Crikeys!

Anyway, I persevered and used some of the new style one piece bushes and it all went together fine. while I had the breather off I ran solvent thru it in my parts washer tank but it seemed pretty clean inside.....nice to know.

Not much else left to do, can't decide if I want to drop that heater to fix the flap before the trip or not.....I probably will.

Next time I take it off the rack I'll park it behind the blue Clubby and see how much of a drop I need to level out the towbar.

In the meantime I'll build a stand to hold the trailer lights in the rear window for towing, and that will all be ready to go at last.

EDIT: Can't decide if this is too much upward angle or not.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on February 19, 2017, 04:19:42 PM
Looks great  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on February 19, 2017, 07:41:46 PM
That should be ok, just watch for any drive way transitions that may be steeply angled up.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on February 20, 2017, 02:12:49 PM
Quote from: John Gervais on October 10, 2016, 02:38:34 PM
By the way - 21A1307 Spacer between seal and inner bearing 0.229" inches thick isn't needed.  My AKM2 6th Edition manual says it was deleted from production cars and no longer required.

Just did the front wheel bearings on my car this past weekend (thanks for helping me Mark) and the spacer was there on the driver's side, but not on the passenger's.  I can understand why Austin/Rover quit fitting it (likely for cost reasons) and I understand that if you don't push the grease seal too far it is technically not needed, but personally I'd rather have one fitted.   Does anyone have a used one they no longer want?


Separately, I now have a pair of used nylon shields that mate to the inner grease seal - John I believe you want these right?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on February 20, 2017, 05:08:40 PM
Yes please -
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on February 20, 2017, 06:26:06 PM
You're welcome Bruce, was a great learning experience.  You know, like removing the nut before trying to separate the ball joint.   77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on February 22, 2017, 11:25:46 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on February 18, 2017, 02:58:26 PM
A little more work today on the RG car in anticipation of our Texas trip in March, I heard a little crunch when I'd let off the throttle so I assumed it was due for some engine steady bushes......as always with these later model cars there's enough stuff in the way that nothing is an easy bolt on-off operation.....but I digress.

I got the engine side undone easily enough, and when I went to the back end I found the bolt and consequently the ground cable attached to it were finger loose. I went ahead and removed the bolt, but in order to get the steady bar out I had to also remove the breather assembly off the bell housing - the back bolt on that was hidden by an unused bracket that was part of the slave cylinder bracket. Crikeys!

Anyway, I persevered and used some of the new style one piece bushes and it all went together fine. while I had the breather off I ran solvent thru it in my parts washer tank but it seemed pretty clean inside.....nice to know.

Not much else left to do, can't decide if I want to drop that heater to fix the flap before the trip or not.....I probably will.

Next time I take it off the rack I'll park it behind the blue Clubby and see how much of a drop I need to level out the towbar.

In the meantime I'll build a stand to hold the trailer lights in the rear window for towing, and that will all be ready to go at last.

EDIT: Can't decide if this is too much upward angle or not.

Not too bad the more level the better but that looks OK 3" difference is about the max you want.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 07, 2017, 07:34:18 PM
I had the RG on the alignment rack again Sunday and I think I finally got it right.....the back end was really out - as in toed out - on the right, and toed in on the left.

Plus the front end somehow only had 1.5* of caster on the left.

So, got all the numbers where they belong and now the car drives SO much better.

It's really nice having access to a modern alignment machine - now if I would only learn to use it right!  ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 19, 2017, 02:41:04 PM
I think the problem with the handling is the rear bushings in the trailing arms, so I ordered a set and borrowed Dan's reamer to size them properly when they get here.

I also took a look at my rear lights as others said they were dim - and no wonder - they were coated with crud. The gaskets were so dried out and shrunk they weren't sealing anything. Anyone have a spare pair, MiniSpares is out right now......

I also changed back to my old locking gas cap - I wondered why I was going thru the first half of the tank so quickly - I completely forgot I don't need a vented gas cap as the tank itself is vented..... :-[
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on March 23, 2017, 06:33:39 PM
It's funny that your steering geometry seems to have changed, mine seems to be doing the same.  There's been a slight vibration at about 60 mph and it continues through to 85/90mph, and the steering wheel is no longer perfectly 'straight', but cocked a tad (about 1 o'clock) to the right of centered.  I might increase the LH caster angle slightly and see if it straightens out.

As I'm still on the 145/70/12 winter tires, I'll have the summer rubber re-balanced before I do the seasonal switch.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 16, 2017, 03:18:22 PM
On our recent drive in Texas I mentioned that the handling was a little weird - nothing scary but it seemed like it tried to oversteer into higher speed turns, then catch itself and hold on.

Today I pulled the right rear trailing arm and found some of the roller bearings missing - I think I found the source of the nervous back end!

So I bought some repair kits and borrowed Dan's reamer setup on the way back from Texas and have started the fix up, in two weeks I have a run I want to do - a local group is doing an "A Sereis Run", inviting anything that was originally powered by an A series engine......we have the usual Sprites/Midgets, a Morris Minor or two, two Lotus 7's (well, one is a Caterham) and several Minis coming that I know about - should be fun. We're starting at Victoria British parts and running the back roads to Atchison, Ks (Home of Amelia Earhart) one of our club members is from there and has volunteered to lead us on a tour of historic sites in the city....should be a fun time and I want to be sure I'm ready for it.

I also found a leaking wheel cylinder on the left rear so it will get all new shoes, wheel cylinders, drums, hoses and so on. It's always sumthin with these cars, isn't it?   ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 16, 2017, 07:35:20 PM
Well, it was much worse than I expected.....the rollers had worn thru the side of the cage and into the trailing arm itself. The new cage still fits tightly so I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it yet. options include putting the new cage in and calling it good, or taking it up to school and boring the hole out round again and making a sleeve.

The bronze bushing was still in good shape...

I took the parts up to school today and bead blasted everything clean, so it is all ready for paint.

A few pics to show what I'm dealing with.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 17, 2017, 01:12:58 PM
If that was not repairable I was going to suggest getting a refurbished trailing arm because I seem to remember Edd China of Wheeler Dealers putting one on a Mini and mentioning the cost was like £20.   But either I didn't remember that correctly, or prices have gone up a lot!   I just checked and MiniSpares offers a reconditioned trailing arm for £54 with a core fee of £55, so that's about $140 plus shipping.   Not exactly cheap.    And then you'd have to decide whether to return the old one for your £55.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 17, 2017, 01:33:06 PM
vs $429 + shipping from 7 Ent.........

I'm going to just rebuild this one.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 17, 2017, 02:05:24 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on April 17, 2017, 01:33:06 PM
vs $429 + shipping from 7 Ent.........

How the heck do they and MiniMania stay in business?  Just selling to people who have no knowledge of the Internet?

Quote from: MiniDave on April 17, 2017, 01:33:06 PM
I'm going to just rebuild this one.

Makes sense.  Good luck! 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 17, 2017, 02:47:27 PM
I think the majority of their customers aren't aware of the fact they can buy stuff straight from the same places MiniMania and 7Ent get their stuff?

But then I have Mini owners at our local Mini events come up and say "there's a Mini forum"?

I mean.....really? The day after I bought my '03 JCW I went to Google and found the forum, that weekend I went to my first local club event where I met Don Ipock, who also had just bought his JCW.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 17, 2017, 08:31:28 PM
So, I got the first one done tonight, Dan's reamer worked a treat once I figured out how to use it. Overnight I'll let all the paint dry on the backing plates and other little parts, then put everything back together tomorrow night after school.

For those who are going to give me grief for painting the control arms silver - it's what I had on hand. I like how it looks actually......the brake backing plates are black and the drums will be silver too.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on April 18, 2017, 12:00:57 AM
I kind of like the bare metal look.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 18, 2017, 07:02:43 AM
I like it too.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 18, 2017, 08:18:07 AM
It's a lot of work, but the bead blaster really does a nice job on cast iron parts like this, but these are a bitch to prep......when you go to wash all the grit off you find that it's a hollow casting and the solvent tends to pool up inside and it's hard to get it all out.....I used a lot of air, blowing solvent out of the insides of this thing.

I'm surprised just how rusted the inner shaft was, almost like it sat in salt water for a while. Either that or water gets trapped inside and cant get out again - but the emergency brake quadrant pin was rusted just like that shaft on the inside.

Weird too that the bushing didn't look worn at all, but the shaft was a rusted pitted mess.....pic is after I cleaned it up on the wire brush. Stainless steel shafts would make a lot of sense here......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on April 18, 2017, 09:39:21 PM
wow that was really worn out I think I'd just press the new bearing in with a little epoxy in the low/worn spot of the arm to help support the outer race and call it good. The metal look of the paint is good no grief here. I wonder if stainless could be made strong enough?  Although now that you own it and it will get proper greasing it shouldn't be a problem again.

My old mini uses a bushing in both ends of the arm I wonder why they went to a bearing on one side?

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 19, 2017, 07:38:40 AM
Good question....it's interesting to me that the bushing is on the outside and the needle bearing on the inside too, seems like the outer one would have more stress on it. Plus too and also, just like in the front suspension the shafts that ride on those needle bearings don't turn very far - only a few degrees -  so all the pressure and wear is only on one side of the bearing.

I thought about adding some JB weld on the side that had the wear, but decided just to press it in and call it good - the bearing fit tightly so I think it's supported well enough.

And you're right, it will be lubed properly and won't be driven under water!   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on April 19, 2017, 09:38:23 AM
I am thinking that the bearing is on the inside because that is the side that the suspension pressure is on mostly.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 19, 2017, 10:19:30 AM
I agree, it just seems to me like the outer would carry more load, dunno why....most wheel bearing setups have the larger bearing on the inside too.

today I got the backing plates reloaded with new wheel cylinders and shoes - however I'm disappointed in my circlip tool, didn't work worth crap! All that happened is that as the circlip got spread down the cone it dug into the cone and locked up, and dug a hell of a divot in the cone too. I went back to my old method of installing the circlip and it worked perfectly.

I bolted the backing plate and emergency brake cable bracket on and installed the new brake hose, so this side is ready to go back on the car now.

I had pre-greased the bearing and bushing, but after I got it all together I pumped a bunch of grease into the shaft till it came out the other end, then rotated the shaft to try and make sure the whole thing was coated in a layer of grease - maybe that will keep it from rusting like the other one did. I also put a good coat of grease on the quadrant pivot pin, the part that was inside the training arm looked like the shaft, all rusty and pitted, but the parts that go thru the arm were clean and fine.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on April 19, 2017, 12:09:46 PM
I guess I'm not alone by pumping grease till it oozes out the other side. Ashame about the circlip tool.  Guess I'll continue the fight without any tool.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 19, 2017, 12:26:07 PM
Speaking of grease and of the circlip tool, do you think a light coating of grease might have helped?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 19, 2017, 01:19:34 PM
I guess we'll see when I do the other side   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 19, 2017, 02:05:05 PM
I see Michael has posted Seven's instructions to use the circlip install tool on the MiniSpares thread.  They recommend grease. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 19, 2017, 02:48:07 PM
Yep, saw that......I was planning to try that on the other side.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 20, 2017, 08:53:59 AM
One side done, gotta get going on this as I'll need to get it on the alignment rack before April 29th's A series Run.....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on April 20, 2017, 03:08:30 PM
It's too clean!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on April 20, 2017, 05:33:56 PM
What coil-overs you running? 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 20, 2017, 06:12:00 PM
Pro-Tech......from Huddersfield.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 21, 2017, 09:43:36 PM
Today I got the left side torn down, it was in much better shape than the right side. the needle bearings were somewhat rusty but all there, the shaft was worn but again, not like the other side - but it was definitely due to be rebuilt. The left side was also the one with the leaking wheel cylinder so it will be nice to get that all sorted too. The right side had ball bearings in the hub, the left side has roller bearings, they look in good nick so I'll just clean and repack them. I put new roller bearings in the right side while I was at it so both sides will match now.

The right side is all done, I'll take the left side parts up to school tomorrow and bead blast them then bring them home to do the final clean and paint - unless it's raining, in which case I'll do it all at school where we have a paint booth. I should be able to put it all together again on Sunday, hopefully early enough in the day to drive it up to school and do an alignment too.

Now that I've done one it's pretty easy to get them apart - the trick is to remove the needle bearing first, then drive the bushing and the plastic sleeve out the larger end...easy peasy. Installation is the reverse, drive the bushing in from the outside, turn it over and install the plastic sleeve and tap the needle bearing in.

A few pics then..... a before shot of the left side for comparison.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 23, 2017, 11:53:14 AM
Today I finished assembling the left side, I had already done the clean up and paintwork. Disassembly is a lot easier and faster when you know how it's all supposed to go.....I found that if you bear down a little - not hard - on the end of the reamer it will walk itself right thru the bushing as the threaded bushing on the other end will hold still and the reamer will "thread" thru the bushing. It's easier than my description.....suffice to say it works easily and well. I like using the 20 ton press to push the bushings and bearings into place, turns out I have a tool that fits the bushes perfectly and has a shoulder to push them in with. I use it both to remove and install them.....

I installed the completed assembly in the car partway, but the damn inner shaft seal keeps coming off the end of the hub so I'm going to have to remove it one more time....odd, the other side went together so easily but this is my third try on the left, for the same issue.

I also found that you can install the handbrake quadrants two different ways, one of which won't allow you to get the cable end to reach the arm it hooks onto......we learn, we grow.  ::)

I have to break off for a bit to meet the guy with the 71 Cooper S up a school so we can look at where his suspension leak is coming from so we can order parts.

Yesterday I also went out to my south property to retrieve the ZTR so I can get it ready for the summer, charge the battery, air up the tires and so on......the grass out there is already more than a foot tall so I have to get after it. The battery was dead and it had a flat, so I had to use the come along to drag it up onto the trailer, what a PITA! But I'd rather do it now on a 60* day than when it gets hot and humid in a few weeks.

Edit: Took a good look at the 71 Cooper S for cornholio, but CSS, sorry.....found the leak tho.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 24, 2017, 09:48:07 AM
Left side in now, all I have left to do is bleed the brakes, final adjustment on the brake shoes, reinstall the gas tank and take it up to school and align it.

I don't know when I can get on the alignment machine, but it will have to be before Sat - and I'd like to drive it a few days just to be sure I haven't missed anything before I take it on a 200 miles run.

Don came over for a bit yesterday in the Pup, and when he went to leave his right front tire was flat! I aired it up but we couldn't find any nails, and there was nothing coming out of the valve stem - still a mystery as this morning it hadn't gone down a pound since we filled it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 24, 2017, 10:32:02 AM
When you installed the adjustable brackets in the rear, are they mounted with bolts into captive nuts in the subframe?

I have the same brackets for going on the Moke when I get to putting everything on the new body.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 24, 2017, 11:28:34 AM
Yes, the bolts go right into the same spots....but be aware that they usually are rusted in there pretty bad so use some penetrant.....and you might need to use some heat on them, especially the ones that go horizontally - acetylene works best.

Edit: Never mind, I forgot you'll be working with a new shell, so they'll bolt right in.

Which ones did you get? Having worked with all three styles I like the ones MiniSport sells best, MiniSpares version second best and Huddersfield's the least.

KAD and MiniSport are virtually identical in design (I wonder where MSport got the idea?  ::) ) but the KAD ones are really expensive in comparison. But then I find pretty much everything KAD sells to be really spendy.

Edit II: Looks like our Saturday run to Atchison will be postponed due to weather
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 24, 2017, 02:18:15 PM
I got the MiniSport ones.

I will be working with a new shell, but likely the old subframe.  I have not yet decided whether to do all new subframes and had been leaning more to trying to refurbish the existing subframes.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 24, 2017, 03:40:53 PM
2 of the bolts go into the subframe (the ones from the bottom on the bracket) and two go into the body - those you have to be particularly careful on so that you don't break them off or break the captive nut loose. Doing either means cutting a hole and patching in new metal - not a problem on an old moke body you're going to replace.

If the subs aren't rusted, I'd have them blasted and powder coated.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 24, 2017, 04:17:35 PM
I'm going to be trying my hand at soda blasting to clean up the 998 engine and may try the same on the subframes when that time comes.

It will be a slight challenge on the subframe removal as that is some of the areas that are patches on patches and where only the barest of the original mounts still exist for the subframe to attach to.

I may have to get creative with the paraffin wicking technique to get thing loose.  (Along with getting some form of torch.)

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 25, 2017, 07:38:40 PM
Well tonight I got everything back together, the brakes are bled, gas tank is back in, just one less puzzle to solve....I can't seem to get the hand brake cable hooked up on the right side, the left went in just fine, but the right seems to be about 1/2" short. I tried backing off the adjustment under the handle and that got me 5 or so clicks as I raise the handle, but it doesn't seem to help. I thought I might have the cable quadrant on wrong, but it turns out they do only go on one way after all......

I've decided to let it sit for tonight and I'll take a fresh look tomorrow. I know the cable isn't caught or wrapped around anything....it came out of there, it should go back in! 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 13, 2017, 03:51:31 PM
Turns out I had to back the cable adjustment off quite a bit to get both sides to hook up, now that I have a few miles on it and the brake shoes are bedded in a bit I might take it back up a bit, but the brakes work well and I'm not getting any drag so I'm putting it down to thicker brake linings or sumthin.

Today was my last official chance to use the shop, as next week is my last week at school, Thursday I turn in my credentials and keys so I took advantage to toss the Racing Green back on the alignment rack. The problem I've been having is on the rear, I can get everything into spec, but when I tighten the serrated nut the end of the shaft walks around as those serrations bite into the flat it tightens against, and once I get it tight it's all out of whack again. So. Today I took a new regular nut and a hardened flat washer up, got everything into spec again and tightened the nut. Perfect!

Driving the car home I could definitely feel the difference, it feels planted and solid now. Finally!

I made some marks to see if the end moves but so far so good, if it does move I know exactly where to set it back to, and I'll tack weld the washer so that it can't move. Actually, I might do that anyway......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on August 04, 2017, 12:01:22 PM
Some more repairs to the '89 Racing Green......

I bought new door and pop out window seals from Phoenix trim, they're supposed to be the best supplier out there - their door seals are supposed to fit without causing the doors to stand proud for example.

The pop out window seals were torn and hanging down so I'm doing them first - the originals are all one piece but the seal from Phoenix has to be cut to length. Looking for suggestions on where to locate the split - I'm thinking the bottom of the window opening, in the middle. Anyone have a better idea I'm all ears.....I'm thinking the same place on the door seals, middle of the door opening at the bottom.

I also bought new front and rear windshield seals, I was going to just replace the fillet strip but realized the rubber was hard and cracked in places - now I'm debating ordering a windshield too - if anyone else needs one we can split the freight. Windshields themselves are pretty cheap from MiniSpares - only about $40 plus shipping. Bruce ordered one for his car recently and it shipped with no problems. Getting one from either of the US suppliers is over $200 plus shipping.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on August 04, 2017, 12:27:34 PM
Looks like I answered my own question.....once I got the old seal off I could see it was split right where I was going to do it, and it looks like some black silicone sealer covered the split......so that's what I'm going to do too.

Refitting is not exactly easy, you need to be inside and outside of the window at the same time! I may have to get an extra set of hands to help hold the window while I reinstall the fitting screws.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 20, 2017, 06:06:49 PM
More work.......damn, it's always sumthin on these cars!   ;D

I've decided to go back to rubber cone suspension - probably should have done so from the get go but on another Mini enthusiast's recommendation I went with coil overs. Now that they're broken in well they actually ride pretty well, but they're just stiffer than I like for the way I drive my Mini - I'm not a canyon carver, more of a cruiser.

So, new cones means removing the fuel tank to access the top shock bolt, and those damn upper control arms in the front. since they only have a few thousand miles on them I'll get to see how they're holding up.....I don't expect to see any wear on them since I just installed them same time I did the coilovers.

I also have new door seals to install as I noticed my left one is torn up, and while I'm in there I'm going to swap the seat belts side to side, the left one works OK but you know the right one hasn't been used even 10% as much as the left.

I need to change out my clock as it quit working, and "while I'm in there" I'll drop the heater and fix the rattling door.

I also need to overhaul the front calipers while I have everything apart......and replace the fluid.

I still haven't changed the windshield seals - I also bought a new windshield - and the chrome fittings.


<sighs>
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on September 20, 2017, 06:55:05 PM
It's always something! I recently installed a pair of new retractable seatbelts from MiniSpares and they are top notch quality. 

Going to the tried and true cones, eh?   Makes sense.   I'm sure someone will want to take those coilover units off your hands. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 20, 2017, 07:17:08 PM
Yes, I think I should be able to sell them easily......hope so anyway!

I went thru a heck of an internal debate about which cones to get, Smooth a rides, standard, or the two upgrades stiffer....in the end I decided on standard. That's what it had when I bought it tho the fronts were dead.

I have a new set of standard shocks and a new set of MiniSport hi-los for it too......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on September 20, 2017, 08:00:18 PM
I'm still rolling around the suspension ideas.  2 things I believe I've decided on.  Coil overs probably not the best due to like you stated the shell isn't designed for the forces there.  So out.  The other is the current setup on my car.  Springs are way too stiff and don't really sit in there the best, a lot I believe is due to the discovery of having a wet suspension subframe. 

