Several of the forum members have met Don Ipock, he has a red Vtec Pup and has been on several of our runs, including our recent foray in Texas.
We've been talking about putting a taller final drive in the Pup since the first day of our trip home to KC from MiniTec in Georgia in 2008, when he bought it - and now it's finally going to happen. About 2 months ago he bought the gears, and now that I have a short break in the shop schedule, we jumped onto it.
We're also looking for reasons why this bastard rattles and vibrates so much (more on that in a minute) - I keep saying Honda's don't buzz and rattle like this, why should the Mini? - to that end I'm also looking at ideas to re-engineer MiniTec's engine steadies and maybe some other parts of the subframe while we have it out and accessible.
Today we got the motor and subframe dropped out - that's the only way the motor will come out BTW - and assembled his new Harbor Freight 1 ton engine hoist. I've had the loan of a buddies 2 ton HF hoist but my shop is so small that storing it became a problem, this one is about 25% smaller in footprint, plus it can live at Don's garage until I need it again.
Once the engine/subframe assembly were out I found several things - the clamp that held the rear engine steady in place was held on with a couple of bolts - and they were loose. Said bolts were completely impossible to reach with the engine in the car BTW, I think some welding may be in order here to make it more permanent. Second, I found where the subframe itself was broken - that HAD to be making some noise too. Third, I found where the subframe was hitting the body - there was a rusty and shiny spot where they'd touched......I don't know if this was an issue or not, but I will fix it while it's out.
Don's going to clean and repaint everything while it's out too.
Next, I'll pull the transmission and install the new gearset, we'll also install a new limited slip device - the one for Honda's is a simple aluminum block, and it can wear and reduce it's effectiveness. MiniTec gets $250 for one of these, Don found the exact same part on Amazon for $17. They don't offer these taller gearsets anymore from any of the vendors we could find online, but one of them had one last set rotting on the shelf and made Don a really good deal on it.....about 1/2 price. Who says procrastination doesn't pay? (I've been trying to get him to do this job for about 8 -10 years now, when we first looked at these gearsets they were $800, I think he paid $400.) Edit: he got a smoking deal on the gears - $200!
While it's out we'll look at the clutch and replace if necessary, and believe it or not the engine has a few oil leaks to address as well, front and rear main seals, new cam belt and seals, new drive belts, plugs and a few other maintenance bits and pieces.
MiniTec told him this was a JDM engine with 30K on it, but he found the VIN tag on the engine and looked it up online - it was from a totaled car in Georgia that had 140K on it, so it now has 170K on it - I guess it's due for some new gaskets and seals. We've debated whether to do a mild overhaul on the engine while it's out, but it still runs strong and doesn't burn oil that we can tell, so I think we'll just go ahead and run it at is it.
He's done 30K on this car since he bought it, I think that's pretty good for a part-time toy car, but once we're done with it this time I expect he'll drive it even more, especially if I can tame the rattles and vibrations + it will be so much more pleasant on the highway if it's not turning 4K RPM.
BTW, any of you Vtec owners want to post up pics of your engine steadies, I could use some inspiration!
Looking forward to seeing more about this. That break in the subframe is strange. How much does the engine/gearbox weigh?
John McGee has his own frame that may be worth considering.
I vote refresh the engine with high comp pistons and a cam.
Yes, I've already talked to John about his, he sent me a couple of pics too. I've also looked at Mike Smith's pics on how he did his....
MiniTec don't do their frame this way anymore either, so I'm looking at their Gen 2 version to see If I can convert this one to a similar design. Those holes are there to pass thru wire, heater hoses and so on - and they are a PITA. It would be much better to have a bar below and a removeable one above, but then I'm not planning to have this out again - ever!
I agree with the mild overhaul - nice 3 angle valve job, new pistons and rings, bearings etc. But he may not have the money to do it right now, and the engine runs fine as it is.
More pics of the teardown later today. Here's a pic of MiniTec's current D series frame design.....and one of John MCgee's frame kit - I like John's better!
If that's the actual mileage on the motor you should check if it has the timing belt. Those are usually a 90K mile item on Honda motors.
We're going to change the cam belt too......
Stupid move for Minitec to lie about the mileage with the WWW at your fingertips and you confirmed it by the engine leaks which usually occur at 100 plus K.
It's strange where the crack in the frame is i would of expected it to be next to the engine mounts.
