1065 replies to this topic

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Crazy amount of work Kam... Keep at it buddy, well impressed.

[billyboy83]

Kam did you check your fly wheel ? it may need a skim as it could be warped as that could be a cause of the judder too

[Kam]

Kam did you check your fly wheel ? it may need a skim as it could be warped as that could be a cause of the judder too

Thats interesting that, to be honest I don't really know much about mechanics billy I just looked up in the honda haynes manual! and it mentioned either gearbox mountings or oil on the friction plate itself, it was a brand new blueprint clutch so didn't make sense but seeing the way that release bearing came apart in my hand wasn't a good sign, I know you can pull them apart but this fell off Flywheel is a brand new ACT lightweight jobbie, I'm guessing skimming is only needed on older worn ones? I thnk??? This build has done just under 1000 miles and mounts seemed fine so I suspected oil on the plate.....which there wasn't so I'm glad that release bearing gave way as its been a PITA getting the whole engine out, don't think just because its got a removable front end and that I put it all together that it all comes away easy, it don't, it don't work like that! >

Speaking of PITA spent all day on it today, wanted to get it all done today so I can go for a good drive tomorrow, started off with getting most of the ancillaries on and hooking up the gear linkage......



which has now been spun round 180 degrees which now means........it now faces a better direction but because the mini stick was welded on at the time to compensate it now looks a bit off and not standard



No biggie though, it can be easily removed and chopped and welded on again at a better angle but doubt I will be doing that any time soon as if after all this the car don't work I'm burning it as I've enough today already! One thing is for sure - the gearstick movement is how it should be nice and short with positive changes and no slack, putting in the original roll pin in the linkage rather than a nut and bolt has made a huge difference! whether it actually works out on the tarmac only time will tell!

Over on 16v a guy was getting some knocking noise from what appeared to be around the passenger footwell area, he spent some time sorting out the engine position and looking at the rear mount in particular, afterwards he found it all stopped and was much nicer to drive, so thought as I was getting this knocking noise aswell occasionally I would try the same easy solution seeing as I'm here

Use a jack to take the weight under the gearbox then loosen off the center bolt in the rear mount of the allspeed frame



Raise jack up about 10mm and tighten up bolt then lower jack, box drops a few mm but more importantly the rear mount is now actually taking the weight, will it work? Time will tell.....

Stripped off all the exhaust manifold heat wrap aswell



I know its there for a purpose but seeing as I paid enough for the manny I might aswell show it off!



Got everything hooked up and filled up and front end on aswell



I've hooked up the speedo cable again after it came off in germany

Decided to change the oils AGAIN!

If you have forgotten or don't care below is list of what I've tried so far:

1. First up I used Mobil 1 (engine) and Honda dealer (gearbox) - drives nice but didn't know what to expect from this build so none the wiser
2. Millers XSS (engine) and Honda dealer (gearbox) - drives nice but this was after first rolling road
3. Millers XSS (engine) and Millers XSS (gearbox) drives engine braking was awful, way too choppy gear changes
4. Millers XSS (engine) and Honda dealer (gearbox) back to driving nice again
5. Now using Mobil 1 (engine) and Honda dealer (gearbox) drives........OMFG!!!!!! ) see later on

My local honda place must be getting concerned now with all the gearbox oil I've bought over the last four months! as (boring bit of info now!) they sell it in 1ltr bottles and you need 2.2ltrs so have to buy 3ltrs but I've had some left over each time and.....all gets confusing and no-one cares now

Checked all the electrics and all were working fine apart from my reverse lights that were stuck on all the time????? Pulled out the reverse selector switch from the transmission



Not really sure why I took it out as I checked the wires and there was no short but while it was out I pushed the end plunger in and nothing, lights still on, spun the plunger end a tad and pushed in and lights went off?? so put it in reverse and pushed it in again and nothing, spun it round a bit and tried again and lights went out! Need a new switch mesathinks, but don't care about that right now as I've got an easier solution - take the dam bulbs out as I got a car to test drive!!!!!!

