374 replies to this topic

[roadhouse]

Any update on this??

[mad mk1]

come on joe what you been up to? 

[brivinci]

Holy hell! I totally randomly came across this thread today. Read the entire thing (the hell with work) and I am stunned. This is SUCH an amazing build. I cant wait to see any updates. Well done so far though. Well done!

[webby0121]

Maaaad build! just read the entire thing. Awesome work!

 

Any updates?

[miniQ]

Really nice...given me alot of inspiration

Edited by miniQ, 13 June 2015 - 08:08 PM.

[Joe250]

Really nice...given me alot of inspiration

 

miniQ - you can call out my service loops! They suck. It case people didn't notice, this thread has been all about the build process, warts and all. Hopefully people get some good ideas as well as learn from my mistakes, just as I've learned from reading other people's build threads.

 

For everyone else that has posted asking for updates, here is the latest. The car started and ran towards the end of last year. I took it around the block several times on short test drives. Things were never 100% though. The shifting would only work sporadically and several times the car died and refused to restart. Very disappointing.

 

I eventually traced the problem back to the R1's stator (similar to a car's alternator). These do tend to go bad and since the engine I bought was used, this made sense. I was relieved to find that the stator could be replaced without removing the engine but it took a lot of head-scratching and working in tight confines. The stator is covered by the rotor (the magnetic portion of the system) and is not only bolted to the end of the crankshaft, it is also press fit (or interference fit) onto the end of the crank. Removing it was proving impossible until I bought an upgraded air impact wrench. A few quick hits of that and the rotor came flying off.

 

So the Mini went right back on the road? Sadly, no. Life started gettting in the way of my plans. That was only half of it though - I really was burnt out on the whole thing. To be this close and take an extended break sounds ridiculous but that is exactly what happened. The good news is that last week I finally picked up my wrenches again and got to it. I bolted the new stator on, reinstalled the rotor, installed a new gasket, and torqued the cover back on. With some fresh oil and coolant she started up almost immediately. I should have a chance to test drive the car in a few days. After that, I mostly just have to work on the rest of the glass, install the RH fuel tank and do some little odds and ends. I will report back soon.

Edited by Joe250, 27 June 2015 - 07:38 PM.

[Joe250]

One other thing that I need and I'm hoping someone here can help me. I had someone local to me commit to machining this part for me. After 12 months of being misled, I finally gave up on them. Does anyone know of a machinist who does one-offs? I need this machined out of aluminum. Please email me directly - joe at joe250 dot com.

 

[evansisgreat]

So glad you're back, this is one of my favourite threads. Surely California is the best place in the world to get custom car parts machined?

[Dylanscar]

Hi Joe,
Good to read the update and can't wait to see things running and hope you can get the part machined.

Cheers

Jon

[Joe250]

Hello? Anyone still out there?

I have an update of sorts. Last July I moved into a new place about 10 miles away. I was determined to drive the Mini to its new home and despite a few hiccups, she made it! The (household) move itself nearly killed me though and worse, the drive highlighted a number of issues:

1. There was a loud speed-related noise, a clicking sound. It showed up about 5 minutes from the new place and got increasingly louder. I have no idea what it was but I have a feeling it is related to the half-shafts or transfer box.

2. The springs seem too harsh and dampers are under-damped. The car was quite stiff and bouncy. I can remedy that with some educated guessing and maybe a set or two of springs (I think).

3. The throttle is very touch and non-linear while the clutch is almost binary. I stalled the car repeatedly. No surprise considering the near total absence of a flywheel. The car cannot be driven again until something is done here.

4. The engine intake and exhaust are loud. Even with the muffler bypass closed, passing under a bridge was deafening. I wish I filmed it. A man standing in the underpass almost ran for cover. I mean loud enough that I don't want to ever drive the car again without a full airbox and a new, quieter muffler.

5. I spec'd the highest gearing for the xfer box that MinieXvo offered. Still, the gearing is way too low for any sort of highway usage. Of course, I knew this wasn't going to be a long-distance car but even to drive to and from any tracks or autocross courses is going to be a bit much.

6. I'm not entirely pleased with the shifting system. It still has some tuning capacity and deserves some more development time but I don't that matters anymore because....

I guess what I'm saying is, I believe I made the wrong choice for how I plan to use the car. I love so many things about the motorcycle-engine concept, but things have turned out a bit different in  practice. I've invested alot into this project and it still isn't road-worthy. I've got to invest some more to get over this final hill and have a complete, running, useable Mini, and I want to really think through exactly in what direction I should head before proceeding.

