21 replies to this topic

[Insane-Monkey]

Small Update -


Back up to the mini's yesterday to see if we could get it to run. We changed the coil / plugs / leads for new to give us a better start. Engine is cranking over but no spark at all. Coil is getting warm.

Started like this with mr haynes -



Next step is multi meter time. Tested all wiring ok, Fuse box/fuses. We removed the dash so we could chase all the wiring ( what a mess it was to! )





This is hows its set up at the moment -




And a cheeky one of the other mini

Edited by Insane-Monkey, 31 March 2013 - 08:53 AM.

[Insane-Monkey]

Now the above threads fix lol....

Today we are going to compression test, Try and find out why she wont spark. Any hints would be apreciated ;)

[lsto]

If she has no spark then it wont fire regardless of compression mate. Have you checked the points, condenser, rotor arm and dizzy cap? I only say this because I see you have changed the leads and coil etc. Also if the coil is getting warm its producing a voltage so thats usually a good sign.
If I were you I'd check the internals of the distributor and work from there, if they aint been touched then its prob full of spiders webs and other nastiness lol.
Let us know how you get on, I'll be watching your feed with interest.

Good luck
Liam

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

This Mini looks like a good project mate, has a lot of potential. You have made it clear that you dont know a lot about Minis, the first thing you need to realise is that this Mini needs a LOT of welding, you can see that just from the photos of the exterior, before you even come to the extra corrosion which the oversills will have caused.

It may be worth assessing now whether you want a project with so much welding, since it's gonna be a lot of work, before taking it apart any further, because selling it as a project in its current state should bring you a little more money for it.

I think its gonna need sills and the floors are going to be quite knackered (especially at the front) for a start, and then the flitch panels are almost certainly going to be shot (Behind the fiberglass dashboard which you have there will be two black fresh air vent holes, i think these will be particularly rusty) And then the other end of the sills leading into the rear bin, which you have photographed. This is very structural to the shell because its where the rear subframe mounts, and so you need to assess this and see if you have the ability to weld panels in these places first.

Don't hesitate to ask questions in the other parts of the forum and in here, because you will get answers, it's great for that here.

On the other hand, I dont think its un-doable by any means! It isn't going to be a walk in the park but we've all seen far worse! so dont be daunted by some comments that you may come across

Keep us updated with more photos and good luck, I'll be following

Edited by Mini-Mad-Craig, 31 March 2013 - 02:42 PM.

[luke.]

i have been playing with it today and the engine works ok. it misfired a few times but it stared. is there any thing we need to do before we strip the engine out and start work on the body?

[lsto]

Write a to do list as your going along, seems silly but I kept noticing things when I stripped mine and kept thinking 'I'll do that...' only you forget and its not until your trying to put things together you find them again lol. Other than that crack on. As I was taking my engine out I took photos of where the wires plugged in on my phone and put labels on each wire, don't know if that will help but it came in useful for me.

Good luck

[Insane-Monkey]

Thanks for your replys guys.

The reason the mini didnt fire was apparently that we had the leads on wrong and the starter solinoid weas broken. The engine has now been fired up and ran for a few minutes, But unfortunaly myself or luke wasnt there at the time.

Now its ran we plan to completly strip it so we can see exactly the state of the shell. Wasting our time isnt a problem and welding wont matter as we have all the time in the world lol.... I can apreciate it will need a fair bit of welding, But if its able to be saved then we wil save it :) It's also a good project :)

We realy apreciate all the comments in this thread, even if its negative or to simply tell us we have made a mistake :) Our aim is to simply try our best to get this back to its former glory ( for its owner ) and enjoy the rebuild.