Maybe do the water pump and if needed the belt tensioner at the same time as the belt.
Hey Dave,
A couple years ago, I changed the final drive in mine as well to a 3.7. It's a good move for sure. I went with the OBX LSD also, not the little aluminum block thing. I'll be interested to hear how that works out for you. Let me know if there is any information I can give, or help in any other way.
Buzz? During engine loads? Could be the engine mount bushing
Current plan for the subframe is to cut the sheet metal web across the back off and replace it with a single piece of square tubing, and from that I'm going to build an engine steady that goes straight down from that cross bar. According to John McGee, he only uses the one engine steady and it works fine.
Today's work - we got the engine and trans out of the subframe, then split the trans off, removed the clutch (disc was worn down almost to the rivets, hard to believe that's a 30K mile clutch) and got the engine mounted up into the engine stand. We had to jury rig the engine stand by setting it on top of the legs of the engine hoist as there was no other way to get the engine on the stand.
We're not going to do an engine overhaul, but we're going to replace the pan gasket, intake and exhaust gaskets, front and rear main seals, water pump and thermostat, cam belt and tensioner, entire clutch assy (although the flywheel looks great)
Then we'll jump into the transmission and change the final drive and replace the stub axle seals and shift seal.
All in all it's quite a bit of work, and I hope he's happy with the final results.
Looking good. Dig the shop footwear.
Those are Don's steel toed Crocs ;D
Today I worked on the subframe, I bought some really thick walled 1" tubing to replace the webbed sheet metal across the back of the subframe. I cut and modified it to fit correctly, measured the distance between the two top bolts and cut the top half of the webbing off, when I measured, the top bolts had moved about 1/4" apart, so I'll have to get my come along on it and pull it back together before I weld the cross bar in.
First pic shows the web cut out - I left two triangle sections to act as gussets, second pic shows the gap I have to pull back before I weld anything up, otherwise it may not fit.
Tomorrow we're planning to open up the transmichigan and change out the final drive gear. Ben, anything we need to watch out for when we do that?
I like that better than the sheet metal web setup.
Also...since things shifted, may not be a bad idea to mount it to the car at all points where it bolts up before welding back up.
Right, I'm going to pull it together with the come-along, then weld the top bar just enough to make sure it won't pop apart again, then fit it in the car. If everything still lines up I'll weld it solid, if not it will be easy to cut it apart and jig it till it fits again.
It took very little to pull the two sides together that 1/8" with my come along.....so today I finished up welding the cross bar into the subframe, then we fit it into the car and the big bolts lined up perfectly, so did the six bolts that attaches the back part of the subframe to the floor.
After that we attacked the front of the motor to change the cam belt, water pump and crankshaft seal - we also pulled the valve cover so we can adjust the valves. The engine is remarkably clean for 170K, routine oil changes really help there, and it still has the original cam belt. The crank seal was definitely leaking, so is the rear main seal. The car also had the original Honda clutch, the disc was worn down to the rivets but they hadn't touched the flywheel yet. Honda clutches definitely last a long time!
Once we're done with the front end we'll have to take it off the stand to remove the rear main seal and reinstall the clutch. At that point the engine part is done and we'll start on the transmichigan, replacing the seals and changing the final drive gears.
Once that's done we can mount the engine assembly back in the subframe and see about building the engine steady. It's getting there......
Do you have a welder or have to borrow one?
I have a little 110V that I've had for decades, still does a nice job doesn't it? It's what I built my Jag with....
Since he had already bought the gasket we pulled the oil pan, plus that let us remove the oil pump housing which held the crank seal, so it was easier to remove and reinstall.
We knocked off for the night, tomorrow we'll change the rear seal, reinstall the oil pan and cam belt, then set the valve clearances. That will pretty much do it for the motor.
Bottom end looks clean too.....
Man that's a lot of parts to put back on!
He should come to the dyno day. You definetly have your work cut out from the looks of it.
He is planning to come to the dyno day.
Today we got a little bit of a late start, but still got quite a bit done. We installed the new oil pan gasket and the pan - we had removed the pan to make it easier to install the front and rear main seals - then flipped the motor over so we could install the new cam belt and tensioner. With that done we swapped out the thermostat, checked the valve clearances and popped the valve cover back on. Don did some more cleaning and finished up the remaining odds and ends. The engine is now ready to come off the stand and be reunited with the transmission.
