Look's good jonny, the subframes should be fun to keep clean . Is there any play in the radius arms? They need to be good at the ends as thats where they move on.
Thanks Alex, there was no play when I took them off so fingers crossed, I'll check them once they are re-assembled. Ref cleaning the Subframe - at least i'll be able to see the dirt, Iv'e been flicking bits of dust off all day and they aren't even fitted yet, let alone on the road :-(
Should be alright then, as long as they are greased regularly. Very true, I went for the 'aways clean black' Wrap it up in an old sheet or curtain etc
Geeze this Subframe Build is taking ages, doesn't help when I keep having to re-do things because I have done something in the wrong order or just plain worng!!1
Anyway today I managed to build the Backplates and fit the Radius Arms to the Subframe, only to realise that I had not fitted the Brake Hoses which means spinning the hole Subframe upside down, which is not an easy task when trying not to chip paint, which I have managed to do in a couple of places GRRRR!!!
First I bolted the Backplates to the Radius Arms, 3 x 5/16 Set Screws, Flat and Lock Washers.
Remembering to fit the Handbrake Cable Bracket on the reverse side to the lower two bolts, placing a washer between the Bracket and the Radius Arm.
Next I smeared some extra grease into the Rear Hub, I used some GULF Sovereign LC that I got from my Dad, its kind of old but seems OK??
Then bolted it on, afterwards I realised that I had not fitted the Wheel Studs GRRR!!
Next I screwed in the new Brake Adjusters and used some Copper Grease.
These are quite difficult to screw in (especially with greasy fingers), I used a pair of log nose pliers in the end and then when I had them thorugh enough I switched to a brake spanner:
Next after test fitting the new Brake Cylinders I put some Hylomar on the mating surface and the the gasket and then some more Hylomar. To fit the Brake Cylinder you need to remove the Bleed Screw, but be careful not to get anything inside:
Getting the securing Circlip in place was a real struggle, especially without the correct tool, anyway in the end I found that if I wedged it in front of the locating stud it helped to hold it just enough to then use a large flat bladed screwdriver to slot the opposite side over the edge. Next I used a large socket to tap the Circlip down and the a smaller screwdriver to make sure each piece was slotted into the recess around the cylinder.
I then started on assembling the brakes, boy what a nightmare, the Haynes manual is naff so I tried to use a bit of common sense and vague memory, (temporary loss of Internet), once I managed to reconnect I then asked some questions here (as well as finding a decent pic / guide) and found that I had made a total hash and had to start again. Shame as I took a load of photos along the way to make a guide!!!
Here they are assembled (Copper Grease on all contact surfaces - apart from the brake surfaces of course):
Coming along jonny, I knew there was something I was going to do when fitting the brake cylinder I'll have to find another way of sealing them. Don't forget the split pin for the nut.
Coming along jonny, I knew there was something I was going to do when fitting the brake cylinder I'll have to find another way of sealing them. Don't forget the split pin for the nut.
No worries, the pins are sitting in a bag waiting to go on, good job I didn't use them as I'll have to remove the hub anyway to fit the wheel studs, also need to Torque them on - when I get a Torque Wrench.
I fitted the Camber Brackets and then realised that I had to fit the Radius Arm at the same time so off they came!!!
I was then baffled at exactly how they fitted to the Subframe and Camber Bracket but with some help on this Forum here I solved the puzzle.
First I fitted the correct flat washer onto the Radius Arm Spindle, one is slightly larger than the other and when fitted matches the diameter of the outside edge of the Radius Arm. Then the rubber washer fits over both the Radius Arm flange and washer as seen in the following picture:
And the same on the other side:
Next I fitted the inner end of the spindle into the corresponding hole in the Subframe, the rubber mallet was used to assist with this, then the Camber Bracket is fitted to the end of the Subframe and built around the outside edge of the Radius Arm.
Most Set Screws / Bolts go in no problem however to get the lower one in it helps to lift the Radius Arm. It also helps to not dod them all up tight until they are all in place and partially threaded, this allows for more movement of the Radius Arm to keep it out of the way of the Screw head in order to get a socket on it, 1/2 Inch I think?