Anyone on here ever heard of John and SRacer products?  I've seen people discuss him and his stuff on forums, along with the fact that he can be hard to reach.  Others have stated his stuff is sold at places that sell mini stuff, but I can't find any.  Here's the link to his catalog page.

http://www.sracer.com/catalog/catalog.htm
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 20, 2017, 08:21:17 PM
John Koo
Phone: (510) 301-2930
24 hour fax orders: (510) 465-1329
E-Mail: Srpmini@aol.com
Products also available at authorized Sracer dealers

510 area code is northern Ca., Oakland area.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 21, 2017, 03:28:36 AM
Decided not to go with the smootharides?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 21, 2017, 04:31:23 AM
Yes, the Smooth a rides do ride really nicely, but I think the std ones should do also, my next engineering feat will be to figure out how to build a rear anti roll bar without spending KAD money....I have one off a Miata that should work perfectly if I can figure out the end links and brackets.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 21, 2017, 05:52:00 AM
Doesn't minispares sell an affordable anti roll bar?  Are their big gains by having one on a mini?  When I redid the rx7 roll bars I researched and read for days on the proper stiffnesses to go with as to not make it accidently worse for my style of driving.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on September 21, 2017, 06:12:09 AM
First...


Quote from: MiniDave on September 20, 2017, 06:06:49 PM

... I'm not a canyon carver, more of a cruiser.



Then...


Quote from: MiniDave

....my next engineering feat will be to figure out how to build a rear anti roll bar...


???   

Those two statements don't seem to go together.   Why do you want an anti-roll bar?   

Minis have won rallys and races and autocrosses without rear anti-roll bars.   And they've sure cruised without them too.

Enquiring minds want to know.   ;D   Just looking for a challenge? 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 21, 2017, 06:05:22 PM
An anti-roll bar doesn't make it ride harder, but simply flattens the ride around corners......that's my thinking.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on September 21, 2017, 06:27:41 PM
Yeah reduces body roll.  Only thing to take into consideration is it can increase or decrease under or oversteer depending on the setup and stiffness.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on September 21, 2017, 08:04:26 PM
I remember reading about roll bars and Minis many years ago and following several discussions about them back when the Mini Mania forum was much more worthwhile.

The conclusion back then was if you are not racing/autocrossing your Mini, they generally were not recommended.  The classic Mini has minimal body roll on the standard suspension such that they really are not necessary.  They often lead to issues such as Dan cautions about.

A few years ago, I got a project Mini that had a rear sway bar.  I removed it during the work on refreshing the suspension and did not bother to put it back on.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 19, 2017, 11:41:05 AM
So I swapped out the coilovers and put in the standard rubber springs and shocks, then did about a 150 mile drive....they settled quite a bit in that short time so I've had to go in and reset the highlows again, but at least on that trip I'm not sure I could tell any difference in the ride quality...maybe I should have gone with the Smooth a rides?

I use it as pretty much my daily these days, so I'll get some more experience with them as the days go along.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on October 19, 2017, 01:53:03 PM
Nice, um, parking spot.    77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 19, 2017, 01:56:33 PM
That's the dealer I work for part time, I was just dropping off a set of keys to them.......the point of the pic was how low the car was sitting, I've since raised it up a bit.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: LilDrunkenSmurf on October 19, 2017, 02:38:18 PM
With brand new cones up front, and the hilos at the lowest setting, I still get 2" of wheel gap up front..
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 19, 2017, 04:00:47 PM
Yes, I didn't understand that when you wrote about it, I had to adjust mine almost 1/3 of the available adjustment......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2017, 02:45:23 PM
Brand new shiny windshield, seal and chrome trim - front and rear.

Thanks Dan!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on December 08, 2017, 03:50:01 PM
Which reminds me — Dan I hope you are going to remove and throw away that ancient "toughened" (i.e. non-laminated) windshield in your blue Mini.   If a rock ever hits a toughened safety glass windscreen it crazes over and instantly becomes opaque - sort of like the way door glass shatters. The UK was decades behind the rest of the world in the switch to mandatory laminated windshields - they permitted toughened windscreens on new cars into the 80s.  Crazy.   
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 08, 2017, 04:28:06 PM
Dave, what did you use to seal it and how did you do it?  I'm not impressed with what I used...

When I installed my new laminated windscreen 3 years ago, I used some Permatex flowable silicone windscreen sealant between the rubber (CZH1719MS) and glass, as well as between the rubber and body.

It's now leaking from somewhere - but I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly 'where' yet.  Water is somehow pooling in the bulkhead crossmember and dripping under the carpet from above the pedal assembly - causing the windows to fog at the slightest hint of breathing.  In fact, I removed my floor mats today to help facilitate the carpet drying.  If it gets colder, it'll be iced on the inside, and my rear defogger decided it's finally had enough and died last summer.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2017, 04:33:56 PM
I may run it down to Safelite and have them seal it, I haven't done anything about it yet.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: John Gervais on December 08, 2017, 04:43:01 PM
Ah - It might not be needed, if everything was tight to begin with.  I seem to remember that the new gasket fit somewhat baggy (as compared to when I did the job 15 or so years ago) on the bodyshell aperture, as if the rubber was cut a couple of millimeters too long before it was bonded together.  I assumed that fitting the locking strip would tighten it all up, but maybe it wasn't enough.

Maybe this would be a cause for leaking?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 08, 2017, 06:29:40 PM
Maybe.....I got the rubbers and locking strips from Phoenix trim, they seemed of really good quality and fit well.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on December 08, 2017, 06:59:09 PM
You'll know if you need sealant after a drive in the rain! Seemed to fit very well though.

Bruce- I'm still running the old windshield but think I have enough spares to ditch it once I tear into the face lift it will be getting soon.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on December 08, 2017, 08:07:16 PM
Quote from: 94touring on December 08, 2017, 06:59:09 PM
You'll know if you need sealant after a drive in the rain! Seemed to fit very well though.

Bruce- I'm still running the old windshield but think I have enough spares to ditch it once I tear into the face lift it will be getting soon.

Cool.   Maybe you can take a video of it breaking into six thousand little pieces as you throw it in the dumpster. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 09, 2017, 11:53:06 AM
Reason to NOT use WD40 as a lubricant when installing a windshield......it is a PITA to clean up after! I used a solvent soaked rag, then 409 and water, then ammonia glass cleaner......it's still got streaks and smears......

I imagine WD40 is a good choice compared to soapy water because it doesn't dry out, but that's also what makes it so hard to clean up!

I'll get it tho, I'm thinking one more round of 409 followed by the glass cleaner again should do it. I should have the cleanest glass in the state by then!  ;D

Then the rest of the car needs a good bath, but at 31* it's a bit too cold to do that today, maybe tomorrow - it's supposed to be mid 50's then.

EDIT: Following along with Bruce's "What the Heck" thread .....what the heck is the 634 at the bottom of the windshield in the first pic? The second pic was taken immediately after nd as you can see, there is nothing on the dash but dust. Nothing I can see anywhere in the shop that would reflect that number in the window.......

EDIT 2: Mystery solved, it's the lic plate lying on the back seat.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on December 09, 2017, 12:25:27 PM
Lol I never have the wd40 cleanup problem.  Paper towels with degreaser followed by Windex has worked for me.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 19, 2018, 08:32:14 AM
Drove the Mini across town yesterday to work on a Bugeye Sprite - rebuilt the carbs - against a fierce south wind....at times it felt like a giant hand was pushing me back, saying "slow down there pal"  ;D

One good thing, it's the first time the temp gauge has gotten to normal since way last year! I'm going to have to make a winter grill block off I think.....wish I had time to swap the final drive, I think some 3:1 gears would really make the car more comfortable to drive on the highway....but just like jeff's MINI project, if I went that far I'd want to put in a center oil pickup, and probably some new main and rod bearings, just in case - and an oil pump, and send the head out for hardened seats and a valve job and..............
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on February 19, 2018, 09:01:38 AM
And then keep it?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on February 19, 2018, 09:23:36 AM
Well, then I'd need to fix the rust spots and paint it!   ::)

I think I'd rather spend the money on my hot rod Mini project.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on February 19, 2018, 03:08:36 PM
If you decide to fix the rust I know a guy who can paint.  Maybe it puts more money toward the hotrod project.

Meant to say earlier that there were times in my wore out 998 driving home from the shop in a stiff headwind my max speed was capped at 60! In a tailwind I'd be zinging along at 80.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on February 19, 2018, 07:45:40 PM
If you want to really experience sudden wind drag in a car, get hit by a sudden strong headwind while driving a Moke with the top up and a non-removable rear window.  The top acts as a sudden drag chute.

I had this happen in Colorado, on the long downhill run of C-470 on the west side of Denver.  Went from 70 mph to 55 and still rapidly dropping in about 2 seconds with the accelerator floored and still going downhill.



Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 07, 2018, 08:20:10 AM
Time to give the Racing Green Mini some attention.....I pulled the seats out and replaced both seat belts - the left one was slightly frayed but in the interests of keeping it uniform and because they are both now almost 30 years old it was time for a change. The new ones are slightly different but bolted right in once I figured out where all the spacers and washers went.

While I had access I gave the whole interior a good valeting, it wasn't really dirty but was due for a good vacuuming.

Next up, I need to overhaul the front calipers, I've had the rebuild kits for over a year now!

Then install the rear anti-sway bar, which is supposed to be a bolt on deal but I'm thinking it may need a little extra engineering, turns out the bar I got is from MiniMania and compared to the ones from say KAD, it's pretty crudely made, but I think it will do the job.

It's also due for an oil change, and while I have it drained I'll put a new shift seal kit in, then if I still have time a new clock to replace the one that works intermittently, see if I can find and fix a few rattles behind the dash - adjust the valves and maybe take a look at the carb needle - it gets a bit rich under hard running. Lastly - if I have time I need to pull the heater box down and replace the foam on the door - it rattles like crazy!

All this is in prep for the CMU event mid - April, I've set my money in and John Styers and I will be caravanning down - really looking forward to this event - hope it lives up to expectations but I think it will based on the reports of others who have done one before.

I also need to finish Dan's engine, rebuild a Sprite transmission and work on a few of Deighton's cars before I leave! Plus, I drive my dealer cars one-two days a week, and of course there's always a large honey-do list waiting, my son and granddaughter are coming for a short visit next week and....and.....and....whew!

Never knew retirement could be so damn busy!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on March 07, 2018, 08:50:03 AM
Glad to hear you are feeling so much better and the energy level is back up.  Sounds like a lot of catching up to do. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 07, 2018, 09:15:30 AM
Thanks Mark.....I'm doing better, but I'm still only good for a couple of hours work at a time before I have to sit down for an hour or so......

Glad to see your car is getting started on it's repaint!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 07, 2018, 03:48:49 PM
Got the sway bar installed, hardest part was to get the exhaust to not hit the bar once installed. Wound up slotting the mounting holes and adding a short extension to the brackets to make it clear. Works perfectly now.....no idea how it's going to drive yet.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 07, 2018, 05:19:22 PM
Time to take it for a spin!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on March 07, 2018, 06:20:06 PM
Quote from: 94touring on March 07, 2018, 05:19:22 PM
Time to take it for a spin!

Or not, kinda what the bar's for 50.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on March 07, 2018, 07:51:41 PM
I'm sure it is nice to work on your own car for a change!  ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 07, 2018, 08:04:57 PM
Yep.....for a change.

Just like Dan getting to work on his blue Mini for a change.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gasmini on March 08, 2018, 10:32:02 AM
Or lets not mention his PUP. :-[
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 08, 2018, 11:07:48 AM
I have high hopes that he may get the Pup back on the road this year!  62.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 08, 2018, 11:13:50 AM
It may actually happen too.  I have a list of things I  intend to modify on it I don't like, and piles of parts to clean up to slap it together. Of course I have 3 other cars to build in the meantime.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 08, 2018, 09:09:58 PM
Got a few more things done on the RG, got the oil and filter changed but forgot to change the shift shaft seal....oh well.

I also changed the thermostat to see if I can get a little more heat into the engine on cold days - the thermostat was an 88* so it seems like it should have gotten it up to temp even on the coldest days but it sure didn't. The spare I had was an 82*C which should be a year round good temp - 180*F. I thought I had a 65*C in there so I was surprised to see the 88, I must be remembering a different car.......

I reset the ride height in the front as it had settled a bit and was rubbing when I had a passenger and/or took a sharp turn.

I also reinstalled the buttons that hold the grill - I had to make a stud for one of them as the old ones were 1/4 unf and the new ones are 5/16 unf....took me a bit to find some UNF allthread to make the stud, everybody has UNC but UNF seems to be a bit rare. Fastenal had it....

I also adjusted the valves, one exhaust was a little tight and a couple of intakes were a tad loose, not bad tho. I could not get the old valve cover gasket off the head, I don't know what kid of industrial strength glue they used on it but man was it stuck down. I may take another run at it tomorrow after I get the engine warmed up - that's why I always glue it to the valve cover rather than the head. I have one of those neoprene seals I'd like to try, but I'm not sure if it will work with the aluminum cover, if not I have a regular cork gasket.

Lastly I installed the adjustable oil pressure controller and the ball style relief valve. When I tried it once before it showed over 100psi at idle, so I cut one coil off the spring. I didn't get to start it to see how it works yet......

More tomorrow......

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 09, 2018, 07:09:33 AM
No test runs with the sway bar yet?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 09, 2018, 08:22:35 AM
Not yet, I also forgot to install the steering rack boot, so I'ma do that, then start it and see where the oil pressure and water temp fall - THEN time for a drive.

I thought I might replace the firing pins and maybe change the needle in the carb, but the plug's color looks so good I decided to leave them both alone.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 09, 2018, 08:50:37 AM
That reminds me...need to order my wideband to tune.  If you decide to weld in a bung we could dial you right in.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 10, 2018, 02:57:04 PM
Well, took the RG for a spin around the block and two things became immediately apparent - the old thermostat was not working correctly as the temp came up much more quickly with the new T-Stat. Second, I like the feel of the new sway bar, even on it's least stiff setting. It definitely makes the car turn in better and hold the line more easily - it feels very good and well worth the work to install it.

Not so impressive - the adjustable oil pressure device - it's very cheaply made and while I think it will work, it will require some modifications for it to work correctly. Namely, it's simply a knob attached to a 1/4-20 thread that passes thru the nut - the problem is there was a small flat washer that the threaded part is supposed to push against to adjust the spring tension. Not a good design as the hole in the washer promptly distorted and allowed the thread to walk right thru. So to make it work I'll need to come up with a solid piece to replace the washer.....having a short lug to center it on the spring would help too.

I was trying to use it with the ball bearing style instead of a plunger, but no matter how I modify it, it wants to put out too much pressure when cold - it pegs the gauge at 100 psi. I even shortened the spring 2 coils - hence the adjustable part - thinking if I went too far I could bring it back with the adjuster. No such luck, I had the adjuster out all the way and it still showed 100+ psi.

So for now I have a new stock style plunger and spring with the standard cap on it. I show a solid 75 psi cold, but it drops off a bit as the engine warms up and the oil thins out - I didn't think multi-grades were supposed to do that, but this one does.

Raising the hi-lows up a bit took care of the rubbing issue and makes the car ride a little easier too. I also changed out the torn right side steering rack boot.

I think I'm ready for CMU in April now......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 10, 2018, 03:11:18 PM
Your oil pressure probably settles down to 60psi I would imagine.  Perfectly normal imo as oils heat up.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 11, 2018, 01:16:59 PM
Well, I have to say I'm happy so far with a couple of things.....the water temp had me concerned at first, the temp kept going up and up, just past the halfway mark , then the thremostat opened and it dropped like a rock! It settled down at the low end of normal tho, and the heater made plenty of heat which it had not been doing before. We'll see how it does on a warm day, as today was 40*

The oil pressure OTOH, I'm totally stoked about! It had been running 75 or so when cold, but even on the highway it would drop alarmingly down to about 40 or even less once fully warmed up. I put a stock plunger and spring in - the old one looked OK and came out easily but did have a couple of gouges on it - and today the pressure acted exactly as it's supposed to. Warmed up it idles about 30 psi, but by 2500K RPM it's at 60 and stays there or a little higher, even on the highway. Whew! Bullet dodged.....I was worried that it might have worn bearings, but it never ran that way or made any untoward noises. Glad to see it was just the plunger.....

All in all I'm a happy camper, the new seatbelts work perfectly and so far I'm liking the sway bar, tho I think I might tighten it up a bit more and see what happens. It has about 6 or 7 notches for adjustment and I have it set on the softest right now.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 20, 2018, 08:44:57 AM
Anyone have a new ignition switch for a 76-96 car lying about?

Yesterday the RG wouldn't start - mind it's been raining buckets all night and blowing like crazy, when I opened the hood everything was pretty wet. I ran the air hose out and blew everything dry but it would not go, so I pulled the plugs - they looked dry enough but I blew some carb cleaner on them and dried them of. This time it would hit on one or two cylinders, and after a lot of cranking it finally started.

I don't know if I just need a new set of firing pins or if the switch isn't getting the juice to the ignition circuit.

I'm going to replace the plugs just because but I might need a switch too.....

I have a winch mounted to the bottom of my work bench that I use to drag cars onto the lift when they don't run, I tried to use it yesterday to bring the green car in out of the rain so I could work on it and of course it failed too. So, I took it apart - it's an old 120V powered boat winch that's probably 50 years old or more so you can't buy parts for it, but I took it apart anyway just to see what was wrong. Anyone who's ever used a boat winch knows that the crank handle fits over a couple of flats on the shaft and is held on with a nut. To electrify this one all they did was add a motor and a few reduction gears, the last of which fit over those flats. Over the years of use they had worn to the point that the gear was simply turning on the shaft.

Since there was no hope of buying a new one, I got my welder out and welded the worn part back up, then carefully ground it back down with the bench grinder to the right shape - it was a bit crude but it seems to have worked. I won't know for sure till I try to pull another car in, but it has to be better than it was! The bench is steel and bolted to the floor.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on March 20, 2018, 10:23:53 AM
Did you check and dry under the dizzy cap as well?

If it was cranking and trying to fire (and eventually did), then I would be less inclined to suspect the ignition switch and more likely wet dizzy.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 20, 2018, 11:00:23 AM
No, but I will before I'm done with it....there's nothing in there but the rotor.

One thing I need to do is design and build a reaction arm, when the winch gets to pulling hard it twists that cross leg a bit.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Rosebud on March 20, 2018, 12:24:10 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 09, 2018, 08:22:35 AM
I thought I might replace the firing pins and maybe change the needle in the carb, but the plug's color looks so good I decided to leave them both alone.

Quote from: 94touring on March 09, 2018, 08:50:37 AMThat reminds me...need to order my wideband to tune.  If you decide to weld in a bung we could dial you right in.


Yeah, those plugs DO look good. Funny thing about widebands... I usually checked my plugs ever 300-500 miles or so and they always looked fine. Then I got a wideband and found I couldn't take my eyes off of it; I've become obsessed. Watching the gauge constantly, I think I'm going too rich at WOT and too lean at neutral throttle. So now I'm pulling my plugs after each outing and fiddling with the mixture and sync. And sure enough, now my plugs are either too sooty or too light.


Maybe I should put black tape over the gauge and get my mixture dialed in based on the plugs and stop obsessing on the wideband.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 20, 2018, 03:07:10 PM
Quote from: Rosebud on March 20, 2018, 12:24:10 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 09, 2018, 08:22:35 AM
I thought I might replace the firing pins and maybe change the needle in the carb, but the plug's color looks so good I decided to leave them both alone.

Quote from: 94touring on March 09, 2018, 08:50:37 AMThat reminds me...need to order my wideband to tune.  If you decide to weld in a bung we could dial you right in.


Yeah, those plugs DO look good. Funny thing about widebands... I usually checked my plugs ever 300-500 miles or so and they always looked fine. Then I got a wideband and found I couldn't take my eyes off of it; I've become obsessed. Watching the gauge constantly, I think I'm going too rich at WOT and too lean at neutral throttle. So now I'm pulling my plugs after each outing and fiddling with the mixture and sync. And sure enough, now my plugs are either too sooty or too light.


Maybe I should put black tape over the gauge and get my mixture dialed in based on the plugs and stop obsessing on the wideband.

What is it at cruise and wot?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 20, 2018, 05:20:05 PM
May 4th I'm taking the Racing Green car up to the Prather Racing shop along with a couple other guys and put it on the chassis dyno - I expect the numbers to be pretty pitiful but it will be good to see what the A/F ratios look like under load like this. I think it goes a bit rich under full throttle so I'll have a couple of spare needles on hand to experiment with if the readings are what I think they'll be.

Should be fun

Don is planning on bringing the Pup too, I know it can benefit from some tuning as I've run behind him and he's definitely rich.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Rosebud on March 20, 2018, 05:46:50 PM
What is it at cruise and wot?

It varies from 11.0 to 11.5 @ WOT and then spikes momentarily to 19.5 after I take my foot off the throttle. It settles around 14.0 to 15.0 at cruise. Seems to me the numbers were closer together a couple of months ago when I first got my wideband. I'm adjusting the carbs lean/rich about ⅛th of a flat each time but keep missing the sweet spot.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 20, 2018, 05:49:57 PM
14-15 at cruise is what you want.  Spikes off throttle really mean nothing. I'd swap needles to get wot down to 12-12.5 but keep cruise in the 14.7 area.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Rosebud on March 20, 2018, 06:06:57 PM
Quote from: 94touring on March 20, 2018, 05:49:57 PM
14-15 at cruise is what you want.  Spikes off throttle really mean nothing. I'd swap needles to get wot down to 12-12.5 but keep cruise in the 14.7 area.


