78 replies to this topic

[catch_me]

Thought I'd start a build thread for the '78 pickup we bought over here in the US. Still working on the detail to pick it up, as its sitting in a garage in New York City where it has been for the last 6-8 years, but it is a really promising project. The body has supposedly been restored completely by a shop recommended by Mini Mania over here in the US, so I should be starting with a good shell. The part of the project that is to me the best is the supercharged TwinCam engine that was built over at Specialist Components. It has never been run (except if it was test run by SC) but should be completely ready to after the wiring is finished. I will get the full specs once we pick it up in a few weeks, but it has full KAD brakes, a Zeemax body kit that is supposedly fitted and painted to match the truck, all new seals and glass, the original interior, superlites, the previous owner put quite a bit into it before losing interest. Here are some pictures of it, will get some better ones once we collect it!

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[KTS]

oh my word that sounds fun. what a find !!!

 

following this one!!

[1293gt]

Me too!

Very nice.

[catch_me]

Picked it up yesterday off Long Island in New York... looks to be in really good shape as described, can’t wait to get started on getting it into a driving state! I will post pictures and a full parts list of it when we get home this week.

[catch_me]

Picked it up yesterday off Long Island in New York... looks to be in really good shape as described, can’t wait to get started on getting it into a driving state! I will post pictures and a full parts list of it when we get home this week.

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Edited by catch_me, 20 June 2019 - 10:51 AM.

[catch_me]

Now that it is home, here are some more pictures of it. I have to first figure out what is all there, and clean the body itself up and work from there. There is a good finish underneath the years of dirt, and body looks to be in really good shape, biggest thing is it needs the doors aligned better, they both hit the door sill at on the bottom.

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Edited by catch_me, 20 June 2019 - 10:53 AM.

[blueovalcraig]

Gorgeous! Great find.

[catch_me]

Got the pickup all cleaned up and the parts sorted out to figure out what is there. Currently going to pull the engine and front sub frame to put new drive axles on, detail the engine, clearance the body for the header, and get the suspension all cleaned up. The brand new KAD rotors are scored to the point of being ruined due to the steering arm rubbing on the back side of them due to improper fitting by the previous owner. Not fun, but part of finishing someone else's project they did not sort out well.

 

 

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[KTS]

scored is a bit of an understatement - more like ploughed !

 

the rest of it is looking pretty good though.  that SC unit looks awesome - hopefully it'll go as good as it looks

 

can't tell from the photos whether the front subframe is on rubber mounts or not.  if it is, you may want to consider solid mounting it instead

[catch_me]

scored is a bit of an understatement - more like ploughed !

 

the rest of it is looking pretty good though.  that SC unit looks awesome - hopefully it'll go as good as it looks

 

can't tell from the photos whether the front subframe is on rubber mounts or not.  if it is, you may want to consider solid mounting it instead

 

 

KTS, yeah it is on polyurethane blocks it looks like. I was planning on solid mounting it, or hard race poly at least probably, as well as adjustable transmission mounts at this point when I pull the sub-frame down.

[johnR]

Was the previous owner deaf? Those brake discs must have howled!

[catch_me]

Was the previous owner deaf? Those brake discs must have howled!

 

They never even ran, that was just from pushing it around. The axle nuts were loose so they could even get it to roll it seemed like because the hubs felt like the wheel bearings were going out due to not enough tension on the brand new bearings from the hubs. I still don't know how they wore it that much just from rolling it around.

[catch_me]

Trying to do at least one weekly update on the build to keep me moving on it as well. Got ahold of Jon at SC to get the parts I am missing to fit the engine and radiator as well as going to get some updated parts on the engine (newer thermostat housing, fuel regulator, etc) that he says are better than  the ones used when this engine was built. I also have been looking at what to do with the suspension, as most of it really need a rebuild it looks like, and I am thinking I will end up with alot of billet parts from KAD and SC billet top front arms. I plan to use coil springs in place of the rubber cones, and will be likely adding anti-roll bars from KAD to get the handling back where I want it as well as a decent ride on our terrible road. I am also working on figuring out a good water to air inter-cooler to mount on the intake to get a little more efficiency out of the engine and some additional power also. I have attached a screen shot of the dyno run by SC when they built the engine, which is pretty exiting. I am still working on getting exact engine and tranny specs, but seeing a dyno has me eager to get it fired up!

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[KTS]

that chart should provide some motivation to keep it moving on 

 

a word of warning when considering replacing rubber cones with coil springs, and i'm not sure if you are aware, but it does seem that if/when coil bind occurs, it can lead to catastrophic suspension failure.

 

if you have a search on the forum there are a few threads that go into more detail and include pictures of the type of damage that can occur.

 

edit :  http://www.theminifo...specifications/

Edited by KTS, 16 July 2019 - 09:40 PM.

[hhhh]

Coil springs on a Mini are a solution looking for a problem. One of the most impressive features of a Mini is the suspension because of the brilliant engineering of the incredibly fast rising rate springs in the form of specially shaped rubber donuts. They are self damping to a degree and provide the absolutely ultimate spring rate curve through what is probably the shortest suspension displacement of any car in the world.