I did two things, I had an old tach laying about so I fabbed up some leads so I can use it when setting the timing or idle on a car without either having to have an extra set of hands or running back to look at the dash every time I make an adjustment.
Second, I fixed my auto darkening welding helmet. The batteries had been in a long time and had corroded, I had to take the mechanism apart to clean the contacts and get the corrosion out. While I had it apart I thoroughly cleaned all the lenses too. I've had this helmet for about 20 years and I think I've only changed the batteries twice!
I have a couple of small welding jobs to do the next few days so I needed it working. I tried using my hand held regular mask and couldn't see shit. The auto helmet is not only easier to use, but I added a magnifying lens too to aid my poor eyesight.
Auto darkening helmet is the way to go. Every few to handful of years I wear my hf one out and buy another. I need to add a tach to my car but not sure where I want to mount it.
Took the Moke out for a short drive.
Quote from: 94touring on September 23, 2018, 12:15:41 PM
Auto darkening helmet is the way to go. Every few to handful of years I wear my hf one out and buy another. I need to add a tach to my car but not sure where I want to mount it.
Mine was fairly expensive back in the day, about $150....but it's held up really well so the extra money was worth it compared to buying a new one every few years.
Yeah, you need a tacho, this engine will probably rev comfortably to 7500. You need to know where you are in the rev range. I may have a spare 80mm Smiths - if I can find it.
Just placed an order for a 52mm gauge with mount I can probably adhere to the steering column. Digital too.
Too small to read for my tired old eyes! 77.gif
Ha, yeah I didn't want anything big mounted on the column. The car had came with one but it was huge and I took it out. 52mm is the same as oil and water gauges, same as the gauges in my rx7 too.
I had a 52mm in Buzz too, in the dash.
It was rainy and cool this weekend - only in the 70s which is a big change - so I finally got my car all put back together and took it out for a drive. It had the lovely smell of fresh paint baking on the engine. Reminds me of the smell of an engine after a rebuild, but I just did a paint in place. Same effect. I think I need to re-bleed the brakes again. They are okay, but not great. With the new MS intake manifold, the carb might be hitting the firewall. I'll have to look at that. I'm running the Evaporust solution with distilled water trying to clean out the cooling system. Says to give it at least 3 or 4 hours running time before I drain it out and see the results.
Saw that minidave had replaced the batteries in his welding helmet and since mine quit working I looked at replacing mine. Except that mine is a cheap helmet and the unit is sealed. A replacement part cost the same as a new helmet so I may have to buy new.
I checked dave's helmet and it is a variable unite and costs about $175 but takes AAA batteries. I may spring for one of these.
I did take the sealed unit apart (youtube helped). It has two 3V coin Litium ion batteries (CR2330) soldered in. One was dead and the other read 3V so one may be ok. I may try to bandaid this one with a $4 battery if I can make good contact.
I buy those HF ones for rough jobs around the shop welding under cars, tight spaces and such where they get scratched up and beat up they are actually pretty good units. I have a miller digital elite for tig and other fine work but at $400 im not about to drag it around on the floor.
The helmet Dave has seems like a really good deal I think I will buy one for home and try it out maybe start replacing the HF units with them. Jackson was always the go-to in standard helmets I have several and they have been really good.
I'm not actually all that impressed with my Miller helmet anyway its ok but for the price it should be great.
This would be a good discussion to continue in the shop tools thread. some reviews of various helmets.
What I did in the shop today.
We had some friends over and Len was really into my old engines so we got out and ran the 1903 root and vandervoort 2hp, 1931 economy 5hp, 1947 international lb 2.5 hp, and the maytag model 72.
Played with the classic mini and finished the install of the custom auto sound radio for the 50 chevy truck.
Love those old stationary engines!
I've only had mine 20 years, not 30....but this is only the 3rd set of batteries! Of course, I don't use it everyday either.....the magnifying lens really helps too. I was getting some terrible welds and couldn't understand why, then I figured out I couldn't see what I was welding - basically I was welding blind! No wonder they were wandering off all over the place!
I'm working from home today which means I can poke around in the garage at lunchtime. Even though I had not given it the 3 or 4 hours per the directions, I decided to drain out the Thermocure from Evaporust in my car's cooling system cleaner anyway. (they sure like the very 50's naming convention of putting an "O" in the middle of the name!) One bottle of the stuff is supposed to treat cooling systems up to 3 gallons, so with the Mini's small capacity I only used a half bottle along with distilled water, figuring I'd attack it twice.
Let me just say, HOLY CRAP. This was on a cooling system I had flushed with water extensively and which had "a lot of mud", as Dave says. I had also pulled the radiator and the heater matrix and flushed those additional times when they were out of the car. I could get only clear water out of the Mini's cooling system before I added the stuff.
After only about 90 minutes of running time - but at least a week of sitting in the cooling system with the car parked - I drained and this crap came out. It's not even rusty brown, its mostly black. I put some of what I drained out in this jug so you could see the color. Since this stuff is non-toxic I didn't worry about cleanup and just hosed off what I spilled on my driveway and let it run into the grass.
I think I've seen that Magtag unit installed in the back end of some fancy German car! ;D ;D
(https://cdn1.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_fan_belt/911_fan_belt_pic4_big.jpg)
Holy Crap is right! The coolant in the Racing Green still looks green in the radiator so I'm guessing it's OK, when I put coolant in the Bugeye it turned brown as soon as I started the car, so I kept flushing it till it was clear too, but it looks like I may not have gotten it as clean as I thought given this result.
I added the 2nd half of the bottle and more distilled water and this time I'll give it at least the 3 to 4 hours per the directions and see what I get back out.
Quote from: BruceK on September 24, 2018, 11:30:19 AM
I added the 2nd half of the bottle and more distilled water and this time I'll give it at least the 3 to 4 hours per the directions and see what I get back out.
Holy crap, part II. This was the result of using the second half of the bottle mixed with distilled water and about 3 hours of running time, drained out. I poured part of it in this jug. I had flushed and flushed and the water was coming out clear before I added the stuff in again. And this is how it came out - it found more rust and corrosion the second time. So when I got this out I of course flushed again until clear with hose water. Then I flushed with distilled water. Then i added 50/50 distilled water and Prestone. I am counting on the rust inhibitors in the antifreeze to do their job. But geez, just running plain water in the cooling system of a Mini (as this car came from England) is just a recipe to totally screw up your cooling system.
Looks oil, black gold, Texas tea, coolant that is.
Looks like dark brown muddy water when it's coming out of the cooling system. I'm a believer in this product. I'll definitely use it again.
Put ISO grips on my bike. 4.gif Throttle boss on the right hand one. 77.gif
Yeah, I know...not Mini related. :-[
Some time spent in the shop every day since last Sunday and all of last Sunday cleaning mouse nest from the 2013 mini countryman.
Got in the car last Sunday to go to the store turned on the heater and paper pieces blew out of the vent all over the car fan didn't sound right.
Got home pulled open the cabin air filter access and a damn mouse had chewed through the filter and made a nest soon as i turned on the fan sucked in part of the nest.
So I thought about just getting rid of the car but we really like it so the work began pulled out the heater fan and then the heater core. I do have to give Mini credit easiest heater core on the planet to change about time engineers thought about it I can remember pulling the whole dash in many cars honda was the worst.
About half the nest was stuck in the evaporator for the a/c I sprayed it down with bleach and then blew it out with compressed air from the heater core hole and sucked it up with the shop vac through the blower motor resistor hole.
ordered a new fan the nest broke the wheel on the original one when it sucked it up. I broke the right apron cover over the battery I was so pissed off when removing it I got in a hurry and well yea anyway I ordered one of those and a new cabin air filter along with the expensive pentision coolant to replace what I lost removing the core.
The last Parts came in yesterday finished reassembling the car today it all seems good and I don't think I got Haunta virus so I may Live a while longer it was a deer mouse that got in.
I added a screen so they can not get to the fresh air intake again and about $100.00 of mouse traps to the garage.
F*&^%$# Mouse.
I do know that moth balls will keep mice & rats out. They don't like the smell. Saves on cleaning up the traps.
I usually buy a box for the apartment garage and scatter about half around the edges of the walls along the floor.
I used to do that when I had all of my stuff in storage units at various times. Kept the little critters out of everything.
My Pickup is in Jack stands in the garage, Wife losing patience, wants it done, I just toss the middle finger at it every time I look at it.
Ironic an Electric car sits next to it every day.
The punch out list is short, I am planning on dropping the exhaust to finish the shifter linkage, (thanks everyone for the heads up!!.... not!) then get it dropped on the ground and finish the back suspension and brakes.
I am just so busy at work when I am home I am flat out knackered and do not want to do anything, OR I have more paperwork to do.
Good news is my receivables at work at breaking records, I have not seen receivables like this is over 10 years!! My Business account is back to where it was in 2005 and my personal savings is the same. So there is that.
Now to find time to play car again.
Did the same thing on my shift lingage a few weeks ago, and I know what I'm doing! All you probably need to do is loosen the headers enough so they push out of the way by the lingage bolt. At least on mine I had just enough room that they didn't need to fully come out.
After stripping all the bit's off Clancy's suspension parts I spent a couple of hours today cleaning tools and putting them away. I'm also gathering all the tools and bits I need to go down to Dan's shop and do some electrical work on the 66 S for him.
I pulled my car, which had accumulated 1000 miles of road grime being flat towed on wet and dirty roads, out into the driveway this evening and gave her a good bath. She's clean and shiny once again. Always a satisfying task.
Quote from: Jims5543 on October 07, 2018, 06:31:48 PM
My Pickup is in Jack stands in the garage, Wife losing patience, wants it done, I just toss the middle finger at it every time I look at it.
Ironic an Electric car sits next to it every day.
The punch out list is short, I am planning on dropping the exhaust to finish the shifter linkage, (thanks everyone for the heads up!!.... not!) then get it dropped on the ground and finish the back suspension and brakes.
I am just so busy at work when I am home I am flat out knackered and do not want to do anything, OR I have more paperwork to do.
Good news is my receivables at work at breaking records, I have not seen receivables like this is over 10 years!! My Business account is back to where it was in 2005 and my personal savings is the same. So there is that.
Now to find time to play car again.
We are also off the charts busy how much help do you have I finally hired another office person and another shop helper so I could get back to semi-normal hours and I pretty much refuse to bring work home with me other than returning a few emails or something.
We could be doing even better but I just don't have it in me like you after a 16+ hour day everyday im done. Considering doing a business valuation and maybe selling it depending on numbers. Not sure what id do next.
If the new hires work out I'll be more inclined to keep doing it we'll see.
Now back to what did I do in my shop today.
I took apart the core transmission I bought for the 50 Chev project its a late model 92-93 700r4 they are automatic with 4th being an overdrive.
It appears to have never been rebuilt and all the hard parts are good I couldn't be happier very good core to get. I ordered an HD rebuild kit new, converter mild stall with lockup, a heavy duty sun shell they are the weak link in these transmissions, and a shift improver kit. Also had to get parts to convert it to mechanical speedometer drive.
Hopefully, it all be here next week so I can get it reassembled.
I made an empty space in my garage by taking my car out of this afternoon. Ran about 20 miles to get a burger with my wife. Of course when I started out I had a clean car and the weather was perfect. So it had to rain on the way home and get my car dirty again.
Took the FJ Cruiser to the body shop next to my storage to respray the hood and one of the quarter panels where the clear is coming undone.
I picked up the E21 and replaced the alternator and the trunk gasket in preparation to put it up for sale. Ad coming soon.
I am waiting a week to place the ad since I am stumped by an AC abnormality. Once I sort that out, hopefully be weeks end it will be up for sale.
Oh, I gave the Mini Pickup the finger while I worked on the E21.... That should count for something.
Took the Moke and got the front aligned.
On the fronts, I had the caster ok, but the camber was too much negative (~ -1.5*). They reset the camber to -0.5*, the caster to +3.1*, and the toe to 0.1* out (each side).
The rears were about right: the left was -0.3 camber and 0.15* toe in, the right had too much toe in and got reset to -0.6* camber and 0.13* toe in.
It is hard to tell the difference by feel, but it should be much nicer to its tires now.
Just have to take it to get the two worn tires replaced. The replacement tires arrived today, so that will get done before a couple of shows this weekend.
I did a little ZTR work, the battery was dead cause the last time I used it was in either July or August - we bought a fancy schmancy lithium ion jump battery for Rose to carry in the Audi, but it was also dead when I got out there so I had to use the fallback jumper cables. Once started I mowed the acreage and got it onto the trailer to tow it home.
At home I changed the oil and filter, cleaned the air cleaner element, sharpened the blades and aired up the tires on the mower and the trailer. Checked the trailer bearings and then mowed the yard at the house. Then took it back to the country, turned the gas off so it doesn't flood, and covered it for the winter.
On the way home I got the bride's car filled up and washed as it's our 24th anniversary today.
Happy anniversary!!
Happy 24!
Great, Happy 24 and many more.
Decided to sell the house on three acre lot we have in Tyler and move to Bullard (20 miles south) to housee with 3/4 acre. Going from a 40x50 shop to a 16x24 dettached garage so need to eventually sell the 36HP John Deere 1010 tractor, a 1962 built. I haven't used it very much in the last two years and it hasn;t run very well and could qualify as a barn find. Anyway I decided to clean it up and get it running better.
So I loaded it on the trailer and brought it down to the local car wash pressure washer to clean off years of crud as it was being used as a working tractor. I was kinda thinking about evaluating it for a respray after cleaning. Photo shows after prerssure wash without the hood/bonnet/lid whatever its called. The fan belt was original and it had disintegrated so needed to get replaced. Believe it or not you have to take the lid off to slide back the fan shroud to get a new one on. It doesn't have the cutout the the mini has to slip past the fan tip. So i removed the lid before photo and cleaned it after tuning the tractor.
After a few false starts I got the engine to run excellently. Plenty of power and starts real well. Pretty much tuned it to specs, may have to recheck the timing but accereration and carburation seem to be right on. Idles at 600 RPM and WOT at 2200 RPM. It's a tractor.
I bought the tractor about ten years ago and picked it up in Alpharetta GA. I bought it as low hours. PO claimed it only had total 400 hrs (Hour Meter) Now the hour meter has a little more that 500 hrs. With that in mind i looked at the condition and concluded that 500 hrs. may be true. Very little wear in any component. Mechanically the tractor is topnotch. The paint condition is the major problem. A decent paint job would help immensely. To do it properly would require almsot complete removal of components, almost complete disassembly. I'm not prepared to go this route so was considering selling as a potential collectible/working tractor( as is; original condition).
I have restored several things and have always preferred oniginal condition without seller adding lipstick(paint) to make it look good.
There is minor sheet metal work on the lid (creases and a small dent). Worst part condition is the seat. The original deluxe seat is cracked under the seat cushion and needs welding and new cushions.
Mostly it needs a good paint job.
Day two of extensive cleaning. Hauled two truck loads of trash and debri out yesterday. Rearranged things in the shop since I'm not sure how it got so cluttered. Moved the pickup shell beside the clubby shell, then brought forward the one work bench. Have an aisle between the clubby and truck to get to the back shelves. Bumped into my air line coming into the shop and BOOM 120 gallons of air at 175psi came rushing in. Gotta fix this now.
Replaced an old rotten broken door with a nice new steel clad one......however, I think my wife was right, I miss the windows. That end of the shop is very dark now, and I can't peek out to see what the dogs are doing in the back yard.
I really like a lot of natural light in the house and shop - I would prefer to at least have a row of windows in the overhead garage doors, if not some of those all glass ones you see at oil change shops. I do have one window in the side wall, but that's all.
It's also interesting that a door that measures exactly the same does not fit the opening the same, so I'll be adding some trim and weatherstripping to seal it up. The new door does make it a lot quieter than the old one - not only could the air come thru it, so did the noise!
Quote from: MiniDave on November 17, 2018, 09:21:54 AM
Replaced an old rotten broken door with a nice new steel clad one......however, I think my wife was right, I miss the windows. That end of the shop is very dark now, and I can't peek out to see what the dogs are doing in the back yard.
I really like a lot of natural light in the house and shop - I would prefer to at least have a row of windows in the overhead garage doors, if not some of those all glass ones you see at oil change shops. I do have one window in the side wall, but that's all.
It's also interesting that a door that measures exactly the same does not fit the opening the same, so I'll be adding some trim and weatherstripping to seal it up. The new door does make it a lot quieter than the old one - not only could the air come thru it, so did the noise!
So... I stand by my earlier prediction about a window being added to that door! ;D
I will be replacing the door handle on my Tacoma for the 4th time in 2 years next weekend.
It is a serious design flaw, the material where the handle connects to the mechanism is too thin and starts cracking then breaks.
I felt it starting to go and keep 2 spares on the shelf now, this has turned into a routine maintenance item.
I went to pick my son up Friday morning, I was in his driveway. I got out of the truck with the keys in ignition. When I went to get back in the handle broke.
I did not have time for this, the passenger door was locked and now I was locked out.
I took a hammer and smashed the handle so I could reach the mechanism and get in. LOL!! The handle is toast anyway why be nice?
I am out of town for the holidays, will address when I get back Friday.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-GZhtzb4/0/c4168302/XL/i-GZhtzb4-XL.jpg)
Not a shop, but the accommodations for this winter.
Somehow, my very large main snowblower (13hp. 45" cut, dual wheels) got it's auger belt fraggled all up underneath the auger brake and off the idler pulley. No idea how this happened, but I was blowing very heavy wet snow and some icy slushy crap can make it's way past the plastic guard and into this area once it backs up in the chute. That's my best guess.
Got it apart, then got a part.(a belt)(lol) Now have to split this beast of a blower and put the belt in the right place.
ARGH ! I love snow...................NOT
Somehow, I seemed to have crack'r wide open ! LOL
That is some serious snowblowing equipment.....I don't think I want to live where you need equipment like that!
It's New Brunswick.....we get SERIOUS winters here. We've already have more than a foot of snowfall and more than a month until winter even STARTS !
68.gif
A few years ago the bride and I planned a weeklong trip to PEI and Cape Breton around our wedding anniversary in late Oct, as we were planning she was looking at maps of the area on Google earth and I pointed out all the "white" areas, she said "oh that's just sand" ;D
I suggested it might be something a little colder than that so we rented a 4X4 just in case. As it turned out the weather was in the 50's most of the time and sunny.......
Making a speedo that will go in the moke. I am changing the FD to 3.44 so need a speedo/odo that will work with it. So took the guts out of a 1280 unit, strip and clean and hopefully back together. This will go in a MKI face/housing. Took the odo completely apart to clean it and reset to all zeros. Needed several times to get it back right to work. Testing to verify it works. New jewels coming for the dial face along with a new chrome surround.
Where do you get new jewels for the faces?
How's the paint job coming?
Engine rebuild?
The trans from Guessworks finally showed up so now Steve Gibbs, CooperTune, will build the engine. I was supposed to have it by last Easter!!!
Have a fair bit of bodywork to do as they sent me a MK2 shell instead of a MK1. :-[ So will be awhile till paint sadly.
The jewels came off an ebay seller.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=282662066803
Wow, how in the world did you find those? I never would have expected to be able to buy those, let alone for $15 shipped......
What's the difference between Mk1 and MkIIMoke shells? Was it their screwup or ????
Quote from: BruceK on November 17, 2018, 10:26:36 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on November 17, 2018, 09:21:54 AM
Replaced an old rotten broken door with a nice new steel clad one......however, I think my wife was right, I miss the windows. That end of the shop is very dark now, and I can't peek out to see what the dogs are doing in the back yard.
I really like a lot of natural light in the house and shop - I would prefer to at least have a row of windows in the overhead garage doors, if not some of those all glass ones you see at oil change shops. I do have one window in the side wall, but that's all.
It's also interesting that a door that measures exactly the same does not fit the opening the same, so I'll be adding some trim and weatherstripping to seal it up. The new door does make it a lot quieter than the old one - not only could the air come thru it, so did the noise!
So... I stand by my earlier prediction about a window being added to that door! ;D
Rose already found a window kit to fit the door! ;D
Between the cost of the window and the door I already bought it would be more than simply buying a door with the window already in it.
Quote from: MiniDave on November 17, 2018, 08:51:08 PM
What's the difference between Mk1 and MkIIMoke shells? Was it their screwup or ????
The biggest difference is placement for the bonnet hinge mounts. On the MK2 they are higher, also the wiper holes are wrong and in the wrong place. So have to weld up lots of holes and drill new ones then drill out spot welds for the hinge mounts and re-weld in the proper place. They also left off the floor mount for the hand brake.
Man, I hope they are going to rebate you something....I hate having to weld on and re-do a new part.
Today is clean up and organize day in the shop....I have the door handles in the new windowless door but I need to do some weather strip around the door opening and it will be finished for today. Next week it's supposed to warm back up into the mid 50's - todays high might hit 30 - then I can get a coat of paint on it and the trim.
Then I need to clean a bunch of stuff to go to the powder/blaster/coater guy, and organize all the parts coming off the Inno, Clancy is bringing me a bunch of Moke suspension parts and our order from MiniSpares will be here Monday too so I need to find places to put all this stuff. Some of it will have to go outside in the little shed for a bit where I currently have the Inno bonnet, boot lid and a few other bits stored.
On top of that, what I really need to do is clean out the basement - then I would have a convenient, warm place to store all this stuff, but that's a weeks work all by itself.....still, it needs to be done once and for all. The other big job I'm considering is moving the air compressor down into the basement too - it's adjacent to the shop so it will be easy to pipe the air to the shop. The poor air compressor really struggles to start when it's in the garage and it's cold like today. OTOH, it will allow more noise into the house. Still, I think it's worth it......... the compressor is a 1990 Campbell Hausefeld that I've rebuilt once already and it has a ton of hours on it, but it works fine for what I do - I don't use sanding tools with it like Dan, just the occasional impact wrench, drill, die grinder or saw.....or use it to blow off parts and air up tires but it sure is handy when you need it. Currently the compressor resides under a stairwell, I'll have to move a lot of stuff to get it out of there and down the stairs to the basement.
As you know I'm a big fan of having air compressors outside the shop workspace. You gain space but more importantly you lose the noise of a compressor. I have to put a heat source on mine in the winter, in the form of a heat lamp strapped to it. Once it kicks on once and the oil loosens up, it's good for the day and the light can be turned off.
Yes, but mine has a 25 gallon tank, yours is close to a million gallons? Once it shuts off you don't need it again the rest of the week! ;D
Plus too and also, your is in a protected shed area where the weather won't get to it, and it's a full on industrial model.
Mine isn't that loud, not like one of those oil-less types. BTW, don't buy one of those unless you rarely use it - they don't hold up to heavy use.
120 gallons! True it doesn't kick on often. I can literally paint a whole car and it kicks on once. You could build yourself a little compressor shed outside your garage maybe?
Quote from: Willie_B on November 18, 2018, 04:03:17 AM
Quote from: MiniDave on November 17, 2018, 08:51:08 PM
What's the difference between Mk1 and MkIIMoke shells? Was it their screwup or ????
The biggest difference is placement for the bonnet hinge mounts. On the MK2 they are higher, also the wiper holes are wrong and in the wrong place. So have to weld up lots of holes and drill new ones then drill out spot welds for the hinge mounts and re-weld in the proper place. They also left off the floor mount for the hand brake.
Was expecting you to say...and they also sent a mini shell. Sorry they managed to get the wrong model. Not sure how you leave off the hand brake piece 8.gif
I wasn't very impressed with those Gladiator cabinets I thought they were very flimsy....but they do allow you to get stuff up off the floor and tucked away. I prefer those large office file cabinets with like 5 drawers 3 ft wide, they're really well built and you can buy them fairly cheaply used off Craigslist
Will you get a 2 post lift?
Parts washers - I bought one from HF, it was fine except for a few things - it only held 5 gallons of water based solvent - which got dirty very quickly, didn't clean all that well and promptly took the paint off the inside of the tank. I modified mine, I bought a 30 gallon drum of Safety Kleen solvent, welded some brackets to the underside of the tank and made an arm that hung down into the solvent tank to hook the pump to. It's worked brilliantly and the solvent lasts a long time as the dirt and crap settles out of it and falls to the bottom of the drum. Some guys have rigged up a filter system but I don't think that's needed. The problem with buying this type of solvent tank is it's expensive to buy new, but used ones usually look very used - and beat up and are not plentiful. Also, the last time I tried to buy 30 gal of Safety Kleen solvent it had gone from $165 to over $400!. I switched to Crystal Clean (Crystal Clear?), it's the same stuff, works well and lasts as long and it was $165 delivered. Good luck with this! The few I've seen that are made to sit on a barrel of solvent are very expensive - that's why I made my own.
Cheapest one I've found was at Northern Tool for $900.
2 post is the way to go, no doubt.....although they do have limitations - they make it difficult to get in and out of the car when you're working inside. Do get an asymmetrical lift, much easier to work with. Do be careful about putting the car or truck on the lift, getting the weight balance right is paramount. Seems obvious but it's easily missed....like the time my students forgot to see what was in the bed of a pickup before they tried to lift it at the normal locations for an unloaded truck.
You might consider a twin scissor, but they aren't good for cars/trucks with frames, but sure easy to work on and no posts t get in the way of the doors opening. I wrote a thread on the different types of lifts for this forum....
http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=1705.0 (http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=1705.0)
We had all types in the college shop I taught at so if you have any questions I can probably answer them.
As long as the floor is thick enough ....that's the only real limiting factor of a 2 post.
Exploded some popsicle stick bridges. Amazing what those will hold. Single layer triangle shape held over 130 lbs. spanning almost 2 feet.
Installed an 88C thermostat, winter tires/rear brake drums and thought about moving the bluetooth telephone microphone.
Hey John! Happy to hear from you again! Did you see Dan and I bought an Innocenti we're refurbing?
Quote from: John Gervais on December 04, 2018, 04:42:05 AM
Installed an 88C thermostat, winter tires/rear brake drums and thought about moving the bluetooth telephone microphone.
Yeah yeah car shit.... did you get any good Whiskey?
Haven't seen the Innocenti yet, and haven't gotten any new whiskey. For some reason, I haven't time for much of anything these days. The mini was driven 3 or 4 times this summer, twice this fall and if I'm lucky, it's still sitting in the garage - I haven't been there in weeks.
I've also become a bit 'sour' - used to be a nice guy, but with all the snowflakes and socialist libtards screwing up society and forcing twisted agendas, making up nonsensical pronouns, demonizing conservatives, parasitic illegal aliens invading demanding benefits and threatening our sovereignty, etc., I've 'hardened' somewhat.
There is, however, a new whiskey shop just around the corner (about 1/4 mile away) from my apartment.
https://rombo.dk/ (https://rombo.dk/)
I'm hoping that Santa knows that it's there -
Quote from: John Gervais on December 05, 2018, 02:28:02 AM
I've also become a bit 'sour' - used to be a nice guy, but with all the snowflakes and socialist libtards screwing up society and forcing twisted agendas, making up nonsensical pronouns, demonizing conservatives, parasitic illegal aliens invading demanding benefits and threatening our sovereignty, etc., I've 'hardened' somewhat.
I feel you on this. I thought the same thing when I've gone to a couple of Metal shows lately from some bands I've followed for a long time but during and after the show I was like that was weak. My musical tastes have gotten much heavier and harsh. To put it another way, Metallica's Black album might as well be pop music to me now. If you're wondering where this is going, music is my therapy, keeps me sane, aggression outlet. Best shirt I ever saw said "I listen to Metal to keep from choking people." Funny thing is I married a Country girl who listens to the most depressing stuff when she's not happy and it makes her feel better.
John, are you talking of things going on there in Denmark or here in the US?
:-X
Everybody cool your jets and talk about car shit. Or whiskey and hot girls.
Nothing that can destroy a forum faster than political and religion discussions...even when in a separate "no fault" forum area.
Back to the shop.
I added extra parts washer fluid to my parts washer and it didn't cure the issue.....I thought the lack of flow was due to a low level of juice, but adding 5 gallons didn't help, so now I'm thinking the intake screen on the pump is partially blocked with something....either that or the pump is just worn out....but the way it happened sort of suddenly leads me to think it's the former. I went ahead and finished cleaning all the parts I had to go to the master blasters with it just slightly more than a dribble and I'll pull the top off and check the pump later. Since I've used this cheap cobbled together Harbor Freight setup for more than 25 years and have cleaned thousands of parts with it, I really can't complain if I need to buy a new pump for it.
I actually cleaned mine up. Got everything out from around the bug. Itching for wrenching, so I'm about to tear into it. Of course the dollies I wanted from Harbor freight that are always on sale currently are not. Of course.
When you go to check out at HF, just find a 20% off coupon off the net on your phone, they'll take it right at the register.
Have you got your Mini's subframes all done?
I have a couple work benches I've made. One on wheels to roll around which is handy. It's also big enough to set subframes on for assembly. Like most of us, I occasionally have a pile of tools, parts, or debri that build up on them and requires cleaning and organizing.
I have 3 workbenches and it's a daily challenge to keep them usable, clean and the stuff cleared off them. ;D
I like Dan's bench on wheels but it wouldn't work in my tiny shop....
I've thought about getting a smaller metal roller cart for tools. Almost can't have too many benches and carts in a shop.
HF has some pretty cool tool carts, they have 1, 3 or 5 drawers in them so you can keep the tools that you use the most with you.
Like this
https://www.harborfreight.com/30-in-bulk-storage-black-tech-cart-64002.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/30-in-bulk-storage-black-tech-cart-64002.html)
or this
https://www.harborfreight.com/30-in-4-drawer-black-tech-cart-64096.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/30-in-4-drawer-black-tech-cart-64096.html)
With a 20% off coupon they're pretty affordable
Yep that's exactly what I had in mind. I'm almost out of tool storage so I may be getting one soon.
I think the three drawer is the best combination of usefulness and size. With the big 5" casters they roll easily too. These are really well thought of on Garage Journal
My HF roller tool chest is damn nice, and not expensive! 3 years years of solid use and holding up good.
Read the 20% coupon carefully. They are not valid on some things. Make sure the tool carts are not among the exclusions.
When I got my latest one, I got it from Home Depot. About the same as the HF, but included the side shelf and was slightly cheaper than even the 20% off HF at the time. May not be that way now.
Tis the season, there should be all kinds of sales on these right now.....
Yea the subframes are complete. Only thing still need to do is assembly the new front axles for the disc conversion.
Haven't done much in my work wise in my work shack lately but submitted plans to the city for my new and improved workshop!
Will start packing the current space up into a POD after Christmas, Demo on the current structure will begin shortly after and breaking ground for the new space in early March weather permitting.
Jen got me a craftsman 20 piece ratcheting wrench set for my bday so Santa is probably getting me the shop cart to start organizing the overflow of tools from the tool chest.
https://m.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200657584_200657584
Score, I need a set of those in SAE for my Australian built British car. Lol. I have the metric set.
Sears had a sale on them online. Has both metric and sae in the set.
I have both sets too, I use them all the time.....
Letting your sig other buy tools for you is fraught with peril, looks like she got this one right! 77.gif
Oh I gave her direct links!
4.gif
Pulled the rest of the stereo wiring out of the truck and hooked the speakers back up. Also solved it's rough start problem. While under the hood I found the distributor vacuum line was off. Think it was running rich too.
Built my 67 cooper s rally mini.
I didn't do doodley squat. Too cold and wet to be out with my baby.
Still working on the not so Innocent-I ;D
I had a problem with the HVAC fan not running on positions 1,2 or 3 only on 4, seems to be a common problem, there is a resistor in the fire wall you have to change.
It looks like this when old.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-wX8GNDK/0/97e7a623/XL/i-wX8GNDK-XL.jpg)
It should have been an easy job, because I have an engine swap, I had to pull the decorative cover off the valve cover the the decorative cover off the intake.
Then I had 4 screws to pull, 3 were easy, the 4th... it was behind the engine (damn swap) and I had about 1/2" room to work in. I had to put a socket in the jaws of a pair of needle nose vice grips and spend 30 minutes working the screw loose and out.
I also changed the oil and installed a strut bar I purchased 2 years ago and never bothered to install, since I had to pull the old one off it seemed like a great time to swap them out. It is a work of art.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-KZvMgTb/0/74edb822/XL/i-KZvMgTb-XL.jpg)
Then I fiddled with the headlights some, I was never happy with the new assembly I installed, I realized I had not adjusted them correct initially. I am now happy with them.
I am about to put 1500+ miles on her next weekend. Heading to Wilmington NC for a long weekend with wif and kid. Stopping over just North of Savannah on Thursday night, then taking coastal route 17 all the way into the Wilmington and doing some exploring along the way.
Installed a 'super' 998 into my Pickup! Begone little 850!
998 A+ Block
Bored .060 Over - 1275 13G Head - SW midrange camshaft
3 into 2 exhaust manifold
3.2 CWP Gearing
Swapped the original 998 Magic wand shift setup onto a 4 Sync AA Remote gearbox.. (keeping the Puddin Stirr'er
Single HS4 Carb ( thanks MityMous) She started almost instantly!
45D Distrubutor with Pertronix + ACCEL SUPER POWER WIRES!
Todo's = forgot the 1275 head is different thermostat spacing and orientation = need 1275 Hose + upper bracket!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rdp59YbDdTovPuFUA
Cool! Is that air filter going to clear the bonnet at the back?
Air filter= yet to really find out
It Barely sticks up above the lip of the drip rail..Im sure it will be close. Will put the bonnet on soon to find out....
I do Have a normal cone filter if needed = for this' stock looking' build i kinda would not be afraid to go with a 'stock' plastic box if i could find one. Stock boxes work fine + are quieter anyhow.
I know, I tried a cone filter on my Clubby and went right back to the stock box. Funny how my '89 doesn't seem loud at all with a cone on it.....
Pushed this in...
Non runner of about 25 years
Was used and used thru the 70's and 80's as a racer and a around. Luckily it. Didn't get destroyed.
Has had some 'track' upgrades as it was SCCA Used in past. then not used. parked...
Brought out now to put back on normal road use ...
Will have to refurbish all systems (they're all the most basic) and get operable again!.
Has the Ford 105E "kent" engine in it was the spec racer for the time.. Webers
Ill technically be learning a lot for this Frame with wheels!
Has Hub conversion done for racing with wider tires.
Has Rear end conversion done. (have original)
Came with Wider over fenders.. For wider racing rubber = all in time to be converted back to stock that came with the car.
Will be fun!
What year is it? Looks a lot like my old 62....mine had a 1275 Sprite set up tho...
Fun job ahead of you!
Is it a Lotus or a clone?
Yes, Genuine Lotus = Has Frame stamping number and Lotus ID Plate. and the History of the previous owner racing with it.
Even came with Side Curtins, Top + Tonneau cover and plus the original heater box.
I dont know for certain if this was a A series cao begin with , but yes= early 60's had A series with Ribcase or possibly even smooth case trans.. Jeff shared pics of the A series mounting setup = we contemplating putting in a 1275 .. but if the Kent engine we have works= stick with it.
Worried about the cooling system,= has a Swirl pot on top = BADLY Rusted= hopefully we can repair and make work! Other things are a mix mash of vintage BMC and Triumph Parts.
Moved the Racing Green over to the lift, and brought the wife's Audi in....it needs a new battery and an air suspension module..... also it has a small rattle in the rear hatch I need to find.
Yesterday I got the Inno engine running in the test stand, and today I got the Racing Green to start too. The RG sat for 4 months in the batcave, and when I went to bring it home it would not start. A quick shot of ether this am and it popped right off....my theory was the carb got dry over those 4 months and it took a while to fill it up again, since it has a mechanical fuel pump. I drove the car up to Vicky Brits this am and it ran perfectly.
All in all, a pretty good day.
The Audi needs another air suspension piece? That's a repair you know very well by now.
Yeah, so far I've replaced just front the front airbags and rebuilt the air pump, this time they claim it's the control module that is draining the battery.
I put a new battery in it today - damn thing weighs 100lbs and it's right in the middle just at the base of the windshield so you have to lean over, arms extended holding this huge weight, and try and maneuver it into place - it's a total PITA!
We have a new (used) control module on the way - new ones are available for just under $1K, used ones go from $100-150.....
Hopefully we'll get a few more years out of the car - we have only found one car that she would like to replace it with - another Allroad - and they are a BUNCH of money, even 4 years old. But a 2015 would be moving us up 11 years.....
Built a "wood fort' for the Kiddos Pre school... Picked up a free work table online... and it was actually a deck... fortified it+ Railed it = will be putting it in the woods for the Preschool kids to enjoy.
Started the Lotus: It Makes vroom vroom noises.
Bled the brakes (fronts are good ) rears no fluid moving = Found the rear line is clogged solid.
Bled Clutch the - It Operates.
On to cooling system = VERY old rubber hoses. will take a trip to parts store to match stuff up.
Had pickup up and going for its inaugural runs! got brave and got on the intestate= took a good drive== came home = drained the 'break in oil' changed fliter for 20w50 Penngrade.
Worked on a co workers Mercedes (2004) showing its age at 100K miles... Oil leaks= Needs 100K service (spark plugs + Serp Belt + battery)
broke 2 Plastic fittings because 15 year old plastic is brittle. (cooling lines) Now parked until pieces arrive.
Organiezed some + tossed some= cleaned up some! WHEW i love my garage.
Great job on the fort! I have no idea how you get so much done with a family and a job!
My son asked for some help with his STI. It was throwing codes and running really bad.
We went over it and could not find the problem. I now own a smoke machine. Once we hooked that up the problem was apparent. It had a massive leak right where the intake attaches to the Turbo.
The rubber boot was ripped. Seems to be a recurring problem with the car. He decided to order a COBB boot to replace it.
