1090 replies to this topic

[sonikk4]

Well Oz has got everything now and i have also decided to get the crank wedged and bladed. Not cheap but will be worth it.

 

This will let me safely attain the top end of the rev range of the cam which is 7500 rpm.And of course the other thing to make the most of this rev range is the final drive which for Paddys box is 3.647.

 

So should make for interesting driving. Now just waiting on Keith Calver for his 1.4.1 ratio rockers and cam. Budget will be then officially blown.

[sonikk4]

Cam, followers and 1.4 rocker kit turned up so happy days. Need to order shims and spacers from Minispares to deal with the rocker build up. Top comms with Keith Calver as a couple of item were missing from the kit but he quickly emailed me to say they were missing and a day later they rocked up. 

 

Got my spare front subbie blasted and it was a bit of a mess. The welder who built this on the production line must have done so on a fri afternoon. Some shocking welds and splatter everywhere

 

So after some welding, some knocking back we ended up looking like this

 

Some more seam welding to carryout and then deal with this mess as well

The whole subframe is not the best with lots of pitting from rust and the welds were not the best. Before it goes away for powder coating i will revisit some of the welds to address the pitting.

[ckneller321]

What do you do to sort the pitting?

[sonikk4]

The rust pitting I will be running beads of weld over them and then knock back. If this was a single bolt subbie I would not have bothered but as twin bolts are getting rarer hence the work. Plus it’s a backup for my twin bolt Clubby.

[Bdshim]

Man what a fantastic build this is so much information must be the best build thread I have read thanks for taking the time to post look forward to the updates

[sonikk4]

Well another trip to Oz's to see how things are progressing.

 

The first thing that came to mind before we talked business were these two bad boys sitting on the floor.

 

102 bhp and 103 bhp 1071 engines. Both going in a special twinny. Very sexy.

 

I saw the devastation of a ruined crank due to dodgy heat treatment. One of three and one of them was mine. Balls!!! So Oz has given me a replacement standard crank so i can then purchase one from SC. He wont do anymore cranks like that again due to not being able to rely on the heat treatment.

 

The work is coming along on the block, the extra studs drilled for the 11 stud conversion, block decked, oil gallery holes dealt with. Dummy build done, block chemically dipped, now ready for tapping the extra stud holes, installing the centre strap, countersinking the stud holes etc.

 

The balance cannot be done until the crank has been purchased, but herein lies the rub. Covid-19. It has had a huge impact on Aviation and will only get worse before it gets better. We within the civil aviation industry have been seriously impacted by this and it will get worse before it improves. Going to be painful which means my spending on Paddy has come to a complete and utter stop.

 

Not good times at all. 

[Andy80]

Well I’ve just spent the last 2 days reading through both this thread and erm and I salute the quality of your workmanship and the levels you Have gone too on both builds, they’re amazing and an absolute font of information oh not to mention really interesting reads.

[venkman]

Just done a catch up.
I feel your pain regards COVID 19 I work in beer industry......dead as a door nail, think it'll be a while before were busy again!

Ian

[sonikk4]

Just done a catch up.
I feel your pain regards COVID 19 I work in beer industry......dead as a door nail, think it'll be a while before were busy again!

Ian

Yup for a lot of businesses. We will find out our destiny in the next couple of weeks apparently.

Just been through the redundancy process and managed to retain my job but now it will be at Heathrow instead of Gatwick. Gatwick for Virgin is now history which is a real shame. Loved my time there but life moves on. The company may go back there in the future if we survive and if things return to 2019 levels of business.

It’s all very very hateful and stressful and 2020 will be a year to forget.

[venkman]

Think I might be safe have been at same place for 17 years. Saying that if redundancy came up I'd take it as company has changed for the worst in last 3 years.

Made me realise how so many big, rich companies rely on hospitality. It's definitely going to be different for a few years, don't government think it's going to take about 5-7 years to get back to current levels!!

Give me time to get mini going, not to your standards, but running. But like everyone else funds are running dry!

Anyhow hope everyone comes through ok and keeps the forum running too.

All the best

Ian

[slidehammer]

I am currently on Furlough, so my future career is also very unsettled. I was lucky that I had quite a lot of body panels already bought and paid for so I have been able to carry on work on the Mini and I think it is keeping me sane at the moment. Good luck everyone and keep safe, we are nothing without our health.

[sonikk4]

Well finally, i have actually done something more constructive today on Paddy. The lower arms were looking a little worse for wear so time for some love.

 

Started with this, l/h one had a session with the wire cup

 

 

So a bit later i removed the remains of the flashing

 

Did the same for the other and then followed by some Bilt Hamber Deox gel treatment. Closely followed by etch prime and filler primer

 

So getting a nice collection of components ready for 2K Black paint.

Next item on the hit list is the steering rack

[sonikk4]

Steering rack strip down today. And it was messy. Its the original rack as well as it was smothered in Ziebart wax and was a sod to get off.

 

 

A few measurements before i stripped off the track rod ends

 

So everything off, cleaned up and looking a whole lot cleaner

 

Everything taped off ready to paint.

 

Etch primed and filler primed

 

Added to the rest of the items ready for topcoat.

 

So the gaiters and old school clips were in amazing condition for their age. No rips or damage and the clips are in perfect condition. Cleaned up and ready for reuse.

 

So off the back of that i thought i would clean up and reuse the track rod ends, mmm might have to rethink that.

So the rubber covers on both were in good condition apart from a start of a split in one but it had not gone through. The other looked fine until i took the cover off and it was just a rusty paste. Bugger!!!

 

The other one is fine so i will swap the rubber covers and keep it as a hot spare.

[Northernpower]

So nice to see some progress again, as always, the quality looks excellent.

[sonikk4]

Subframe welding today. I previously showed some of the serious pitting found on the front subbie so it was time to lay in some welds to fill the pits.

 

Before

 

During

 

Finished

So all filler primed. It will do for my spare so once its top coated in 2k Black it will be stored away.

 

Also top coated the steering rack and clear coat