1964 Traveller rebuild

[atm92484]

The plan to slot the differential case for the washer tabs went ok...then I tried fitting the washers.

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I don't know if castings this bad are typical but one side had substantially more material than the other - enough so that one of the washers couldn't seat. They sort of tried fixing it by adding a chamfer but there was only enough material to chamfer on half of the diameter. So my choices were down to adding more clearance with a file (too much manual work), die grinder (too much mess), or lathe (always the right choice!) After a few minutes of careful turning, both washers fit nicely and I was able to begin work on the stub shaft bushings.

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One of the worn bushings fell out when I removed the shaft. The other I removed most of in the lathe then used a pick and hammer to work the thin remaining part out of the bore. I didn't have a 1.030" reamer and wasn't in the mood to make one so once again it was back into the lathe.

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Next step will be to clean everything, reassemble with a new pin, new planet gears, new thrust washers, new diff bearings, etc and hopefully never have to deal with this one again.

[970s]

Hi, A little tips on the torque setting of the 6 crown wheel bolts, being stretched (using used bolts)and finally shear happened couple of times during our diff rebuild, I wonder the 60 ft/lb given in Haynes and BMC manual is not correct, you can find 48 lb/ft in the Metro( diff rebuild )Haynes manual, which is more reasonable in accordance to the size of bolts used.
ARP recommneded only 50 lb/ft for their high grade LSD bolts.
Its is only my personal suggestion, hope it helps!

Al

[Peter Laidler]

That's good sound advice 970S. Those figures have been raised here before. I used what I called '.....my gut feeling...' when I did mine last time. Next time I think I will use the lowest torque figure and wire lock.

The tools used to get the drip rail radiuses correct are just brilliant

[atm92484]

Hi, A little tips on the torque setting of the 6 crown wheel bolts, being stretched (using used bolts)and finally shear happened couple of times during our diff rebuild, I wonder the 60 ft/lb given in Haynes and BMC manual is not correct, you can find 48 lb/ft in the Metro( diff rebuild )Haynes manual, which is more reasonable in accordance to the size of bolts used.
ARP recommneded only 50 lb/ft for their high grade LSD bolts.
Its is only my personal suggestion, hope it helps!

Al

Good advice and I had a similar experience doing a LSD swap on a Sprite differential. The previous owner had replaced the factory bolts with grade 8 bolts and I wasn't thinking - snapped one off in the ring gear. It looks like Sprites and Minis use the same ATA7043 bolts.

Funny thing is I've done a few LSD swaps on Sprite diffs and re-torqued used stock bolts to 60 ft-lbs without issue but it sounds like I've gotten lucky. I made the dangerous assumption that BMC specified a higher strength alloy for these bolts to get to that torque number but that assumption may be totally wrong.

Next time I think I will use the lowest torque figure and wire lock.

The tools used to get the drip rail radiuses correct are just brilliant

I think I'm going this plan. I am not a fan of tab washers for anything in the powertrain. I've done just torque and threadlocker previously but I like the safety wire idea.

(Also thanks - more drip rail repairs coming soon)

[Peter Laidler]

In the tech pages of the forum you'll find that our old pal Bart Theelan and Nick Rogers have done a few pages on the comparative BL/BMC fixtures and fittings/Nuts, bolts and washers. It makes VERY interesting reading for tech nerds like me.

However, it doesn't mention the high tensile bolts so far as I can see. But some bolts that I consider SHOULD be Hi tensile, clearly aren't!

Good reading

[mk1]

The best place for Fastener decode info is on the Main site.

https://mk1-performance-conversions.co. ... teners.pdf

[Peter Laidler]

You're right! Copied and logged in my garage file

[atm92484]

A bit more progress since August - got the differential reassembled and reinstalled in the transmission, replaced the output yoke bushings, got a good used set of output yokes, and generally got the transmission reassembled as much as possible without having an engine to bolt it to. I bolted the shift level to the housing, ran it through the gears, and everything felt good so calling it good enough for now. Bagged and on the shelf!

