409 replies to this topic

[Archived4]

Sounds like a rough neighbourhood! And any pics of your workstation? I'm gonna build one soon and need inspiration!

[1984mini25]

I wouldn't say it was a bad neighbourhood, just unfortunately a few seam to be far to up themselves or have such boring lives they have stick there nose in other peoples. That or someone sees or hears something and instantly assume something and then start gossiping about it. very much a case of it's not what they actually know, but what they think they know being the problem.

 

As for my work bench witch used to be in the shed to begin with started off as an old 5 foot kitchen worktop. 4 old fence posts used for legs attached with some simple brackets, witch were kept when the fence was replaced a few years back, witch gave much amusement to the guys doing it not quite understanding why I'd want to keep 'rotten' 4 foot posts. But then the only part of them that were rotter was the foot that was in the ground, plus I could then chop them down to exactly the height I liked. 2 lengths of 1.5" angle iron that I used for a shelf with some brackets welded to each end to attach to the legs and a left over pallet provided the slats. With everything apart from he worktop having been given a coat of red oxide primer. I have since added 2 extra pieces across each pair of legs to not only help raise it slightly, but also so I could then attach some large castors (front two are locking) to making moving it a lot easier.

 

Previously I just used to use an old foldable workmate, either in the garage or if the weather was nice in the garden instead.  I got round the lack of not having anything permanent to mount a small vice to by mounting it to a square scrap of thick ply and then screwing a length of 40x40 timber to the bottom. Witch could then be clamped in the jaws of the work mate and if needed held even more firmly with a pair of large g clamps.

[1984mini25]

Not done much to the mini recently, as I've been working on an Mgb for the past week.

 

Although I have given it a much needed wash, as I had to pop off to one of the villages over the far side of mk during the week to pick up some steel offcuts. Witch did mean driving down a load of wet, muddy and quite bumpy b roads, annoyingly it does look cleaner in the pics.

 

 

 

 

And I replaced the 3 year old driving/fog lamps that the surrounds had pretty much disintegrated on and made up of filler and duct tape.

 

Old ones, the less rusty one looks good but is made up of mostly p40.

 

 

 

 

And the new with the swapped over led bulbs from the old ones. Hopefully these ones will last a bit longer being all plastic.

 

 

 

Edited by 1984mini25, 08 December 2013 - 08:30 PM.

[Archived4]

Nice work!

[1984mini25]

After seeing a few others try it, I thought I also try replacing the bulbs in the dials, interior light (the standard blub tended to get quite hot) and the number plate for led versions. Replacing the ones In the dials proved to be a bit of a pain, in that I had to completely remove the dials from the car and then dismantle to put the bulbs in. Easier said than done being as my plastic dial surround is held in place with cable ties as the tads for the original clips have long sine worn/broke. Also I didn't realise that the wiring of my fake alarm led across the permanent live and switched live of the radio (no earth needed) would mean that if the clocks were disconnected with the key out of the ignition, that the radio would spark into life. But I eventually dismantled everything, fitted the new led bulbs and reassembled everything without breaking anything and for the first time in 8 years of driving the mini, I've actually been able to see and read the dials clearly at night with a nice warm white/blue glow.

 

 

 

And a pic of the boot lamp ones, witch while swapping them over I gave the plastic lenses a good clean and renewed some of the connectors.

 

 

 

I've already ordered another pair of the led 501's for the front sidelights, as my headlamps are looking a little 'yellow' compared to the led bulbs in the fogs. I might also look into replacing some of the other bulbs, like the brake, indicator and reverse bulbs with leds at a later date too.

Edited by 1984mini25, 14 December 2013 - 10:44 PM.

[1984mini25]

After trying out the leds in the dials, interior and fog lights, I'd decided to order a few more and try them in the headlamps.

 

The old yellowish glow from the old sidelights.

 

 

And the new white glow from the new ones.

 

 

 

After having a layer of ice on the inside of the rear screen the other day, I finally admitted defeat at sealing up the old rubber that's at least 8 years old now and bought a new one.

 

Fitting it was easy and simple enough seeing as I've done quite a few over the years.

 

 

Right up until I got halfway through refitting the old trim and this happened.

 

 

luckily I was able to use the mole grips pictured to hold it together to be able to finish refitting the trim, not that fitting the trim is an easy job to do in the first place.

 

 

And with the new seal fitted, witch is also fitting noticeably tighter to the body than the old one was.

 

[1984mini25]

I finally got round to buying a cable and fitting my internal bonnet release, witch turned out to be a little bit more of a pita than I'd anticipated. As personally I would have liked the cable to have been just that bit longer, so as I could have then p clipped it too the inner wing instead.

