742 replies to this topic

[MrBounce]

More shenanigans have gone on in the past few days: I finally managed to get hold of the correct fan sender switch for the radiator - a proper "New Old Stock" piece so spend 12 seconds fitting that, then decided to drag the alloy wheels out to give them a once over. Of course they were filthy, covered in dust, dirt, overspray and spiders' webs. I also got the pressure washer out so gave them all a good blast. Now, the initial plan was to get them blasted, but as funds are tight I am not sure that they need it as they look like they're in quite good condition bar the overspray. A few hours with some wet & dry and they might be good for a fresh coat of paint. What do people think?

 

I then got back to the wiper motor. My new park switch had arrived so I could get back to putting everything back together. On went the new switch, followed by the motor itself, and I then sorted the wheel and greased up the rack and the innards. All is ready to go into the car now. One thing I could never stand was the way Minis had a piece of foam where the wiper motor sat, happily taking on water so it could start rusting through the bulkhead. Although that's not an issue here, wet foam looks rubbish once it's got wet, so I will be using some rubber drawer liner which I have kicking about. Fold it over and there's plenty of cushioning - a nice pad for the motor to sit on. I should be able to install it once I find the strap. I have made a modification to this as well, but that will have to wait until next time...

 

New fan switch installed. Fits beautifully.

 

 

Dirty wheels about to pressure washed

 

 

And drying off in the sun. They don't look too bad.

 

 

Old switch, new switch. No prizes for guessing which one I used.

 

 

Motor and cam wheel installed

 

 

All greased up

 

 

New pad for the motor to rest on

 

 

And the finished product. I just need to find the strap now so I can fit it...

 

[Udo]

Bounce, under the wiper motor is actually a curved rubber pad to the shape of the motor not foam. 

 

 

http://www.minispare...|Back to search

 

£2.53 - Treat yourself (plus postage which then trebles this though)

Edited by Udo, 16 June 2017 - 08:15 AM.

[MrBounce]

£2.53 - Treat yourself (plus postage which then trebles this though)

 Hence why I am using something I already had   

 

My old Minis always seemed to have foam...

Edited by MrBounce, 17 June 2017 - 10:51 AM.

[MrBounce]

I couldn't find the wiper motor strap I had so dug out the old one (For some reason I had two) and then proceeded to modify it in a similar way to the one I've lost. There's a problem that the Mini wiper motor lends to the Midas - Cracks. This is because when I got it, my wiper motor strap was held on by two rather large screws, which had caused the fibreglass to crack around where they'd bitten in. I wanted to avoid this, so decided to go down the good old-fashioned spreader plate method. Using 5/16" bolts, a strip of 3mm steel raided from an old Ultimate Engine Steady, 2 nuts and a welder, I made a decent spreader plate then proceeded to go about fitting it.

 

First I modified the strap by drilling out the screw holes to accept 5/16" bolts, then measured up where it needed to be on the bulkhead. Out came the cordless drill and 2 holes appeared. The plate lined up beautifully (I think I am getting good at this measuring lark). But I wasn't quite finished. I didn't want it to move if I ever needed to take the wiper motor off, so whilst held in place by the bolts, I spent a few minutes fibreglassing it in place (and enjoying the fumes). Typically though as I was moving stuff to start the fibreglassing, I broke one of the washer jets. I know they're only a couple of quid but "Grrrrr!"   :angry:New ones are on order...

 

Although I didn't take any pictures, I have also remade my bracket to hold the gear selector in place as the curvature was all wrong on the first attempt. It's currently being painted. More to follow.

 

Wiper motor with strap, midway through drilling. You can just about see the edge of the rubber pad I'm using.

 

 

Spreader plate ready to go in.

 

 

Bolted in place

 

 

And time for little bit of CSM and resin!

 

 

Oops - broken washer jet...

 

[MrBounce]

This happened today... IT'S ON WHEELS!!

 

[Northernpower]

This happened today... IT'S ON WHEELS!!
 

And a picture.😁

[Ben_O]

well done!

[minimans]

I like the parts trays!

[Ethel]

They're not parts trays, they're cat baskets. Must be the residual heat from the headlights - never did manage to drive off with neighbour's in situ.

