140 replies to this topic

[buddylove]

Time to shake the dust off this thread...

 

 

A few months ago, I paid for interior that I found in the UK.  DHL and UPS wanted close to $2500 to ship it, but Chris offered space in his LT, so I had them shipped to Belgium.  As soon as he gets everything squared away, they will be here, but as there is still some work to do on the mechanical side for the Mini, there is no rush.

 

The interior is non-standard, but I wanted something more comfortable than the standard interior, as the standard interior is not comfortable for longer trips.  Also, the Blue Mini is going to be a our family hauler for Mini related events, where the Clubman is going to be more race focused.  

 

Brief description from the sellers ad, as well as a few photos:

 

The trim includes:

2 superb Escort RS S2 turbo recaro front seats

1 late Cooper MPi rear seat base

Mk 1 door cards & fillets to match

Speedo side panels

2 x rear quarter cards & map pocket liners

Rear parcel shelf

Beige Newton Commercial complete carpet set

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also put in an order with MiniSpares to finish up some small issues with the car, to include new braided stainless lines for the front, and new hardline.  I then put an order in with KAD and decided to splurge a little bit on 7.75" 4 pot calipers and a 3/4" rear sway bar.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by buddylove, 10 March 2015 - 08:54 PM.

[buddylove]

As I haven't had a lot of time lately, I have only had a few minutes here and there to troubleshoot the Mini not starting.

 

I have confirmed that it has:

 

Fuel (can hear fuel pump, and the fuel filter is full in the engine bay)

Air (Choke is working just fine)

Spark (Confirmed that the spark plugs are sparking)

 

The engine catches, but fails to start.  At this point it seems like timing, maybe it jumped a tooth for some reason?  Anyone else have any ideas?  I even tried a little starter fluid, but still no go, other than lots of coughing.

[timmy850]

Did you have the distributor out? It might be 180 degrees out or the leads might be in the wrong order. Is the battery fully charged up as well?

[Midas Mk1]

You've probably realised by now, but the callipers should have the bleed nipple at the top not bottom, hence why they were not bleeding and not working properly.

[megamini_jb]

Any updates?

[buddylove]

You've probably realised by now, but the callipers should have the bleed nipple at the top not bottom, hence why they were not bleeding and not working properly.

 

Yes, I did.  Ended up pull those calipers anyways and going with new ones.  Thanks for the heads up though!

[buddylove]

Any updates?

 

Yes, about to update with a couple.  Missed one update as well.  Thanks for checking in. :)

[buddylove]

6/8/15

 

So... I knew it would be something simple...

Worked on it at Chuck's last Saturday. I placed the spark plugs in the in the 1 3 4 2 order, but I had done it clockwise, not counter clockwise.

Thanks to Chuck for pointing that out, the Mini was running shortly after that. I still need to install the air cleaner and then we need to check to see if its idling / running right. 

We also installed the new front brake hard line and new braided brake hoses. We also removed the vented 7.5 discs and re-installed the solid 7.5 discs. They are bit old, but can be run next season and then I will replace them with new ones. The KAD 7.5 calipers were also installed, but I didn't take any photos.

We still need to bleed the whole system, so I will get photos of the brake components then.

Next on the list:

KAD Rear Swaybar
KAD Rear Camber/Toe Brackets
Grill Buttons

[buddylove]

Today:

 

Completed more work today.

 

We bled the whole system and ended up with a firm pedal, only a couple of leaks to tighten up and a replacement of a c-clip.

 

 

The left side rear radius arm cover, subframe bolts (to put anti-seize on), and bracket came off with no issue.  KAD camber / toe bracket was able to be installed with no issue.

 

 

However, the right rear radius cover's screws had rusted themselves to the cover.

 

 

After Chuck attempted to drill them out with no luck, he took a Dremel to it and cut the heads off.  Hopefully Gunnar can extract the rest of the screw when I take the car to him later this summer.

 

 

Still to do:

KAD Swaybar

Grill Buttons

Check for proper running

 

Need to look into:

 

Adjustable brake bias

   Not happy with how far the pedal travels until it firms up.  I have already upgraded the rear wheel cylinders to be the correct ones for front disc brakes.  Does an adjustable brake bias help with brake pedal travel at all?

[buddylove]

My son's Mini showed up today.  It is a Leeway Mini Cooper Pedal Car, or something along those lines.  I have been looking for one for almost two years and had just mentioned to my wife that one would make an awesome Christmas gift.

 

The car is in better shape than I thought, most of them have split or warped severely because of being plastic bodied.  The plan is to get it restored and have it for my son to pedal around in at home and also at the British car shows we go to in my Mini.

 

He is about 8 inches too short to reach the pedals right now, but hopefully we can give it to him on his 2nd Birthday, and he will be able to use it then.

 

 

 

 

[buddylove]

My SSR Formula Mesh wheels showed up from Japan.  I am pretty sure the ad originally stated that they were 10x6, but when I go back and look at it, it no longer states that.  I measured them and they came out to 10x5.5.  My current wheels, which I will run part of the year are 10x5.  Since both wheels are my favorite wheels for Mini's, I will run one set to some shows and then another set to other shows.  Since this set is only .5" wider than the other one, it will actually work out better and not change the look of the car too much.

 

The SSR Formula Mesh wheels are a 3 pc wheel, and currently the faces are mounted to the outside of the lip.  I am going to do a test fit and see how fitment is, but I might move the face inside the lip instead.  The plan is to clean up the lips, re-do the centers, and find new wheel bolts / nuts as the current ones are pretty corroded.  Overall, I am pretty happy with them, and they are rare wheels to begin with, kind of like my original Cosmic MK2s.

 

 

 

 

I am also glad that they came with the original center caps, as I hate running wheels without center caps.

[buddylove]

Used the Clubman for some test fitting.  I am going to definitely have to figure out some lug nuts for it.  I should be able to move the centers to the inside.  I'll know more once I take it apart.  I also hope that I will have enough clearance on the front for these to fit over the KAD 4 pots.

 

 

[timmy850]

Awesome wheels!

Edited by timmy850, 27 June 2015 - 09:01 AM.

[buddylove]

Thanks! They will look better on the blue car.

[The Principal]

When you have set the Camber and Toe its useful to mark the outer locking square washer with a white marker in vertical and horizontal planes this will show and movement.