172 replies to this topic

[MiniCarJack]

Had an early start this morning, no doubt I woke up a few of the neighbours when I fired up the car at 6am to head along to Goodwood for the Breakfast Club! Really enjoyed spending a Sunday morning in a great setting with loads of interesting cars, including multiple other Minis. The coffee and bacon rolls were a bit pricey, but that's to be expected I suppose, and in fairness it's a fantastic free event so I can't really complain!

 

Being amongst the first cars to arrive after gates opened, I was fortunate enough to be ushered into one of the paddock sheds which made for some great photos.

 

Below are some of my car, but I took plenty of others which can be viewed in full hi-res on my Flickr album here: https://www.flickr.c...th/52237894149/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MiniCarJack]

Well, that was an unexpected turn of events!

 

I sold my 2006 JCW on Friday afternoon, so I made my way to the garage to collect the Mk1 to use as a runabout while hunting for a new daily. Of course, it decided on the way home that this would be the perfect time to lose compression on cylinder 4, spit out some coolant, and start to get a little hot...

 

 

All signs pointed to head gasket failure, so rather than risk driving the rest of the way home, I opted to wait for recovery and got it towed instead. Better safe than sorry!

 

I got started on Saturday morning - the bonnet was removed so I could crack on with draining fluids and unbolting various gubbins to remove the head.

 

 

Carbs were first up, I got to work disconnecting the fuel line along with the choke & throttle cables after getting the rocker cover out of the way.

 

 

I opted to remove them separately from the manifold, this proved to be much easier than trying to take the entire inlet assembly off in one go as I've done previously.

 

 

Slowly but surely, my parking space started to look like a bit of a junkyard  

 

 

Once the fluids were drained, it wasn't much longer before the rocker assembly, pushrods and cylinder head were removed.

 

 

Lo and behold, suspicions were well and truly confirmed - the gasket had completely gone between cylinders 3 and 4. Oh dear!

 

 

All of the residue and gunk was cleaned up, and a new Payen BK450 gasket was fitted ready for everything to go back together. It was nice to see that the bores were in good condition with the cross hatch marks still visible, and I was also able to verify that the head was very much of the big valve variety!

 

 

Just like they say in the manuals, "refitting is simply the reverse of removal", and just like magic it's now looking like a complete engine again...

 

 

After torquing the head down and topping off the fluids with fresh oil & coolant, it fired right up and sounded lovely! It was run up to temperature and thoroughly checked for leaks, before the carbs were checked for balance and mixture. It turns out they were pretty much spot on, and I suspect that the head gasket must've been on its way out for some time before finally blowing on Friday - I've been struggling with erratic idle and part throttle driveability for a little while, but this has now been completely cured.

 

A good 50 miles of gentle motorway driving allowed everything to bed in, after which the head was checked and retorqued as required. A quick check of the plugs verified a good fuel mixture, and the power delivery is now lovely and smooth right through the rev range, so everything is now working as expected.

 

 

These cars sure know when to pick their moments, but thanks to some decent weather and some helpful friends offering me gasket sets and tools to borrow, it wasn't too much hassle to fix in the end. The joys of classic Mini ownership!

[MiniCarJack]

I took the mini out for what might be its last major public appearance this year, with an enjoyable trip to Goodwood Revival yesterday. Similarly to last year I parked in the pre-'66 area with other lovely classics, not far from a couple of Radfords.

 

This was particularly special as my dad is currently visiting from New Zealand, and it's the first time I've seen him in a few years thanks to the pandemic, so it was fantastic to bring him and my brother along in the classic to enjoy some vintage racing and everything else that the Revival has to offer.

 

This also marks a year since I first got the car back on the road with the replacement engine!

 

 

 

 

The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that the GB Car Rally badge has been refitted to the centre of the grille, which has some sentimental value and looks right at home on the front of the car.

 

I do hope to get out and about for a drive at least a couple more times before the weather takes a real turn for the worse, but as we inevitably head toward those colder winter months, I'm starting to think about what jobs I might consider tackling during the Mini's hibernation period.

