January 1960 Austin Mini

[mk1]

That is looking fantastic!

The paint really pops.

[TRP]

Thank you, Mark!

I'm slowly reassembling everything. Trying to balance the line of getting it going again vs. getting it perfect. I think I did a few parts multiple times before I learned to live with my less than professional results. I may try to fire the motor tonight. No reason why it shouldn't run. I'll prime the carb a bit and crank the motor with the coil disconnected to get things wet before I give it the spark.

The one job I'm dreading is swapping out the existing speedo with the replacement I picked up. There are SO MANY WIRES on the back! Are there any pointers for speedo replacement on the site?

Thanks gang, for letting me share!

Ted

[mk1]

Hi Ted,

Any wiring ALWAYS gives me the willies. None more than the speedo back.

The truth is that there is no really easy solution to this. HOWEVER, if you start by getting a copy of the wiring diagram copied & enlarged as big as you can go & then carefully follow it, maybe crossing off each connection as you go, you will, I am sure find it a lot easier than it looks.

Good luck, M

[TRP]

Hi Ted,

Any wiring ALWAYS gives me the willies. None more than the speedo back.

The truth is that there is no really easy solution to this. HOWEVER, if you start by getting a copy of the wiring diagram copied & enlarged as big as you can go & then carefully follow it, maybe crossing off each connection as you go, you will, I am sure find it a lot easier than it looks.

Good luck, M

Sounds good! I'm also having an issue with one of the tail lights now that I've reassembled everything and the wires are impossible to get to. The wiring diagram will come in handy.

Ted

[TRP]

Hello Gang,

The speedo is all wired up and everything lights up like it should. The end is in sight! Down to just a few bits on the interior (wire up the amp meeter, the tach, and the lights for the amp, tach, oil pressure and water temp instruments).

The one item that has stumped me is the seals on the rear quarter windows/popouts. When I install the seals and try to close the windows they no longer close without hitting the body. The windows fit fine without the seals. What am I missing? These appear to be the right seals.

Any advice anybody could provide would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Ted

[mk1]

Ted,

The rear quarter light seals are an ongoing problem. Historically a lot of replacement seals sold have simply been the wrong shape causing the problem you describe.

Different restorers have found different suppliers who have solved this issue.

Some swear by Woolies Trim, but when I got some off them a few years ago it was rubbish. I have very recently used new seals on 2 cars, both the sets were bought from Minispares & fitted very well indeed.

https://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/ALA5897.aspx

When fitting these seals a little lube is a good idea as it helps the quarter light settle down into the new rubber.

[Daz1968]

I can vouch that the current mini spares seals can be made to fit but I had to trim the seal a little especially around the hinge location to get window forward as much as possible and keep working on them to get windows to close, they are not perfect and window will not fit flush with the body, but I am hoping in time they will soften a little, I almost gave up but my originals were beyond use.

[TRP]

Thank you both for your replies! I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to share insights.

I've ordered the replacements. I will follow up with my results.

Friday I'm off to the Department of Motor Vehicles to wrap up the VIN verification and finalize the registration. Pretty soon I'll be able to drive this little gem!

[TRP]

I figured I should give a quick up date on the assembly process!

Interior is in! Having Newton whip up a new rear seat for me. I went all black because the early Mk1 fleck stuff didn't do a lot for me. Don't judge! I need to wrap up wiring on the Amp Meeter and Tach'o. Once that's done I can insert the dash panel and the Mk1 binnacle. I can also see that I need to replace that heater hose that ended up being painted blue! Could use a good hoover on the carpets too!

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Trying to decide if I want to go with Smaller mirrors. I don't want to drill holes in the doors so I recycled my wing mirrors. Do they look too big?

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Thanks for checking in,
Ted

[TRP]

I'm at DMV right now. So far so good!

[TRP]

The DMV inspector only noted that the S in my vin may have been transposed to a 5 over the years. That was flagged and sent along to the State Inspector. Should be fine but you never know what happens in California Bureaucracy. I've been given a temporary tag to last me through October while the California Government laments over the difference between a 5 or an S and how someone could have possibly mistaken the two...

Before I took her on the road and at speed I had to fit the window seals. I went with the newer ones noted above. We have a local company who gets parts direct from MiniSpares. I fit them without any issue but the windows still don't close as nicely as I'd hope. They fit as described above.

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Only about 1/2 the frame fits in the 'body line'. Is that normal?

The drive from My house up to the DMV was about 10 miles all on the freeway. This being my first British car I wasn't sure what sorts of RPM's were safe. The tach isn't hooked up yet and the second speedo I've installed isn't functioning. So, I resorted to my phone for speed. I drove a solid 65mph (105kph?) in 4th. Oil pressure was 50/60. Water temps were 165-175 in the morning and a little higher as the say warmed up, but nothing higher than 180. I saw the gauge peak up at 190/200 after sitting for a bit. How do those numbers look? Everything okay there? I found a little rainbow halo on the rear bumper by the tail pipes. I also found that at idle I feel like it's burning a bit of oil. I can see the exhaust at times and it's really light grey (not white). Is this normal for a motor that's been sitting for 15-20 years? The motor was new in 2000, driven a bit, and then put in storage for 20 years. I'll keep an eye on the oil consumption and take it from there.

