740 replies to this topic

[KTS]

I think Steve is referring to the first picture of your previous post - the tube nut on the brake pipe looks to be hard up against the nut that secures the flexi to the bracket. A few threads visible between them when tightened up shows the tube nut is tightened down on the pipe rather than the nut

[GraemeC]

I think the flexi is usually secured with a half nut, leaving more thread for the tube nut.

[sonscar]

KTS and GraemeC are on the money,with no thread showing you cannot be sure the pipe is sealing against the flexy.Looking good.
Sympathies for your situation.Steve..

[MrBounce]

I'll be honest. I find exhausts hateful things - mainly because I am working on my own and don't have access to a lift or similar.  That said, the exhaust is ON. It is clamped together, the LCB is anchored to the gearbox, and the only thing that wasn't quite right was the centre hanger I had made. It was putting unnecessary load on the centre bobbin - because of the way the exhaust bends the clamp which was welded to the hanger couldn't sit straight. Using it like that would make it go through bobbins every 5 miles or so, even the reinforced ones. I had a re-think.

 

As I do not want to weld my nicely-coated exhaust (you wouldn't either if it had cost THAT much), I have though laterally. A while back my initial thought on hanging the centre pipe to the beam was to use a bit of metal bar welded to the exhaust and a late-model Mini rear rubber mount (see picture below).

 

 

Instead of welding it to the expensive exhaust, I figured welding it to the clamp instead would be a better idea. At least it would if the welder wasn't playing up. So although the exhaust is "on", there is a bit of wood holding up the centre section whilst I figure out what's wrong with the welder. In the meantime, here's a pic of what it will look like once fully done!

 

[MrBounce]

Well, as I was due a bit of long-awaited luck, I managed to make the magic metal sparkly stick work. I'll be honest, my welding is pretty poor (as is the machine I have - however it is mainly the user) but it was enough to solidly make the mounting I needed. I will do a tidier job if I ever have to replace it. For now, thought it's done. I fitted it, tightened everything and it is not going anywhere. My neck now aches from being in unusual contorted positions for too long. But I don't really care. Because my exhaust is now on, and I don't have to do it again (famous last words). A weight has been lifted from my shoulders!

 

I made two bits of metal stick together. Don't look too closely - lots of penetration and it's strong but man it's ugly!

 

 

But it's on. And it isn't falling off.

 

[MrBounce]

Hi everyone

 

I have not updated this thread in over a month due to family matters. Sadly I lost my Dad last weekend.

 

I will come back to it and update you all when the time is right. 

 

Dave

 

2021 has not been a good year...

[KTS]

So sorry to hear that Dave

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

So sorry for your loss, Dave.

 

I know there is a lot of us eagerly awaiting updates when you're ready to share. 

[Ben_O]

My condolences to you and your family.

 

Ben

[MrBounce]

Thank you for the messages of condolences and support. It really is very much appreciated. I can't pretend that it's been an easy time, but I am starting to get there. Lots still to arrange but all is ok.

 

I figured that an hour or so back in the garage would be beneficial, so I had a tidy up first, then started on something that wasn't an exhaust or a dashboard (I REALLY didn't feel like doing more dash work at the moment). The headlining. Or, more importantly, something that was screwed to it. The Mk1 Midas has a Fiat 126 rear view mirror and interior light all rolled into one unit. And it seems that the old adage that some Italian build quality isn't up to much rings true in this case. The light lens that fits onto the base is hard plastic and clips on with 3 brittle tangs. I have two different lenses, both of which are missing one tang. This makes the design useless, as the lens simply falls out thanks to Sir Isaac Newton's favourite discovery. It's a really poor design, but then I suppose if the car in question was first introduced in the early 70s, its life expectancy was more than likely to end some time ago. In theory I could get another 126 mirror unit with good lens, but I would more than likely be throwing money after something that would probably break again.

 

So I decided (as with a few things in this car) to do it slightly differently. I would fill in the holes in the one piece headlining with good ol' chopped strand mat and resin, then put an interior light in its place (design is yet to be decided). I would then get a mirror to either mount on the screen, or on to the dash top once it's completed.