So we had to get this in.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-8CtGtKc/0/8fc4eb3b/XL/i-8CtGtKc-XL.jpg)
You tube told us it will take 4 hours. We finished in 2.5 and would have been done in 1.5 if we did not have so much trouble attaching the blow off valve pipe to the brass fitting on the side in the pic above.
Old vs. New
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-MTMggQK/0/4a853e00/XL/i-MTMggQK-XL.jpg)
A small rip.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-PdDQTj5/0/0b3098dc/XL/i-PdDQTj5-XL.jpg)
The path we had to take, it was not easy and not spacious, Astroglide was used, and it got the job done.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-C4tRvHZ/0/acb92ea4/XL/i-C4tRvHZ-XL.jpg)
Really tight fit.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/n-jSbL3k/i-RJFXrzq/0/e87469ce/XL/i-RJFXrzq-XL.jpg)
Car runs perfect now, no codes thrown and smooth like it should be.
I'm always shocked by seeing the amount of corrosion/rust under the hood of cars in other climates. That car has more than a 1950's car here.
That intake boot is nice I wonder how those are made I'm going to do some research almost looks hand made wrapped over a form or something.
Quote from: jeff10049 on April 15, 2019, 10:54:55 PM
I'm always shocked by seeing the amount of corrosion/rust under the hood of cars in other climates. That car has more than a 1950's car here.
That intake boot is nice I wonder how those are made I'm going to do some research almost looks hand made wrapped over a form or something.
Its a rustbelt car. I advised him not to buy it. He insisted, so I took a set of ramps to the car lot it was on, we climbed under it and inspected for concerning rust. Most all of it is surface rust.
I told him to get after it, I am sure he will not.
This was a detour, he needs to do the timing belt asap. It is at the end of its life. I am sure we will be back under that hood in the next month doing that next. THEN he can start of cleaning it up
Today, just outside my shop, I gave the Racing Green a much needed bath. I have a show I'm entered into tomorrow and of course, it's supposed to rain all day! ::)
It was really nice today, and will be clear and sunny and cool on Sunday - Saturday all day - thunderstorms! This is the big yearly Jag Concours, and they invite other Brit cars to come display with them so there will be plenty of Healeys, Minis and MINIs, the odd Lotus or two and Triumphs and MGs. Might even be a Rolls or two......
Last year it did the exact same thing, cleared up just as the show was ending.
She cleans up good!
Went to the show today, but a huge storm came in so they closed it down at 11:30. Styers and I were across the street eating lunch when they closed it down, we came out just as it started to rain lightly - we were the only two cars left at the venue!
I got about 1/4 of the way home and the storm hit in earnest - rain came down in torrents. I hit a HUGE puddle, water clear up over the hood and my engine died, right in the middle of a very busy intersection - rain still coming down in buckets. It took about 10 minutes but if finally hit on one or two cylinders and then after milking along for about a minute it finally picked up and roared again. The rest of the way home was no issue other than having to drive around people who were crawling along at 15 mph with their flashers on! I pulled into the garage and of course the rain stopped.....
3 green cars in a row!
Established it! closed on a new-to-us home on Monday, first time I've owned a garage.
Have been off and on looking for a small lathe on Craigslist. They usually sell before I can follow up. Got one today though. Craftsman 6x18. Home shop grade but seems to be in overall good shape for being over 40 years old. Time to take it apart for a good cleaning and setup. Thought on the way home that I can turn my own drums and discs now also.
Fantastic! I'm so envious....I would love to have one of these.....
I want one of those too!
A couple weeks ago I got the ladder out, got on the roof, and trimmed a massive truck load of branches from off the roof.
Made room for a new massive tool box that I inherited. Today back to trim and flooring install. Can finally see the end of the tunnel.
My friend Jim is restoring a 1963 Cadillac it has the original 4-speed Hydra-Matic transmission. He paid a transmission shop to rebuild it however it never seemed to work quite right and developed a massive leak at the front seal. We decided to just pull the trans and replace the seal but the fluid was way dark for 50 miles of use and smelled odd almost like cutting aluminum on a lathe with cutting oil.
So we tore it down thrust washers were in upside down and incorrect locations, torn lip seals, incorrect clearances, on and on one blatant problem after another. They even had the clutches stacked up incorrectly with friction against an apply piston instead of a steel.
This is a neat transmission it has a fluid coupling instead of a torque converter and then another small fluid coupling inside that controls the 1-2 and 3-4 shift a clutch pack controls the 2-3 shift. It's basically a pair of two-speed transmissions inline.
I read that the engineers wanted to use another fluid coupling rather than clutches in the rear unit but cost shut that down too bad as what a smooth trans that would have been.
We followed the book and got it back together and it works very well. In the end he is glad he did not try to go back to the builder after seeing there work they should not touch any part of a car.
That's what Cadillacs were all about back then- smooth......I have no idea what they're about today?
MAN do I have shop envy! So much room!
Today I replaced the LED assemblies on the light bar I use when towing, one had lost it's mind and what few LEDs lit up flashed continuously, the other light mostly worked OK but a couple of the LEDs no longer lit. I hope these new ones last longer, the warranty is only 90 days and I doubt I'll use them before October.
On the old lights, what I thought was silicone sealer used where the wires enter the light's plastic housing appears to be hot glue instead, as some of it melted again and stuck the wires to the bracket, I had to cut them apart to remove the old lights from their brackets. I guess I should have known hot glue could be melted again.....must have happened on the drive home from Snowmass in the 100+ temps, the car was all closed up on that drive and it was fairly cool on the drive out.
I spaced the new lights out way from the bracket a bit, to allow a little cooling air around the wires.
I think this tow bar has turned out to be a really good thing to have, it makes going to these far off runs possible, if not more enjoyable. As much as I like driving my classic Minis, they simply are not well suited to long drives to and from these events....especially in the hot summer weather. Grinding along at 4500 rpm with the windows down and earplugs in compared to cruising in the Clubman tow vehicle, with the A/C on and the cruise control set at 75, there is no comparison.
I bought a new cell phone which takes really good pics, but I haven't figured out how to get them out of the phone and onto my computer yet, till then I just use my old Canon Powershot - it still takes a pretty good pic.
Replaced the steering rack in our Volvo XC90
2 Hours for Disassembly and removal
1.5 hours for broken bolt remedy ( converter bolts, for exhaust removal)
2 Hours re assembly
This SUV at 125 K miles has always driven "shifty" after replacing Ball joints., struts, links = finally down to this ( a bad rack bushing)
it drives like never before = Like NEW = no more road wondering...
Back in June:
Lotus i had was about ready to return home to owner.. but oil leaks. Low hanging pan had a crack.. Brazed it up = Fixed + Returned car home.
Also had an MGB in = Tired car but owner loves it = Installed a new top = along with BUNCH of other misc fixes.. Bad switches= contacts= OLD plastic failing items.
NOT in the shop but ,
Took a vacation 2 weeks in July == Did not stop working... Had to replaced Decking + Rails on Father in Laws house in St Thomas....
NOW have a midget in for Oil leak= Last year i installed the fancy rear seal kit=but still leaks.. pretty badly = re doing that job... ( i also may have overfilled transmission = also puhing oil out of front input shaft... TO be determined.
Motor is atleast out now = underway for fix..
That would have been the slowest deck project on record. St Thomas and that view, think more beers would get drunk than boards nailed.
Boy howdy.....nail one board.....go for a swim, have some beers. Nail another board...OOPs, time for something on the barby.....we'll get to it tomorrow...... 77.gif
Ha, let me tell ya.... Yes,, I'm the slave driver down there.! We would work till it got HOT.. 11 AM = and then head to the beach/or Boating.
Father in Law always tells me to SIT DOWN.. no reason to go go go. I personally have to adjust to the 'pace there... Chill out man...
Since the hurricanes almost 2 years ago we have built back to 'pre hurricane' status now... Luckily we only lost porch roof + railings with no MAJOR damage. Now we're dealing with a house built in 1991, and needing some maintenance that my Father in law Cant do, or doesn't care to do... We're treating it as a future vacation home keep it operational now, more upgrades to come.
The Porch has had PLENTY of beverages + times enjoyed... More to come
Midgets Need Love too
72 - Motor pulled for oil leak (new fancy rear seal installed, but leaks) i have my doubt i did it right,. or overfilled the trans / engine and it leaves a spot.
66 Sprite/mk1 midget = HORRIBLE condition ribcase trans.. Customer got a Rebuilt unit from place in CT... Installation only.
4 hours Out and Re installed... Only today to do Carb connections + Fluid + Clutch.. Should be driving tongiht . Fingers crossed its a 'good' rebuild.
Quote from: gr8kornholio on July 30, 2019, 11:28:24 AM
That would have been the slowest deck project on record. St Thomas and that view, think more beers would get drunk than boards nailed.
I has questions about St. Thomas, I will ask over the weekend as I finish up my St. Lucia trip. We mentioned going to St. Thomas next summer.
It is amazing the house is still there after the last set of of storms to hit that area, I know the BVI's really took the brunt but a storm that bad probably beat the USVI's just as bad.
It's been 3 weeks since I've been to my shop, only been home 1.5 days. This week I'll get 2.5 days of shop time and will have waiste high grass to cut and then a plethora of sanding to do on minis. Had a mold issue before I left from sitting water that I had addressed which I'm hoping is resolved when I arrive.
Quote from: 94touring on August 02, 2019, 06:48:08 AM
It's been 3 weeks since I've been to my shop, only been home 1.5 days. This week I'll get 2.5 days of shop time and will have waiste high grass to cut and then a plethora of sanding to do on minis. Had a mold issue before I left from sitting water that I had addressed which I'm hoping is resolved when I arrive.
Every time go on vacation it is like a punishment before and after. The 2 weeks leading up I worked non stop 12-18 hours days to get ahead enough to leave. Once back it is more of the same I am trying really hard to take this weekend off and fear I may not be able to. Too busy to keep up.
I am now toying with hiring on a third crew which keeps me up at night as that = getting bigger and I promised myself not to do that again.
I am eyeing a 2 zone split AC unit on Amazon that I want to install. One in the garage one in my master bedroom. Both along the same wall so it should be easy, the unit runs $1600 and has really good reviews on Amazon.
I want to get back in the garage, I do not want to go in the heat after working in it all day.
A split for the garage would be great, you'll really appreciate the difference it makes.
We have a 5K BTU window unit in the master bedroom, both for white noise as well as we like it cool to sleep, and that way the whole house A/C doesn't have to run all night;
I have a 220V 18K BTU A/C in the garage - it also has heat strips for winter - it makes a huge difference when it gets into the high 90's with equally high humidity - like you have.
If you don't have insulation in the garage you'll need to do that too.
64 Spridget transmission fix went great = Truely a fun little car to drive= with the 1098 i was surprised on how well it goes. Rebuilt Ribcase transmission worked well!
That was picked up on Sunday = + a very original 60' Bugeye came in. 997 Engine , Smoothcase trans
Has been painted in life but hasnt run + been used for a while = Ready to get going again.. Runs, but poorly, Carbs leak project to get operational again.
In that Bugeye pic is a Volvo V50 - 2002 = My neighbors were just gifted that car, for their daughters first car.. and yep= within the first day of ownership = Check engine light = shuddering... He comes over...
(HEY WE HAVE A VOLVO!) I cant bear to tell him its one of the WORST Volvos every produced (FORD DAYS) and be prepared... its gonna get ugly.
Overall its an OK car= but pop the hood and eek!!! Give him my code reader= Missfires. Recommend to replace spark plugs. + Air filter is horrible,
While I looking over.. the belt side of the engine is NASTY - Warn them = something is going on here.. Metal shards around too = something is coming loose= Proably the AC COmpressor. The next day = He does the plugs + Air filter, Shuts the hood and Daughter heads 2 hrs away to college! GOODLUCK!
Also Polished some Volvo headlamps for a friend.
Generator bearing on my Moke went out.... Got it home at least .. Now= do I try to replace bearing? keeping the original generator? or just replace it.... Decisions!
Where do you keep your trailer when not in use?
I got a fix it ticket from the city for leaving mine in front of my house more than two days. I keep it out at my south property but if/when that sells I'm not sure where I'll keep it, or even if I will. It's only 5X8, perfect for my mower but not big enough to haul a Mini or anything. Besides, none of my cars are rated to pull a trailer that will haul a Mini.
If the generator isn't damaged I would just replace the bearing - also the bushing on the other end.
The Trailer:
In the end its a 3 way ownership. Myself , Guy in picture Jeff .. and Cole my local Mini friend.
Because we all acknowledged that a car trailer SITS most of the time not being used, but the three of us would like a trailer around.
I proposed. Lets get a 'GOOD trailer" Share it respectively. It will be cheaper on us all. Jeff has a rental house, small place with some space, with actually a NICE extra workshop garage on the property. He rents the house to a family, and stores cars and spare parts in his garage. It's rural enough we can park the trailer out back, Chained up , its out of sight out of mind and accessible for use. We amicably agreed if anyone moves away, or wants out. buy out is easy at the original split price of ownership.
So far, I have trailer-ed The Lotus back to Jeff, Cole has used the trailer for a weekend mini adventure, and Jeff just brought up the Bugeye with it... Next time I need to move a car = its available, pickup projects for others.. In the fall we go to CMU - we will atleast have 1 bailout trailer among us friends... Drive the running stuff home.
That sounds like a great arrangement, I have a friend locally (who's been to some of our local Mini runs to the Ozarks, Eureka etc) who has a trailer I can borrow pretty much any time I need it, but I also have to borrow a tow vehicle. Fortunately I have friends I can borrow a truck from, but they're getting ready to trade it off for a new Ford Exploder, and I wouldn't feel right asking to borrow it compared to their 100K mile Honda Ridgeline.
My buddy with the trailer has plenty of room at his place that I could park my little trailer at if it came to that.
I also have a little diesel 4X4 tractor I'll need to get rid of if my property sells too.
I could probably work a deal like that on a nice aluminum trailer with a couple of local Mini buddies - but again, none of us has anything that will haul it!
I have flat towed my cars thousands of miles, but the guys on TMF are trying to convince me that's a bad idea, and will ruin my transmission, so I've been considering a tow dolly. I think either of my cars would easily haul that.
Jedduh01: relative to the Bugeye, do mean 948 engine? The 997 is a Mini engine.
My mini has been hard to get in to first sometimes. Could not get any fluid from the slave so, replaced slave, hose and master a few weeks back. That helped but still not nice and smooth. Today I adjusted the gap between the wok and the large nuts. Should be 6.5 mm but mine was probably closer 5.5. That made a huge difference. Now I don't have to really jam it in and the others shifts are much better too.
Brad, it's been running fine since getting it back on the road? I don't recall what the fix ended up being?
The two things I took it up for are an oil leak and a knock noise. The leak was a cracked timing chain cover. He never saw anything that would cause the noise. Still has the noise but now I don't worry about it.
Is this a Verto clutch? That clutch arm looks all wrong somehow......
Inno looks like this.....Pre-Verto tho....
Edit: Just looked at my '89, yours IS a Verto same as my 89 - Mine has at least 6mm clearance on the stop nuts. If it works, I'd be happy with it.
On the to do list for shop stuff when I'm back in town is buy another 10lb spool of welding wire. Ran out finishing up the last of the welding on Marks Aussie. I did manage to get the lawn mowed last week. It was turning into a jungle out there.
Cleaned up the War zone left from getting ready for hot august nights run to reno. Tools everywhere work bench a foot deep with stuff it's good to get stuff back in it's place and have a break from projects for a bit.
Few pics of the drive in this thread.http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=1507.25
I mostly swore at myself alot trying to replace the coil springs with rubber on the sedan. Also doing much needed deferred maintenance as the wagons always seem to take priority, steering rack gaiters, upper arms, repack wheel bearings, exhaust bracket and what ever else I find next, need to do the back bearings also. Maybe swap the TB, if I have any energy left over. Things I used to do in a day are taking two
I feel your pain, did you get the spring in finally? Front ones can be a bear....
I got the springs in fine. It was getting the plate for the pivot shaft back on. This is a recent car so no side radiator to deal with, but servo ecu etc on the other side.
And one seal on the arm would not sit down evenly, eventually got it to sit right.
Yeah, those can be frustrating.....glad you got it done.
Not alot of pictures to share...
72 Midget = Finished up returned home = small tidy of work for the owner, he 's particular about tiny details ( glove box , rubber strip For the convertible top. Bumper alignment. ( oil leak re do) !!! argh
Also had to weld a 12x 12 Drivers floorboard patch in place, lovely Undercoating + sound proofing rotted the drivers floor to Swiss cheese, Passenger side is Better but not far behind.
All in all = Happy little 1275 Midget...(if thats your thing)
_________________
Have tidy'ed up the 60 Bugeye. 948 - It was a poorly running "fresh" out of storage.
Carbs leaked fuel near all the time = fluids all old = no speedo / no tach operations...
Brakes hard as rocks and stick on!
Converted it to an electric fuel pump ( Much less engine cranking to get fuel )
Rebuilt H1 carbs (my first time) and wow = full of CORK gaskets + seals . They're kinda the same as Hs'2's but different (centering jets is critical)
Rear end got some new bushings
3 new rubber brake lines installed. (car now brakes WONDERFULLY! )
Final checks underway = drove it today to work= happy little car!
____________________
62 Mini now entering the barn....
Has been in owners life since 68 - Has has plethora of changes. Has been off the road for 6-8 Years= wants to get motoring again.
Had a 1275 "metro" swap installed but never, finalized and run...
Had a paint job but never Tidied = that also included Installing "aussie' doors = While cool... they are much more complicated and you really cant find parts ( window seals) etc for them. Not to mentoin the extra weight on the mk 1 hinges... Not faring well.
To do = Front end is LOW = Worn out cones =
Brakes = has METRO 4 Pot calipers.. While probably great , kinda overkill ( each caliper has 2 brake hoses) extra complicated. ( were going to try to convert it to standard 8.5 brakes = already has new 12 inch wheels to cover the larger brakes.
Very much an early mk 1 car = but just doesn't feel like it because of how many ' LATER items are installed. Has a 'retro 70's add a dash in it too ( will share)
I did a set of those H1's on a Bugeye too, they are a bit of a PITA but once you get them dialed in they run pretty sweet....
I have a set of those 8.4" non ventilated disc calipers if you need them.....
What is that in the middle pic?
Ahh - - Middle pic
Cut thru of the original brake hoses on the 1960 Bugeye.
Brakes would stick on + Very uneven braking... Removed lines and nearly NO fluid came out.
Clearly Very collapsed. and Could not blow thru.. Amazing they even kindof worked.
New lines installed = 3 clicks of adjustment to even the 'drag' to all the shoes = Brakes are now Amazing... (holding my breath a wheel cylnder doesn't need replacement. but Driving today!
Wow, I've never seen one swollen shut like that!
Let me know if you need those calipers, I could bring them with me to CMU 60 in early October.
Quote from: MiniDave on August 26, 2019, 11:54:15 AM
Wow, I've never seen one swollen shut like that!
Let me know if you need those calipers, I could bring them with me to CMU 60 in early October.
Thanks Dave!
Our friend Bahowe took off a set of 8.5's in Favor of 7"inches to run 10 inch wheels on his Vtec car... So they are available .
I also have a set of Torn down Calipers needing a rebuild Just a matter of do I want to refurb them. or get something to bolt on...
Sort of weighing the options to the owner.
Yumm ! New Brakes !
Getting ready to Take Drums off my Pickup for Disks!
Is that the MiniSport kit? That sure is a good value for $500.....
I took my aussie only trim bits to a trim restoration shop today. $ouch$ They are going to start with the easy to fix pieces while I try to locate repops or better condition originals.
What sort of trim bits?
I was appalled at the cost of the Newton Commercial interior I bought, with the labor I paid to have the seat covers installed I think I could have just had them made, in leather too instead of vinyl.
I'm trying to find a radiator overflow tank for the Inno, as many things, it's a unique part to the 1300 Export, and mounts on the bulkhead. I figure it was removed in England as it sits right where the master cylinders go when you convert to RHD.
There is specific trim from around the door windows and the vent window area. Also where the window winds down into the door. Along with the little trim pieces of the door bins at the front. All Aussie specific and not in any mini store I can find over there.
Built a giant erector set to change our a light fixture.
Safe, smart way to that job done.
Safe. Safer than a ladder but just building it was sketchy. Once completed it felt solid. Luckily I could use my stairs to build it and climb up it. Best $45 spent on a rental.
Now the question is, do you need that anytime you change out a bulb?
I had plans to do shop stuff this week since I was sick last week. Instead I played catchup at home and had to get an eye exam and various other things taken care of.
Thankfully no, the actual fixture hangs low enough and the chain is long enough you can change them from the stairs.
I made a mess of things yesterday. Now I need to clean up today. I was trying to find all the pieces for a HIF44 setup.
I did find some info for Dean on the electronic speedo and I was able to take my son's El Camino out for some exercise as it sits in our driveway while he lives in San Francisco.
Sc engineering stuff, looking good!
I get home today, run some errands in the morning, then put a welder to Mark's Aussie to finish up a few patches. Then a trip to the paint store for supplies.
I collected my Mini from my friend's barn where it's been stored over the last couple of months while I completed my relocation. I'm happy to report I found no rodent damage anywhere - which was a concern of mine with storage in that location.
The car had been kept on a battery maintainer and it started right up when I turned the key. It ran great on the 90 minute journey to our new home over the back roads of the Hill Country. Surprised a few drivers of big pickups by passing them! ;D. I really enjoyed driving it again.
Back in my own garage.
Great. Is it cooler now so you get out during the day?
I wish. It was in the low 90s today - cooler temps are around the corner I am hoping.
Not for us, low 90's all next week till the T-storms hit on Thurs, then it will drop all the way down to 89.... ::)
But, I got to drive the Racing Green about 150 miles today with the Lawrence All British Car Club - and today it was nice out - low 80's
Looks shiny Bruce?
Quote from: 94touring on September 14, 2019, 07:00:46 PM
Looks shiny Bruce?
Must be the low lighting. But should be shiny under all the many months accumulation of grime, bugs, dust and plain old dirt. Really needs a good bath...
Fixed John Styer's Jensen Healey that wouldn't start. The engine wouldn't crank over and he was pretty sure it needed a starter, but he'd had it rebuilt locally only a couple of years ago so I thought we should do a couple of tests first.....I thought maybe the trigger wire wasn't delivering enough voltage to pull the solenoid in like on an old VW. John thought it might be the ignition switch too, which is pretty much unobtainable so I came prepared with a relay to wire into the circuit.....
The first thing we checked was the battery - dead - wouldn't even light the headlights - a fairly new Advance Auto Battery, but the car does sit in storage a bit. So we got out the jump box, that made the lights come on dimly and the fuel pump run, and the starter clunked. So bad starter he's still thinking.
Then I noticed - the trigger wire for the solenoid was off the starter - AHA! I plugged it on the starter and it still just clunked. Since it was in the low 90's already in the hot storage unit, I suggested that before we went to the trouble of pulling the starter (which thankfully is right out in the open and available from the top) we try the battery from the Vue we drove over. It took about 5 min to get it out and move it over to the Jensen but - viola'! Fired right up!
So we took the battery from the Jens over to Advance and left it with them to charge and test - the battery was showing 3 volts, so I think it's no good.
I love it when it's easy!
Not so much what I did in my shop, but the tiny town my shop resides at screwed up my water bill. The water portion of my city bill is usually something like $12. This month get the bill and it's $106. I've been there a handful times a month the past few months. Flush the toilet, wash my hands. Get on the phone and explain this. They were suppose to send someone out to reread the meter. A week goes by and more calls and it never gets done. So yesterday drove out and read it myself. First of all the grass had grown clear over the meter box and it had to be dug up, 2nd the meter itself was caked with dirt and had to be wiped off. Basically they don't read the meter and probably haven't in the 4 years I've been there. Snapped a picture of the reading and drove to city hall. My reading wasn't even close to what they had on file. Back to $12.
Not surprised. They most likely estimated your usage based off the neighborhood. Our city only reads every other month so summer there is always that massive jump bill cause they didn't read it the first month of watering and by the time they do read it you have 2 months of watering and it goes from 60 to 200. Always causes a blowup on town social media. They should really alert people to this but even if they did no one would pay attention. Lol.
Yeah they said estimated, but jeeze a 1000% increase.
What language is that on the tag on the cow's ear. Klingon? ;D
I don't know how normal sized people fit in a Pup! I sure don't fit.....
Quote from: MiniDave on September 21, 2019, 07:46:24 AM
What language is that on the tag on the cow's ear. Klingon? ;D
I don't know how normal sized people fit in a Pup! I sure don't fit.....
Dave, that eartag "language" is a brand. It should be registered and shows ownership of the cow. My brother in Ft Collins had some strays show up and they had no brands so couldn't find owner for a while.
Thanks. I knew what it was (I grew up and live in Kansas after all, cow capital of the word at one time) I was just making a joke about the brand on the tag...... ;D 77.gif
I worked on my R53 MINI this morning. There's been a bad kind of grinding noise coming from the engine compartment. I was thinking it was a bad idler pulley bearing - and it was. That sucker was shot. Replacing it took care of part of the noise, but it turned out that the supercharger bearings are going too. So I'll be pulling that blower off and sending it out to be rebuilt. Not inexpensive. And like any other semi-modern car it is buried deep within the engine compartment so you've got to take much of the car apart to get it out.
On a More positive note, I jumped into my classic Mini for a run to the NAPA store and at a red light a guy pulled up to me in a pickup and rolled down his window and asked about my Mini. Turns out he's a Mini owner too and lives in this area. I only moved here two weeks ago and I've already found another fellow Mini owner nearby! He said he has an '87 Mini that he bought when he was stationed in Germany. We exchanged phone numbers and I invited him to join us here at RM. Hope he does.
Didn't they do a supercharger and such maintenance on wheeler dealers? Pretty much have to remove the whole front of the car.
That's cool you found another classic owner. It's amazing how many of these cars are actually around and how many people you run into have owned them.
Bruce and I had the supercharger off at about 100K and changed the fluid, we also added a 16% pulley for a little extra oomph - which it did - nicely!
But yeah, to get to it you have to put the car in Service mode, which means removing pretty much everything in the front of the car - front bumper assy, radiator core panel and so on. It's a bit of work.
Had a Texas guy sign up today, maybe it's your new mini friend.
After 6 months of house projects and other odds and ends finally got the garage back in order.
Just in time to get the saucy Aussie back?
Have some more rearranging to do for that. Got to swap the vw out to the shed so I'll have space to assemble the car. When we bought the camaro instead of a truck as our second reliable car it kind of messed up the original plan of pulling the highlander out and having the vw and mini in the garage cause the highlander is already out and the camaro will not be out. So vw to shed it is.
180K miles and my first big problem with the FJ. All the wheel bearing were shot. I was not sure the backs were bad, so I did the fronts then realized the backs were too. Since I do not own a hydraulic press I took it to the corner tire store and they did both back bearings, the front passenger CV shaft (also starting to go) a radiator flush and Power steering flush.
Toyota Quoted me $4,000 to do the job. The corner shop did it for $1,700 out the door.
She is nice and quiet again.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-8PBmdfX/0/8bf479d2/L/i-8PBmdfX-L.jpg)
Yesterday spent the bulk of the day cleaning and organizing the shop. Every few months it seems it's time to give it a deep clean. I had to run into town with my truck and get gas for the lawnmower. Filled up my metal 6 gallon can, tossed it in the front floor board so it wouldn't slide around in the back, and set off for the shop. Noticed a strong fuel smell so opened the windows. Figured it was just some gas that didn't make it's way into the can. Got to the shop, pulled the can out, and there was a pin hole leak pissing fuel. 20 minutes drive worth of gas pouring onto my front floorboard. So ended up cleaning the truck and carpet for awhile and left it at the shop with the windows open to air out. Seems ok today and is drivable again.
Quote from: 94touring on October 04, 2019, 01:41:26 PM
Yesterday spent the bulk of the day cleaning and organizing the shop. Every few months it seems it's time to give it a deep clean. I had to run into town with my truck and get gas for the lawnmower. Filled up my metal 6 gallon can, tossed it in the front floor board so it wouldn't slide around in the back, and set off for the shop. Noticed a strong fuel smell so opened the windows. Figured it was just some gas that didn't make it's way into the can. Got to the shop, pulled the can out, and there was a pin hole leak pissing fuel. 20 minutes drive worth of gas pouring onto my front floorboard. So ended up cleaning the truck and carpet for awhile and left it at the shop with the windows open to air out. Seems ok today and is drivable again.
That sucks!!
Tie down straps in the bed from now on.
I like doing things twice, the Mini is a testimony to that I think I have done everything twice on that. I am having reception problems with the Sirius antenna on my FJ. I ordered a cheap one on Amazon ($25) and had to hack it up to get it mounted where I wanted it, which was where my CB antenna used to be.
I tossed it in today, half assed the wiring knowing I am pulling it back out later this week. I ordered a better one ($45) that you can just mount on the CB mount without any hacking.
Excuse my filthy truck it has been raining on an off all weekend, it was filthy from last week as well. I did not bother to wash it as it is pointless at this point, it will get a bath next week.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-gJ4JfML/0/dc2d8ce3/L/i-gJ4JfML-L.jpg)
Today I spent the day getting two of my cars ready for the trip to Virginia, I'm leaving early Tuesday so I can avoid traffic both here in KC and in St. Louis. To do that I needed to clear the lift - I carefully rolled the Inno off the lift and down the driveway, this left just enough room to get a car into the shop and on the lift in front of it.
I started with the green classic - I pulled all the wheels so I could rotate them, and while I had them off I pulled the rear drums to check the shoes - all good there so I buttoned them up, readjusted the rear brakes and then flushed the fluid. I changed the oil and filter, and noticed that I had lost the valve cover cap and who knows how long I've been driving without it? There wasn't as much oil under the hood as I expected......I topped off all the other fluids, set the tire pressures and gave the interior a good vacuum. While in there I also set the light bar in the back window, cleaned the windshield and replaced the wiper arms and blades. She should be good to go......
Next up was the '09 blue Clubman S, it also got all 4 tires off so I could check the brakes and rotate the tires. I also changed the brake fluid in it, topped off all the fluids and set the tire pressures. This car has been so reliable, it's been a really good car for me. We debated replacing it a couple times as it's closing in on a 100K, but we've decided to just keep it and the Audi both.
Then I had to get the Inno back into the shop and on the lift again.......my neighbor came and helped me push it up the drive to the edge of the garage but that was as far as we could push it. No matter, I have a 120V boat winch attacked to the crossbar of the my metal workbench, I just hook the cable up and it drags a car right up and onto the lift - I had to stop a couple times to straighten the tires, but it's a pretty painless way to do it.
Tomorrow I'll do laundry, mow the grass and a hundred "honey do's", then late in the afternoon I'll hook up the green car to the blue one and load tools and spares and be ready to head out about 7 am.
Yesterday was more shop cleanup and organizing. Plus block sanding on the Aussie. And had to go snag next years project.
That looks like a bit more than a project. Where'd the clubby go?
Quote from: gr8kornholio on October 12, 2019, 01:48:58 PM
That looks like a bit more than a project. Where'd the clubby go?
As bad as it looks its a very solid shell that needs a respray after a lot of cleaning of course. Clubby was rolled outside to the mini graveyard.
So what all is in the "Mini Graveyard" now?
Dave's 80s shell for a EcoBoost, 67 S, and the clubby. I have been strongly considering putting the 67 on bat. Just to free up space.
Picked up another lathe today. This one also has a small/light duty milling function. Going to need more cleanup then the other one. It has lived in a non climate controlled shop. Engine hoist for the unloading.
I will be able to clean up the outer rim of 10" wheels with this one now.
Nice find Brad.
Those little things are more ridged than you think you can do some pretty accurate stuff on one. My only complaint was lack of speeds the one I used had fast, faster, too fast, way to fast, and that was it no slower spindle speeds at all.
I know its made for smaller work but sometimes you still need slower speeds for out of balance parts and such. I cut a lot of keyway slots with the milling head milled flats on round bar, made my own castellated nuts very handy machine.
Not only does he have a knack for finding this cool stuff, he has room for it in his shop! 77.gif
What brand is that machine? Jet? Grizzly? It looks Chinese made, I only say that because the belt covers look just like the ones on my Chinese made drill press......which I've had for 30 years or more and still works perfectly.
I would love some metal working machines. I miss that stuff, I am fighting with my 3d Printer right now, I want to make a part for my FJ and have to figure out why the nizzle is not working right. The mount for the Sirius antenna is brand new and already rusting after being on the truck 2 weeks. I want to make a ABS one to replace it with, since the Sirius antenna is so short and light I think I can get away with a plastic mount. I would never consider it for the CB antenna that used to be on it.
Speaking of FJ's I never thought to change the cabin filter on the FJ before. I guess it has not been changed in 12 years.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-BXLqXQ2/0/4fe082cb/L/i-BXLqXQ2-L.jpg)
Not sure of the brand but it was sold thru Northern Tool. I still have the other small lathe for more precision work when needed.
Similar one on their website now is just shy of $2K.
I picked this up today....140 total bins on both sides of the A frame, 70 on a side. I will fill it easily.....
Quote from: MiniDave on October 19, 2019, 03:39:09 PM
Similar one on their website now is just shy of $2K.
I picked this up today....140 total bins on both sides of the A frame, 70 on a side. I will fill it easily.....
Very nice. Let the sorting and filling begin. Once you get in the zone it is kind of relaxing to just get into it.
I've got 40 years of accumulated "stuff" that I can fill these bins with......it will be nice to get it all sorted and in one location, but it will take a while. I figure it's the perfect way to fill some long snowy days.
Ive been doing the clean up / toss out routine... how many things have I held on to for years now that haven't been used and heck with it = wont be used. Toss it out, ill finda newer or better somthing when its need... Not tossing good carparts or TOOLS! NEVER!
Stupid tossouts include
2 refrigerator shelves - They're glass ./ they're heavy duty = but where will i ever use them gone!
Padding set for a workout bench, why... did I Keep this stuff....
My scrap metal pile is getting weeded down. Bucket of rusty gross fasteners .. get out of here.
Went thru my 'personal boxes' of memories, cleaning out my loft. . well some memories have been sent on along.. pair'ed down from 3 boxes to 1.... Some Old toys kept = old momento cards and papers kept... but the 1981 Almanac (my birth year )= Sorry its gone...
i haven't camped in YEARS now pairing that down to 1 realistic box.
Many other toss outs... lighten the load!
Next is a run to the scrap yard.. Pile of brake rotors . and other metals to 'Scrap!
Yes, I'm committed to doing the same, weed thru all the old junk that hasn't been out of a box in 25 years and get rid of it....time to lighten the load.
As for tools, I have so many duplicates from having a full set of tools at work and another at home and another small setup out on my "country estate", but I just can't make myself get rid of them......some are slightly modified to do a certain job and every so often I find myself digging that oddball out and using it. I also have some cheezy cheap stuff that I have no idea how I got since I never would have bought such stuff.......but I still can't quite make myself throw it away.......it's a sickness, I know.
I also have a large wooden tool chest built by my great grandfather, full of his carpenter's tools from way back in the day (turn of the century - I mean 1900!), what the heck do I do with that? Nobody wants them anymore, and none of my grandson's seem to be into woodworking - if they are they'll buy modern stuff anyway. I can't just throw it away, and I can't give it to anyone or any organization......
But I am going to clean the basement once and for all.....somehow. The bride has agreed to get rid of the last remains of her parent's crap that wound up in our basement after her mom died and her dad remarried, and I'm going to support her efforts by getting rid of all my unused crap too.
We've seen the light when our next door neighbor had to move into assisted living, and had an estate sale. They spent 2 weeks cleaning just the unsellable/undonatable stuff out of the house so they could sell the rest....took truckloads of "stuff" out of the house to the dump.
Now that I have this bin thingy I can sort thru the good stuff and pitch the rest, then all I'll have is good clean usable fasteners and bits. The rest will go.......
Got a few things sorted and out away - now on the hunt for stick on labels to put over these.
Speaking of bins, I have a ton of random spare odds and ends bins that I think it may be time to toss most of it out. I also have tons of scrap metal, old rusty bonnets, probably 5 pairs of doors, random suspension bits that are worthless. Time to toss that stuff too.
I'd think the doors would have some value?
Some are rotten, some the frames are usable and can be skinned. I'll keep those.
All MK3 and newer doors?
External and internal hinge doors.
I have a set a wheels that need a sleeved lugnut but have been unable to find ones that fit. I bought some flat bottom lugnuts and made steel inserts for the wheels. Started with steel pipe. Found a knurling attachment in the lathe tools so did that to roughen the outside. These will be glued in the wheels. Then cut to length. Still working to find the best way to do that cut. I will use JBWeld to glue them in. It's not like they are going anywhere if they come loose. Will use a rear hub with the wheel studs to insure correct alignment. Have some S/S washers to go under the flat lugnuts.
Lathe #2 has room for 10" wheels. Now I can clean up curb rash. Took a bit to figure it out. Had to cut the rear side, luckily I can reverse the lathe direction
I love having new toys......erm TOOLS to play with in my shop! 77.gif
A while back I repainted the 2004 Mini and polished the headlights they quickly yellowed again I read about the uv protection only being on the surface so when you polish them it removes what little may have still been there after years.
So I pulled them back out and sanded with 320 until the yellow was gone the sanded out the 320 with 600.
After that I applied three coats of automotive clear coat they look great and the clear should have all the UV protection needed. I may have the clear 3m film put on the headlights to protect the clear coat I have been getting that stuff on all my newer cars and it really works if it gets beat up after years of use just remove and replace. It may offer some UV protection as well.