[MrBounce]

Ha ha my cats never go anywhere near them! Too full of tools... 

 

I've done a few little things tonight, mainly putting in the heater and associated pipework. The first part was easy as I'd already put in the brackets so all I needed to do was to hang the studs on them. Next part was less easy - make sure it stays where it's supposed to be. I've never liked using large screws to attach heavy objects, so instead I've used bolts and spacers. It's not ideal if I want to take it out again, but having rebuilt the heater I expect to not have to. 

 

I followed this up with heater pipes. I HATED the way these had been done on this car when I first got it - two holes made for the pipes below the fusebox and no grommet for them. out came my new holesaws and a pair of beautifully manicured holes appeared for the 5/8" pipes and the necessary grommets to keep them tidy and to project against chafing. 

 

Finally I knocked up a bracket to mount the expansion tank. There were two ready made holes on the bulkhead that I was happy to use, so a bit of CAD followed by some steel cutting and bending gave me a usable, if simple bracket. There's a rivnut attached which allows me to easily mount the tank.

 

Heater mounted. I don't intend for it to come out again.

 

 

There's holes in my car! These will tidy up nicely with pipes and grommets.

 

 

Simple but effective expansion tank bracket, prior to paint.

 

[MrBounce]

Another evening, another couple of jobs done:

 

The first was to mount the bracket for the expansion tank subsequently the tank to it. It was an easy 5 minute job until I realised that the non-threaded part of the bolts I was using were too long. I changed them for shorter set-screws instead (my Uncle the engineer would be proud of me for using the correct terminology!). After some interesting contortions (you definitely can't do this on your own with the windscreen in...), the tank was mounted and seems perfectly happy. I even connected the overflow pipe up.

 

The second job ranks as one of the worst jobs to do on a Midas - refitting the rear wiring loom along with newly-added extra earth wires through the sill. It's not so much of a difficult thing (much like fitting the front top shock mounts) but it is for want of a better phrase f-ing awkward. First of all, feeding it through a tiny hole and then over the wheelarch took at least an hour as nothing would happily go where it was supposed to. Then once I had managed to grab it from the top of the wheelarch, it took another hour or so to actual manage to thread it through the sill and up the door pillar to the dash. I have bruised and scratched arms from my efforts to get it to where it should be. However, it is now done. I just need to start connecting stuff up now...

 

Tank in position with new bracket

 

 

Rear loom in and poking out by the dash. I am NOT doing that again!!

 

[MrBounce]

I've been on holiday so haven't been able to get a lot done, but i have managed to get a couple of jobs done and dusted.

 

I dug out the rear hatch hinges which have been in a box for the past two years. One of them needed the seized remains of the old bolts drilling out, so off to the pillar drill. I centre-punched the middle of the old bolts and the drill made short work of clearing them out. I then tapped the new holes to take slightly large bolts. Then it was time to give them a rub down and a coat of paint. As per the rest of the car they've been  given a coat of satin black.

 

An emergency call-out on the Mini Forum for some replacement bits saw a parcel arrive after the exchange of beer tokens (cheers Phil!) and I now have in my possession a waterpump pulley (conveniently already painted silver!), an alternator mounting post and a replacement bit of wiper rack tubing (I noticed mine had split). The pulley is fitted already, and the tubing and post have been rubbed down and repainted. Can I find my alternator bracket? Nope...

 

Finally to create a little bit more space in the garage I chucked the petrol tank on the car. This is only loosely mounted at the moment as there was only me and it was very difficult to do the bolts up as they kept moving. I shall enlist the help of Mrs Bounce to hold a spanner on them whilst I do some socket twirling underneath.

 

Rear Hatch hinges in primer...

 

 

...and with a coat of (still wet) satin black.

 

 

New pulley mounted

 

 

And tank in place, albeit roughly...

 

[MrBounce]

I won something very nice on eBay the other day - for significantly less than they should have cost me. These beauties are now mine! Just need to sort out some runners. Am hoping I can utilise the modified MX-5 runners easily enough...

 

[Udo]

I've got a set (4 so 2 for each seat) of sliders that would bolt straight on those if needed. I don't have the 'frames' to raise them off the floor but then they would probably be different on yours anyway

[MrBounce]

You have PM Udo