Yeah, that's pretty much what I had, until I started fiddling with it.  :-[
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 22, 2018, 02:05:01 PM
The Audi is no longer a low-rider.....another new airbag did the trick. I'm surprised and a little disappointed I had to change it again as it was new just last August, but I'm happy that the vendor is standing behind his product....they even pay return shipping. The OEM's lasted till 2012, and I've changed 5 airbags since......I'm thinking if another one fails I'll put springs in instead.

It's good having all three cars operational again!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 22, 2018, 06:08:10 PM
Since I'm finally almost caught up in the shop, I'm going to go ahead and rebuild the calipers on the Racing Green, I also got a new clock for it as the one I have seems to work only when it feels like it.....who knows I might even take the heater apart and fix the rattling heater door.

I also need to do a couple things to the Blue Clubby before I use it to tow the green one to Tenn next month, I need to do an oil change and tire roatation on it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 31, 2018, 04:07:15 PM
If it ain't one damn thing it's another..............

I drove the Mini about 30 miles across town  to a friends place, then later we went to lunch. When we came out there was a nice big puddle of green under the front of the car.....I went in to the restaurant and got a quart of water and it took most of it, so we drove back about 3 miles to his place and I left it in his shop. Today I hitched up the Mini to the MINI and towed it home, at first I thought it was the water pump but on second look I think it might be just the bypass hose - I bought a new water pump anyway under the "while you're in there" theory and I'll change them both.....

Actually I'd rather it happen here than on the road or on one of the CMU runs in Tenn later in the month. I'm also going to rebuild the front calipers, put in new brake hoses, flush the brake system and turn the rotors - I put new ones on only a few thousand miles ago but they're pulsating a little, so I'll take them up to school and give them a light skim on the brake lathe.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: joakwin on April 01, 2018, 09:22:51 AM
one of my neighbors has a friend with a audi and hes always dropping big bucks on that thing to fix the air ride

he told me he spent $4k getting the rear bags fixed at the dealer last summer,
and then before that the dealer charged him $3k to fix the front bags

i told him i can build a custom air ride set up for his car and he wont have to deal with the bags going out anymore
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 01, 2018, 09:35:26 AM
The air suspension isn't that complicated, but for someone who isn't a wrench it can be a bit daunting......

$7K to fix the bags is pretty crazy - from the dealer the front bags are $600 each, from Arnott they half that, however.....as good as they might be I've replaced 2 factory bags and 5 Arnotts.....if I have another one blow I'm going to coils springs and be done with it. I have no idea why we're having so many failures as she doesn't drive it that much - the car had 9K on it when we got it in Aug of '04, it only has 76K now and it's a 2004 car!

I'm down to about an hour a side to replace a front bag, I haven't done the rears yet as I haven't had any problem with them but I understand they are a bit more work to change than the fronts.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 02, 2018, 02:04:51 PM
Today I went searching for the coolant leak on the Racing Green Mini, I knew it was either the bypass hose or the water pump itself, and I decided no matter which was at fault I would replace them both just to make sure I had a good car for Tenn in a couple of weeks, Since I towed it back from my friends shop it also gave me a chance to do a refresher on towing the Mini....which went off with no issues.

Once I got the rad out I could see where the leak was - this engine does not have the bypass going to the cylinder head, but the water pump still had the nipple for the bypass hose - instead a blanking rubber was used and that's what failed. I already had a new pump on hand so I pulled it too - I think the pump was fine, but it had the cheap stamped steel impeller rather than the cast one, so I felt better about going ahead with the new one.

Once it was all buttoned up I refilled the coolant and ran it up to temp, now I'm waiting for it to cool down again so I can recheck the coolant level in the rad. I also found my fan on backwards, so I rectified that as long as I was in there.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on April 02, 2018, 03:44:09 PM
Get the next pump without the bypass.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 02, 2018, 05:04:08 PM
Yes, that would be the right way to do it, but my local Brit parts place only sells Sprite/Midget parts that I can use, so I took what I could get......I also used a better cap for the bypass nipple.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 26, 2018, 02:22:17 PM
I only had one issue in the 6-700 miles I drove the Racing Green Mini, and none in the transit behind the blue Clubby. On the downhill run on one drive I didn't lose the brakes, but they definitely got soft. I ran the rest of that run in cruise mode and didn't touch the brakes all the rest of the way down the mountain and they came back once they had cooled off. I'm going to pull the rear drums and check the shoes and maybe sand the drums a bit as I think these shoes (the Mintex supposed good ones from Mini Spares) might have glazed. I'm also going to pull the front calipers and rebuild them as I didn't get time to do that before the trip. I did have fresh Dot 4 fluid in the car but I may try to find some better stuff.

The engine ran perfectly and I didn't even use any oil that I can measure, so I'm happy with that. I also ran perfectly cool, even pulling long uphill runs on a 70* day.

I still have the issue with the wobble at 45-53 mph, my next move is to try my other set of wheels - I need some spacers for the front wheels to get them to clear the calipers but at least I can see whether it affects the wobble. If it doesn't, I don't know where to go from there!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 26, 2018, 02:41:22 PM
Dave,

Have you ordered the spacers yet?  If not, I have a set (with new studs) that are extra from a change in direction on the Moke project.  (They were purchased before I decided to go with an entire new rear subframe fully built up.)

Let me know if you want more details.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 26, 2018, 03:14:05 PM
How thick are they? I think I only need 3/8" and I only need them long enough to find out if the wheels are causing the wobble.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 26, 2018, 07:16:55 PM
They are 3/4" thick.  They were intended for the rears on the Moke (which did not have spacers) for adjusting to go with the disk brake upgrade.

They are probably too thick for your needs.

I would be willing to send them "on loan" if still desired.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 26, 2018, 07:22:29 PM
Yeah, I have 3/4" on the rear, but I think those would allow me to at least test it. Let me see if I can borrow a set locally first - I appreciate the offer Michael!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 08, 2018, 07:30:50 PM
One interesting thing I've noticed, since I turned the fan around it doesn't run any cooler than it did, but that sucker sure is a lot louder! I can really hear it, especially at highway speeds.......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 04, 2019, 04:38:25 PM
Don and I were on our way to a Triumph picnic in the park and got spotted and Facebooked.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on June 15, 2019, 05:26:18 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on May 08, 2018, 07:30:50 PM
One interesting thing I've noticed, since I turned the fan around it doesn't run any cooler than it did, but that sucker sure is a lot louder! I can really hear it, especially at highway speeds.......

Interesting the 4 blade fan on my 850 is stupid loud I hate it I wonder if I put that sucker on backward if it would still run cool enough and be quieter.
Although there may be some ridges formed in the metal fan that doesn't allow a backward install I'll have to look.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 31, 2020, 10:58:46 AM
Score!

I've never been happy with the seats in any of my Minis, they simply are not comfortable, especially on longer drives....I had a Miata seat in Buzz which was so much better, so I've been keeping an eye out for another set when these popped up on Facebook Marketplace. They're from a 2017 Subaru Sti, they're heated, reclining, height adjustable (they also have airbags which I'm not going to hook up!) and in excellent condition. They even have red stitching on the edges that goes with the red trim in the car! I may run them without the headrests, otherwise they're really tall. I was surprised to see that I could fit a modern seat in this car, and due to the way they're built I think they'll slide all the way to the back seat if I want them too!

The young guy that sold them to me replaced them with a set of leather Recaros....don't blame him, but I prefer the cloth.

I only bought the fronts as the back was just too wide and I would have to spend a bunch of money making it narrow enough to fit, but I told him if he didn't sell it I would take it off his hands (for free of course) and maybe I can make a comfy chair for the shop out of it?

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on March 31, 2020, 11:05:29 AM
Very nice. I prefer cloth also.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 31, 2020, 11:08:37 AM
The backs (without headrests) are only about 6" taller than the OEM seats
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on March 31, 2020, 01:14:54 PM
Those look great!  So they won't hit the rear parcel bins?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 31, 2020, 02:23:06 PM
Surprisingly, I don't think they will hit, but obviously it will depend on how I situate them. On the Miata seat, I had to move it considerably towards the center, but that allowed it to go all the way back.

The seats I have now I put new foam in the bottom and I sit too high, plus the backrest is miserable.

Edit: no, they won't go back past the companion bins, and I will have to modify the sliders to get them to sit low enough, but I can do that. I took the sliders off and set the back in the car and they feel great!

But - I have several projects I have to finish first, including this last transmission and the Inno, plus getting rid of all the stuff from my Uncle's garage that I so far have been ignoring.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 09, 2020, 03:51:36 PM
Got the right seat installed today, I could not figure a way to use the sliders as it just raises the seat too high, and it will not go back any further because of the companion bins, but I was able to use the stock seat mounts in the front and it sits well now. the seat feels great, especially compared to my stock seats!

The left one will be more of an engineering challenge as it has the height adjuster - which I'm hopeful that I can figure out a way to utilize, it sits lower than the right seat with no brackets so I think I'm up to the challenge and if I can figure out how to make it work it will give a lot more positions for the driver.

My back gave out before I could do the left one, and besides I'll need to think on it a bit before I start cutting and welding up brackets. Interestingly, the pump part of the height adjuster only works on the back risers, as it raises it pulls the front up by pivoting the front risers, so I will have to fab up a linkage of some sort.

I may also have to come up with some std brackets - the ones that bolt to the cross member. this car has some extra long ones that go all the way from the front to the back of the crossmember, I'll either have to shorten them or trade for a set of stds to someone with long legs.

I'm undecided on whether I'll use the headrests or not......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 09, 2020, 07:35:03 PM
What are your plans for the stock seats?

My right side seat (driver's - RHD Mini) has a broken recliner - the handle will not move to release the seat back.  It is in a comfortable enough position, but I would like to set it one notch more upright.

I think the fabric pattern is a close match to what is in my 1991 (Miss Ruby).

Edit:
I took a look at some reference pictures I have of Miss Ruby's seats and they are enough different I would need the full set.  Mine are the half leather with similar pattern to the cloth, but no red - just black and grey "lightning" pattern.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 09, 2020, 08:05:01 PM
I'm planning to keep them, so if/when I decide to sell the car I can put the OEM seats back in.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 10, 2020, 03:26:07 PM
I got the second seat mounted in today, I did not get the raise/lower function to work yet, first I wanted to get it mounted up. I does sit a little lower than the right seat due to the different mounting....which I like - I can now see the gauges and I might even be able to see a stop light!

Can't wait to take it for a drive and see how it rides, especially now that I've raised the right front up so it's not dragging on every turn.

I'm also going to have to reposition the inner seat belt mounts, they were right in the way, but moving them back about an inch will work perfectly.

Right now the rear frames are just sitting on the floor like the OEM seats, I'm also debating whether to bolt them thru for extra safety. If I do I'll have to make up some brackets for there too....



Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on April 10, 2020, 04:27:20 PM
If you move the seatbelts back could you use the old hole for a strap to hold the seat down?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 10, 2020, 04:53:18 PM
Probably not, I think they'll bolt straight down.....and I need one for the outside too.

Took it up the street to pick up a pizza for dinner tonight....drove great!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on April 10, 2020, 08:49:44 PM
They look great.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on April 11, 2020, 07:04:24 PM
Nice! surprised how well they fit.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 10, 2021, 07:11:25 PM
So it's been a year since I posted anything in this thread....just for fun I re-read the whole thing and it's kinda funny - several things popped up repeatedly in the thread from the get go - rebuilding the front brake calipers, fixing the rattle in the heater box, replacing the shift shaft seal (say that fast three times!) - none of which I have done yet, and it will be 5 years that I've owned this car in a couple of months!  8.gif :-[ ::)

So, we have a run to Texas coming up quick and I'm trying to get ready for it but as usual have a lot of other projects to catch up on, this time because of my knee surgery keeping me out of the shop for a while, right when I had an influx of work.

Lately I've been told the engine is smoking quite a bit, especially on deceleration - when in Aspen in the summer of 2019 as I was coming down the mountain for the first time I saw a huge cloud of blue smoke behind me! It never did that again, but......

Then the last local club event I did which was  a trip up to Leavenworth and then out to Lake Perry, I noticed an ominous bearing noise coming from the transmission......the handwriting was on the wall.

I had already acquired an engine trans combo that's supposed to be good, so I had already decided to just swap them out - but first I decided to clean some of the muck off.

Once that was done I noticed how dingy and grotty the engine paint looked, so I decided a little red Rust Oleum would smarten things up a bit......you all know where this is heading, don't you.....

So I started with the paintwork, and it definitely looked better! Then I found the clutch arm frozen solid, so I pulled the wok off, and saw a lot of oily stuff thrown around the inside of the drop gears housing, so decided to change the rear seal - which means pulling the drop gears housing off. It was pretty corroded looking so I set at it with wire brushes in my angle grinder and drill and it came up pretty nice, so I shot a coat of etch primer on it, then a top coat of dull silver. The clutch slave bracket was really rusted, so I went after it the same way and shot it in black. I bought the rear seal installation tool from Spares and I really like it - in the past I just used tape over the splines on the primary gear and it certainly worked, but this thing is slick!

So then I had to go after the corrosion on the wok too - and of course drive out the pins and the clutch arms and plunger - then clean all the rust and corrosion off them too. so then I painted the wok the same way and of course, it all looks mahvelous!

Then I went to the front - I decided to replace the water pump just because - this time I ordered the right one - no bypass - and I also had to pull the thermostat housing as it uses a different setup that the RG uses. I put a new thermostat in too - same reason as the water pump.

Then I noticed how nasty and rusty the timing chain cover was, so off it came and got the same treatment as the clutch end parts, only black paint again and a new seal of course. The chain and tensioner look OK so I left them alone. When I went to see if I had a late model timing cover gasket I couldn't find any, so I ordered three, only to find that I did in fact have one - in fact I had three - I have since thoroughly re-organized my spare gaskets!

The oil pressure pipe was in equally bad shape so I redid it, which meant removing the oil filter housing. I didn't realize these newer engines use a rubber seal on the pipe, either. These are hard but not leaking and as I had already ordered all the other parts and don't have time for another order, I re-used them.

So, I have a new clutch and water pump on the way, I have a light flywheel to use already, and once those are here it should be ready to drop into the RG. But, while I have the subframe out I'm going to rebuild those damn calipers finally, and I have a new set of rotors on the shelf so it will get those too. I will not have time to fix the rattle in the heater box, but I did replace the shift shaft seal and the axle seals. I also have a new set of pot joints as the ones on the new engine were worn.

The last thing I noticed is that the SPi head isn't drilled for a temp sender or a heater tap. The heater tap doesn't matter as my car has the later style one on the bulkhead, but I didn't want to lose my temp gauge, so after I figured out what thread it was I found a correct tap at my local Ace Hardware - they didn't have the correct 37/64 drill bit, but as luck would have it, I did! So I drilled and tapped the head for the temp sensor.

Lots to do yet, as getting the engine out will require some help as I cannot get down under the car and back up off the floor again, Don and Styers have volunteered to come help with the under the car stuff and I will take them up on it.

Of course, after all this if I find the engine doesn't run well or the gearbox is naft....I'll be doing it all again!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 13, 2021, 02:08:16 PM
One more axle to pull and she's ready to come out. The right axle pot joint was full of oil, glad I have a new pair coming with the clutch order. I could not get the exhaust header loose from the pipe, and I really don't want to break out the acetylene torch, so I just tipped the engine forward and pried it off the back of the head.

This engine has been leaking oil from everywhere....hope I got all the potential leaks stopped up on the replacement. New axle seals, new front and rear crank seals and so on. It wasn't really leaking anywhere that i could see, but there was a lot of mud all over it from the miles.

Getting under the car wasn't a problem, but getting up again sure is!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on April 13, 2021, 03:30:02 PM
That new motor sure will look a lot better than that oily mess!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 14, 2021, 02:04:31 PM
Well, it's out. I could not get the header loose from the pipes, so I had to tip the engine up on one end - WAY up - and remove everything I could to make room to get it past the header. It was not easy but clearly it came out.

It's obvious that the new one won't go back in the same way, but with the engine out it will be easier to get the acetylene torch on the pipes and burn the rust out - then I can work them back and forth and hopefully they'll come apart.....if not, I'll have to cut them out and install a new header....

Next up I'll clean as much of the oily mess out while I'm waiting for the new clutch - which is supposed to be delivered Monday or Tuesday. That will be cutting it close for getting it back in and driving it a bit before I hit the road for Texas.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 15, 2021, 07:04:50 AM
Just noticed.....looks like I may have had an exhaust leak from the center pipe at the head - strange cause I never heard anything and the gasket doesn't look like it's leaking, but the evidence is sure there on the back of the valve cover....if not exhaust, what else could it be that would make that pattern?



Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 15, 2021, 07:21:41 AM
This engine also had one of the high torque starters on it - I don't know why given that it appears to be a stock engine - but these don't fit in these newer cars very well because the engine sits 1/2" further forward, and the starter solenoid is sitting forward rather than on top of the starter. In this one it looks like either this bracket was modified or broken and repaired. either way it's broken now, so I'll have to make a small patch. The starter was also rubbing against either this bracket or the front lip of the grill opening - I'm hopeful that was one of the rattles I was chasing and could never find.

I'll use the stock starter that was on the SPi engine when I put it in the car.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 15, 2021, 08:38:15 AM
These cars are sneaky!  My car also has a rattle/buzz that I can't find.  Only occurs at certain frequency of engine rpms.  Drives me crazy.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 15, 2021, 09:16:17 AM
I know where one of mine is, I still haven't fixed the heater door rattle! 5 years now! I just keep the heater door closed....  ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on April 15, 2021, 09:36:40 AM
Quote from: BruceK on April 15, 2021, 08:38:15 AM
These cars are sneaky!  My car also has a rattle/buzz that I can't find.  Only occurs at certain frequency of engine rpms.  Drives me crazy.

Back when I had a Bugeye I had a rpm based noise. The lower bracket that goes to the alt. had cracked on one side. At the right rpm the torque would open the crack and allow it to make that noise.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 16, 2021, 08:15:22 AM
Well the one I'm thinking of sounds like it's right in the dash, but I wonder now if that starter hitting the front was just transmitting thru the car like a soundboard, setting up a sympathetic vibration? I won't know till I put it back together...

Don came over and we broke out the acetylene torch and once we got them cherry red the pipes came apart easily - for those who might try this at home, I really doubt you can get them hot enough with either propane or map gas - but an oxy/acetylene WILL do the trick! I'll clean everything up with a wire brush in the angle grinder and use some sealer when I put them back together. I broke two of the three bolts in the band clamps, so I'll have to replace those - they use a carriage head bolt but I'll just tack weld in some regular ones.

I also needed to get the nut loose on the oil pipe that goes to the filter housing, I find this a lot where it wants to twist the pipe instead of rotating on the pipe as you try to take it loose. Once again, getting it good and red will do the trick, then I can slide the nut up the pipe and wire brush under it so it spins freely. I always add a little oil in there but over time I guess it rusts again.

I think I've had my torch setup since about 1968, I remember using it on my first Mini too!

The other job I have to do is try to rinse out the heater core, like all Minis the water that came out of this thing was just nasty brown goop. The SPi engine seems pretty clean, it had nice green anti freeze in it. The radiator rinsed out easily so the only thing left is the heater core. I'll probably just run water in it on the Texas trip since cold nights won't be a factor, then flush it good when I get home again.....if I have time I'll flush it here before I leave too.

The aluminium radiator core is absolutely black with oily residue, so I'll need to clean it thoroughly too....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on April 16, 2021, 09:19:41 AM
Those short oxy/acetylene bottles would be a whole lot more handy to move around than the full size ones I have. Those damn things are heavy, and no more than I use it those little bottles would last quite a while. Some of the HVAC guys around here have little portable oxy/acetylene setups that I have always thought would be quite handy.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tmsmini on April 16, 2021, 09:24:14 AM
Check the intake manifold for sludge as well. There are many reports of them being clogged up and giving faulty temp sesnor readings.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 16, 2021, 11:08:16 AM
Paul, they have little portable units in a plastic carry case too....

tmsmini, I wasn't getting any erroneous readings on my temp gauge, as this isn't an SPi motor, it's simply a carbed A+. The one I'm installing used to be an SPi but it will run a carb and dizzy when it goes back in the RG.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 16, 2021, 12:37:48 PM
For that possible exhaust leak on the center port, I would look at the weld for the flange to down-pipe to see if there is any cracking there.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tmsmini on April 16, 2021, 02:15:48 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on April 16, 2021, 11:08:16 AM
tmsmini, I wasn't getting any erroneous readings on my temp gauge, as this isn't an SPi motor, it's simply a carbed A+. The one I'm installing used to be an SPi but it will run a carb and dizzy when it goes back in the RG.

Got it!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 16, 2021, 07:32:01 PM
Well, I found my exhaust leak - not only that, I now know why I always smelled exhaust anytime the windows were open.....the header is split right in the valley of the Y, all the way around and down both sides. Although it's odd that there wasn't any exhaust stain on the pipes.

So, I got out the Mig welder, only to find out that I had left the gas valve open and the tank was empty.

So, I drug the acetylene welder up from the basement again, but the only tip retaining nut I had was the cutting torch tip which was too big for this, so I'm dead in the water till Monday when I can get the gas refilled and/or a nut to attach one of my acetylene tips that will fit my torch.