Only cost two pieces of sandpaper and 30 minutes of time if you have clear around I didn't use but an ounce.
I definitely think headlight film is the way to go. I'm the original owner of my '02 Cooper S and headlights are as clear as they were when I bought the car and they've never been restored. They are that way because when I bought the car I applied XPEL headlight film right away. The first application lasted about 14 years, then it was starting to kind of crack and peel up around the edges. It was pretty simple to remove it and the headlights looked perfect underneath. So I applied some new XPEL and it's doing great.
Wish I had known about this stuff for my Audi, the tops of the lenses are really turning yellow and getting grainy to the touch. I'll be working on them one day soon....
Today I modified my engine stand to take a Sprite engine. I'm building a 1275 now for a guy so I wanted to get it all set up before I strip the block and send it off to the machine shop. I have a feeling it will be gone for a month or so, they're SO busy. We're boring it 20 over, putting in high compression pistons, a nice cam, hardened seats and an electronic dizzy - he's running a Weber side draft now on his 948 and he'll take care of getting it jetted out correctly.
He's putting it into a Bugeye. He bought one of the Sprite transmissions I rebuilt a while back and the good news is he said it worked perfectly! Nice to know since I never got to even bench run them.
Did the trans we made synchros for ever get used?
If you sand those Audi headlights and clear them they will look great then add the film. If you don't have a way to clear them sand and polish then put the film on right away it should help preserve the polish job otherwise it'll last less than a year in my experience.
I don't think it has been sold or used yet, no. This trans was the second one I built for him.
I'll have to see if I can buy some precut lens covers, they'll fit better than any I might hand cut for them. Thanks for the tips, I'll follow them.
It turns out the Mini radiator bracket and motor mount still fit after I made my bracket for the Sprite engine, so I won't have to fab up some sort of mount for the rad, and since I have an electric fan mounted on it I don't have to worry about mounting the fan blade.
So far it's coming together nicely, but I may have to re-engineer the back mount as I don't think the flywheel will clear it. I won't know for sure till he brings it by at a later date.
Quote from: MiniDave on October 27, 2019, 06:12:08 PM
Wish I had known about this stuff for my Audi, the tops of the lenses are really turning yellow and getting grainy to the touch. I'll be working on them one day soon
If you're going the headlight film route, I recommend you restore them/polish them first before applying the film. This stuff from Mother's is great.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GZLMEPM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Today in my shop I reached for my radiator hose cutters and grabbed the blade 4 stitches later my finger stopped leaking.
Crikeys! Don't do that......it hurts! :-\
Sent the Lotus seven home this week. after a plethora of 'old car issues"
Leaky intake gasket
Replaced fuel pipe from tank to carbs
Re Cleaned Weber carbs AGAIN
Realized the ignition timing on a Ford Kent 109 engine is 1243 !!! after trying to get it to run as 1342 for a while.... Thanks ford..
Tidy'ed bulbs = turn signals etc. All to return to customer and its the coldest is been in november and winter is here... He drove it home thank fullY!
Mountain bike service = New pads Front and rear + brake system bleeds too.
State inspection for family cars.
Bulbs and 2 tires ( let the inspection shop handle that install
Wifes car needs brakes thats next..
My other Volvo has a suspension knock. found swaybar bushings slam worn out.. on the docket
Planning to get my Mercedes W123 in next... ( car was gifted to me) time to fix it for its next life...(headgasket i think)
is your w123 a TD?
I used my grinder with a small cut off wheel, and as it was winding down after I let off the trigger I went to set it down and the cut off wheel nicked my finger, took out about a 1/2 long groove in the skin - stings!
Those cut off wheel ones suck it's a burn and cut all at the same time. Belt sander and wire wheel are no fun either.
My son almost lost his thumb to a cutoff wheel. got a couple of tendons but he got lucky it wasn;t worse. Wasn't using the guard. Be careful.
I recently went through and found or bought guards for all the tools that might need them at times before my luck runs out.
My 4" grinder put your trigger fingers right above the spinning wheel without the guard. Not to bad with a flap disc but the cutoff wheel no thanks not anymore too many close calls.
I think I'll go ahead and put mine back on, I took it off to use a wire brush cause it hit, so did the flap disc.....
The AC in the E21 BMW ('81 320i) stopped working, well, it worked. The compressor would come on, except the HVAC fan inside would stop, then turn off the AC and the HVAC fan inside would work again. Obviously a relay issue. I could not find it at first, then some asking and research on the internets and I found it under the dash by the glove box.
Hmmm... this looks like a problem...
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Ptjp2z8/0/793af619/L/i-Ptjp2z8-L.jpg)
That toasty wire seemed to be the culprit. I decided to pull the relay and see if there was a part # on it and there was none. So I opened it up to see if there was anything that looked bad inside, it looked good....
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-KtcgxLp/0/b4ddc954/L/i-KtcgxLp-L.jpg)
I put some emery cloth between the contacts and cleaned them up, then put it back together. Soldered a new connector on the fried one in the first pic and hoped for the best. Success!! The AC functions as intended again.
I put about 200 miles on the old girl last weekend and I am itching to pull her out for some more driving this holiday weekend.
I tucked her back away Sunday night and she waits until tomorrow.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Spr2D6J/0/699e62f7/L/i-Spr2D6J-L.jpg)
Wonder what caused the connector to fail?
Not exactly in my garage, but just outside it......
We're about to get another cold snap so I took advantage of the warn-ish weather to get a few things done in preparation for winter.
I changed the oil and filter in the ZTR ($26 for an oil filter and three quarts of the cheapest 10W30 I could buy!) and charged the battery, cleaned the terminals and hauled it back out south to the property I keep it on, then covered it with a tarp.
Once I got back I checked all the fluids in the Audi, set the tire pressures and got it ready for our trip to Manhattan on Thursday.
I also set the tire pressures in the blue Clubby, and topped off the oil and checked all the other fluids.
Past week - or two ...
New Brake shoes on my 850 Volvo = found a stuck /rusted cable - stopped there...
Fixed a 'chunk clunk rattle on it too ( loose Poly Sub frame bushings) replaced and QUIET.
Wifes bmw got front Pads and 2 control arms + State inspection
Kid Hauler Volvo SUV got brake lights bulb fixes + state inspection. + required 2 new tires. im close to buying my own tire machine equipment.
Have had a customers British car in = Mini = Technically its a 64 - he's owned it since 68 its had a Miriad of changes.
Australian door swap Front sub frame swap including Metro Power plant. 1275 .
Then wasnt used or ' finsihed" for the past 10 years. He came to the resent CMU event and got the juices flowing =Brought it to me for a mostly complete mechanical rebuild. We have brought the car back to life.
COMPLETE suspension rebuild = . Carbs, All Fluids, Brakes (including removing metro double line calipers for Standard 8.5.s
Everything has been touched, its nearing completion, test drives underway. Found an oil leak = front cover .to be expected with a sitting car.
My own = Moke = Lost second gear synchro this summer., no downshifts... OK I want that back .. Tore into it. Engine has always run GREAT but oily stinky.. OIL Burner.. Time for a Bore and block refresh too.
Trans is done= Block headed to Machine shop ASAP! - going from standard 998 dished pistons = to a .040+ - Flat top with a Evolution camshaft.. Will get a bit more pep
Previously mentioned my Mercedes = Its 1978 Mercedes 280 - I- 6 Gas engine (upcoming project)
Garage kept since 1980 she purchased like new. ... its beige and brown and kinda boring but has family history . She couldn't fare to trash it for the cost of the Headgasket job when that failed last year, so i adopted it... Now I have moved it twice to different storage locations, will be time to 'fix or forget about it.
Can you buy that gear new? When that surface comes off like they they're done....
Or you sleeve them with aluminum bronze like I did my car and we did something similar for that box Dave did but sleeved the ring not the cone.
It's a pre-A+ box, but I'm pretty sure that gear is still available, unlike the input shaft and 1st gear on a Bugeye transmission....
Yep, on sale right now for £63
http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Gearbox/Helical%20gears/22G1094.aspx?1508&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/2nd%20gear.aspx|Back%20to%20search
That makes it easy 77.gif
Measure I don't know how many times, cut once.
When is it ready to go to paint?
Next got to take it to a welder to fill holes. Then blast all the primer off. Seam seal all over. Then ready to go for paint. Time wise ???
I'm amazed they did not pre-cut that hole for you. They did on mine. They asked what type shifter I would be using when I ordered my shell.
Only one of a number of "wrong" things on this shell he's had to rectify.....
Quote from: Willie_B on November 30, 2019, 04:00:45 PM
Next got to take it to a welder to fill holes. Then blast all the primer off. Seam seal all over. Then ready to go for paint. Time wise ???
Welder to fill the holes? I see in your picture. the floorboard holes have been touched with a grinder. are you speaking to fill those holes. If so , I would advise not to. Just washing the car water will run down the sides and collect in floor, those are the weep holes for floor water.
Same even with a rainy wet shoe day,
Washing a Moke is fun = just get it ALL wet and let the water run out.
The holes that need filling are from the fact they sent a MK2 shell instead of a MK1. Wiper holes are wrong, bonnet mounts have to be moved, holes in top of right side pannier for who knows why. Using old bonnet and it has a few extra holes from past strap brackets. All the other holes had to be hit with a grinder to clean up the rough edges top and bottom.
Quote from: Willie_B on December 03, 2019, 02:15:10 PM
The holes that need filling are from the fact they sent a MK2 shell instead of a MK1. Wiper holes are wrong, bonnet mounts have to be moved, holes in top of right side pannier for who knows why. Using old bonnet and it has a few extra holes from past strap brackets. All the other holes had to be hit with a grinder to clean up the rough edges top and bottom.
Jeez that's a bummer.
I've been learning how to use my new label maker - Dymo 450 - to label the bins on my giant nut and bolt holder. so far so good....but still learning all the ins and outs of it.....sure are a lot easier to read than my scrawl on the little flat paper labels
Looks great. Just don't let anyone else pick parts. They'll be mixed up in no time.
Notice some of the fasteners are silver and some are gold? The gold ones are grade 8, and are less expensive than the grade 5 silver ones!
Dave, do you have the label maker set up as a printer on your computer? Or are you typing on a little keyboard on the maker itself?
Software is on the computer - I type what I want then print it out. Look up Dymo 450.....
looks like a nice unit I may order one for the shop I have an older brother unit but you have to use the small keyboard on it. I also need a new heat shrink tube printer looks like dymo has those too.
It was pretty easy to use, the thing that really drove this purchase is that they were the only ones that offered labels in this exact size. Why was that important? They perfectly cover the old labels so I didn't have to spend days scraping them off! :D
I also like the large font, so I can read them without my glasses!
A shrink tube printer is an excellent idea! Especially if you do a lot of electrical repairs like you do.
Justin came by with a truck bed for me to paint. I owed him big favors for helping me move into the shop years ago and for giving me the monster air compressor. So got it painted for him. Also putting my bonnet buttons on and seeing how they blend in. Happy with them.
Not quite in it, but just outside it..... 77.gif
Took advantage of the 64* temps and gave the '89 Racing green Mini a bath. Also swapped it off the lift with the '66 Cooper S
Next job smooth-a-rides for you?
Still need to do more work on the basement, finish the transmission for Clancy and a bunch of other small projects....maybe buy my new compressor too. Besides, the Inno will be back soon and I want to finish it.....
I repaired my garage door today. It was having trouble because a couple of panels started sagging in the middle and they would come in contact during the closing process and bind - causing too much resistance so the door would trigger the safety and open back up. I went to Home Depot and looked for some type of strengthening metal I could use such as angle iron. But none of that stuff really seem to be what I wanted. I had success in the electrical aisle where I found some bracing used for hanging electrical conduit. Not only was it pre-drilled but it was in a U-shape providing the extra strength and light weight I wanted. Bingo!
My local Home Depot has a pretty limited selection of available nuts and bolts – I couldn't find what I needed for this project. So I took a trip to Tractor Supply and they had a great selection of nuts and bolts hardware. The best part was it's priced in bulk - just $3.59 per pound rather than the per unit pricing of Home Depot (28 cents per nut?!). Tractor Supply pricing makes it probably 1/4 the price of the same stuff at Home Depot. I know where I'm going to shop for that stuff from now on.
I bought a new Harbor Freight compression tester, these newer engines have tiny little spark plugs and I couldn't find the correct adaptor to make my old tester work so for $26 I bought their set.......except.
We ran compression on Don's Pup trying to find where he's losing water and while the cylinders were even, it only showed 120-125 lbs.......today we decided to retest with a warm engine and holding the throttle open but got the same results. On a lark I decided to try my old tester - 175-170 across the board!
So my brand new HF compression tester is off by 50lbs. :-[ ::) 22.gif
I'm continuing to work on cleaning out the basement and garage, so far I have thrown out about 50 lbs of old nuts, bolts and other hardware and I bet I can find 50 more before I'm done. I also just seem to have a lot of stuff - hard to throw away stuff. And tools.....I have so many extra tools. I think that stuff will wind up going to Habitat or Restore.....I can't bear to throw it away when it's good usable stuff.
I have a couple of extra tool boxes I could fill, but that's just putting it off again.....time for it to go somewhere else.
Quote from: MiniDave on January 05, 2020, 12:42:10 PM
We ran compression on Don's Pup trying to find where he's losing water and while the cylinders were even, it only showed 120-125 lbs.....
I'm picturing Don's near-heart attack at that result. He must have been so happy to learn the readings were wrong.
Yes, but......
We're no closer to understanding why it's using so much water and overheating. All the plugs look normal, compression is even and good, and we stuck a borescope down the plug holes and all the pistons look evenly carboned up.
So, where the hell is the water going?
We've looked it over carefully and have yet to find any trace of a leak.............anywhere.
Top it off, fire it up, and watch for leaks?
We've done that extensively, even had it up on the rack! 77.gif
Do you have a cooling system pressure tester? Not only can you do a pressure test all night if needed but also put it on and watch the gauge to make sure combustion gasses are not overpressuring the cooling system. If you pressure it overnight and it loses pressure with no sign of leak pull the plugs before you crank it (I know you know that just a reminder)
Or go the other way if you have a cylinder leak down tester or rig one pressure up each cylinder and watch for bubbles in the coolant.
One of the testers where the fluid changes from blue to yellow or a 4 or 5 gas analyzer sniffer over the radiator opening is the best way.
Be patience with either method it takes several minutes or longer to show up.
Hate to even suggest it but back in my full-time automotive days we did a ton of head gaskets on those and they were always hard to diagnose mystery coolant loss pass all the normal tests etc... Half the time the cracks around the exhaust valve seat are bad enough to junk the head or were the problem to start with. The only engine worse for head gaskets at that time was the dodge neon.
Worth mentioning even though most have been replaced during a timing belt the early water pumps tended to have impeller erosion problems.
Maybe the coolant is just going out the overflow from the overheat and it'll be simple.
Turned this.
Into this for Dave. I know, what a guy that I am willing to do it.
Or rather this.
A tool to pull a bushing out of a transmission.
Looks pretty good now, much better than that rats nest! ;D
Pretty cool how you turned a pile of steel "hair" into a solid part! 77.gif
Did you bore the 3/8" hole in that one?
Quote from: MiniDave on January 06, 2020, 09:20:42 AM
Did you bore the 3/8" hole in that one?
Yep, I did drill the hole.
Still getting used to drilling holes with a lathe. Different seeing the drill bit stationary and the part turning.
While I'm waiting for parts to build this trans, I may push that old bushing back in and pull it out again just to verify that the tool works and get some experience with it.
Both done. The one with the hole to pull it, other one to push new one in. Now to clean up.
I tried to buy a new bushing from Vicky Brits....they were out of them. ::)
Wish I had a place to put one of those mini-lathes, I don't need one often, but when you do......
Replaced the belt on the 2013 countryman today at 97k it was about to remove itself I think.
Easy to do but all the snow and ice in the wheel well didn't help.
Whew, I guess it was done! You were on borrowed time with that one.....my water pump was replaced a couple of months ago so they did my belt at the same time, mine had 95K but didn't look bad at all. Those inner wheel well shields really do seem to work, keeping crap off the steel....
I just flushed all my brake fluid too, but it also was surprisingly clean and clear considering I hadn't done it in about 5 years.
I am being stupid. I pulled out a slot cat set that includes items from the 60s and stuff I added when my children were young. My children are in their 30s now.
I am finishing off a wiring project that I never completed close to 20 years ago.
As you can see in the background there are bins of old mini parts to be sorted and new parts to be installed. Yet here i am trying to make a "vintage" slot car set run again...
Quote from: bikewiz on January 14, 2020, 04:23:02 PM
Finally hard lined my shop for air. No more running a 50' rubber line. I have two drops one near my blast cabinet and one at the front roll up door.
What do those desiccant cartridges cost?
Quote from: tmsmini on January 14, 2020, 04:41:13 PM
I am being stupid. I pulled out a slot cat set that includes items from the 60s and stuff I added when my children were young. My children are in their 30s now.
I am finishing off a wiring project that I never completed close to 20 years ago.
As you can see in the background there are bins of old mini parts to be sorted and new parts to be installed. Yet here i am trying to make a "vintage" slot car set run again...
Cool! I've never seen Mini slot cars before.
I used to have a Ninco brand set of the new (BMW) MINI.
All the news that's fit to....erm, type!
So, business is picking up in MiniDave's little shop of horrors ;D
Right now I have 2 Sprite gearboxes waiting for parts, both are getting close ratio straight cut gears - one will be used in a racecar, the other in a street Lotus 7 that will get autocrossed.....which I think is a mistake unless he plans to run the whole course in first gear. These gearsets have a very tall first gear, on a racecar at 7500 rpm they'll do almost 70 mph! so it will be miserable from a standing start - all the current race classes for Sprites do a 40 mph or so rolling start, but autocrosses are all standing start. We'll see......
I also have a Mini gearbox coming in on Sat for a final drive change - the owner is tired of it "revving it's nuts off" on the highway (his words) so we're going tall - 2.76.
At the same time they're dropping 2 Sprite motors (both 1275's) off to be rebuilt .....at my leisure.
I have a 998 being shipped in from Boston of all places for a complete overhaul, and maybe another coming from new forum member Dale in Illinois. The Boston one has been pulled from the car and is on a pallet and ready to ship......Dale's is out but he's wondering if he might find a good 1275 instead.....
Oh, and some work to do to the Racing Green to get ready for our Texas trip and an Innocenti to finish, and a basement to finish cleaning out so I can put in a new electrical panel and a new air compressor and blast tank and......and......and.....whew!
About 20 years ago the bride and I bought a few acres out south of town to build our dream and forever home on, it's a fantastic bit of countryside, south facing, gentle rolling hills, lots of trees, a nice sized pond....looks almost like a park. Unfortunately she was diagnosed with cancer about a year after we bought it, and by the time she was healthy again (thank dog) we were in the middle of a recession and she was concerned about spending THAT much money. On top of that the construction costs were WAY above what we had expected - as much a twice to three times as much - so we put it on pause, but not before we had spent about $10K in architect's fees trying to get a place we could both love and still afford. Then I was "retired" and the money stopped coming in so that pretty much killed the whole project. Since then I've been mowing and keeping the brush at bay while we waited for the market to come back - which it finally has. We put it on the market this past summer at a fairly stiff price as it's literally the only open piece of buildable property within about 10 miles of it's location, location, location. A few days ago we got a low ball offer, I countered at just a few thou off my asking and when they countered a few thou up I just told them no thanks. Today they came back with a serious offer and if we work out the details, it's sold. I'll be happy not to have to mow it anymore, but sad that we never got to do what we wanted. In a weird bit of symmetry, it was almost exactly this date in January when we bought it.
Moral of the story.....don't wait, even if it looks scary - go ahead and jump in!
Quote from: MPlayle on January 15, 2020, 09:06:16 AM
I used to have a Ninco brand set of the new (BMW) MINI.
I got the slot cars working, but some things need attention. At least I am not laying on my back on concrete or hitting may head on a bonnet latch. We have a set of Ninco BMW MINIs as well. Just like a real vintage car, it is not good to site and not be used.
https://www.facebook.com/terry.smith.75873/videos/10100384435999741/ (https://www.facebook.com/terry.smith.75873/videos/10100384435999741/)
Even though it looks so simple I spent probably 3 hours fitting the moke bonnet. Bend here, reform the side curve on the other side then tweak the pivot point up one side and down on the other.
Looks good now. are you going to do something with the wrinkles in the front panel at the curve there?
Not sure. They may have been left that way when new. Might try some filler just to see. Also ordered some sanding boards and sandpaper. Getting ready for that step.
Quote from: Willie_B on January 19, 2020, 06:57:33 PM
Not sure. They may have been left that way when new. Might try some filler just to see. Also ordered some sanding boards and sandpaper. Getting ready for that step.
I just looked at two Mokes the one had slight marks which were very hard to see and as far as I can tell one re paint the other had none and has original paint.
Turned over the 66 to the owner and have shop space open again! Just 3 or 5 more paint jobs to go before I'm free!
Congrats on finally sending that one on it's way.
I know it's been a real effort for Dan to get this one done, I'm sure he's happy to see the tail lights go over the curb.
Hope he takes some vid and pics of it and the happy owner!
I finished up and delivered a Mini engine back to it's owner after changing the final drive. I was lucky and was able to swap it without pulling the engine off the gearbox, sometimes the pinion nut just does not want to come off so you have to split them so you can engage two gears at once to hold the shaft while you break the nut loose. On this one I stuck it in gear and used my impact wrench and it came off.
this is a late enough gearbox that I didn't even have to machine the extra clearance on the bearing retainer like I did when I changed it on Buzz.
We went from a 3.44 to a 2.76, the owner said he was tired of hearing it "rev it's nuts off" on the highway!
New stub axle and shift shaft seals, all new gaskets and shimmed properly. I spent more time cleaning old gaskets off than doing the swap! Also new diff retainer bolts and locktabs.
For the first time in about 45 years of oil changes I finally did the classic mess up. I started adding fresh oil to the engine without first reinstalling the drain plug. D'oh! My synapses finally fired and I caught my idiotic mistake about 2 quarts in while pouring from a 5qt container. Fortunately I still had the oil drain pan in place, so no mess on the floor. I won't be making this mistake again!
Lol Bruce :-[
Quote from: BruceK on February 07, 2020, 07:07:48 PM
For the first time in about 45 years of oil changes I finally did the classic mess up. I started adding fresh oil to the engine without first reinstalling the drain plug. D'oh! My synapses finally fired and I caught my idiotic mistake about 2 quarts in while pouring from a 5qt container. Fortunately I still had the oil drain pan in place, so no mess on the floor. I won't be making this mistake again!
My son came ovedr in his 05 Mini Cooper S to do an oil change and taught me a valuable lesson in too many cooks in the kitchen.
I was under the car draining the oil. I jumped out, he jumped in and did the filter, I sauntered away.
He never put the drain plug back in and assumed I did.
He started filling the oil, like you, put 5 quarts in, never noticed it overflowing from the drain pan and running down the driveway. He checked the dipstick and asked me, who was busy on something in the garage, what the capacity was. We walk to the side of the car... FUCK!!
Because I am nice and people are assholes, I lended out my gas powered pressure cleaner one time too many, my BIL who used it last returned in a year ago with gas still in it after being told to empty it. So it was dead. We ran to Home Depot and bought a cheap electric one, and 5 quarts of Mobile One.
We finished his car and pressure washed the driveway.
Been there done that got the T-shirt. We all do it, once..... and only once.
I have been trying like hell to find time to do a decent project on my FJ Cruiser, with 185K miles on it, I felt it was finally time to change the OEM Rotors and do the brakes. I have a set of 16x10 steelie rims that have been on it 9 years, they developed surface rust blisters on them 1 year after installing. The seller told me they would do right by me, they didn't. So I promised myself when these Bridgestone Revo's wore out, I would replace the rims too. I purchased 5 alloy rims from tire rack and had 4 new Revo's mounted. I will deal with the spare at my leisure. I do not even carry the spare on the truck unless I am on a road trip.
I pulled the front rims today and inspected the pads, they are at 50-70% still, much to my amazement, this truck is really easy on brakes. So I decided to shelve the brake job until it is really needed and just do the rim/tie swap.
I called the 16 y/o into the driveway, he did the lug installs while I did the anti-seize application. Then he helped re-install the center caps and I made him torque the lugs, which was fun to watch. ;D
I took it for a test drive and it rode like a buckboard, I continued on my route, which was to swap a padlock on my storage unit then head to the beverage store for some tasty beer.
I got home and tried to check the tire pressure, expecting 40-50 PSI, I was so wrong, none of my gauges registered the pressure, they all topped out at 90PSI and it took a long time of bleeding pressure to get under 90PSI, I am guessing 120-130 PSI... Why?????? I know they go that high to seat the tires, they typically drop it back down.
So I pulled the schrader valves on all 4 tires and sat and waited for minutes to get it down to 40 PSI, then put it in and dropped to 37 PSI... for now.
The aggressive offset was very noticeable. I also noticed the new tires are easy 2" taller than the old tires. I had the old tires 1" off the ground and had to raise the truck another 1" to get the luges to line up. 83 pounds per tire, you do not want to lift much.
Before:
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Nwc8bBV/0/2e15acbf/M/i-Nwc8bBV-M.jpg)
After:
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-nGF6z9X/0/d8584264/L/i-nGF6z9X-L.jpg)
Offset:
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-WjsZKfc/0/eaeae8c6/L/i-WjsZKfc-L.jpg)
Just FYI, When I was teaching automotive courses, we never went over 40psi to seat a tire on the rims.
Quote from: MiniDave on February 09, 2020, 06:27:58 PM
Just FYI, When I was teaching automotive courses, we never went over 40psi to seat a tire on the rims.
Call Tire Rack and tell them.
I was astounded by the pressure. I am underestimating at 120-130 as it took a long time to get to the point where I could get a reading.
It was at that point I started to pull schaeder vales to make it go faster as I was trying to get he BGE smoker going at the same time. I was jumping back and forth.
I think I have an email with the salesman at T.R. still and will question why they went to 120PSI+.
Maybe I will have an answer.
Almost seems borderline dangerous if you sat those out in direct sun on a hot day at those pressures I'd think there's a risk for an explosion.
Or internal damage to the tire driving on them with that much pressure in them.
Gotta a worse oil story. He Remembered the drain plug but forgot the filter. This was on a Toyota 22r, so the filter is high on the passenger side of the block. He fired it up to check it and as he came around and realized what he'd done it was too late. Just pumping oil all over the engine bay and garage cause the hood was still up. Oops.
My oil story is a buddy took off in a cessna 172 at night, forgot to put the dipstick back in before takeoff. Landed at an airport 30 minutes away when he got a high oil temp. Realized it dumped all the oil out which streaked down the side and belly of the plane, lucky it didn't seize on him. I grabbed 8 quarts of oil and the dipstick still laying on the ramp and flew to his rescue. One test lap to verify it was fine and away he went.
Quote from: 94touring on February 09, 2020, 07:56:51 PM
Almost seems borderline dangerous if you sat those out in direct sun on a hot day at those pressures I'd think there's a risk for an explosion.
Thank god it is relatively cool here in FloRida with temps in the 60's.
I only drove it 1.5 miles to my storage unit where it sat for 10 mins or so as I sorted out things there.
Then another 2 miles to the Beverage store, where I probably spent 5 minutes, then 2 miles home.
When I got home I was amazed... I will be contacting Tire Rack tomorrow and asking.. WTF??!!
Curious what they say. I had some little 4 inch inflatable tires on a car dolly for minis that I apparently over inflated ( they probably held 15psi or something low and I went to 25 or something) anyways I sat the dolly outside in the morning, sun came up, temps rose, next thing I hear is a shotgun being fired outside. Nope, 2 tires blew.
I used to hold shop days in my shop for the KC MINI club, one less than stellar mind wanted to change the oil on his R53. The cannister style oil filter is located on the back of the block under the exhaust manifold, impossible to see so you just have to feel your way. I explained about being careful that you didn't cut the o-ring when putting the cannister back in place and tightening it. He said he was sure he had it dead right, added oil closed the bonnet, jumped in, fired it up and backed out of my garage. Left the Exxon Valdez trail behind. Fortunately I saw it as he backed out and brought him back in again.
I pulled the cannister off and replaced the nicked o-ring and put it back on again, tightened it up, added oil and had him lay on the floor while I started it up and had him watch for leaks - exactly what i had told him to do the first time. It was fine so I tooped it off and he spent the next 2 hours cleaning my shop floor
I did the forget the plug thing on my 280 Mercedes when I was 17 put all the oil in and saw it coming out from under the car it was my only running car at the time and I had no more oil. Too embarrassed to call for a ride to the store I had to finish a carb. rebuild on my 63 mercury comet and take it to buy more oil and cat litter to clean up the mess.
One and only time that has happened.
Another time on a 300td Mercedes I had I realized I put the wrong oil in (non-diesel) and instead of thinking I just pulled the plug and drained it. Well that was the only oil I had and again the only working car. So I finished up the install of a two-speed toyoglide automatic I had just rebuilt into a Toyota corona car only to realize I didn't have any tranny fluid.
Last resort I had an international 110 pickup with a badly slipping clutch so I put it in low range so it would move and limped it to the parts store and back at 20 MPH. Asking for help just wasn't something I did then or now it just doesn't even occur to me as an option.
"Asking for help just wasn't something I did then or now it just doesn't even occur to me as an option"
I was the same way - still am to a great degree, although I'm not above asking a neighbor to help me lift something heavy now.
Response from Tire rack.
QuoteGood afternoon,
Thank you for your follow up. These would have shipped at 80 psi since they are a 10 ply tire. We do not believe there is a safety issue as long as the pressures have been adjusted as you mentioned you did already. If you are concerned about it we can look in replacing the tires since we don't know how high they were. Please let me know how you would like to proceed.
We thank you for your business. If you need further assistance or have any other questions, please contact our Customer Service Department and we'll be happy to assist you.
Years ago I had a nice network of friends we all leaned on each other as needed, any one of us would drop what we were doing and help the other out.
During the 2004 Hurricane season we were running around helping each other, and each others families out before, during the after the 2 storms hit us. We joked around that we were the do all team.
There were 5 of us, 3 of us worked together. Sadly as the years went by the crew is all broken up and spread out far away. Recently one guy called me and needed a survey on his MIL's house 60 miles from my office, I did not hesitate to clear a day out of my hectic schedule, head down there and hook him up for free.
I have no problem asking good friends for help and I have no problem helping them out in a pinch as well. Its always been that way with that crew. I miss those guys, we were a great team.
Cool.
So, what are you going to do about the tires?
Quote from: MiniDave on February 12, 2020, 03:31:13 PM
Cool.
So, what are you going to do about the tires?
I am going to reply that they did not ship at 80 PSI and seemed more like 120 PSI, I am then going to ask if I should be concerned about my safety, and if they would suggest changing out the tires.
I am not sure what kind of damage can be done I am not a tire engineer.
I started the classic mini and warmed it up.
Changed the transmission fluid and transfer case fluid in the countryman. wanted to change the rear diff also but it got too damn cold maybe next weekend.
Re the tires. Email the tire manufacturer and see what they say.
Quote from: jeff10049 on February 16, 2020, 09:32:42 PM
I started the classic mini and warmed it up.
Changed the transmission fluid and transfer case fluid in the countryman. wanted to change the rear diff also but it got too damn cold maybe next weekend.
Re the tires. Email the tire manufacturer and see what they say.
Great idea, I will do that.
I have had all the extra un-needed holes in the moke welded. The last 2 days I have been going through the parts boxes to see what I need to drill new holes for. The tail light large holes were punched but I had to cut out for the mounting screws. Then needed holes for the rear reflectors, rear tag mount metal plate.
I need 3-4 dry days to be able to pull the moke from the basement to the driveway so I can take it to have the primer blasted off. The place I have powder coating done said to bring it by for a quote for just the blasting. The body shop that did my mini repairs is in the next building down so they said they could spray the first primer on it just after blasting.
Revisited the manifold on the SC injected car. I can now easily get the air filter off and on.
Well here's the finished product of my latest adventure. We had the space reshaped and the tile work done by professionals and the big cabinet at the end of the vanities custom built and the counters installed. All the finishing touches, toilet and tub I did. Now it's so nice the wife is scared to use it.
Is that roll of TP for sale? Asking for a friend.
Lol. Wife said not to post pics of it.
Crazy thing was there were six rolls stacked in the bathroom at work.
A chandelier in the bathroom......
I would be afraid to use a sideways bathroom as well.
(Nice work!)
Yea the chandelier was one of her must haves. Looks really cool at night with it on the dimmer switch.
Thanks. It took some work finding everything we wanted in the style and colors.
nothing, but this is what it looks like tonight
I vacuumed Hyacinth's car.
Amazing how much easier it is to pull an engine when you don't have a car in the way.
This one is finally getting rebuilt as a spare and good test engine
Stock JDM MPi motor? What's that big can on the left side of the subframe/bulkhead?
Either smartly or stupidly, all our cars are using the MPi based block. I am not sure which yet. The woodie wagon did do 5K miles last summer, but with an HIF 44.
This engine was to be the test mule for a MicroSquirt based injection system. I never got it all together and went on to the SC injection system instead.
This was the test stand and the "tank" is a swirl pot for the injection system with a built in pump. There was never enough room to install the tank on the LWB cars properly and that is one reason things stalled for a bit. Nick Upton fabricated an in-tank LWB version and that is what the tin wagon uses.
the engine will be rebuilt as I really don't know its status. then I can get back to trying to make the MicroSquirt working.
Have you seen the engine stand I built to run in the engines I build? It's just scrap stuff welded together, but it works slick. Allows me to run in a new cam and set timing and basic carb adjustments, look for leaks, check for hot running etc.
Here's the thread on it..... http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=994.0 (http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=994.0)
Yours is a lot more refined than mine. And yours is finished! When I could not find all the compatible components for the MicroSquirt system, I put it aside. Handy place to store an engine for a few years. Now Moss has has Mega/Microsqirt system fir the B, I can try to see if I can resurrect the concept.
I had to make mine a little more flexible as I build all sorts of A series motors - including those used in Sprites or Minors - and I can probably run B series in there as well - I doubt a 6 will fit tho! 77.gif
Today, I delivered the completed ribcase gearbox, it will be dropped into his Lotus Super 7 for a driver's school at Gingerman in a month. Once back from that event he'll pull the motor and bring it over for a rebuild too sometime this summer.
Looking forward to building several Sprite racemotors and gearboxes this year.
Felt like putting the dash together this morning. Not close to needing it, just wanted to see what it's going to look like.
Didn't like the wires and tubing exposed from the lower gauges so covered it with a short piece of tubing.
Looks pretty sweet. I've been refraining from doing this with my stereo setup I have waiting to go in the mini. This quarantine crap may change that.
As the former owner of an 850 Moke, I got a chuckle on the Warp Drive switch. But I guess, technically speaking, when you throw that switch, the photons emitted from the headlights will be traveling at the speed of light.
Quote from: BruceK on March 31, 2020, 01:09:58 PM
As the former owner of an 850 Moke, I got a chuckle on the Warp Drive switch. But I guess, technically speaking, when you throw that switch, the photons emitted from the headlights will be traveling at the speed of light.
71.gif 4.gif
Saw this idea in an old magazine. I had to make then add the boot board. There are kits that have all the bits, even kits made for 165 size spares for that extra bit of height. Then add a vintage suitcase off ebay for 7 dollars. It will hold jack and tools and whatever. Just ordered two leather belts for hold down straps.
Is that some sort of insulation on the back of the seat wall?
Yes, it is stuck on the seatback and parcel shelf. It was there when I got the car. 1/2' thick with black plastic outer layer.
What do the bootboard bracket kits cost? Who has them?
I got them from Somerford.
Cool! The vintage suitcase reminds me of the old suitcase that Justin has on the rack on top of Buzz during the Hill Country drives in 2017. What was even cooler was that the suitcase was the one he used during his childhood.
The lady it came from told me she kept her Barbie dolls in it. Still has a Barbie sticker on it, not for long though.
£30.50 for the kit, is that just the brackets? there wasn't much of a description on their website and no picture.
It comes with all the brackets, rubber bumpers and rivets. Look at the kit for 145 tyres, it has a drawing of the bits.
OK. Did you attach yours with pop rivets or?
Besides firing up the new compressor I tidied up the garage today and started designing the brackets for the new seats for the green car.
Yes, all the parts are installed using rivets. The only ones that show are on the lower lip of the boot opening. Was hard to drill thru that nice new paint.
1978 Mercedes 280 Se = Gas I6.... My aunt bought it used in 79' brought her son home in it + i tooled around in it when I was young with my mom... Remembered the brown interior + HUGE inside space.
Over the years She drove it forever. kept it going and she was known around Mclean Northern Virgina with herself a Blonde driving "Blondie"
Late 2018 Blondie had some hiccups... wouldn't go.. slowed down.. SO my uncle took it out to ' Blow her out!... that didn't go well... Car LIMPED home... Next day they set to go to the shop with it. on its way there- it didnt make it = ultimate failure.. Tow to the shop. Shop gave her a 5000$ quote to fix it... I never saw the quote but it was too much / more than she was willing to spend on her... Sad. (Northern Virginia Independent shop price). My aunt also couldn't throw Blondie away.. so she sad in the garage. about 6 more months. That next spring, my uncle visited in Charlotte and we were chatting about how Blondie needs to 'go' and my aunt already replaced her car with a NEW Mercedes....so Blondie sitting wasn't doing anyone good. I said I was interested, but not interested in towing or pickup= = My uncle offered to deliver it to me... Can i say NO to a FREE CAR! Aunt Carol was happy i would take her.. however i DID leave the disclaimer that this car MIGHT STILL go away... He delivered it last spring to me.. I sent it to a friends garage for a place for a while.. That garage space ended.. it had to go to another lot ( under a cover ) sat for another 6 months... Last week i had Blondie towed to the house... to get a real look at.
