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Last year my cooper s developed a grating noise , it got worse quick , whilst out in it ,it siezed .after the journey of shame by the AA I put it in the garage and left it their , figuring a new engine was required . Anyway I thought a dead line was needed to get it repaired , so I've book track time at Blyton!. That was last month ,since then I removed engine and on strip down discovered the problem was only the ring gear had half come a drift causing it to scrape on the housing!.anyway the diff felt sloppy so I've rebuilt the lot , changed the diff from 3.4-1 to 3.1-1 as it was screaming when used on motorways. The drop gears were worn ,so I've fitted swift tune s/c . Gearbox is an 1128 s/c ,block is 1380 a+ 286 cam 940 ported head.
I've rebuilt the front subframe whilst its out ,and thought I'd tidy engine bay up whilst its stripped ,this bits been a rate ball ache ,2 days removing all the old paint and sealer ,ths nowt worse than a mini to prep for paint , wacking yer fingers on all the seams an that!. Anyway I thought whilst I was painting the bay I'd get rid of some rust on the front wings!.
The clock for Blyton seems to be getting faster so Its got to go back together next week!
If I make it its a morris 1275s almond green GDH 988D

It always start as a "simple" and "minor" job and then things get serius

Nice work you are doing.


Jens Christian

JC T ONE wrote:It always start as a "simple" and "minor" job and then thingd get serius

Nice work you are doing.


Jens Christian

Yes if it wasn't for the Blyton dead line I'd respray the full car , I've mixed the almond green and found the pigments must have changed since last done years ago ,so have tinted as best I can .
I've added 15% matting agent to the engine bay paint , so as to stop the "shunt be that shiney" critics.
It seems to work added to 2 pack giving a slight satin look , might try it on the full car when I have the time? .....Nick

Engine bay now painted
Managed to put a few bits back on today , only awkward part was putting the split pins back in the clutch and brake reservoirs laid on my back , with my blood presure !
The repro m/s choke knob fell off , so have a nos bmc one to fit tomorrow

Nice work. Yes those repro choke cables are shit. I've had more than one's head come off and am also looking for a NOS one.

abri wrote:Nice work. Yes those repro choke cables are shit. I've had more than one's head come off and am also looking for a NOS one.

Dam! Just been in the garage to get that nos choke cable , it was a military spare one so rapped in loads of grease proof paper ,removing the paper took a while only to reveal Heater Push!!!!

Nick W wrote:

abri wrote:Nice work. Yes those repro choke cables are shit. I've had more than one's head come off and am also looking for a NOS one.

Dam! Just been in the garage to get that nos choke cable , it was a military spare one so rapped in loads of grease proof paper ,removing the paper took a while only to reveal Heater Push!!!!

They brake aswell, so no harm - just need to locate a NOS choke too

I also bought 2 new cables, when I restored my car.
Pulled the head off the heater cable, while a well known Mini parts supplier from UK was sitting in the car
He didnt even ask if it was a repro - his swift comment was "yes those repro cables are not very good"

Fitted the servo today , replacing the wrong one that was fitted , the servo pipe union is missing , should it be a valve or just the same as on the manifold , it has a valve halfway up the servo pipe?

Engine back in today!

the servo valves are quite hard to find, and you have to be careful as there are both pushers and pullers (i.e they look identical but one will work screwed into the servo (ie the vacuum is pulled through the valve), the other works when its screwed into the manifold (ie the vacuum is pushed through the valve) - if this makes sense...

the 'pushers' are easier to find, so I think most people poke the innards out and use it as a 'dumb' fitting and then just fit a modern in line valve as well

rich@minispares.com wrote:the servo valves are quite hard to find, and you have to be careful as there are both pushers and pullers (i.e they look identical but one will work screwed into the servo (ie the vacuum is pulled through the valve), the other works when its screwed into the manifold (ie the vacuum is pushed through the valve) - if this makes sense...

the 'pushers' are easier to find, so I think most people poke the innards out and use it as a 'dumb' fitting and then just fit a modern in line valve as well

So it's ok with the later in line one and just a normal tap in the servo ? Not really going for total original with this car anyway ,

I seem to remember once my Sunbeam alpine back fired blowing the remote servo diagram because this valve was dodgy!!

Is there any way to tell the difference between the "pushers and pullers" from the outside? I have one that looks exactly like the one in this thread. Which type is it?

abri wrote:Is there any way to tell the difference between the "pushers and pullers" from the outside? I have one that looks exactly like the one in this thread. Which type is it?