Back to rust repair - I have been mulling over how to tackle the roof gutters since 2015. I really appreciate finding previous handy work - nice use of foam to hold body filler in place while it set!

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The plan for the rear gutter worked out okay but only because the contour was fairly simple. I started off making a MDF former for the side gutter on the driver side and was able to get something usable but it being curved in two directions made it a colossal pain. You don't appreciate how much it curves upwards near the side seam until you are trying to make an angled piece match the curve.

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It took less time to drive to Harbor Freight, buy a metal stretcher/shrinker set, drive home, and make the even more complicated front driver side repair (money well spent!) These have been a huge time saver and I wish I would have bought them years ago.

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[Old English White]

Very impressive result

[mk1]

What brilliant work!

[alexm]

Following this with interest and really impressed.

Roof profiles are black belt stuff!

[atm92484]

Thanks again - still slowly making progress.

I am calling the gutter repair good enough for the time being. I have to grind the welds and hammer everything back into shape but that is for later.

Next - addressing the front subframe mount. The previous owner bought many replacement panels but never installed them. Included in the parts pile was a rubber mount front fascia. Since it was basically free, I made the decision back in 2015 to use it and added some spacers to get me through the build phase. Fast forward to 2023 and it is time to address this the correct way.

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I started by making a fixture out of square tube and tack welding it to the mounting tabs. Next I removed the rubber mounting bracket and used them to design the new bracket and the MDF former.

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Finally after some bending, hammering, and repeating, I had two new brackets.

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A question before I weld them in place - is the area around the 3/8" mounting hole reinforced in any way or is it just the one layer of 16 gauge steel with a washer beneath the subframe bolt head?

[Clubman gt]

No reinforcement needed

[atm92484]

Thanks!

I got it wrapped up a few days ago. I'm calling it "better than it was".

[atm92484]

Long story short - lots of hammering to finish gutter repair work followed by epoxy primer, filler, and more primer. I opted for single stage on the underside, engine compartment, and interior and a base/clear for the exterior. The doors should go on for one final time tomorrow!

[Joel Welsh 4769VU]

That is all...

Just



Nicely done.

[atm92484]

It was 10 years ago today that I brought the Mini home. I was hoping to have it on the ground and started - so close but will be on the road in time for spring!

[Peter Laidler]

That's been a brilliant and inspiring thread right from the start ATM.

Here's a question....... Knowing what you know now, would you do it again?

[atm92484]

Thank you. It has been an adventure and I'm hoping it will continue to evolve once it is on the road.

I worked out of the house garage for the first three years and shuffled things around to make space to work. This made progress slow since I wouldn't want to move other cars outside and make a huge mess if I only had an hour or two to work. The car sat in storage for a little over two years following a move until I was able to land a permanent dedicated workshop. This dedicated space helped progress since I had more room, I wasn't making a mess at my house, and I was able to acquire more and better tools. Unfortunately this space was also shared with the racecars and they always took priority - winter meant making sure they were ready for the next season before continuing work on the Mini and most of summer garage time was prepping for the next race weekend.

I can't say I would 100% do it again given that I generally enjoy racing, followed by building, followed by cruising - yes would be closer to 75%. I am happy to be at this point since I do not like taking on projects and not taking them to completion but for the amount of time I have into this car there are things that are not perfect and I wish they were. With that said, Minis in general are fairly uncommon in the US and almost no one knows about the LWB variants so it will be a neat car to share at events.

The 25% no is coming from a recent purchase - I've always wanted a Lotus 7 to race and recently got one. I considered a few that required work but ultimately passed on them and paid more for a turnkey, well prepped car. It is nice having the next project arrive in running condition and not needing much. I have a list of what it needs prior to the season but the list is short and won't require me taking nearly as much time from real life to complete it.

Having said all of that, I am a slow learner so most of this will soon be forgotten and I'll bring home another project that should have been parted out.

[1071 S]

Was not the foam at the top of the pillars a future not a fault??? ie it was installed at the factory during the original build...

I remember reading a warning years ago about the cause of rust at the top of the pillars ...and the consequences of welding without cleaning it out???

Cheers, Ian