She still started and moved under idle. but poorly = sounded HORRIBLE. I thought BELTS or a pulley was letting go.so i removed all the belts.. STILL Loud. Noise pointed to the Exhaust side. Digging in = exhaust is blowing out from under the manifolds= and there is a VERY crunchy tube from the EGR side of things... ( no Airpump belt installed + its locked up ) so no worries about air pump/emissions controls. well looks like the EGR is blown out= and needs 'closed up"
Opening is the size of a penny... with some scrap metal and a clamp Thats blocked off now... but now the car wont run. or barely chugs.. Unblock it to test = Runs .. Plug EGR = wont run.. Clue the exhaust issue... Unbolt the down pipes from the manifolds ( easy 4 Bolts) RUNS GREAT! = Clogged Exhaust. ok = someone in time has replaced the converter... a weld in.. Lets look at that.. Chop out= EWW. Cant see thru the converter. One side is melty... Chop it out.. plan to weld a pipe back in..EH why Weld back in what was removed.= Cored out the cat= Welded back in = She Purr's like a kitten!
Well that turned into late that night.. Next day= test drives... SO far = 10 -15 miles.. no worries. eve at 70 on the interstate.
Around the neighborhood... She purr's - She has her quirks but she goes.. (kids like her huge backseat too). Wife strolled her around some too... Wants to do a few 'commutes with her' when we get back going to work.
100$ to basic insure with Hagerty...
Need DMV to open to get a plate.
Back seats are deteriorated (horse hair) working with an aphulster this week to put some of those back together.
Blondie will ride again.
Got the boot suitcase finished. Added rubber feet to side that is down to keep the leather sides from shredding on the rubber mat. Then cut a piece of 1/4" plywood for the inside, the feet are bolted thru this. Cut a few slots in the board to use hook/loop straps to securely tie the jack and large flashlight down. Other loose items like lug wrench and jack handle get strapped to the jack. Then the other stuff is fit in. Yes those are wiper blades in there. Ever try to find a pair in the boonies when they die? Add two leather belts to hold it in place. With the rubber feet and rubber mat it does not move.
Very cool project!
Made a roll cage for the moke.
How will you flip it, end over or roll over Rover? ;D
I swapped the winter wheels/tires for the summer wheels/tires today, and swapped the cast rear drums for the summer super minifins.
Next up - try to find a quality thermostat.
Quote from: MiniDave on April 25, 2020, 03:50:54 PM
How will you flip it, end over or roll over Rover? ;D
It is not attached so just sit it on its wheels then flip the shell. Probably have to set it down on its side to reposition the grip.
I was thinking totally different thing when I read roll cage. Lol
Quote from: gr8kornholio on April 25, 2020, 06:41:55 PM
I was thinking totally different thing when I read roll cage. Lol
That was the point. Make you look and think to figure out my warped reasoning, and it's fun also.
I discovered this from the Woodie.
Hasn't been driven in weeks and Renee wanted to use for today's errands...
Coolant drips
Weep hole from the water pump perhaps?
Could be, certainly not much. But something to keep an eye on. With three Minis, it will need to be put on the list. At least we are not making any 5000 mile trips this year.
Quote from: jedduh01 on April 13, 2020, 10:08:54 AM
1978 Mercedes 280 Se = Gas I6.... My aunt bought it used in 79' brought her son home in it + i tooled around in it when I was young with my mom... Remembered the brown interior + HUGE inside space.
Over the years She drove it forever. kept it going and she was known around Mclean Northern Virgina with herself a Blonde driving "Blondie"
Late 2018 Blondie had some hiccups... wouldn't go.. slowed down.. SO my uncle took it out to ' Blow her out!... that didn't go well... Car LIMPED home... Next day they set to go to the shop with it. on its way there- it didnt make it = ultimate failure.. Tow to the shop. Shop gave her a 5000$ quote to fix it... I never saw the quote but it was too much / more than she was willing to spend on her... Sad. (Northern Virginia Independent shop price). My aunt also couldn't throw Blondie away.. so she sad in the garage. about 6 more months. That next spring, my uncle visited in Charlotte and we were chatting about how Blondie needs to 'go' and my aunt already replaced her car with a NEW Mercedes....so Blondie sitting wasn't doing anyone good. I said I was interested, but not interested in towing or pickup= = My uncle offered to deliver it to me... Can i say NO to a FREE CAR! Aunt Carol was happy i would take her.. however i DID leave the disclaimer that this car MIGHT STILL go away... He delivered it last spring to me.. I sent it to a friends garage for a place for a while.. That garage space ended.. it had to go to another lot ( under a cover ) sat for another 6 months... Last week i had Blondie towed to the house... to get a real look at.
She still started and moved under idle. but poorly = sounded HORRIBLE. I thought BELTS or a pulley was letting go.so i removed all the belts.. STILL Loud. Noise pointed to the Exhaust side. Digging in = exhaust is blowing out from under the manifolds= and there is a VERY crunchy tube from the EGR side of things... ( no Airpump belt installed + its locked up ) so no worries about air pump/emissions controls. well looks like the EGR is blown out= and needs 'closed up"
Opening is the size of a penny... with some scrap metal and a clamp Thats blocked off now... but now the car wont run. or barely chugs.. Unblock it to test = Runs .. Plug EGR = wont run.. Clue the exhaust issue... Unbolt the down pipes from the manifolds ( easy 4 Bolts) RUNS GREAT! = Clogged Exhaust. ok = someone in time has replaced the converter... a weld in.. Lets look at that.. Chop out= EWW. Cant see thru the converter. One side is melty... Chop it out.. plan to weld a pipe back in..EH why Weld back in what was removed.= Cored out the cat= Welded back in = She Purr's like a kitten!
Well that turned into late that night.. Next day= test drives... SO far = 10 -15 miles.. no worries. eve at 70 on the interstate.
Around the neighborhood... She purr's - She has her quirks but she goes.. (kids like her huge backseat too). Wife strolled her around some too... Wants to do a few 'commutes with her' when we get back going to work.
100$ to basic insure with Hagerty...
Need DMV to open to get a plate.
Back seats are deteriorated (horse hair) working with an aphulster this week to put some of those back together.
Blondie will ride again.
So cool. That's back when Mercedes was run by humorless stern-faced engineers who built the best damn car they could, and they didn't worry about how to sell it. It would sell itself on its merits. Quite different from today's company run by the marketing department intent on broadening the appeal of the brand.
I think all the German mfrs seem to be headed to the bottom line, sell as many as possible and never mind how long it lasts....
Took the intake off of the 2013 mini at 100k miles to do an intake valve cleaning. I knew it wouldn't need much but wanted to show a customer the difference between maintaining a car properly vs what they had been doing.
This is proof that quality oil at proper change intervals a good air filter and good fuel make a difference.
I have had customer cars with 40k that were almost undrivable due to intake valve build up. They were using cheap oil and 10+k interval changes. cheap gas and low-quality air filters. Once we get them set up all of the problems they were having go away.
Ours at 100k really needed nothing I cleaned it anyway to remove what little was in there.
Here is the before pic.
That's a non-turbo engine, right?
The direct injected turbo models are a lot worse I'm given to understand, due to the blowby and PCV being blown into the intake just before the valves, and no fuel to wash them off?
I know mine at 50K looked a lot worse than that, and I do proper oil changes, use factory filters and Tier 1 gasoline......I'm about due to do it again as I'm at 95K now.
It is a direct-injected turbo. 2013 countryman S All4.
Years of being in the field I have noticed the opposite of all the hype about direct-injected engines being worse. I have had plenty of port injected and even carburetor engines apart that had very bad intake valve deposits. Not that direct-injected engines can't or don't have build up just doesn't really seem any worse from what I have seen. The intake manifolds actually seem to stay cleaner in the direct-injected engines.
You're both right.....Audi used this method to clean the intake ports on it's engines well before they went to direct injection, and MINI recommends this every 50K for their direct injected engines like jeff10049's and my 2009 Clubby. But on direct injected engines the fuel quality has nothing to do with the ports getting gummed up as the fuel never sees the ports - which is partly why they have a problem with them clogging up, no fuel to wash them clean.
Toyota started using the dual injection first, partly for this reason and partly for performance/fuel mileage reasons and Ford went down the same road.
The biggest thing is oil use oil with low evaporation rate like Castrol synthetic for GDI engines.
The evaporation of oil is called the NOACK test certain oils score poorly
Amsoil is one of the best.
It gets more confusing NOACK score isn't everything some oils that score poorly actually performed better in GDI engines due to the evaporated oil not being able to polymerize back into larger molecules on the back of the valves.
This is due to the compounds that are evaporating from the oil. What base stocks did they start with? what processes were used to create a synthetic oil from them? all play a role in how the evaporated oil will react with oxygen and moisture in the intake system.
The soot on the back of the intake valve is a great place for that oil to hang out and form a polymer chain. Using the oxygen and moisture in the air to help do this. It will actually form a polymer very similar to certain plastics. That's why it can be so resilient and hard to remove.
Mobile 1 is one of the worst for polymerizing from what I have seen and their formulation probably has something to do with it.
I won't say its bad oil because it does most things an oil needs to do pretty well but I would never run it in a GDI engine.
My car has had Castrol and only had dry soot on the back of the valves most of it blew off with the air bower. A quick soak with some carb cleaner and blow out into a rag and the valves were spotless. No need to blast at all.
I also noticed that my intake pipes had very little oil in them most new customer cars I do before we get them switched over to good oils and change intervals have oil puddled in the manifold and pipes a couple of teaspoons worth usually.
What does the Castrol cost per quart? I buy Mobil One at Wally World for like $22/ 5 qts on sale
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Castrol-EDGE-5W-30-Advanced-Full-Synthetic-Motor-Oil-5-Quarts/34039135
cool, similar price deal. I always use the factory oil and air filters (or Wix equivalents) as I used a regular auto parts store version one time and it collapsed!
1st time at the shop in awhile. Got the POS clubman moved to take pics of the 67s shell for a guy. It took effort. Took some inventory to continue on Mark's Aussie.
Shipped out some more of my uncle's tools, I'm down to just the specialty stuff now but I've had some luck marketing them on the HAMB, which is dedicated to custom cars and traditional hot rods all pre-1964, so right up the alley for those guys.
My uncle was a Mopar man so I have some stuff specifically for those older cars - and have found guys looking for the exact tools I have. It's been interesting figuring out exactly what some of these things do - for example, I found a dial indicator setup that looked like it might be to set TDC - turns out old flat head Dodges and Plymouths had a plug you remove to insert this tool to set the timing chain up or something - anyway, found a guy with one of those engines who jumped on it the moment I listed it!
He has some buddies with similar cars so I sent him the link on the set of special transmission tools I have too. I'm down to just a few things now, I'm glad they all went to guys who - even if they flip them on Ebay or something - eventually I think they'll wind up in the hands of a guy who will use and appreciate them.
Got new parts washer solvent today, they don't normally deliver to a house, but I knew the guy from school, so he makes an exception. I call him direct in his truck and he's usually here in an hour. $167 for 25 gallons delivered and old stuff hauled off.
Crystal Clean - 1/3 the price of Safety Clean for basically the same stuff.
https://www.crystal-clean.com/services/parts-cleaners/ (https://www.crystal-clean.com/services/parts-cleaners/)
Since the solvent tank is all the way in the back of the shop, I have to get everything moved to the other end to get access, so I can take the tank off the barrel, and since I'm doing THAT, I take the opportunity to clean and sweep up....lord knows it needed it!
Now I can go ahead and strip down the automatic transmission and clean the case up - it's pretty encrusted with grease and crap. One tip - don't ever use red rags to work on an automatic, it leaves red fuzz in it and that can clog the filter really quickly. Always use lint free rags.
I won't start on that till after the parts get here so I can take the head and block off to the machine shop, I just don't have room on the bench for all this stuff.
Tackled changing the front passenger side power door lock on my 2016 Jeep Wrangler. What a pain in the *** that was.
It is not overly complex, but some aspects are disassemble/reassemble in a jig-saw puzzle manner. Lots of having to move the window glass up & down to get the various plastic brackets back together without breaking.
Got it all done and the locking system on that door all works properly again.
When I put my new tires and rims on my FJ, the tires now stick out a little past the stock fenders. I bought some Bushwacker fenders and tossed those on. I did this a lot at a time over a week after work.
Quote from: Jims5543 on May 12, 2020, 07:11:01 AM
When I put my new tires and rims on my FJ, the tires now stick out a little past the stock fenders. I bought some Bushwacker fenders and tossed those on. I did this a lot at a time over a week after work.
Little things make a big difference. Looks good with the new fenders.
Indeed.. It feels faster too now. I think I picked up 20 HP.
Added a heavy bag from my gantry crane to hit on for when I get pissed at a car.
Quote from: 94touring on May 12, 2020, 09:13:34 AM
Added a heavy bag from my gantry crane to hit on for when I get pissed at a car.
I need something like this!
Trying to post a pic but keep getting an error. Who runs this dump?
Quote from: 94touring on May 12, 2020, 10:22:42 AM
Trying to post a pic but keep getting an error. Who runs this dump?
Some crazy pilot dude!
Where's the picture with the wig?
Quote from: 94touring on May 12, 2020, 09:13:34 AM
Added a heavy bag from my gantry crane to hit on for when I get pissed at a car.
Here's some inspiration Dan.
Quote from: 94touring on May 12, 2020, 10:22:42 AM
Trying to post a pic but keep getting an error. Who runs this dump?
I was getting errors last night, I though it was a drunk detector. ;D
I resized my photos on my phone and they uploaded fine.
Quote from: BruceK on May 12, 2020, 11:08:14 AM
Quote from: 94touring on May 12, 2020, 09:13:34 AM
Added a heavy bag from my gantry crane to hit on for when I get pissed at a car.
That's fantastic
Here's some inspiration Dan.
Got here to meet the 66 owner since he dropped the car off for some tweaks the other day. I played musical cars and it's behind my rx7. Drove the rx7 yesterday to make sure it's still capable. The battery on it's been on the outs but have had a charger on it. Anyways got here and the battery is dead and then some. It won't even let the charger go to a charge mode with it in the car, it just says "wrong" Thought I had a short but it will charge the battery out of my mini in the rx7. So, musical batteries to move it out of the way till he gets here, then a trip to buy a new battery. Always something.
Quote from: 94touring on May 19, 2020, 08:43:52 AM
Got here to meet the 66 owner since he dropped the car off for some tweaks the other day. I played musical cars and it's behind my rx7. Drove the rx7 yesterday to make sure it's still capable. The battery on it's been on the outs but have had a charger on it. Anyways got here and the battery is dead and then some. So, musical batteries to move it out of the way till he gets here, then a trip to buy a new battery. Always something.
The battery in my wife's Infiniti crapped out completely last week. It was just a little over three years old but still partially covered on an Autozone prorated warranty. So I changed that out. And the battery in my '02 MINI was dead a couple of days later too. It had only been about a week since I drove that car, but the dashcam was running. Fortunately I was able to charge it and it's come back to life and seems fine now. That's an Optima battery so not exactly cheap. But then again all car batteries seem to be very expensive these days.
Quote from: BruceK on May 19, 2020, 09:03:11 AM
Quote from: 94touring on May 19, 2020, 08:43:52 AM
Got here to meet the 66 owner since he dropped the car off for some tweaks the other day. I played musical cars and it's behind my rx7. Drove the rx7 yesterday to make sure it's still capable. The battery on it's been on the outs but have had a charger on it. Anyways got here and the battery is dead and then some. So, musical batteries to move it out of the way till he gets here, then a trip to buy a new battery. Always something.
The battery in my wife's Infiniti crapped out completely last week. It was just a little over three years old but still partially covered on an Autozone prorated warranty. So I changed that out. And the battery in my '02 MINI was dead a couple of days later too. It had only been about a week since I drove that car, but the dashcam was running. Fortunately I was able to charge it and it's come back to life and seems fine now. That's an Optima battery so not exactly cheap. But then again all car batteries seem to be very expensive these days.
This battery is probably a handful of years old now so it's due. I suppose there's never an ideal time for a battery to go full dead.
Quote from: 94touring on May 19, 2020, 09:06:31 AM....I suppose there's never an ideal time for a battery to go full dead.
I kinda disagree. The ideal time for a bad battery is when you are at home and you are not in a hurry.
And you have one or several of the following: 1) a spare battery, 2) another car to use, 3) the time and the inclination to mess with the bad battery.
Quote from: BruceK on May 19, 2020, 10:26:13 AM
Quote from: 94touring on May 19, 2020, 09:06:31 AM....I suppose there's never an ideal time for a battery to go full dead.
I kinda disagree. The ideal time for a bad battery is when you are at home and you are not in a hurry.
And you have one or several of the following: 1) a spare battery, 2) another car to use, 3) the time and the inclination to mess with the bad battery.
Lol so basically my day today.
Well here's something. Battery was old and wouldn't take a charge, however my brake lights won't turn off with the new battery. Got under the dash and the switch off the pedal is full open due to a horrible design flaw in the pedal assembly.
The wear pattern indicates there should be a cap of some sort in the pedal for the switch to contact for going off.
Poor design that the hole is there, requiring a cap that can come out and leave the brake lights on to kill batteries.
Yes, why have a hole at all? The plastic grommet broke. I put a bolt through it.
Honda Civic's suffer from the same problem.
Took an easy day, coming down with a cold, probably Coronavirus. Decided to check fluids on my mini. On the drive home yesterday as soon as I hit stop and go in town my temp gauge went halfway from N to H. This is an issue I've had on this car pre fast road 1310cc. Since it's a Chinese rad it came with a Chinese cap. I decided spring rate on the cap was too little and uprated it a few more pounds with a new cap which also incorporates a mechanical temp gauge. Figured this way I could see what halfway between N and H really means. Turns out 212°f. The new cap is also Chinese. Well today I opened the cap and was exactly 1 quart low on fluid, explaining the spike in town. Decided to create an overflow tank and go drive the piss out of the car. Highway at 80mph and in town stop and go. It's even warmer today. Only other thing I decided to do was run my heater core fan in the cabin the whole time. End result was only slightly went above N at peak and no considerable water loss. Gotta love how the water is brown. As a bonus I shook my 1.41 jigawatts coil apart and have to fix this now too.
Mulling things over decided since the heater core fan seemed to do the trick the other day and pre new engine the aux fan worked before, I'd reinstall an aux radiator fan. Except I'm at work and not at my shop and my old aux fan was trashed. So off to ebay it was. Unfortunately all ebay fans in 10 inch that I could find are of Chinese origin, and to hell with their inferior products. Most run $25-35 and have a cfm rating around 900. A little Google search and I found www.mishimoto.com, located in Delaware. For about twice the price of a Chinese fan you could get their standard fan on similar ratings or for $117 get a better fan that puts out 1600cfm. I went with the 1600cfm which also comes with a lifetime warranty.
Doing some google searches for tool organizing I've found a couple US based companies with no mention of where products are produced. Even googling the companies turned up no manufacturing information. Seems people are quickly hiding their goods origin. Seems if you were US based and manufacturing was here you'd be posting loud and proud. Luckily I've found such tool organizing equipment for reasonable price located and made in the US.
Quote from: gr8kornholio on May 24, 2020, 08:44:51 PM
Doing some google searches for tool organizing I've found a couple US based companies with no mention of where products are produced. Even googling the companies turned up no manufacturing information. Seems people are quickly hiding their goods origin. Seems if you were US based and manufacturing was here you'd be posting loud and proud. Luckily I've found such tool organizing equipment for reasonable price located and made in the US.
I am seeing the same thing. I was looking for tape measures for my crew and I. I knew the ones we were using were made in China so I set out to find some made in America. I found a company that claimed they make their tapes in USA. They do, 6 of the 100 or so tapes they offer are American made and none of them are of any use to me.
The search continues.
I also found out my GPS Survey Equipment is American made, I suspect that is to satisfy DOD requirements I was hesitating to buy any new equipment that is Topcon brand and was delighted to see they are American made.
Dan, Mishimoto is a fantastic company, I have a few of their products I think you will be happy with them.
Mark, the Garage Journal is where you need to look for ANY tools or shop equipment - especially US made - those guys know where to get everything.
I thought Mishimoto was a Japanese company till I bought something from them - a radiator for a 2003 MINI.
Yesterday I re-built the shipping container for this 998 automatic - I had been mulling it around for a while so I decided to do some real world figuring. When the engine came to me it was lying on it's side, loosely strapped to the container thru some holes in the side, I decided I could do better.
The first problem was the bottom - the container is just plastic so there was no way it would support a 300+ lb engine on it's own, so first I built a base - just a couple of 2x4s cut to length that fit into the runners in the bottom of the container, then a 3/4" plywood base over them. Then I set a complete engine/trans I had under the workbench into the container to see if it would be too tall. Fit perfectly! I also put a radiator on and it cleared too, along with the exhaust header. I stuck a carb on but it stood too tall, so that will have to go in a separate box in the container.
This means I can run the engine in and when done all I have to do is pull the carb and stick it in the container....and when he gets it all he has to do is bolt it in , add the carb and exhaust and fire it up. I will engineer some braces so the thing won't be sliding about or topple to one side like it did before but I like the way it turned out.
The pallet it shipped in on was broken all to hell when it got here so I threw it away. With the base completed I decided to use the pallet my compressor came on. I removed the top boards as they were set up to only support the feet on the compressor and didn't match the container well, then I cut some scrap 2X6 I had and screwed them down on the top so I would have a strong smooth and flat surface to tie the container to. He just had some ratchet straps tying it to the pallet, I'm thinking I may go ahead and run some lag screws thru the bottom and into the pallet, so it can't shift around and then some ratchet straps over the top again just because. That may be over kill but what the heck.....
The top bolts to the bottom of the container with 18 5/16" bolts and nuts, when it got here there were about 5 nuts still on the bolts, and they were all loose - I'll use nylocks. These containers sell for $200 empty, they're designed for a small block V-8 but the only way I can see shipping one in there is if it's mounted to a metal framework.....and the plastic box is just protection from the elements - and thieves.
The last pic shows how the compressor pallet really didn't work for this container, that's why I replaced the boards with the 2X6s. There will be plenty of room in the box to ship the carb and a few extra bits - I also bought some extra oil filters for him and a case of oil.
Nothing in the last week or so. My daughter is going to graduate school in Charleston. (The Citadel). She was planning to move in July, then June, now next week. So things have been kinda of hectic.
Installed better seats in the Burton - adjustable recliners. Now I can actually reach the pedals comfortably.
Same ones you put in the Marcos?
Those seats look great! Where did you get them? I didn't realize you had the car already. Can't wait to see more about it.
I picked the car up from the port on May 13th.
The new seats are the same ones I put in the Mini Marcos, but in beige vinyl. I ordered them through JEGS.com.
https://www.jegs.com/i/Scat/942/80-1400-54L/10002/-1 (https://www.jegs.com/i/Scat/942/80-1400-54L/10002/-1)
I don't get to start enjoying it yet - with the Covid-19 "lock downs", the DMV office is still closed and so the city "auto crime" unit is not doing VIN verifications until the DMV reopens.
Good comfortable seats make all the difference, don't they? Interesting shift lever support they did.....
I'm really happy with the Subbie seats in my car, if only I could move them back a little more they'd be perfect, but that's not happening unless I modify the companion bins....
Is DMV doing mail in registrations? I'm surprised they won't accept the customs verification from when it came in the port.
Owed the wife a front porch upgrade. She's been hankering to update the front. 2 weekends ago came out to Hacked Back Holly bushes.. We're doing this.
Plans became to add benches to the front porch for seating ( the kids are now really riding bikes in the Culd D Sac ) Make good place to sit and watch.
Bolted 4x4's to the porch = 2x4 Frames to support Trex Decking around the whole unit = Should be rather maintance Free.
------
Secondly = a Newly installed Metal Bean Can master Cylinder from Mini Spares failed within 1 month of use ( covid put back on road) Purchased 4/11/19
Already pulled it out = replaced the seals. Re Installed. Now working - Mini spares is asking for the production stamping info info as there was a recall on these.. Now I have to pull it out again --
____
Time for oil change in the family SUV. among other things.
I like the benches!
Quote from: MiniDave on May 26, 2020, 08:16:36 AM
Is DMV doing mail in registrations? I'm surprised they won't accept the customs verification from when it came in the port.
Since the car came from overseas, it has to have an extra VIN verification performed by the "auto crime" unit of either city or county law enforcement. In San Antonio (city) and Bexar county these are the same unit and they submit the form directly to the regional DMV office by doing the inspection at that office. So if DMV office is closed, no VIN verification. That is only 1 piece of the title/registration process. I also have to get the state safety inspection, then submit a title application along with the customs forms and both inspection confirmations at the tax office (which also needs to be open).
Registration renewals can be done by mail, but new registrations have to be done directly or through a third-party service at an extra fee.
Quote from: MiniDave on May 26, 2020, 08:16:36 AM
Good comfortable seats make all the difference, don't they? Interesting shift lever support they did.....
The whole shift lever arrangement for a Citroen 2CV is different. That up-curved handle and knob comes straight through the firewall on the 2CV. For the Burton it is adapted to come to a floor mounted support. The car is a FWD arrangement with a 2 cylinder "boxer" engine and a 4-speed transmission sitting behind the engine. It all sits out front of the firewall and the shift lever comes vertically out of the transmission.
Yep, I've driven plenty of 2CV's over the years, including one all over Germany that belonged to friends - 55 mph hard over in the right lane on the autobahn is a scary experience!
Quote from: 94touring on May 19, 2020, 11:39:33 AM
Well here's something. Battery was old and wouldn't take a charge, however my brake lights won't turn off with the new battery. Got under the dash and the switch off the pedal is full open due to a horrible design flaw in the pedal assembly.
Thought of you when I saw this Dan.
Lol almost but not quit.
Quote from: 94touring on May 26, 2020, 03:37:55 PM
Lol almost but not quit.
FYI - My FC had the same retarded deal with the plastic grommet. I JB welded a plug in the spot where the plastic grommet was supposed to be.
My E30 has a switch that is held in place by very little and very prone to breaking at the mount points, I replaced mind after I rubbed against it and it shattered, the new one is zip tied in place in addition to the mounting clips.
Such a stupid design on both companies parts.
I truly don't understand why they did it that way. Weight savings!
Not much yesterday, 95 in the garage. I wilt at that point.
I did start all the cars up, looked for a coolant leak which I think I found, looked for an oil leak that I assumed was a rod change seal, but wasn't and recalibrated the injection on the tin wagon
Nice Mini collection! A nice garage too.
Seeing that rubber gator on the rod change, it looks like you have fitted the MiniSpares kit. It's great that it's not leaking - did you use one seal or two?
Quote from: BruceK on May 28, 2020, 09:57:59 AM
Seeing that rubber gator on the rod change, it looks like you have fitted the MiniSpares kit. It's great that it's not leaking - did you use one seal or two?
Yes it is a Minispares kit. I just used the one seal. The rubber bellows is already cracked and it is barely a year old. But no leaks. I also thought the drive shaft seals could be the cause, but no drips there either. I may to resort to the UV dye to find out.
At least the coolant leak is pretty straight forward or so it sees at this point. Should only be 85 today, not the high 90s like yesterday.
It's hard to get the rear cover on the diff to seal properly....I've resorted to using Hylomar on both sides of the gasket.
Quote from: MiniDave on May 28, 2020, 10:39:00 AM
It's hard to get the rear cover on the diff to seal properly....I've resorted to using Hylomar on both sides of the gasket.
It seems like that is what it is. It is only weeping a few drops, but I like to know where it is coming from.
Late models used only a thin layer of RTV on the rear cover, no gasket.....
I don't know how you guys keep getting away with posting undercarriage porn on this site. How is it possible that everybody's minis - except mine - are so friggin' clean???
And, you call that an oil leak? Sheesh - if mine's not weaping from the timing cover, a diff cover or a still-undiscovered yet occasionally noticed drip coming from the split pin in the clutch housing, I assume that my sump has run dry.
Quote from: John Gervais on May 28, 2020, 02:55:20 PM
I don't know how you guys keep getting away with posting undercarriage porn on this site. How is it possible that everybody's minis - except mine - are so friggin' clean???
And, you call that an oil leak? Sheesh - if mine's not weaping from the timing cover, a diff cover or a still-undiscovered yet occasionally noticed drip coming from the split pin in the clutch housing, I assume that my sump has run dry.
What John said !
It needed cleaning so I could see where it is leaking. Renee's wagons usually live in the garage and the sedan is on the street. So when I parked it on the driveway to fix the heater valve, it left a spot.
The sedan engine was rebuilt only a few thousand miles ago and was out for an overheating issue a few hundred ago, not time to accumulate road grime.
Had to replace the brake master again today. Always fun. I have found an easier way to put the pin in. Glue dots. Just the right size.
That certainly looks like it works good!
I use my MiniSpares tool, works a treat!
"I use my MiniSpares tool, works a treat!"
I've never seen one of those before!
I've never seen glue dots before. I usually use high levels of frustration and cursing to put those in.
Have to remember that glue dot trick once I run out of 4 letter words 😁
The welder was due for a new gun.
Saturday, I rewired all of the tail light connections on the Burton.
The Texas DMV offices have finally reopened so I took it to get the safety inspection before making an appointment for the VIN verification. I got through the inspection, then it started popping the brake light fuse every time the pedal was pressed.
Instead of attaching the correct connector to the wiring harness for the socket on the back of the tail lights, they did individual connectors for each wire and tried using just small bits of electrical tape to insulate each one. The connectors had begun to work loose and the tape gone soft in the Texas heat. The result was connectors were shorting across each other and popping the fuse.
I removed all the tape and replaced it with heat shrink tubing on all the connectors, then snugged each connector for a tight fit onto its pin in the tail light socket. No more blown fuse.
Also ended up changing the oil in the compressor and cleaned out the shop vac and filter. Got a coat of primer on Mark's car items and por-15 on the interior floor.
Wow, compared to you guys, I've been slacking!
Of course, it's hot as hell here, but tomorrow it's supposed to be cooler and no rain, so tomorrow is paint day!
Co worker,s husband , was gifted a 66 Mustang Convertible. He knows mustangs but thats it = not how to wrench.
Clean car = very presentable But like any classic = things.
New Seat belts, New antenna for radio, New Trunk Liner Kit, Power steering pump leaking and it Got Warm driving. Replaced Fan clutch . had a few rattles and clanks that were annoying. It sounds like to me the rear end is 'noisy" pinion bearing? will advise. Top loader 4 speed also leaks pretty good.
My first venture around an Murcian Classic = 289 / 4 Speed manual = Electric top = Cool ride = gets a lot of looks = but MAN a MINI. Little British car of any type is so much more fun. Finding parts and knowldge is super easy however = VERY available.
Another local . brought his mini back for round 2 = His first ventrure into buying a mini from the UK .. for Resale in the USA.
Arrived driving badly, Like a loose bag of noodles . Steering Rack worn out + Tie rods. Upper engine mount gone. Headliner ripped up.. visible rust all over.. He wasn't thrilled. Tidied those tings.. Next came back for wire harness fixing ( one badly melted wire that shorted) from being badly converted from a 998 to 1275 Swap. DIRTY rusty interior. Had more engine bangs and clanks - Replaced more mounts ( lower engine mounts) and the brakes were HARD. Rotors warped + Shaky = Pads 99% gone . New pads and rotors = but STILL brakes dragged were VERY hard to retract.
Replaced Calipers. Replaced 2 lower engine mounts. Replaced Lower engine steady mounts Replaced Lower Subframe Tear drops ( MIGHT have to do rear sub frame mounts.
Safe to say this mini was DONE in the UK for Passing MOT = needed alot of work = so it was offloaded. It Looks OK but Definatly has its flaws.
Now hes +2K on costs to ' fix it up"
I think almost any Mini exported from Britain these days is more of a core than a car. Huge project to make it any more than just drivable. Buzz was supposed to have a fresh engine when I got him - I had the paperwork. But when I took the head off to put hardened seats in it, my heart just fell. It did have some new parts in it, but it was clearly a patch job......
I know what you mean about the size tho, even my 09 MINI Clubman feels huge these days, I much prefer the classic, size-wise.
That Mustang looks nice! We used to think those were small cars......
People are always surprised how much it costs today to fix up a small car - or any car! I can't believe how much $$$$ I have into this 998 rebuild at this point. Just parts and machine shop labor.....
My dad had a '66 mustang just like that when we were kids - we used to love to riding with the top down.
I changed the small waterpump pulley back to the large pulley today. T'was a bit of a pain (2x 2-blade fan, spacer & pulley and radiator with attached electric fan pressing against the inner wing), as I'd forgotten to lay the fan belt to the radiator side before I tightened the screws.
Mustang went home . headed for a retirement life in Florida...
Yes its a big car! for what im used to!
Now in the garage a 60's Speedwell Sprite. Car was imported recently from Netherlands.. arrived running and driving. but alot of HOME BREW type work has been done . Home wiring / home modifications. not stock enough for the owner.
Project. we're upgrading (could say downgrading) to a OE Harness + and equipment. Relocating some basic items for ease of use and cleaning up the engine bay. Owner wants to possibly track it some ( was supposed to be track ready from Netherlands but it needs alot of details cleaned up.
SO Many tapper screws used + glue its almost disgusting. Engine is modified runs REALLY strong. Late 1275 Block + Head = Ribcase trans. Late sprite rear axle.
Also Sent the yucky black mini home with owner too., after replacing ALL the motor mounts and steadies + all the subframe mounts all around the car is TIGHT ( some new rattles and vibrations but it works I think the new rubbers will work themselves in better.
.
Cool Sprite!
I had hopes of coming home early to work in my garage and clear away some clutter that has accumulated since I am working 70+ hour weeks right now.
Everything is screaming busy, record home sales, record new house starts, and by far, record new in ground pool orders. I am slammed to the eyeballs, I used to go into the office at 6am I changed that to 530am and now changed that to 5am. I typically leave by 6 pm, except today.......
Government morons decided it was a good time to change rules and not tell anyone, but claim they sent out emails.. which they did not.
I had 9 form board surveys fail today, every one of my clients were coming unglued..
One client is a pool company, they have four pools started as in four open holes in the ground that they cannot spray gunite until they pass inspection and I am failing it.
Why?
Because suddenly I have to put building setbacks on the surveys. I cannot express how stupid this is but I will...
After the rejections, all my clients are blowing them up demanding to know why. They explain, a memo was went to all the area surveyors explaining the new criteria that need to be addressed on our surveys.
I did not get the memo.
I email a surveyor friend of mine, ask if he got the memo and explain I just had 9 jobs rejected... He calls me he did not get the memo and is now freaking out because he has to turn in 4 tomorrow.
He emails me later, another surveyor did not get the memo and the 3 of use make up 50% of the surveys turned into the city.
I email the person who rejected my surveys, he says I need to talk to his supervisor and gives me a phone number. I call, straight to voice mail, color me surprised, I leave a message asking for him to email me the new rules. No answer for 2 hours....
I email a friend I have in city engineering asking for help. Explaining the situation. She runs down to the Building Dept / Inspections and asks WTF is going on? they give her the run around liek they did me, she says, "Fine I am going to the department manager (skipping 2 levels of management) the minions protest.. she puts them in their place telling them she has been there 25 years and will do what she wants. (She is awesome) She goes to big boss and he say Surveyors need to pull the record plat and plot the building setbacks on the on the surveys from now on.
Let me back up a moment, this man manages the building and inspections departments, he is the big cheese.
She has to explain to him, this information is NOT on the record plats, it is in the H.O.A. documents which we cannot access and should be the responsibility of the pool companies and builders, not the surveyors, the other should be supplying that info to the surveyor.
He balks at her, this is going nowhere.
She calls me and explains the problem, I figure if I put a note that says the building setbacks I should be fine.
I sent all the surveys back over after 5 PM, I did not leave my office until 730PM today. After spending hours on that BS I had clients that I had to deal with.
Now at 10 PM I am working still to try to finish a plot plan for a client. I have my alarm set of 5AM so I can get a head start tomorrow. I want to be out early to beat the heat, which is 100+ heat index here and to try to get back early so I can catch back up.
I hope to clear the garage this weekend. So I can finally get to work on the Mini.
I gave the mini a coat of much needed wax!
Clancy came by just to check up on me, he's gotten a new exhaust on the Moke and says it runs good now. However, not only did the brand new master cylinder fail, so did one of the seals on the brand new brake calipers. I had a kit for them so I sent one home with him.
I walked around my shop and sighed......
I juggled cars a bit - took the Burton over to the storage unit and brought back the Mini Marcos.
I had finally ordered an "action camera" for being able to take some videos for potentially putting the Marcos up on BaT. It came in Thursday.
With the Marcos in the garage, I set about coming up with a brace between two of the horizontal bars of the cage behind the seats in order to mount the camera for making the videos.
I may try to make a trial run of it tomorrow morning before it gets too hot.
Good move, you need good videos to really sell a car on BaT, gotta sell that sizzle!
Yesterday I went to my shop to gather things for our yearly Colorado camping trip. I hadn't been out there in nearly 3 weeks since I have been flying around the world. I had to spray a bug bomb due to the abundance of spider webs. Felt like a scene out of Indian Jones battling cobwebs.
I played with the new action camera and the Mini Marcos this morning. I made a few attempts at a cold-start video, a walk-around video, and a driving video.
Not sure where to post them for an evaluation. The audio seems a bit weak to me on all the videos. The cold-start and walk around turned out okay. The driving video contrast seems a bit bright through the windshield while the interior seems okay.
