197 replies to this topic

[mrthumb]

Hi guys, I was thinking at what point do I start my page? I guess nows a good time. I have a 1972 mini clubman and a fresh b16a2 lump. Im currentley saving for a final drive and subframe from Watsons. Im a welder fabricator by trade and have a small workshop with lathe etc so i hope to make this a decent build. my problem is i dont really know a great deal about cars. this should be a learning experience for me.

Im at the stage now where i got the motor out and im cleaning it up. is there some important things i need to do at this stage?

modify master cylinder? new seals, what should i save from the old car? i have the loom complete.
swap the altinator back to front, hmm what else? thanks!

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•  CIMG0039.JPG   1.88MB   110 downloads
•  CIMG0119.JPG   3.3MB   148 downloads

[KieranB]

good luck with the build fella, the clubby looks really good already, hopefully give it justice when your done :)

[mrthumb]

yea it looks oright from the outside, but after you spend out on these things you realise whats wrong with them. i went there thinking i was going to buy a rust free £3650+ car that aparantley had no major body work, the seals and floor had been completley replaced, the welding was good but i raised my eyebrows in certain places. no effort was made to prevent the heat from bending the adjacent panels. also it leaks very badley, the floor had some bad rusting because of it which i have repaired, theres paint blistering up in lots of little places where the aprentice stevie wounder was hired to do the prep work prior to painting.

they also just painted over the old paint in places. the engine mounts have enlongated so the engine jolts when you left off the thottle. leaks oil more than i would like, the underside was not stonechipped or waxoyled when it was welded, just paint and they didnt even bother paint under the subframes either. so the entire car basically needs redoing if its not to be swiss cheese within a few winters. apart from that im fairley upbeat and adjusting to the world of mini driving!!

on the plus side, the handling is better than any car iv driven, it had a fresh interior and the engine drove me back hundreds of miles without problems and the tyres and alloys were great. the doors opened and closed, and i noticed alot of newish bits here and there. i still think the previous owner may of sold it at a loss. but if i was to buy it again knowing the issues i would of probably paid 2800 or maybe 3. but it all works itself out in the end.

going to remove the petrol tank on the del sol tomorrow and work on welding up my own tank to sit in the boot. ill transfer over the old bits and it should look nice when im done.

got my name down for a final drive and im going to order a new clutch and seals while im doing the final drive!

[mrthumb]

just removed the fuel pump from the tank in the del sol.. am i correct in what i have here?

I plan on fabricating a aluminium box and just fitting this to it.

or would it be much easier to just buy a MPi fuel tank for my mini? :)

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•  CIMG0121.jpg   197.06K   106 downloads

[Kam]

Good to see another honda lumpage going in!

Don't worry about your knowledge of cars beforehand, I was the same tenfold, you learn as you go, no one teaches you this stuff, you've already pulled the lump out the sol, thats some good going there already

Unless you got some super plans for the engine then keep everything simple, don't replace what you don't need to, if you heard/drove the engine before and its starts and goes and don't leak then keep with it

For the fuel tank everyones got there own two pence for it, so heres mine - keep it simple, use a SPi/MPi tank and just change the fuel pump, some people run the MPi pump but I don't, so take your choice

Run some new 8mm (internal bore) lines under the car, some copper pipeage from B&Q is fine, you can use the honda fuel pump if you want (as its looks/runs similar to the MPi one) just needs a little work but nothing major for you

Your 13" are a 50/50 when it comes to choosing what Final Drive would be better for you, whats better for me might not be better for you, I ran the 3.4 with a b16 and that made it completely driveable, only downside was the gears were nice and long now but the b16 power wasn't enough to pull aggressively after 6k like it was before 6k, on the plus side I had five perfectly useable gears for the road. A couple of people (on here) have got b18's with a 3.7fd, one with 12" and the other with 13", just waiting to hear how they are finding there gears.....

[mrthumb]

Hey thanks for your advice. Being a fabricator, the fuel tank was going to be my little gem in the car. Im just going to install the honda pump with a breather valve and spray it up nice. I have ordered a new exedy clutch, timing belt and tensioner, head gasket, and various other gaskets, the car drove nicley but the clutch was slipping when I was being juvenile.. Having owned a mr2 turbo @ 15psi before it was supprising for a 1.6 car.