 

I quite fancy smartening up the interior with a full carpet set and potentially getting the seats retrimmed, and I'll likely also look to get the wheels, roof rack and spare grille all blasted and powdercoated, with some fresh tyres fitted afterwards. All of this naturally requires funding so it may take some time, but with winter coming, at least I'll be able to have the car off the road for a while if needed.

[johnR]

looking great! A roofrack is on my wishlist - I imagine it makes the car easier to find in carparks?

[MiniCarJack]

looking great! A roofrack is on my wishlist - I imagine it makes the car easier to find in carparks?

 

The fully laden roof rack definitely makes the car easier to spot!

[MiniCarJack]

It's been a busy month, so I've still not had the car out or done any tinkering since Goodwood. I'm hoping to get out for a local meet this Wednesday, as no doubt it'll be one of my last opportunities to enjoy the car in reasonable weather and on salt-free roads.

 

That said, I'm sure I'll still be spending plenty of time working on the car over the cooler months. In addition to the list of jobs I've come up with in the previous post, I've also acquired this rather lovely KAD internal linkage kit with the fancy lift-collar reverse lockout mechanism.

 

 

 

 

It's ideal for my application as it's already had custom bracketry made up for a Mk1 floorpan, and will fit to my rod change box neatly through the existing magic wand hole. It even came with the appropriate magic wand gaiter and surround, so I should have everything I need to bolt it straight in.

 

I will repaint the blue bracket into Almond Green to match the rest of the car, and also need to make up a blanking plate for the soon-to-be-defunct remote hole, which should make for a rather tidy installation I hope. This is how it looked in the last car it was fitted to, and it's making me think twice about fitting a full carpet set now  

 

[MiniCarJack]

The latest edition of Mini Magazine got released today, so naturally I had to grab a few copies off the shelf as the Mk1 has been included as a featured car 

 

 

I also ordered a framed collage of prints from the photographer who did the shoot for the magazine, which arrived yesterday evening. Great timing for the release of the magazine!

 

[MiniCarJack]

The magazine has posted a few of the digital photos on Facebook which look great, I've shared them below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've not had a chance to do a lot with the car over the past month, partly due to an impromptu work trip to Canada. While I was there I got the chance to visit Steveston Motor Co - they hooked me up with some more stickers to add to the collection on the Mk1's back windows, and I also saw their Spectre 'Type 10' in the flesh which was an incredible thing to behold (even if a bit dusty!).

 

 

 

 

And now I'm back in the UK, here are some of their stickers fitted to the car last weekend! I took the opportunity to fire up the engine and run it up to temperature to keep things ticking along, reassuringly it started and ran with no trouble.

 

 

[stuart bowes]

Ooo that wooden dash is a nice thing

[MiniCarJack]

I braved the cold and salty roads yesterday, by bringing the mini along to my friends' workshop at TC Composites & Autocare. The mission for the day was to fit the new KAD internal gear linkage I bought a while ago - I'm pleased to say this mission was a success!
 

 
On paper it was a simple job, but a lot of time and care was taken to make it a tidy installation. This included painting up most of the bracketry in Almond Green to match the car, and we also made a custom blanking plate to cover the old hole for the undermounted gear linkage. Here are the various bits just in the oven to dry after a first coat of paint...
 

 
After removal of the old standard rod change mechanism, the new kit was all trial fitted then mounted in the car, making use of the original magic wand hole at the front to make its way through to the gearbox. This necessitated some slight modification to the handbrake lever bracket and some fettling to ensure it cleared the gear selector.
 
Also because the KAD kit is made for later cars with the square tunnel floorpan, this wasn't quite a standard installation - a Mk3 door hinge was used on the passenger side so that the main bracket could be fixed to the round tunnel at the correct angle, and the bracket itself has been modified to make use of the original floor starter hole to mount to the drivers' side - a metal piece from an engine steady bush was cut down to use a spacer here.
 