Any ideas where to post the MP4 videos for the forum members to evaluate?
I just upload everything to YouTube, then you can link to the thread on your Marcos - that's the easiest way to me.
Quote from: MiniDave on July 13, 2020, 07:28:21 PM
I just upload everything to YouTube, then you can link to the thread on your Marcos - that's the easiest way to me.
Yes, I would suggest using Youtube too. Very easy to set up an account and do an upload. My suggestion: until you are totally happy with a final video, give your video some random name like wltkkhw or whatever so that it will not be searchable. That way nobody playing around on Youtube will find it or view it until you are ready with the finished version. Once you are ready for the world to see it, rename it, or re-upload it with some appropriate title for search purposes.
I load mine in their raw form, I don't care who sees it. For that matter my channel is so small and I'm not looking to make money on it - I refuse to let them put ads in, around or after mine - so it doesn't get a lot of views, and I'm OK with that. so what if someone sees it all full of cuts and bloopers?
Last Friday I went to turn the AC On... NO DICE!
Now ~90 in Charlotte daily AC + garage life has become necessary + not to mention I'm in the garage daily 8-5 working from home too.
Determined the Remote was bum not acting, Took it apart found bad terminals.
Found a 15$ replacement remote on Amazon = Arrived next day = WORKING! only now in C not F.
For cooling I do have the pleasure of extra equipment. I have a 9K Heat Cool Mini split as my go to. (this had the dead remote)
With work = I had a Demo Portable AC unit.. that became by Backup (lets actually try this cool unit) Havnt even used it yet.
I have to say = For Portable air VERY Good output . started at about 88 Degrees 1 hour running 77-78 keep the door shut.
it is nearly the largest potable size 13K unit
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frigidaire-13-000-BTU-13-000-BTU-DOE-Portable-Room-Air-Conditioner-FHPC132AB1/312540281 (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frigidaire-13-000-BTU-13-000-BTU-DOE-Portable-Room-Air-Conditioner-FHPC132AB1/312540281)
My garage is 20 x 27 10 ft high ceilings. Insulated stick built 2x4 construction with Heavy R insulation in the ceiling.
Today 92 and sunny Both AC units work = Ran both for 1 hour pulled temp from 82 - 73 in 1 hour... pulled back to one ac unit running for the rest of the day.
Happy Place (except the electric Bill!)
How do you duct the hot air out for the portable unit? My son had one of those and found the only part of him that was cool was the part the thing was blowing directly on, if he moved from right in front of it he was hot again.....BUT, he's in Phoenix!
We've had mostly low 90's and humid the last few weeks - I'm only in the shop for an hour or two so I hate to run the A/C for a short time like that so most of the time I just have a box fan blowing on me - when I need the cool tho, the 25K window A/C does the job!
I have a portable ac unit in my condo to assist with the 50 year old chill pipes that can't keep up in Oklahoma heat. It works fantastic in a 700sq ft apartment. I vent mine out the window via duct work included in the kit.
I played a bit with a couple camera settings and retried a drive video in the Mini Marcos late this morning (before it got too hot). I also wiped down the car and cleaned the windshield where it had dust and rain spatter from the last time I drove it back in April (before the Burton arrived).
I am much happier with the results. I need to do a little editing to the beginning and the end of what is currently a 19 minute drive of mixed neighborhood (including stop lights) and some highway. I found I can "trim" the videos using QuickTime on my Macbook.
Next I need to redo the cold-start and walk-around videos.
Quote from: MiniDave on July 14, 2020, 11:54:27 AM
How do you duct the hot air out for the portable unit? My son had one of those and found the only part of him that was cool was the part the thing was blowing directly on, if he moved from right in front of it he was hot again.....BUT, he's in Phoenix!
We've had mostly low 90's and humid the last few weeks - I'm only in the shop for an hour or two so I hate to run the A/C for a short time like that so most of the time I just have a box fan blowing on me - when I need the cool tho, the 25K window A/C does the job!
Simular to Dan , but mine goes out the Cat door I have in the building :) (no cats) and it is surprising how much heat that tube needs to exhaust.
Phoenix would be near impossible to cool without an oversized units. Even house systems are designed to run at 80% capacity ( above a certain temp, dont expect them to cool 100% to a super cool temperature without running full time.
Speedwell Sprite? Hot!
All I did recently is whack myself with a crow bar. Will postpone a repeat indefinitely.
Have to change to wheel studs on wife's bugeye to fit the new wheels!
In the wife's shop, aka the crafting room. Resurrected my 26 yr old rc truck. New battery and it ran just fine. Had to replace a couple broken plastic steering pieces. The guys at Traxxas were surprised to see it. They are headquartered in McKinney TX just north of us. Found a new body for it too as mine was long gone. Of course hanging around the store and looking at everything the wife decided she wanted to play too. Of course there was nothing even close to pink enough for her so she bought the builder kit with the clear body for customizing, starting with pink springs. She spent about 8 or so hours putting all the little pieces together. I helped with the shock assembly and clutch and routing the electronics. Also had to tape up the body for paint. Tedious work that is. It came out pretty sweet looking. Of course it's faster than mine, but I'll remedy that as soon as they get more motors in stock. She does have more clearance and 4wd. Yes, mine is the smaller one. Mine is not paint, body came like that.
Awesome! 77.gif
Hyacinth would never do anything remotely 'cool'...
Speedwell sprite is coming back together.
Tore out all the original wiring + and some really shoddy plumbing and just cobbled together.. ( sheet metal screws all over) glue all over. just messy.
This left the fire wall like swiss cheese and when whomever intalled the fiberglass roof kit the Resin was EVERYWHERE lumpy gross.
Race wise they also cut out the battery try under the bonnet. and heater assembly. Battery was hacked into the rear floor like an MGB,
Tore out the battery assembly. Welded up that floor hole with a piece of flat sheet (simple) will get sound proofing and carpet over top, no problem,
Engine bay had to weld in the battery shelf. that got messy = old spot welds etc.
welded up the fire wall holes = patched others. Sanded somewhat
Jeff provided me some nice Sherwin Wiliams Marine epoxy . tinted to his color ... HVLP Sprayed .
Now upon re assembly.
New hard lines being made
New battery cut off in body + new wiring harness ... getting it all together.
NEW Dash is being hung in a very period apperance.
Working from home is quite productive !!
paint!
I got ambitious today: installed the new windshield on the red Mini and changed the oil, oil filter, air filter and cabin air filter on the Jeep. And I even managed to get it done before it got too hot out.
4.gif
In between primering doors noticed that the air flow on the shop ac unit was slow. Took apart the paneling and found insulation in the duct work that had come loose and impeded flow. Went ahead and cleaned out everything else while I had it apart. Back to cold air again.
We had a bit of heat last week, so over 100 in the garage.
A bottle of super glue decided to let loose. A few things are permanently attached now...
My shop continues to be the wife's craft room maintaining my rc truck. After upgrading the motor/esc/battery it is crazy fast to what it used to be. Even tweaked the gear ratio trying to lower the torque on it. Took it to the local dirt bmx track that no one uses and thrashed all over the place. So far damage has been: 2 half shafts, front wheel stud and a couple steering arm connectors. Luckily parts are cheap and easy to replace but lately I can't drive this thing without breaking something. Can't image the 60+ mph ones. Mine may do 30. Maybe.
Quote from: tmsmini on August 26, 2020, 10:39:39 AM
We had a bit of heat last week, so over 100 in the garage.
A bottle of super glue decided to let loose. A few things are permanently attached now...
Had a bottle of red loctite do that in my tool cart had to chisel a couple wrenches out of it and grind it off the cart.
Interesting. I thought Locktite was anaerobic and wouldn't cure in open air?
Quote from: MiniDave on August 30, 2020, 12:07:04 PM
Interesting. I thought Locktite was anaerobic and wouldn't cure in open air?
it is but went unnoticed for a while it was still sticky where it was not under a tool.
I "overhauled" the window mechanism of the driver's door on Miss Ruby. It had been getting very stiff to roll the window up (remained easy to roll down). It needed some lubrication of the riser tracks and the rubber window channel.
I had thought the winder mechanism was sticking and so took it all apart. It turned out the work just fine. Unfortunately, that let the riser tracks fall off the bottom of the glass when I greased them. It made for a pain-in-the-a$$ to get it all back together. It was during that process I discovered the vertical window channel rubber was where it was sticking.
The suction cups I got for doing the windshield came in handy while getting the door window all back together.
I finished up some modifications to my sand blasting cabinet so that it hopefully works better and uses less media by basically recycling the same 2-3 cups through until you change it out. Hoping it works well with the various medias I use so that I do not have to use my pressure blaster, which works fine, but makes a heck of a mess outside the cabinet and burns through media pretty quickly.
I also found a way to turn one into a DIY wet blasting cabinet, which may be next on my list of things to do. I'd probably buy another cabinet so that I still have the dry one as well. I have seen aluminum motorcycle parts blasted in this manner that come out looking brand new with a little polishing.
Wet blasting def leaves a nicer finish.....I've used fine sand (not anymore) walnut shells and glass beads - the beads leave a nice finish but are a pain to clean up after in that they get embedded into the metal, especially aluminum. Walnut shells work pretty well but don't last, they're pretty much dust after the first or maybe second time thru the gun....and they do leave a lot of dust too. Garnet works well on cast iron and some sheet metal parts.
Here's a great thread on blast media on Garage Journal.... https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=237844 (https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=237844)
Dan has a wet blaster he uses to remove paint on the cars he works on, works a treat but makes a huge mess!
Thanks for the link, I will have to check it out.
I have used just about every media there is for various things and they all have their uses. I have had decent luck with soda as well although I have only ever used it in a pressure blaster. I am going to try it in my new setup to see if it will work or not, it's not a pressure set up, but it's also not really a "suction" setup either. I have built a metering valve at the bottom of the cabinet that introduces air at that location and creates a venturi effect as it necks down to the hose diameter. It's supposed to work really well, I will find out tomorrow once I get the gasket I need to seal the top of the cabinet which I also converted to open up so I can get larger/heavier items in and out easier.
I built the valve out of black iron pipe fittings so it was pretty cheap to give it a try, has to work better than the aggravating suction tube method, which just generally makes me angry. It it works ok with the cheap suction gun I may splurge for a better foot pedal operated gun. We shall see I guess.
my blast cabnit has a siphon tube that is a u-shape in the sand with the one end open to air the other to the gun and some holes in the bottom to take in sand. It never clogs i think it makes the venturi effect by having the one end open.
Yeah mine is (was) the same, I actually made it out of some copper pipe and it works ok most of the time but not with soda. It also struggles some times with fine walnut media. The more humid it is the worse it works and summer around here is generally pretty bad. It works great with glass beads and the coal slag medias but those seem to be immune to the humidity for the most part as well.
Now that our 3 year long house remodeling is done, looking into doing up the shop apartment. It's basically tiny house size of about 300 sq ft. Some of you have seen it at the bbq. Probably gut out all the cabinets and appliances the previous owner had in there and go at it. Some ideas are using a tool cart for a bathroom sink and tall standing tool cabinet as a dresser.
I like those ideas!
Another day of organizing and cleaning. Tossed out bags worth of trash and random car parts I'll never use. Have Mark in position to toss subframes on and an engine in.
Even with 4 Minis in there, there's still a lot of room!
Mark, I wasn't sure how your car was going to look in this color when you chose it, but I have to say it came out great! I really like it now that I see the whole car....
Plenty of room for the rx7 and bus or other mini. Depending which one I alternate out at home. Will be better once Mark is out and the truck too...but then Jim's truck will be living here.
You and Jim made a deal?
Yep. Just clearing out the projects.
Thanks Dave I'm really pleased and very excited to see in person.
The shop is looking good Dan. I've finished preserving my floor pans and moved onto rebuilding the remote shifter.
Garry
Quote from: G67mcs on September 01, 2020, 11:46:07 AM
The shop is looking good Dan. I've finished preserving my floor pans and moved onto rebuilding the remote shifter.
Garry
Nippycars on Facebook just released new shifter for remote units. This is the chrome part that the shift knob goes on. No more loose rattly shafts.
Not having seen my garage or mini in around 2 months, I managed to get up there today and started working on a small shelf that Hyacinth wants for the roll-up guest cot that's currently bagged and standing in the bedroom.
https://skovshovedmobelfabrik.dk/produkt/ogk-savbriks/ (https://skovshovedmobelfabrik.dk/produkt/ogk-savbriks/)
https://houseofgefion.com/products/ogk-savbriks-natur (https://houseofgefion.com/products/ogk-savbriks-natur)
The plan is that the canvas bag will stand on the shelf and a leather strap will fix it to a wall-mounted brass double hook.
I finished off refurbishing my John Deere 1010 tractor seat. It is called a Float Ride seat with rubber torsion spring for cushioning. All information I found was on a similar seat with two rubber torsion springs. Although similar in operation they are quite different on disassembly so had to muddle through taking it apart. It's held together with 5/8 in. dia shafts and roll pins. It was a PITA and cumbersome to work on and really heavy. Had it sand blasted by a guy about two miles away. He did a nice job but thought $100 was kinda high. Thes set bottom was cracked so butt welded it up and added a doubler to prevent any more cracking. Torsion spring was OK (replacement is $75). It's about the size of a mini suspension cone.
Now just need to install it (later to keep it out of the weather)
That's a cool looking seat. Sort of like a bucket seat.
Looks comfy, turned out great too!
Thanks
Yeah it's built like a bull. A used seat like this will bring close to $1000.
Several new things at the shop. I hired a guy! Meanwhile I can play with my cars while I give him things to do. One of the task was the neighbor shot a vermin that died in my side garage. It began to smell so bad I couldn't breath without gagging. Had my guy dig a hole and give a proper burial. The smell still lingered out there and would work it's way into the shop. I moved some cars around and set the side garage on fire, dirt floors of course. Some old engine oil, leaves, boards, and a little gasoline later the stench was gone.
Justin came by to use my trailer to relocate his truck stored here to his new shop. We just need to get an airplane in there.
My inline sander bit the dust this morning on the roof of a mini my shop employee has been working on. New one ordered. I did get several years worth of work out of it.
So, who is this new shop employee? Do we get an introduction?
67.gif
Well at least the truck will feel at home sitting next to a mini shell. Lol
Quote from: MPlayle on October 15, 2020, 02:49:55 PM
So, who is this new shop employee? Do we get an introduction?
67.gif
It's Skylars brother. So far he's working out great. Gave him a big list of projects while I'm out of town. Including 4 doors to de skin for me to skin when I get back.
Quote from: 94touring on October 15, 2020, 02:23:42 PM
Justin came by to use my trailer to relocate his truck stored here to his new shop. We just need to get an airplane in there.
My inline sander bit the dust this morning on the roof of a mini my shop employee has been working on. New one ordered. I did get several years worth of work out of it.
I have a Ingersoll Rand 315G for sale $50 plus shipping. New is $100. If you can CXL your order or want spare or other readers want.
I'm going to sell a bunch of stuff (tools and parts) shortly when i can get it together.
I might buy it anyways to have 2 running at the same time. New one came in today. Shoot me a message or email and I'll send some money.
Looking good! Today I moved around the moke and the bugeye, put the bug up on the lift to work on the rear brakes & diff.
Today is shop cleanup and organize day - to make room for incoming projects and to get ready to be down for a while. I need to see if I can clear the benches once and for all, and get enough stuff up off the floor so I can walk around without tripping on stuff.
All the in process projects need to get boxed and labelled and stored where I have a snowball's chance of finding them again.
I spent 3 days looking for a set of alternator brackets for a friend of mine - only found them when I put this 1098 into the engine stand - guess where they were? In the box with all the stuff I use to put an engine in the stand - including putting an alternator on so it will drive the water pump. See? I do have an organized mind - just no memory!
Quote from: MiniDave on October 19, 2020, 08:47:14 AM
See? I do have an organized mind - just no memory!
Totally feel you on this one. I've started laying out all the pieces around or in the car where they go. And in doing so found 2 pieces I missed for powder coating. Part of my column drop bracket and an alternator bracket still attached to the alternator.
Got a trench dug a week ago and a pipe for magic electrons to flow through sits down in it. The contractor used a tracked excavator to dig the trench and it was pulling up large rocks and several boulders the size of a LazyBoy recliner! Some rock was too big to lift out, and required almost a whole day of jackhammering to cut a trench. No way that could have been trenched with hand tools. In fact, a rocksaw trencher would have made more sense considering the rocky soil - but it would have cost a lot more.
I've got a subpanel installed and I'm starting on the wiring for overhead lights and a series of outlets around the perimeter inside.
Put you wall outlets up at good height so you don't need to bend over to reach. Another nice thing is a ceiling light fixture that is on all the time with a low wattage led bulb in it for a nite lite. It is nice to not walk into a dark shop.
Quote from: Willie_B on October 19, 2020, 05:16:34 PM
Put you wall outlets up at good height so you don't need to bend over to reach. Another nice thing is a ceiling light fixture that is on all the time with a low wattage led bulb in it for a nite lite. It is nice to not walk into a dark shop.
Or on a motion detector?
I might be inclined to put another conduit in the trench for expansion (fiberoptics? etc). 220V service?
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Yes, I will put installing a lot of wall outlets -at least 9 or 10. All of them about waist high (forgot the exact height measurement). And I installed the switch for overhead lights right at the side door entrance - easy to reach out when you just walk in. But like the idea of a nightlight. The conduit is carrying 220V to the garage, so I have the opportunity to use 110V or 220V off of it. As for fiber, fortunately the garage is within WiFi range of the house, so that should do the trick.
I keep a light on at all times too off my gantry. Keeps it from being pitch dark when I enter and leave, and I like to think any criminals thinking someone is in here working.
I have a fluorescent light in my shop that's been on non stop for close to 15 years now, it's turning them on and off that kills them.
Pulled the engine/trans out of the mini over the weekend to send to MiniDave for a rebuild. Just finished making a crate to ship it. Left the top open till loaded to have access for the lift.
That's exciting. Dave's going to be one busy guy
It won't take too long to tear it down and evaluate what it needs, then while the head and block are off at the machine shop I can get parts ordered and go ahead with other projects.
WilieB says it's using oil, making not happy noises and the clutch isn't working right. I really appreciate both the shipping crate and how clean it is - saves a LOT of time not having to scrub 8000 layers of crud off before I can work on it.
First things first - figure out what's not right, then see what we have to do to correct that, then onward and upward. For sure some new seals, gaskets, bearings, rings, valve job and a new clutch. I hope whatever is making the unhappy noises is readily apparent when I tear it down - and that it's not too bad an issue to fix.
My wife has been sprucing up the one side yard of our house that is unseen and been neglected for years.
Before, after and the actual shower, I taught myself how to sweat / solder pipes. I got pretty good towards the end, which I wish was sooner as some of my joints are ugly. but do not leak!!
We have a hot water on demand unit installed in the well shed I built. I need one more fitting and it is plumbed. I need to buy some cedar to frame out the louvers and it is done.
I wish I never volunteered to build an outdoor shower. It was not cheap but will add a lot to the house in the long run. I cannot wait to use it.
nice work! I tried my hand at sweating copper last year when I installed my water heater. It's actually kinda fun.
I like the shower, looks cool.
I bought this....it's a 1000 lb capacity hydraulic lift table. I would have been happy with the 500lb version since the heaviest thing I lift is a Mini engine at about 350lbs, but it only went up 27", and this one goes up 34 1/2", which is high enough that I can slide something off it onto my workbench. Plus too and also, I think it goes high enough to slide something into or out of a pick up truck bed - maybe not one of the newest sky high versions, but most of them anyway.
It also can run things down to the end of the driveway and back up as I think the casters will go over the lip into my garage.
On top of that it works well as an adjustable height work table to strip down or build up engines.
I also folds down pretty small, the handle folds flat over the table when it's down.
As a back saver, I think it was $220 well spent - Harbor Freight has them on sale right now.
OoOOooooo - niiice! Where did you get it? (can you say?)
(probably not available in Canada, but I have to ask)
Tnx
It came from Harbor freight - I don't think they have HF in Canada, but maybe Princess Auto has something similar?
Edit: Yes they do, exact same thing just looking at it, but holy crap what a difference in price! 3 times as much.....
https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/1-000-lb-hydraulic-rapidlift-table/A-p8662280e
Edit 2: the Canadian one lifts higher than mine and weighs more.
A big difference between the HF on and the Princess Auto one: the HF one lifts 11" to 34.5", the PA one lifts 15.25" to 54.5" - a whole 20" higher!
Yes, they have smaller models too, rated at 500 or 330lbs.
HF also had the lighter rated version but it only goes up 27" which isn't high enough to get things onto my bench
Nice,
We had some idiots rent the building behind our business years ago shortly after moving in they got kicked out. They started piling all their shit outside the shop before it got locked in one of those carts rolled down the parking lot and stopped against my truck bumper leaving a small dent. The cart was promptly wheeled into my shop and put to use I can't believe how handy that thing is I have since bought a second one.
That lift cart is pretty epic. Will definitely keep in mind if I ever need something like that. Did some more wire routing on the mini. Added more little things to my shopping list.
Also had to tear down the transmission on my rc truck. Shredded one of the gears. It's a little ridiculous. The gear on the motor is metal which turns a plastic gear then on the inside of the case there is a metal gear on the same shaft as the big plastic one. That metal gear turns a plastic one, this is the one that shredded, and it turns the plastic diff. Good news is it's all current stuff and they have metal upgrades.
Quote from: MiniDave on November 07, 2020, 06:11:55 PM
It came from Harbor freight - I don't think they have HF in Canada, but maybe Princess Auto has something similar?
Edit: Yes they do, exact same thing just looking at it, but holy crap what a difference in price! 3 times as much.....
https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/1-000-lb-hydraulic-rapidlift-table/A-p8662280e
Edit 2: the Canadian one lifts higher than mine and weighs more.
Sometimes it REALLY sucks to live in Canada........we get robbed and raked over the coals constantly.
Not only that, I pay another 15% tax on most items.
and it'll be snowing in a few weeks (and staying). Already had a white lawn a few times.
(and for thread content)---Had to park my 'bike (HD) today way deep in the 1-car garage and put the snowblowers closer to the door, effectively blocking it in.
SUX !
;-) (lol)
Work kept me at work a couple extra days this week to sit here on call to never be called. Money I guess. Here's the list that awaits me when I get to the shop.
60 mini roof inspection to see if my worker got all the low spots sanded flush
60 mini door skin installation and boot floor removal
68 pickup door skin installations and weld up front end metal where adjustments were made
Automatic engine and subframe pulled in the shop to remove engine
Load automatic engine, 1275 engine, and 67 Cooper S onto trailer and haul to Dave's
Green mini shell for guy in Colorado A panel and door skin installation
Proper sized J tubes on VW installation
Auxiliary fuse box installation
Wire up wideband, tach, cylinder head temp gauges
Install new plugs and wires
Remove rear axles and replace torn boots
17mm Allen came in to remove tranny plug to drain and replace gear oil
Install new headlamps and look into high beam relay that's been acting up
Install universal radio blank pocket in dash
Replace melted fuel filter and rearrange things to stay off heat riser
Install new starter on my mini
Have borrowed a blast media booth from a friend. I LOVE cleaning parts as it's therapeutic.. Cleaned loads of parts including the brand new ones from Mini Spares that came with loads of rust (they gave me my money back). I'm going to have to get a media blast cabinet.. love it...
Agree on the therapy. I love taking these crusty parts and using the wire wheel on my bench grinder to get them all cleaned up. It does have its limits though and would love to have a cabinet.
Quote from: 94touring on November 07, 2020, 11:51:51 PM
68 pickup door skin installations and weld up front end metal where adjustments were made
Automatic engine and subframe pulled in the shop to remove engine
Load automatic engine, 1275 engine, and 67 Cooper S onto trailer and haul to Dave's
Is the automatic engine from the 68 pickup? Happen to have a picture of the shifter for the automatic minis? I have a 1275 automatic motor sitting here and came across some shifter/linkage parts. I am not sure if it was all from a Mini or perhaps something else. I have been going through some of the old junk I have and setting stuff aside to toss out that I think is mostly useless like some of the old smog related stuff that I think was probably on this automatic engine. I don't want to toss something if it might be useful to someone else though.
Quote from: cstudep on November 08, 2020, 04:32:33 PM
Quote from: 94touring on November 07, 2020, 11:51:51 PM
68 pickup door skin installations and weld up front end metal where adjustments were made
Automatic engine and subframe pulled in the shop to remove engine
Load automatic engine, 1275 engine, and 67 Cooper S onto trailer and haul to Dave's
Is the automatic engine from the 68 pickup? Happen to have a picture of the shifter for the automatic minis? I have a 1275 automatic motor sitting here and came across some shifter/linkage parts. I am not sure if it was all from a Mini or perhaps something else. I have been going through some of the old junk I have and setting stuff aside to toss out that I think is mostly useless like some of the old smog related stuff that I think was probably on this automatic engine. I don't want to toss something if it might be useful to someone else though.
It's not from it but it's for it. Still a couple days before I get out there to get pics.
I believe this motor and the associated parts came from a Austin American with all the smog parts and the 12G1316 head casting. But some of the parts could be the same as mini parts I suppose. I have never seen a classic mini auto so it's all new to me.
Quote from: gr8kornholio on November 08, 2020, 02:15:49 PM
Agree on the therapy. I love taking these crusty parts and using the wire wheel on my bench grinder to get them all cleaned up. It does have its limits though and would love to have a cabinet.
Cleaning is fun to me with the satisfaction of a wonderfully 'new' part...
I'll try to get that shift pic today. Was out there yesterday but had a million things to do. Today I really need to organize and clean up the shop. Shop helper will be out to work on things too.
Mini Shop temporarily transformed back into a wood shop for home projects.. mini on rotisserie along with everything else covered in saw dust. Have begun the cleanup process as well... Although among the home projects, I managed to squeeze in a garage update by adding drawers.. each drawer will have a different mini bonnet badge as a pull knob..
No hurry on the shifter pic, it's not exactly high priority or anything and I know you have a long list of to-do's.
Love the mini badge drawer pulls!
On my own list, I only have a few more items to source so I can start the build of a powder coating oven large enough to fit things like bumpers and mini subframes in. I have not attempted to powder coat something that large with as many nooks and crannies as a subframe so could be interesting. I have an old subframe that is too rusty to use that I plan to blast and then practice on before attempting it on a good one.
Quote from: cstudep on November 11, 2020, 07:13:37 AM
On my own list, I only have a few more items to source so I can start the build of a powder coating oven large enough to fit things like bumpers and mini subframes in. I have not attempted to powder coat something that large with as many nooks and crannies as a subframe so could be interesting. I have an old subframe that is too rusty to use that I plan to blast and then practice on before attempting it on a good one.
Now that would be a fabulous service to have available in your own shop... this is something I need to learn more about although I do not have the room for something that large...
It is useful for sure, especially since the closest place to get it done to me is not all that close. I have mostly just used it for personal stuff and "friends and family" thus far. It's good practice that doesn't cost me anything since they pay for materials and if it's not perfect they don't complain LOL. Just like most things material prep is the key to success and by far the most time consuming part usually.
I just wish old stoves were as cheap as they once were. A guy used to be able to buy an old beat up stove for basically nothing. I need about 6 elements and the control panels from the stoves to be able to heat the size of oven I plan to build to the required temp. I also plan to be able to section it off somehow so that I can use just a part of it for smaller things and not have to heat the whole oven up unless I have to.
It's nice that you have enough room in your shop to be able to do something that large - and the amps of power to run it!
Reminds me of my friend Barry Wolk - he's 6'8" tall and built a blast cabinet that was 8 feet long so he could blast entire fenders in it!
Randy, when you're done with your rotisserie, you think you might sell it?
Quote from: MiniDave on November 11, 2020, 08:18:45 AM....Reminds me of my friend Barry Wolk - he's 6'8" tall and built a blast cabinet that was 8 feet long so he could blast entire fenders in it!
Randy, when you're done with your rotisserie, you think you might sell it?
I have currently borrowed a friends media cabinet and I can't reach.. had to build a box to stand on and I still can't reach inside well.. it's big enough to hold a sub frame, but you still can't get the sides, top and bottom faces..
Dave: Rotisserie... I do have the concern of where to store the jig when not in use, but I was not planning on selling it given I have other mini projects in cue already. Although depending on how long you think you might need it, I'm certainly open to you borrowing it. At this point, I hope to have the shell complete within another year or so. Then I won't need the rotisserie for a year or so after that...
I just figured out another use for my hydraulic lift cart....I can slide it under a motor and drop the whole subframe and motor out together. Just raise the car up, roll the cart under, finish the disconnects, and lower the cart - motor and all, then wheel it out from under the car- safe and easy!
Dan I think you could use one of these under the cars you're working on - either to remove subframes or simply to raise and lower the car to a better working height. Might need to add a couple of bars to support the shell properly, but you can bolt those on.
I think you may have just convinced me that I need one. Removing the sub frame is a bit of a hassle even without a motor attached.
After seeing how Dan does a lot of his work with the shell on small cart, having a similar setup that you can also raise up when needed seems like a great idea. Basically a lift like you have Dave that is then portable and can be rolled around. Maybe the base being so much smaller could be an issue with a shell on it as far as balance and what not but this has potential for sure.
Yeah, I'm thinking bolting a couple of pieces of square tubing on to go under to the other side would do it, since a bare shell is pretty light - 350lbs or so....
Hmm, maybe I need one 8.gif
Yesterday undid my AC wiring on the fuse panel and connected up the heat. Was a brisk 37 out yesterday morning. 2nd shop job for the day was cleaning up tools I had scattered everywhere with the variety of bus jobs I've been doing.
Edit: I've been in my shop 5 years this month! Time sure has gone by fast.
Quote from: 94touring on November 14, 2020, 07:48:30 AM
Hmm, maybe I need one 8.gif
Yesterday undid my AC wiring on the fuse panel and connected up the heat. Was a brisk 37 out yesterday morning. 2nd shop job for the day was cleaning up tools I had scattered everywhere with the variety of bus jobs I've been doing.
Dan.. I believe you recommended a fabulous heater. I have yet to purchase it, but I did run wiring for "one day". Do you still have the same unit?
Quote from: Lone Star Mini on November 14, 2020, 08:16:05 AM
Quote from: 94touring on November 14, 2020, 07:48:30 AM
Hmm, maybe I need one 8.gif
Yesterday undid my AC wiring on the fuse panel and connected up the heat. Was a brisk 37 out yesterday morning. 2nd shop job for the day was cleaning up tools I had scattered everywhere with the variety of bus jobs I've been doing.
Dan.. I believe you recommended a fabulous heater. I have yet to purchase it, but I did run wiring for "one day". Do you still have the same unit?
Northern Tool pro fusion 7500 watt heater. Runs about $170. I'd post a link but their website is extra slow today. Heats me out of my shop.
Here is a link to the full selection of garage heaters sold by Northern Tool:
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_heaters-stoves-fireplaces+electric-heaters+overhead-electric-garage-heaters (https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_heaters-stoves-fireplaces+electric-heaters+overhead-electric-garage-heaters)
Okay.. these have dropped in price because the last time you told me about these, they are around $400.. or at least that's what I remember and thus for holding off with the purchase at that time.. Perhaps my memory is bad, but this price is far more reasonable for my wallet...
Today I cleaned up my Mini in preparation for the Mini drive that Michael has organized for tomorrow morning with the local Mini club. I put it up on jackstands looking for the source of an annoying rattle. Didn't find it. So it's sure to bug me on the drive tomorrow.
That is a beautiful little car. I am really starting to like that color.......or is it colour
The shell on the main page is mine, done by Dan with a pepper white roof.
Got up to measure the wire that I ran years ago for a heater... apparently I ran 12-3 which is not proper for the ProFusion heaters.. darn it. I think I will go with the small unit than what Dan has given my shop is only 15x30. Either way, I have to run different wire.
Quote from: BruceK on November 14, 2020, 03:07:01 PM
Today I cleaned up my Mini in preparation for the Mini drive that Michael has organized for tomorrow morning with the local Mini club....
I have missed every mini drive possible. Of course I can't seem to tune into the forum on a continual basis so it's my own fault. One day, I will manage to catch one of these mini drives.. Hope you have/had a great time Bruce (depending on when you get this message).
Quote from: Lone Star Mini on November 14, 2020, 05:49:51 PM
Got up to measure the wire that I ran years ago for a heater... apparently I ran 12-3 which is not proper for the ProFusion heaters.. darn it. I think I will go with the small unit than what Dan has given my shop is only 15x30. Either way, I have to run different wire.
I know our buddy Don has the small version and it doesn't heat his garage well. I just have my heater mounted above my fuse box and the heater wire directly to 60amp fuses.
Good to know Dan, thank you. I'm already rethinking and wanting to go with the 7K unit. I have been pricing and measuring the length of 8 gauge wire that I will need. Given 8 gauge is kind've expensive, I don't want to buy more than I really need. I will have to run the wire external as well, but that is okay.
Quote from: Lone Star Mini on November 14, 2020, 05:52:05 PM
Quote from: BruceK on November 14, 2020, 03:07:01 PM
Today I cleaned up my Mini in preparation for the Mini drive that Michael has organized for tomorrow morning with the local Mini club....
I have missed every mini drive possible. Of course I can't seem to tune into the forum on a continual basis so it's my own fault. One day, I will manage to catch one of these mini drives.. Hope you have/had a great time Bruce (depending on when you get this message).
Thanks Randy. We had a great time. Only 4 Minis ran, but the weather was perfect and Michael laid out a great run.
Quote from: BruceK on November 15, 2020, 05:36:13 PM
Thanks Randy. We had a great time. Only 4 Minis ran, but the weather was perfect and Michael laid out a great run.
So where was the drive today? up in the DFW area or did you go elsewhere? I love what two of the minis have done by placing their texas tag over the Euro tag.. Easy pull of the texas plate and wah-lah.. cool...
Quote from: Lone Star Mini on November 15, 2020, 05:39:50 PM
Quote from: BruceK on November 15, 2020, 05:36:13 PM
Thanks Randy. We had a great time. Only 4 Minis ran, but the weather was perfect and Michael laid out a great run.
So where was the drive today? up in the DFW area or did you go elsewhere? I love what two of the minis have done by placing their texas tag over the Euro tag.. Easy pull of the texas plate and wah-lah.. cool...
No. I live near the San Antonio area now. This run was in the Hill Country just north of San Antonio and kind of southwest of Austin. Many great roads out there.
Yeah I don't even run a Texas plate unless I absolutely have to. Just use the UK plate original to my car.
I tried to make a video of the drive. The camera automatically broke it up into a series of files. I recorded until the camera battery died. I've uploaded them to YouTube for those that may be interested. I know the audio is poor. The links are listed below as hyperlinks versus embedding the videos here.
Here are the drive video links (in order):
Mini Drive Nov 15, 2020 - Part 1
https://youtu.be/xjX5wdCfAnQ (https://youtu.be/xjX5wdCfAnQ)
Mini Drive Nov 15, 2020 - Part 2
https://youtu.be/7FPJc6ONjH8 (https://youtu.be/7FPJc6ONjH8)
Mini Drive Nov 15, 2020 - Part 3
https://youtu.be/eY0ZYWLejtQ (https://youtu.be/eY0ZYWLejtQ)
Mini Drive Nov 15, 2020 - Part 4
https://youtu.be/P1LVv-VOe0E (https://youtu.be/P1LVv-VOe0E)
Mini Drive Nov 15, 2020 - Part 5
https://youtu.be/Eb6CfO4-RTA (https://youtu.be/Eb6CfO4-RTA)
Mini Drive Nov 15, 2020 - Part 6
https://youtu.be/GkTsbGgNLXc (https://youtu.be/GkTsbGgNLXc)
Mini Drive Nov 15, 2020 - Part 7
https://youtu.be/YoptjcGFcag (https://youtu.be/YoptjcGFcag)
Looks like a fun run with fabulous weather...
Michael.. looks like you have some wonderful cars.. I had no idea...
Randy,
The Burton and the Mini Marcos are sold and gone to their new homes. I just have the regular Mini now. Mine is the ruby red with dark silver roof in Bruce's pictures.
Quote from: MPlayle on November 15, 2020, 08:44:59 PM
Randy,
The Burton and the Mini Marcos are sold and gone to their new homes. I just have the regular Mini now. Mine is the ruby red with dark silver roof in Bruce's pictures.
Ah.. okay. I was watching your other Youtube videos... love your mini too (of course)
Brake pad day on Jens BMW. Fronts went well. Rears on the other hand... some mindless idiot at the tire shop over torqued the rear lugs. One of each wheel uses those locking lugs with special key. Well the key promptly broke due to how much torque was required. The fronts I tossed those lugs straight into the trash for that reason. The regular rear lugs after not coming undone with my impact required a breaker bar and a 3 foot length of additional pipe. Re damn diculous. She'll have to take it to BMW to let them take a try at removing those keyed lugs.
After salvaging the bulk of the front end of my shell, I'm am attempting to re-purpose with a little creativity. Some time ago, I bought the cheap harbor freight 110 lb sand blaster and could never seem to get it to work properly. I pulled it out after months/years of storage and managed to get it to work half way. When it worked, it did a great job.. a tad pleased with the sporadic blaster, my task was foibled by the rain.... now waiting for the rain clouds to disappear..
Got my SWAG portaband table today - not very happy with the service as I ordered it on the 14th and paid for 2 day shipping - got it today, a week later........but, pandemic I guess.
Anyway......it's a slick bit of kit.