Tomorrow we tear down the tranny to install the new final drive, then we can set the power unit in the subframe and I can engineer the steady and mount, then it's time to go back in the car.
Today was transmission day......
Taking it apart was the work of a couple of hours, finding all the bits that had to come apart in order to separate the case halves, then once I got the cases apart, then it was time to figure out how to get the gearsets out of the case.
At one point it all just came apart and I had both gearsets lying on the bench.
Next the final drive came out.....one interesting bit of knowledge - the bolts that hold the gear to the hub are left hand thread! I only figured it out after breaking two 3/8" drive sockets.
Getting the final drive on was pretty straightforward, then we had to disassemble the mainshaft and reassemble all the gears onto the new mainshaft. That was the easy part! Don spent a couple of hours thoroughly cleaning the cases and we started putting it back together. The mainshart, all three shifters and the layshaft all come out of the case at one time - which means they all go back in at one time too! Trying to get everything juggled into it's respective place all together was NOT fun, but I did finally get it all slid into place.
However, I'm not happy with the reverse gear, it seems to ride on the 1st gear, so we stopped for the day so I can give it some more thought.
Very interesting. Do you have a Honda manual to guide you?
I may have overlooked it, but what final drive was in it and what are you putting in? 3.7?
Quote from: BruceK on June 24, 2018, 05:06:55 PM
Very interesting. Do you have a Honda manual to guide you?
Sort of, he has downloaded a PDF but it's not very complete or good or easy to read.
Quote from: 94touring on June 24, 2018, 05:31:47 PM
I may have overlooked it, but what final drive was in it and what are you putting in? 3.7?
4.25 going to 3.7
Today was a good day......
I took the gears back out of the trans case, and inserted just the main gear and the reverse - it did not drag. So next I tried putting all the gears and shifter forks in - still no drag???? So I went ahead and assembled the rest of the gearbox. Everything went together fine and we bolted the two halves together.
Next we put the flywheel on and torqued it up, then installed the clutch. The clutch kit Don got not only came with a clutch alignment tools but a new pilot bearing, release bearing and disc and pressure plate. The new disc was slightly larger than the old one too.
Once that was done we manhandled the transmission back onto the engine and bolted her up. Next we fit the subframe onto the motor mounts so I could start figuring out how to build the new engine steady. That's where we left it tonight......
Later tonight I'll cut the old brackets off the subframe so I can start engineering the new ones.
You'll have it done in no time.
Great progress!
That engine looks about the same size as a Mini's - until you hang that gearbox off the end of it!
Same frame as BaHowe...
Ive seen his setup a few times too in various states of repair... A thought we always had and discussions. The REAR flat plates that bolt to the floor... Are these Solid mounted into the Pup? Would a nice rubber isolator help? Strip of Hard rubber? between that mount area and the body? ( I don't think it would hurt in any case. )
I wish you could have driven Howe's car while at CMU for a good Apples to Apples comparison. I know Howe is running urethane bushings vs these Factory rubber mounts.
Me too! I've wondered about those solid floor mounts too - right now they are simply bolted to the floor - but I was thinking that if I got the engine isolated properly it would help. I don't know for example whether the Honda subframe is rubber mounted to the car or solid. I know that the rear engine steady on a Civic is a massive thing, with three rubber bushings (2 engine mount points and 1 frame) so I'm thinking If I can get two steadies in the right orientation it should work. Mike Smith out of Vancouver, BC built his own frame and I've seen how he did it too and I don't think his car vibrates like the bitch this one used to. Changing from the poly motor mounts to factory rubber helped immensely.
I thought Ben's frame was about the same era as Don's, Don got his car in 2008 so it was one of the first D series they did, their current frame looks more like what I'm doing. One thing I would not do is run poly mounts on a 4 cylinder engine!
I would have liked to ride in his car for several reasons, one to see how the taller gears work out and also for the vibes....too bad he lost his brakes, not to mention his alignment was off so the car really squealed around corners. My grandson got to ride with him at least - he was all grins after that!
Don says he's "managing his expectations" but I'm really hoping to tame this thing down to a manageable level.....I'm convinced I can make it better.
Today I started on the engine steady, after several revisions, this is what we decided on for the first one, I'm still trying to see if I can figure out a second one. the way the engine runs, it will be pulling downward on this one so it will be in tension not, compression.