 
Here's the unfinished cover plate being tried for size, this was eventually smoothed out, painted satin black, and finished off with a nice rubber seal edge.
 

 
I didn't get any other photos of the fitment, but here is the finished result after driving the car back and parking it up in its tent, by which time it was quite dark so apologies for the poor lighting! I do want to fit a different gear knob, as I'm not a massive fan of the KAD ball. Unfortunately I can't just swap my old Specialist Components one back on because the standard Mini thread is different, but I might look into either getting the knob modified, or maybe getting an adapter made up. Anyway, overall I'm happy with the outcome, I now have much more space around my exhaust and the gear selection feels great - I'm a big fan of the lift-collar reverse lockout too.
 

[MiniCarJack]

After a couple of months rest, out of hibernation she comes!

 

 

Roof rack off, I gave the bodywork a much needed bath to clear away the accumulated dust and general grime. Despite the gloomy weather, the paintwork looked pretty good once I wheeled the car further out onto the driveway.

 

 

Thanks to the cold weather and the passage of time, the battery just didn't have enough juice to fire up the engine to begin with. Fortunately my MINI Clubman was feeling generous enough to donate some volts to the little Mk1, so before long (and with the help of a little deodorant in the inlet ) it burst into life. A short road test followed, then we ventured along to a well-timed local Mini meet to really stretch the car's legs and dust off the cobwebs.

 

 

This marked the second outing since the KAD internal gear linkage found its home in the car, which is still working nicely and gives a racer vibe to the interior. The gear knob still wants swapping out, but that's a small detail for another day.

 

 

Without a roof rack, the exterior has also taken on a slightly sportier look (and the car does feel a little faster too!). While the bare 'S' steelies match that aesthetic in kind, what's abundantly clear from today's outing is that they are in dire need of a refurb. They're less white and more rusty orange these days...

 

 

The obvious answer would be to either repaint or powdercoat them in the same creamy white as before (not OEW!), but I have a couple of other ideas I'm playing around with at the moment... Watch this space! For now, at least the car is back in action and will hopefully be seeing the light of day much more over the coming weeks and months.

 

[MiniCarJack]

Been out for a couple more local meets, starting with Port Solent Car Meet at the end of Feb, and more recently with the local Midweek Minis club in Portsmouth last Sunday. It's nice to be getting the car out regularly again, even if only for the odd drive once a week or two.

 

 

 

 

I was at a loose end today so, on a whim, decided I'd attempt to clean up the tatty spare Morris grille that I picked up from eBay last year. Here's how it started...

 

 

After attacking it with a cordless drill and various wire wheel attachments, it ended up looking like this. Excuse the very green tinge to the remaining photos, the tent garage doesn't offer the best lighting  

 

 

Next step was a couple of coats of rust-inhibiting zinc primer.

 

 

And then on went some colour, of course it had to be glorious Old English White. (Actually, it's Halfords' version of Rover Arum White, which I've previously discovered to be a near-perfect match for OEW!).

 

 

Finished off with some clear lacquer, here it is next to the grille from the car...

 

 

So of course I had to see how it looked in situ!

 

 

It's far from perfect, but considering the condition of the grille before I started, I'm pretty happy with the result! This was also good practice ahead of repainting the wheels, which will be receiving similar treatment in the next couple of weeks.

 

A few of the grille slats were damaged from rusting through, so I tactically covered this up with an AA badge - I'm planning to restore the Great British Car Rally badge so that'll stay off the car for the time being. When I next get the chance, I'll have to get the car out into daylight for a better look, so I can decide whether I'll stay with the OEW grille or go back to the chrome one.

[MiniCarJack]

Wheeled the Mini out to get a better look at the fitted grille today, which seems to suit the car rather well. I then refitted the roof rack to get an idea of how the overall look comes together. The bare roof look has grown on me lately, so I'm a little torn as to which I prefer... but the rack certainly does help to personalise the car and has become a part of its character by this point!

 

 

[wingnut]

I have to say the roof rack does suit it

[timmy850]

The best part is you can have it both ways and easily install/remove as you wish