 

But apart from that, I just enlarged an existing unused hole in the bulkhead to feed the cable through.

 

 

 

And enlarged the hole in the front panel, as I'm not too bothered with the front panel as its due to be replaced, connected up along with the new spring.

 

 

Witch just leaves me with the now redundant hole in the grill.

 

 

But all in the mpi release catch was £2 in the auto jumble at mitp and just need a clean and repaint.

£1 for a bag of kitchen brackets, 2 of witch were used to make the cable bracket for under the dash,

£2.50 for a new bonnet release spring and finally £9 for a new cable from minispares. So £14.50 all in, witch is what you'd probably end up paying for a used kit off eBay anyways.

 

 

Also recently I'd found the rear fog lamp had stopped working, the switch was lighting up and found I was getting power to the feeds in the boot, but none down at the lamp itself. That was until I fiddled with the bulb, only for the fuse to blow, even thought it somehow wasn't getting any power. After messing around changing connectors, fuses and bulbs, with the lamp still not working. I admitted defeat and bought a new/old stock pre-wired fog lamp of eBay for £4.60 posted.

 

 

Witch after testing with a spare rc 7.2v stick pack, worked.

 

 

So one 30 year old non-working fog lamp removed.

 

 

 

 

And the new working replacement.

 

 

 

I will probably though, at a later date remove the original bracket from the old one, clean it up and mount it to the new lamp. As the bracket the new one came with is a bit cheap and flimsy.

Edited by 1984mini25, 20 December 2013 - 03:18 PM.

[1984mini25]

I've since come up with an igneous solution for the now redundant hole left in the grill, I just need an offcut of scrap steel and part of the old bonnet catch. Plus I've also found that the 'universal' fog lamp I'd bought for £4.60 is the same one minispares want £22 for.  

[tomb1992]

clean looking mini you got there. can i ask where you got the dial bulbs from? the blue glow looks awesome    

[1984mini25]

It was these ones...

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

 

I only used 3, just to do the back lights for the dials, as the full beam, oil and battery lamps didn't really need changing. plus if you use an led bulb on the alternator/battery warning light witch the such little current draw from an led, the alternator won't charge, so best left std.

 

Also as I found out (after buying a few more thinking they were dead) is that with leds having a positive and negative, if you plug them in round the wrong way they don't work, but don't blow either. 

[Ben_O]

Some nice improvements there mate.

Looking good now!

 

Ben

[1984mini25]

Thanks,

 

I'm just waiting till after Christmas and I might the led brake bulbs a try, but first I'd like to source a pair of rear light lenses that match. As the replacement on the passenger side that was reversed into, being as it's from a 93, is a shade or two darker red than that of the original pink ish one on the drivers side. witch is something that just bugs me along with finding a kit to re-etch the registration into them.

 

I'm also hoping, as I now have at least 10 mini 25 hubcaps all painted up (and about the same amount as scrap ones) that I'll buy another pair of tyres for the steelies I have making, up a full set and swapping them over from the minilights. Although I'm sure I don't remember 145/70 r12 tyres being that expensive before.

[Ben_O]

can't wait to see it with the original steelies and hub caps.

 

Ben

[1984mini25]

Well I did have a pair on the back over the summer while I tidied up the minilights.

 

 

It's just I don't have a full set of steelies with roadworthy tyres. As the other pair of steelies I have, although the tyres on them look ok, there dated for the first half of 04. And the wheels themselves are a bit corroded around the rim, so they don't hold air for long.

Edited by 1984mini25, 22 December 2013 - 10:32 PM.

[1984mini25]

For the past few months id been having issues with either the clutch or gearbox, with it crunching into 2nd and being stubborn changing from 3rd to 2nd. I'd tried quite a few 'cheap' things first with not much improvement.

 

This morning after pulling up outside a mates to spend another day working on his mgb getting it ready for a new paintjob, I noticed a trickle of something oily coming from the o/s front corner. But as it was pissing it down I didn't do much investigating.

 

That was until I was done for the day and jumped in the mini to find the clutch pedal nice a spongy, with the clutch biting point all over the place. luckily I was able to nurse the mini the 2 miles back home, with every press of the clutch pedal just getting worse with less and less fluid in the system.

 

So it looks like I need a new clutch slave cylinder asap. The only problem being is the one that's just failed was removed from my project mini to replace one that had also failed in the same way. So now not only do I now need 2 clutch slave cylinders, but as the flywheel side of the engine/subframe has probably been coved in leaking clutch fluid it would have also stripped off all the paint with it.

 

I did also buy some led brake light bulbs to try, I'll post up some picks at a later date to show just how disappointed I was with them...