OMFG! Car is soooo different to drive now, theres no juddering atall when pulling away, biting point is alot lower than what was before but as I've got an adjustable bolt under the clutch pedal I can make more movement on the pedal but.......

thing is the actual drivetrain is alot more different now, it holds on the biting point well even on a small incline which it never done before and it pulls even better and gear changes are now nice and slick and changing down is a joy <<< has that even been said before?

Also adjusting that rear gearbox mount has made a major difference out on the road, the cars feels alot more taughter than before and doesn't knock and jolt on changes, the two side mounts are still the original ones from the crx but I know Chris (Gingermonkey) is using the 1.8 ones which are meant to be top notch so thats food for thought but at the moment it does feel like a different car

I reckon the major difference has been changing over to the Exedy clutch, pressure plate and release bearing, I've used Blueprint stuff before, had there clutch on my old Mr2 turbo with no problems so this may have been a bad batch looking at that release bearing but either way the actual driving of the car now is alot different now, pulls more nicer than before and still pops and bangs on demand out on the road, demoralisation is back

Speedo is working again, popped it back in after it popped out whilst out in germany on track, note to one self - if using standard mini dials then keep to 110 mph - thanks

Will check in the morning for leaks etc but test drive went much more than expected



I've changed a clutch in my old a-series in-car in 3 hours, this has taken me 3 days of blood sweat and tears as its can't be done in-car, so far during the build I haven't found one thing that has put me off but taking the engine out for a clutch change is borderline, dare I say it??? I miss my old a-series

All was forgiven though on the test drive, worth it? Oh yes

I think the car is now ready to go back to the rolling road so they can get a full power run done the driveshaft gaitors are still on using some tigerseal even after all the road abuse I've given it and taking it round castle combe and to nurburgring, will book it in now before I blow up the engine

[mini_mad69]

Fantastic news Kam, glad your enjoying it.


I realy realy like this car.

[jayare]

borderline, dare I say it??? I miss my old a-series

Wash your mouth out Mr Kam!!!

Glad you've got your lurv for the car back tho! I'm making notes on stuff to change and what not to skimp on for my Vaux conversion - mine will be even more of a pain in the arse to change things like that as the front isn't going to be removable!

JR

[Kam]

Fantastic news Kam, glad your enjoying it.

I realy realy like this car.

I know how you feel mate I didn't yesterday but do today, really does feel much better and willing out on the road

Wash your mouth out Mr Kam!!!

I do miss the simplicity though, unlike others who do engine conversions due to problems/cost with the a-series I've never had any issues after the jaunts I put it through so still have ALOT of respect for the a-series, that'll never change

I'm making notes on stuff to change and what not to skimp on for my Vaux conversion - mine will be even more of a pain in the arse to change things like that as the front isn't going to be removable!

Removable front aside - I'm following your build JR, I had a couple of people (non forum related) give me grief about cutting into mine as it was supposed to of been restored just before I bought it, it wasn't, there was a few shocking finds along the way so I now have no regret with angling (no pun intended) an angle grinder towards it

But reading through build topics like yours makes me appreciate the effort others go through, I've had it as straightforward as my ability can handle so would definately of set it on fire by now if I had to do more to the bodywork

[Kam]

Not really an update, just a couple of short vids of it running as I was supposed to do one ages ago, unfortunately my mate has my HD video camera at the moment so Im stuck with the digital......

Anyway, will make another one at some point after a few changes have been done The build is probably only about 55% done so far so not too bad

[Tomf]

The build is probably only about 55% done so far so not too bad

Do tell more, whats your other plans then???

[mini_mad69]

I want to hear of more plans too.

Vids looking and sounding good.




How does the car handle compared to the a-series engine?


I was at a track day with a vtec mini and it was the slowest car of the day.

[cptkirk]

I was at a track day with a vtec mini and it was the slowest car of the day.

Against what other cars, just A-series minis??



Edit for typo..

Edited by cptkirk, 29 October 2010 - 01:01 PM.

[mini_mad69]

I was at a track day with a vtec mini and it was the slowest car of the day.

Against what other cars, just A-series minis??



Edit for typo..

Naaaa loads of cars, only us 2 minis there.