The issue for me is that when I'm cutting vertically I can't see where the blade is going with very much accuracy, so my cuts tend to wander a bit. Then I wind up grinding a lot to straighten the piece out. With this setup you have a foot pedal to control start/stop and speed and you even have a miter fence to feed for even more accurate cuts, plus the ability to cut accurately on an angle.....plus too and also, since it's up on a well lit table I can see what the hell I'm doing! ;D
I'll give it a try later today, I still need to dial it in and square it up. Another thing I like is that it takes up a pretty small amount of bench space.
Quote from: MiniDave on November 23, 2020, 10:58:20 AM
Got my SWAG portaband table today - not very happy with the service as I ordered it on the 14th and paid for 2 day shipping - got it today, a week later........but, pandemic I guess.
Anyway......it's a slick bit of kit.
Looks great....
That is a really slick looking setup there Dave. Might have to look into that.
I wasn't very happy with the way the blade fit my new SWAG table, so I sent them an email asking about it. They called today and gave ne a couple of tips on how to adjust the saw blade bearings to shift the blade around a bit so it would be straight in the slot and square to the table. They also offered to send me a new top plate with just the saw blade slot in it that I could re-drill the mounting holes to square up the saw. The other benefit of doing that is that it won't have all the extra holes for all the other saws....the downside is that it won't be powdercoated like the rest of the top of the table. I think I can live with that......
Ordered some more stuff from MED. if anyone is thinking about it they have a Black Friday sale going
what did you get?
Their crank pulley and stub stack carb setup.
Med's stub stack and filter hif44 setup is the best one out there hands down!
Was doing some cleaning up in the shop today and came across this. Any ideas what it might be from?
(https://i.ibb.co/GFJkhfG/20201129-154843.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/WsvQrHz/20201129-154828.jpg)
(https://i.ibb.co/56r4sdB/20201129-154917.jpg)
Stromberg carb makes me think Triumph. Spitfire intake perhaps?
Could be I suppose. I had no idea that is why I tossed it out here since there seems to be a bunch of British car knowledge here not just Mini.
It was buried in a crate with some mini stuff I acquired some time back, all I knew is that it was not for a mini.
Edit: looks like you are probably correct, searching for a spitfire manifold I found some pictures of others like this one marked as midget 1500/spitfire
Could be either - Midgets used the 1500 Triumph engine from 75 till 80 when they stopped making them. Not exactly in demand tho, most people replace them with a Weber conversion.
It will probably go in the scrap pile then. Thanks gents!
This is not Mini-related, but I thought I'd share anyway. The JDM Toyota truck I imported came with a thin, hard plastic steering wheel that I did not like. Any surface texture it originally had was apparently worn down by someone driving with work gloves or very rough hands. So it was polished slippery and shiny and it had to go.
I looked for a replacement steering wheel on eBay - something that would have a similar deep dish style (needed to clear the column-mounted shifter) but one that didn't have any extra wheel switches (eg cruise control) or an airbag. So it had to be from the 1980s or early 90s. And I stuck with looking at only Toyota steering wheels because I was pretty sure they would have a standardized steering column spline on all their models. I ended up finding a wheel I really liked the look of: a simple black steering wheel with the needed dish. It was originally fitted new to a Toyota Tercel wagon so I thought it would fit okay, but the seller was in Greece. I decided to take the risk and it arrived arrived via DHL about three weeks later. Like a cheap paint job, it looked great from about 10 feet away - which is apparently how the seller photographed it for the eBay auction. But as I got closer to it I could see that it was really beat to hell by the mediterranean sun. The rubberized plastic of the wheel had deep cracks all over - it looked liked the parched soil of the desert. Plus the rubberized cover of the steering wheel had broken loose from the inner metal frame of the wheel, so when you gripped it it just rolled around in your hands. Crap.
It really wasn't practical to try fight and return the wheel to Greece, so I decided to try and refurbish it. First step was make sure the outer cover was firmly attached to the inner wheel frame. I went to Tractor Supply and got a big animal vaccine syringe with a large bore needle. I drilled holes on the backside of the steering wheel around the perimeter and injected Gorilla Glue deep into the cover, and manually moved the cover around to internally spread the glue. Success! The glue worked great and the cover was now firmly attached to the inner wheel frame.
Then I researched products that could be used to try and address the deterioration and cracking of the rubberized plastic. This is the type of wheel where, when new, the plastics is intended to be slightly squishible with your hands. So I needed something that had some flexibility to it. I discovered the SEM line of high quality interior finish products. All the reviews I could find on this brand were very positive.
I sanded the wheel down with 400 grit for good adhesion and to remove the rough edges of the little plastic "islands" that existed between the big cracks. Then I used some SEM soap to thoroughly clean the wheel and remove all hand oil and loose materials. I spoke to technical support at SEM and they informed you that since the wheel was probably made of urethane plastic I did not need a special adhesion promoter. Plus there were so many cracks on the wheel that I figured any paint or covering would have plenty of places to "key".
I hung the wheel from a tree in my backyard and applied many coats of the flexible plastic paint over the course of about 45 minutes. I probably applied 6 to 8 coats and I ended up using the entire can.
Considering everything, I think the wheel turned out great. It looks kind of funky when you look at it close up but it has a great grip and retains the flexibility of its covering.
Wow, that looks great - at least in the pic!
You're a never say die kinda guy! 77.gif
Thanks Dave. That SEM product I used really filled in all the little cracks and evened out the surface pretty well. It can also be used on plastic interior panels, fabric, and carpet too. Looks like a great way to freshen up an interior or even change the color entirely. It's very high-quality, but it's also not cheap.
Spent a little time setting up a 4 jaw chuck for my lathe. Turned the backing plate true and then drilled the holes for the chuck on the milling machine with the DRO. Something oddly satisfying making two pieces fit precise enough to need to heat one and cool the other to make them go together.
Nice! I would love to have a lathe, milling machine a water jet and the knowledge of how to use them well. "operating" a small machine shop of sorts is my retirement years goal LOL.
I did manage to get my "winter work area" mostly cleaned up and ready for the 67 tear down process to hopefully begin soon. I call it my winter work area, it's actually a downdraft paint booth that was built into my shop by previous owner. Since I am not an auto painting guy and it is insulated, unlike the rest of the shop, I use it to work on things over the winter as I can easily heat the smaller space up to a temp that I can tolerate working in. The large pit in the middle of the floor makes it difficult to use things like jacks and such when working on a car so I think I will build some sort of temporary platform to level it off with the floor. Would be handy to have an overhead gantry/lift of some sort as well, but that HF one isn't all that cheap.
(https://i.ibb.co/GxJgYtf/20201203-114428.jpg)
Quote from: BruceK on December 02, 2020, 01:58:57 PM
Thanks Dave. That SEM product I used really filled in all the little cracks and evened out the surface pretty well. It can also be used on plastic interior panels, fabric, and carpet too. Looks like a great way to freshen up an interior or even change the color entirely. It's very high-quality, but it's also not cheap.
Umm... you installed it back on on the wrong side of the truck.
My 04 Taco has a beat to hell steering wheel. I was going to replace, it I may give this a try. LMAO!! Like I have time!!
Quote from: BruceK on December 02, 2020, 01:58:57 PM
Thanks Dave. That SEM product I used really filled in all the little cracks and evened out the surface pretty well. It can also be used on plastic interior panels, fabric, and carpet too. Looks like a great way to freshen up an interior or even change the color entirely. It's very high-quality, but it's also not cheap.
Some how I missed seeing this earlier, that did turn out great! I have an old truck with really bad sun faded plastic door panels and dash. I tried painting a sample with some supposedly interior auto trim paint and didn't really care for how it was turning out. I may have to give this SEM stuff a go and see how it works, it looks great on that steering wheel.
That SEM place has some pretty interesting products. Just watched a few videos on a sprayable 1k seam sealer that comes in a tube like a caulking gun so you can use it that way, or they have a special gun that looks like a paint gun that holds the tube. You can adjust the pattern to spray a wide area for like a sound dampening application or adjust it down to where it actually sprays a fairly decent "bead" of sorts. You can also use the spray gun as an air powered caulking gun with different tips to lay different types of beads.
They also have 2k seam sealers that use the same tip attachments for doing things like door seams, or that funky factory ripple bead. obviously that sort of stuff is geared toward body shops that are trying to get a factory look to any repairs they do.
I found it interesting anyway, but some may say that I lead a fairly boring life so take that for what it's worth.
We use a lot of SEM products check out their panel bonding adhesives badass stuff.
Their Quickset 50 is also one of the handiest things to have around.
The 2k seam sealer is paintable instantly and works very well
Lord Fusor also makes a similar line of adhesive products but not paints.
Then I think it's Valvoline that makes pilobond another very useful product.
Another really cool product line we use is sika products like sika flex 252 literally hold buses together for millions of miles with no other fasteners.
Some of these completely eliminate traditional fastening methods like welding, riveting, bolting.
Is the SEM panel bonding products better than the 3M 08115 panel bond? I used 3m to bond a Freightliner fiberglass Hood together.
At my place of business we recently (in the last year) started investigating the use adhesives in place of some fasteners and welding operations on a new product we are developing and we have used some LORD adhesives. I'd have to look back at and see what specific product we settled on but in our tests on strength we never did get the actual adhesive bond to break, the galvanized coating or sheet steel always failed first but even that was at some rather tremendous strength.
We had to spend a lot of time testing things because we are fighting with people who are very much against change and are convinced there is no way it can hold up like fasteners. We easily proved it not only bonded as well as a fastener but far exceeded it in most ways. They then move on to the "it's too time consuming", "the set up time is too long", "it really smells bad", etc... etc...
Quote from: tsumini on December 04, 2020, 02:51:55 AM
Is the SEM panel bonding products better than the 3M 08115 panel bond? I used 3m to bond a Freightliner fiberglass Hood together.
I have not used the 3m but after reading the 3m tech sheet some of the sem panel bond such as their multi-purpose panel adhesive sound very similar.
Not quite in the shop. Went to a friends estate sale to help fund his long term care. He is not an import guy so was surprised to find these seats there. If they are not new they are very close to it as there is no wear on them. They are old though as the seat bottom/squib is split on both. No idea what I will do with them but I am only into them for $100 total.
My old favorite belt buckle broke, so I made a new one out of what I had in the scrap bucket.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zZWdzHAPIfqgctG0lnSbp2XGTVffW4PKvTnMd2LEiIhJqB3Ax2viVX7k3_6nC0aGE4WwvHR7vO_SF83jhNqmqycQ8UrbsxAGnDcA0fZzftrn0cp9khMyBpX_pDzdXZ7ZJd-4Guvim81MOnZWbH22On7RLBTu9SYQNp1qK-qkDuWb_7Nj6clrSv6dy7Z8fOKQ0GJGhjRMAn-zAaWofEPphKl9y60MS5Ds0N3m-uqcLCnwbITmN7pcJmYgo3MwfNLLKkHatOC_dv5qSv2LLl1MCJ4uZkxl_VBJGyAViQMjyHNIofmxIFyrE-Ewacmrls2Ldv18Eb3jOwvbXjv8Z50Kw3CFHfSlTLcu3OclRS1ZF0f7nTGlwv9nPVvJxjmB5pwRuuPriAtXPMlLZ96cmQkyrbQzD92MFz8Gr5tR42Cnd80KxYfzPp4x2ijOacj2XFPXNiqHyBMq17vj-xF8i58QDXp2TofxBcRoC91N8DTy22GzCSYU7TK9MG59yi-HnCgX-mWSl4-gozo6DKdALTdzvnyCmX-8FTqm4CrN1rNlD19ZNK2OtIVdmHEYIz3GWiLxD-AtlAzxOyXK5lN-YOsikQH--_Cb1H8Ck_4pCDkorrLqTm8vg5AN70c36B7qWPdIHPTmnNuWwnPePEg4EuvOZt2H95yRXVZtgG0aGfZ13oXxr0k4m45sIIMvNTWRRw=w600-no-tmp.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XnDdVm4pUAPpgPM70z6P7DCRnvBCBpT8X5nwGHz9QeuerYQPql83F6saSGnFNNrgn0-l_MdcRe3ld5CdsPyK5-rduXz35qS8hjEBHkEkXRjbeOzYzpII1B8R2a9Zyuu5ZfvB6M2LJ9uKZ0ZvarB-wC5-lYVxtJ8x0l_3zQyCLJd3RnT0krDOieG0U4LwjhoAepQqp6Q7szYcqQM_z-_6zhnKiM_NBP_WJR5IJanQFsbGfoe5ZNd4btsHL7_3JbXNBl2bOHfafasf_Cj_M3t5sdhzwaOU59ILnzYf0HldnTkHhL_QWHqdON1isDPMQR3xOL9_m3VTO5HKFxi2ReY9ecp9BsjTLIXBGorXHuGSHmxqNv4kkaJARHFhirvaMjuk4-T9zPkHDfZvjtQmpwQRBYi0_T0ssZRya05GmLL2WIVbSrQCtPkkIXocNS63QMkdBEPi0Fj-RA7DaG8_7xX73zKIHfxetqsBKBj9OQ1KwYr9gla5-y4o9XHrcU9P8dSyKItCk85lgl_32jiDncG10AlqCFslENwzlryCV3hK9_ALcDw21gvDQWcIS5mlTEuQDKNTpV_VIPIKipgkfwiWNJEhp-Qx0nAkKT4OSdrBbFTt0FgFnZ-7xR6LKD4zQJkgjqHP-Q_aiK_ugNGhz9MGOqUU__vC2TUeAPoRSm1_TYOnrq9KouWWFefqrEk1g=w600-no-tmp.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VuJCqkYK0L-itA-Bm5AIhZpQY0ToBBI1PaSs4rBkWB8LX5FcJjbyftPIoIRz3WT26qyOYkhxEPEwjB0__8JzSqIXLecvnSAfUeJ9yGohImYb7XmgPumutomzUifccUfIMS46-iZaKmdeanTiQ0pG1RG3Spuz3_I9-0E9zxqmwtYIhr-wszPL7odQ0LZzmqB-h_SjC8Y4q6Y9rf-jEcUkMgLAgWmolj5Wl-2CRAcQNAbhHsyNw1lhl0MysPlyheIBAeyfVF2OWX3BWZj_rc8ohau-ANFI4fknl_cSQwyFprNZyTUZsQICDgmx6pxgs3Gn1aGmJjvdefV_dyDWfwpsW6JSZ4NauflE7lYP7N7mY_N2Ahr8UNpvSXJTMItWzn4HvxEiiEZSP56Q5XK_jxRHzXSLJ2liQpxmpk_5snvTuwWMn6qBZzc6O-KnibkHqB8rk_4rp7xBYnE-7IclnbnwEVEpsNhdZQt3EvLy-tlbilBr0Uvd_FLxT0TQYVn_fitXweTOkweG1ZHpIcgIC2xDIF_l9HgkOfb5pZja6JncHtH5mQmwVQ3Moxqs6x3GIICz6KrKHy0-nd3YBNWDrf1mhbyQSwPLSdCcEl7ncrDNiDX91338lIIw5v25KR-Q0x6sR7jBcSpqIJ5iXojkWQkb4gKeszeyMCfGDuUF7k8m6fFyIAQeSHp5cZmBBZK1Zw=w600-no-tmp.jpg)
Quote from: Red Riley on December 12, 2020, 12:38:23 PM
My old favorite belt buckle broke, so I made a new one out of what I had in the scrap bucket.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/zZWdzHAPIfqgctG0lnSbp2XGTVffW4PKvTnMd2LEiIhJqB3Ax2viVX7k3_6nC0aGE4WwvHR7vO_SF83jhNqmqycQ8UrbsxAGnDcA0fZzftrn0cp9khMyBpX_pDzdXZ7ZJd-4Guvim81MOnZWbH22On7RLBTu9SYQNp1qK-qkDuWb_7Nj6clrSv6dy7Z8fOKQ0GJGhjRMAn-zAaWofEPphKl9y60MS5Ds0N3m-uqcLCnwbITmN7pcJmYgo3MwfNLLKkHatOC_dv5qSv2LLl1MCJ4uZkxl_VBJGyAViQMjyHNIofmxIFyrE-Ewacmrls2Ldv18Eb3jOwvbXjv8Z50Kw3CFHfSlTLcu3OclRS1ZF0f7nTGlwv9nPVvJxjmB5pwRuuPriAtXPMlLZ96cmQkyrbQzD92MFz8Gr5tR42Cnd80KxYfzPp4x2ijOacj2XFPXNiqHyBMq17vj-xF8i58QDXp2TofxBcRoC91N8DTy22GzCSYU7TK9MG59yi-HnCgX-mWSl4-gozo6DKdALTdzvnyCmX-8FTqm4CrN1rNlD19ZNK2OtIVdmHEYIz3GWiLxD-AtlAzxOyXK5lN-YOsikQH--_Cb1H8Ck_4pCDkorrLqTm8vg5AN70c36B7qWPdIHPTmnNuWwnPePEg4EuvOZt2H95yRXVZtgG0aGfZ13oXxr0k4m45sIIMvNTWRRw=w600-no-tmp.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XnDdVm4pUAPpgPM70z6P7DCRnvBCBpT8X5nwGHz9QeuerYQPql83F6saSGnFNNrgn0-l_MdcRe3ld5CdsPyK5-rduXz35qS8hjEBHkEkXRjbeOzYzpII1B8R2a9Zyuu5ZfvB6M2LJ9uKZ0ZvarB-wC5-lYVxtJ8x0l_3zQyCLJd3RnT0krDOieG0U4LwjhoAepQqp6Q7szYcqQM_z-_6zhnKiM_NBP_WJR5IJanQFsbGfoe5ZNd4btsHL7_3JbXNBl2bOHfafasf_Cj_M3t5sdhzwaOU59ILnzYf0HldnTkHhL_QWHqdON1isDPMQR3xOL9_m3VTO5HKFxi2ReY9ecp9BsjTLIXBGorXHuGSHmxqNv4kkaJARHFhirvaMjuk4-T9zPkHDfZvjtQmpwQRBYi0_T0ssZRya05GmLL2WIVbSrQCtPkkIXocNS63QMkdBEPi0Fj-RA7DaG8_7xX73zKIHfxetqsBKBj9OQ1KwYr9gla5-y4o9XHrcU9P8dSyKItCk85lgl_32jiDncG10AlqCFslENwzlryCV3hK9_ALcDw21gvDQWcIS5mlTEuQDKNTpV_VIPIKipgkfwiWNJEhp-Qx0nAkKT4OSdrBbFTt0FgFnZ-7xR6LKD4zQJkgjqHP-Q_aiK_ugNGhz9MGOqUU__vC2TUeAPoRSm1_TYOnrq9KouWWFefqrEk1g=w600-no-tmp.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/VuJCqkYK0L-itA-Bm5AIhZpQY0ToBBI1PaSs4rBkWB8LX5FcJjbyftPIoIRz3WT26qyOYkhxEPEwjB0__8JzSqIXLecvnSAfUeJ9yGohImYb7XmgPumutomzUifccUfIMS46-iZaKmdeanTiQ0pG1RG3Spuz3_I9-0E9zxqmwtYIhr-wszPL7odQ0LZzmqB-h_SjC8Y4q6Y9rf-jEcUkMgLAgWmolj5Wl-2CRAcQNAbhHsyNw1lhl0MysPlyheIBAeyfVF2OWX3BWZj_rc8ohau-ANFI4fknl_cSQwyFprNZyTUZsQICDgmx6pxgs3Gn1aGmJjvdefV_dyDWfwpsW6JSZ4NauflE7lYP7N7mY_N2Ahr8UNpvSXJTMItWzn4HvxEiiEZSP56Q5XK_jxRHzXSLJ2liQpxmpk_5snvTuwWMn6qBZzc6O-KnibkHqB8rk_4rp7xBYnE-7IclnbnwEVEpsNhdZQt3EvLy-tlbilBr0Uvd_FLxT0TQYVn_fitXweTOkweG1ZHpIcgIC2xDIF_l9HgkOfb5pZja6JncHtH5mQmwVQ3Moxqs6x3GIICz6KrKHy0-nd3YBNWDrf1mhbyQSwPLSdCcEl7ncrDNiDX91338lIIw5v25KR-Q0x6sR7jBcSpqIJ5iXojkWQkb4gKeszeyMCfGDuUF7k8m6fFyIAQeSHp5cZmBBZK1Zw=w600-no-tmp.jpg)
Bet they love you at the airport.
That looks like pretty small rebar - did you heat it to bend it?
Quote from: MiniDave on December 12, 2020, 02:53:36 PM
That looks like pretty small rebar - did you heat it to bend it?
Yeah, it's the little 3/8" stuff. It didn't need any heat. I just clamped it in the vise and beat into submission with a hammer. The hardest part was getting it to bend at 90 degrees to the seam so it would have a consistent face to grind flat on the back. I ground off the seam and notched it with a file where I wanted it to bend before whacking it with the hammer. Took a couple of tries to get it right.
I can't see any pictures of the buckle is it just me?
I don't see them anymore either.
Yep, MIA now..... 8.gif
Jims for the save......
(https://cdn10.bigcommerce.com/s-bca28o/products/15270/images/30023/3407_3354_Nude__99936.1482791802.1000.1000.jpg)
While the engine is still out I replaced the wiper system. Cleaned and regreased the wiper motor a while back. I did the system then but have not been happy with how it has not been going smoothly. It is all 45 years old so time for new stuff. Have to cut the drive cable as it is WAY too long. Then decide what to lube it with. I used general purpose grease last time and I think it is too thick.
The engine should be ready for me to pick it up at the trucking terminal on Monday the 21st.
Quote from: Willie_B on December 20, 2020, 11:47:55 AM
While the engine is still out I replaced the wiper system. Cleaned and regreased the wiper motor a while back. I did the system then but have not been happy with how it has not been going smoothly. It is all 45 years old so time for new stuff. Have to cut the drive cable as it is WAY too long. Then decide what to lube it with. I used general purpose grease last time and I think it is too thick.
The engine should be ready for me to pick it up at the trucking terminal on Monday the 21st.
I used cv joint grease in my 60 wiper system still working great even when really cold.
I find those wheelboxes get stiff over time - sometimes you can free them up with some penetrating spray, but it's probably a short lived repair.
I use red axle grease to lube the cables, seems to work even in the cold - tho I have to say I really don't use them often in really cold weather.
Good to get some of these sub-systems working well for the coming driving season.
did you have to grind the tab off that little fitting that goes in the end of the wiper motor?
Quote from: MiniDave on December 20, 2020, 01:48:41 PM
did you have to grind the tab off that little fitting that goes in the end of the wiper motor?
The new one looks just like the old one. The wiper motor is completely apart and soaking in cleaner so I have not tried to fit it yet. You know how I am. If it is out I will take it apart to clean and make it look nice.
I do the same..... 77.gif
Certainly the time to do it. I cleaned and regreased mine when I had the car apart. I just used regular bearing grease. Seems to be fine.
I find that old grease turns waxy and doesn't lube well.
Thought i posted some pictures about repairing a grande piano but don't see the post. Tried posting four times on facebook but they never showed up so I gave up posting.
Quote from: tsumini on December 21, 2020, 10:33:22 PM
Thought i posted some pictures about repairing a grande piano but don't see the post. Tried posting four times on facebook but they never showed up so I gave up posting.
Is it giving you an error?
I noticed a long while back that the SMF forums will not show a post that is just pictures. You have to start with at least some text, then the post will show up.
Without any text, it would appear to work (no error), but the post would not show up.
Could that have been the problem?
I hung the 998 Automatic off the engine hoist in the driveway, fired up the pressure washer and gave it (and my self) a good blasting.... but first I sprayed it down with some engine degreaser - which stinks even now after washing it off thoroughly. The whole garage smells of this stuff even tho I washed it outside and blew it off with air before bringing it back in.... I don't think I'll ever be tempted to use it again. It was the Autozone house brand engine degreaser.....nasty smelling stuff tho it seemed to work pretty good.
This poor 998 had been sitting on a dirt floor for 10 years or so? Anyway, the bottom was caked in mud and the upper parts were grease infested, I think it came out pretty good actually, I didn't get every spot of dirt off of it, but it's WAY better than it was!.
Next I need to strip the trans off the engine and box it up to ship to Boot2Bonnet for a rebuild.
I have a small pallet the YRC driver gave me when he picked up WillieB's engine the other day, but I'll need to go down to HD and get a 2X4 and some 3/4" plywood to make up the box.
Quote from: 94touring on December 21, 2020, 10:37:25 PM
Quote from: tsumini on December 21, 2020, 10:33:22 PM
Thought i posted some pictures about repairing a grande piano but don't see the post. Tried posting four times on facebook but they never showed up so I gave up posting.
Is it giving you an error?
No error it just didn't show up. I'm thinking now that my keyboard suddenly shifts back a few words so I end up with misplaced text. I have had a couple of instances of disappearing text like I selected all and hit delete. I'll try to repost when I finish the job.
I wanted a tongue jack for my little half-Elf trailer. I did some google searching and found this universal swing arm mount moped kickstand.
I made a couple of little mods to it and bolted it on. Works great.
Great idea and follow through. The extra foot area tucks nicely out of the way when up.
I finally found some ambition to go out to the garages and do some needed maintenance on Ms. Ruby.
I replaced all the tail light bulbs and front turn signal bulbs with LED replacements. I cleaned the tail light housings and lenses while at it. The flasher for the hazards works fine with the new LED bulbs, but I need a different one for the turn signals.
I also greased the rear suspension, replaced the fuel filler to body seal, and replaced the rear windscreen seal.
Next up is getting a replacement flasher relay for the turn signals, greasing the front suspension, and an oil/filter change.
Are you happy with the brightness of the new LED lights?
They are definitely brighter than what I started with. I did one side then compared the amber of the hazards and the red of the running lights between the old and new. The only comparison I could not do was the differences in running versus brake lights. (It is hard to see the tail lights at the same time as stepping on the brake pedal.)
Glad they are working for you.
Well, after you and two others commented on my "dim" tail lights on the last group drive ...
It was time to step up and make the change.
After two trips to the parts store, a few hours of totally dismantling the dash, and lots of contortions later, I have the new LED turn signals all properly working.
The first parts trip was to get a 3-prong LED compatible flasher per the nearest wiring diagram for a RSP Cooper.
Then after the first round of contortions and total dash disassembly, I finally found the turn signal flasher in a bracket hidden behind the instrument cluster and it turned out to be another 2-prong unit.
Second trip to swap the 3-prong for a LED compatible 2-prong unit.
Got it swapped and tested as working nicely, then another round of contortions to put the dash all back together.
Glad to hear it's working.
Many of those electronic flashers claiming to be suitable for LEDs are tricky. Even though they are the so-called "no load" type they seem to require some minimal level of resistance to function properly.
Reviews of electronic LED-capable flasher units for sale on various websites bear this out. Fortunately, the little "194" incandescent side repeater lights on our later Minis seem to provide just enough resistance to make the flashers work with the bigger LED indicator bulbs.
I love the fact they are a lot brighter - and therefore safer - plus they cycle on/off quicker and more crisply making their flashing more noticeable.
Here's the ones I use which I suggested to Michael.
ALOPEE - 2-Pack 12-15V DC Extremely Bright Red 1157 2057 2357 7528 BAY15D 39SMD LED Bulbs Replacement for Halogen lamp Tail Brake Lights Stop Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082WNNQ3W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_1w59FbHAJ9DA4
For my Mini I got the red 1157 equivalent for brake/running lights, the white 1156 equivalent for the reverse lamps, and 2 sets of the 1156 Amber for the turn signals (front and rear). My front running/park lights are in the headlights, so only needed the single element versions for the front as well as the rear turn signals.
This month , dug in literally to tackle a project on my garage.
My garage is in middle path of a hill from neighbors above. When we have HEAVY rains . upper water runs down gets to my garage back and the foundation block will leak .. I have even found Piss streams from a spot or two from the wall into the floor, even with HEAVY rain it water will seep up between the Block and the Pad... Basically the foundation sealing has failed.
Last 'hurricane' we got 8 inches in 2 hours = was the wet'est its been .. I was push brooming water out of the floor ... So while watching it rain = saw the major path the water runs . Dug a trench to divert water both directions from the neighbors property leading to mine. In the end I found out few months / years ago neighbor 'diverted' water up the hill from him to not was his yard away ... so now that diversion is headed 'downhill now to me... bringing this issue more... We talked. We're gonna keep some guide ditches cleaner to help the water divert better both sides. We're cool with dealing with water and gravity together.
Regardless Wall still Leaks. Late November + Early December time was spent digging out the foundation of my garage... Manually. I did find an originally installed ' pipe' in SOME gravel about 10 Inches from grade level but it wasn't doing anything , and both ends were buried anyways.
Now I'M reading more about proper foundation 'drainage'
I have 5 gallon yuck bucket to parge / re seal the block = Its dug out . I power washed the block . NOW this month it got cold + and wet... needs to be OVER 65 to do the parging... gotta wait. and going to learn more about proper drainage practice.
There are some neat modern products that drain walls as required., on top of parge sealing. Trying to learn if i need to go LOWER than the foundation below the block for a drain pipe or what...
First will be to get nasty and 2 or 3 coats to the walls ... which i bet will be enough to stop the water entry .. but the 'drainage needs to be finalized properly too.
Built in 1991... so 30 Yrs is OK for sealant failure I assume. whatever was there is now quite weak.
Good break from work actually = go dig a trench.
I think you're def going to have to go deeper.....coat the blocks, then lay in some proper 3/4" gravel - drain tile (the one with the sock to keep out fines) - more gravel with smaller pieces - then grade away from the wall, and a diversion channel around to the sides of the shop and on down the hill.
A lot of work, if you could get a Mini Ex up there it would sure make things go faster for you - and easy to get all the way to the bottom of the wall.
If you could create a swale about 6 ft away from the wall, that would help move the water to the side too
While waiting on parts for steering, brakes, suspension and other things we decided to flip the heater core (as mentioned by MiniDave) for cleaner heater hose routing. While the heater box is blown apart we'll have the heater core pressure checked and repaint the box.
Love the Union heater control back plate.
Delivered the clubby and drove this blue mini I painted 9 years ago. It has a vtec and drives pretty nice.
Does he do his own metal, paint and body work? Looks like your paint job on the blue car is holding up well!
Is the Clubby going Vtec too?
He's going to learn he said. Going vtec on it too.
Yeah the paint still looks fantastic!
Somewhat OT
Yesterday and today I replaced two broken agraffes in our grand piano. Agraffes are threaded brass parts
which position the strings on the plate so the hammer strikes the strings consistently. Construction is such
that the strings going through the three holes of the agraffe have to be removed and replaced with new.
Replacing strings requires unwinding the coils at the tuning pin three turns and removing the coil and string.This positions the tuning pin to rewind three coils and tightening the string.
My research realed that this model piano built in 1924 had a bad habit of agraffes just randomly fracturing
at the first thread and leaving the shank to be carefully extracted. Brass does have a bad habit of being prone to cracking at internal stress with age.
Not really easy but it beats total re-stringing.
And done with rough tune.
Tuner neede next.
Agraffes, eh? Learned a new word today. Yeah, I can easily imagine that something like that has been under stress for 96 years could finally fail. I'm guessing new ones benefit from better metallurgy.
Me too....we have a vintage Steinway also, 1950's era I think. Upright.
Quote from: BruceK on January 18, 2021, 08:43:33 AM
Agraffes, eh? Learned a new word today. Yeah, I can easily imagine that something like that has been under stress for 96 years could finally fail. I'm guessing new ones benefit from better metallurgy.
Yes they are under tension so I expect a few more to go occasionally. :(
Well this was done over the course of several evenings but it's finally to a point where it was maybe worth taking a pic or 2. I salvaged the metal from a stand someone built to hold a 55gal barrel parts cleaner of sorts.
Now I need to start sourcing some other parts like a radiator shroud, some of the bracketry around such, motor mounts etc... I have a couple old fuel pumps that i need to dig out to see if they work or not. I noticed Mini Spares does not have any of the Auto motor mounts in stock, they have a different part number for the radiator side but it sure looks the same to me as the standard mount, I think it's close enough for what I need anyway. The torque convertor side however looks completely different.
I bolted several of the parts on, like the extensions for the A-series motor mounts, because I also want to use this for a couple of motorcycle engines I will be rebuilding. I can remove the a-series parts and build new extensions to fit the motorcycle engines.
I have a set of cheap volt/oil/temp gauges on order
(https://i.ibb.co/f802tjn/Engine-stand-4.jpg)
I think the mount is the same size on the one end, it might be a different hardness. The Torque converter end is def completely different. I think you could build one out of metal and it wouldn't hurt anything in a test stand. Might vibrate a bit but I bolted the back end of a Sprite engine solid and it didn't vibrate hardly at all.
Eager to hear you fire this one up and see it all work! If you don't run a muffler, they can get a bit loud so wear your hearing protection!
Yeah I have a small rubber motor mount that is rectangular, it looks to be about the size of the auto one it just does not line up with any of the holes. Not sure what it came off of but I think it was whatever this auto 1275 I have came out of. I can make the little "sled" looking back plate that the auto mount has and tack this rubber mount to it I think. Like you said for an engine test stand it's not super critical it be perfect or even all that isolated.
Still need to mock up some engine steadies, since these motors are pretty top heavy and rock back and forth on the lower mounts quite easily. I figured it would set a little more steady in the lower mounts but I left the hoist attached just because it was so easy to move about. LOL Of course all the small bits like wiring and such still have to be sorted, but progress is being made.
My goal is to get this 1275 auto I have up in it and see if I can get it going. Then it will probably be up for sale to help fund parts for the 67.
Not shop related necessarily but shop like work. Few weeks ago the tenant in my condo said the blower motor in my heat unit stopped working. Went upstairs and sure enough dead. Went to ebay ordered a new one. Installed, kind of a pain, worked for 2 weeks and started making a hell of a noise/humming/buzzing sound. I concluded I bought a junk part since it was a different brand and was able to find the same brand name as original and purchased it last night. Today the tenant says the one I installed is back to working fine. 8.gif I guess if nothing else I'll have a spare on hand for when this one does die completely.
Shop cleaning day. Took a truck bed full of trash out and random mini debri/parts to the dump. Organized tools and got a fair amount of welding done on the 60 shell.
Sounds better than what I did all evening, which was cutting wood. Temps swinging down into the teens for highs and negatives for lows for the next week or so. Not looking forward to that at all.
I really need to get back out into the shop and finish up the engine test stand but just have not had time. I did manage to get an old SU fuel pump to work the other night and found some motor mounts, alternator bracket, and some other odds and ends. I need to put in an order at Mini Spares for a radiator shroud, water pump pulley, and some other odds and ends I need to actually be able to run a motor.
Coil, spark plugs, fan belt, upper and lower hose without the heater tap, battery, fuel pump, gas can, starter switch. block off for the heater tap and fuel pump openings.
I do have a spare coil and plugs, but I do need a set of wires. I also have an old upper and lower hose but I think I'll buy new ones, and like you said without the heater tap. Didn't think about the heater block off, good call I'll probably just cut one out of some 8ga steel I have. Got gauges, and a few switches the other day and digging through a box of junk i found an old auto torque convertor motor mount! I also have an old 11 blade fan as well as an electric fan I can hook up if need be.
Still need to fab up some motor supports. I think I am going to use a couple of the tie bar rods you gave me to make up some sort of tie rods at the bottom.
Panorama of the shop today. I could fit a few more in here...
Finally put this in today.
I'll be interested to hear if it makes any difference in the noise or the quality of sound coming from in front....looks like you need to daub a bit of paint on the bulkhead?
I think it is past the daub stage. I have had a bulkhead sound deadner material there. I will clean that area good and leave that off.
Also finished the wiper system overhaul. Replace wheel boxes and the tube & drive cable. Clean and lube motor assy.
I need to do that on my car too, the wipers barely even move anymore.....
jedduh01...hopefully you can divert much of the the surface drainage away from the garage wall by regrading the yard.
Whether you do or not, I would suggest excavating the soil down to the top of the footing so you can parge the entire foundation wall from top to bottom. I would make that excavation at least 12-18" wide and install a french drain system to include a couple of drainage structures connecting to a perforated pipe which should be installed to allow for positive drainage away from the area, if the surrounding grades will allow. If the existing grades will not allow the pipe to see daylight and surface drain, you may want to consider digging a gravel filled sump to receive the end of the pipe. Once you have the drainage system in place, back-fill the excavation with gravel as mentioned by Dave. I would also leave the top of the gravel visible, with no soil on top. In a perfect world, the top of grade at the wall should be at least 4" below the top of your slab, and should drain away from the building, but that may take some major regrading of the entire area.
Hopefully garage roof drainage is not contributing the problem. If it is, that can easily be addressed.
Out with the old standard, in with new EVO. Old ones are probably about 10 years old. 1/2" difference in height.
Played around with the milling machine today. I took .150 off the carb spacer so I could gain some air cleaner room at the bulkhead, I could probably take another .125 and still have clearance for the throttle cable. Wasted some time polishing some bits also.
That is an aggressive looking mill bit.
Quote from: Willie_B on February 14, 2021, 08:19:07 PM
That is an aggressive looking mill bit.
For aluminum only. US made NOS I bought for $40 off eBay, works great for stuff like this.
Did you make the throttle barcket as well? It looks a little different than any of the versions I have.
Terry
Quote from: tmsmini on February 15, 2021, 10:04:27 AM
Did you make the throttle barcket as well? It looks a little different than any of the versions I have.
Terry
No it was on the car, I have been curious if it was "home built" it works but isn't very well made. I just ordered a piece 1/8" thick stainless to make another nicer,
more rigid one.
Mother Nature installed an auto drywall remover spray. If all the mess wasn't in the way it'd make a nice jet sprayer for washing the car. Then I got to clean shovel pink snow instead of just the white snow.
Oh dang that stinks man!
What happened? Frozen pipe break?