Should do the job. Looks very good. 4.gif
Today I worked on getting a second engine steady engineered, I think the one would suffice but if one is good, two is better. ;D
The big problem was where to locate it on the engine, since I had one at the transmission end I thought one at the opposite end of the engine and up near the head would be a good choice. I found a 10mm bolt that was only used to support the end of the intake manifold but it was tight, very little room to locate a bracket, so this is what I made....and where it goes. Once that was done it was just a matter of shortening the double ended steady and rewelding it in the right orientation, then making and welding a bracket on the frame to receive the other end and we're done.
Don is cleaning and repainting the subframe this afternoon, so tomorrow if the paint is dry we'll put it all back together and back in the car. Finger's crossed it will all fit OK.
Does the bracket still leave you room to get that lower intake nut on and tight?
Yes............barely! ::) I'll probably need to use an open end wrench rather than a socket, but there might be room for a Snap-On socket to get on the nut.
What I'll probably do is install the manifold first, then the steady bracket. Then if I need to I can always grind a little off the edge of the bracket.
Another banner day on the Pup!
First we got the subframe installed on the engine, then we installed the suspension and hubs..... this is a very fiddly job as there are four pivot points all with heim joints and all using shoulder bolts and spacers.
Once those were done we installed as many ancillaries as we could, then rolled it under the engine commpartment. Things got slow then as the engine hoist wouldn't fit around the cribbing we had the assembly sitting on, it took over an hour fiddling with the cribbing, floor jack and engine hoist before we got it lifted back into place, but she's in now!
All the modifications we did to the subframe look like they will work beautifully, and the rest will go together easily if slowly.
One minor setback, Don managed to break one of the custom MiniTec spec front ss brake hoses so we may be stuck till they can ship us one, and they're not the most responsive when it comes to customer's needs - especially on a holdiay week. However, I may have figured out a way to work around the problem with some bits and bobs I have on hand - we'll see tomorrow.
A few pics of Don fiddling with the suspension and the final pic of the subframe mods I did.
No way to use a standard mini hose? I'd hate having some hose that's rarer than hens teeth to have to replace.
No, it won't clear the suspension arms on turns, it's a PITA as he's broken one before, they're not fragile but if you don't get it set just right when you turn the wheels it breaks the hose end off the hose. If my idea works, he'll be able to use std Mini SS brake lines......
As it is, when we took the engine out we had to cut the brake line that feeds the rear brakes as it would not clear the frame, today I re-flared the stub and we used a coupler so we'll never have that problem again.
You guys have really made a lot of progress in a short time. Fingers crossed that most of the NVH issues go away.
The engine does not move, so now I'm concerned it may be too tightly controlled. We'll see tomorrow.....we had left it hanging on the two big bolts, but tonight I decided to go ahead and bolt up the six smaller bolts that hold the rear part of the subframe to the body, so I did that tonight, now it's solid.
I would think so long as you have rubber bushings it will be just fine.
For the brake hose, spend some time exploring JEGS.com for what they may have. They carry almost all of the various ends (caliper to frame) needed in varying lengths.
This search results might give a start: https://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchResultsPageCmd?Ntt=Brake+caliper+hose&N=&Ns=P_Price%7c0&Nrpp=&Tab=SKU&storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&No=0 (https://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SearchResultsPageCmd?Ntt=Brake+caliper+hose&N=&Ns=P_Price%7c0&Nrpp=&Tab=SKU&storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&No=0)
Other than the NVH there really won't be any difference in how the car sounds or drives - well that and the taller gears I guess. The main thing is we cured a number of oil leaks and did maintenance that will take him thru the next 30K miles. I'm hopeful that the car will be as much or more fun to drive now, I can tell you those buzzes and vibrations were more than annoying - to the point of not wanting to drive the car except for short blasts around town. It should be a whole lot quieter now and be a better highway cruiser. We'll see, maybe even later today......
Today is tidy up and finish day - there are about a million electrical connectors to match up, all the plumbing to reinstall, a brake line to fix, then flush and bleed the whole system. Lastly I'll do the intake installation while he does the exhaust and shift linkage under the car, and a bunch of other small bits and bobs, then it will be time to see if it all works. Fingers crossed but barring something unforeseen I expect him to drive it home this afternoon.
