Curse of the Crimson Altar-1966 Mini Cooper Resurrection

[Peter Laidler]

Yep, same here. I did just what Polar suggests. The difference was that I removed the useless rad cowl during my restoration. It serves no useful, mechanical or thermal purpose.

[politeperson]

Thanks,
Forget the cowl then. I cannot remember if I have one anyway.
The wheels are the same as the roof, snowberry I think I have them matched.
I had my favourite Blockleys put on as well.
I use them on all the old cars, they are excellent.

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[Peter Laidler]

Looks like you ahve got the radiator cowling (on the left side inner wing) and probably too late to remove it.

They deleted it from bodyshells some time in the early 70's or so. Waste of time and material

[gs.davies]

Title of thread changed at user's request.

GD

[politeperson]

Well I guess I will stick with what I have got!

Thought I would change the thread title as "Floor and Sill Options" is a bit "platform announcer" and certainly less exciting than a film with Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Barbara Steele and vampires.

I still have the buff log book with Vernon Sewells ( the directors') address as the first owner, somewhere posh in SW1.

Curse.jpg

[Peter Laidler]

Has the wheel nearest the camera got a shallower rim inset than the two behind it? Or is that camera angle?

[politeperson]

All the same Peter.

It would be nice to get them on!

[politeperson]

I have been busy painting my bike amongst other things so not a massive amount to report.

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However I did manage to get a rear wheel on or 2.

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[politeperson]

A bit more progress,
Dash and wiring loom done,
Rear lights, front lights indicators and fuel tank done,
Brake pipes, clutch pipe completed.
Front and rear suspension done.
Nearly rolling now.

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[politeperson]

Looking at how the engine and gearbox fits into the hole, its all a bit tight.

I had a quick go at dropping it in, but decided it was all going to end in tears after 15 minutes.

Seeing as removing the front sub-frame takes about 10 minutes, thats what I did.

I will try and lift the hole lot in from underneath (or drop the car onto it from above).

This has allowed be to join the driveshafts up easily and tidy the brake lines too.

Cant remember whether to attach the radiator to the engine before or after insertion!

Now is the time to decide.

I also need to decide whether the engine fan is the wrong way round. I think I changed it?

I cannot remember whether it is sucking air though the inner wing or expelling it!

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[Polarsilver]

If Plastic Fan ? .. fit the rough side of fan towards the Radiator .. Fan pushes air through Radiator.. I would fit the Rad; before the Lump goes in.. leaving off the top rad bracket to allow a bit of space .. make sure the Bottom Hose & Fan Belt all align .. if fitting a LCB exhaust manifold ..position into the subframe but not fully bolted up yet.. also sort out the clutch adjustment & fit the Slave Cyl;. Spring & Hose before the Lump goes in.. set Flywheel to TDC mark to help on initial pre start checks.. no Carbs go on just yet .
I lower the Body onto engine & make sure its is all in the horizontal & it will then fit without issues .. using a Trolly Jack under the sump for the final few alignments that will be needed.. for me the best way to install a power unit is Bodyshell drop down, also use some alignment studs in the Towers to get those top mountings into alignment as it an area that you cannot see if all is aligned correctly. also dont forget the oval packings on top of the Towers ( if they are fitted on your car )

ps Take off Distributor Cap to get a bit more clearance & do not forget to fit the earth strap to the clutch cover bolt as i cannot see one in your Photo
Worthy considering to fit an extension pipe to be able to easier bleed the clutch slave cylinder some say its a good idea .. but it is not essential.

Looking good.

[politeperson]

Thanks for that.

I am going to give it a go, wish me luck!

[politeperson]

Well, I followed advice and checked the clutch adjustment. The fan was the wrong way around.

It went in fairly easily, the closest it got was the engine breather to the servo.

Its pretty tight. Anything serious needs doing and its definitely all coming out again for access!

I wouldn't fancy doing this on a driveway, thats for sure.

Even out of the car, the engine mounts were challenging!, The radiator brackets a fiddle.

In the car quite difficult I would say.

Then I connected the clutch, brakes, speedo starter and a few other bits.

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I had to drill 3 holes for the rear gearbox remote and bolt it in.

Then I dropped it on its wheels for the first time.

This is the ride height at the front.

The rear is too embarrassingly high to post a picture ! Hope it comes down a bit.

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[Polarsilver]

presume you fitted the engine earth strap & the oval packing 2x plates on-top of the front subframe towers.,asking as neither is seen in your photo

[politeperson]

Morning,

I have modified the hydrolastic subframe to take dry cones. It is is a bit taller than a dry subframe so didn't need a spacer.

Apparently.

No spacers came out when I took it apart and it is a snug fit.

I will fit an earth strap shortly.

I will also fit 3 big bags of potatoes into the boot to knock some sense into those rear cones and bring the back down.

Now I know why Michal Caine had to drive to Italy and pinch all that heavy gold.

It was so he could get the ride height down on Mr Bridgers cars.

[Peter Laidler]

I wouldn't worry too much about the rear height....... It'll soon level itself up!

The concensus is that after a year or so, the front cones will compress first and then you swop the cones front to rear so the front now compressed cones are at the rear and trhe UN squashed rear cones are at the front. All according to my friend Clever Trevor

Have a good Christmas

[politeperson]

Thanks Peter.
Being impatient thought I would try and speed things up a bit buy bunging a tyre or two in the boot to weigh it down.

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Thats quite a bit of weight. Not as much a 3 bags of tates though.

Made only a little difference. It does bounce up and down though, so its not stuck.

Look at the difference between the sizes of the wheels!

I hover around in a few different areas of the car world both old and new.

In the modern Porsche world, these 20 inch tyres are considered small! Fashion is a ridiculous thing

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We will see what happens. Might be Hi-lo's at the rear as the front. Ill wait a bit.

[Classic1]

Couple of tractor front weights in the boot and then forget about them till summer time

[politeperson]

Good idea.

I managed to sneaked into the shed for a bit today and did the fuel pipes, fuel pump, reattached the bonnet, refitted the column, indicator and steering wheel which required me to re solder the horn push, connected the gear-stick and fitted the gaiter and surround.

I also tightened the suspension and the driveshafts re-routed the battery cable away from the exhaust and a few other jobs.

My tank strap is no good, so I must get a new one. I think it is looking like Hi Los, so I cant fit the tank until they arrive as I have to drop the suspension which is held by the shock absorber tops.

Merry Christmas everyone!

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