My backup plan is that I have another header, but it's a single pipe instead of a double, but I have a straight pipe connector too so I have everything I need to go that way if necessary.

But before I did any of that I took a file to the center pipe flange and flatted it off.

it's always sumthin....but it's nice to figure out the problem

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tsumini on April 16, 2021, 09:26:56 PM
The exhaust blowby track on the head/valve cover is way too far away for the exhaust Y crack to cause the track. It looks to me like the blowby is coming from behind the gasket. Front of gasket was sealing fine.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 17, 2021, 12:43:49 PM
Well, I decided to go ahead and use the new one I have on hand anyway....I'll weld up the old one and use it on the engine stand.

Got some good news today - DHL delivered my clutch! I've never had them deliver on a Sat before, so that gives me a jump start on getting the engine back in the car and maybe a couple more days of drive time to sort out anything that comes up.

I've already got the clutch and flywheel installed, and the new clutch arm and all installed too, so the back end is pretty much buttoned up. I also got the water pump on,, so the front end is done too. I'm going to go thru the valve adjustment again as it's much easier to do on the bench than on the lift, then install the new pot joints and she'll be ready to drop in once I clean up the axles.

I also need to get the collector off the pipe under the car, I hope I don't have to fire up the torch again to get it off but if I do it's already upstairs at least.

I still have a lot of parts to clean up before I can put them back on the engine - me and Edd don't see eye to eye on putting dirty parts back on an engine.   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 17, 2021, 03:02:41 PM
I may have cleared up yet another issue with this car.....the front end has always had an odd intermittent wobble, between 45 and 55 mph, above that it pretty much went away. I bought a new set of pot joints for this SPi engine as I knew that my outer joints were good as I had them apart a while ago and repacked them with grease but I did not do anything then with the pot joints.

The new pot joints are made slightly differently than the old ones, in how the boot attaches, there is a sleeve inside  - so when you replace them all you do is make sure the splines are clean and greased and the circlip is good on the end, then pop them on - the new ones already have boots installed and are packed with grease too.

So, back to the green car, when I went to remove the inner part of the old pot joint I found one almost siezed - it had been leaking engine oil into the joint too, which is probably what killed it as it waters down the grease to barely more than the oil. I had to cut the inner part off as it was rusted to the splines, the other one was fine and drove right off the way it should.

So, with new smooth inner joints I'm hopeful that at last I'll have a Mini that drives normally!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on April 17, 2021, 03:14:28 PM
And then we fix the rust, paint it, put a turbo on it, and you keep it.  77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 18, 2021, 04:43:19 PM
Alrighty then, while on the bench I replaced the shift shaft seal, the two axle seals and the pot joints. I also decided to reuse the mechanical fuel pump as it was working fine - but that meant I had to make a couple of gaskets as I didn't have any for it.

With that all done it was time to lift it into the car.....I had to set it at an extreme angle to get it to clear the brake booster and it was a bit of a challenge getting it down into place, but it finally went in and I got the motor mounts bolted up.

Still lots to do of course, but I hope to have it running and driving on Tuesday so I can put some miles on it before heading to Texas next weekend.

I decided to go ahead and use the new single pipe header I already have rather than attempt to weld up the old one - even tho I'm sure I can do it - I don't have any weld gas, and they really don't like you to carry it home in your car - it makes a hell of a mess when one blows up in a car!

To that end I did have to get the torch fired up again so I could get the twin pipe collector off the main pipe - it took a LOT of heating before I got it loose, but it came off in the end. Never could have gotten it off without the torch.

I'm done for tonight, and I have PT tomorrow so I won't get back to it till afternoon again. Still a lot of parts to clean up before they go back on, and darn it if I didn't forget to put the speedo cable on while it was easily accessible! Oh well, as long as the radiator is out of the way it's do-able.

Sure is bright in there!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 18, 2021, 06:45:04 PM
Looking good there Dave!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 19, 2021, 07:05:32 AM
I forgot I have to drill and tap for the heater take off at the end of the head.....don't know why I didn't do that while it was on the bench..... ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 21, 2021, 07:26:49 AM
More stuff is done, radiator is cleaned, about all I have left is to put the axles back in and bolt up all the suspension. Then I have to chose which carb and intake to use - the one that's on there works perfectly fine but is dirty and will need a LOT of cleanup. The one that I use in the test stand is clean and new looking, but I'll need to make sure I have all the linkage and that it has the right needle before I put it on......

The exhaust went together perfectly once I got the old parts off, so maybe I won't have exhaust fumes in the car this trip!

I'm also very hopeful that I've cured the "death wobble" it has between 45-55mph, that was extremely annoying as so much of our driving was actually at that speed....it went away under load or above 55, but under deceleration or light load it was really bad.

I also need to rotate the tires, fill the oil and then see if it will run. I decided not to tap the end of the head for the heater take off, but rather just put the SPi thermostat base back on, as it has the takeoff built in. that will simplify the hose arrangement under the hood too, but I won't be using the heat thru the manifold as I planned to do - no matter, it hasn't had it plumbed up all this time anyway!  ::)

Lots more to do but if all goes well, I should be driving it later today.....depending on how badly they beat me up at PT this morning.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 21, 2021, 09:28:11 AM
All that work done quickly?  You might actually know a thing or two about these cars!  ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 21, 2021, 07:12:10 PM
Obligatory everything's in photo.

What you can't see is that I haven't got the axles in yet.

Had a strange thing happen, I changed out the thermostat housing and put the SPi one back in - and it leaked like a sieve! I took it back off and found a series of six nibs sticking out of the bottom part where the gasket goes....I had used one of the modern thick cardboard gaskets and clearly it was stiff enough that those nibs couldn't push thru. I also remember that it had a cork gasket when I took it off. Not taking any chances, I filed off the nibs and used a cork gasket anyway!

That sealed it up and it's good and dry now.

Oh, and I can't find the bracket that connects the top of the radiator to the thermostat housing, SPi's use a specific bracket, different from the others and I had one, just can't find it now.

I cranked it up and it fired up but died - and now I can't get the fuel pump to prime, so tomorrow I'll syringe some fuel into the float chamber so it can start and I can set the timing while it's running, then hopefully the extra RPM will get the pump working again.

In the meantime I need to install the axles and front suspension, then she's pretty much finished, ready to drive. This won't leave me much time for testing before I head out early Saturday morning.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jeff10049 on April 21, 2021, 09:45:39 PM
 77.gif  Nice. We left for reno with that 50 chevy pickup about 12 hours after finishing it. Makes a guy a little nervous but all went well.

Are you headed to the TX drive? We may see you there we are in tombstone AZ now and headed that way going to meet  Bruce at some point. We might get there during the drive it would be cool if we did but we might not make it in time were stopping in las cruces and at Carlsbad caverns on the way.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 22, 2021, 06:59:35 AM
Quote from: jeff10049 on April 21, 2021, 09:45:39 PM
Are you headed to the TX drive? We may see you there we are in tombstone AZ now and headed that way going to meet  Bruce at some point. We might get there during the drive it would be cool if we did but we might not make it in time were stopping in las cruces and at Carlsbad caverns on the way.

Jeff10049: Yes, Dave is referring to attending the Texas drives.  They are next week in Kerrville, Texas.  If you are coming east via IH-10, you will pass through the edge of Kerrville.  The main drives are Tues, Weds, Thurs.  It would be great to meet you there.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 22, 2021, 07:21:45 AM
Absolutely! I would love to say hello again....you still have my cell number? Give me a call when you're in the area and we'll arrange to meet up.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 22, 2021, 11:52:54 AM
OK, someone tell me what's wrong in this pic - not the axle nut/cotter pin   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 22, 2021, 12:13:05 PM
Steering rack boot is cracking and upper ball joint looks separated?

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 22, 2021, 12:53:39 PM
  ;D ;D ;D   You're missing the obvious.....look at the light.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on April 22, 2021, 01:00:29 PM
 71.gif  4.gif At least you can take the light apart.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 22, 2021, 03:34:12 PM
  ;D ;D ;D  Well, the light is on a reel, so I popped the tie rod loose again....   ::) :-[
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 22, 2021, 04:04:00 PM
So... an electrical problem with a Mini and Lucas is definitely not to blame?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 22, 2021, 07:55:24 PM
I had seen the light cord running inside the suspension, but assumed it was a standard plug-in style and not on a reel.  Thus it was not a problem to me.  It actually being on a reel, does make it a problem.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 23, 2021, 07:28:19 AM
Quote from: BruceK on April 22, 2021, 04:04:00 PM
So... an electrical problem with a Mini and Lucas is definitely not to blame?

Ha! yes.....a 120V problem instead of 12V!

Speaking of, this is the last day I have to figure out why this car won't start now.....I know it's not the fuel pump - I hooked up the electric pump from the test stand and kicked it on, then while cranking I watched the clear fuel filter and the regular pump is working fine. Still didn't run, even with the electric, so.....

I used a brandy new dizzy, new plug wires, new plugs. I may put the old one back in as it obviously was working - I had used the new one when I was running it in the test stand and it worked fine. No idea why it might not work now, but I did crank it over with the new one and it made plenty of sparkyness.....and it started once and ran a few seconds the first time I tried to start it, hasn't made a peep since.

Tis a puzzle.....

I have everything else done, axles, suspension, tires rotated and aired up, fresh oil and filter - it should be good to go but I can't see hauling it 900 miles if it doesn't run.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on April 23, 2021, 08:42:48 AM
Actually getting fuel to the carb itself? I had a hell of a time with erratic running on mine one time with the dual carbs. Figured out that the float in one of the carbs would occasionally stick. Had I had a single carb I doubt it would have ran at all, which would have been a lot easier to diagnose I think.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on April 23, 2021, 09:32:51 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on April 23, 2021, 07:28:19 AM
... but I can't see hauling it 900 miles if it doesn't run.

Well, I am going to try to convince you to still come on down even if it does not run.  We will have plenty of Minis with extra space for you to ride in.  I think we can even let you tag along in your "big" MINI as well.   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on April 23, 2021, 09:52:09 AM
Should have let you borrow my mini, but it's locked up at home and the keys are locked at the airport!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 23, 2021, 02:44:19 PM
Not having any luck with the green Mini, and I'm running out of time as I'm planning to leave early tomorrow morning and I still have a lot to do to get ready to go - plus it's raining now. If it did start and I felt confident that it would start again once I get there - I'm not going to get any time behind the wheel before I go tomorrow. Not a good situation.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on April 23, 2021, 03:51:06 PM
Looks like Lufthansa wifi works... can't text you but anxiously waiting to hear what the solution is.   So odd it tries to fire then gives no signs of life.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 23, 2021, 04:26:43 PM
Well, the green car won't be coming down with me.....just ran out of time to mess with it. I need to do a few things to the blue MINI before I start south tomorrow.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on April 23, 2021, 06:40:43 PM
Sorry to hear that Dave. Really sucks.  Especially since you worked so hard. Glad you are still coming. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 25, 2021, 06:57:34 AM
Well, at least my MINI still runs perfectly - plus it seems to be getting even better fuel mileage - I averaged just over 34 mpg - and that was running in the mid 80's all the way down! Cannot complain about this car, it's been terrific.....clicked over 96K on the way down - I hadn't driven it even 1,000 miles in the last year or so - it needed a good highway blast.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on May 03, 2021, 06:52:30 PM
Any news on The Green? 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 03, 2021, 07:26:27 PM
I had a large Honey-do list yesterday after I got home Sat night, and today I had PT - after not going for a week they really put me thru the wringer today, so I took the day off from everything. I'll get back to it tomorrow again.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 13, 2021, 06:00:08 PM
I took a few days and finished up some other projects in the shop, then tonight I took another look at why the green Mini wouldn't start and stay running. Just to test a theory I hooked up my jump battery to the ignition to make sure it was getting a full 12V. The car always starts after a few days, and it did this time too - but this time I held the throttle down hard and kept the revs up - which it did for about 5-10 seconds, then it started chugging and smoking like crazy out the tailpipe.

So I think I've narrowed down the problem to the carb - and while I don't understand why both my HIFF44's would fail the same way at the same time I think I know what's wrong. There is an o-ring in the choke mechanism that when it breaks it cause this exact symptom. So I'll pull the carb apart that was on the car originally and see what I can find. If I don't find an issue with that o-ring I'll see if there's something going on with the float in the bottom of the carb. These carbs are so simple it pretty much has to be one or the other - or maybe both!

I consider it progress tho.  77.gif

One other interesting thing, the exhaust sounds way different with this header, much louder and "barkier", which is interesting cause other than the header, it's all the same stuff. Maybe this motor just has way more compression and the other one was so worn out it was down to 6:1 or something!  :-[ ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 14, 2021, 10:39:45 AM
Can't find any issue with the choke o-rings in either carb, and I decided it can't be a stuck float as no fuel was coming out the overflow. Since the old engine ran with the old carb, and the new engine ran with the new carb in the engine stand just fine, I'm really scratching my head on this one.

In the engine stand I had a new dizzy, new intake and new carb - ran fine.

Old engine had old intake and carb and old dizzy - ran fine, just leaked oil and burned it too.

I started this install by using the old dizzy and carb/intake, thinking if it ran fine before it should be fine now.

I've since switched carbs, dizzys and coil to the same ones I used in the engine stand - same exact issue with either setup.

Starts, runs a few seconds then slowly dies, and won't hit a lick after that for several days (till the flooding evaporates?)

Last time it started I revved the snot out of it - which it did at first - then slowly started chugging till that's all it would do even with the throttle wide open - and made huge amounts of what looked and smelled like black fuel smoke.

So, sounds like flooding, right? Like a carb issue. But why would it happen with two completely different carbs, both of which worked perfectly fine before?

Scratching my head on this one....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on May 14, 2021, 02:01:41 PM
Electric or mechanical fuel pump?  Could the pump pressure now be enough to be keeping the float open enough for it to be flooding via the jet rather than going out the overflow port?

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on May 14, 2021, 02:15:20 PM
Okay, brainstorming here.  What if it is not carb related?  Doesn't mean I've thought these questions through...

What if the exhaust is somehow obstructed?

Valve train all okay?

Something slipping in timing?

Other ignition issues?  Coil bad? 

Using known good quality gasoline? 

Fuel pump provide consistent and correct pressure? 

Maybe one of those will prompt a thought. 




Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 14, 2021, 03:34:20 PM
Same mechanical fuel pump that was on the old engine - seems to work fine, it def does not seem to be running out of gas.....based on the smoke coming out of the tailpipe.

The overflow pipe isn't wet inside at all.....

Don mentioned the exhaust constricted too, but when it fires and runs it sounds perfectly clear.

Valves, timing all the same as before when it ran in the engine stand, when it fires it revs clean for a few seconds, then (I think) it floods.

Swapped coil, dizzy, plug leads, new plugs - all the stuff that it ran on in the engine stand. Not to mention when I pulled the old engine it was running fine and has fresh gas (well, a few weeks old now, but I think it's still good)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on May 14, 2021, 07:23:26 PM
Ok, hear me out cause this my sound crazy. It did to me when I read it but I swear it was a similar issue I had with my Toyota 22r.  Same symptoms, but nothing that normally causes those symptoms was bad.  Googled all over the internet until I found someone with exact year exact motor and exact issue.   Here's the crazy part.  He said it was his thermostat causing it.  Yea I hear you.  🤣😂😆🤪.

But what the heck, it's 3 bolts and a $5 part.  Well....... Until one snapped off in the aluminum intake housing.  Luckily those are easily found but way less easily replaced.  But I did it and with the new thermostat in and everything that came off went right back on and a shot of carb cleaner and away it ran.  No more issues. 

I didn't clean anything or replace anything except the intake and thermostat.  The only difference with the intakes was the old one had a broken bolt. 

I know it sounds crazy, but might as well check it at this point. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 14, 2021, 07:36:31 PM
I did put in a new thermostat, but I cannot understand why it would make that kind of difference in this engine, with no temp controls, no fuel injection etc?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on May 14, 2021, 07:39:17 PM
Hey Dave, I wonder if the engine will run only on starting fluid? Like bypassing the carb and/or fuel supply and just spraying starting fluid into the intake.  Will it run for a minute or so that way?  I've never tried it, but starting fluid is just a kind of crudely atomized fuel so it could kinda work for a little while.  Just an idea to see if eliminating the regular fuel components temporarily could prove helpful. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on May 14, 2021, 09:00:03 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on May 14, 2021, 07:36:31 PM
I did put in a new thermostat, but I cannot understand why it would make that kind of difference in this engine, with no temp controls, no fuel injection etc?

I hear ya, thought the same thing when I read it.  Cause truck was the same thing.  Basic carb engine guess only variance was it was electric choke.  I know it sounds crazy but just figured I'd throw it out there.

Edit thought. So you put the new thermostat in the car, correct?   Was this different from the thermostat on the engine stand?   Does the stand have its own cooling setup or did that cooling system go into the car from the stand.

Another edit thought. Can't air pockets in cooling system cause weird starting/running issues? 
Just thinking about any all variables that may have changed from the running engine on the stand to the non running engine in the car. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tsumini on May 14, 2021, 10:09:09 PM
Sounds like fuel starvation. Have you tried running with gravity feed. You may want to review my post@227 Jan 7,2020 In my 1960 Austin 850 Project thread. Ultimately my carb was way to lean. Richened it up and ccured my chronic problem. Good luck
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on May 15, 2021, 04:19:28 PM
Latest thought I'd check all your rubber fuel lines and connectors.  If one is cracked or loose you may be sucking air in.  Talking to father in law mechanic. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 15, 2021, 04:50:09 PM
Just to bring everyone up to speed, today I put the original carb back together with the original o-rings in the choke, I did swipe a little silicone paste lube on them before putting it back together. I installed it on the car and the original dizzy and coil. Turned the key and it fired right up and runs perfectly.  ::) :-[ 8.gif

Buttoned up all the loose ends and took it around the block, engine runs fine, trans works fine, new clutch and flywheel work fine. Nothing fell off or leaked.

Why I have no idea, but I'm happy that it changed it's mind and decided to run again. I just hope it keeps running!

it starts very easily - I got the timing and mixture set, and it seems to have cured the death wobble too. I'll drive it some more tomorrow - if it's not pouring down rain - they said it would rain buckets the last two days too but it's been sunny and warm. Weather guessers!

Last thing I need to do is see if the speedo is more accurate now - it should be as the instruments were out of an SPi, and so is the engine/gearbox.

Film at 11.....(or earlier)

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on May 15, 2021, 06:15:54 PM
So it's like our work servers.  When we start having issues we jump on a group chat and start asking others and complaining it doesn't work and after enough people say they aren't working or try this or that and then bang they all the sudden start working again. 

Glad it's working. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on May 15, 2021, 06:37:32 PM
Just to be clear, you sold your soul or something to get it to work, right? 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 15, 2021, 06:44:34 PM
I must have!  ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 17, 2021, 08:16:27 PM
So in between rainstorms today I drove the green Mini around a bit, even hit the highway for a very short stretch and I have to say I was pretty disappointed in the performance - I think an 850 would have put it to shame. Till I got back home and found the accelerator cable had slipped and it was only opening about 1/3 of the way!  ::)

Tomorrow if we get a break between storms I'll give it another try....

It started very easily, but smoked like crazy - I'm hopeful that's just leftover fuel or oil in the exhaust system or something. We'll see tomorrow when I fire it up.....today's drive should have cleared all that out.

The steering wobble is inconclusive at this point, and I need to set up my Garmin so I can check the speedo accuracy, but I think it may be pretty close, since the car now has SPi instruments (thanks Vikram, wherever you are!) and now an SPi gearbox, I'm hoping it's close to right. I also need to figure out what final drive it has, I'll know that when I verify the speedo and can compare revs, but I'm pretty sure it's got a 3-1.

More as it happens.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 18, 2021, 10:15:53 AM
Sunny and warm this morning, so I took the green Mini for a good run, with some highway miles as well as stop/go town driving.

1st, it does have the 3-1 diff based on revs at highway speed, and I like it much better than the 3:44-1 that was in it before, it's just more relaxed and yet still plenty easy to drive in town.

I also found the speedo is pretty accurate now - although a little optimistic much like it's younger BMW built brother. 74 is 71-72, so just about 2 mph fast - good enough that I can drive it without the Garmin now. Before it was wildly off....10-15 mpg slow!

The death wobble is still there, much to my continued disappointment and inability to fathom exactly WHAT is causing it. I've been thru the entire front end, every thing is new - and I do mean everything - I've swapped tires and wheels from another car - I just can't figure it.....it doesn't seem as bad as before, but that could just be my imagination or wanting/willing it to be better. But I don't think it really is.

Engine performance is hard to quantify - I don't think it's as strong as the engine I took out, but I have no info on that motor, for all I know it's got a cam and some high compression pistons in it or had some head work done, but this one runs exactly like a stock 1275 - which it is. Torquey, doesn't like to rev much over 5500 and so on.