While Don was busy with finding where all the wiring connectors go, I worked on the broken brake line. I had a regular Mini stainless line in stock but it has a male end. Don's brakes have a banjo fitting at a slight angle to provide clearance for the line to the suspension members, especially at full lock - the fitting also has a male end. MiniTec had grafted a female end onto a regular Mini SS brake hose - it is this little end that always breaks (he's broken one once before). My solution was to use a regular line with a female/female union between them, and it looks like it's all going to clear in both locks and in full suspension movement. Result! as Edd Chinar would say. ;D
A few pics to show what I mean....
I'd say that's an improvement.
Today is finish day, Don got called away early yesterday and as I'm letting him do all the electrical ( he took it apart and took notes and pics of what went where) we're almost ready to button it up. Still to do, tidy up some loose wires with zip ties, install the downpipe and new flex joint in the exhaust, while he's doing that I'll install the intake (as I took it off and took no notes or pics of where anything went ::) ;D ) then all we'll have left is to fill the coolant, oil and fill and bleed the brakes - oh and re-install the coilovers. Then, turn the key and see if he lets the smoke out or if it will run!
More this afternoon. 77.gif
Soooo close.
Don got called away to a family emergency so I carried on best I could. I got everything done except installing the A/C compressor, shocks and bleeding the brakes and clutch.
I took a pic of the mess of pipes, hoses, wires and what have you under the intake manifold, once you get the manifold in place and tightened down there's no room to get your hands in there to hook stuff up again. You think an A series in a Mini is tight! I only drew blood a couple of times.... ::)
Tomorrow I have to work so it will be Wed before I get back to it.
Done tomorrow? Does he know I'm challenging him to a duel once I'm on the road?
Edit: on the road Wednesday.
No, but I'll tell him! 77.gif
Dave,
You guys are amazingly fast! It's gotten busy for me with a couple international work trips, but I thought I still had time to respond... so much for that! (not that I would have been able to provide you any help) Well done sir.
I think he'll really like the taller final drive, but he will probably just go that much faster to where he is at the same RPMs. --Sorta what I do.
So why did the clutch wear like that?
Doesn't feel fast, we've been at it for two weeks now..... 8.gif
I think it was the original clutch,, so it has 170K on it, not too bad then, right?
We do have one electrical connector we're puzzling over, it's got three connectins and the body is square or rectangular - we haven't found where it goes yet......we have all the connectors accounted for other than this one. Looking at old pics from when it was new, it appears to come out with the main harness and go straight down the back of the engine - to where we haven't quite puzzled out.
It's the one laying on the valve cover in this pic.....
Could it go down the back to the transmission - speed sensor connection for ECU or speedometer?
Possible, but he already has one connected there......and I think it had more than three wires in it. But it does seem to go to that area.....we thought it might be for the O2 sensor, but that one has 4 wires and again he already has one connected there.
We have yet to find an open, unconnected place to land it.......
Well, the other thing is to trace back where that wire goes.
Into the main harness......I think it's a fuel injection control of some sort, just haven't found it yet.
Today we're determined to make some 4th of July noise ourselves!
Don will be by in a bit and we'll finish buttoning up the Pup and see if it will pop off.
Yesterday we moved 37 cars in 100+ degree heat, doesn't seem like any big deal till you realize I drove over 500 miles yesterday and never left town - each trip is 35 miles one way and I moved 8 cars - do the math. It wasn't too bad till late in the day when I got that one car with no A/C.....surprised me too because it was an '08 Honda Civic, rare to have A/C fail in one of those. Drove two older Mercedes SLK - weird how we get pairs of cars like this.
On to the Pup then......
We talked it over and decided the extra connector went to the speedo sensor on the transmission......our logic went like this - since he has an aftermarket speedo it doesn't use the ECU connection to feed the speedo info, so Mini Tec made up their own harness for the Autometer speedo and the OEM one simply wasn't used. There is no other 3 prong square connector anywhere on the engine and it fits perfectly.......so that's what we did. We'll know later today.
Quote from: MiniDave on July 04, 2018, 08:47:56 AM
We talked it over and decided the extra connector went to the speedo sensor on the transmission......our logic went like this - since he has an aftermarket speedo it doesn't use the ECU connection to feed the speedo info, so Mini Tec made up their own harness for the Autometer speedo and the OEM one simply wasn't used. There is no other 3 prong square connector anywhere on the engine and it fits perfectly.......so that's what we did. We'll know later today.
Your reasoning seems solid. Now go tell the Pickup and see if it agrees.
Almost there, still have to bleed the brakes and clutch......
First start!