All bolts where inserted with some Copper Grease on the threads.
In the picture you can also just about see the bottom of the Pin and Washer that holds the Handbrake Quadrants in place, I also managed to get a thin brass washer in between the Quadrant and the Radius Arm.
Here is the Subframe build so far:
Next Rear Bearing Split Pins and Caps, Rear Drums, Brake Hoses, Plastic Inserts and Knuckles, Brake Pipes and T Piece, Exhaust Brackets and Subframe Mounts. I may leave the Doughnuts and Trumpets until its on the Car?
I fitted the Camber Brackets and then realised that I had to fit the Radius Arm at the same time so off they came!!!
I was then baffled at exactly how they fitted to the Subframe and Camber Bracket but with some help on this Forum here I solved the puzzle.
First I fitted the correct flat washer onto the Radius Arm Spindle, one is slightly larger than the other and when fitted matches the diameter of the outside edge of the Radius Arm. Then the rubber washer fits over both the Radius Arm flange and washer as seen in the following picture:
And the same on the other side:
Next I fitted the inner end of the spindle into the corresponding hole in the Subframe, the rubber mallet was used to assist with this, then the Camber Bracket is fitted to the end of the Subframe and built around the outside edge of the Radius Arm.
Most Set Screws / Bolts go in no problem however to get the lower one in it helps to lift the Radius Arm. It also helps to not dod them all up tight until they are all in place and partially threaded, this allows for more movement of the Radius Arm to keep it out of the way of the Screw head in order to get a socket on it, 1/2 Inch I think?
All bolts where inserted with some Copper Grease on the threads.
In the picture you can also just about see the bottom of the Pin and Washer that holds the Handbrake Quadrants in place, I also managed to get a thin brass washer in between the Quadrant and the Radius Arm.
Here is the Subframe build so far:
Next Rear Bearing Split Pins and Caps, Rear Drums, Brake Hoses, Plastic Inserts and Knuckles, Brake Pipes and T Piece, Exhaust Brackets and Subframe Mounts. I may leave the Doughnuts and Trumpets until its on the Car?
Nice work. Just wondering what adjustable brackets you have? They look nice quality, I had some from mini sport different style and they wouldn't fit, the bolt holes would not line up.
I fitted the Camber Brackets and then realised that I had to fit the Radius Arm at the same time so off they came!!!
I was then baffled at exactly how they fitted to the Subframe and Camber Bracket but with some help on this Forum here I solved the puzzle.
First I fitted the correct flat washer onto the Radius Arm Spindle, one is slightly larger than the other and when fitted matches the diameter of the outside edge of the Radius Arm. Then the rubber washer fits over both the Radius Arm flange and washer as seen in the following picture:
And the same on the other side:
Next I fitted the inner end of the spindle into the corresponding hole in the Subframe, the rubber mallet was used to assist with this, then the Camber Bracket is fitted to the end of the Subframe and built around the outside edge of the Radius Arm.
Most Set Screws / Bolts go in no problem however to get the lower one in it helps to lift the Radius Arm. It also helps to not dod them all up tight until they are all in place and partially threaded, this allows for more movement of the Radius Arm to keep it out of the way of the Screw head in order to get a socket on it, 1/2 Inch I think?
All bolts where inserted with some Copper Grease on the threads.
In the picture you can also just about see the bottom of the Pin and Washer that holds the Handbrake Quadrants in place, I also managed to get a thin brass washer in between the Quadrant and the Radius Arm.
Here is the Subframe build so far:
Next Rear Bearing Split Pins and Caps, Rear Drums, Brake Hoses, Plastic Inserts and Knuckles, Brake Pipes and T Piece, Exhaust Brackets and Subframe Mounts. I may leave the Doughnuts and Trumpets until its on the Car?
Nice work. Just wondering what adjustable brackets you have? They look nice quality, I had some from mini sport different style and they wouldn't fit, the bolt holes would not line up.
Thanks Ginge;
I bought the brackets from the For Sale section on this forum, here is the original add, seller was Freaker a fella from Holland who pops over now and again I believe. I'll send him a message and ask him what make and where from? No problems fitting them, just need to work out how to adjust and measure the Camber, looks like the top Allen Bolt? and the two on the side just secure it in place?