So, I now have a running, driving Mini that doesn't leak oil and doesn't smoke and with a quiet transmichigan- if I can fix the squeaks and rattles, I'll be in good shape.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on May 18, 2021, 12:19:18 PM
Cheers!   71.gif

Title: Re: death wobble
Post by: tsumini on May 19, 2021, 07:27:49 PM
Re: death wobble
Have you considered the lower suspension arm bushings? hard or soft? You may try mounting a dash cam to the frame and watch the tire  wobble if any. Both sides at the same time? Gut tells me these may be involved.
Generally fit of parts (old or new) can cause a natural frequency issue not visually apparent.
My old 56 Ford shimmied when front end wore out. My old 1997 Dodge ram 2500 had a bona fide death wobble which threatned to throw it off road. Turned out to be the stabilizer bar tied to the solid front axle.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 19, 2021, 08:02:46 PM
All new parts, I used the poly bushings......not the soft rubber ones.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tsumini on May 19, 2021, 10:39:20 PM
Rubber bushings are better dampers for vibration. Hard bushing will transmit vibration without any dampening.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 27, 2021, 12:04:43 PM
As the steering wheel turns......

The green Mini has developed a severe oil leak on the left side, about the only thing there that could leak like this is the front oil seal, and I put a new one in when I did the rest of the work.

We have a show event in two weeks so once Clancy's Moke is off the rack (he's picking it up Sat) the green one will go back on. I'll see if I can fix that in the car. I'm also contemplating swapping the cylinder head with one I already have built up (just a stock 1275 12G940 head) to see if that clears up the smoke cloud on start up. I can get both those jobs done in time as I have all the parts I might need on hand already.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on May 27, 2021, 12:54:21 PM
Amazing how some of these new parts are junk right off the bat.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on May 27, 2021, 01:09:11 PM
A thought on the "death wobble" topic: could it be a worn out shock allowing the suspension to bounce more than normal?

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 27, 2021, 02:56:22 PM
I guess you missed the part where I wrote that every part in the front end is new?   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on May 27, 2021, 04:32:05 PM
I understood that the upper arms, lower arms, control rods, bushings, and such were new.  I just was not sure about the shocks.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 27, 2021, 05:34:13 PM
Yep.....everything!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 31, 2021, 07:50:53 PM
So I was very disappointed to see the oil puddle under the car after doing all the work on it, so today since the Moke was off the rack I put the green Mini on and raised it up. Found the leaks were NOT from the front oil seal after all, but the pipe going into the oil filter housing was leaking for sure. Today DHL delivered my latest spares order (today? On a holiday?) and I had the new seals in that order so I changed them out and that fixed one leak.....

Yes, one.....

The other one is coming from the left axle seal. i thought I had changed them but remembered I was out of them when I went to fit the engine back in the car. I have new ones now but of course it's a boatload more work to change one now, as I not only have to drain the fresh new engine oil but disassemble the suspension so I can get the axle out of the transmission. And there's no way I would just change the one and not the other side too......

So I started it up and ran it for a bit to make sure the oil filter pipe wasn't leaking anymore (it's not) and I'll check in the morning to see how big a puddle is under from the axle seal.

More as it happens.  ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 01, 2021, 07:30:28 AM
Well, the puddle isn't large, but it's there.....so I'll go ahead and change the axle seals on both sides......it was so easy to do this while the engine is out of the car and so much work to do them when it's in.  ::) :( 50.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 02, 2021, 09:41:19 AM
Right side is pretty dry, left side is definitely leaking....I have the suspension loose but I may need some help to get the axle out of the pot joint, I don't think there's enough room to just pull the pot joint out of the transmission and move it out of the way so I can pop the seal out and replace it, tho that would be the easiest way to do it. Still cogitating on how best to do this.....On the right side I can just slip the pot joint out of the transmichigan and change the seal.

With the old joints I would just release the large end of the boot and pull the inner part out of the pot joint, but these new joints don't work the same way, they have in essence an inner metal ring that the boot attaches to rather than the shaft and the shaft snaps into this metal sleeve arrangement.

Hmmm, it still might come apart by just releasing the big clamp and pulling the guts out. Need to study on it a bit before I go cutting clamps.....

Everything else seems drier than a popcorn fart!  ;D

Left side caliper seems to be draggin on the disc, while I have it off I may as well rebuild it - I was going to do this 5 years ago when I first got the car but they seemed OK after I cleaned up the pistons and changed the pads and rotors. Talk about project creep.....wonder if I have time to change the head too?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 03, 2021, 02:54:01 PM
Wound up taking off the big clamp, then pulling the axle out completely. Knocking the pot joint out of the transmission isn't too big a deal, I use a brass drift and a 3 lb hammer, they come out with just a couple of taps...

Once out it wasn't too hard to get the old hard dried up seal out and the new one back in....I found a socket just the right size and put a long extension on it then had Rose bump it with the hammer while I held the socket and watched to make sure it went in square.

The hardest part was getting the boot secured again, it wanted to pull off the top since the suspension was all the way down, so I got out the floor jack and raised it as close to level as I could, then it went into place.

Just took a short run around a few blocks and pulled it back in the shop to see if anything is going to drip....if no puddles in the AM I'll consider it fixed - for now!  ::)

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on June 03, 2021, 06:42:11 PM
Nice to have a partner there when you need that extra bit of help.  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 04, 2021, 07:10:21 AM
I've come up with all sorts of "aids" to hold things or whatever over the years, since I usually work alone. There's not a lot she can help me with, but if I need someone to "hold that right there" or shine the light just so, it's nice to have her here.  77.gif

The other thing that's even more important now is if I fall or something happens. To that end we've put a camera in the shop so she can check on me from time to time - it's PTZ, and has a mic and speaker so we can talk thru it too.

No puddles under the green car this AM, so I'm going to put some miles on it this weekend

I have the car show next weekend, then after that I'm planning to take it to Blackhawk Farms Raceway the following weekend for my pit car and run to town car.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 07, 2021, 11:04:16 AM
Went for a pretty long drive today including some highway speeds and then city, car runs really well although down on power from the old engine. It idles better and has much better oil pressure and starts easily - all things the old engine didn't. Also, no exhaust smell in the car and no oil drips when I stopped.

Still puts out a pretty good oil smoke cloud when first started, but the guy following me said it doesn't smoke at all when driving, so I'm thinking some worn guides or stem seals. I have another head ready to go on it so I'll do that after the car show this weekend.

I was going to go to Blackhawk farms with it the following weekend but it's going to be in the 90's, so I'll stay home in my air conditioned garage and work instead.

Oh, the steering wobble seems much better now that I've done some miles in it - no idea why!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 08, 2021, 09:31:18 AM
Not too surprising I guess that my exhaust fumes are gone considering the size of the crack I found in the header, but what does surprise me is that I never heard it....the engine sounds exactly the same as it did. Usually you can easily hear a cracked exhaust manifold or header.

My friend Seth put a new exhaust on his car and with in a few days started smelling exhaust just like mine did, so I told him to pull his header and see what he finds. I'm betting it's the same issue.....we'll see.

I think it would be pretty hard to near impossible to fix one of these after it's been ceramic coated.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on June 08, 2021, 10:20:39 AM
Mine has always smelled of exhaust and it drives me bonkers. I have always thought it was the connection points of the Y pipe to the header as when I first got it I was backing it off a trailer and that connection point snagged on the rear of the trailer, breaking it loose. I reconnected everything but no matter how tight I make the clamps the smell has never gone away entirely (it did get better).

I was going to get some of the better style clamps I have seen as they look like they would work a lot better than the ones I have now which are the single bolt style that you can only get so tight. But now I wonder if I should check the header itself to see if something didn't crack when it got hung up. It sure does not sound like it has a cracked header, but apparently that isn't necessarily a good indicator.

Guessing it's probably pretty much impossible to get the header out without a crap load of work
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 08, 2021, 10:51:23 AM
It's not horrible, you pretty much need to remove the intake manifold, and then get it loose from the Y pipe.  Depends on how rusted together it is.

My old 63 Cooper S Mini had the single pipe connection that always leaked till I used some exhaust sealer on it. Now I always use it.....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on June 08, 2021, 01:40:15 PM
I may have to give it a go, or least a good looking over.

The guy I got it off of did have some exhaust sealer stuff in one of the bins of parts that came with the car, of course that was 10+ years ago so I tossed it out a long time ago. I did not use anything when I put it back together so perhaps that is the issue, I do not remember it smelling of exhaust the couple of times I drove it before I bought it so maybe that is where he used it.

Do you just use the permatex style stuff or something else?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on June 09, 2021, 10:00:57 AM
When we installed Joe Schotts engine back into the car he used some flat stainless clamps from a boat store, a bit spendy but they worked great.
I have always used the flat Mini Sport/spares ones and they always seal well.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 09, 2021, 11:17:16 AM
Quote from: cstudep on June 08, 2021, 01:40:15 PM
Do you just use the permatex style stuff or something else?

I used the Walker muffler sealer, it's a black goo that you smear on then put it together and clamp it up. Then start and run it and the exhaust heat causes it to flow and then set up. If you have to take it apart again it's no big, you just scrape the old stuff off and put on a new batch.

I don't know how long the pipes on my green car had been together, I've had the car 5 years now and I had never had them apart but mine were rusted solid, I had to get out the acetylene torch and get em pretty hot till I could get them apart. When you use the sealer they don't rust together and you can get them apart again later on.....

I've been driving my Green Mini pretty much every day now and I have to say I like how it runs and drives now much better. The difference in power is very apparent but it's still fine, and it will cruise easily at 70-75, the temp stays in the spot it should on the gauge and the oil pressure never drops below 40 psi - only goes there at idle when hot - otherwise it's right at 60 even on a hot day on a long highway run.

AND......

It hasn't leaked a drop from any source!   77.gif

I'm going to pull the head and see what the valves and guides look like - if the guides aren't worn I'll put new stem seals on it and bolt it back on, if they are worn I have another head ready to go and I'll use it instead, while I send this one out to be redone, and have hardened seats put in. I may also do a little port work while I have it out....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 09, 2021, 06:09:14 PM
The last thing I'm going to fix on the Racing Green Mini is the cloud of blue smoke on start up. I'm confident the problem is just dried up rock hard stem seals as it only does it on cold starts and never when driving, on overrun or under hard load. To do that I pulled a head off the shelf - the idea being just to swap it out with the one on the engine. It's had a fresh valve job, new guides and I figured to just pop it on, but.....when I took a look at it I could see it did not have any valve stem seals on it. I got the head from Clancy in part payment for some work I did for him so it doesn't surprise me about the seals as you don't need those or hardened seats on a race engine.

So I dug around in all my parts boxes and I came up with a grand total of 6 stem seals. I called Clancy and he had 2 leftovers so I'll get those on Sat. at the car show he's bringing the Moke to. I went ahead and pulled the springs off and installed the six I had, then I decided I should go ahead and clean it up and paint it to match the fresh paint I put on the engine in the car, so I cleaned it all up, taped it off and gave it a coat of etch, and a couple coats of RustyOleum sunrise red.....turned out pretty good I think. After the car show I'll swap it out and send the one on the car now down to the cylinder head shop for new guides and hardened seats and a good three angle valve job.

From there I'm just going to drive it, even tho both 2nd and 3rd are pretty grunchy, if I'm careful I can drive around the problem and it drives pretty nice these days, so I want to put some miles on it.

Loyal readers will remember that when I had this engine in the engine stand for the first start I was pretty concerned because it had little to no compression on two cylinders and poor compression on the other two. Dan said put some Marvel Mystery down the plug holes, let it sit a few days and see if it comes up, and sure enough it did - on three cylinders, #2 was still quite a bit lower than the other three but we decided to just drive it and see if it improved. I ran a compression test today and I'm happy to report it did just that! All 4 are now exactly the same.   77.gif

The plugs don't have a lot of miles on them but they're running pretty clean with good color.....

It's probably good that I won't get to it till next week so the paint can harden off too
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on June 09, 2021, 06:19:34 PM
That did turn out nice. Happy motoring.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 13, 2021, 01:50:46 PM
I got the last two seals installed, but now I don't know if I have time to change the head before we leave town on Thursday.... I think I'll probably wait till I get back in case the carb pulls shenanigans again. It's running fine right now except for the large cloud of smoke when I start it.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 24, 2021, 07:26:03 PM
I'm happy to report that the car ran perfectly all weekend - big blue clouds of smoke notwithstanding!

I didn't stay at the track and my hotel was about a 20 minute drive across town - and in another state! (The track is right on the Illinois/Wisconsin border and the town straddles the state line) So it was great to have it so I could run errands and get back and forth tot he hotel when I wanted.

My plan right now is just to drive it for a bit - possible strategies are to put this stock head on it and see if it cures the smoke, or just build up the original engine and swap them later.....haven't decided yet.

The trip home was uneventful - although we drove right past the Chemtools plant, we couldn't see any evidence of the fire, no smoke, no smell in the air....but it's a big place.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on September 21, 2021, 12:41:24 PM
So, I've decided to rebuild the motor and transmission that were originally in this car (well, when I got it - when it came out of the factory it had a 998 in it according to the vin) and that is the engine/trans combination that are in my video series on rebuilding a Mini engine.

Here  http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=2529.0 (http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=2529.0)

I'm actually looking forward to getting this back in the car, it always ran well - it just smoked, leaked oil and had a noisy transmission -  but it ran strong. It will be fun to see if the improvements I've made will show up at the wheels. Since I had this car on Jesse's dyno I have real world numbers to compare once it's running and broken in again.

However - those runs were done with a 3:44 and now it will have a 2.76 diff. I'll have to ask Jesse what effect that will have on the dyno results. I'm hoping to have it in the car by Mid October, that should give me enough time to get some miles on it before really cold weather sets in.

Don is in the middle or rebuilding his Honda motor too, so we might both go up and see what we get - I'm sure his will be significantly more impressive than mine!  ::)

I also have a customer for the engine that's currently blowing blue smoke out the back of the green Mini, so it will get a complete rebuild too.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 01, 2021, 12:15:30 PM
Got a good start on removing the engine from the RG, all I have left to do is remove the left axle and motor mount and it's ready to come up and out - I decided not to pull the subframe after all, to that end I went and bought an engine leveler from HF as to get it out from under the brake booster I have to really tip the water pump end up.

Going back in is just about as hard as I have to level it out again after it's back in place. I think this tool should help with that.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 01, 2021, 02:05:06 PM
And.......................she's out!

The leveler def made the job easier for a one man band to get it out - no cussing, smashed fingers or dented/scratched panels!

I learned something from this effort to about where and how to attach the chains too.

Now I need remove the water pump, fuel pump and flywheel/clutch assembly as these were all new parts when I put old smoky in the car. I'll transfer them over to the white engine and it will be ready to install in the RG. I still need to rebuild the front "breaks" as even tho I put in new pads and rotors a few years ago, I didn't rebuild the calipers and I think one has been dragging causing issues with the rotors. I have another new pair of rotors to go on once the calipers are fixed.

More as it happens.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on November 01, 2021, 07:38:22 PM
Haha. Love your reference to "breaks".   It's amazing how many self proclaimed "car people" don't know of the word "brakes".   Is it because nobody reads car magazines anymore - so they never actually see the word in print?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 01, 2021, 09:34:56 PM
I think it's because they're posting from their phones, and while autocorrect will fix misspellings, it won't fix the wrong word entirely....

I'm going to have the machine shop I use see if they can do a very light cut on these rotors, I think they're more than usable if I can clean up the surface.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: LarryLebel on November 02, 2021, 09:21:33 AM
I like the misuse of your for you're.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 05, 2021, 06:24:37 PM
Just about ready to drop the vanilla ice cream engine in the green Mini, got it all stripped down so I could put it in from the top when I found this......

So today I dropped the subby out so I could more easily get to it and weld in a patch. I also pulled out all the carpeting in the interior so I could remove the sound deadening. I'll take my wire brush in my angle grinder to it and see just how extensive a patch I need to make and how far I have to cut back to get to good metal. Someone has jacked the car up with the floor pans and really bent them upward near the flitch panels, I think that cracked the sealer and allowed the water to get in and rust this section out, cause the rest of the floors and sills are fine.

The left side has a little crustiness but nothing like this crack and split. I'll bang the floor back down where it's supposed to be and maybe put some seam sealer and POR15 over it, but I don't think I'll have to weld a patch on the left side.

Once the subby was out I saw I had a torn steering rack boot too.....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on November 06, 2021, 07:05:46 PM
I think just about every Mini I have owned has had the floors dented by previous owners, if you have no option but to use the floor for a jacking point a simple piece of 1' x 1' 3/4" plywood spreads the load and leaves no dents.
Funny I have never seen this problem on the Mokes I have owned.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 08, 2021, 11:09:20 AM
So, I made a hole!

Still have to clean off all the paint and sealer around the edges so I can weld in the patch. I also need to make up the patch. I did make a CAD template tho.....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 25, 2021, 10:48:48 AM
So, I've made a patch and started welding it in.....just a few tacks to hold it in place. The metal is pretty thin even tho I cut back to good metal, I'm having to use pretty low power to keep from burning thru. still, even with just these tacks in place the floor feels really strong again. I'll go ahead and finish welding it in then grind down the welds, paint, seal and undercoat the side that faces the road.

Once that's done I can put the rest of the interior together again. I've also fixed the rattling door on the heater - I was surprised to find that the core has been replaced already, I fully expected to be buying a new one. All it took to fix the door was some new foam glued in place, now it's nice and quiet again......that rattle was driving me nuts - tho not badly enough to fix it I guess, as it's been doing that for over 5 years now!  ::)

Putting the interior back is a lot of work too as I took out all of the sound deadening, removed the back seat and have cleaned everything thoroughly. It wasn't bad, just dusty. I also removed the wires that ran to the speakers on the rear parcel shelf - I don't have a radio in this car and the wires were just in the way.

I'm half debating on taking the rear seat belts out too - I doubt they're any good at 32 years old - the webbing can't be safe anymore. I'll box them up and save them for the next owner.

I've also done a little work on the seat mounts....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 25, 2021, 11:11:56 AM
A while back I bought a pair of Subaru WRX seats, the Mini seats just aren't comfortable for the long drives that I frequently do in this car, and I'm planning to drive it rather than tow it to the upcoming Mini drive events like the CMU event in April in Virginia.....that's a 2K round trip plus the miles we drive while there.

I had to compromise on the seat mounts because the companion bins in the rear limit how far the seat can move back - I like to stretch my legs out on a long drive and couldn't get comfortable - so I decided to do what had to be done to make these work. I had been looking for some Miata seats as they fit in without having to modify the interior but couldn't find any in good condition for a decent price, so when these showed up on CL I bought them. They are pretty comfy and have great side bolsters, but they are a little large for this small of a car....

The left seat also has a height adjustment as well as fore-aft and backrest angle, so I figured I could just mount it directly to the floor and use the adjusters. To do that the companion bin had to come out, and that was further complicated by the fact that the seatbelt reel mounts inside the companion bin too. On top of that, the reel mounts perpendicular to the door, to make this work I would need to mount it parallel, so I would need to make a bracket, and it would have to be right against the quarter panel in order to make enough clearance for the seat to slide back where I wanted it. Plus too and also, the seat mounting brackets for a Subaru would not work in a Mini - so I had to cut those off and make my own.

One thing I did that made this easier was to buy a SWAG table for my hand held Milwaukee band saw....this makes it a bench mount and a whole lot easier way to cut out small bits to weld up into the mounts.

I didn't take a lot of pics of the process, but it did take 3 tries to make a bracket for the belt that actually worked....just like on Binky, they don't show all the ones they made that didn't work!  ;D

I saved the piece I cut out, so in theory it could get welded back in if I sell this car someday and the buyer wants to put it back to original.

The seat belt reels have to be straight up vertical too, if you angle them more than a few degrees they just lock up.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 25, 2021, 11:31:50 AM
I've owned this car for 5 years and all along I thought it was a German export model - left hand drive, the lic plate surround had the name of a German repair shop (wish I had kept that), the arches are not found anywhere that I can find except that I saw the exact same ones on a car owned by a guy in Germany and so on, and I never even noticed this sticker till just now!

What it says is basically read the owner's manual (which I didn't get with the car) before adding or using any accessories.....whatever that means!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: LarryLebel on November 26, 2021, 11:49:56 AM
Maybe the "Achtung" has something to do with Germany not allowing very many modifications, if any, to a production car.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 26, 2021, 12:24:36 PM
There is that......

But I was only pointing out that there was a label written in German, which leads me to think it was a German export car.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on November 26, 2021, 03:58:55 PM
It says do not cut out the rear bins as this will seriously compromise the rigidity of the car 😂
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 26, 2021, 04:02:30 PM
Ha! Well, I only cut out one so I'm only half compromised....   ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 21, 2021, 10:44:38 AM
I haven't exactly stalled out on this project, I've been busy with other things - like I've completely remodeled a bathroom, and boy howdy is that a lot of work! It's still not completely done, I have some hardware still coming - towel bars and such, but at least it's functional again......

The interior repairs are all done on the RG, my floor patch is welded and sealed up, painted and a few coats of undercoat have been sprayed on. I also painted the parts that I cut on and welded on, and painted the bare metal bits that I built to mount the seats with Edd's favorite - satin black.

I've decided to remove the rear seatbelts as I've never had anyone back there and probably never will and they just get in the way. Usually I leave them down in the companion bins, but as I've removed one of those to get clearance for the seat there's no place for them. While I've been in there I also have cleaned everything - it wasn't exactly dirty, just very dusty.

I've also fixed the rattle in the heater with new foam, and it's ready to go back in.

We'll have a few warmish days this week so I'll be trying to get everything cleaned and painted while the weather is good, by Xmas day it will be getting cold again and stay that way till spring. You can't really paint when it's 30 degrees out and winter will be here in force by the New Year.