I'm starting to wonder about doing a leakdown / compression test to just check the health of the motor. Or am I overthinking this and this is all part of the 'charm'?


Ted

[TRP]

As I stated, all registered and in my name. I managed to install the chrome trim and a bit of the interior. It's coming along nicely if I don't say so myself.

I wired up the tach'o that I had sent out to have retrofit. Unfortunately it doesn't work. I'm assuming it was rebuilt to negative ground so I'll need to rectify that.

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Any advice on the valve seals? Is this a job you could do with the head on the car? The car smokes a weeee bit at idle. The blue smoke tends to show up at idle after the car has warmed up a bit or has been sitting after just driving it.

Thanks for checking in,
Ted

[roger mcnab]

hi
well i had a broken outer valve spring on my v8 ford ute and the mechanic used a thing that screwed into the plug hole and hooked the air line to it and changed the spring with no trouble saved a lot of work going the other way other wise a bent rod fitted down the plug hole also will do the job he also had a forked tool that fitted around the colets ? hooked under what was appropriate
any help
cheers roger mcnab

[iain1967s]

Removing the head is not really a big deal on a mini. Easily done in a day to remove, de-coke, fit new seals, reinstall and set the valve clearances. While you’re there, replace the rubber bypass hose as it’s sure to have rotted over the years. Use a good quality silicon hose or Kevlar reinforced version, not the cheap ‘accordion’ type.

Alternative if there is no other problem with the engine, just change the oil and filter, refill with 50 weight racing oil instead. Racing oil has a high flash point and doesn’t smoke when burned. In the USA it’s sold on amazon as ‘FHS smokeless oil’ and it really works. Add some zddp oil additive to protect the valve train and gearbox.

Regarding the tacho, likely the electrolytic capacitors have dried up or the germanium transistors died. You can send it to Nisonger in NY if you want to repair rather than replace. http://www.nisonger.com/instrument-rebuilding.htm

[TRP]

Well... it looks like fate has dealt it's hand. The head is going to have to come off.

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Looks like one of the valve tips has started to go funny shaped.

Off she goes for some head work (new valve and whatever else they come up with).

Ted

[woodypup59]

Presumably that roller rocker is not hard enough, or has jammed so it won't rotate.

Your driving temp/pressure figures seem OK.

[TRP]

I thought it was the valve that was toast. The roller appears like it's in good shape. I'll go tear into it afterni clean up my previous messes. Lol.

[TRP]

I pulled the head on Saturday night. Much as we suspected, the valve stem tip wasn't up to the job. She's toast. I shipped 'er off to the machine shop to get the head touched and a new valve installed.

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With the head and rockers off I was able to get a look at the valves, only the intake valves had valve seals. This is what lead to oil making it's way past the valve guide. A look down the exhaust ports shows the evidence. All three ports looked the same.

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I flipped the head over and all four cylinders looked pretty close to the same. I don't know anything about what I'm looking at to tell if what I'm seeing is good or bad.

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None of the grooves you're seeing were deep enough to register with a thumbnail drug across them.

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I will be ditching the valve springs and 1.5 rockers for a 1.4 set from Swiftline along with their dual valve springs.

[TRP]

Hey Gang!

It's been a while since I've update the progress on my car. Mostly it's because I've been driving it. It's not all back together yet but it's good enough to drive around.

I had the head completely rebuild. Had the shop install all new valves & seals. Went with larger intake valves and a little clean up of the ports. Nothing meaningful. This is an older Pierce head which will never perform outstanding. Ditched the purple and orange bits (in the bin) and went with stock sintered rockers. While I was in there I installed ARP head studs.

Car fired right up. No smoking or problems since the new install. I adjusted the valves to tight (.012) for the cam (Elgin 003?), so I am going to go back in today and set things right (.014 & .016). All in all happy with the setup. Runs and idles like a champ. I've reached out to Keith to get some pricing on a GT head and some of his fancy 1.4 rockers.

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Waiting on the rear seat from Newton.

I started to look at the headliner. Removed all the old brittle fabric and started to get things ready to install the new. Wish me luck!

Thanks for letting me share & for checking in...

Ted

[TRP]

It is with great satisfaction that I share this update!

Most all of the refurb work has been completed. I entered the car in a show (British Fall Classic) here in town and took second. I am not pleased to say I lost to a rebadged 1998 Sport Pack (registered as a 68!)

The judges were clearly not versed in the Mini.

I drove the car to the office last week. A coworker snapped some shots and shared them with me:

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The headliner and rear set came out well. I will snap some shots and share another time.

My hat is off to all of you who take on the really serious projects to resurrect these little gems from the tin worm. You guys are the real artisans.

While this project was rewarding, it pales in comparison to some of the work being shared here.