Still have a fluid leak on the front brakes - not at the new line, although I did have to swap that too as the other one leaked at the subframe fitting - don't know WHAT was up with that but changing the line fixed that leak. Got the clutch bled out no problem, rear brakes bled out no problem. Just got to get this pesky leak in the fronts fixed, it's leaking at the T fitting that goes to the left and right front calipers. Unfortunately it's buried under the intake manifold......gonna be a bitch kitty to get at now....
I'm chuffed that it started on the first turn of the key, clutch works, gears shift smoothly, all the instruments work (except the speedo - he didn't look at it) and there was no noticeable vibration. That's not to say it's cured, but I'm convinced it's going to be leaps and bounds better than it was. Only took 10 years for him to let me fix it for him..... ::) 77.gif
You and brake leaks!
Awaiting the report on the new gearing once it's road worthy.
Congratulations! Always a great feeling when it starts right up after a rebuild!
Dave,
What were the wire colors on that connector?
I made my own harness, so I may or may not be able to help. I will certainly look tonight though. If it's anything like mine, the gearbox that was for that original engine had a cable speedometer, so I switched it over to electric VSS.
Sounds good!! Two weeks is nothing for all the work you guys did. I think I had my gearbox open for a month - but I didn't order parts until I had it open and figured out what I needed. Did you guys replace any synchros or gears while in there?
I think we have the wiring sorted, the wire colors were yellow, black and white but they are a made up harness, not OEM. We decided it went to the speed sensor on the trans, this one did not use a cable, but a transducer.
We did not replace any gearbox innards, before we took it apart it shifted fine, and all the bearings were smooth so we reused everything - even the bar of soap limited slip thingy.
He ran it thru the gears in the start up video and it shifted easily and cleanly.
Now if I can get the brake lines to stop leaking I'm calling it good!
Final report - the Pup is finished!
I tried 4 times to make a short brake line to connect between the bulkhead and the T fitting on the subframe and failed miserably - I decided it was the tool rather than the operator, so I rented a flare tool from another parts store - bingo - first time it worked perfectly.
Once we had all the leaks stopped it was just a matter of bleeding the brakes and putting the wheels back on.....the vid is of the first drive today - it ran perfectly.
Verdict? the car is transformed to use Don's words, It's like an actual Civic now, smooth and quiet with no vibrations, buzzes or rattles. He also likes the new final drive ratio tho we may have to go to poly bushes in the engine steadies as he thinks it moves around a little too much. I have a set and he can change them at his leisure at his house as they're easily reachable now.
Great. 4.gif
Congratulations! Job well done. (And I like the surprise appearance of the Midget in the video).
He's thrilled, he even took a short run up the highway, speedo is still accurate so apparently he has a GPS type speedo.....significant RPM improvement on the highway - 55 mph is 2200, 70 is 3200 down from about 4K, 80 is 3600 so it will now be an easy highway car - coupled with the quiet and smooth instead of noisy and buzzy - the only negative is the cramped interior but he seems to fit it fine. With the bonnet off it seems to run quite a bit cooler - don't know if that's because it's getting better airflow or if the new water pump and thermostat are helping. He says the brakes feel a lot better too - we didn't do anything to them save new fluid and a thorough bleed. We'll know more after he puts the hood and grill back on. Considering just how many different things we worked on, clutch, cam belt, cooling system, brakes, transmission I'm pleased that we really had no problems save MiniTecs crappy brake lines, and now I've fixed those too. We also cured all his oil leaks along the way.....it's like a new car - or at least the way he hoped it would be all those years ago when he bought it! ;D
Overall I'm calling it a success! 77.gif
Sounds good Dave. How'd the torque steer turn out with the bar of soap when you nail it?
I notice you guys also added a little radiator air scoop. What fan is he running?
Virtually no torque steer once I got the alignment set right.....a little in first but not much and none after that.
The little scoop might help get more air into the rad, it has a stock Honda fan behind the radiator. It runs about 190* unless he's sitting at a long light then it goes up to about 210 where the fan kicks on. It also has a small flap on the wheel well side pointing to the rear to help guide the air thru the rad.....
Nice work, a lot of issues sorted well done.
Thanks, it was a lot of work, but like you said a lot of issues that got sorted once and for all. He's already done 30K in it and I expect he'll do a lot more now that it's so much more pleasant to drive. I just wish I fit in it! ::) 77.gif
Between this car and his Midget, his '06 JCW sometimes sits for months......