So a few pics and maybe this week I can get it mostly back together - the engine and trans are done and ready to go back in. I need to reinstall all the interior bits I took out including all the sound deadening and carpet bits. I also need to clean the rest of the engine compartment from all the oil residue the old engine threw out and change the torn tie rod boots.

Then I'll clean the subframe all up (also coated in oil residue) and rebuild the front calipers and replace the rotors. THEN I can mount the engine in it and put it back in the car again. I have ordered a new exhaust system for it, this one is not exactly past it but I figured now is a good time. The Play Mini muffler must have burned out some of its packing as it's gotten pretty noisy so I'm going with a standard RC40 system with both mufflers - since I've been doing all this work to make the car a better highway cruiser I think a quieter exhaust will be a worthy investment in my sanity for the drive to Wytheville in April.

I'll give it a good test run first by driving the 4 hours to Dan's shop so he can fix the damage to the fender that happened this past summer on our trip to Blackhawk Farms....that should be a good shakedown run.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 24, 2021, 04:53:54 PM
Work continues.....

I took advantage of the almost 70* temps to tear down and clean the front calipers - I knew they needed rebuilding but have managed to put it off.....

When I got them split and the pistons out it was clear just how bad they were! The chrome was peeling off the pistons and they were stuck but good. It surprised me that the pads weren't worn worse - at least on one side - but they were pretty even.

I have all new stainless-steel pistons, new seal kits, hoses and all the washers and assorted hardware to completely make them like new again. I also have a new set of rotors to go on.

Today I got as far as cleaning them thoroughly, wire brushing them and a couple coats of paint.....

Once the brakes are all done all I have left to do to the subframe is clean it and maybe touch up some paint here and there, then it's ready to have to motor put in and installed in the car.

I also need to go ahead and put the interior all back together - I only have one more part I need to find - and I know I have one - and that's a drop bracket for the steering column. I don't usually use these but being able to move the seats back means it might be more comfortable with one - who knows? I'll probably wind up taking it back off again.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: LarryLebel on December 24, 2021, 05:06:01 PM
You'll need a 13" or less steering wheel for the drop bracket to do any good.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on December 25, 2021, 11:41:27 PM
I use a drop bracket but set it at the highest setting.
When I was a teenager I always dropped them to the lowest point and used seat extenders with an Astrali 10" wheel (which my Dad gave back to me 20 years ago after it sitting in his garage for 20 plus years) but I have got smarter since then now its wall art lol.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 26, 2021, 08:56:32 AM
Wow, 10" is a tiny wheel!

Mine is smaller than OEM but not by much - I have the original wheel for comparison, if I get down to the shop today I'll take a pic since you now have my curiosity up...I need to find that drop bracket anyway....

I'll also get the calipers assembled and ready to go on the subby.

Edit, the first pic makes the OEM wheel look much bigger, but I think it's only about an inch....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on December 26, 2021, 10:54:41 AM
Yes 10 inch was too small I used it on Minis and Ford Escorts in the day.
I use a 13" nowadays a leather Moto Lita in saloons and a cheaper vinyl all weather Moutney on the Moke.
I actually like the feel of the leather wrapped factory wheel, a thicker wheel just feels better to me although I like the look of the skinny Les Leston wheels they don't feel right to me.

Those calipers look great Dave.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 26, 2021, 11:54:01 AM
It sure took a lot to get them clean, that's for sure! Not only did I have to wire brush the whole caliper, but inside the bores too. plus chase a tap thru the 7/16 UNF bolt holes so I could put sone Locktite on the threads. I also took the pads down to my belt sander and lightly cleaned off the glaze.

Once all the paint hardens off they'll be ready to go back on the subframe.

But first I have to reinstall the engine in the sub, then bolt up all the suspension, then the brakes and on and on.

Undecided whether to order a new exhaust or try to reuse this one.....



Still looking for my drop bracket - I think I have a chrome one and a black powdercoated one too
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on December 26, 2021, 07:14:13 PM
Yes if you had to add up the hours we spend on these projects and repairs we would find out we work for far less than minimum wage but the "mostly" enjoyment factor is great.
I have seen a few nice drop brackets offered for sale but they are a bit pricey and they are all fixed and non adjustable.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 27, 2021, 02:13:29 PM
Finished the calipers, ready to go on the subby...

(https://www.motoringalliance.com/attachments/img_20211226_113637r-jpg.46913/)


Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on December 27, 2021, 03:12:07 PM
what kind of paint do you use on the calipers? Just regular ol' rattle can stuff or do you use the stuff supposedly specifically for calipers? I have never painted calipers but I know brake fluid is not kind to paint and I do not seem capable of bleeding brakes without somehow spilling brake fluid somewhere it should not be. Supposedly the "caliper paint" is more resistant to such mishaps but I don't know that I buy it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 27, 2021, 06:19:26 PM
This time I used Rustoleum VHT paint - not sure how well it's going to hold up either since you're supposed to heat it up to cure it and I haven't done that.

It seems pretty soft to me right now, we'll see how it is in a few more days when I go to put them on the car.

In the past I've just used plain ol rattle cans, but they have some new ceramic paints out now that I may give a shake if this doesn't hold up.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 28, 2021, 08:59:11 PM
Why does it seem to take so lunch longer to put things back together than it did to take them apart?

Interior going back in.....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tsumini on December 28, 2021, 11:41:33 PM
Quote from: MiniDave on December 28, 2021, 08:59:11 PM
Why does it seem to take so lunch longer to put things back together than it did to take them apart?

Interior going back in.....
I always have to do everything twice. Put it in once, take it out and put it back in right.
Plus lunch breaks seem to take up a lot of time. ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: LarryLebel on December 29, 2021, 10:54:44 AM
You never have enough time to do it right the first time but you always have enough time to do it twice.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 30, 2021, 03:16:45 PM
OK, got the interior finished up and ready to go, except the seats. I'll leave those out till last in case I need to get back under the dash again..,..but for now it's all ready, heater's in, accelerator and all the wires.

I had to reseal a side cover on the transmission that had a very slight drip, but it's ready to go in the subframe now. I just have a little cleanup to do on the subframe from the leaks this motor had before I rebuilt it and then it will be ready. I might actually get it back in the car today - at least bolted up if not finished.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 31, 2021, 08:48:06 AM
Got a little more done....a little undecided about installing starter, alternator and some other bits before putting it in the car, I know the factory put them in with the carb, radiator and everything already bolted on, but I like having some extra room to maneuver it around as it goes in. I will do all the suspension and brakes of course.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on December 31, 2021, 09:25:44 AM
Speedo cable on before too.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 31, 2021, 09:50:31 AM
Unfortunately I can't do that, the cable on the other end is difficult to unclip....but with the radiator not in place it's not too hard to reach down and hook it up once it's in the car.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on December 31, 2021, 05:22:23 PM
Exciting progress! 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on December 31, 2021, 06:21:47 PM
It's ready to go in, but it's gonna get COLD tonight - damn cold - like under 20*, tomorrow it will be 1* and sunday if we're lucky maybe the teens......so it may have to wait a few days.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 01, 2022, 12:10:28 PM
The combination of the scissor lift and the hydraulic lift table make putting aa subby/engine back in from below a whole lot easier!

She's in and bolted down, now all I have to do is hook up everything, install the exhaust, radiator, shifter, intake, starter, alternator, wiring, cables and linkages.

The temp is still holding at about 50* in the shop with the heater running even tho it will be in the single digits later today - it's 12 right now. after tonight when it goes down to zero or lower I probably won't be able to work out there tomorrow, but it's supposed to be in the 40's again by Tuesday.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on January 01, 2022, 01:45:23 PM
Looks like a great way to install it all.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 01, 2022, 03:59:19 PM
I've done it with a cherry picker, but on these late model cars with the big brake booster you either have to remove that or tilt the engine at a crazy angle to get it in/out. This way it's a fairly easy procedure, especially when working by myself. The only downside is having to disconnect a brake line and drain brake fluid, and there are a few more things to unhook before the subby can come down.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 02, 2022, 06:05:02 PM
Got the shop temp up to almost 50* this afternoon, so I got some more done on the Racing Green, got the "back" of the engine done and the radiator in, now I have to go underneath and finish that end up - run the main battery cable, hook up the shift linkage and the exhaust, then bleed the brakes and the clutch. After that, add oil and water and make some noise! I'm sure there are a bits and odds and ends still loose that will need tidying up too.....

Had to stop tho, my feet got too cold.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 03, 2022, 07:45:45 PM
Alrighty then, only 2 months after I tore it down - back on its wheels again......since the weather will be in the 40's tomorrow I'll put the seats back in, add oil and coolant, charge and hook up the battery, bleed the clutch and brakes and it will be time to fire it up.

Not too bad to do a complete engine and transmission overhaul along with the brake rebuild and modify the interior, build new seat mounts and patch the floor.

I have some new windshield washer jets to put in and a few misc bits to do after it runs, then put the grill in and the hood back on too.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on January 03, 2022, 11:56:47 PM
Its nice to see that 3 days into the New Year you are still failing at retirement Dave ;)
Just joking well done its looking good and ready for April's CMU bash.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 04, 2022, 08:17:48 AM
Ready for CMU is the plan, don't know if I'll be driving it or towing it there at this point. Plan right now is to caravan with another Mini owner, but if that falls thru.....well, we'll see....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on January 04, 2022, 07:25:09 PM
Yes we are booked in at the campground and are towing probably the Moke in our toy hauler.
We bought it used the first year of the pandemic figuring everything would be closed up England was out and not even wanting to stay in hotels and ended up using it quite frequently.
I would like to take another Mini but I am still finishing up renovating our Daytona beach rental condo getting ready to sell it while the market is still hot.
It will be enough work getting the Moke ready lol.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 04, 2022, 08:37:33 PM
Well, she's ready to start, but even tho it was in the high 40's earlier today, by afternoon it had gotten cold again - headed down to the teens tonight and low single digits tomorrow, so I didn't want to open the garage door.

I'll be heading out of town this weekend to do the trip we couldn't do last weekend, so it might be next week before I get to drive it....too bad too as it will be in the 50's on Sat, then cold again Sunday when we get home.

Paul whipped up this cool cup holder, I put the seats in today and bolted it in - looks like it will work, but he's going to tweak the design a little for me. I got everything ready to go, just need a break in the weather....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Scargo on January 05, 2022, 05:53:18 PM
If you need a steering column drop bracket and cannot find yours, there's a used one listed at the top of the MM classified page.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 05, 2022, 06:37:53 PM
Thanks Howard....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on January 05, 2022, 08:57:55 PM
You are failing at retirement and killing it as a mini car guy, I'm failing at being a mini car guy.  Had mine back for 15 months now and still not running.  Lol. Parts I ordered 2 weeks before Christmas showed up just in time for temperatures to plummet and I don't have a garage heater.  Will see how warm it gets Saturday.  Again nice job on getting the car back together. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 13, 2022, 11:56:36 AM
It's a start!   ;D

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on January 13, 2022, 12:01:05 PM
Looking good, that color for the block/head was a great decision, looks really good with the car color!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 13, 2022, 01:11:54 PM
Thanks, Paul......and thanks for making me a plus sized cupholder!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 13, 2022, 05:21:25 PM
We have liftoff!   62.gif

I drove it around the block today - it starts, shifts, stops (slowly - I need to bleed the brakes!) and does everything it's supposed to including rattles, squeaks and buzzes!  ::) 77.gif

I completely forgot to look at the speedo to see how it compares now that I have the tall diff ratio in it....something for tomorrow's test run.

If I get the brakes bled I'll try and get a short video when I drive it tomorrow.

I had a thought about the wobble in the steering -  I wonder if it was caused by the duff diff? Maybe I'll get to find out tomorrow on my test drive, assuming I get to. We have a weather front moving in hard.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on January 13, 2022, 05:35:23 PM
Congratulations!  You've done it again!  4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on January 13, 2022, 07:19:57 PM
Sounds good Dave, well done.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on January 14, 2022, 09:06:41 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on January 13, 2022, 01:11:54 PM
Thanks, Paul......and thanks for making me a plus sized cupholder!

Nice to see they work, I changed the angle of the mounting face about 2 degrees on the plus size one because I thought with the larger diameter it might end up being too close to the seat for a larger cup. Looks like that was a wise decision seeing the plus sized cup in there.

Hopefully they hold up, but if not we can always make new ones out of a stronger material.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 14, 2022, 12:09:23 PM
I think they will hold up fine, I think the only way it might break is if someone steps on it accidentally.

Today I managed to take it for another spin around the block, a little farther this time.....my speedo is woefully off now, so I will be using my Garmin for a speedo - which is what I do anyway.

The engine feels good, the brakes feel good and overall I think it will run nicely. After experiencing all three common ratios (3.44, 3.0 and 2.76) I think the 3-1 final drive is the best combination, but the 2.76 will be better for long hauls, and I plan to do more than a few of those this year. I may have a 3-1 coming to me (a guy might want to go from that to a 3:44 for his car) so it's possible I'll have one to swap out if I decide to.

I didn't get any video as I was hurrying to beat the weather, but I will the next time I drive it. I also didn't go far enough or fast enough to determine if the front end wobble is gone, that will also have to wait till next time.

So far, so good!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on January 14, 2022, 08:33:51 PM
So speaking of diffs, is there a way to check the ratio without removing it from the car? Obviously it's pretty straight forward for a rear wheel drive vehicle but is there a way to figure it out on a front wheel drive? Just curious I guess what is in mine, I suppose you can probably take a best guess based on RPM vs speed but didn't know if there was a better way?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 14, 2022, 10:35:33 PM
I suppose you could count the number of revs of the engine for one rotation of the wheel in 4th gear, but other than that I don't know of any way to do it in the car.

However, if the transmission is original - you can pretty well figure which it had based on the transmission number, original engine number etc.

So later 998's for example most probably had a 3:44, so did carbed 1275's, SPi's almost all had 3-1, and MPi's a 3.0 or a 2.76....however, even some 998's came with a 2.76 if it was an "economical" model. But the smaller engined cars and early cars could have had a number of different ratios. If you have a tach and can check the RPM at a certain speed, you can use the chart on Guesswork's site and probably figure it out.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on January 15, 2022, 01:28:36 AM
Quote from: cstudep on January 14, 2022, 08:33:51 PM
So speaking of diffs, is there a way to check the ratio without removing it from the car? Obviously it's pretty straight forward for a rear wheel drive vehicle but is there a way to figure it out on a front wheel drive? Just curious I guess what is in mine, I suppose you can probably take a best guess based on RPM vs speed but didn't know if there was a better way?

There's calculators that use rpm, speed, and you'll need to know your tire diamter.  I have a 3.44 but with my small diameter race tires it's more like a 3.66 equivalent.  At some point I'd like to change things around, but that also includes the turbo kit I made but have yet to find time to install. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 15, 2022, 10:16:15 AM
The main problem with changing the diff is that you have to pull the engine - not too big a deal on an early car but more of a pain on the later cars like this one and Bruce's '88 with the brake booster on the side.

You don't have to remove the engine off the gearbox tho, you can leave it together......

We had rain last night, which turned to ice and then we got our 4" of very wet snow on top of that, but I guess the ground was warm enough that the ice melted under the snow - when I went to scrape the driveway this morning, other than being very heavy the snow pushed right off and left a clear tho wet drive underneath.

I'm glad I got the cars switched around so I can work on the Blue MINI for the next week or so till we get another break in the cold. Feb is coming and I have a feeling it's going to be miserable.....it usually is but this year I just think it will be exceptionally nasty.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on January 15, 2022, 11:51:22 AM
Quote from: 94touring on January 15, 2022, 01:28:36 AM
Quote from: cstudep on January 14, 2022, 08:33:51 PM
So speaking of diffs, is there a way to check the ratio without removing it from the car? Obviously it's pretty straight forward for a rear wheel drive vehicle but is there a way to figure it out on a front wheel drive? Just curious I guess what is in mine, I suppose you can probably take a best guess based on RPM vs speed but didn't know if there was a better way?

There's calculators that use rpm, speed, and you'll need to know your tire diamter.  I have a 3.44 but with my small diameter race tires it's more like a 3.66 equivalent.  At some point I'd like to change things around, but that also includes the turbo kit I made but have yet to find time to install.

Good to know on the calculators and the Guessworks chart. I have been all over that sight but guess I missed seeing that. Nothing about the engine in my car is "original" so I doubt any sort of engine numbers or anything like that would be helpful. I have about 4 other sets of dif gears and transmission cases that came with the car so it's hard telling what the guy actually put in it, I do know the speedo is WAY off and he used to take the car to a track some. He also mostly otherwise just drove it around the city so guessing it's got pretty low gears in it. Some day I will pull it out, tear it open a bit to seal up some of the leaks/ explore what all has been done to it but who knows when that will be. The plan is to do all that when I finally decide to tear it all down for the repaint.

It looks like it is supposed to warm up a bit again, if it does and some of this snow we got melts away I may take it out and see what I can find out. I have been itching to take out anyway.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MPlayle on January 15, 2022, 02:00:47 PM
Here is a direct link to the Guessworks final drive chart page.

http://guess-works.com/Tech/ratio.htm (http://guess-works.com/Tech/ratio.htm)

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on January 18, 2022, 03:47:15 PM
I'm in a quandry on this car.....I got all the cars moved around again and the Racing Green Mini is back on the rack - it left about a shoe print sized puddle - maybe a bit smaller - of oil on the floor in the week that it sat there. That upsets me no end, but I don't know if it's enough to make me pull the motor back out.

While backing it off the rack last week it caught the pipe and broke the rubber hanger, on looking at the pipe I don't think it's the correct pipe as it doesn't have the bends in it to clear the shifter and it hits the tunnel sometimes under certain load conditions.

So......I can get a new center pipe for it and a new hanger and fit kit, that will fix that but the oil leak - I think it will have to come out of the car to fix that as it appears to be from the final drive housing.

I'll decide over the next few days and get parts on the way....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on January 18, 2022, 05:29:59 PM
It would be so frustrating to have an oil leak on a fresh engine like that so I can feel your pain there, especially if it didn't leak at all while being ran in the engine stand. Even that would be frustrating but at least it wouldn't require all the various hassles of pulling it back out of the car to fix.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on January 18, 2022, 05:41:32 PM
With that freshly painted white engine, Should be easy to see where the leak is coming from, right?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on January 18, 2022, 07:44:06 PM
Well that sucks Dave, hopefully its a relatively easy fix.
I gave up shipping center pipes I just have a muffler shop make them up a lot easier imo.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 01, 2022, 09:33:11 PM
After being gone for 2 weeks or more I was expecting a pretty good puddle under the green Mini but it was only a couple of small spots....so I've decided to leave it alone for now and concentrate on other things.

To that end I got it back on the lift and dropped the old cobbled together exhaust system off. The Play Mini SS muffler has gotten a bit louder lately so I ordered an RC 40 center pipe and resonator which finally came in just before I got home. I installed it today and the old rear box (which I cleaned up and gave a coat of high temp Rusty Oleum) that I've been using on the engine test stand. I'll either convert the Play Mini to that duty or come up with something else. The pipes were pretty poorly cobbled together.....

The one part of the equation I don't have tho are the rear bobbins that attach the muffler to the rear cross brace of the subframe.....I ordered those from McMaster Carr today and should have them in a day or two.

I also got the new choke cable to install, but I noticed the backing plate is all loose, so I'll drop the heater box down and see if I can figure out how to snug it up again. Then once the choke cable is in I can finish buttoning up the engine compartment, install the air filter and windshield washer bottle and a few other bits and then put some miles on her.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on March 02, 2022, 08:06:19 AM
Those choke cables can be a pig to tighten up.
My Clubman Estate was constantly coming loose so I ended up slotting a deep socket with a hex head and also slotted a 12 point combination wrench to tighten it up, its never loosened up since.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 02, 2022, 08:10:06 AM
This is the later style that's just held in with a clip, however it's the backing plate that's loose.....I'll put up a pic later after I figure out how to fix it.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 08, 2022, 06:29:42 PM
So, I got the choke cable in finally.....and maybe cured yet another dash rattle! Whohoo!

Turns out the little bracket that was loose and flopping around was only held in with a nut and a captive bolt, so all I needed to do to fix it was tighten the nut. Of course, I didn't know that's how it went together so I wound up removing all the switches so I could get my hand in there and see how it all went together. the cover plate is held in place by the choke cable housing too, so when the bracket got loose so did the cover plate.

all back together now and works a treat. I've had the switch for the rear fog light just zip tied up under the dash, I think I'm going to replace the silly "check your brake fluid" switch and light with that switch. I may have to extend the wires for it to reach but that's easily done.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on March 09, 2022, 07:30:37 AM
I've never understood the goofy press-to-test-the-lightbulb brake warning light.  I first encountered one on my '73 MG Midget back in the 1970s and I assumed it was some half-assed solution British Leyland came up with to meet American safety regulations. The same kind of thinking that produced big ugly black rubber bumpers.  When I got my '88 Mini I was surprised to see the Mini version of this switch/warning light even existed on a car 15 years newer.

I like your idea of doing away with it and using that space for something useful.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 12, 2022, 02:31:47 PM
The oil leaks were annoying me so much I decided to pull the motor back out and see if I can fix them. I used new gaskets and sealer (on one side) when I put it together but the leaks were persistent, so I bought some "right stuff" from Permatex to see if that would do better - this stuff is highly rated but it's just RTV in a cheese whiz can to me.

Took it all apart, all the gaskets looked fine to me. cleaned everything thoroughly, put the cheese whiz on both sides of the new gaskets and put it all back together again. I poured about half of the oil back in and put a white paper towel under it....if it's still clean in the AM I'll put it back in the car - if not - I may shoot it!  50.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 12, 2022, 04:23:35 PM
Supposedly the Right Stuff is a little different than the standard RTV stuff, but who knows. I do know there is no cure time required for it like regular RTV, you can slap some on an oil pan torque it down and drive off.

I have never used it myself but do know a few people who use it in their auto repair businesses and they swear by it so long as you buy it in the little caulking tube style, they say the cheese whiz cans are hit and miss on if they will actually work at about a 50/50 rate. I figured I might give it a go on mine if I ever pull it out as the the timing cover side leaks on it drive me insane.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 12, 2022, 05:40:21 PM
The lip seals on these cars get stiff and brittle, that's probably what's leaking on that end.....also the axle side cover seals and the clutch end seal.....I've taken them out where they're hard as rocks.

Also, you have to watch that timing cover seal leak, the fan sucks that oil mist thru the radiator and when it gets dirt in it it clogs the radiator.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 13, 2022, 07:57:31 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 12, 2022, 05:40:21 PM
The lip seals on these cars get stiff and brittle, that's probably what's leaking on that end.....also the axle side cover seals and the clutch end seal.....I've taken them out where they're hard as rocks.

Also, you have to watch that timing cover seal leak, the fan sucks that oil mist thru the radiator and when it gets dirt in it it clogs the radiator.

Good to know, I had the radiator out awhile back to put in that water pump you gave me and to swap out the alternator. I didn't notice it being oily/clogged up but honestly I was not really looking for it either so I may check that out since it does run a little warm at times.

The oil leak is somewhere below the water pump, it's really hard to tell since like you said the fan tends to move it around, the leaking water pump was adding a tremendous amount of liquid to the situation (oil spot is much smaller now that water pump isn't leaking) and there is so much RTV in the area I just get frustrated even looking at it LOL. Need to pull the motor out and just give it a little refresh I guess, new seals, gaskets, paint, etc..
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 13, 2022, 09:19:11 AM
Be careful going down that rabbit hole!   ;D

If you're going to do that you should pull the head and have the hardened seats put in so you can run it on modern gasoline - and do a valve job of course - new guides, new valves, stem seals, new springs, new lifters I'm sure they'll be pitted and worn, so that means a new cam. And while you have it out might as well put in new rod and main bearings and thrust washers - probably wouldn't hurt to put new cam bearings in while you have the cam out etc, etc etc.....  ::)
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 13, 2022, 03:35:30 PM
So there was no joy in Mudville, a couple of hours after I finished I found a big green oil stain on the paper towel, the only good news is that it really pinpointed where the leak was coming from. There is an o-ring around the detent spring and carrier for the shift rod inside the trans that mates up with the bottom of the right side cover.

I pulled that cover off, cleaned everything up and popped the o-ring out - it was hard as a rock and flat on both sides! As hard as it is for me to believe that I didn't change that - considering that I cleaned and painted all the covers - it sure looks like that is the case. Either that or I managed to re-use the old one by mistake.

Anywho, another new gasket, some more cheese whiz and a new o-ring from my spares and she's all back together again with another fresh paper towel in place. I will say this about the "Right Stuff", it's a whole lot easier to clean off than regular RTV. If only it wasn't so damn expensive.....$18 for a can of cheese whiz is a bit much.

After 3 hours it's still dryer than a popcorn fart, so I think that's the final answer.

If I don't see this or any other drips by tomorrow am, she's going back in.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on March 13, 2022, 05:21:19 PM
Hopefully sorted this time Dave.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 13, 2022, 05:51:03 PM
4 hours later, still dry as a bone, not a spec on the paper towel!  77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 14, 2022, 07:33:23 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 13, 2022, 09:19:11 AM
Be careful going down that rabbit hole!   ;D

If you're going to do that you should pull the head and have the hardened seats put in so you can run it on modern gasoline - and do a valve job of course - new guides, new valves, stem seals, new springs, new lifters I'm sure they'll be pitted and worn, so that means a new cam. And while you have it out might as well put in new rod and main bearings and thrust washers - probably wouldn't hurt to put new cam bearings in while you have the cam out etc, etc etc.....  ::)

That is precisely why it still resides in the car.....dripping oil out at will LOL.

Although I am interested to know if it already has hardened seats and what not. The motor was built, fast road cam, duplex timing chain, etc... (I have all the part receipts) and does not have a ton of miles on it, although it does have a lot of years on it since then. I just don't have anything on any machining that might have been done so I have no idea what pistons are in it, head work, etc... One of these days.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 14, 2022, 08:55:35 AM
I didn't realize that work had been done...the only thing to check then is whether it has hardened seats, depending on when the work was done it may or may not  - you can tell easily when the head is off, so if it does all it cost you was a little extra work and a head gasket.

My good news this AM, the paper towel was still completely spot free, so I'm ready to put the motor back in and get some miles on it now.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 14, 2022, 10:31:05 AM
Yeah it was a complete tear down and rebuild, I had about 3 transmissions worth of extra parts come with the car.....cases and all. I guess he must have just taken all the best bits to build the trans in the car. I really don't know, I just know he bought lots of parts for it because he gave me a book with all the receipts in it. He also had a weber 45DCOE on it so either he was highly optimistic or maybe it has had some head work done on it. Biggest problem is if I ever pull the motor I am just going to strip it clean and get it fixed/repainted. Not sure I am ready for that yet.

Glad to hear you solved the oil leak problem!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 15, 2022, 07:28:59 PM
This is the new arrangement for the switches with the fog light switch incorporated and the silly check to see if you have brake fluid switch removed.

Also, the motor is back in the car, now only about 1000 things to hook back up and she'll be roadwrothy again.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 16, 2022, 07:37:17 PM
I had intended to simply bolt this back in the car, but it was so grotty and stiff feeling that I decided to clean it up before putting it back in. Interestingly, the only place it was rusty was where heavy greasy muck was on it.

So I wound up completely taking it apart, cleaning everything, painting a few bits, re-lubing it and reassembly - took most of the day by the time the paint was dry enough to put it back together. Shifts really light and sweet now tho.....

One more piece of metric madness on this later model "English" car, this bolt attaches the shifter assembly to the brackets under the tunnel - it's 10 mm! (14mm wrench - not 9/16")
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tmsmini on March 17, 2022, 07:20:10 AM
What sensor is that on the shift rod? I have seen the reverse light sensor in the shifter body, but not on the rod, if that is what it is.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 17, 2022, 08:11:56 AM
I think the big one on the shift rod is the reverse light switch, but there's a small one over on the other side too - I'll have to see what color the wires are and look it up on a wiring diagram I guess.....

Edit: Found this on Somerford - the small switch is the reverse lights switch, the big one operated a solenoid to cut out the vacuum advance in 4th gear. A requirement for German cars only.....

Between 1985 and 1992, Minis bound for Germany were equipped with a vacuum advance cut-out solenoid, operated by a switch on the gearchange.  This naturally necessitated the use of several modified or new gearchange components.

ADU5066   SWITCH, gearbox, 4th gear, solenoid valve operating


Learn something every day!

That solenoid wasn't hooked up to anything so I removed it, years ago......but I still have it somewhere. I figure that had to do with running the car at high RPMs on the Autobahn for long distances....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: tmsmini on March 17, 2022, 09:22:57 AM
Thanks for the update.
Somerford is great for some of these details
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 17, 2022, 02:26:12 PM
Got the shifter bolted back in and the exhaust installed. With the bottom end all finished I went back to the top - got almost everything buttoned up there. I didn't bother to hook up the extra switch since the solenoid isn't there anyway, plus the wires were broken.

Poured the coolant back in and it fired up on the first turn of the key!

Still have to bleed the brakes and install a few other bits and bobs, then the bonnet and she's ready to drive. Just in time, too. We're supposed to get rain for the next two days and a high tomorrow of 42*!

The other good news.....not a drop of oil on the floor anywhere!   77.gif

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 19, 2022, 10:53:46 AM
All righty then......took it for a spin around the neighborhood today, seems to run nicely although I didn't push it at all.

Driving down a main street, accelerating up in 2nd gear and *bang* it died......I managed to coast over to a side street, popped the hood. It was clearly electrical as it was instantaneous and I could see gas in the filter. It has done this before and the cure as far as I can tell is just to tighten the push on connectors at the coil. so I messed with those and it fired right up and drove back with no further incident. I gave them all a good squeeze with some flat nose pliers and I'll try again in a bit.

The weather is perfect for a nice afternoon drive but I need to get it aligned first.....I guess when I changed the steering rack boot even tho I counted the turns I must not have gotten it back right. I can't do that till Monday so it will be just short drives around the hood for now.

Progress.  77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 20, 2022, 02:03:57 PM
Sheesh, I have never had this much trouble keeping oil in a car before!

I came back from my test drive and parked outside the garage and left it idle while I got the lift ready and saw these three spots.....the big puddle is oil, looks like it's coming out of the speedo end cover on the transmission. The middle splatters seem to be coming from either the oil filter itself or the pressure pipe that fits into the top of the filter housing.

The gold colored puddle is brake fluid, but I think that came because I overfilled the master cylinder while I was bleeding the brakes.....so I'm not concerned with it.....the calipers, hoses and master are all dry after my run.

The second pic is from when it was idling outside the garage door.

So, drain the oil, drain the coolant and remover the radiator. Then to hold the engine up I went and bought an engine support bar from HF......that way I'm not trying to support it with the engine hoist (then the legs get in the way) or a jack (which would keep my from being able to raise or lower the lift.

Once I get it all supported I can remove the motor mount on that end and get that cover off and reseal it. I have spare gaskets and plenty of cheeze whiz, which seemed to do the trick on the diff covers - once I figured out where the oil was really coming from.

Sure don't understand why these gaskets won't seal up on their own....they are the "better" kind - the thicker ones with a sealant in them......they shouldn't need additional sealer too. I'll have to look and make sure there's no crack in the end cover - I sure didn't see one but then I thought I put a new o-ring on the right side diff cover too - and found out differently.

No idea why I was getting the drips off the oil filter, I can't feel any leakage around the pipe but I had one with a tiny pinhole in it once, maybe it's something like that?

Once I get the speedo cover fixed I'll run it some more and see what happens. It really bugs me that these things didn't leak in the engine stand, but wait till it's in the car and all buttoned up to do it!  ::)

It was 75* today and Don and I had planned to go do a 100 mile or so drive in our cars to make sure they are ready for the drive to Va in a few weeks......at least he got to do so in his Pup, which ran flawlessly.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: LarryLebel on March 21, 2022, 09:37:01 AM
Its not leaking oil, its just marking its spot.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 21, 2022, 05:20:54 PM
Yes, well it needs to cut that out!!!

So today I pulled the radiator and set up my new HF engine support bar so I could pull the motor mount off and get the cover out. It's a bit of a challenge as there's not enough room to remove the long bolts that go thru the cover, so putting it back means juggling all those while getting it over the dowel pins and engaging the speedo drive in the end of the input shaft.....

Pic shows the cover after I removed the old gasket - could not see any reason for it to leak, but I had a new thicker version so I put the cheese whiz on both sides and put it all back together again.

I poured the oil back in and I'll let it sit overnight, if I don't see any oil drips I'll put the radiator back in and run it on the rack for a half hour or so.....then let it sit again overnight. If no drips after that I'll drive it some more - tho that may have to wait till Friday as it's supposed to rain for the next three days - might even get some sleet or snow on Wed!

Sure hope this is the end of this problem.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 21, 2022, 05:49:46 PM
Leaky engines are so damn frustrating, especially newly rebuilt ones LOL. Hope that is the end of it for you!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 21, 2022, 08:37:23 PM
This was like my bus engine that kept leaking from the oil cooler seals. Till I finally blocked it off and went external cooler out of frustration!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 21, 2022, 09:14:07 PM
Well, if it has stopped leaking I'll start using this "right stuff" for all my engine and transmission builds. It's fairly easy to clean it off of parts with brake kleen.....unlike RTV.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 22, 2022, 09:46:32 AM
I have heard it is even worse to clean off than RTV after it's been on for a while but also hear people saying it's not any worse. So who knows.

If it keeps leaks at bay I am not sure I would care, I mean it's not like you are tearing it down every couple weeks or anything. Not sure I would use it on something I needed to remove somewhat often, but I wouldn't use RTV either unless there was no other choice.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 22, 2022, 02:21:02 PM
OK, no drips this morning, so I finished putting the radiator in and fired it up. I ran it for about 20 minutes till it was fully warmed up and shut it off. That was a few hours ago and again - no leaks. I think it's good now. Finally!

Don't know why the oil filter had oil dripping off of it, I can't find anything loose or leaking and I wiped it off before I ran it today and no leaks now.....I'll drive it again when the roads dry up maybe Friday or Saturday and if I don't find any leaks I think it's good to go at last.

I'll probably retorque the head and reset the valves one more time too, then if I can get a few hundred miles on it before we head off to Va I'll try to tune the carb a little as well.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 23, 2022, 02:27:36 PM
Everything's buttoned up and ready to go.....I re-torqued the head and reset the valve clearances, now all I need to do is have the alignment checked then Don and I want to do some more highway runs to try and build miles before we head off to CMU 63 in Wytheville in a couple of weeks.

So far, no drips of any kind......we'll see what it looks like after the alignment and our first 100 mile run this weekend.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on March 23, 2022, 06:31:32 PM
May the car gods look favorably upon your test runs! 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 24, 2022, 04:56:25 PM
Well, thanks for that but so far they're NOT listening!

Today I went to my usual shop to have the alignment checked, only to find that their Hunter machine was down for the count, and the other machine would not work with these tiny 13" tires since it's mostly used for SUVs and pickemup trucks.

However they did turn me on to a high perfomance shop just around the corner and they said they could do it - next Tuesday. So I set an appointment but in the meantime I may try and check the toe myself as I think that's all that it needs.....and we're leaving one week after that, which doesn't leave me much time to find another shop if they can't.

EXCEPT.......

While we had it up in the air I found yet another damn oil leak! This time it looks like it's coming either from the timing chain cover gasket or the front pulley seal. Either way I'll need to pull the radiator again and see if I can fix it. Since I have all weekend now (Don and I were going to do some highway runs this weekend) I'll see about getting that fixed, plus I need to modify the ramps for my lift as now that I have a center muffler it hits every time I try and go on or off the lift.

It's always some damn thing.

On the good news side, the engine seems to already be freeing up some as it's feeling better each time I drive it.

On the not as good side, I think I prefer the 3-1 diff ratio over the 2:76-1, so if someone has a 3-1 they don't need I'm in the market. I won't change it before this trip and I may not change it at all if it turns out I like it better after we've done the approx. 3K miles of this run that we'll do. I had a 2:76 in Buzz and I liked it just fine in him.....FWIW.

More as it happens.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 26, 2022, 08:19:42 AM
Well, it's back together.................again!

I had to remove the radiator again to get to the timing chain cover, in this pic you can see the telltale stain of the oil.....this part is actually the one I took off and resealed last - which makes me think it wasn't leaking but rather the timing cover was dripping down onto the transmission case....oh well.

The good news such as it is is that the crank seal appears not to be leaking, which only leaves the cover gasket. Getting the crank pulley bolt loose (65 ft lbs torque) required removing the starter so I could lock the flywheel. After that it was just a matter of taking out all the bolts and removing the cover. The gasket I used was one of the thick cardboard style but I didn't use any sealer as I thought it would be plenty good without it. Apparently I was wrong......it left a ton of residue to clean off and it was in a very awkward position, but I fired up my air powered drill with a good new wire brush and made short work of it.

Then plenty of cheese whiz on both sides of the new gasket and back together it went.....

I'll finish up installing the radiator this morning then take it for a drive as the leak only developed when driven.....and then when parked. If this doesn't settle it I don't know what to do next. There's no where else on this end of the motor that oil can leak from!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on March 26, 2022, 09:51:27 AM
You should get some kind of an award for your persistence on battling that Exxon Valdez of an engine!   I've never heard of a rebuilt engine so intent on leaking.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 26, 2022, 07:08:55 PM
With how much residue was left from that gasket it's hard to imagine it would have been leaking although it does look like the only place it wasn't stuck real well was at the bottom there.

Has to be aggravating for sure, the last thing you expect after a fresh rebuild is having to tear it back down multiple times to fix oil leaks.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 27, 2022, 07:33:09 PM
I'm beginning to think the Mini gods don't want me to go to this event.  50.gif

today I went to start the car and drive over to Don's to help him with the tune on his MG that he had rebuilt (a whole nother story in itself) and ......nothing. The starter wouldn't do anything - so I got out my test light and sure enough, no juice getting thru the wire to the starter.

So tomorrow I get to trouble shoot that issue - either a bad ignition switch or a bad wire from the switch, but I'm betting on the bad switch. Remember when I was driving it the other day and it just shut off for no reason, then started right back up again? I've had that happen before and I know it's an electrical issue, not fuel.

So, if it's the wire that's an easy fix, a new wire. If it's the switch, I hope someone has one and can get it to me in time, we're supposed to leave next Tuesday.

Edit: Mini Mania and 7 Ent both show it in stock, but so much for getting break in miles driven before the trip
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jedduh01 on March 28, 2022, 10:40:32 AM
Dave .  I had a late model car   .  Key to start = Nothing.

Come to find out there is a 'standard' 4 pin relay in the Right rear corner of the bay .. Up beside the pedal box.  Totally factory.

This relay had gone bad = Generic one off the shelf = fixed the problem
    If i remember correctly = Had two large brown wires  into the plug / relay =  then the signal ( From key switch )
and ground.... 

One brown ran to the starter solenoid.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 28, 2022, 11:27:59 AM
Cool! Thanks for the tip....I'll check it out.... 77.gif

Edit: alas, no joy changing the relay....is there a fuse for that too? I don't have a late model wiring schematic.....I'll have to see if I can find one .

Edit 2: We have contact! Apparently it was just dirty contacts where the relay plugs in, she's working fine now. Good thing as I have the alignment appointment tomorrow.

Thanks again Justin! You saved me some diagnostic time  77.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Tim on March 28, 2022, 04:19:04 PM
We had a very similar issue with our 91 SPI.  Turned out it was a loose ground on the RHS inner wing.  We played with all the relays and everything else before finding it.  It was a really annoying, temperamental 'shut-down' problem.  Always nice to find an easy fix!

Tim
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: jedduh01 on March 29, 2022, 05:42:47 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on March 28, 2022, 11:27:59 AM
Cool! Thanks for the tip....I'll check it out.... 77.gif

Edit: alas, no joy changing the relay....is there a fuse for that too? I don't have a late model wiring schematic.....I'll have to see if I can find one .

Edit 2: We have contact! Apparently it was just dirty contacts where the relay plugs in, she's working fine now. Good thing as I have the alignment appointment tomorrow.

Thanks again Justin! You saved me some diagnostic time  77.gif


(keep that spare replacement relay on hand ( in the tool box) !!


Great to hear ++  see you in about a week!    Have a safe travel from KS to NC! 
 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 29, 2022, 10:52:02 AM
The alignment shop did a great job, and got it set perfectly.....it drives much better now. I had never seen one done quite like this - this shop specializes in racecars - Mustangs, Corvettes and the like - so I can see how doing it on stands like this would be better and easier than on a ramp lift.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Willie_B on March 29, 2022, 02:57:00 PM
That looks like a good way to get it done.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 29, 2022, 04:35:15 PM
The car drove really well on today's test run after the alignment.....still some minor things to do, rattles and buzzes to try and see if I can eliminate, but overall it ran well. Temps were only about mid 70's but as usual it ran right in the center of the gauge, and oil pressure only got down to 40psi at idle when I came off the highway after a 60+ mile run, with any revs at all it went to 60 psi immediately.

So, from that perspective it's ready to roll.....just need to do some fine tuning.

No leaks of any kind - oil, water or exhaust!   4.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on April 04, 2022, 02:19:16 PM
Loading up and getting ready to head out for CMU 63 in the morning..........

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 16, 2022, 03:22:27 PM
Took the Racing Green down to Dan's shop for some repairs, when traveling to Blackhawk Farms last year in the race trailer something fell on the fender and dinged it pretty good, plus there were some other bad spots across the front end and chips in the front of the bonnet and front edges of the arches.

Dan's been beavering away on it since last week and today got the color and clear on it - looking pretty spectacular already! He also peeled the cheezy vinyl stripes off the bonnet and painted new ones on for me.

Of course, as I told him, now the rest of the car will be looking pretty dowdy by comparison! Guess I'll have to break out the Simonize.....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on May 16, 2022, 06:06:18 PM
Those vinyl stripes were barely hanging on.  Easiest stripe removal I've ever done.  They were cracking and looking pretty rough as is.  Paint match looks good in the shop.  Once it's buttoned up and in the sun we'll know for sure.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: Jimini II on May 16, 2022, 09:22:27 PM
Looks pretty good under the shop lights which usually show up most imperfections, fingers crossed for the outside test.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 18, 2022, 04:30:30 PM
Went and got it today, 4 hours down, 4 hours back again but worth it to get such great work done, and done right. Paint match is off a little (not unexpected), so later in the year we'll do the rest of the car to match and replace the side stripes too as they're worn and faded.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on May 18, 2022, 05:20:21 PM
Yeah just a shade darker. Not enough to show on the scuttle but the doors highlight the difference.  It's due for a respray anyways.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 18, 2022, 05:52:01 PM
It needed a respray 5 years ago when I got it!   ::) ;D
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on May 20, 2022, 12:17:32 AM
I'm sure you can see it in person but I don't see in the photos.  Looking good.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on May 20, 2022, 09:08:39 AM
It's not real noticeable, most won't see it but we're going to do the rest of the car later in the year, it needs it anyway...he only had enough time to fix the worst of it, the dents and holes in the front fenders, chips on the front of the arches and the bonnet.....it looks a million per cent better already!

