Reggie: The '96 Rover Mini

Started by LilDrunkenSmurf, September 21, 2015, 12:22:43 PM

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LilDrunkenSmurf

Hey guys, I'm going to write up all the stuff I've done (so far) to the mini from another project thread. I'll ideally update this one once more progress is made.

Reginald - The 1996 Rover Mini Cooper S

Power:
1275cc Single Point Injection Motor
4 Speed Manual Transmission
K&N Cone filter
Cat Delete/Test Pipe
NGK BP6ES Spark Plugs
Bosch Plug Wires
Stainless steel brake lines
A/C delete

Interior:
Recaro Evo 8 seats
Custom seat brackets
Nardi Wood Grain Wheel
Mk1 Mini Shift Knob
Cup Holder Mesh Basket
JVC KD-AR855BT
Pioneer Speakers (Rear shelf)

Exterior:
British Racing Green
White Roof
White bonnet stripes
12" Cooper Wheels
Falken ZE914 - 165/60R12
"New Mini" front and bonnet badges

Suspension:
Adjustable Hi-los
KYB AGX Gas shocks
Rear subframe refresh
Upper arm refresh
New front cones

I have a tendancy to call my vehicles "she" but the wife insisted on naming the Mini "Reginald" AKA "Reggie"

The day Reggie arrived:



Filling up:




IMG_1894.jpg by Jory Irving, on Flickr

IMG_1896.jpg by Jory Irving, on Flickr

IMG_1898.jpg by Jory Irving, on Flickr

IMG_1899.jpg by Jory Irving, on Flickr

IMG_1901.jpg by Jory Irving, on Flickr

LilDrunkenSmurf

#1
A few things learned:

If you hit enough bumps, the ignition coil wire will fall off:



Reggie likes to piddle:


Also, I learned what it's like to replace a water pump. I had no idea what I was getting myself into:








The muffler bushings like to fall off:

LilDrunkenSmurf

#2
Parts!




Oh and did I mention I raced it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnO617FdLOw


LilDrunkenSmurf

Thinking of doing a LHD conversion. Has anyone done this? From what I understand, I need a new rack (which I was going to replace anyways), a new dash panel, and then it depends on the MC I currently have.
If I have separate brake/clutch MC, they'll move over to the other side, but if I have a combined/servo one, I'll need to run bars under the dash? If I was able to move them, would I need any new lines? Does the gas pedal move pretty easily as well? And someone told me I'd have to delete the A/C, which I think I'd be ok with, as long as I was able to remove the compressor, which doubles as a pulley right now (I have 2 separate belts).

MiniDave

#4
I'm pretty sure you're mostly there, there could be some other odds and ends to move over too.....were the late model cars built in left drive from the factory too? (now that I think about it I guess they were, for the Euro market)

Given they were built for both left and right drive the factory tried to make it as ambidextrous as possible, which makes it a whole lot easier to switch it later!  4.gif
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Yup, the German ones were LHD. I tried to track one down, but got outbid every single time.

MiniDave

I caught a lot of flack from other classic Mini owners when I suggested I might convert Buzz to left drive, of course that would not stop me as it's my car, my money.....but I was surprised how vocal they were that I not change it's "Britishness."

I ran out of money and time when I was doing the other repairs on Buzz last year, but may visit this again real soon.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Mine's more Japanese than British, so no one's given me flack yet. But holy, dashboards are expensive. I have a light Burr dashboard rightnow, and was thinking of going allow, as the Burr is cracking pretty heavily, but minispares doesn't list any LHD alloy ones. I found a LHD charcoal one that would fit my needs, but none of them have cutouts for the Japanese A/C vents (leaning more towards deleting the A/C).

Still waiting for Auto-mann to get back to me with a quote.

MiniDave

#8
Like this?

http://www.minisport-usa.com/mini-spare-parts/info_PMY471A.html



or this?

http://www.minisport-usa.com/mini-spare-parts/info_PMY467.html



$193 US from Mini Sport in the UK, it might be more for you because of the exchange rate and whether you have to pay VAT.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf


IMG_1881.jpg by Jory Irving, on Flickr

I was looking at this one:
http://www.minispares.com//product/classic/DASH011.aspx

MiniDave

I see what you mean about the vents.....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I'd prefer to delete the a/c. Those vents rattle, and I can't find replacements, and under the passenger side kick panel (the black plastic), there's a huge fan/motor that I believe runs the A/C separately from the heater core. It's monstrously huge, and I can only imagine is a huge weight as well.

MiniDave

#12
If you remove that you will take some weight out of the car no doubt, and I'll bet there are folks out there looking for an A/C for their cars - people who live in hot places like me! So be careful when you remove it and don't damage it, you can sell the parts for money to fund the other things you want to do on the car.

