54 replies to this topic

[Red Riley]

When I saw the title of this thread, I was expecting to see this car. 

 

Attached Files

•  _mg_7617_3938945732_o.jpg   63.97K   2 downloads
•  _mg_7620_3938169393_o.jpg   56.41K   2 downloads

[Colinmac1330]

To be fair so was I! 

[jpsulisz]

It’s not A+ . The generator is the giveaway as being an early engine. You’ll need to change a few things to suit a mini but it looks like a good base for a rebuild

If you remove all the spark plugs you should be able to turn it over by hand using the crank pulley. Pulling off the head is a good idea too

Yup, I put some MMO in the cylinder wells and letting it sit for 48 hours, adding more every 24 hours and monitoring levels. Will attempt to turn it over tomorrow morning probably.
 

 

When I saw the title of this thread, I was expecting to see this car. 

I can barely squeeze in it as it is - going to have to chop off my head to get me in that! 

Edited by jpsulisz, 11 September 2023 - 04:27 PM.

[Sir_Swish!]

I love how honest and original this car looks, you're doing a great job of keeping it alive! 

[jpsulisz]

Tonight I went through the effort of replacing the entire clutch hydralics as I don't want to replace just the slave cylinder for the master to go out in a few months. I ran out of time to bleed it tonight and found out that the MiniSpares spring bracket that holds onto the transmission arm is too loose for my liking (Part #: 2A3601). I am sure it would work but I sanded down my old one and painted it black, letting it dry tonight. Going to try out my ezibleed I got for the clutch

After removal and slight cleaning of engine bay area - had a bit of fun removing the clevis pin in the engine bay since I thought removing the lever arm for the clutch would be too difficult:
 IMG_3937.jpg   59.67K   1 downloads

And post install:
 IMG_3942.jpg   56.99K   1 downloads

Here are the culprits to my failed hydralics; I think the boot may be well past due for a replacement, no? Will probably rebuild these over the winter.

 IMG_3939.jpg   38.81K   1 downloads

 IMG_3938.jpg   64.21K   1 downloads

Since I took out the seat to get the clevis pin for the clutch pedal I went through the effort of installing the seat bracket extenders as my seating area is a bit tight. However, I can't get past the first bolt of the standard seat bracket as I either hit the seat belt rolling base or the back of the seat hits the rear passenger side compartment. Moving it over closer to the center makes the rear legs hit the hump. Not sure why this is  . Can't find any threads relating to this; I did remove the seat belt but it hits the rear passenger compartment and if I swapped seats I still get the same issue. Any advice on this?

 IMG_3941.jpg   45.84K   0 downloads

 IMG_3943.jpg   57.24K   0 downloads

[Jarvis_SPI]

I thought that a '68 would have had static belts?

For later cars, the inertia reel was in the companion bin and the belt went up to the shoulder mount and back down to the sill mount where your reel is.

Where does the other end of your belt mount?

[timmy850]

I had a similar experience with my Mk1. I added retractable seat belts and it gets very close to the mechanism. I ditched the extension brackets as they didn’t really get me any more length (and the cast finish of the Minispares items didn’t inspire confidence)

You could possibly try one of the extended brackets that keeps the seat frame on the same alignment as the factory bracket

https://www.retro-co...-brackets-pair/

https://jbfab.co.uk/...-seat-brackets/

[jpsulisz]

I thought that a '68 would have had static belts?

For later cars, the inertia reel was in the companion bin and the belt went up to the shoulder mount and back down to the sill mount where your reel is.

Where does the other end of your belt mount?

Mounts at the top of the B pillar seen here:
 IMG_20230917_163024_892.jpg   32.34K   0 downloads

 

I had a similar experience with my Mk1. I added retractable seat belts and it gets very close to the mechanism. I ditched the extension brackets as they didn’t really get me any more length (and the cast finish of the Minispares items didn’t inspire confidence)

You could possibly try one of the extended brackets that keeps the seat frame on the same alignment as the factory bracket

https://www.retro-co...-brackets-pair/

https://jbfab.co.uk/...-seat-brackets/

Yeah, I ended up just moving it to the middle bolt as that clears the seat belt adjuster (just) and gives me a tad more room. Although my foot is still aching after driving it around so I need to figure out a better adjustment.


-----

I bleed the clutch today with the ezibleed - somewhat disappointed as the schrader valve has a leak that I had to put a 2x4 against the tire to stop. It did work and was very easy, but not sure how I'll solve that issue.