{jimmy saville mode} get your lips around it and suck (or blow)................



the in line ones have an arrow on them, but I don't think the screw in ones do, if you look inside them they do look different as the 'guts' are reversed in them

engine now back in and running ,but had some right bo..cks with the manifold ,seemed to fit ok when trial fitted with engine out,
but when tightened up with engine in ,it fouled the subframe and the remote housing ,removal with engine in seemed imposible ,without removing the o/s driveshaft coupling!
I should have sent the manifold back but haven't got time ,so cut /bent/welded to the correct profile
first time I tried to start engine ,timing miles out ,distributor 180 out ,but easiy enough to turn dissy drive round by screwing in a bolt to save droping in to gearbox!
I was worried about newly rebuild h4 leaking etc ,but all seemed ok ,but seems a little rich using No6 needle ,might try No4s. Ive fitted a swiftune dissy with the different advance curves, but wont have time to get it to a rolling road,so hopfully my tuning pal will be able to set it up ok.
next problem brakes wont bleed I think the problems in the servo

looks like your servo is positioned wrong , I think the outlet should be higher than the inlet ?????????????, looks your yours is not , have you the proper brkts and are they in the proper holes, somebody will send you a photo of the right holes to fit them and will incline the servo more, But i could be wrong.

Goff

goff wrote:looks like your servo is positioned wrong , I think the outlet should be higher than the inlet ?????????????, looks your yours is not , have you the proper brkts and are they in the proper holes, somebody will send you a photo of the right holes to fit them and will incline the servo more, But i could be wrong.

Goff

Thank Goff
You could be right as my inner wing had more holes than a colander. , so being mounted with the wrong incline may cause a problem?. Will correct it tomorrow and try to bleed it again

nick


the servos can be a real swine to bleed, particularly if they are mounted wrong as the air cannot escape, the brand new on my car was mounted wrong and wouldn't bleed, so I blamed it and bought another new one, mounted it right and it still wouldn't bleed ( )

when I actually read the instructions it said to crack the unions on the servo and bleed them, I did that and got a load of air out of it, nipped them and re bled the front brakes and it all came right again.

rich@minispares.com wrote:nick


the servos can be a real swine to bleed, particularly if they are mounted wrong as the air cannot escape, the brand new on my car was mounted wrong and wouldn't bleed, so I blamed it and bought another new one, mounted it right and it still wouldn't bleed ( )

when I actually read the instructions it said to crack the unions on the servo and bleed them, I did that and got a load of air out of it, nipped them and re bled the front brakes and it all came right again.

Thanks Rich
Ill try that tomorrow , .....Nick

Tried to bleed the servo on Monday , but no luck ,so drove over to P&L and picked up a new Bosh copy , there a bit longer ,so had to drill more holes! . But fits and works! It has an alloy body compared to the original cast steel one but looks fine for this car it cost £270+.next problem was the Swiftune DSI ,engine was running fine and it was time to connect the rev counter ,I'd tried it to the black - on the coil were it ran on the old one , but nothing , connected it to the white and black ,which is also from the - , nothing , reved engine , switched it off . Then it wouldn't start , after much head scratching , took dissy out and rigged it up to a battery and a bulb ,to test it .
Some how it's toast .rang DSI in Nederlands , who offered to repair , but this would take about 8-10 days .Luckily Swiftune were brilliant and sent out a new one overnight
The insructions warn Do Not Put 12 Volts , down black wire ,which I didn't .so not sure how to proceed
Will take rev counter out from dash to make sure it's wired correct first.
Anyway took it for a drive around our premises , surprised at the difference in the gear racios from 3.4 to 3.1 not quite as instant set off but once rolling really starts to shift ,
Got it painted Thursday ,only the wings f/panel & bonnet , looks good , not a perfect match though ,but going to paint rest another day!.
Next ....seats/belts/roll bar.....Nick

Spent my spare time this week changing the interior a bit
Fitted an original John ally roll bar , dodle to fit .hardest bit was getting the holes in the parcel shelf and bin pockets trims in the right place.I know these aren't recommended for safety , but must be better than now't and it looks cool!
Next I've put in some speedwell buckets I've had in the loft for years. The seat frames that were on them didn't fit a mini.
Rich recommended MS adjustable subframes .they bolted straight to the seats and mounted to the original front mini seat brackets .at the rear they have 2 tubes with ajustable feet , Rich said these wear holes in the carpet so I've stuck 2 alloy strips to the carpet to spread the load.
Next I fitted britax 3 points in . I screws eye bolts in to the original mountings and clipped them in
Is it rediculous to fit the sholder straps over the seat and down to the center mounting next to the handbrake , when I've fitted them to customers healeys I've bolted them through the rear seat bulkhead . But can't really see the point of going to the back of the mini with them ?