1843 replies to this topic

[Petrol]

Rain X is good stuff but you have to go fast for it to work

 

Fitted these led's for the indicators

 

 

Soldered the wires into the bulb holders

 

 

 

 

 

[Petrol]

New knuckle joints and track rod ends on the front end. Shocks are KYB adjustable

 

 

I’m happy with the suspension setup
Gearbox will be OK…. New SC CR Ripspeed internals though Phil had various problems assembling it… What’s new?
Engine will be sorted so it screams a bit more…. Andy is helping me with that
Have to say this build would not be possible without their help.
All looks good but I’m thinking brakes now. There are so many variables, vehicle weight, pad / shoe combo / caliper / drum / piston sizes….. Eek!

It’s important that the brake bias is right and I’m not sure where to go from here. I have Minisport vented disks with 4 pot calipers and Minifins on the rear. The brakes will have to be servo assisted (sorry) but I could do with a proper way of setting the bias. I also prefer a pedal box servo to the remote type. It’s all mega complicated but if anyone can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Pete
 

 

[Petrol]

Double post

Edited by Petrol, 03 December 2017 - 10:39 PM.

[gadget555]

Hi Pete, I'm using one of these to adjust my brake bias when I get on the road, IMG_3389 by Keith Thornburn, on Flickr

[mailman]

Awesome build!

[Retroman]

Pete

  Having now seen the car, its one of the very best and a real credit to you, your workmanship cannot be beaten. Keep up the excellent work....its a rolling shell, you can now start to get excited...

[Petrol]

Update time and some decisions have been made.

 

I bought a windscreen from Minisport which was way too big (about 6mm) so I bought this from another supplier

 

 

Rubber seal on the shell

 

 

Fitted

 

 

I need to borrow a tool to get the insert in.

 

Minisport machined the top of the block to clean it up.  Since everything they have done is wrong I decided to check it

 

 

The distance between the top of the piston and block between 1 & 4 is about 7 thou out

 

This would result in different compression ratio's between No.1 Cylinder and No. 4

Not exactly their finest hour since this is the second block they have tried to get right for me.

I'm waiting for a cam to arrive, when it's here I will check the cam bearings Minisport installed and if they are OK, I will have the block machined straight.

Endless problems they have caused me!!!!!!!

 

 

Gadget555.... Thanks for the info. I have bought the same bias valve. I'm planning on ditching the stock "cylinder" limiting valve and using the Torques instead. I also have the wrong brake cylinders on the back, they are too big. Thanks again Minisport!

 

Some more on this ...... A bias valve only limits the rear braking force once a certain braking pressure is achieved. It does not change the static bias. In other words if the bias valve does not kick in, the bias is set by the Master cylinder & brake cylinder sizes. If its mega slippy, this could cause problems because the bias valve won't kick in.

 

It's all getting a bit techie now but brakes are just as important as acceleration.

 

Other stuff....

 

Windage tray is going in the gearbox

I have ditched the mechanical fuel pump and am going for electric because it's less work for the engine to do. I have bought a Facet pump and plan to fit the MPi shut off switch here

 

 

Thanks for your help and kind comments

 

Pete

[Dutchdave's25]

Hi Pete,

I spot two different types of bezels on the gauges in your dash.

I can swap a half round bezel for your round bezel if you like.

Dash looks good tho, did you use vacuum to get the carbon on?

[GraemeC]

Is the 7 thou difference not down to tolerance stack on the crank, rod and piston?

I dont think you can use the measurement of how far down the bore the pistons sit at top of stroke to determine whether the black has been faced perpendicular to the bore.

It is quite normal for there to be differences across the block in this measurement - thats why you do a dry build to mix and match rods and pistons to minimise it, adjusting crown heights if really necessary.

[Petrol]

Hi Pete,

I spot two different types of bezels on the gauges in your dash.

I can swap a half round bezel for your round bezel if you like.

Dash looks good tho, did you use vacuum to get the carbon on?

 

Why don't they fit half round bezels on brand new gauges? The bezel on the "proper" gauge isn't perfect. I will PM you a pic and am happy to swap.

I didn't vacuum the carbon wrapping but stirr the resin very carefully to try to prevent bubbles.

Is the 7 thou difference not down to tolerance stack on the crank, rod and piston?

I dont think you can use the measurement of how far down the bore the pistons sit at top of stroke to determine whether the black has been faced perpendicular to the bore.