Sorry that happened Mark.
I'm afraid we may have some pipes frozen too and won't find out until it warms up a little bit.
Yep. I heard a loud crack this morning from direction of the bathroom. Had a bad feeling. So I removed the extremely badly placed access panel in the garage roof and opened the door to the house to warm up the area and around 11 it thawed and... well.
Luckily I was able to turn the water off quick and a plumber to come over. I'd talked to him last week about a gas line adjustment. He's been swamped with broken water lines. Glad I could keep him busy.
The shower and tub side of our bathroom is still frozen but no loud cracks or sprays from it. That side has froze up before. We hoped with all the insulation during remodel we'd fixed it. Of course these are extremely unusual temperatures for us. Also doesn't help, like everything else in this house it was done cheapest to code in 91. We have m gauge copper. Modern code minimum is L. Thankfully again it was above the garage and I had the mini back enough.
Almost wish I'd turned the water off before thawing. Maybe would have minimized the water mess.
I am really riveted to what I am working on.
Oil & filter change, lube, rocker clearance check, replace fuel filters, flush hydraulics and add a new electronic speedometer and tach on the Sprite this weekend. Mini is next up this week and the Moke after that.
You have way too much room in your garage!!!!!
Quote from: gr8kornholio on February 16, 2021, 09:39:03 PM
Yep. I heard a loud crack this morning from direction of the bathroom. Had a bad feeling. So I removed the extremely badly placed access panel in the garage roof and opened the door to the house to warm up the area and around 11 it thawed and... well.
Luckily I was able to turn the water off quick and a plumber to come over. I'd talked to him last week about a gas line adjustment. He's been swamped with broken water lines. Glad I could keep him busy.
The shower and tub side of our bathroom is still frozen but no loud cracks or sprays from it. That side has froze up before. We hoped with all the insulation during remodel we'd fixed it. Of course these are extremely unusual temperatures for us. Also doesn't help, like everything else in this house it was done cheapest to code in 91. We have m gauge copper. Modern code minimum is L. Thankfully again it was above the garage and I had the mini back enough.
Almost wish I'd turned the water off before thawing. Maybe would have minimized the water mess.
We got lucky no water pipes broke but our plumbing is all PEX. My neighbor said he talked to a plumber who told him he didn't have a single leak in a PEX plumbed house. I know of at least two in our neighborhood had split copper pipes. This is probably the coldest I've seen in Texas since a time in the 1990's when dallas got into below zero for a couple days. Froze pool solid.
I have a feeling that winterizing Texas homes for this cold is going to be far more difficult and expensive than winterizing power generators in Texas.
Got around to making this, It's not all that pretty like the polished up machined parts you guys are making, I just don't have that sort of equipment at my disposal. It will do what I need it to though, which is hold the radiator where it needs to be on the engine test stand. Now I just need to go get the correct size bolts to fit the radiator.
(https://i.ibb.co/Fn408JS/20210302-171048.jpg)
1/4-28 unless it's one of the Chinesium rads, then it's M6-1.0
Thanks Dave, it's just an old non chinesium one for now so 1/4-28 it is. That was going to be my guess as to size, glad to have confirmation.
Today I got word that yet another Mini was making its way to my shop, so I had to do a bit of re-organizing and cleaning to make room for it.
I have been storing a bunch of parts for the Pup that Dan sold and I'm building an engine and trans for so I had to move them to a spot in the basement - but first I had to clean and organize some more of the basement so I would have a place to put them!
Then I had to enlist the help of my 29 year old next door neighbor to help me carry them down there. Nice to be young and strong.....(sighs)
So after working all afternoon I now have enough room and the Mini owner called to say it would be next week before he could bring it over from Cuba (Mo). ::)
Now I kinda hope he waits till the following Sat so I can finish building both these engines - one will leave and the other will be stored in the engine stand - then I can load the three Sprite gearboxes that are on the floor onto the parts shelves and I may then actually have enough room to work on his car!
No idea yet what I'm doing to this car - we've only talked about cosmetic things up till now....
We've been having terentual downpours and my dirt driveway where it meets the street has been a small muddy pond. I dug about 75 feet of ditch along the road that had filled with sediment since the town was founded in the 1800s if I had to guess. Most of the digging was just a matter of inches to get water flowing but about 25 feet needed about a foot worth dug out. Also I'm out of shape.
Got hung up for parts on both engine builds, so I started tearing down a Sprit transmichigan.....guess I'll start a thread on it....
A few hours later the skies open up the flood gates. My ditch worked. Other things accomplished today was cleaning up the shop and organizing suspension parts to start a couple subframe builds.
Well, if this whole airline pilot thing doesn't work out, you've got successful ditch digging experience to fall back on! ;D
Quote from: BruceK on March 18, 2021, 09:49:58 AM
Well, if this whole airline pilot thing doesn't work out, you've got successful ditch digging experience to fall back on! ;D
Sorry, I was totally distracted. Did they say something?
Quote from: BruceK on March 18, 2021, 02:25:56 PM
Sorry, I was totally distracted. Did they say something?
Say what?
Finished replacing the bushings and pins in a set of rear control arms, a local Mini guy loaned me his reamer and adjustable finish hone since I haven't gotten mine built yet so I could get them done. They turned out nicely, so now the owner can get on with building his subframes.
I'll be building him an engine and rod change transmission at some point, he's already gotten his pistons and a new cylinder head from Calver ST, and a bunch of other parts he'll need like a light flywheel and clutch assembly..
I also finished building the Sprite gearbox with straight cut gears, next up it's back on the Sprite race motor....
Finally got around to replacing the wimpy horn on Miss Ruby. Now I should be more easily heard when someone cuts me off in traffic.
And yes, I put the new dual tone horns on a fused relay arrangement.
Always a worthy upgrade on a small vehicle! Especially with the interiors of modern cars being so isolated and with many distractions.
I don't bother any more....they don't care. ::)
If I had a really loud horn they might do something even stupider, like brake check me. :(
Quote from: MiniDave on April 06, 2021, 11:42:30 AM
I don't bother any more....they don't care. ::)
If I had a really loud horn they might do something even stupider, like brake check me. :(
Or... they might
notice you are there and not run you over!
But I get your point. I don't honk unless I really need to.
I also don't honk unless I really need to - such as when someone I can see is busy on their phone starts to drift right into me.
I looked into ordering some new rubber bulbs for the horns on the 1919 today they are getting a little crispy.
that thing is awesome
Wow. That is very cool! More pictures please. And tell us about it please. It's a depot hack, right?
Gotta be able to warn people when you're racing along at 30 mph!!!
I put in yet another order for parts at MiniSpares, and find I miss Vicky Brits more and more....it's not just the convenience of being able to drive 15 min and get what I needed vs ordering and waiting a week - it's also the prices!
Moss is pretty good about having stuff in stock between their two warehouses, and I find it interesting that stuff gets here on the same day even tho some of it comes from California and some from Virginia, but compared to Spares - well, they're not as bad as Mania or 7 Ent, but they're not far off.
I ordered a Verto clutch kit - from Moss it was $250, from Spares it was £87. I don't know what the exchange rate is these days, but even at 1.4 that would still be 1/2 the cost Moss wanted, and shipping seems to cost the same!
I know you all know all this so I won't belabor the point, but it sure adds up over time! I think the last I checked I'd ordered more than $10K so far from Spares.
Also topped up my bolt bins - $75 from Bolt Depot!
Not so much of what I did in the shop, but rental property this week. Tenant moved out and it's time to redo, fix, and remodel some things. First thing was to tackle the blower motor in the 50 year old unit that was making bearing noises. New motor in but the shaft has play, so the fan hits on shut down as the shaft shifts. Need to pull that back out and dremel these brackets it barely clips. This mornings objective was replace the toilet with new. Got the old off, opened up the box to the new one, and it's busted in 100 pieces. :-[ I'll try again on Wednesday when the new couch gets delivered. In the bathroom I'm adding a new vanity and putting in a ventless washer dryer combo. It's the original 1970 vanity with some updates and none of these units had washer and dryers. Went to turn off the water at the valves to begin to tear out the old vanity and both knobs to the valves broken off immediately. To turn the water off to replace the valves requires turning off the entire 20 story building on that riser section. I'll deal with that Wednesday too.
Its been an awesome Spring = = Spring has sprung... Finally!
For my Garage = finally in April my ' drainage project is wrapping up. I Couldn't touch it until like 2 weeks ago because of Temperatures + RAIN wet winter...
For now, I Have parged the wall with two coats rubber coating. Dug deeper to the footings. Filled with Drainage Pipe + gravel .. I think just by the Block sealing and my neighbor dug a trench and re-directed the water kindly away from me .I wont see any more water in my wall issues again. Now im still leveling+ making a spare "mini' Parking spot. Will be a' mini carport eventually.
In My garage !
I have a Volvo Buddy = we both LOVE 90's 850 Volvos. He picked up a 96 - 850 R Sedan, Clean but needed ALL The Maintenance = but the goal was to keep it stock. Nearly a full refurbishment, Seals = Gaskets = Timing belts= filters= suspension ( whole thing) he brought this car back to top top. GREAT car now ... will come back for some AC Work when it warms up. Headliner refurbish . Dash is next ( volvo plastic is very brittle by these days)
He picked that up = and traded me his Hot wagon! Simpler service . suspension work = tune up too.
In the meanwhile = A pickup came for a full hose, fluid service update. New coil = wires = plugs... just needed a good going over
My formerly owned 94 -SPI = Tuneup + CV Boot replacement + Mani flow Exhaust replacement (great update) and a new Alternator
Also = another NC Guy brought me his power plant = A+1275 - he described as 1st gear not working = and LOTS of noise on other gears... Well, stop driving it.
Somehow the keeper for the lay shaft broke / loosened... (perhaps was installed wrong) Layshaft walked out = and the lay gear was, only held on the big end...
With that damage= couldn't risk the engine integrity, turned into a motor rebuild. +.020 pistons = whole head refresh = get that power plant clean.
Luckily his car came with a whole second transmission . We installed a new CWP for better highway . and re assembled that... He picked up that power plant yesterday.
While his motor was out, he headed down the restoration wormhole.. FULL strip = its getting a paint job + interior now too! Will expect in a few months to go help visit him for the first motor startup!
And one afternoon i got My pickup in a Professional Photo shoot for Rack Room Shoes Advertisements + commersicals
Now thats an easy way for CASH! Being the 'DRIVER" to park your car for a few hours an afternoon!
Finishing up most things this week = Vacation NEXT week!
Cracking work!
Love the wagon, just what you need - more cars!
Still have the big Benz too?
Quote from: MiniDave on April 13, 2021, 07:22:44 AM
Cracking work!
Love the wagon, just what you need - more cars!
Still have the big Benz too?
:)
I Actually Downsized the fleet by 2 this year !!! the Big Benz was a cruzer but not a 'driver'.
I sold the "big Benz" back in Feb .. After a LONG history to get a title in my hand ( thanks North Carolina). I had a buyer lined up after listing it for sale without a title. We both held to our word. and he was ready to pick it up when i got the title.... Well = I got the title = and was preparing to sell, Iwas driving it over to clean it up one last time . and it died in the main road. Tow hook it home started learning about vintage Benz'es. Had Fuel pumping withMechanical fuel injection but NO spark.. Learned a bit about Bosch Ignition = and found... A Ballast resistor is crucial to running.( it has 3 Critical to ignition) and
23$ and a new resistor- it ran again = Called buyer it moved on. Pete Happily owns the vintage 280SE.
Second let go was the wife's BMW = 2006 BMW 530i = Without a doubt a solid good Car: which is hard to say about any kind of Modern BMW.. but - simple Inline 6 engine + Manual trans.. that car gave us SOME greif, but not too much = I was very conflicted on letting it go. Wife's work has gone 100% remote..w ork from home so she doesnt need a good commuter car = and us having a 15 year old BMW @ 156K miles.. Sell it while we can easily., I was surprised . I got alot of interest in it in listing it for 3 days = First to come look... took it at full asking... Cant ask for much better than that.
My Volvo wagon still is a work horse = Haul more things than the SUV....!!!
Made a cupholder. This is part of a plastic truck bed rail cover that I picked up out of my ditch and been in the scrap pile for a few years. I like the diamond tread pattern. Recycling!
I don't care about diamond plate, but I sure like the idea! 77.gif
Take care of a few fix it list items, the least fun things to do of course.
Replace the choke cable. Till I got tired of laying on the minis floor with me head under the dash trying to get the little screw tabs back through the holes that when you can really only see one of. So took a break to swap the water pump pullet. I tried the medium size but the mini overheats in about 10 minutes of slow/stopped traffic. So back to the smallest size.
Just WOW. I bought a brake flare tool from a seller in Germany on ebay June 2020. He could not ship the item till the middle of Sept. due to restrictions from covld. It finally arrived yesterday.
I completely don't understand that - why couldn't he ship it? Other parts have been shipped thru that time period - thru Germany too - everything that comes DHL comes thru Germany.
so, how's the tool look?
Germany has been rather strict so it doesn't surprise me.
If any country has stats on how many people have became sick from contact with brake flaring tools it would be Germany. But somehow I imagine the number is 0.000%. But I'm sure the Germans feel you can never be too careful. ;D
Since I finished both Sprite transmissions, put the engine in the green car (which still won't stay running more than 5 seconds or so) finished the race engine (which worked fine) all I have left to do is finish the 998 automatic, so I started back in on it this afternoon by rebuilding the rocker arm assembly - new shaft, new rockers and clean everything up thoroughly.
Still need to set the cam timing before I put the head on for keeps and put the back end together. Once that's all done I'll pop it in the engine stand and see if it will make noise.
Dang it, just realized I forgot to send the header out to be ceramic coated. I have the old header I can use for test running, but I'll need to get this one sent out first thing Monday morning.
And _ I scored a brand new set of JCW shocks and springs that were new car take offs with maybe 50 miles on them for my blue Mini. It's getting real close to 100K miles now so I'm guessing it's due.
Oh - $50 for the set, front and rear!
Nice score on the shocks! It's nice when a deal like that lands in your lap!
Good ol Facebook Marketplace..... 77.gif
Took a vacation at the end of April = Worked remotely from St Thomas for 1 week + Vacation the second week. so the garage got closed down for a bit but that didn't stop the projects.
In St Thomas - built an outdoor shower for the house ( Best place to shower now )
Friends boat battery shorted ( hot as a fire cracker) almost left us stranded in the Caribbean Ocean. Gave one last crank to let us MOTOR directly home to dock.
2 new Deep cycle batteries + and a new link cable (which was a story in itself to find) fixed it up.
Mother in law also hit a tree with the borrowed car, had to pull a dent and replace the mirror assembly.
Now home , Have an MPI mini in from a friend. to which, the sub frame mounts are broken, that shifted around and cracked out the inner fender liner.. Loose nose So I have patch welded that back together.
New subframe mounts to install when they arrive , along with some other small maintenance things.
Actually started + got out my 63 mini . Havn't had it out in over a year= Fuel tank was dry ( evaporated i guess) but was a good thing.. added gas = fired right up... Did find a mouse nest in boot, and the bastards chewed up my headiner ( super frustrating) but i cant complain for free parking at my Mother in laws garage. That then lead to a small local british car gathering. Lunch out + a beer at the brewery. a "normal' Saturday out.
started a whiteboard with people on the list for who's next to the garage.
MGB needs a clutch.
Volvo needs AC Evaporator replaced ( pulling the dash )
personal car upkeep...
yea , it never stops.
The last one is the hardest to do, isn't it? Everyone else's cars seem to come first!
Gave Kreacher a new set of headlight bulbs for his birthday. He was built 53 years ago today.
Laser?
Dave,
Here is the manufacturer's website page for that model of bulb:
https://www.osram.com/ecat/NIGHT%20BREAKER%20LASER-Halogen%20headlight%20lamps-Car%20lighting-Automotive/com/en/GPS01_3043435/ZMP_4057695/ (https://www.osram.com/ecat/NIGHT%20BREAKER%20LASER-Halogen%20headlight%20lamps-Car%20lighting-Automotive/com/en/GPS01_3043435/ZMP_4057695/)
They are made with something called "laser ablation technology".
.
...
That would be a cool poster to hang in the garage. Or even in a house.
Not exactly in my shop, but somewhat related.....
The guy I built the Sprite race motor for does remodeling, so he's working up an estimate for me to remodel one of our bathrooms. Yesterday we went to the tile shop and I picked out tile for the floor.
The bride has gone on a spring fling kick in the house, time to move all the furniture around into different rooms, up stairs and down and between the two - oh and paint everything while the furniture is out. To that end we've been successfully getting rid of a lot of old furnishings we don't need or want - mostly on Craigslist.
So, I've been trying to do the same in the shop (see how I segued there?) by re-organizing, putting stuff away and so on. I use clear bins to store Mini parts, labeled as "engine", "transmission", "suspension" and so on, which almost guarantees I'll never be able to find anything again, and will wind up ordering three of something I already have five of somewhere......and I've been throwing out or giving to the metal scrap guy lots of old Mini parts that I'll never use and really have no value to others because new ones cost less than fixing up the old ones.
I'm trying hard not to be a Mini hoarder.....
I have never done brake tube flares before so I have no faith that I did it good. So now I can check using air.
Are you doing double or bubble flares?
That's a good idea to pressurize the system and check for leaks....just spray a little soapy water at all the fittings and look for bubbles? If you have a shut off valve in there you can air it up and lock it off and see if it leaks the pressure down?
Quote from: MiniDave on May 31, 2021, 06:55:59 AM
Are you doing double or bubble flares?
Whatever is stock. Bubble?
Double is what it would have had originally, newer cars have bubble flares which are backward compatible - but doubles are not compatible with cars that require bubble flares.
https://www.rtsauto.com/brake-lines-for-bmws-and-e30s-the-bubble-flare-not-the-double-flare/ (https://www.rtsauto.com/brake-lines-for-bmws-and-e30s-the-bubble-flare-not-the-double-flare/)
Never enjoyed doing brake lines, at least not until I started using the nickel/copper brake line. Flaring it and routing it are a piece of cake, and it won't rust away in no time like the replacement steel lines seem to.
Quote from: MiniDave on May 31, 2021, 06:55:59 AM
Are you doing double or bubble flares?
That's a good idea to pressurize the system and check for leaks....just spray a little soapy water at all the fittings and look for bubbles? If you have a shut off valve in there you can air it up and lock it off and see if it leaks the pressure down?
bled
I think Willie b's test setup has a shrader valve so no need for shutoff valve. Pressureize and see if it holds 60 psi for an hour or so. Works good for leak checking assembled brake pipes on front and rear subframes before installing in car. Then all there is left is two places connecting the two subframes.
When I did mine I ordered pre made pipes but when they arrived they were double flare. Bubble flare pipes were original. I questioned parts source and they assured me that doubles would work. They did if I wrenched hard enough but was not not comfortable with that so I took all the new ones and cut off the double flares and reflared into bubble. Most were long enough i could do that.
Note: coat flare surface with beeswax before flaring. Beeswax is a lubricant and will prevent work hardening and cracking.
Pulled the bus motor in 30 minutes flat to swap out oil components that keep leaking. Also discovered my mini has a carb issue and won't stay running unless the choke is pulled. I can't get ahead if more stuff breaks than I can fix! Then work added 2 hour short call for the next couple days so I rushed home and hopped on a flight to Dallas. Hoping to fly back home Thursday unless they keep converting my long call to short call.
Back when I first acquired my 60 Austin (about 2012) it was missing the engine. I did buy two 850 engines hoping to get one good one. At the same time I saw a chopped up Morris mini front end on Craigslist that was an early 1960. It was used intown parades and had no title. I bought it thinking that the engine (running) would be period correct for the 60 Austin. Turns out the car is about June or July build and fairly close to my Jan 60 Austin. I was going to use it but it had burned valves so I took the head off.
Meanwhile I decided to have my brother build an engine with the two I had acquired earlier. Wasn't sure of the condition of the Morris (lotsa sludge in the oil) cylinders looked pretty decent so had the head rebuilt. Got it running well and left it in the Front End Morris and robbed a few parts that were missing from the Austin and let it sit until recently.
I decided that I would sell the Austin and offer this engine in case the new owner wanted more period correct, (current engine in Austin is about 1962 I think.)
So for the last week or two I've put all the original parts back on and cranked her up. Runs good but I had thrown away the exhaust downpipe so it is loud.
Starter,Dynamo, distributor and radiator are original I believe since they are dated 5/60. Carb has brass Damper cover.
Video is cold start and warm up. Photo is from Craiglist photo.
https://youtu.be/_-a_nX5msm4 (https://youtu.be/_-a_nX5msm4)
I just bought a BMW. Plan to save the carbon fiber wheels for my mtn bike.
I bought a tig welder a while back and finally had some time to play with it. This was the first time I have ever tig welded and the first time I have ever welded aluminum. I find tig welding to feel more natural to me than mig, I think its the slower more deliberate and precise nature of the process. I know i have a lot to learn but looking at some others first attempts I guess its not terrible.
(https://i.ibb.co/3dNvkNC/20210912-161604.jpg)
I'm no expert but that looks pretty darn good for a first attempt!
Is that aluminum in the pic? To weld aluminum (and steel too) it needs to be clean, but aluminum is especially sensitive since it oxidizes in air.
Looks like light penetration to me, either you need to turn the amps up and/or mover slower. It's a good start tho....find some YouTube vids and watch them several times, then all you can do is practice....
I know a lot of guys prefer Tig over Mig, I guess it's what you're used to. I've done MiG, Tig, gas and arc (stick) welding and by far to me MiG is the easiest and quickest way to stick two pieces of metal together.
Unless you're trying to weld really thick stuff - for that you need arc where you can put a LOT of heat thru the thickness.
Mig is great for general welding, TiG is really good for thin tubing and sheet metal.
Its the outside corner of 2 1/8" coupons at 90 degrees. Much hotter and it started melting away, it had a little heat to the inside of the corner but not a lot so maybe could have gotten a little more, but since I was welding the inside corner as well I wasn't too worried, and it ended up being pretty strong once welded on both sides.
Its just practice anyway after all and I am sure I will have good and bad yet to come as I work through it.
One thing is for sure, position is real important when tig welding, any sort of tension in the upper body gets the shakes going which makes it a lot harder to keep the tungsten out of the weld pool.
On the 66 Countryman I am still sorting the electrical system. Due to what I have seen so far I decided it best to check everything. Even if it means pulling up carpet. This is the wire patch going to the floor headlight switch. Yep, speaker wire was used.
Oh lordy how I hate to fix other people's electrical mashups! :(
I've spent most of today cleaning and organizing loose parts, papers and such. It's still a mess out there.....I despair that I'll ever truly get it sorted out.
I did get the paperwork sorted for the green 998 so I could send the bill off to the owner, he said the check's in the mail! ::) ;D
I'll have video of that engine running tomorrow.
Looks like the person that did that wiring patch needed about 9 more inches on the dimmer switch pig-tail?
If the speaker wire is of the same gauge as the regular harness wire, it should be okay. Although I would consider shrink wrap or electrical tape insulating each of those splices.
Quote from: MPlayle on September 20, 2021, 12:55:54 PM
If the speaker wire is of the same gauge as the regular harness wire, it should be okay. Although I would consider shrink wrap or electrical tape insulating each of those splices.
I was concerned about how well those wires would hold up to the heat with them laying right up against the firewall.
Is the car LHD or RHD?
If LHD, that splice will be over to the far left along the wheel arch - well away from the exhaust heat.
If RHD, the splice would be in the center above the tunnel and I can certainly understand the concern. Being on the inside of the car versus the engine bay, I am still inclined to think it will be okay.
Not exactly in the shop since my 3d printer is in the house but I was making stuff for the shop so close enough I guess.
Since I haven't found a HIF44 carb yet I figured I would try to get one of the HS4 carbs I have to work, at least good enough to use on the test stand so I can see if the old 1275 auto I have will run.
To get the HS4 to mount to the intake I needed a spacer so I drew these up and printed them out to test fit. They seem to fit pretty well but I don't have bolts long enough so need to get those before I can bolt it on.
Nice! I know little about 3D printing. Is the material they are made of okay for the task?
Today I cleaned, put away, cleaned, organized, cleaned and then moved stuff around so I could tear down the Sprite race transmission for a rebuild - in the meantime while I'm waiting on parts to arrive (I'm betting on Moss over Spares at this point as I still haven't gotten a ship notice from DHL a week after I placed the order) I'll - guess what? - clean the parts all up! ::) ;D
Quote from: BruceK on September 23, 2021, 03:17:32 PM
Nice! I know little about 3D printing. Is the material they are made of okay for the task?
Not entirely sure but I'm going to find out. I printed these out of a material that is good to about 80-90c. Since its for my test stand which is wide open I am hoping it will be ok. If not there are other filaments you can get that have a higher heat tollerance but they are more difficult to print. There are also ways to anneal the plastic parts that significantly increases its heat resistance, you just have to deal with shrinkage created during that process. For a part like this it might be something that could be accounted for since its not a super tight tollerance part, but I have never tried it so don't know.
Mostly I just like playing with it and the filament is cheap enough I am not really out much of anything if it does not work.
Doing a quick post-trip check after getting back from Cambria with MOALA/MOASF, close to 500 miles.
Actually a driveway check.
Our trips in the Travellers are documented here:
https://www.facebook.com/travellerlucy/ (https://www.facebook.com/travellerlucy/)
So, how did everyone do? Any breakdown stories to tell? I followed along your trip on FB, I'm very familiar with that part of the coast as I lived in Fresno for a while and we'd head to the coast at every opportunity to get out of the heat or gloom.
Your cars look fantastic!
Quote from: MiniDave on September 24, 2021, 06:22:06 AM
So, how did everyone do? Any breakdown stories to tell? I followed along your trip on FB, I'm very familiar with that part of the coast as I lived in Fresno for a while and we'd head to the coast at every opportunity to get out of the heat or gloom.
Your cars look fantastic!
There were some issues on getting out of town, someone replaced a fuel pump, but I think that was it.
Twenty cars from north state and ten from the south. I will post some more pictures soon.
Very nice and low key, the Wilsons came over the hills from Fresno.
Not the garage "shop", but my "home office shop": I swapped upholstery on seats today.
The original RHD driver's seat's recliner mechanism was jammed when I got my current red Mini. I found someone selling a pair of the same style reclining seats with different upholstery and bought them. Today, I stripped both right side seats and put the upholstery from my car on the replacement seat so I now have a properly working recliner to go back in.
I fixed some scratches on the left lens of my glasses. Worked like a charm too.
Quote from: 94touring on September 30, 2021, 11:44:38 AM
I fixed some scratches on the left lens of my glasses. Worked like a charm too.
Nice, it has never even occurred to me to try that, but now I am definitely going to have to keep it in mind.
Probably won't help with grinder sparks melting into the lenses when I forget to swap to my old pair for shop work though. ;D
Quote from: cstudep on September 30, 2021, 12:04:28 PM
Quote from: 94touring on September 30, 2021, 11:44:38 AM
I fixed some scratches on the left lens of my glasses. Worked like a charm too.
Nice, it has never even occurred to me to try that, but now I am definitely going to have to keep it in mind.
Probably won't help with grinder sparks melting into the lenses when I forget to swap to my old pair for shop work though. ;D
I left melt divots in a phone once doing that.
Yeah, it will do a number on your windshield too if you're not paying attention.....
Yeah I ruined a phone that way, it was in my pocket as I was cutting a bunch of stuff with cutoff wheels. The phone was sticking just a little bit out of my pocket I guess because the entire bottom 1/4 or so looked like I took the sand blaster to it. Needless to say it didn't work worth a shit after that.
I could see it really doing a number on a windshield as well. I scratched the hell out of a windshield one time with a green scotch Brite pad trying to get an inspection sticker off. Luckily it was just down in the corner and the windshield needed replaced anyway. I never would have thought it would scratch it up that bad, but it sure did.
i started to build more overhead storage. 2x8's for bracing and 4x4 post for the leg, metal brackets with wood screws and 5/16's bolts holding it all together, 1/2 inch stud into the floor with a metal bracket to hold the post in place, 1/2 inch thick wood for the floor, the storage is 8ft off the floor, and will have 8ft above that for height, plus its 8ft long, and 4ft wide, it has 4 2x8's spaced out between the 4ft wide section, it should be pretty beefie and be able to handle some weight on it
I did not work in the garage I went to the races!
CSRG at Sears Point
Nice photos! Thanks for sharing.
Finally had a little bit of time to do something other than work so I printed this out for my engine test stand. Turned out ok, now I just need to find some time to take it out and get all the wiring done up. Small steps I guess.
Wow, that's cool......how long did it take that to print? Did it print with the holes for the gauges and switches and such? Are you going to use a key switch for the starter button or just a momentary contact switch like a horn button or such? Or is that the black button in the center?
It's difficult to find a temp gauge that reads down in the area these engines run at (180-ish) as all modern engines run around 220 or so. I had to go with a set for a hot rod to get the lower reading gauge. (the halfway point on mine is 190)
You'll also need a tachometer........to set timing and idle and such and an idiot light for the alternator (that's how it excites the field to start working.)
It's 2 parts front and back that fasten together using small socket head screws with captured nuts. Everything prints out exactly as you see it right down to the small little hexagons recessed in the back piece to capture the nuts. The little tiny holes you see above the switches are for small LED's I had laying around that will come on when the switch's are "live".
Good call on the alternator idiot light, I was hoping I could use the small LED above the FIRE switch but I have my doubts it will work. If not I will just wire something up, probably inside, to handle it. The top took about 26 hours to print and the bottom took somewhere between 14 and 20. It was done when I got up this morning but was still going when I went to bed last night so I am not real sure exactly how long it took.
Just using a momentary switch for the starter, and yes the small black button in the middle is said switch. I was going to print "START" under it like I did for the FUEL and FIRE switches but completely forgot to add it, and since it took so long for that top piece to print I wasn't going to start over just to incorporate it.
I plan to make a gauge pod of some sort for the tach, I could not incorporate it into this since this thing nearly filled up my entire print bed as is, I have a smaller 3d printer so the print bed is only about 9"x9".
here is what the 3d models look like of the parts so you get an idea how they print out. They come out looking pretty much exactly like what you see here.
Totally cool stuff!
It really is pretty cool, I am always amazed every time I pull something off of it and it is exactly how I modeled it up in my 3d software. The only time I have ever had it go too wrong is when the part does not adhere to the bed well.
I'm going to venture out into some other materials that are notoriously more difficult to print with as far as warpage, shrinkage, etc.. so I am sure that will be frustrating at times.
They even have "wood" filament you can print with. I guess it actually has wood fibers in it and it can be stained just like wood. Crazy stuff.
cstudep, could you print this? without the mini logo.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2099380
I will pull it out and see what I can do with it.
Careful now, this is a family site!!! :D
LOL good point, I will download the file and see what I can do with it ;D
I managed to bend a heavy duty tie rod when the mini slid off of the jack.
It bent about 3/16" - 1/4" and I was able to straighten it out such that it's straight again, but I'm concerned about the tab on the front subframe. Is there a fairly accurate way to measure or check dimensionally if it's been bent or pulled 'rearward'?
I haven't space in the garage at the moment to be able to set up my tracking equipment for a complete alignment - and yes, I know that I'll have to do that regardless, but I need to be able to be rolling first before I can excavate enough to be able to squeeze between the walls and the car.
If you're talking about the one at the front where the bushings go, it should be perpendicular to the shaft (square to the shaft)
Thanks Dave -
I kinda figured that, but it's somewhat hard to tell by eyeballing it and it didn't occur to me this afternoon. I've got an itty-bitty right-angle square that I use for jewellery work that I can hopefully crawl under with tomorrow before I test the integrity of the new head gasket.
Yep, still haven't finished doing that head gasket repair - but I fired it up today and it was spewing a lot of condensation from the exhaust, so I've got it sitting overnight with the radiator over-filled and plugs out, just to make sure that it's just residual from when the gasket burned through and not leaking in from the cooling system (when the gasket burned through between 1 & 2, the nr. 1 piston and combustion chamber were clean as a whistle). The new plugs have a bit o'soot on 'em (nr. 2 is quite dark, #3 a bit lighter, nrs. 1 & 4 are much lighter still), so I think it'll be ok, though I may re-check my valve adjustment.
I find the tabs don't usually bend and i have replaced a few over the years.
I guess it is due to that end of the tie bar having rubber bushings and some room to move, like Dave said just check it when you refit it.
Cool, I'll do that; I'll be wedged in there to get the sump guard back on.
Quote from: Willie_B on October 14, 2021, 08:36:34 AM
cstudep, could you print this? without the mini logo.
Here you go, it's not perfect but it printed. I don't have any ABS right now to print with so I printed out of the highest temp material I have. If you want to give it a try I would be curious how this material holds up to engine bay Temps as its supposed to be close to ABS. I do not think this stuff shrinks quite as much as ABS either so not sure how it will fit, I don't have an air cleaner to try it on.
Another good thing about ABS is it can be smoothed with acetone to make a nicer looking part, I tried to sand this a bit to see if I could smooth it out but it didn't seem to do much.
If you want it, just drop me a PM with an address to send it to and I will drop it in the mail. If it works ok and you like it I can get some ABS and try printing out of that, been wanting to try it anyway as its supposed to be one of the more difficult to print.
That looks great. Just sent you a PM.
Quote from: John Gervais on October 14, 2021, 03:00:42 PM
I managed to bend a heavy duty tie rod when the mini slid off of the jack.
It bent about 3/16" - 1/4" and I was able to straighten it out such that it's straight again, but I'm concerned about the tab on the front subframe. Is there a fairly accurate way to measure or check dimensionally if it's been bent or pulled 'rearward'?
I haven't space in the garage at the moment to be able to set up my tracking equipment for a complete alignment - and yes, I know that I'll have to do that regardless, but I need to be able to be rolling first before I can excavate enough to be able to squeeze between the walls and the car.
I generally don't get too revved up about black cars or motorcycles, but John...I have to say....I love that MASCOT.
It's one of the nicer black minis around.
Well done !
Well since I had the printer all set up to print the air intake I decided I might as well print one of these. Dave will for sure know what this is for. I didn't want to dig through boxes or parts yet this morning to find the springs and balls to try it out fully, but I think its going to work just fine.
Where did you find the dimensions to make that? I can't see any reason why it won't work either....I use mine on Mini gears, but it doesn't work on Sprites - the springs are longer and stiffer on Sprites. I may be able to get it to work on those at some point but for now I just use a hose clamp, and keep LOTS of extra detent balls on hand. My wife finds them all over the shop from time to time - she has way better eyesight than I do.....
Using that tool for Minis I never lose them, BTW.
The trick to using that tool successfully is remembering which way the operating sleeve fits over the hub - and of course, lining it up correctly ::) ;D
I can't tell you how many times I've put one together, put it on the mainshaft and went "nope, it goes the other way" and had to take it apart again. 50.gif
Quote from: MiniDave on October 16, 2021, 08:05:06 AM
Where did you find the dimensions to make that? I can't see any reason why it won't work either....I use mine on Mini gears, but it doesn't work on Sprites - the springs are longer and stiffer on Sprites.
Oddly enough someone else already did the hard part, it was on thingiverse so all i had to do was download and print. I was planning to hit you up at some point since I knew you had one so I could draw it up but didn't need to.
I could modify it a bit with deeper slots for the longer springs/balls and lengthen out the ramps a little more to see if it would work for you on the sprite parts. It only took about 5 hours to print and doesn't use much material.
That could be a fun project - I think it would need longer ramps too.... 8.gif
I could send you an inner hub and a couple of springs and balls to play with......actually I think the inner hub is the same for a Sprite or a Mini.....next Mini gearbox I tear down I'll have to do a compare/contrast and see.
How much longer do you suppose the springs are. I could probably just make the slots that much deeper and then lengthen out the ramps to match the same basic angle they are now. Might have to make the outside diameter slightly larger but that should be easy enough to do.
Let me round up some Sprite parts and send them to you - then you can see for yourself......the problem I had was that even tho I could get the balls into place atop the springs with the hub in the fixture, I couldn't rotate the hub in the holder to push the balls into the holes. So, I think you need the parts in hand to see what the issue was and try and figure out how to solve it.
My tool is made out of "aluminium" (came from Guessworks in England) and very smooth inside just FYI. I don't know if some texture would help or hurt the process.
When I do the Mini hubs it works easily, and the only difference I can see is the length of spring as they use the same balls.
Sounds like its less the initial notch depth and more the ramp length/angle being too steep for the longer spring which would be applying more pressure out on the ball. Makes sense.
I can certainly play around with it if you have a few extra springs and balls laying about. I have an inner hub (obviously) if you think they are the same between the sprite and mini.
Took a break from working on the woody due to waiting on parts. Finally got the top/hood for the moke. Got the lift-the-dot fasteners installed on the windshield frame. Now I can get the windshield all put together and on the moke.
Got the filter housing extension in today. Slid on with a snug fit. Will find out tomorrow how it does. Have to go out to have the muffler replaced, it rusted out in the bottom after only 11 years.
I remember when if your muffler lasted 2 years you were doing good! That's what gave rise to Midas Muffler shops that guaranteed your muffler for life - well, at least as long as you owned the car. I don't think their mufflers lasted a whole lot longer, but they figured people traded every couple of years so all they had to do was last that long! There were stories of people who kept their cars for 20-30 years and got a LOT of new mufflers off of Midas.....
I ran a hose from the nozzle on Buzz up to the front grill so I could get cold air into the air cleaner - not sure it made any difference in performance - what's your goal with this? Noise reduction or performance improvement?
Maybe slightly cooler air going into it as the opening is not right over the exhaust manifold. Also it covers that part of the filter housing that looks bad when you pull the hot air intake off the housing that goes there.
