Mini ST Hotrod

[MiniDave]

Wow, not only has shipping gone way up, I got hit with customs on my last order for another $60. So shipping cost a total of about $250! This order is brake parts and Sprite gearsets, nothing big but I know when you get close to $2K in value you always get hit with customs.

[MiniDave]

Since the big shed got finished I spent a day moving stuff into it from the small old shed, and then spent a couple of hours cleaning the mouse poop and other schmutz out of it so I could start moving car parts into it.

I still have a ways to go on that but today I wanted to get the modifications done to the gas tank. I had the end I cut off before and used it to make two panels, one to go on the end once it's all done and another to fit in the middle as a baffle.

I also had to bore a new hole for the sending unit and cut a slot in the baffle to allow the arm of the sender to swing all the way. With all that done the only thing left is to attach the pump to the pick up pipe - but to do that I had to order a couple of things.

The pipe is 1/2" OD and the nipple on the pump is a little under 3/8" I don't know of a hose that will stretch that far, so I ordered a 3/8-1/2 hose barb and a section of 1/2 fuel hose. Once those are here Sat I can shorten the pick up tube and install the fuel pump.

Once I'm done with all my mods I'll take it all over to the welder guy and he'll weld in the baffle, close off the old hole for the sending unit and weld the end cover on...that will do it for the tank and I can start figuring out how to mount it to the car/subframe.

[Red Riley]

I know you've already done all that work to fit your fuel sender, but a simpler solution if you have any issues with that setup would be to use a floatless sender. Like this: Tanks Inc. You can specify the length and the gauge resistance, and it just drops straight down into the tank.

[MiniDave]

HI Red, thanks for the input......I'm aware of those tube style senders, but I decided to go with this one for now as it came with the tank.

If it has issues I can always easily update it to one of those.

The tank is over at the welders and may even be done today as we finally got some cooler weather so he can work in his non-A/C shop. Nothing hotter than trying to do fine TiG welding when it's 100+ in your shop!

Next up for me is to start repairing the rust. I have a bunch of new panels to weld in and as I don't have Dan's expertise or experience (tho I did a shit ton of welding new panels on my old Jag, but that was 30 years ago now!) I'll be going at it slowly, so as to not make it worse!

[Red Riley]

Is that an RCI tank? Looks similar to mine.

[MiniDave]

I have no idea, I just found it on Ebay, and the price and design were right for my application. It does look similar to yours, doesn't it?

For my car I needed one that was tall and thin rather than the usual wide and flat type. How many gallons is yours?

This one will be right at 10 gallons by my math, which is fine......if it even does 30 mpg that will be more than enough miles before I need to get out and stretch. Plus Don usually has to fill up his Pup about every 150-175 miles.

The welder says he'll be done with it today, then the next step is to figure out how to mount it securely.

How did you vent yours? I'm thinking a hose into the fender well then either one of those little air filters or maybe even into a charcoal cannister.

[Red Riley]

It's a 15 gallon tank, which is way overkill, but it fit into the space I had. I'm inspired by what you are doing and I might cut some of the height out of it if I get bored and want a new project. I'm using a the VSR vent canister from here: II Much It was a bit tricky finding a spot higher than the top of the tank to mount it, but I got it done. I ran the vent from the canister down to the original vent hole in the floor through a bulkhead fitting into a sintered brass filter. I was getting a lot of fuel smell and this fixed it. I cut down and extended the floor around the spare tire well and battery box to get the tank down as far as I could. So I needed to relocate the battery as well. I started out with a Braille racing battery but now I'm running an Odyssey Extreme battery for a Harley Davidson. Works just fine for my D16 VTEC.

[MiniDave]

I like your battery hold-down, I'm thinking of using a smallish battery too and locating it in the right side companion bin, that way I don't have to run cable from the front to the back of the car.

Good find on the fuel vent - spendy, but if it does the job.....

My next project is to find the right radiator that will cool this motor.....I'm looking at a Scirocco 3 core, dual pass aluminum.....I need to double check the measurments, but I think it will fit and give the maximum cooling I'll need. I'm also looking at A/C systems.....

Had a scare a few days ago, the engine wouldn't start on the pallet - it's always fired right up in the past - turns out I had run it out of gas! Put a couple of gallons in the gas can I had the pump in and cycled the key a few times to prime the system and it fired right up and ran perfectly again. Whew!

[94touring]

Ain't got no gas

[MiniDave]

um-hmmmm......

OK, so the tank is back and looks great, he did a super job. 1st pic shows the fuel pump mounted and a small zip tie to keep it from swinging about....which it may not have done anyway but I had him weld a small tab on so I could put the zip tie on it.

You can also see the float on the end of the sending unit's arm, it moves freely so it should work just fine, once I get the appropriate gauge. No firm ideas on what gauges I'm going to use at this point but I'm leaning towards something more modern than traditional Mini gauges. We'll see.

The tabs on the ends of the tank are for mounting brackets, tho I probably will work out some straps ala Binky too.

The round can on top is the fuel filter/pressure regulator, which has a return hose to goes back to a one way valve on the tank. The middle fitting will be for the tank vent.

[MPlayle]

Has it been leak tested after the modifications?

[MiniDave]

Yes, he sealed it up, put a small amount of air pressure to it and sprayed all his welds with soapy water....no bubbles!

Next up I need to build a mount....I'll probably just weld up some angle iron for the bottom to hold it in place, then figure out how to mount the top.

