83 replies to this topic

[Teapot]

@mattbeddow: Much appreciated. Huey deserves something half decent to look at under his bonnet, don't you think?
Unfortunately the wiring loom, although fairly new and working ok, looks like the cave of cobwebs in Lord of the Rings. I hope to hide it with black wrap.

[richw911]

Love your pick up!

[steven]

such a nice pick up !

[mattbeddow]

very nice indeed :)

[Teapot]

Getting impatient now. Dougie has so little free time. Took a sneaky look on Google Earth at the rolling road garage Huey will be going to asap. Do you think the guy knows anything about minis? Taken in 2009, mind ...

[Teapot]

Mmm ... more bling, although it will be party hidden by the engine steady bracket


Did I get the right vacuum unit? Looks ok


Exploded view of a dizzy looks like a Krypton Factor challenge


Back in place with the new vacuum unit. Since the old diaphragm wasn't working,
with all the other new bits the timing will be all over the place to start with

Edited by Teapot, 06 January 2013 - 09:48 AM.

[Teapot]

The cleaning corner ... a suitable job if you're in jail
for 10 years with plenty of time and nothing else to do


Tomorrow's little cleaning & painting tasks


Pot joints popped back on


Tired old front offside doughnut is squished even without the engine's weight ...


... and so with its opposite number will be replaced

[Teapot]

For our next trick we need one of these compressor jobbies ...


Dougie's home-made spanner to fit a hilo nut, and a toothpick. Actually it's made from welding wire and is used
to hook rubber gaiters over metal as on this knuckle joint


Peering through the grot, we can see the bottom retaining pin freed


The top bolt comes out


You probably know the rest, but today's tip is: if you have to dispense with the protective blanket
over the paintwork, remember to remove all clothing with buttons, zips or other sharp things.
Remember to close the garage door first


Now, which do you think is the knackered one?
*Edit* I've just seen this http://www.theminifo...-minispareswhy/ .
I got the new cones from Minispares and they have a blue dot in them. I can't remember the name on them but could the upside down word rubber (see pic) be part of Avon Rubber?

Edited by Teapot, 12 January 2013 - 10:26 AM.

[Teapot]

Clean hi-lo and knuckle joint go back in. The hi-los are wound right down to start with to compensate
for the extra height of the new rubber cones. Even without the weight of the engine the initial gap
between the top of the front wheels and the arches is about 4 inches. (The Gaz shock absorber on this side,
which is about 8 years old, has seized on its mountings at both ends. Will get Spax next time)


With the new doughnut in place, out comes the compressor tool; but on the other side, the compressor won't engage
because the doughnut is off-centre


Luckily the cone has shrunk enough to attack it from the bottom end. Next (right) a strangely shaped knuckle joint is replaced


The hilo seems misaligned on the doughnut, which shows wear off-centre. How long has it been like that? NB: Put a smear of rubber grease around the metal rim of the doughnut to prevent electrolysis from contact with the aluminium hi-lo



All back in and centred up

Edited by Teapot, 06 January 2013 - 08:25 PM.

[Tupers]

Wow he's getting the full treatment.

You wont be disappointed with Tipton they've had Matts race Metro on the rollers a few times now and done a few other cars for us as well. They're very good with A-series cars and race a few them selfs.

[Teapot]

Meanwhile, increasing numbers of painted bits are hanging from the rafters in the vain hope of
drying in less than a week in this damp weather. Gold a bit OTT? Surely not


Aluminium spray finish for the rocker cover


While cleaning the horn it occurs to me that some parts of Huey are original, and so likely to be
a bit tired. This little chap has sat behind successive grilles enduring crud from the engine and
spray from the weather for 31 years


Next for a polish will be the inlet manifold. The engine goes back in
tomorrow. Probably ...

[Teapot]

Wow he's getting the full treatment.

You wont be disappointed with Tipton they've had Matts race Metro on the rollers a few times now and done a few other cars for us as well. They're very good with A-series cars and race a few them selfs.

Cheers for that. Tipton are the only people round here Dougie will trust with a mini so I'm looking forward to some serious improvements. When that's done can you please tidy up the awful loom if I bring some chocolate biscuits?

[Teapot]

... or maybe not. We decided to wait a day or two for parts that will be more easily fitted beforehand.
However, Dougie has persuaded the fan not to foul either the timing cover breather or the radiator
by using the original thin spacer with slightly longer bolts and washers between the pulley and the fan.
Please don't try this at home. We take full responsibility for flying bits of shattered fan, belt, rad,
shroud and pulley. But we're Dougie is quietly confident.


Meantime, a little more bling. Dougie has half an hour for lunch at work, so he devotes 20 minutes of it to polishing
and 10 to eating. You can see where he stopped for his sandwich. I'd say that's worth a New Year's honour.


Hopefully it will all look quite nice with a coat of this stuff

[malletts mallett]

When they say that the meek shall inherit the earth, does that apply here when you shuffle off your mortal coil? I promise I'll look after him :)

[Teapot]

@malletts mallett: Sorry son, after all this work I'm taking him with me through them pearly gates.
Or the other way, in which case I'll have to change the thermostat.
And there's nothing wrong with his coil AFAIK

Edited by Teapot, 08 January 2013 - 03:47 PM.