That does indeed give it a more finished look. I may need to ask to buy one for Miss Ruby if she does not sell soon.
I have one of those flapper things if you need/want it.....
Quote from: Willie_B on October 20, 2021, 12:51:52 PM
Got the filter housing extension in today. Slid on with a snug fit. Will find out tomorrow how it does. Have to go out to have the muffler replaced, it rusted out in the bottom after only 11 years.
Sweet, glad it arrived in one piece and actually fit what it was intended to fit. It will be interesting to see how/if it holds up to the heat. It prints at a hot end temp of 240 degrees C but it will start to "soften" and slump at a temp quite a bit below that, just not entirely sure where.
I do have some other filament on the way that is supposed to be able to easily hold up to engine bay temps but it is pretty expensive (double the cost of the PETG I printed the inlet out of). If you find this one doesn't want to hold up and still like the idea of it, I could print you one out of this new material.
Thanks for being my guinea pig on material temp testing LOL!
Quote from: MiniDave on October 20, 2021, 03:01:00 PM
I have one of those flapper things if you need/want it.....
The opening on the 1990-1991 Mini Coopers pointed toward the radiator and used a rectangular "snorkel" that swung over the top of the spark plugs. It was about the length of the valve cover as well. There is not room for the same flapper thing used with the opening going over the clutch cover. (Number 21 in the parts diagram.)
Something that I played with at one time was a generously radiused doo-dad (similar to an oval stub-stack) that fit inside the air filter housing over the inlet to the carb. I never had the means to adequately execute it though, but I'd carved it out of a piece of dense plastic and attached it with a couple of screws.
I no longer have it, though - it was many years ago.
Quote from: MiniDave on October 20, 2021, 02:12:09 PM
I remember when if your muffler lasted 2 years you were doing good! That's what gave rise to Midas Muffler shops that guaranteed your muffler for life - well, at least as long as you owned the car. I don't think their mufflers lasted a whole lot longer, but they figured people traded every couple of years so all they had to do was last that long! There were stories of people who kept their cars for 20-30 years and got a LOT of new mufflers off of Midas.....
I ran a hose from the nozzle on Buzz up to the front grill so I could get cold air into the air cleaner - not sure it made any difference in performance - what's your goal with this? Noise reduction or performance improvement?
I have the same set up on my Clubman Estate and Mokes, it seems to help in the Florida hot summers here.
The negative is when I drive on the CMU events in the mountains of TN and NC it is too cold on 40 degree mornings so I disconnect them and block off the grilles.
Had a couple of one hour drives in the last two days without any issues with the snorkel. Of course the temps here are in the low to mid 70's and I did not stuck in any traffic either.
Thanks for the update, that is good to know! Even with the low ambient temps I would assume it still gets fairly warm under the hood so it's encouraging to see it holding up fine.
I am planning to get some ABS soon to mess around with and I also have a special material on the way that is supposed to be high heat tolerant and easy to print with. I may use this snorkel as my test piece since it is fairly tall with a small contact patch on the bed and has a little bit of overhang to print as well. If I can get it to print successfully in ABS it should look a lot nicer as you can smooth it out. Also interested to see what this new special blend of plastic will look like.
If I end up with a better looking piece at some point in this process I will let you know.
Pretty handy being able to make pieces like that.
The other day in my shop I changed out two pulleys on my daily driver truck and the serpentine belt. It had developed a squealing noise which I narrowed down to either the tensioner pulley or upper idler pulley. Both have a bearing built into the pulley. Replaced both of them and the belt. Ended up being the idler pulley bearing.
It is pretty neat stuff, They have little laser cutter heads you can install onto the printer to replace the hot end used for the plastic extrusion. That could be fun as well. Having the software to be able to create my own stuff is for sure useful.
squealing bearings/belts are super annoying (at least to me) so it's always good to get those fixed!
It was a lot easier than anticipated which was a perk. I figured the radiator needed to come out but just needed to pull the upper hoses to get my arms in there. Looked like a bunch of belt spaghetti with all the belt routing, but the front bumper has a diagram sticker so it made it easy.
I recently replaced the timing belt on my Toyota. That was slightly more involved since while a guy has it torn down he may as well replace everything on the front of the motor. All new belts, timing belt, tensioner, water pump, 2 idler pulleys, cam seals, crank seal and radiator since I had it out and they are know to have the transmission cooler fail which then fills the trans with antifreeze. Mine was still original radiator and since it had 200000+ miles and was 20+ years old seemed like a good thing to take care of. Still only took about 5 hours to do it all since access with the radiator out is pretty good.
Mine will be due for a timing belt in about 20k miles. I looked into what was involved and may just take it to someone. Seems like a pita and if you do it wrong you junk the motor. This Toyota is about to turn 19! Going to drive it till it doesn't drive anymore too with prices of new trucks.
It is definitely a bit of a chore if you have never done one before my 99 4runner was the 3rd one I have done in the last 2 years. One thing is for sure it is a hell of a lot easier to do on a non FWD vehicle with the front of the motor facing the radiator than it is on one sitting sideways. Doing the one on my son's Highlander was a real hassle at times, especially getting to cam seal that was up against the fire wall. But even it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
Which motor is in your truck? Some of them are interference engines and some are not. The V6 in the 2006 highlander was interference which meant you better get it right. The V6 in my 99 4runner in non interference so no worries about destroying it if you mess it up. Honestly though it's pretty difficult to get it wrong if you pay even a little bit of attention.
Wherever you take it I would either insist on them using genuine Toyota parts or buy them yourself and provide them. There is a guy on Ebay I buy mine from I could send you the link to, all OEM parts and the cheapest "kit" I could find to do it all. Right around $300 for the parts it seems like depending on which kit you get. I have heard horror stories of people using non genuine parts and then having to have it redone in 20-30 thousand miles (or less sometimes) because the water pump started leaking or an idler failed. The job is nearly all labor if you are having someone else do it so having to pay for it more than once would suck!
I've got the v8 4.7 in mine. Rear wheel drive.
Wait till gas hits $4+ a gallon. If it's anything like in 08 they Weill be putting trucks in Happy Meals. Now of course with the work shortage and demand for $15+ an hour to fill those you may have to pay $20 for it.
Quote from: 94touring on October 27, 2021, 03:57:16 PM
I've got the v8 4.7 in mine. Rear wheel drive.
Nice, that 4.7 v8 is definitely on my list of best motors ever made, they will run forever with minimal maintenance. But they are definitely an interference engine so staying on top of the timing belt is a good idea.
Quote from: cstudep on October 27, 2021, 09:37:51 PM
Quote from: 94touring on October 27, 2021, 03:57:16 PM
I've got the v8 4.7 in mine. Rear wheel drive.
Nice, that 4.7 v8 is definitely on my list of best motors ever made, they will run forever with minimal maintenance. But they are definitely an interference engine so staying on top of the timing belt is a good idea.
There's a few out there with a million miles still driving around. 400-500k isn't unheard of. At the rate I'm going if it last 500k this might be the last truck I ever own lol.
Hey are you able to print anything like this?
How big is it? Not saying it would be impossible but it does look like something that would take a long time to print. Probably several days depending on the size. Also not sure how/if it would hold up to the RPM that is probably spinning at? That is a fan on your VW motor correct?
Yeah vw fan. The plastic one this other guy made which was a different design didn't actually cool. The weight savings would be a perk though. I believe it spins around 8k rpms before the belt begins to slip, holding it around 8k-9k max. It's 9.25 inches in diameter.
Looks like the metal one is a little bit more simple of a design? The blades on it look to be flat rather than slightly curved like the second one you posted.
The bed size on my printer is 235mm x 235mm but the "useable" space is 220mm x 220mm. Supposedly you can mod the firmware to use the full bed size but that does not leave much room for error. I will probably get a larger printer at some point in the future as there are a few things I would like to print that also won't print on my machine.
Mainly just curious if it had the ability to do items like this. Had no idea it would take days.
I think it could print ok, the only thing that light cause issue is the flange once you got past the internal fins. That would print as "overhang" and depending on the spacing between fins, etc.. it may need supports printed which would then come out later. Something like that would use quite a bit of material and you would want to print it with pretty tight layers with heavy infill for strength.
A high quality print prints at a layer height of about 0.15 to 0.20 mm and a speed of about 50mm per second. With a 2mm wall thickness and heavy infill you can see that it quickly becomes a time consuming process as the parts get larger.
Its not that big of a deal though as its usually a start the print and let it go kind of thing. I generally just check on it every once in a while.
Had to work on the HVAC system in my Jeep Wrangler today.
On the way home from friends last night after Thanksgiving dinner, all I had was maximum heat. The fan speed and vent selectors worked fine, but the temperature selector had no effect - just maximum heat. It turns out the temperature is regulated by a "blend door" and the actuator for that had gone out. When the car is shut off, the actuators index themselves at particular positions and the blend door actuator indexes at full heat. It indexed when I got out to the friend's place and then died.
I got to spend an hour contorted under the driver's side dash replacing the actuator.
Chrysler products are notorious for this.....at least you could get to it without having to take the entire dash out like on some cars.....
I had a similar issue on my GMC Sierra the AC was not cooling 100%.
Everything on the AC side checked out so I clamped off the heater hoses and drove it home with ice cold ac.
I looked for the blend door but there were four different actuators, I figured out which one and like your Jeep Michael it was not a fun job.
Quote from: MiniDave on November 26, 2021, 12:26:36 PM
Chrysler products are notorious for this.....at least you could get to it without having to take the entire dash out like on some cars.....
I prefer the old days of a cable or a manual 90 degree shut off and a heater tap.
Quote from: MPlayle on November 26, 2021, 12:02:47 PM
Had to work on the HVAC system in my Jeep Wrangler today.
On the way home from friends last night after Thanksgiving dinner, all I had was maximum heat. The fan speed and vent selectors worked fine, but the temperature selector had no effect - just maximum heat. It turns out the temperature is regulated by a "blend door" and the actuator for that had gone out. When the car is shut off, the actuators index themselves at particular positions and the blend door actuator indexes at full heat. It indexed when I got out to the friend's place and then died.
I got to spend an hour contorted under the driver's side dash replacing the actuator.
Much easier when the blend door just says "Car Screen Off"! ;D
In my case, I had to remove the heater to fix mine! ::) ;D
First attempt at Dave's wheel center cap. Size is pretty decent but the one I printed is a lot less rigid than the original. That might not actually matter and could be a benefit if it snaps in well.
It looks like the original might be a little too rigid, the "ears" are a bit bent in toward the center and I think it might be because of the plastic they are made of not having any "spring back". The ears being under constant pressure eventually take that set which actually weakens their hold on the wheel. Its hard to say for sure without seeing a new unused one.
Either way I modified my initial print to hopefully add some more rigidity and we will see what happens. Then I may just drop what I have in the mail and let Dave pop them into his wheels to see if they will work before I print up a full set.
That looks pretty good, the other one could just be stiff because it's old too. Whenever you're ready I'll pop one in and see how it works.
And thanks for doing this for me! 77.gif
I was trying to tune the carb and set timing on the woody today. I am using a wideband thru an app on my phone. Had the engine running while my phone was resting on it so I could watch the reading. While I was checking the temp gauge my phone decided to slip down the back of the engine. It got the headers twice before I could knock it completely down and out the bottom. Lesson learned. At least it was just the case that melted.
Ooops!
The case served it's purpose!
Quote from: 94touring on December 17, 2021, 06:59:36 PM
The case served it's purpose!
Can you imagine the bunch of nerds who designed that case somehow envisioning an encased cell phone falling onto hot car headers? It would be outside the realm of their experiences or knowledge.
i wired up a couple 220volt plugs to my garage, and then made a mount off one of the walls to hang a 220volt heater in my garage. the garage was starting to dip into the high 40's/low 50's. With that temp, trying to work in that temp was starting to hurt in my bones
Same for me.....I turned the heat on in my garage today - in about an hour it should be warm enough to get some work done.
Does your heater have a good fan behind it? cause I put one in a friend's garage after reading rave reviews and it doesn't do shit. My opinion is it needs way more fan behind it to push the warm air into the shop. As it is now the only place warm is right in front of the heater! I think a hair dryer would blow harder that that fan does....
The heater in my shop is also my A/C unit and that fan blows enough to feel it anywhere in the shop - does the trick whether I want heat or cool.
Quote from: MiniDave on December 22, 2021, 01:42:50 PM
Same for me.....I turned the heat on in my garage today - in about an hour it should be warm enough to get some work done.
Does your heater have a good fan behind it? cause I put one in a friend's garage after reading rave reviews and it doesn't do shit. My opinion is it needs way more fan behind it to push the warm air into the shop. As it is now the only place warm is right in front of the heater! I think a hair dryer would blow harder that that fan does....
The heater in my shop is also my A/C unit and that fan blows enough to feel it anywhere in the shop - does the trick whether I want heat or cool.
Talking about Don's heater? He has the small version of what I use. Mine smokes me out of the shop with it cranked up past about a quarter.
Yes, does nothing to help the cold in there.....
Tell him to buy the 220 version like I have!
No, it is the 240V version, I ran a new breaker and service for it.....
I finally took my Almond Green Mini and washed it good in preparation for a drive Saturday.
I also swapped to LED bulbs in the tail lights (brake and turn) and wired up a power port under the dash. Now I can run my GPS for a speedometer and keep it charged (the car's speedometer is in kph).
The hazard lights flash at a normal rate, but the turn signals are a bit fast. It is not so fast that I can't live with it. It should help catch the attention of traffic around me when I signal turns and lane changes.
Did you install a no-load flasher to deal with the LEDs?
Bruce,
I did not. Finding the flasher units on this Mini to change it will be quite a chore as it is a Japanese spec with a/c. That means things around the dash are REALLY crowded.
It has a number of the Japanese specific accessories that don't show up in any of the regular manuals - such as a seat belt warning light and ignition buzzer.
I think I know where it should be, but accessing it is blocked by something I have not seen before.
This is actually what I got done yesterday - took the pictures today.
Made a carpeted boot board for my 1996 Saloon and carpeted the boot lid liner to match. The first picture shows them both. The second shows the support board I made for the right side of the boot board. The left side is supported by the spare.
Looks nice and clean!
Looks good
That turned out really nice. Somerford makes boot board mounts that are taller to fit a 165 tire.
I am using a 145 tire on 4.5" x 10" wheels.
The factory style mounts are meant to be welded in. I have no welding skills, nor any means to use one in the apartment garages - only a single 110V outlet in the ceiling meant for the door opener. I use an extension cord plugged into the other side of that outlet to drop power down for the battery tender.
Mine are all riveted in
Yes, pop rivets or even sheet metal screws will work, there's very little load on it. Or if you want something a little stronger use riv-nuts and machine screws
Did some work on the blue Van today - troubleshooting some electrical gremlins.
1) Tracked down the cause of the hazard flasher not working - blown fuse. Then had to track down why it kept blowing fuses - the dome light had been wired incorrectly, resulting in the power going straight to ground. The hazards and dome light share the same power circuit and inline fuse.
2) Found one tail light not working after upgrading the bulbs to LEDs. This turned out to be a poor ground issue from the tail light housing to the body. The housing normally grounds via the mounting studs/nuts. When the Van was modified with the side windows and repainted, they did not clean paint from spots under the nuts for making a ground. Scraped the paint away from under were the nuts secure the housing to the body and the tail light works nice and bright again.
3) Replaced the dash light for the Ignition/Alternator charging. The lamp holder was missing the prongs that hold it into the back of the instrument housing, so it kept falling out the back. I had a matching spare left over from a past project, so spliced that in as a replacement.
I still have a really big piece of the grey carpet I used for the boot board and cut a section of that for Bruce to use on the rear parcel shelf of his Honda Beat.
I replaced the clutch pedal pad on my Traveller S.
:D
Intended to finish some paint work on a car today but instead was unpleasantly surprised by a backed up sewer line, which in turn caused a hell of a mess in the shop bathroom. The floors were some kind of faux wood linoleum which I pulled out. The base boards can be saved but the vanity which was already pretty beat up wasn't worth me cleaning up. The sink was small in it anyway. I have some additional painting left to do, but this is it basically done. I'll probably build a little counter beside the sink since there's room, or maybe just get a tool cart to sit there.
From before the plastic ones.
Finally done (I hope) with the woody. Just need some driving time, the owner can do that. Now back to my mini and moke.
You finally got the brakes sorted?
How did it run/drive? probably like a Mini, eh? 77.gif
Changing the front rubber hoses made the difference. Even though they did not look real bad.
Have not driven it hard or fast as the tires on it are new 20 year old tires. Been inside their garage on the car that long.
Yikes, needs some new shoes! ;D
I am just getting my 79 Clubman Estate ready to ship to its new owner and he wants the old 10 inch original wheels/tires and hubcaps, the rear tires and the spare are original 43 years old Michelin XZX with no cracking or age related issues and still hold air.
I shipped it from the UK in 2011 with an MOT and at that time those tires were fitted still at 32 years old.
The Michelins on my old E-Type that I sold a few years ago were from the 80's, I told the new owner the first thing they should do is get new tires!
Trying to sort some fuel lines as when I changed the throttle body and manifold, the old ones were a little short.
It is 94 in the garage, so I won’t last long.
Wow! 94*?
It's only in the 70's here but the humidity is about a million percent as it's been raining for a couple of days now and it's about ready to start up again.....a box fan set on a chair is doing OK for me so far, but when it gets into the 80's with this humidity the A/C goes on in my shop!
One of the window brackets fell off, so I decided to use the opportunity to rebuild the window channel sweeps while I had it all apart. Been wanting to do this for a while. Of course on the Elf these are solid unobtanium parts, so I figured I would try to replace the "fuzzies" and keep the stainless trim pieces. I realized that one of my outer sweeps was a generic replacement and not the real deal, but luckily I happen to have some spare doors with the trim intact (until now) so I have some donor parts. I found the fuzzy pieces at a US classic restoration place. I think they are old Cadillac parts. The old ones were stapled in place, and no way I could figure out how to reproduce that, so I'm using some modern technology and gluing them in. I'm on the fourth one now and I think I've finally figured out a good method to do it. I've only got enough clamps to do one at a time. Hopefully that holds up. Got the outside ones in and just finishing up the inner ones. I also replaced a couple of the broken off upper stainless window trim rivets since that had to come off to get the outer sweeps off. Got the window back in and cleaned up and regreased the winder and got that going up and down nice. Also fixed the door lock while it was apart, and redid the moisture liner before I put the door panels back on. These things sure tend to snowball once you get started.
Getting creative. That's what is required nowadays. Looks good.
That turned out really well! 77.gif
I completely understand about project creep, the old "while I'm in there...." ::) ;D
Quote from: MiniDave on May 26, 2022, 07:51:31 AM
That turned out really well! 77.gif
I completely understand about project creep, the old "while I'm in there...." ::) ;D
AND THEN..... I had to start over when the window track fix that I did didn't hold and the window fell out again after I had everything put back together. Oh, well. I took a look at my donor doors and realized that the window was in better shape than the one on my car, so I swapped the whole window over, then re-attached the trim for the second time. At least I learned that the inner sweep goes on easier if you put it on first, then the outer one. It always goes together faster the second or third time anyway.
All better now. Just have to put the moisture barrier back in AGAIN and button it back up.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IlcwXYK-92UIpmkGobL2uErU4f95JZYSNahhz61daPO4wIkgEUenraFok9XGMQw82kXRW8uSEcU1zZ5hBOPC6wWsSvnyF6dYEhjZaNDePCT2HBXmY876zV-UPpQEYtWRRom7sByLLr4wWLdcmAGm6ubUrZPbnG4wz8HYmHJ0MVc7NMR4kcG-UeaEsTr2hLLcRTTcwS87pFwGk_qLJfLoPuJErd4GbzFw5JS21YAzzGffanud_0KfiCYpWCADAPtvDXS_kHnuwI0rpm5iOGiiVnKpFJYAfjpZaJfcQ2JvT-tW0ISRv0-pKGZQKJxRW2c6Vx2IktTlRMbQfwmMBSzxqafTNIjBJSssAzDxqvvvN7CZBOtElk7ILMfLy-p2FbbcgBfA_2BHyycyigKEP9JboNAdAtk9uPgQDnCTGznQs5dnNJQ2gufgsoKqxZlIUanQapWv2Nj6rHyCyE-r1MipnyGMcwfzm7dS_2bVjzbYL7c3SaQJrhAzWjRqp1v_PtIX_Kyp_ZMFAj2NWMTuiHt4_gnK6zTI34Miw1A-MUTnoGCrFOkOUoW0O_2n1y7FPxUI4GLozlXN_8gnp3DkgRaiDoiQSIST8x12gyTk_WuNsD8YLpyZ91FU1_8VvM6hlxnEoOVjuxEx0fdAw4-FHgDflP30RebF4zU8eAcAZOxGMAdYpKhcUA_QtWSB3_wBr5A8CVOTzO5dAidu4EKWKskkAwzD4MV3d6456XrpWfmys3ZVPTa_pGyMn_UNfUNg=w1000-no-tmp.jpg)
Going to play with this on the woody. Being as it still has points.
My Sun tach dwell meter battery died and they don't make one anything like it anymore, but then I convert every car I can to pointless contacts
Quote from: Willie_B on June 09, 2022, 04:40:36 PM
Going to play with this on the woody. Being as it still has points.
60 degrees on the dwell if I remember correctly Brad.
.
?
Lift came in handy unloading a new washing machine today.
The Tundra brakes started to get an annoying wobble so did a brake job. Not too long after I bought it used 7 or so years ago the front disc did the same thing. Must be an old Tundra thing. Trying vented crossed drilled this time, maybe it will help with heat warpage. Plenty of pad left on the old ones too.
Today was run out to the shop and put a new 200amp alternator in the rx7. I've been getting no charge on startup and sometimes an over voltage on my handheld tuner along with the battery warning light on the dash. It was once in awhile but lately every start having these issues. Didn't take too long to swap it in, and voila everything seems to be working. I've let it cool down and made a couple starts throughout the day and she's working. One thing about this 200amp is that there's no voltage drop. I can have everything on, running both power windows at the same time, and it's steady at 14.3 volts on the handheld.
I actually completed the work yesterday, but forgot to post last night.
I did so significant service work on my Jeep Wrangler:
- Replaced the cabin air filter
- Replaced the engine air filter
- Oil & filter change on the engine
- Changed the oil in both differentials
- Changed the manual transmission oil
- Changed the tranfer case fluid
Lots of crawling under the car.
That's a lot of fluids!
The rear differential and the transmission were a bit overdue. The front differential and the transfer case weren't in bad shape - due only because of age, not usage.
I used Redline products (thanks for the recommendation, Bruce) and so will not likely have to address them again while I own the Jeep.
Did the rear brakes on the wife's BMW and oil change today. The wear sensor on the one side didn't wear down fast enough and the opposing pad ate right through into the backing plate. So, got to replace a little extra on that side.
Finished making a new filler neck cover for on the inside of the Mini Van and adjusted/tightened one of the hinges on the driver's side (left) door to stop it drooping and hitting the b-post.
Not so much my shop, but buddies garage. He was getting a door ajar message and needed help figuring it out. Turns out he had some wires that over time broke from the door opening, closing, and flexing the harness till they snapped. Pretty easy fix. Drove the vespa there and wowza, after driving it in the mountains with Jen on the back, it felt like a rocket ship driving it here again.
Cleaned and took car pictures to send in to the new car insurance.
Finished yet another Sprite straight cut gearbox, trying to get out of this business once and for all, but I am committed to one more sometime this winter.
The money is nice but sheesh I've done a LOT of these!
Parts and shipping have gone up a bunch too.....
Lift is good for mower work too.
Next project. 1967 Austin Healey 3000. Been parked for 5+ years. He got it running but clutch and brakes don't work. No surprise there. So fix whatever I find then make it look good. He hopes to sell it in the spring.
.
Very cool.....how do you like your lift these days? Handy, huh?
The lift has come in handy several times to unload large heavy items from the back of my truck. May need to adapt it for a motorcycle so I can work on the neighbors Harley after the Healey.
Shop cleanup day. It was already past due. I usually try once a quarter to go through and organize and toss junk out. After the past few days of bus steering and suspension work, I have tools all over and things covered in grease. Also started running out of space on the paint shelves. Went through and have leftover cans of paint I'll never use. Probably tossed out about 10 quart and pint sized cans.
This isn't so much what I'm doing in my shop, but what's going on outside my shop. Was enroute to the shop and was behind a medical examiner van. Which turned down the exit to my shop, then onto my shop street. Making the turn saw countless vehicles with flashing lights and 3 fire trucks, several other emergency vehicles, and some ambulances. I don't have a visual on my shop from the road as I drive down it, but have a visual on the shop yard. Which was filled with fire trucks and emergency vehicles. I thought my shop caught fire and burnt down. So many vehicles blocking the way, I had to park 3 houses down and walk. It was a tense walk thinking I'd pop around the neighboring house and see the shop decimated, along with the 6 cars here. But, it was the other neigbors house who sadly burnt down. 3 people died in the fire. The older lady who wasn't able to walk, her daughter, and a young kid. Another kid jumped out of the 2nd floor window and made it out while the mother died trying to get her other kid out. The bed ridden older lady downstairs didn't stand a chance. Not sure how it started, but I will say it's the type of place you occasionally peek at through the shrub line and wonder how it's still standing. I will speculate a space heater since it was down in the teens last night.
So sad, my memory of that place is that it was pretty ramshackle.....I would bet on a space heater
It was a very cobbled together house. Yard filled with all sorts of random crap. The 2nd story looked like someone very amature added a 2nd floor to an already dilapidated house. Always reminded me of a tree house for some reason. I usually can't see it unless it's winter and the leaves are gone. Provided all the crews are gone tomorrow I'll try to snap some pics of it. It was an eery sight seeing it smoldering and smoking but with ice sickles on all the remaining roof overhangs.
Here's an arial from the news.
That's very sad. What a terrible way to die.
That's terrible I just watched the news about it.
https://www.newson6.com/story/65aefd034cedae065ef64781/i-couldnt-get-to-them:-ramona-woman-remembers-house-fire-that-killed-3-loved-ones
Hadn't seen that one yet. Apparently it was a space heater. Makes sense the neice had just moved in with the kids, because I wasn't aware kids were over there until this happened.
Back on topic: I did a couple accessory repairs on my Jeep.
1) Replaced the HVAC control - it was flashing an error indicative of it no longer retaining its memory between drives.
2) Replaced the rear passenger door lock actuator - it had failed quite some time ago. The power lock no longer worked. It still locked/unlocked manually.
Everything works as it is supposed to now. I feel better with having it all functional in case I have to swap to something with an automatic transmission due to my left ankle.
Went to fire the air compressor up and the fuse in the shop kept blowing. Went outside to investigate the compressor and there was smoke coming out of the one electrical box. Mind you this is a massive 120 gallon compressor with a few different electrical boxes of things, most of which is foreign to me. It previously had a 10hp 3 phase motor from an industrial shop attached, but now has a 7.5hp single phase that runs off my 240v supply. Given the odor I thought maybe a mouse or bird got into the box and was given the electric chair death penalty. Instead I found 1 of the 2 starter capacitors that had literally blown it's top. Onto Amazon and Ebay to find the exact one, which I didn't find at all. Did some research on what would work and learned you can go up 10% on the UF values and the voltage just needs to match what your power supply is feeding into it. Verified with Justin, previous member here who gifted this compressor from his old workplace, that a 540-648uf and 250v would work. Should have them in a couple days, plus 20k ohm 2 watt resistors required.
Good that it was not an oil filled cap.
The running capacitors are labeled vegetable oil filled. Didn't know that.
Quote from: 94touring on February 14, 2024, 07:19:01 PMThe running capacitors are labeled vegetable oil filled. Didn't know that.
I remember working with a computer tech guy about 40 years ago who was fascinated with taking apart capacitors in mini-computers (bigger than PC smaller than mainframes) which he repaired. That is until he discovered the capacitors were often filled with liquid PCBs - dangerous carcinogens. Nasty stuff - hopefully he never had any long-term health effects from that. I didn't realize they were now filled with vegetable oil.
Yeah learning all sorts of stuff lately. Was supposed to get those capacitors in yesterday but some weather delay has them arriving Monday. I got the resistors in. Luckily I'm not mid paint job or something important.
Did some body work and changed this Mini to an Elf.
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Rear bumper and grilles made from scratch, as well as the headlights and taillights. Crude cheap model, but turned out great.
That looks fun
Nice! And unique too.
Yesterday I tried to resolve the air compressor AC motor starter capacitor issue by installing a new one. Which burnt up pretty quickly. Installed a matching pair and while they didn't burn up, it still trips the breaker. The motor weighs in at around 150lbs so getting it off the compressor outside in my car port and inside the shop is difficult being a 1 man operation. I tried taking the fan belts off to eliminate the pump and Dave walked me through the poles on the contact panel to verify it's engaging the full 220v. Ended up taking the motor apart outside in 2 sections to be able to haul it inside to investigate further. Being 100% clueless doesn't help in times like these. Found a couple potential culprits inside the thing, which I cleaned up and made adjustments to make sure contact is being made where it's supposed to. I did notice the one running capacitor is bulged at the top in comparison to the other. If it's not the running capacitor or the contacts I cleaned up on the motor end plate, looks like I'll be buying a replacement. These aren't cheap either!
Broke down and placed the purchase on this compressor motor. Tried everything I could think of. Dave helped today as well. Justin said it was ran hard for years before he gifted it to me. Going to redo some wiring, ordered a new contactor box, and bring the contactor box inside the shop so I can turn it off and on via the box, as opposed to flipping the circuit breaker.
I wish we could have had better news on the motor, but I'm confident you'll get it going again, if not I have a backup plan!
Electrical box arrived. The old one outside was looking pretty rough and the trip switch had broken. This one will be moved inside. It also has an off on switch on the side of the box. I have just been using the circuit breaker in the shop as the off on. Might start wiring it up this weekend while I wait for the new motor.
If the starting caps are burning up normally it can only be one thing the centrifugal cut-out switch is not opening. The start caps should only be energized in the first second of starting as soon as the rotor gets rpm it should open the switch removing the start caps from the system. It sounds like you already cleaned those up are you sure the centrifugal part is free and moving correctly? If so I guess a new motor is the only feasible option as rebuilding costs as much as new for small motors.
Yes the centrifugal end was moving freely too. I ran out of things to check or replace, so new motor it is.
Got the box installed inside adjacent to the circuit breaker panel. All wired up and ready to go. I hooked it the old motor just to see if it would magically make it work, but of course it didn't. Motor shows a delay last time I checked through ups. Was hoping to have it up and running before I leave for work.
Motor has been out for delivery for a couple days now. Yesterday the update said it was too big to deliver. I requested it be held at the facility for me to pick up. Went by there to see if they had it, but it's on the truck out for delivery again. I may have to go back to work tomorrow and it sure would be nice to get this thing at the shop before I leave. Heaven forbid it gets sent back to the company I purchased it from. The total weight comes in at 131lbs, won't be easy getting it installed.
Finally showed up. Luckily I was home for the driver to help load it into my truck.
Got this beast on there. Lugged it from the back of my truck the 40 feet or so to the compressor. Wired it up and fired it up before hooking up the belts. It ran so quietly I thought it wasn't even running. Didn't take long to have it all back together again. Everything seems less noisy now, even though it's running at the same 1780rpms as the last motor. Not that it was loud before, and it's outside, but any noise reduction is nice. Took 6 minutes 25 seconds to fill up 120 gallons from empty at 175psi and takes 1 minute 20 seconds to fill up from when the pressure switch kicks it on.
Not today, but over the winter I had a few garage projects. I built a bunch of cabinets to replace the shelving I originally built to hold a disassembled Mini
From some of the pieces of my DIY paint booth I built an air filter to try to reduce the amount of dust. Not sure the carbon furnace filters will actually help with all the "old car smells", but worth a try.
I built a 3x6 welding table by combining 3 2x3 tables. It's not perfectly flat, but good enough for my needs. The tables each came with a bunch of fixturing hardware.
Oil change on the compressor, swapped a new oil vent cap on since the other was broken, and new oil level sight picture that doesn't leak.
Look how clean that oil is, you can hardly see the level!
I'm about due to change the oil in mine too, it's 4 years old but I doubt it has all that many hours on it. I should add an hour meter so I can keep track of it.
Oil that came out was pretty clean, but not nearly as clear as the new. Takes exactly 2 quarts, so I have another 2 quarts out of the gallon on hand whenever it needs changed again.
Forgot to mention I changed the air filters out too. Only other thing I'd like to do is refresh the valves and associated O rings. It is very nice having it running in tip top shape and especially having the control box inside the shop with an actual on off switch.
Is it quieter now too?
The new motor already seems quieter. Otherwise it's not a loud machine really. Figure the ac motor is spinning at 1775rpms and the pulley on the compressor pump is geared down to around 900rpms. With the belts disconnected the ac motor makes zero noise. Yours is probably 3250rpms?
Yes, mine spins faster, no idea what RPM the pump is turning.......
Quote from: MiniDave on April 04, 2024, 07:24:21 PMYes, mine spins faster, no idea what RPM the pump is turning.......
Too fast LOL, At least that's how I feel about the new stuff I have usually put a smaller motor pully on my newer compressors. Quiets them down greatly and I've never had a noticeable reduction in cfm. I always time the cycle times on a new machine so I can judge how it's working when it gets some hours on it. When I had the business I bought two new recip compressors and immediately changed the motor pulleys. The cut-in to cut-out cycle time only increased by about 6 seconds but, the full load amps on the motor went from just over the motor FLA rating down to a 20% safety margin the motor and compressor temps came way down as well. After going through a motor a year per compressor I started putting the smaller pulleys on and my problems went away.
They push the new stuff hard so they can say its 16.4 cfm and the competitor's brand is only 16.2 then the competitor pushes harder for 17 cfm version. But what I've noticed is the duty cycle is getting less and less I don't even remember old compressors having a duty cycle. I'd rather slow it down and be able to run 100% duty cycle the 1 cfm less isn't near as bad as waiting 5 minutes out of every 10 for the thing to cool down.
Waiting is not even possible in a business and we were buying commercial units, not homeowner ones. I much prefer the older slower turning stuff like Dan has. Refurbing old compressors when you just need to get work done wasn't an option so we modified new ones. Unfortunately, most of the older stuff was also 3 phase which we didn't have so we bought the biggest rotary single phase we could a 10 horse I think it was and 3 recips basically had a whole 200 amp panel dedicated to air compressors. And it seemed like at least one of them was always broken down it got to the point where I had capacitors, contactors, pressure transducers, a motor, and a pump on the shelf. The only thing that never broke were the two harbor freight chiniseum refrigerated air dryers lol.
That made me curious about the duty cycles on mine so I looked it up. The AC motor is continuous duty. The pump, which is a curtis E71, is continuous below 950rpms with intermittent operation at 1250rpms. I had it running quite a bit over the weekend, but I've never been able to use enough air for it to run continuously.
But, do you know what RPM the pump turns?
I used to have a device that you could stick onto the end of the shaft and read RPM's, but I don't know where it got to.
I suppose if you know the motor RPM, and the sizes of the pulley's you could math it out......
I'll bet the paperwork that came with mine says it in there somewhere too......if I could find it!
I have that rpm gun to verify. But as I recall it should be around 900rpms. I'll verify next time I'm out there.
I'd like to know what mine is doing too - maybe I can take a page from Jeff's manual and slow mine down a bit too.
I know the pump pulley is roughly twice the diameter of the ac motor pulley, which would make sense for what I had read it would have come as new, around 900rpms.
Now you're going to make me go measure it and do math - oh wait I can't, it's the eclipse! :grin:
I've been putting some miles on the VTEC Elf, and I started to notice a weak return on the brake pedal, so decided to pick up a vacuum bleeder and do a fluid flush.
Can of worms, opened.
I guess the 9.5 inch racing discs on the front work pretty well, because I suspect the rear drums hadn't been doing anything in quite a while. I'm running a three master Wilwood pedal box, and the rear MC was completely inop and the whole rear brake circuit was bone dry except for a little thick sludge. Long story short, I bought two new Wilwood compact master cylinders, two 3/4 inch rear wheel cylinders, both rear hard lines, new master cylinder hard lines, and flushed and replaced the fluid. My first time doing double flared brake lines. I wish I had ponied up for the pro-level flaring tool, but I made do with the standard one with the bubble flare adapter. The vacuum bleeder did a great job, although it takes some getting used to. No brake fluid on the garage floor after a few days of driving around, so I guess I did okay.
So, now that you have everything cleaned out, does it feel any different when braking? Did you reset the balance bar so that the rears are actually doing some of the work?
PS I never noticed the mirror extension before, that's wild!
Quote from: MiniDave on April 16, 2024, 07:25:07 AMSo, now that you have everything cleaned out, does it feel any different when braking? Did you reset the balance bar so that the rears are actually doing some of the work?
PS I never noticed the mirror extension before, that's wild!
I haven't messed with the balance bar yet, I figured I'd drive it a bit to give everything a chance to settle in. The rear drums are actually working pretty well, though. I had my wife pump the brakes a few times while it was still on the jack stands after I bled everything, and it was locking up nice on the drums. It does feel different. There's a decent amount of pedal travel now, not engaging at the top of the pedal like it was doing.
Yes, those are original Desmo towing extensions. They actually make the wing mirrors functional. I can use them to back up the trailer.
I've only driven one or two cars with mirrors up on the wings like that and I could not get used to them!
Quote from: MiniDave on April 17, 2024, 08:07:20 AMI've only driven one or two cars with mirrors up on the wings like that and I could not get used to them!
The Woody has mirrors on the wings, and they are basically useless!