776 replies to this topic

[Italianjoblofty]

Just read this thread all the way through...very interesting read fair play. Been looking for good projects but didnt expect to find this 1 in the engine re-build secion lol Shall be keeping an eye on this 1. Im currently building a tarmac rally mini and its almost finished too, would be nice to see ya on a trackday or 2. I seen you've gone for the coilovers on the rear which is what i have gone for also. Take a look at my thread for pics if ya want as i modified my heel board to take the stress of a rear beam.http://www.theminifo...ge-rally-build/

\keep up the goo work its going to look awsome im sure!

[mini93]

Hi there, thanks for your words. Yeah im sure ill post up somewhere when i get going to the track days.

as for strengthening needed on the heel board, im not sure its going to be neccesary on the car with the weld in cage as it triangulates into the heel board as it is. Might well throw some strengtheners on the front like you have


anyway, iv had problems with the stuff iv bought from ebay, supprise supprise, thats ebay for you!!

is the start of it, as you can see, it is missing a stub pin/axle!
needless to say, im not exactly impressed, i spoke to the guy on the phone and he claimed that the arms had been reconditioned by KAD and had the larger diameger pins fitted, well, it does have the larger pin fitted, but the other arm its missing completly! fat load of use that is for me and certainly not everything required to build the "ultimate rear suspension"
iv since got in contact with the guy and hes being a douche-a-saurus claiming that he neve said they were re-con even tho it says in the ad' and that ill be very happy with them... le-sigh
So anyway, iv taken the arms to my local mini place, southam mini and metro centre, and iv asked them to write me an engineers report on them then im going to get paypal involved and get the costs of getting them reconditioned and with replacment pin!

as you can see, not exactly reconditioned, there filthy!!

mmmm crusty!!
SMMC said that the pins are servicable, one of the pins is boarderline tho so i think ill include that in the bill... im trying to build the best car i can and dont want to worry about premature wear!
One good thing however, the beam IS infact new as he stated and too is the ARM and fittings



The shocks arent even mini items though so not a sure what to do there, theyre damn useless to me though and will be sticking with my protecs i had bought previously. there horrible filthy things also, but it doesnt say what conditon there in, in the auction (i would have at least expected mini items though!... no pics)
The turrets as included in the auction are useable... just not very pretty so im not sure if ill fit those or not... they will allow possision them as and where i like, allowing me to lower the car down more so than the coilovers alone will allow.

in other news... nothing done on the shell... i was lazy yesterday and been poorly today, bad times!

[kcchan]

Shame about the ebay issues. I was watching those radius arms when they were for sale!

[mini93]

Ill get them right in anycase! just as i say... not sure what to do about the shocks. its hardly a good price anymore when the only bits ill end up using are the arms, beam and ARB

rear set-ups almost complete though just KAD disk set up or make my own at some point

[Italianjoblofty]

Ah mate that sucks with the radius arms, bloody Ebay can be a nightmare on times! I reconditioned both my radius arms and they are a pain to do if you dont have a workshop and the correct reamer. The beam looks nice though i almost bought 1 of those but was never lucky enough to find 1 going cheap and didnt fancy paying over £200 from minispares lol. I Bought 1 from TDK racing and is very similar but not ally :). Hope ya feel better soon and get cracking on the car. I fitted my roll cage 2day am well happy with it :)

[mini93]

I was going to buy a beam from mini spares anyway but they havent been in stock there for yonks, didnt want to be settling on anything else, now on the buy it 1st time route as im spent too much on the car and dont want to be buying again
Iv heard good and bad stories about the TDK beam, but only ever heard good of the MS one so that was my mind made up.

Southam will be able to sort the arms out in a doddle in anycase, will just have to see how the ebay claim goes after i get my report back from them, they've always been good for me down there

[mini93]

Got a bit more done today, not a huge deal but it seems to take a time to do, especialy when it comes to the wiring making sure it will go back easily. Also had some small bits to check on my bronze mini and my daily.

Few weeks back i spent hours sat on the floor in the car tagging each wire with masking tape, drawing my own diagrams and just making sure i know whats what.

Today got all the wiring out the car, including the engine side. heater out the car. fuel lines out, pull cordes and the rear braking system.

just to show where iv mounted my 'jolt and fuse modual...


urrrgh! will be neater when it goes back even if i had to re-do it again!

how its sat now..




pedal box's still in because i need to remove the front brake lines before i can remove the box. You can also see where iv missed painting the floor


the front bulkheads also started to be cleared of some smaller bits and pieces but ill do more next week, maybe even engine out

almost ready for shot-blasting!

