EcoClassic Electric Mk1 Austin Mini

[rolesyboy]

No finer feeling brother

[Bitsilly]

After fitting the steering rack in the absence of my front subframe, I moved on the the pedal box as I just figured that no clutch is needed!
To maintain the reversibility I did not just cut the pedal off! It is a simple process to remove the pedal and replace it with a spacer and a couple of washers.
Clutch pedal now with some of its friends in a box in the garage loft!

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[Nick W]

Think that what my Auto is like with the spacer

[Bitsilly]

I had considered looking at an auto pedal box, but this option was free!

The forum was helpful in the decision about the rear brake bias. There are lots of different springs which affect the bias, but as there will be some heavy batteries in my boot, the consensus was to fit a variable bias valve.
Job done, adjustable from inside, but out of sight.

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I could have replaced the old valve with a t-piece, but decided to leave it in place for the moment and just remove and store the spring. It may need changing over later if it traps air but fingers crossed.
The black silicone is just to seal it in and provide about as much movement as you can expect from the rear subframe mounts.

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[Bitsilly]

One bit of not-so-good news is on the speedo. I restored my original one and was really happy with it:

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But as the mechanical take off point for the speedo cable is being lost, I had considered a few options to replace the input but keep the original speedo.
One was to use an electronic pick up and convert it to mechanical spin, another was to use a mechanical box to process a GPS signal to mechanical spin.
The issue is that those options rely on USA firms which don't cater for lil'old BMC fitments. Also, getting the speedo cable to spin is one thing, but to calibrate that to the speedo would either require the speedo being sent to Speedy Cables to be re-built as an electronic unit, or buying a modern looking Smiths speedo with easy calibration (you just drive at 40 and press a button), and it turns out they are too small diameter anyway.

Caerbont Automotive, who now make Smiths dials, came up with the best solution. They can supply a correctly sized 0-90 speedo in Magnolia with the inner chrome ring and concentric rings as per the original, but as an electronic unit with the easy calibration system. The only difference will be the odometer which will be a small LCD display where the old dial one was. Even the needle is red!
It can take pretty much any electronic input, step or wave, which can come from the electric motor, or a little pick up they can supply.
There is no photo of it on their website, except one in black and 0-120 but you get the idea
https://www.smiths-instruments.co.uk/mini

I'll post a photo of it when it gets here in a few weeks.

Another problem solved, not perfectly but pretty close.

[Polarsilver]

Std Brake Valve without the spring on the Subframe whats its purpose other than to cause you grief ?.. your variable rear brake bias valve will do the job.. start rear bias setting with valve Fully Closed then open two full turns & finish set up adjustment when in on road trim.

[Bitsilly]

I'll change the empty valve to a t-piece.
Cheers for the advice

[Bitsilly]

Valve now removed completely.

Also, I figured I can just open the boot or bonnet to get to the recharging plug rather than try and do something potentially ugly and give-game-away with the petrol filler, so thanks to a piece of plastic pipe, see if you can spot anything wrong with this photo!

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[java gt]

Nice trick with the hose and tie wrap to make a spacer between the brake pipes.I'd love to say I'll use it the next time a situation arises but I have trouble remembering why I walked into a room most days

[Bitsilly]

Well spotted!
SVA/IVA friendly too!

[Bitsilly]

Although I have plenty to get on with I have been in touch with Nick for an up date on the conversion parts.
Had a cool answer, and it confirms my status as an international businessman!!

'all the parts except the batteries are on a ship called the EDITH MAERSK currently sailing up the coast of Portugal, no confirmed date for Felixstowe yet as the port is still suffering delays'

Now, I hereby declare I will not drag this build thread into the Brexit argument but please feel free to privately speculate my opinion.

[Bitsilly]

I was just looking back at correspondence with from EcoClassics who are supplying my stuff, and thought I'd share this.
It compares well with the Swind Mini 136 lb/ft torque and the other conversions I looked at!
I don't doubt there will be development issues that slow the car down a bit, like for instance the weight of the batteries and my ever increasing lockdown waistline, but if I get anywhere close to the prediction it will be pretty quick for a mk1!

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[snoopy64]

Hi

What are you using for warmth in the cabin??

Have I missed how you’re going to keep warm...

[Bitsilly]

Tempted to say that my garage princess will never be allowed out if it is cold or wet or winter or spring or autumn but that is not the truth!
She is destined to be an all-year-round car!

So, to answer your question, the existing radiator and Smiths fan will remain plumbed in. The circulating water will not be removing heat from the engine, but it will be circulating through the electric motor which also needs cooling and has an input for coolant and an output for hot coolant.
There will be no engine fan to cool the radiator so I'll fit an electric fan controlled by a thermostat.

Thus the heat generated by the motor can be used by the Smiths heater matrix to heat the cabin.

[Bitsilly]

My little treat from Ebay with the same 'everything is not as it seems' twist as the car!

A vintage radio with built in speaker (from underneath) and a modern input jack for whatever!

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[finchy533]

Although I have plenty to get on with I have been in touch with Nick for an up date on the conversion parts.
Had a cool answer, and it confirms my status as an international businessman!!

'all the parts except the batteries are on a ship called the EDITH MAERSK currently sailing up the coast of Portugal, no confirmed date for Felixstowe yet as the port is still suffering delays'

If you want to keep an eye on it...
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/de ... ITH_MAERSK

(via, weirdly, the Tesla forums, where they have gone to town on figuring out shipping...
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads ... ts.217602/)

[Bitsilly]

Good lord! This really is the age of information!

Especially the Tesla thread!

[Bitsilly]

Having driven Nick's Lotus replica I had presumed that I had to have a modern electronic dial selector for reverse/neutral/drive selection as per his car, and I was all set to have the 'magic wand' sitting there as a dummy prop.
With other projects he is part of, the potential customers seem to prefer the possibility of using the original gearstick instead of a rotary dial and I agree. The problem is you need to have a switch for reverse, a switch for neutral and one for drive.
This is the kind of thing that I figured I couldn't afford!:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJEZxFZnS2C ... f3zqxek6mh

Even if I could afford it, it increases the cost and is not original so requires more drilling etc., but also the idea of not having a safety lockout for reverse would worry me that it could accidentally be hit from drive to reverse or vice versa.
So I decided to have a go at building my own and if I failed at least I would have a mounting point for a dummy magic wand.

Anyway, I didn't want to sacrifice my gearbox for a mounting point for the gearstick which I wasn't sure would work so I bought this, it is 'mini' but really best for 76 onward conversions (if my plan works) as you would already have one! I just needed the casing, my next step is to try to get it to work (ie. incorporate 3 switches) and then find a way to fit it to the mk1.

[Bitsilly]

Obviously it needed a clean but the whole lot delivered was £45.

Thanks to the design of the housing, there was already a lucas reverse light switch, which gave me a head-start if I could make use of it.
The lockout for reverse is taken care of by a rail on the baseplate of the housing. Basically it stops you getting reverse by blocking the path of the end of the stick. You have to pull the gearstick up against the spring in its base to lift it over the rail (the curved spot welded one in this photo from Minispares).

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As there are no other restrictions of movement from the now absent gearbox, the spring provided the only satisfying 'snick-clunk' of the system, otherwise the top end of the gearstick just flops around!

As I needed to restrict the movement further I figured if it was good enough for Mini.... so I fitted another rail in the base plate, too high to be lifted over, so the stick could only move forward or backwards between the plates unless you pull for reverse.

[nick@dunsdale]

Brilliant thread looking forward to following it