The clear coat just peeled off with tape, it was so not bonded to the base coat! I'm sure the rest of it's the same way....
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 12, 2022, 04:38:48 PM
Thanks to Dan, yesterday was a red/white/blue ribbon day for the Racing Green Mini!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on June 12, 2022, 05:05:35 PM
Congrats. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on June 15, 2022, 11:03:05 AM
Who knows, now that my friend Susan is moving to Florida and taking her 1st prize at every show Mini with her, I might actually win one of these!

Not that I really care about the ribbons, but it was fun to get one......
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: gr8kornholio on June 15, 2022, 11:40:39 AM
Yes it is.  Some how mine won the blue ribbon at the Dallas all British show.  Back before I tore it apart.  Of course take it for what it is as a friends hacked up revinned sport pack mini won for best preservation. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on July 17, 2022, 03:27:13 PM
Frustration.

Every since I've owned this car it's had a shake or wobble in the front end, at specific speeds and most noticeable under deceleration or light throttle - when you're on it, it doesn't do it at all.

Over the years I have replaced or refurbished literally everything in the front of the car. This week I thought I had found something.....the rubbers that go under and around the main large bolts that hold the subframe to the body didn't look good. The ones between the sub and body were turned out of place, and the ones under the bolt heads felt kinda soft and squishy. Also....there was a rubber noise when you would move the steering wheel left/right and you could see movement - of the body, not the subby as the tires were firmly planted.

So, I ordered new parts - there are three kinds of insulators you can buy, the original rubbers, some poly washers and some solid steel ones. I bought all three.....

When I pulled the original rubber out of the left side - which is the easier one on these late model cars - and compared it to the new one I couldn't see any difference in condition or softness of the rubber. Spares says the poly and solid mounts will add NVH so I decided to be half pregnant. I put the old rubber back in the bottom and went all in on the top, using the steel washers. After I got the right side done (I also put the lower rubbers in their correct places) I took it out for a drive. Before I left the shop I wiggled the wheel back and forth like I did before and noticed the rubber noise was gone and I could not feel any motion between the body and subframe as I did before, so that was encouraging.

The first thing I noticed was that the car seemed to be pulling slightly to the left - I just had it aligned and did the sides one at a time so I had thought it shouldn't bother the alignment. The second thing I noticed was the steering seemed sharper. The third thing was that there was a significant increase in engine vibration felt thru the steering wheel. I was willing to live with it if it cured the problem.

It didn't.

I have never encountered this in any other Mini I've ever driven, so it's driving me nuts, not to mention it's not fun to drive the car with the wheel jumping around in your hand. It only does it between 45- 55 mph, but those are speeds you drive a lot.

Other things I've done:
4 new tires Yoko A539's, rotated back to front a couple of times - made no difference
New suspension lower arms, new tie bars, new bushings etc
New ball joints, properly shimmed - they're still tight.
New upper control arm bearings and seals
New motor mounts
New front and lower subframe mounts - 1/2" bolts in the front subframe holes instead of 3/8"
Repacked the front wheel bearings
New pot joints
Repacked the outer CV joints, they were in good shape, no issues.
Rebuilt the differential - which did have a very worn cross pin - replaced with a new cross pin diff assembly and new final drive.
Swapped wheels with a spare set - does it at the exact same speeds. Both sets have been balanced more than once.
New tie rod ends
New steering rack (well it had a new one when I got it, but it's done it since day one of my ownership) and there is no play in it. The pinch bolt is also tight and there is literally no play in the steering at all.
New brake rotors and Green stuff pads
Rebuilt the front calipers
While I had them apart I checked the front axles to be sure one wasn't bent. They were fine

I've been all over the subframe making sure everything was tight.

I'm out of ideas.......

As an aside, I wasn't sure I was happy with the 2.76 diff, but the more I've driven it as the engine has freed up and worn in, the better I like it. I still think the 3-1 ratio might be the best combination over all, but I do like the much lower RPMs on the highway.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on July 17, 2022, 03:56:25 PM
I expected the loose subframe to fix it up.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on July 17, 2022, 06:14:29 PM
I was hoping it would too..... 50.gif
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 11, 2022, 11:19:59 AM
So, I dropped the engine and subframe out of the Racing Green yet again, it has some miserable oil leaks, and I want to look over everything in the front end one more time to see if somehow I've missed something that can cause that damn wobble.

Changing to the solid top mounts under the head of the big bolts changed it - took it from the low 40mph to the high 40 mph onset point. I'm going to add the solid mounts under between the subframe and the body, tho the rest are all still the rubber mounts - and brand new.

I had an issue when I pulled it out the last time, a long time ago, with a terrible exhaust leak I noticed at the center port. I thought it had just blown out the gasket or something - the header was cracked at the y where the two outer pipes join in the center but a ton of exhaust had been blowing up across the back of the rocker cover, in the back where I hadn't seen it.

When I pulled it out this time damned if there isn't evidence that it was getting ready to blow out again. Fearing that I had a warped head surface that would have to be machined flat, I put a straightedge on it - looked fine. So I took a block and some 220 across it and it cleans up just fine, so clearly the head is not the problem. I had taken a flat file across the brand new header before I installed it and got it good and straight so I didn't think that was the issue, so next I took a look at the intake manifold. This appears to be an earlier version similar to what MiniSpares sells, but theirs is so much better made than this. When I measured the flanges they ranged from 3.5 to 4.2 inches - the exhaust flanges are uniform at 3.2". Aha!

So next I'll try to machine the intake manifold flanges down to a uniform thickness. I have one of the good, thick turbo gaskets to use too, but I think getting the pressure even across the flanges is key to fixing this once and for all.

Right now I have the clutch cover off so I can use some good gasket sealer and try to stop the leak on that end - I can't see why it would leak from there as that gasket has an adhesive coating and it's a good thick gasket, but all I can do is seal it up again and see how it does. None of the bolts had worked loose, and I put a straight edge across the cover and the trans and both are nice and flat.

Once I've got that end buttoned up again I'll pull the diff out and reseal the covers - the side covers have new seals in them and the bushings are good plus it looks like it came out from under the covers, not out of the seals. Still debating on whether to change the final drive back to a 3:1 vs the 2.76 but I think I'm just gonna leave it be. I saw a guy on The Mini Forum who had issues with his side covers too - he took a nice flat piece of aluminum and bored a hole that same size as the centering flanges on the inside of the side covers, then glued some sand paper onto the aluminum and worked the covers back and forth - he found his were far from flat and straight, tho it didn't take a lot to get them there. Been thinking about doing something similar.....

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on October 11, 2022, 11:28:22 AM
Just to verify, but you did torque down the upper left (facing the car) tower bolt on the subframe?  It's the side I noted was very sloppy when jacking up the subframe, noticing a good 1/4-1/2 inch play when jacking it up.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on October 11, 2022, 11:44:58 AM
For those oil leaks if it's something due to slight warps or just crap mini gaskets, this is the magic stuff the vdub people use.  A very slight smear on your gaskets would be all you'd need.  Where VW put out the bulletin to not use jug gaskets, this stuff is used in it's place and what I used for jug to block oil sealant. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 11, 2022, 12:14:06 PM
Yes, both bolts were tight as hell, the play appears to be in the rubber bushes, which I'm going to replace with the solid ones.

I'm going to use this stuff.....cause I already bought it!  ;D



Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 11, 2022, 03:07:02 PM
Clutch end is buttoned up.......On to the diff


Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 12, 2022, 07:57:03 AM
Diff is out, everything is cleaned up and ready to go back in......I did find one thing that might have been the source of the leak here - it didn't look like it was coming from the shift shaft, but I found a cut in the shift seal. I'll put it back together with a mew seal then try and figure out where it might have been coming from at the water pump end of the engine.

We're supposed to take our classics to the races at Ozarks International tomorrow - I don't know if I can finish it in time or not. Gonna be a slog!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on October 12, 2022, 08:11:00 AM
Putting in a shorter final drive?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 12, 2022, 10:26:23 AM
No, I decided to leave it alone for now....

Working on the front now.....what takes the most time is cleaning all the sealer and gaskets off before you can put it together again.

Clearly it's been picking up oil from somewhere - the fan had oily residue all over it and the radiator is coated again. Lots of cleanup to do!

I haven't found anything obvious on the front of the engine that could have been leaking - no smoking guns.....so I guess I'll pull the front of the trans off again and see if I can figure anything out there. Also both inner CV joints have been letting out grease, so I'll replace the nylon tie straps with metal clamps.

No way I'll get this all done and back in the car in time for our trip tomorrow, so it will have to be the Blue MINI instead, but that's actually OK by me.

Edit: Don just reminded me today is Wed, we're not going till Friday - I might make it after all!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 13, 2022, 07:10:43 AM
Well, I think I may have found my oil leak.....there was a pinhole in the bottom of the breather cannister. I didn't think there was that much oil accumulating there, but it makes sense in that I could park the car for days and it didn't leak a drop. But when I drove it and parked, the next day there were be a puddle - and it may explain why there is so much oil on the radiator - being thrown there by the fan. Also the fan was coated in oily dirt.

I checked my spare timing chain cover and it leaked just as badly and in the exact same spot, so it seems they must rust out from moisture in the fumes!

I cleaned it up and put a little JB Weld on it till I can get a new one. It's not easy to change one of these in the car, but it is possible.

With that and the shift shaft seal that had a nick in it, I hope I've finally cured at least the worst of the oil leaks.

With that done I'm hoping to get it all back in the car and driving today, we leave tomorrow for the race track, it would be nice to drive it some this afternoon to shake it all down, but night comes early these days.....we'll see. Worst case I drive my MINI Clubman instead.

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 13, 2022, 12:47:55 PM
With everything buttoned up again I decided to fill it with oil and see if it was going to drip......forgetting that I don't have pot joints in. I soon discovered that and spent half an hour cleaning up the mess. Put a fresh cardboard down and cleaned up the rest of the oil and dirt that's been blown all over the block. Now I'm going to leave it for a while and see if it drips. The few spots you see on the cardboard are from the solvent I was using to clean the block......

If it's dry tomorrow I'll start the process of getting it back in the car......but not till Monday after I get back from the track.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on October 13, 2022, 04:16:18 PM
No joy in Mudville tonight.......one small drip from the right side stub axle cover, and I used a new oring. Maybe I'll rob a cover off one of the other transmissions I have sitting under the workbench.

Glad I'm not trying to drive it to the track tomorrow!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: BruceK on October 13, 2022, 06:01:35 PM
As much as we all work on cars, we have all, at least once, put fresh oil in an engine only to find it running out on the garage floor!   It's just a little way of being humbled.  Last time I did it was just several years ago when I was replacing all the fluids on my truck. Somehow I forgot the drain plug and poured 3 qts of new Castrol through the engine onto the garage floor before I caught myself. 
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 05, 2022, 03:27:31 PM
Well, here we are, weeks later.....the motor is back in the car and it runs (yay!) and so far no drips, but then it's only run 20 minutes or so.

I put a clean sheet of cardboard down, we'll know in the morning whether I've finally tamed the beast.

Still have to bleed the brakes, put the grill and bonnet back on and a couple of small tidy up things but she's ready to go to the KC Mini Club event tomorrow. 70 cars are signed up so it will be a nice turnout. This is our annual benefit for the local Harvesters and Pet Project groups. We meet up at 9, then head out for a poker run and meet back up at the dealership for prize handout. Weather should be perfect, low 60's and sunny. We had one hell of a rainstorm yesterday and it was cold as hell this morning but it's going to warm up nicely over the next couple of days.

I went back to the straight pipe and Play Mini SS muffler (rear box) and I have to say it def has more bark now, we'll see whether with the 2.76 gears it's OK or annoying.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on November 05, 2022, 04:43:12 PM
I was thinking you were going back to the 3.1.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 05, 2022, 06:20:19 PM
I kicked it around, and I still have one if I decide to do that but I want to run it some more on the 2.76, and take some longer highway runs in it too to see how it behaves up hills and such. This engine only has a couple hundred miles on it since the rebuild, so I want to get some more mileage on it too. I don't remember Buzz having any issues slowing down on hills with a 2.76 so I want to see what this will do too.

While I was at it I pulled the plugs and adjusted the valves and it all looks really good.

I'm also considering switching to 10W40 since I have an adjustable pressure regulator on it, I may do that at the 500 mile oil change.

So far so good, not a drop on the floor under the car, tho it only ran for about 20 min.

When I get home tomorrow from the run and park it, if there's nothing under it on Monday morning I'll consider it fixed.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on November 06, 2022, 07:31:14 AM
Well, no drips on the floor this morning, but then I didn't expect any given that it only ran about 20 minutes. I backed it out of the shop this morning and it started and ran fine, so I'm off the the KC Mini event - but - the clutch feels weird.....I hope I make it.

Always some damn thing with these cars, isn't it?

Clancy's Moke is on the lift now so I can do a few things to it.....when he ran it at the Lake Garnet GP last month the radiator was pissing water out. Turns out the fender had rubbed a hole in the end of the aluminum rad, so I pulled it and he took it to be welded. He brought it back a couple days ago so I'll swap it back in and do a few other things. He wants to drive it in the veteran's day parade on Sat in Lawrence, so I have to at least have it drivable for him.

Edit: Clutch is fine, I just forgot what it's supposed to feel like I guess.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 13, 2024, 04:25:11 PM
News!

I dropped my green Mini off at Dan's a while back so he could fix the fender and hood where it got damaged, he did but the paint we ordered according to the code came out way different than what was on the car. (Didn't keep it from winning 1st place in its category at the All British Show) So we made arrangements for him to go ahead and paint the rest to match the front end.....

Today I went and picked it up from his shop and Wow! it looks terrific! I had to move the hot rod outside into the driveway as we're supposed to get a hail storm tonight, but she's home and dry now.

Everything went swimmingly on the drive down in the Blue Clubby and until we got about an hour from home when it felt like it was down on power.....wasn't running rough or anything but it definitely wasn't making the normal HP and the yellow check engine light came on. I drove the rest of the way in and as near as I can tell I no longer have any turbo boost. Possibilities include a turbo that has locked up or one of the control valves or hoses has come adrift. I decided to let it be tonight, and as I'll be out of town tomorrow it will have to wait till Friday.

More news as it happens!

The green paint feels like glass now, and the metallic really sparkles in the sunlight! Thanks to Dan for a terrific job!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 13, 2024, 05:34:00 PM
Much improved look.  Will be great at the mini meet.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 15, 2024, 07:00:25 AM
Some pics.....

Yesterday while on FaceTube I came across a 5 sec video of me and Don in the blue Clubby as we cruised past a Chebby pickup with the green car in tow (of course, they spelled it toe!) It was pretty interesting to see yourself in a video! I wish I could post a link but it seems you have to be a member of that page to see it.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/642996692459608/posts/7244249845667560/



Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 15, 2024, 07:02:12 AM
Looks good in the sun  :13: Have you taken it for a drive yet?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 15, 2024, 10:06:10 AM
Trying to find out what happened to the blue MINI's turbo boost......code reader says "boost value implausible"   :grin:

Well, no shit sherlock!
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: cstudep on March 17, 2024, 08:31:39 PM
Car looks great, but there is plenty of evidence out there that we should not expect anything less out of Dan's work.

Not real familiar with the newer MINI's but in the Audi/VW world the "boost value implausible" code usually means an electrical issue, and not an actual turbo issue. Most of the time the problem lies with the boost control position sensor and/or wiring to such. Might be worth looking into to see if the MINI has a similar sensor that could be the issue, they are both German engineered cars after all.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 18, 2024, 07:07:58 AM
Yes, same setup I would bet.....along with an extra dose of "BMW-ishness" just to help complicate things.

I checked the turbo by taking off the intake boot, I can spin the impeller easily and it turns smoothly with no play. However this style of turbo (also used on VWs and many other small displacement cars including my Audi) is known for having the waste gate hanging up and causing this issue - apparently the shaft the waste gate pivots on is simply sent thru a hole in the cast iron body of the turbo and when it wears it binds. They say there's no repair, but it seems to me that a small bushing would do the trick, no idea why they don't use one already.....

I'm not there yet tho.......the weather went from 75* to 25* and tomorrow it's supposed to be 70* again, so I'm on pause till tomorrow.

So far I've checked all the hoses - including all the vacuum hoses that operate the various boost controls and sensors, you can't see any of them of course, as they're mostly under the intake manifold on the back of the engine....so first I just felt around to see if anything had come adrift - no joy there so I pulled the intake manifold off the head and rotated it enough to see that everything that's supposed to be there is (there are 4 small vacuum hoses under the intake, and a few larger ones) and is attached. So once it's warm enough I'll put that back in place and start pulling stuff off around the turbo.

I have a friend whom I used to teach with at JCCC who also was a line tech at the local MINI dealer, he's still at the school and said he's happy to help me when he gets back to work in a couple of days, so I've got some backup there.

To me it's odd that it just dropped the boost while driving like it did, no warning, no degrade in performance first, no weird noises, and in fact it still runs just fine - that's how we got home on the last hour of our trip - just no boost.

Worst case new turbos are available online for about $1K
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 18, 2024, 07:15:13 AM
Time to upgrade the turbo!  Ha
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 18, 2024, 07:16:36 AM
Reposting these in here from my other thread.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 21, 2024, 07:39:24 AM
Pretty pics!

Anyone have any extra Lucas solder on wire ends? The new taillight assemblies come with regular old crimp on butt connectors, but I like to keep thing original. I have plenty of the connectors but I'm out of the ends.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 25, 2024, 12:34:27 PM
I decided to go with the normal lenses instead of the clear ones that are on the car, and I noticed the reflectors looked pretty well......non-reflective, and since I had a set of complete new tail light assemblies - those are going in.

I pulled the new tail light assemblies out of the box and noticed that all they had were bare wires, so I dug around in my bits box and found exactly 8 Lucas bullet ends. Got out my small torch and soldered them onto the bare ends.

Today I pulled the right side off (I have to remove the fuel tank to do the left ones) the car and found - oh crap - it has a molded end with pin connectors. The lights came with a small note in the box and 4 crimp connectors - you're supposed to cut off the connector and crimp it onto the new wires, so that's what I did. Cut off my freshly soldered bullet connectors and crimped on the new wires, then used some heat shrink to seal them off. I also tested them to make sure they all still worked!

Now the fun part, the assemblies come with new body gaskets and they seem to be a little bit smaller than they should be....trying to stretch them enough to get the light assembly base into place is proving to be a right PITA!

Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 26, 2024, 05:56:16 AM
What else is left to do with this car?
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 26, 2024, 07:56:26 AM
Not much, door cards and interior furniture, add some seat extenders, and one more little project that I want to write up after I figure out if it will work or not  :017:

Probably need to check the oil, I'm pretty sure it's fresh, but I can't remember for sure when I last changed it. 

We've been getting a lot of rain, and today it may even snow so I don't mind leaving it indoors till things clear up. Supposed to be in the 70's again later in the week.
Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: MiniDave on March 26, 2024, 05:18:07 PM
I could not get the rubber gasket to stay in place long enough to get the assembly bolted into the car, so I bought some black 3M super gasket adhesive and glued that sucker down, keeping it in place with spring clamps overnight. Today, even tho it was 27 freaking degrees outside, I pulled the clamps off and stuck it in place, the glue held long enough to get it tightened up correctly, so one down.

After that small victory I glued the other one down the same way and it will be the next victim - however, in order to get the left one out and this one in I have to move the fuel tank first. So I'll probably wait till tomorrow to do that. Supposed to get to 50* tomorrow too which will help as I'll need to have the garage door open due to the fumes.

Tried all the lights and they all worked, but I will have to get an electronic flasher as even tho I have a regular bulb in front it still didn't pull enough juice to flash. If it had I would leave the fronts alone, but since I have to change the flasher anyway I'll go ahead and make the front lights LEDs too.

Speaking of LEDs, I decided that even tho I rarely drive at night anymore, I'm going to put some LED bulbs in my Hella H4's.....why not?

I found some door clips so I can mount the door cards back on, and I have new door seals to install too. I haven't located my set of seat extenders yet, but they're here someplace.

Don and I have a Sunday run planned as the weather is supposed to be nice and the following Sunday we have a 300 mile trip with the KC Mini Club, so we both want to make sure everything is up to snuff before we head out on that trip. Since my blue car is still not running right (Rain, freezing cold weather have conspired against me the last week or so and it's outside.) I don't have a way to tow it home if it dies.

Trying to decide if I like the clear lenses or the tri colors better - I think on this green car the triples work better.....

Edit: That is some kinda shiny smooth paint, isn't it?


Title: Re: Racing Green 89 Mini
Post by: 94touring on March 26, 2024, 05:36:33 PM
I prefer those lenses over the clear ones too.  Wax must still be keeping it's smooth shine.