I did have a considerable spill at the master clutch cylinder which I believe leaked into the interior a tad as I had a slight drip after bleeding. After an hour and cleaning, I don't have any drip anymore so I hope that the new cylinder isn't leaking, I'll look at it overnight.

Did an oil change, even used a NOS Saturn filter for the job!

I grabbed my thermal camera after driving a few miles around town to gauge if any of the bearing were shot - I think they look appropriate for drums, but let me know:
 IMG20230918055240.jpeg   256.07K   0 downloads

 IMG20230918055247.jpeg   310.63K   0 downloads

 IMG20230918055256.jpeg   271.4K   0 downloads

 IMG20230918055304.jpeg   241.27K   0 downloads

 

And while I am still running distilled water I grabbed some shots of the engine bay with the needle just past the middle mark of the temperature gauge - I think the readings here are fine too
 IMG20230918055313.jpeg   360.89K   0 downloads

 IMG20230918055334.jpeg   306.02K   0 downloads

EDIT: Hit save too soon
 

Edited by jpsulisz, 17 September 2023 - 10:16 PM.

[jpsulisz]

Have a slight weep of the new master cylinder and will need to redo all the brake lines as I had to refill the reservoir today. Will finally be ordering tires for it once my replacement card comes in. I have decided that first snowfall (usually mid october) or first brake/suspension failure will take the car off the road for a new rear subframe then front disc conversion (with all new brakes all around + new suspension (hydro to cone will be determined here)), and hopefully a bit of rust repair.

Here is a photo of todays drive to downtown Minneapolis, right along the Mississippi:
 IMG_3949.jpg   90.29K   1 downloads

My end goal here is for next year April-May to take the car 360 miles down to Chicago and September of next year to either make it down to Houston or go all the way to the West coast to drive through western portion of Montana, some of the roads there were just to die for when I went through in 2021. Look up Montana Highway 49 - it's usually empty at the end of the season.

This would mean making my mini into a makeshift camper - when I did the trip in 2021, I slept in the back of my Focus and managed to not go insane doing it. 
 mt_2.jpg   43.22K   1 downloads

Edited by jpsulisz, 20 September 2023 - 07:44 AM.

[Retro_10s]

What a great road trip that will be! love the photo you posted,... where's the hood?

[jpsulisz]

What a great road trip that will be! love the photo you posted,... where's the hood?

Removed the hood when replacing the clutch hydralics - didn't put it back before the drive (can be a bit hard to line it up with just myself)

----

Last night did a coolant flush as I had been running distilled water in case of leaks. I spent so much time decided on coolant - I bought yellow/green HOAT coolant but read something where it wouldn't be ideal for older british cars as it can eat seals or something. I've read that blue is good, but not Asian blue, instead European blue but that green is a fine substitute. The car originally had green so I continued with old conventional green from o'reillys here. I will be returning the SuperTech stuff. All of this probably doesn't make that much of a difference and worried about it for nothing, I will replace it in a year or 2 anyhow.

 IMG_3955.jpg   43.61K   0 downloads

While I am sure some of this was oil from my pan, it still was this brown coming out during the first flush w/ coolant cleaner; after 3 flushes it came out clear:
 IMG_3956.jpg   54.61K   0 downloads

[jpsulisz]

So I've begun stripping the interior to get a better idea of what I am working with and oh boy I have begun searching for a new welder after I came in to clean up:

Here are my rear door pockets, the passenger sides frame rail isn't even connected toward the rear tire, not even sure if it's entirely safe to drive this thing anymore:

So I was already worried about the state of the rear subframe below the shock absorbers but now I am even more terrified with the condition of those rear passenger pockets as I understand is structural to the vehicle. If I am not mistaken, these are the inner sills and stiffener? But since the outer portion below the doors are slightly crunchy, that would indicate outer seals as well? Lastly a rear subframe mounting plate will also probably be in order. But if I do that, I can get ADO360020 which would allow me to replace the 'companion box' with a seat belt mount instead of the ashtray! Good excuse as the current placement is a huge pita.

 IMG_3967.jpg   69.89K   2 downloads

 IMG_3965.jpg   40.87K   1 downloads

 IMG_3964.jpg   36.99K   1 downloads

No pictures but I took apart the dash carpeting and I'd say its mostly okay besides a hair portion near the passenger door where I have a hole forming - but below that on the inner arch way there is a much larger hole that needs taking care of.

