524 replies to this topic

[Vinay-RS]

Graeme, are those original brackets? I will replicate that lower support plate and get some nuts welded on. That seems like the best plan. 

[GraemeC]

They are.  I knew I had one, but was surprised when I pulled three of the shelf!
As you can see they've all been bent to suit over the years - if I was making one I'd make it like the middle one and then bend once in situ.

[Vinay-RS]

Got the CV joint shaft turned down, but it's still 0.05 mm too thick to clear the bearing Going to ask my friend if he can turn it down by another 0.1 mm.

 

In the meantime, I took a couple of minutes and got everything torqued up properly.

 

Now I need to make a DIY brake bleeding kit based on the youtube videos. 

[Vinay-RS]

CV joint fixed and slots in correctly past the bearing :) 

 

[Vinay-RS]

Not much of an update. Decided to take a holiday and visit my folks. This meant that the Mini needed to be parked up for a few weeks. 

 

I did order a couple of Mini manuals from eBay and one of them arrived inside of a week (and the day before I was to fly out), which I thought was pretty impressive.

 

I've heard that it is a pretty good book and it seems to be quite detailed. Also, it is basically brand new, which is quite nice. 

 

A friend suggested a parkade that offered a long-term parking option, so I visited them and secured a space. Another friend had suggested that a double bed sheet would fit over a Mini, this turned out to be untrue, as it only covered the top half of the car. Anyway, covered the top half with it and then put on the second cover too. 

 

Hoping to do the small mods that I wanted to do, when I get back.

[Vinay-RS]

I just bought a close ratio GTS gearbox :) The actual gearbox casing is in better shape than the one on my car and while it looks like it might need some of the synchros replaced, those are the same as on any other 70s Mini gearbox. I asked a friend to inspect it for me and I'm going to ask a Mini expert to have a look at it and tell me what needs to be replaced and what is good to do to it before fitting. 

 

In other news, it looks like both metal bending companies I checked with can't make the brackets. I will at least get them laser cut and then I suppose I can use a bit of heat and try and bend them into the correct shape. 

[Vinay-RS]

Oh and my second eBay workshop manual arrived. So now I've got Haynes, Intereurope and Autodata manuals for this car. I've seen that they each explain different things with slightly different levels of detail. Hopefully, by using all 3, I'll have enough information to tackle the different jobs. 

[Jared Mk3]

Nice buy on that gearbox 

[Vinay-RS]

Nice buy on that gearbox 

Thanks man :) It'll definitely get a proper rebuild since it's out of a car. I figure, pulling the engine to do that work will allow for the front subframe to be repainted and for the engine bay to get some attention too. 

[GraemeC]

I could be tempted to sell one of the front brackets, but it would need to be a good offer.
The rear one would be easy enough to bend up in a vice.

[Vinay-RS]

I could be tempted to sell one of the front brackets, but it would need to be a good offer.
The rear one would be easy enough to bend up in a vice.

That would be awesome! I'm going to speak to our workshop on Monday and see if they have any ideas. They're pretty good at making some complex parts, the main thing would be if they have the time to tackle the job. 

[Vinay-RS]

So, there hasn't been an update for a while as I'm away and the Mini is parked up in Long-term storage. 

 

A friend where I am has a 3D printer and we decided to print the wheel centre cap. 

 

 

I think it looks great in fluorescent green... Maybe I'll paint the wheels in the same colour. 

Joking aside, I'll get some sandpaper, silver paint and see how it looks once that is done. 

[Vinay-RS]

Another small update. I had these made while I was away. Marked the bend lines and I'll be getting them bent tomorrow. 

 

[Vinay-RS]

Bent into shape. Now to drill holes in the support plate for rivets, weld on some captive nuts and then paint in black. 

 

[johnR]

Nice fabrication