My current plan is to pull the R1 motor and MinieXvo xfer box and replace it with an A-series. Yes, some people may have overheard me say something about them being overweight, archaic, and possibly even "tractor engines" (sorry!), but I think I'm just going to have to eat some crow on this one. I don't want to put a modern car engine in, and no more m/c engines for me, so A-series it is.

All that rambling leads me to this: what exactly should I put in the car? I'd love to get some feedback as I'm not fully up-to-speed on all the different options and there seems to be a lot of options for the A-series. Help me spec this thing.

Before we get into the details, I am going to attempt to lay out how I will realistically be using the car and what my wish list of characteristics is. It is all too easy to say I want 180hp, perfect reliabilty, and still be great around town. There are just too many compromises that have to be made and I ignored that fact once. I'll try not to make that same mistake again.

Usage: Fast road usage. There will be plenty of driving around town, on the highways, and in traffic (I live in LA so traffic is unavoidable). Also the occasional road trip, but I don't expect it to be especially well-suited or luxurious.

Characteristics: Reliable. Tractable. No excessive gear whine. No super-lumpy idle. I don't want a torque monster but a peaky, high-rpm motor isn't going to be very driveable around town, so I would say something in the middle. Is a minimum of 100hp too much to ask? Gearing-wise, I will sacrifice some acceleration for reasonable revs at highway speeds (75mph is a realistic cruising speed in SoCal).

Budget: I'm willing to spend a fair bit to get exactly what I am looking for. I don't want to have any regrets later, nor do I want to keep pulling the motor to upgrade the engine/trans for something I should have done in the first place. So I am looking to really spec out every last part and have one shop do it all in one go. The budget is not unlimited but after looking around, it seems like $7500 (USD) is probably a realistic starting point. (See here as an example: http://www.7ent.com/...lt-engines.html ). I know I will doubtless have to spend more to get some details more to my liking and, of course, the engines quoted on 7Ent's website lack carbs and other ancillaries. I hesitate to give an exact budget because I don't want that to be the primary driver of the spec. I want the spec to meet my driving requirements and then I'll deal with the budget or make a compromise here or there.

Builder: I'm open to suggestions. MED, KAD, Bill Richards, 7 Enterprises, etc. I prefer to stick with someone reputable and established. Also, I'm more than willing to ship the engine in from the UK (or elsewhere), so location should not be a factor.

Displacement: Given my requirements, I would assume more is better, up to a point. My first thought is 1380, but I've heard some recommend 1330 to give some room for a rebuild down the line.

Head: ?

Fueling: I like F.I. I'm not sure the costs are worth the benefits for my application though. Any thoughts? I am going to guess that most will recommend carbs. If so, which carbs and why? Calver seems to be a big fan of SU's but what has been everyone's experience?

Let's see what everyone comes up with on these initial questions and then build from there.

Cheers!

Edited by Joe250, 10 March 2016 - 11:56 PM.

[mad mk1]

Welcome back joe!!

Looks like you have a big task ahead of you!

If you need anything this end of the pond drop me a PM and I will see if I can help.

I am going to say a nice simple turbo setup mate, would give you a Modern driving feel, and power!

Simon.

[Joe250]

Simon! Good to hear from you. It's been a while so I just went and read up on your progress. I hope to hear more about your Mk1 soon.

 

I really hadn't even considered artificial aspiration. Someone old and wise once said these famous words: "When you go turbo, you go nowhere." Maybe he was just a bit frustrated when he said that. 

But in all seriousness, I'm all ears. Why go turbo?

[timmy850]

I'm a bit disappointed to see it won't be finished with the bike engine, but you have to do what is best for how you use the car.

[Domneon]

Twin cam head as per the specialist components conversion? Good for 120+bhp

[jonny f]

Simon helped me changing over to turbo. Definitely the right thing to do.

He could not of been more on the money.

I have switched from a 1380 putting out a smidge over 100bhp 93ftlb torque to a 1293 with a gt17 on the back of it and it is amazing. I could not be more happy with it. It's at 141bhp and 156lbft of torque. At 10psi.

I cannot stress how good it feels on the road, cruise around fine at low revs, put your foot down and your 1/4mile up the road in the blink of an eye. Non of this lumpy cam sacrifice at low revs it just purrs!

I say join the turbo forum and have a good read around. You won't be disappointed.

Edited by jonny f, 03 March 2016 - 02:11 PM.