So today as it was raining I had some time in the garage, started off by fitting the wheel studs, I thought they would just pop straight in but I soon realised that where I had painted the Rear Hubs paint had got into the stud splines so I spent a hour or so cleaning them out!!!
Once this was done I tapped them in.
Next I started to do the brake lines, first the Flexi Hoses to the Radius Arms, I treated myself last year at the Beaulie National Min Cooper day to some Goodridge Braided Hoses:
Then through the Subframe:
And secured:
To do the hoses I turned the Subframe upside down but then after I had finished putting the hoses on I spotted something very alarming, I was now actually looking at the top of the subframe, which I had though was the bottom!!! See below.
After having a think, I debating that I would have to swap the Radius Arms over I realised that the brake hoses are supposed to be on top so the Radius Arms were on the right way around but the Brake Adjuster and Cylinder were at the top and the should be at the bottom so the Backplates would have to come off and swap sides!! More time wasted :-(
Next I bent up and fitted the main brake lines and the T Union, not sure if the T Union is the correct way up?? But the lines run under the Exhaust Bracket which seems OK.
Next I bent up the brake lines for the Radius Arms, luckily I still had one of the old lines so I had an idea of the profile.
Warming up the pipe by rubbing it and using a Broom Handle as a bend profile helped:
You'll also notice that I have secured the Radius Arms with cable ties, this is a trick I picked up on here somewhere, stops the Arms banging around.
I also attached the Handbrake cables to the rear hubs and fitted the Drums.
Then the Sun miraculously came out and it was back on DIY House Maint tasks, Iv'e been repairing my back wall, bit of pointing and rendering, should have topped it off with some Sharp Sand but hey ho:
Tomorrow I'll fit the mountings and hopefully get it fitted to the car
Looking good, only thing I would add is I fitted the rubber cones, trumpets and joints at same time as fitting arms, not sure how easy it will be with radius arms in, maybe if you have hi lo trumpets it may be easier.
Looking good, only thing I would add is I fitted the rubber cones, trumpets and joints at same time as fitting arms, not sure how easy it will be with radius arms in, maybe if you have hi lo trumpets it may be easier.
Yup and as I have also discovered I should have fitted the Front Subframe Mountings as there is absolutely no way of getting to the nut on the back of the large pin with the Radius Arm in place, so off with the Radius Arms AGAIN!! I am also out of Copper Grease, the wife has the car for the day and its raining Deep Joy!!!
I have a couple of days of photos to upload but thought I'd share this first, a small video that speaks for itself.
Can't believe how good it made me feel, a small step for some but a massive achievement and milestone in this restoration project. Sorry about the scruffy appearance and choice of cheesy audio
Not sure how to embed video so here is a Youtube link
So an update of recent events, during the Subframe / back end rebuild I ran out of Copper Grease having only bought a small 20g tube. So as the wife had the car I dusted of my old Mountain Bike and cycled off to one of the few car Auto parts shops in the area. Three hours later having got soaking wet in a downpour and dried off in the wind I returned.
Mmmm looks good enough to eat
The next task was to try and hand polish up my Trumpets, I had got them pretty clean after a dowsing a long while ago in petrol then 320 / 600 / 800 wet and dry now for a final buff up.
Here they are before:
I had looked everywhere for anyone with a bench polisher to no joy so I pulled out a cheap drill attachment that I had bought from a market and made some adapations.
Here is the wheel which is not strong enough on its own:
So after searching through my draws i found and old backing plate from something:
Add a couple of washers a vice and a bit of rag and voila:
First of all I gave them a good going over with some wire wool and metal polish, this worked really well:
And after buffing using my DIY polisher and a going over with a piece off cloth:
Not too shabby at all..........I later tried to work out how to protect them with lacquer or something but in the end I ordered some Bilt Hamber Dynax UC which is a thin wax film that I will spray on them.
The next job was to fit the Trumpets and Doughnuts and then fit the Subframe, luckily a fellow Mini Enthusiast 'Coxie' that I have got to know through this Forum offered to help , good job too as there is absolutely no way on earth I would have managed on my own, he was a great help indeed.