It is quite normal for there to be differences across the block in this measurement - thats why you do a dry build to mix and match rods and pistons to minimise it, adjusting crown heights if really necessary.

 

Thanks for the heads up and I understand what you are saying. I doubt there is any difference in the pistons as modern mass produced machined components are very accurate.

I will check across the block again with pistons 2&3 at TDC. Can't say I'm confident though because I had the top of the head cleaned up - minimal skim whilst they did't touch the face of the head. And yes I checked it with a straight edge and feeler gauge.

 

 

Then checked across the head with a micrometer

 

 

Guess what? Similar taper..... I'm not confident

 

At the end of the day the volume above each piston with respect to the block has to be the same. If it's not, something is wrong.
I'm confident that the replacement crank has been ground correctly. Minisport got someone in to re calibrate their grinding machine. I can tell if a crank is a thou out by feel, had that on one of my Nissans.

 

 

Again thanks for the heads up, it's very much appreciated and I will check it again

 

I made this bracket out of stainless for the fuel pump. It's going on the rear subby

 

 

Unions fitted with wellseal to seal the threads

 

 

 

I have also ordered a Facet fuel filter. Pipe sizes are a big problem because the hard pipes on Mini's are small - 6mm. The fuel filter has an 8mm tail, gonna have to get my thinking cap on!

 

 

More info on brake bias valves here

 

General stuff - good theory

 

http://www.stoptech....rtioning-valves

 

Mini specific,

 

http://www.calverst....ias-adjustment/

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Pete

 

 

[Retroman]

Try CBS, car builder solutions they are good for all sorts, incl different tails etc

 

https://www.carbuild...lutions.com/uk/

[Petrol]

Try CBS, car builder solutions they are good for all sorts, incl different tails etc

 

https://www.carbuild...lutions.com/uk/

 

Thanks for the link. They have loads of stuff there that will help on this build.

 

 

I drilled and tapped the pedal box for the fuel cut off switch and starter solenoind. Better than making more brackets. Less is best and all that

 

 

Loom wrapping for the fuel cut off switch

 

 

I have ordered a savage switch for the fuel pump but am runing out of room in the dash / console. I will have to shoehorn it into the console

 

 

Too many relays and switches really.... 13 relays now and the wiring is getting a bit out of control..... I hope that's it

 

 

It's all very time consuming. All day to fit some bits and do some wiring mods. I want it right though.

 

Windage tray has arrived

 

 

Pete

[gadget555]

I feel your pain with the switches and relays, I'm trying to get away from the bowl of spaghetti wiring that I have, by tidying it up as I find a final place for where things are going to fit in and clear others. Keep up the good work.

[Petrol]

Is the 7 thou difference not down to tolerance stack on the crank, rod and piston?

I dont think you can use the measurement of how far down the bore the pistons sit at top of stroke to determine whether the black has been faced perpendicular to the bore.

It is quite normal for there to be differences across the block in this measurement - thats why you do a dry build to mix and match rods and pistons to minimise it, adjusting crown heights if really necessary.

 

Thanks again for your post. I've checked across the block again and I think there is a bit of everything adding up to different piston to block heights. I'm going to swap the pistons over then get the block decked so the top of the pistons are as close to flush as I can get them.

 

 

Pushrods were de nibbed by Phil, I've polished them up

 

 

 

Isky tappet, these are the dogs

 

 

Got them from here

 

http://www.retromini...products_id=170

 

Waiting for more parts now.

 

Pete

[GraemeC]

Is the 7 thou difference not down to tolerance stack on the crank, rod and piston?I dont think you can use the measurement of how far down the bore the pistons sit at top of stroke to determine whether the black has been faced perpendicular to the bore.It is quite normal for there to be differences across the block in this measurement - thats why you do a dry build to mix and match rods and pistons to minimise it, adjusting crown heights if really necessary.

 Thanks again for your post. I've checked across the block again and I think there is a bit of everything adding up to different piston to block heights. I'm going to swap the pistons over then get the block decked so the top of the pistons are as close to flush as I can get them.

Yep - mix and match to get them as near as you can to being the same height at the top of stroke, you can normally get them within a few thou of each other. If they're flat top pistons you can skim the tops, but for dished ones it'll affect the volume.

Edited by GraemeC, 11 December 2017 - 09:16 PM.