[george91]

Hmm you have an unusual roll cage, i didn't realise it has 3 uprights, as in there is a bar on each pillar. Its looking good by the way.

[mini93]

yeah, it is a bit odd... didnt really think about that when i was buying it its apparently been rolled before and proved ok so hey!
altho if i were caging the car myself id have gone mig-spec as it just looks massivly heavy That said, i can still quite easily move the car like a wheel barrow at the moment. had to shift it round to clear the remains of the old rear screen so i just picked it up by the boot, tho theres still a fair bit to go back eventualy but theres also still weight to loose

[mini93]

Iv finaly done some work on it!!

i really havent been bothered with working on it. along with the weather the garage has been an aweful mess... i dont like mess or body work so i just havent done anything.
resigned to the idea it wont be ready this year though. if it is, fantastic! but its not likely considering im looking at buying a new daily.


So i had to lift the mini out the garage so i could clean up



I also turned it round so i could get the engine out, pretty much died doing it! I hadnt eaten all day and suddenly crashed out when I was 1/2 way thru turning it round on the drive.



back in the garage anyway! nice and clean... and it started mushing it down! super lame

after i put it on axle stands i realised i had moved the pivot point the back end was lifting up from the engine weight and had to actualy tie the backend down



but today was dry!! so after i got home from work i removed the engine and subframe! woop



it however, is back to being a shitheap bad times!
but few small clips and stuff, the pedal box to remove, door slams, and its ready for blasting i think!!

then more body work boo-hoo

Edited by mini93, 24 April 2012 - 08:26 PM.

[mini93]

Done a few small bits today after work, not enough to require picturs because it looks much the same as the last picture. Just been drilling out cable tie saddles, removing the odd, small bolt on bits and removing the A pannels.

somehow after cleaning the garage, iv lost my cutting disks my little 1mm's
I was going cut the front bulkhead out today too but bit difficult without my slitters

after that, need to cut the centre of the roof out for the future roof change.

then i think i might replace the scuttle. its got drillings for my cut-off switches and its not so neat... plus im tempted to just get electric cut offs... bit nicer (only chopping it off before the blasting)

and got a bit of strengthening from the olf extended sump gaurd im going to be chopping off, but need to roll it onto its side for that.

so, that should mean its about ready for blasting then.

On another note, iv bought some caster wheels off eGay... iv got an old pallet at work which ill throw the castors on and ill be able to wheel the shell about as i need then.

[mini93]

My castor wheels arrived to i can make my shell trolly but of course, like a tight arse i am! i chose the cheapest but higher load capacity ones i could find... i didnt look at wheel size and im pretty much sure these diddy wheels will get wedged on a mound of ant crap not that bad really, but still smaller than id have liked, hey ho!

tomorrows looking like a dry day according to the weather so after work, ill construct the trolly and take my shell for another walk out the garage. maybe even have a quick spruce up AGAIN (semi-clean freak!) and hopefully find my cutting disks

[MJWarren]

thats a ******* meaty cage youve got there, did you weld the extra bars in yourself across the rear windows?

[mini93]

its a fecking heavy cage! you mean. but at least its secure, stiff and safe! can still lift the shell up from either end now its empty too, and thats without a lightening session

Nope, the cage is as it came... one off jobby from rollcentre i think it was yeaaars ago, early 90's. I will be welding in a harness bar, one thing it lacks and now iv got rid of the rear bulkhead i dont have the seatbelt points to harness onto.

[mini93]

well, last week was riv-run. Suppose its given me a little enthusiasm to carry on so iv been on it today. In anycase before i went away, i got the wheels on the pallet...



not exactly a 1st class up-date is it? well even more so because its absolutly useless!!! i rolled it out the garage yesterday, back in today, side to side in the garage and one of the wheels shat themselfs... bloody useless £10 wheels. the pallet was a useless one too, bending like a bannana. rant over.

in anycase i got on with it... picture above is this morning, wonky wheel, shonky pallet and all. plus I found my cutting disks!



ended up like that, front mig-bulkhead removed. It was good and such but it was too close to the webbers bellmouths, so much so i couldnt get a filter in. That and im going for a aluminium one anyway.
needs cleaning up at the sides and top still.

Then I had a thought.



so its goes like this...





to say i was apprehensive... quite! but chop chop. I ended up with this below in the end.




Done a few small odd's n sods afterwards but chatting with friends my progress slowed. They did, however give me a hand lifting the shell about seeing as my trolleys about as much use as a chocolate fire-gaurd.

Edited by mini93, 12 May 2012 - 08:50 PM.