I hear what your saying with the 13" wheels. I really dont want to have a useless first gear. And I dont want my friends to think im exagerating when I told em how quick this little thing was going to be. Prehaps a 3.7 is a good compramise. Atleast first gear is useable. Whats the top speed with a 3.7 FD on 13" wheels?

Im currentley fabricating a mount so the alternator sits on the other side. I dont know what they cost to buy but as this is what I do for my day job I might as well give it a go. I think 6mm stainless steel tig welded should look nice :) what size belt do people use for the opposite side? i can go ahead and order that one. 620?

[Kam]

Having owned a mr2 turbo @ 15psi before

Snap! I've had three before (2 na and 1 tubby) heres my last tubby which I actually sold to get a 54hp mini........



....and never looked back since!

Prehaps a 3.7 is a good compramise. Atleast first gear is useable. Whats the top speed with a 3.7 FD on 13" wheels?

Really is a hard one to call, 3.7 is the best compromise yes but it depends on how you like driving your car, some people prefer short ratios, I prefer them super long, with either one you will have a useable first gear, for the top speed I wouldn't worry too much, it'll get you to three figures easily enough (on a private road of course officer) my b16 with the 12" wheels and 3.4fd hit 148mph on a rolling road at 8k in 5th, on the track (nurburgring) I've had it to 7k in 5th on the main end straight just for the hell of it but couldn't tell you what speed that was as my speedo runs out at 110mph and the cabin was shaking a tad so my mind was elsewhere

For the alternator I used the minitec bracket because I can't fabricate and still had to get it modified a bit to fit, cost about 170 notes to get it to my door from the US after paying duty etc, so yeah being able to fabricate helps a bit

[mrthumb]

I think 3.7 it is then kam! Yea mr2 turbos are fun. when your not fixing them. I enjoying having skin on my knuckles again.

I guess i better update you guys, some bits come in the post today. I got my f1 stage 2 clutch today

http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1439.l2649

I know some of you think its quite possibley rubbish, but iv read alot of good reviews amungst the bad ones, and they are owned by exedy aparantley so im sure the QC is the same. Providing their warn in for 500 miles they should be good for a long time on that little car.

I also got my exhaust manifold through

http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1439.l2649

i was supprised to find they had welded twice, 1 base weld which you could just see, then a neat line of beads on top. all in all it looks nice and built for the job. cant moan for less than 100 quid!

Iv also made a start on my aternator bracket. I spent so much time worrying about it not fowling on the cam belt cover, and the pulleys being in line, that i forgot about how high up it needs to be. My question is, will this fowl on the Watsons subframe? I cant continue this without knowing really. let me know what you guys this,
thanks

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•  altbracket2.jpg   115.95K   44 downloads
•  altbracket3.jpg   101.99K   56 downloads
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[SukiDawg]

I think you need the subframe!

[mrthumb]

yea im saving!, not sure if its high enough. ill find out soon

[Kam]

I don't really know about your alternator mount as I'm not really clued up on the watson frames. Actually have you got the watsons honda builder dvd? I'm not using a watsons frame but still found it useful being shown how to do stuff rather than reading it in a book

I don't use my dvd anymore so if you get stuck trying to find one let me know

[mrthumb]

yea i got the DVD thanks. ill do some more work on that part when i get the subframe. in the mean time. i have been doing some painting!

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[mrthumb]

i got a bit carried away with the painting. iv done the whole engine...

Before and after :)

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•  normal-engine.jpg   151.12K   67 downloads
•  CIMG0203.jpg   88.2K   122 downloads

[mrthumb]

Turned down the pulley wheel today. no need for the other 2. plus the very outside got damaged when removing the engine. so would probably ofset the balance. has anyone else done this?

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•  pulley.jpg   67.68K   29 downloads
•  pulley2.jpg   53.32K   28 downloads

Edited by mrthumb, 26 April 2012 - 06:18 PM.

[mrthumb]

Fuel tank update...

MPI fuel tank or make my own? hmm

i fabricated the whole thing, fuel pump holder, the tub itself, even the nozzles were made in the lathe. will be the jewel of my build when its done :)

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•  fuel-tank2.jpg   60.51K   69 downloads
•  fuelsender.jpg   62.58K   57 downloads
•  nozzle.jpg   55.94K   62 downloads
•  fuelbox.jpg   55.22K   62 downloads
•  fueltankpump.jpg   64.93K   81 downloads

Edited by mrthumb, 26 April 2012 - 06:28 PM.