He explained that it understeered everywhere, and then the back stepped out at every other opportunity.
I don't know how it was setup, but I saw it going around and it was patheticly slow in the bends.

[Kam]

Do tell more, whats your other plans then???

Roundnose Tom clubby front was so I could get in on the road asap with the least amount of headache and just generally live with it and see how I feel owning one, end of the day theres no point in me keeping it Rio inside and out unless the standard nose is on there otherwise I might aswell just strip it cage it chuck on some bigger wheels and track it, but I'm not doing that, plan is still for it to have a pull away standard length steel roundnose, also means I can swap and change as my mood takes me (or put on the cleaner shinier one that day!)

That should get me upto about 90% complete but that wont be starting anytime soon as its gonna cost a bit to do and I've spent enough already, would be silly now anyway as the car is on the road and usable so I might aswell enjoy it

My front allspeed bar is for a standard length as is my exhaust manifold so its just the radiator and alternator problems to tackle, plan is eventually to drive to a bodyshop and get them to take off front end along with the radiator and alternator, fit up a pull away standard length front end then trailor it home, at home I can spend time trying out what not and working at it at my own pace as the standard length front is on so I know what space I got, but if a show pops up then I'll throw the original rad and alternator back on with the clubby front and off I go!

[Kam]

How does the car handle compared to the a-series engine?

I was at a track day with a vtec mini and it was the slowest car of the day

Ben, problem is my old a-series ran 70@flywheel, this may have 170@flywheel and engine weighs a tad more even though the interior is standard as before so I can't compare, if I ran an a-series with 100+ bhp it would probably have the same amount of torque than this maybe even more.......

As for handling on 12's, its not really as bad as some people make it out to be, people make it out like you can't drive in a straight line or round a corner without it spinning all the time no matter what the revs are........tosh.......I can make it spin as and when I like, I only do it as I'm showing off I can pull away quick from lights easily with no spin if I choose to. I bought my throttle cable from a guy over on 16v who had it extended to give a nice smooth arc, it does feel nice and progressive on the pedal. Also if Mr Boxster is reading this - next time you try showing off to your girlfriend at the lights and laughing just remember what happened at the next set of lights much further down the road when you decided to pull in behind me stone faced and your girlfriend was laughing....at you <<<<<< was a classic

I would be naive to think it would never understeer on a track, it did at castle combe when pushed, it did at the 'ring aswell, but its only got Yoko A539's and standardish ride height with suspension settings I'm still fiddling around with, its got no rear anti-roll bar and standard interior, its not a track day car. My car can go round a corner in its current guise, even better with some suspension settings and Yoko A048's on, only problem is the driver

My car was built for the road but on a track its all about having fun for me and enjoying the car, lap times don't mean squat to me, I can't do anything with it, its just pub ammo......the guys over on 16v can show you how a vtec/vauxhall/suzuki goes round a corner....bloody quick!

As for your trackday guy unless you know his spec I wouldn't tar them all with the same brush, we had a guy on here who posted a problem saying how shocking his vtec mini was going round corners but I don't think it was setup properly along the line.......too many variables with too many frame setups and too many wheel size options

If anyone wants to know what mine is like going round and are on a trackday on the same day as me just ask when I'm there, I'll quite happily take people round, it don't bother me about weight or anything, the cars is just fun to drive

Sorry to waffle but hard for me to answer this in one sentence

[maggies_minder]

i thought i drove my mini quick, if i had yours id loose my license, i need a lotto win to get a car like this.

great work bud

[mini_mad69]

Sorry to waffle but hard for me to answer this in one sentence

Thanks for the reply, im very interested in going for an engine swap in the new year, either b16a2 or x16xe.

But I want to know how they handle, it's not the lap times im interested in as such, just more how they handle.

This car was using a watsons frame, but he couldn't go around the corners at any pace and could only get any speed up down the straights.

This doesn't sound fun to me, I want a car I can chuck around and enjoy, and then get to the next corner quickly, Im just assuming his was poorly set up.


I think im going to have to get a ride in one someday and make up my mind.


Ben