I found some cost saving installs by the previous owners:
 IMG_3960.jpg   27.5K   1 downloads
This was covering up the rust in the rear bin on the drivers side.

 IMG_3962.jpg   74.83K   1 downloads

 

but I did find this little guy hiding, so there's that!
 IMG_3961.jpg   30.44K   1 downloads

I have a gasless MIG 130 Flux welder, but I don't think it'll be suitable for this work. I am aiming towards the Eastwood 180 as it's what most of the people in the american MG forums recommend

[jpsulisz]

Begun tearing down the interior to see how the rest of the car faired. I could only get the interior out as I have a back injury and my movement is a tad limited. TL;DR: It needs more work, but overall, not bad for a car of this age. I believe the front subframe will need a removal to get remove to take care of this firewall rust.

I turned over the ADO16 spare engine I have - was able to turn it over by hand on the pulley so great news :

 IMG_3979.jpg   97.87K   0 downloads

 IMG_3980.jpg   91.13K   1 downloads

 

Rust pictures after carpet removal, very interesting to see how some of the rust repair is just silicone and black duct tape :|

 IMG_20230922_184107_560.jpg   61.75K   0 downloads

 IMG_20230922_184526_487.jpg   71.21K   0 downloads

 IMG_20230922_184543_448.jpg   31.62K   0 downloads

 IMG_20230922_192024_982.jpg   35.03K   0 downloads

 IMG_20230922_192016_409.jpg   53.94K   0 downloads

 IMG_20230922_190702_533.jpg   35.44K   0 downloads

 IMG_20230922_190644_286.jpg   47.69K   1 downloads

 IMG_20230922_184543_448.jpg   31.62K   1 downloads
Rear seat compartment with the original almond green:

 IMG_3978.jpg   49.74K   1 downloads

 

Very interesting seal here :?
 IMG_20230922_190638_789.jpg   42.91K   1 downloads

Edited by jpsulisz, 25 September 2023 - 02:54 AM.

[jpsulisz]

Not a terrible amount of progress has been done, mostly parts/tools hauling - I recently got a 2 rod change assemblies for the MG1100 engine, both seized. Yesterday I managed to free a single one and plan on soaking it in some degreaser this week and cleaning it up.

 IMG_4019.jpg   78.48K   1 downloads

Otherwise, I went to Wisconsin and picked up an engine hoist and picked up a PrimeWeld MIG180 (so this week and next week will be trying to do some 18-20 gauge testing). Doing a parts haul next week as well for the disc brake upgrades on my way to Chicago.

Getting the welder meant I had to wire in 220v in the garage and took the opportunity to add some additional outlets so I can have some lights above the mini!

 IMG_4025.jpg   85.21K   1 downloads

[jpsulisz]

Long time no see,


I was having some recent trips and was able to pickup some parts from Karl in Wisconsin (thanks again); I've got 2 older transmissions (if I dont use these I have a person in mind, these are mk1's from what I can tell) and most importantly got 4.5 rims on the chance my 3.5s dont fit!

 IMG_4091.jpg   49.19K   0 downloads

 IMG_4093.jpg   62.56K   0 downloads

 IMG_4092.jpg   56.21K   0 downloads

I began working on the rear subframe and began with removing some of the components and one of them is the hydrolastic suspension lines. I was able to depressurize the left side without much of a problem, I just halfway took out the valve but unfortunately the right side spring shot out and made the car look like it had an accident 

 IMG_4130.jpg   107.21K   0 downloads

 

Otherwise, I was able to remove a majority of the rear components this weekend without much issue (and even got the right door off)
 IMG_4131.jpg   59.81K   0 downloads

 IMG_4132.jpg   116.82K   0 downloads

Getting ready to remove the rear subframe this week, I built a little platform to keep the rear of the car on. I think it's a bit overkill, I've seen people use a single piece of fibreboard to level the load across; but I also want to build tall wheel blocks to not rely on jack stands:
 IMG_4134.jpg   54.21K   0 downloads

 IMG_4135.jpg   48.89K   0 downloads

I will say that I have recently done some photography at the local SCCA rallycross and I am totally down to build this care to cater towards these small rallycross bits - seems really fun.
Recent photo from that event: 

 DSC_4745.jpg   73.82K   0 downloads