[MiniDave]

Never fails......after assembling the tank yesterday I realize I forgot to make one more hole - for the bulkhead fitting for the wires to go thru to power the pump!     First I guess I'll need to find a fitting, the ones I've seen at places like Summit Racing are stupid expensive for what they are - $35 plus shipping is $50 to me - for one plastic fitting!

Red Riley, how is your tank mounted and tied down?

I'm still cleaning up storm damage in the back yard, and in between rain storms trying to get all the seams caulked on the shed so we can get it painted. Because of all the rain we've been getting the grass had gotten really tall, so I got the ZTR out and did a quick mow too - in between rain showers! Nice to be able to just drive it back into the shed - I used to have to let it cool for about a half hour, then cover it with a tarp and tie that down with bungy cords.

[Red Riley]

I see a couple of fuel cell bulkhead electrical fittings on Amazon Prime with free shipping for about 20 bucks. Is there enough empty space on the sender base that you could put it through there instead of drilling another hole in the tank?
My tank just has some tabs welded on to bolt it to the floor. It's not going anywhere.

[MiniDave]

I probably could, but the sender is on the other side of the baffle, and while there's a big enough gap at the top to feed the wires thru it would be difficult to tie them down. I figure I can remove the big black filler and stick a small cup directly under where I'm drilling to catch all the bits, then vacuum out anything that I miss....so drilling a hole directly above the pump is no biggy.

I'll go check on Amazon.....I mostly found them on summit and such...... all the ones I've found for $10-20 have holes for 10ga  wires, these are more like 16 ga. I suppose I could just silicone them in the bigger holes but I'd really prefer to find one that's sized correctly.

[MiniDave]

Tank fits the subframe perfectly! Next I need to build some brackets for the bottom to make sure it can't move, then set the subframe back into the car and reinstall the tank to figure out the upper mounting.

Next project is to get a radiator and decide on an A/C unit so I can figure out those mountings. That will complete the initial design work on the front end. I think once that's done I really need to start cutting out rusty metal and welding in new stuff. Probably need to go buy some cutoffs so I'll have material to make patches with for those areas that I don't have panels already.

The tank is not sitting at an angle in the subframe in the second pic, it's just the angle of the camera

[Willie_B]

Are you going to put some kind of insulation on the front of it? Being behind the radiator.

[MiniDave]

Yes, I've also been toying with the idea of a shield of sheet metal to direct the air out the sides

[MiniDave]

I mounted the front subframe back in the car and cut a piece of 1 1/2 angle to act as the bottom mount, then set the tank back in. Fits perfectly and it's exactly the way I hoped it would fit, low enough for plenty of room to  mount the filter/regulator and the tabs to mount it to the bulkhead. I also ordered the radiator today, and tomorrow I'm talking to a shop that sells vintage car A/C kits to get some measurements for their "mini" evaporator, if it fits I'll order a kit, that will get me the right sized condenser core and I can do the planning for those bits.

That will do it for the front end for now - that's the major part of the design/engineering for the front end. Next up - I'll brace the body so I can start cutting out the rust and welding in the new panels. Once I have that done and the body fairly solid, I'll pull the motor off the pallet and strip it so I can plan to cut the sheet metal out of the back and fit the motor into the shell. Then the real fun starts, engineering the rear subframe and suspension.

At least that's how I see it in my head!

[94touring]

Are you in need of any interior mini ac components? 

[MiniDave]

Maybe, but most of the kits I've seen come with pretty much everything

[MPlayle]

What brand of vintage car a/c systems are you considering?  If they are the Vintage-Air brand, the factory is local to me and I would be willing to drive my Mini Van over to them for checking the fitment of the in-cabin (evaporator?) unit.

[MiniDave]

Vintage Air is one of the ones I'm talking to. I appreciate your offer, but if I get the dimensions I can take it from there, I figure I'll need to cut out some of the firewall no matter what unit I get, but at this point I need the condenser so I can figure out the mount for it and the radiator/fan. Knowing which unit will fit the dash will probably dictate the size of the condenser.....I just need to call them and chat for a bit right now.

[MiniDave]

Radiator, A/C condenser and a mock up empty plastic evaporator casing on the way....so I should be able to finish the major front end brackets and mounts and stuff for the fuel tank, radiator, A/C condenser and fan and get an idea of what I need to do to fit the A/C evaporator in the dash.

I've started removing the extraneous wiring and components off the motor so I can lift it off the pallet. I won't be using their radiator, tho the 16" 2100cfm fan should do nicely and just fits. The pallet the motor sits on is huge, so getting it off there and onto my hydraulic table will make for a lot more room to move around.

I'm still working on the rear subframe and suspension ideas.....can't decide between a double
A-arm like the front or a trailing arm like BMWs......I'll probably need to make the hole in the back for the motor first, then lift it up in there and start measuring. I have some basic ideas from looking at MiniTec's stuff and some of the other rear Honda engine builds.

I'm also trying to decide on the instruments, I'll need to use modern instruments as the old Mini ones aren't compatible with a modern ECU.....trying to decide on style, faces etc. So many choices out there. Another alterative is a simple flat screen ala Tesla......

[Red Riley]

I wanted to keep my dash looking stock(ish), so I decided to go with Autometer electronic analog gauges. They have a custom shop online so you can get pretty much any combination of faces and trims. The programmable speedo is super easy to calibrate and just uses the VSS signal from the ECU, so no trying to figure out cables and adapters and stuff.