Short update on the Pup, while the engine steadies I built worked perfectly to cure the engine NVH, they don't control the motion of the engine correctly. The problem is I stopped the top of the engine from rotating back and forth, but the big soft stock motor mounts allow the bottom of the engine to swing, so I'll have to engineer a different one for the fore/aft motion at the bottom of the engine.
I already know how I'm going to build it, and I think that will do it once and for all. Just need to get the Bugeye off the lift and out of the shop so I can get the Pup back in. In the meantime Don is absolutely loving the Pup now, he says it's like a completely different car and he's extremely happy with our work. On top of that, it hasn't leaked a drop of oil since we finished it. 4.gif
Today I built the lower engine steady for the Pup, it took a LOT of engineering and all afternoon today but once done it worked a treat. We put the regular rubber bushes in and it still had a bit of movement so we changed those out to the poly bushes and now it doesn't move one whit. I was concerned that he might have some NVH with those but after a short drive around the block he said it was perfect. Absolutely no movement and no more NVH. He says the car is a dream to drive now compared to before now with the taller diff ratio and all the buzzes and vibes gone and he loves it again....
RESULT! as Edd and Ant would say......
Glad to hear your improvements, were improvements. ;D
I can't wait to drive it, but we're supposed to have rain till Sunday....
I'm almost ready to race him.
Ha! Maybe at Dyno Day? Jesse's shop is kinda out in the country.....
Well placed another small order of must needed parts today. Back at day Job #1 and looking like I have 9 working days to get it on the road by then. I can of course always paint the extras later too. Want to get some mileage on it for break prior to the dyno, and that's doable. I guess this coming week I should toss in the shifter and get my axles in there so it turns some rubber. I can toss enough glass in temporarily to keep my headliner from getting abused by wind.
Don's ready to give you a run....but I really doubt you can beat his Pup after I drove it today - sucker runs strong! With your short gears you'll be in 4th before he gets out of second! ;D
We will see!
I guess this will have to wait till the April Restoration Mini anniversary meet up, but having driven both now I have to say it's going to be a close race - at least to 100 mph, where he still has plenty of legs and you'll be out of rpms. So - make it a 0-100 race! ;D
Having been 100 in mine, I don't want to go faster! Butt dyno test on my wheels tomorrow!
Don got the Pup out of winter slumber and brought it by so I could finish the last engine steady - when I first built it the auto lens in my helmet died so I was welding blind....
I went back over the welds, gave it a shot of paint and Don popped it back in the Pup.
He also swapped his good tires on so he's ready for the trip to Tulsa next week!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/4341/37403578592_3291a0eb78.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YZe7N5)mini engine mount (https://flic.kr/p/YZe7N5) by joa kwin (https://www.flickr.com/photos/153125896@N06/), on Flickr
here's how I did my rear engine steady, it bolts to the back of the block, with two bolts
Did MiniTec modify a mini pickup tank or does it have a fuel cell?
The D series doesn't need a real high pressure fuel pump, it has a standard Mini tank with a 75 psi pump and a return line that was plumbed thru the sender plate
After the problems he had with overheating on the Pup this summer, and faced with the possibility of having to replace the motor, Don decided he needed a lift - plus it would make life easier for all the maintenance on all of his LBC's so he bit the bullet and bought a MaxJax lift. They sell two versions of this lift, one with manual safeties, where you put a pin in a hole - that one only has two lift positions. The other has automatic safeties much like any two post lift, and has 7 lock positions - that's the one he bought. He got the install done and put the Pup on the lift and raised it up.....and there it stuck.
I went over today to see if I could help at least get it down again, and found that he hadn't greased the slides - we were able to get it up higher and grease below it, and with judicious use of a big crowbar managed to get it down again, that way he could grease the upper areas. We then raised it up again and let it down repeatedly till it started to move smoothly. Job done and nothing damaged! 77.gif
All the way up it's 45" to the bottom of the arms, which allows you to sit on a roll around seat and do pretty much anything under the car.
Looks real nice. Is it bolted to the floor?
Yes, you set anchors in the floor and bolt the stands down, but they have wheels and if you remove a few bolts you can roll them aside so they don't take up any room.
Nice lift.
It amazes me how i worked on cars so long without mine but of course i was a lot younger, just having it the right height when working under the bonnet so as not to bend over so much is a blessing.