I don't have any photo's of the trials and tribulations that took place apart from two of the Subby mid fit. It was a pretty difficult task, made even more difficult by the fact that I had fitted the Rear Mounts on backwards!!! Coxie spotted this after we had tried in vein to get them in line!! They where catching on the Rear Valance / Subframe Support Brackets and I started to think thatI would need to do some major metal work, not a good feeling. Anyway after I dismantled them they fitted OK.
We managed to get the top bolts into the Heelboard Brackets but had to remove the lower two allen bolts from the Camber Bracket to fit the bottom ones, these also need some assistance. The lower bolt holes were slightly out of line, the only way I could see this was to insert a torch into the front end of the Sill (Flitch Panels not fitted yet) so that the light would shine through the bolt hole. I had to wedge / push the bottom of the Mounting inwards and eventually managed to get the bolt in.
Luckily no mangled / cross threaded bolts in the Heelboard.
N.B. Copper Grease on all Nuts and Bolts and Mating Surfaces.
Here are some pics taken at the end of a long day with the rear mounts still to go:
The light is pretty bad but I wanted some pics as they looked so nice.
The next morning I was keen to get the Mini on its wheels and outside for a celebration. So I set about finishing off the Rear Mounts. I have been pretty lucky to be fair after replacing the Heelboard Ends and Rear End of the Boot Floor the only bracket that needed modification was the Rear LF Boot Floor Subframe Mount, the holes were out by about 3mm.
So I had to drilled them out slightly from the underside after which they fitted OK. I should have applied some paint before putting in the nuts but was to impatient :-(
Here they are fitted:
Here are the LH mounting bolts after modification.
On both side the nuts are on top, I was going to fit them the other way around, which is how they are normally shown but Coxie suggested that on his build he put the nuts inside the boot to avoid them rusting as much, so I thought why not.
The refit went not without some minor damage to both the car and the Subframe :-(
To try and get the car outside by the end of the day there were several jobs that needed to be completed:
1. Fit the Rear Shocks.
2. Connect up the brake lines?
3. Connect up the Handbrake.
As some of the parts were not ready I had to multi task, I had noticed that the Handbrake Cables don't come with the bracket that joins the front to rear, neither do they come with the bolts to connect to the Handbrake!! My bracket was sitting in a bag somewhere and not looking nice which could not possibly be fitted as is.
So first a degrease in petrol:
Still quite bad so off to the local hardware shop for some Citric Acid Crystals to de-rust:
Next I de-rusted and painted the inside of some old temporary wheels:
And fitted the rear shocks:
I had to clean off the paint from the lower mount on the Radius Arm and applied some Copper Grease and the fitted both Shocks to the LH and RH lower mounts and lined them up with the top mounting holes, ready to lower the car:
When we fitted the Subframe we routed the front to rear brake line up and over, which is the correct way but it turned out that the line is not long enough :-( Not sure what to do with this??
I also moved the T Piece to avoid it snagging the Handbrake Cables.
The odd piece attached to the T Piece is just to stop crap entering.
After a couple of hours soaking the Handbrake Bracket was all cleaned up:
I decided to paint it so Acid Etch and then Black Enamel (No pic of the black):
When I fitted the wheels and slowly lowered the Rear End the RH Rear Shock Top Mount for some reason would not raise enough to fit????
I thought this was going to be another major issue but after I got the car out and bounced it a few time I managed to get a nut on it.
Anyway finally at about 17:30 I managed to roll it out and if the link didn't work here it is again, P.S. There is no engine running as the fuel and power are not connected so its Fred Flintstone style, but the holes in the floor have now been welded up
And some pics:
Oh and that can of Stella I had been saving to celebrate with when it was finally on its wheels again, I sprayed a little on the bonnet
Oh and no sooner was it out of the garage a bird decided to crap on the roof!!!
Still looking pretty sorry with a lot of work left in the front end but a milestone has been achieved!!! Thanks to everyone on here for all their help so far.
. Is there any play in the radius arms? They need to be good at the ends as thats where they move on.
I'll have to find another way of sealing them. Don't forget the split pin for the nut.