 

I grabbed a Jaffa Cake box for Cardboard-Aided Design, then covered it with parcel tape. I then taped this to the headliner, and flipped it over. Out came my resin and fibreglass, and I carefully filled up the holes. I will make sure it's all ready to be modified once I decide on my interior light set up.

 

This thing will be moved on. I don't like it as I think it's a really bad design.

 

 

Of course this leaves a hole needing to be filled...

 

 

...so out came the CAD and some tape...

 

 

...which was quickly followed by some fibreglass and resin.

 

 

One final thing - I am not sure whether the headlining (which is a one-piece bit of fibreglass) should be kept as is, painted with textured paint, or recovered, possibly in a lighter colour to make the interior a bit less sombre. What's everyone's thoughts?

[goudoogje]

 

One final thing - I am not sure whether the headlining (which is a one-piece bit of fibreglass) should be kept as is, painted with textured paint, or recovered, possibly in a lighter colour to make the interior a bit less sombre. What's everyone's thoughts?

 

On my Midas i keept it all as original, just repainted it black. But I have a roof window. Mabye without the roof some gray tint will help to give it a more bigger feeling? I think headlining color shoud match the panels of the door and rear wheel archs.

[MrBounce]

I haven't done any more work on the headlining for now, as it needs a bit more filler, and I've run out of hardener. So I turned my attention to the other end of the car. 

 

One thing that's always bugged me about the Midas is that it has an old Metro expansion tank, which, I am led to believe, are prone to splitting and also the caps don't tend to like sealing very well. As I have never been able to get the tank 100% clean from its previous life as a container for rusty water, I've decided that it can go. I remembered doing some maintenance under the bonnet of my old VW Bora many moons ago and noting how the cooling system never went wrong. So I got myself a VW expansion tank as these are plentiful because they've been used on a whole host of VAG cars over the past 15 years, they are reliable and above all, they don't cost much money. Therefore all I had to do was mount it. 

 

I set about a bit of angle iron with the grinder and Dremel and soon had a suitable bracket to mount it using existing holes. I attached a small "stub" spacer using the magic metal melty stick so the tank would sit flat (the existing holes I used made it "droop"), then gave it a coat of paint. I have an additional hose to join up with the existing system - I just need to cut it to size, and get another hose clamp.

 

VW expansion tank (available in most VAG cars since 2000-ish) is plentiful and cheap.

 

 

And bracket is now painted and will soon be ready to fit.

 

[MrBounce]

It is often said that retail therapy can cure a lot of things. As I have understandably been feeling a bit low these last few months, and we'd just had Dad's funeral, it was really quite pleasant to see these pop up in my Faceache feed the other day. I stuck 2 fingers up at doing the Boot Sale, then borrowed Mrs Bounce's Yaris and drove 35 miles to pick these up this morning.

 

"But you have wheels!" I hear you cry. Yes, and beautifully painted and painstakingly restored they may be, but one thing that bugs me about Minis and their variants is that nearly every wheel design is a bleeping Minilite-style. There is nothing wrong with that per se, but I have always been one to do things a little bit differently. These are a set of 5x12" Revolution RFXs and they don't tend to come up very often. Whilst available from Revolution and MiniSpares as aftermarket wheels, as far as I know, the only Mini that these were fitted to as standard was the 94-onward Convertible. At £20 per wheel I couldn't say no as I had been looking out for some for a while. I might need to look at some clearance issues but I LOVE the way these look. The Midas was available from the factory I believe with 5-spoke alloys made by either ATS or Cosmic (I THINK), but the chances of me finding those is similar to me getting a date with Hayley Atwell. Not very likely! 

 

It's my plan to get these blasted and possibly powder coated in gloss black if funds allow, and I will probably just bin the tyres and get new ones as although some have tread they're 6+ years old.

 

Revolution RFX. Yup, yummy wheels, even when scruffy.

 

 

Look great on the front (if a bit wide)...

 

 

...and on the back. Awesome.

 

[panky]

Haley Atwell mmmmmmmmmm

[Vinay-RS]

What do the factory wheels look like? Perhaps someone might know of a set available for sale in someone's garage?