BTW, in order to replace the steering rack you have to lower the subframe....to do that you have to remove the exhaust, shift linkage, engine tie bar (to the body) remove the bolts that hold the subframe to the body and the tower bolts, then lower it on a jack till the steering rack will clear.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MPlayle

You also do indeed have the integrated servo/brake master unit.  You would need to find or craft the cross-over bar the factory used for LHD cars with that servo/master.  An alternative would be to pull out that servo/master and go with a non-servo dual/tandem master on the left.  I don't know if your current pedal box would connect directly to the non-servo master.  A careful check from under the dash should be able to determine that.  (Or query on one of the UK Mini forums whether anyone has made that change.)

LilDrunkenSmurf

Quote from: MiniDave on September 28, 2015, 03:01:23 PM
If you remove that you will take some weight out of the car no doubt, and I'll bet there are folks out there looking for an A/C for their cars - people who live in hot places like me! So be careful when you remove it and don't damage it, you can sell the parts for money to fund the other things you want to do on the car.

BTW, in order to replace the steering rack you have to lower the subframe....to do that you have to remove the exhaust, shift linkage, engine tie bar (to the body) remove the bolts that hold the subframe to the body and the tower bolts, then lower it on a jack till the steering rack will clear.

I was planning on dropping both the front and rear subframes to replace the shocks all around, replace the front cones, and replace all the bushings with poly bushings over the winter, if I can find a place to do. The rack was on the to do list to do at the same time, it was just whether or not I would source a LHD or RHD rack.

As for the A/C, I'll definitely be careful in removing it.

Quote from: MPlayle on September 28, 2015, 03:59:44 PM
You also do indeed have the integrated servo/brake master unit.  You would need to find or craft the cross-over bar the factory used for LHD cars with that servo/master.  An alternative would be to pull out that servo/master and go with a non-servo dual/tandem master on the left.  I don't know if your current pedal box would connect directly to the non-servo master.  A careful check from under the dash should be able to determine that.  (Or query on one of the UK Mini forums whether anyone has made that change.)


Thanks for the info. I posted on there over a year ago without a single reply. I'm just wondering if it'll be cheaper to do the bars, or the older style MC, and the pros/cons of both.

94touring

Quote from: MiniDave on September 28, 2015, 03:01:23 PM
If you remove that you will take some weight out of the car no doubt, and I'll bet there are folks out there looking for an A/C for their cars - people who live in hot places like me! So be careful when you remove it and don't damage it, you can sell the parts for money to fund the other things you want to do on the car.

BTW, in order to replace the steering rack you have to lower the subframe....to do that you have to remove the exhaust, shift linkage, engine tie bar (to the body) remove the bolts that hold the subframe to the body and the tower bolts, then lower it on a jack till the steering rack will clear.

Plus clutch and brake lines from the masters. 

Has anyone ever done it with the subby in place?  I've always had a bare shell to work with but will be doing my rack next week and hate the idea of doing so much removal for one simple rack job. 

MiniDave

Dan, I don't think the rack will come out with the sub in situ, you only have to lower it a bit tho, you don't have to drop it completely.

LDS, there's another way you could do the brakes and keep a servo - go to the remote servo kit (about $250) and use a regular tandem master, then all you need do is run the brake lines. But I think I would try to engineer the crossover bar setup like the factory did it.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Can't find the remote servo kit anywhere. About to pull the trigger on my order, but I dropped the conversion stuff (and the rack) for now. Just shocks, mirrors, and some trim pieces.

Did an oil change today. Switched from Synthetic 5w40 to Conventional 20w50, as per my owners manual. Battery also died and will no longer hold a charge, so I'm looking for one of those. The internet says "Type 063" which comes up with Euro results (from the Peugeot 306 Diesel) or a "51R" which is out of a '67 Toyota and is considered a legacy battery, but may be able to get one.

MiniDave

Here's what I was talking about for a remote servo kit.....

http://www.minisport-usa.com/mini-spare-parts/info_MS2679.html

And here's a pic of my car with one installed....the big black round thing on the left in this pic. A remote doesn't care which side the M/C is on.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

LilDrunkenSmurf

Is that still the case if I already have a servo? Man your engine bay is so much cleaner than mine.

MPlayle

It depends on which type of servo.  MiniDave shows the "remote" servo.  The other style is the "integrated" servo, where the master cylinder and the servo are combined as one unit.

I believe your car (being a later Japanese spec SPI) has the "integrated" unit.

The "integrated" servo/MC units were always mounted on the right (over the clutch cover) due to space requirements.  That said, they were used on both RHD and LHD cars.  The factory did a cross-over bar under the dash for LHD cars.  These are sometimes hard to find for doing a RHD-to-LHD conversion.  Some folks have made their own.

Richard (red pickup shown on the home page) made his own and could probably give you instructions on either making your own or having one made for you.

LilDrunkenSmurf

Those bars were what I was looking for. I've been unable to find any reference, part number, designs, or anything.

MPlayle

This is what Richard made (as shown in his "Project car in Bolivia" thread):



His username on here is richard1.  Send him a message and see if he can provide instructions for having one made for you.

MiniDave

Richard was converting from a manual to an automatic tho......
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring