22 replies to this topic

[madazv8]

Engine is about ready to put into the frame.  Couldn't get my head around the clutch arm return spring mod, it doesn't seem to make sense.  I may end up just using a throttle return spring and somehow anchoring that to the subframe, if I can't figure it out. Anybody got a pic of their own setup?

 

Note to anybody,  when fitting the throttle bodies completely unwind the clamps on the connection rubbers.  Just being loose isn't enough and you will fight with it for ages until you realise. Doh.

 

Going for 90's style look on the car,  so blue hoses are in.  Going to revert to the black vacuum hoses though as they look rubbish in blue.

 

 

Attached Files

•  blue pipe.jpg   74.14K   3 downloads

[madazv8]

Been a long time...

 

Busy at work etc,  but have managed to get some proper consultation with the auto engineer here in NSW which is paramount before getting too deep into it. Converting pre 1980s minis here is fairly ok as they had limited to no requirements. My import 1994 mini is a little more tricky. Easy enough to keep the catalytic converter, but the charcoal canister and purge valve is proving to be a pain.  The R1 engine, thus ECU, do not have a control for this.  I initially thought I would wire it up to ignition live and plumb the valve into the airbox (which I will have to fab).  Seems this will not fly, as it is not the way they work and I can't demonstrate with evidence a working example of this. 

Charcoal canisters need vacuum to strip the hydrocarbons off the charcoal. So, OK, plumb it into the vacuum lines on the throttle bodies,  but the problem there is that if I do it on ignition only it will mess up idle if the valve is open.  The purge valve normally only opens during cruising throttle and is closed at idle and what. I could run an aftermarket ECU like Haltech, but we talking millions of quid and mapping on top. 

Thoughts at the moment are plumbing it into the throttle bodies and run the purge valve on a relay, and have the live feed triggered by a switch on part open throttle somewhere, maybe on the pedal assy.  It would be momentary, but activated enough to be essentially effective as intended. 

 

Other feedback is the requirement for a "drive by" noise assessment.  I'll muffle the heck out of the exhaust, but hopefully the reverse gearbox and chain drive don't make too much dB.

[madazv8]

So the final thing I had to do was seal off the AIS ports on the head.  It was suggested in the build manual to tap them M8 with a ratchet tap wrench.  E-bay to the rescue, and a cracking little tool to have. Well anyway,  that was never going to happen,  the ports seem to be about 6.5mm, drill size for an M8 tap is 6.8mm.  Never mind the difficulty in tapping it straight while pushing upwards.  It turns out that the ports come out of the head relatively easily.  Vice grip pliers on the port allows you to wiggle side to side,  while a small pry bar or screwdriver from the back exerts the necessary push to have them pop out.  Once you have them in a vice it is easy to drill them out.  I don't know what material these are, but it's horrible to work with.  Will melt any poor quality drill bit in seconds. Similarly when tapping,  they are very hard to tap.  Barely even an 1/8th of a turn at a time.  I did just use a Middle tap,  so maybe a starting tap first would help.  Once done they are easy to simply knock back in with a flat punch.  To seal them off I lathered the thread of stainless bolts in copper anti-seize and used a brass washer.

 

Attached Files

•  AIS ports.jpg   78.85K   0 downloads

Edited by madazv8, 27 December 2024 - 11:43 AM.

[madazv8]

At last the engine is "in" the frame.  Felt pretty chuffed with myself doing this on my own with no lifting equipment whatsoever (I'm not strong).  discovered a couple of things, which are probably obvious,  but easily overlooked.   The cable guides and especially the clutch cable retainer should be removed first,  they get in the way of stuff.  It is really surprising how little space there is, the bike engine is tiny.   You can see the Pro-Mo subframe is stripped of all the top rail and the reverse gearbox is not fitted yet. 

 engine in subframe.jpg   82.71K   1 downloads

 

 

I guess I have fallen on the unlucky side of tolerances today.  The motor is pushed back as far as it can go,  but there is just no way the reverse gearbox is getting in between the motor and the mount.  Looks like I will have to take the grinder to the front lip of the mount,  probably only 1mm needed. Can't do anywhere else as even the timing chain cover is hard on the subframe. When dry fitting before I put in the bottom bolt,  it seemed the distance between the sprocket cup and the bolts was too much and I would never be able to line the holes up..... will wait to confirm this once I have done the clearance and can actually get the damn thing in place.

 

 reverse gearbox fitting.jpg   36.35K   1 downloads

 

 grind here.jpg   39.48K   0 downloads

 

 RG distance.jpg   47.58K   0 downloads

[madazv8]

Finally the subframe is complete - minus the diff.  Wasted a whole heap of time trying to get this all together with the diff in place.  Note to anybody doing this.  NO to the diff.  Put it together and then offer the diff up from underneath with the assembly in the air (dangle the long diff bolts in place before you mount the top frame). Additionally,  tilting the engine back and sliding the reverse gearbox into place was never going to happen, there is simply not enough room.  The timing chain cover on the 5PW only allows a small amount of tilt before it is hard against the subframe and you will waste hours trying. I put them together first then offered up the bottom mount on the subframe and it all slotted together nicely from there.  Thankfully my worry that the dimensions were wrong, was wrong. Now I know how to do it it's pretty easy,  although hopefully I won't be doing this again !

 

Been driving the Mini for the last few days,  really love it,  sad to put it out of action for x amount of time but at the same time excited to get it running with the R1. The A-series will get a refresh/modification eventually,  as ultimately this is something fun to do, but probably not something that is sustainable long term. 

Attached Files

•  fully fitted.jpg   87.83K   2 downloads

[racerlike]

Nice looking work there and good to see people are still using this kit. I seem to remember having trouble getting everything assembled but most of that was due to the thickness of the powder coating making the already mm perfect fitment just that little bit too tight

[racerlike]

Nice looking work there and good to see people are still using this kit. I seem to remember having trouble getting everything assembled but most of that was due to the thickness of the powder coating making the already mm perfect fitment just that little bit too tight

[madazv8]

Bit the bullet and bought myself an engine crane, as I wasn't going to make any more sensible progress without the frame lifted up.  Now got it resting high on a set of axle stands.

 

The diff is in.  Wasn't too hard of a job with the help of a trolley jack.  It is pretty tight back there, and I am particularly concerned about the amount of clearance available for the pot joint to the rear water pipe. 

 

 diff clearance.jpg   41.41K   0 downloads

 

I always intended on fitting an external oil cooler,  I just hadn't figured out how to go about it.  Thanks to a recent post on a FB page I realised that if I remove the standard bike water/oil cooler I am presented with essentially the same arrangement as the original oil filter.  This means that a readilly available sandwich plate can be fitted with a "CAP" instead of an oil filter.  Multiple companies make these, but I actually found that flea bay had cheap ones (fraction of cost) that also have 1/8 NPT threaded holes to allow for pressure gauge & temp gauge senders.  It is a machined alloy component,  so not particularly worried about quality in this case,  and it actually turned out to look really good. This one is fitted with 10AN fittings for oil lines.  You also need to source a male to male M20x1.5mm adapter which is easier said than done.  Mocal were the only people I found making that. And for a cap,  they all do the same thing.

 

 remove oil cooler.jpg   30.19K   1 downloads

 

Just noticed the burr in there when uploading this picture ! Well I guess it's been there for over 20 years,  so I'm not touching it.

 

 sandwich plate parts.jpeg   75.37K   1 downloads

 

With this all done,  you don't need the coolant pipe from the rear main pipe to the cooler any more,  so that can be blocked off,  along with the return on the other side of the engine.  If I had known I was doing this before, I would have cut this off, welded it up,  and shortened the metal main pipe by 10mm.  This would have given the required clearance for the pot joint.  I may end up doing this if it doesn't clear.  The original instructions are to bend the pipe 15mm,  well I personally wish the instruction was to shorten the pipe.  You have to weld the pipes coming out of the head anyway,  it would have been good to do that at the time. Will see how we go...

 

 rear water pipe.jpg   33.89K   1 downloads

Edited by madazv8, 10 January 2025 - 12:39 PM.