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Click here to go to the most recent work.
This is a on going story of our mini automatic. Started to work on it July 2005. Here is the story so far.
I started off thinking I would only change the A-panels, and then fibre glass the rest... Once I had started looking deeper into the problem areas I found that more had to be done, for a start the near side wing had a hole around the headlamp, I found on ebay (good old ebay, what a godsend) a new wing, (see picture), I started taking off the wing, only to find that the front panel had rust around the edges, so that came off to, along with the other wing and cut into the scuttle panel as well.
Again I looked on ebay for a front panel, found one and won it for £35.00, only problem was it was located in Gloucester, oh well, we went up on a saturday and spent the day looking around Gloucester, picked up the front panel, along with a complete cooper interior, cooper spot lights, cooper wing mirrors, rear screen, electronic distributor, auxiliary fan, starter motor, scuttle panels, halogen headlamp's all for £100. (not bad).
The inner wheel arch was next, then the floor, and the inner and outer sills had to come off. Once they were off I took off the shock absorber bracket only to be able to push a hole behind it with my finger, this was the same on the other side (See picture), both were filed back to new metal and a plate welded back in. New mountings have been fitted as well.
Next came the outer sills, both were bad, both jacking brackets were gone, completely eaten by the worm, I cut out most of the inner sill on both sides and the driver's floor pan, the floor for the rest of the car was mainly OK, apart from a couple of little holes on the passenger side, I have cut these out and patched them up. Also patched the inner sill on both sides (See picture). Also patched up the hole on the inner wing so that the front panel could be attached to it. (Note: I have never done any welding in my life.)
I had to cut out some of the door step which had holes in, the replacement part I got from Moss-Europe was too thin, but hopefully when the side strip is fitted, you will not be able to notice this. (See picture).
Time to start putting it back together again, after collecting most of the bits I needed, a-panels, wings, front, floor panel, inner wheel arch, inner and outer sills, scuttle panels, etc, etc. The first job I did was the inner wheel arch (See picture), went straight in with no problem, the next, was the scuttle panels, gusset closing panels, both sides were needed, not to much of a problem here, pretty straight forward, next the a-panels (See Pictures) and wings, some problems tying to align these up but in the end they were on, followed by the front panel. (See Pictures). All this area has been painted with POR-15.
I have fitted new headlamp fittings along with halogen lamps, also new are the indicators, both on the front and side. (See Pictures). New electric connections have been fitted for both the indicators and headlamp's, I have also threaded the headlight cable through a plastic tube. Also at this time I replaced the rear screen, new rubber and chrome strip have been fitted.
The rear sub-frame came next, had trouble getting this off, the idiot who replaced the sub-frame about three years ago sheared one of the mounting bolts and stuck the rest in with glue, in the end I had to knock this out completely, the sub-frame was then stripped of radius arms etc., I have replaced the following: Full copper brake pipe set, New flexible Goodridge brake pipes, Hand brake quadrants and pins, new wheel cylinders and retaining clips, new rear brake shoes and spring kit and new near side backplate. The hand brake guides were both cleaned up and painted again. The drums were painted with caliper paint to match the body work (red). The sub-frame has also been stripped and repainted first with POR-15 and then black chassis paint. (See Pictures).
I am now working on the front sub-frame after removing it from the vehicle, I could not get the nut off the passenger side, I tried heating, two people with a six foot bar attached to the ratchet, all to no avail. In the end I filed down one side of the nut and then used a chisel and hammer, that did the job, I then ordered a compression tool, and at the moment have one side completley stripped.
I have managed to change the boots on both drive shafts, even managing to reassemble the shafts (by myself). I have new disc's, disc shields, branded brake pipes, calipers, bump stops, and mountings to be fitted when it comes time to reassemble the front sub-frame, also new are the lower arm bushes and the tie rod bushes, also new are the tie bars. (See pictures)
I have stopped work on the car for now, its the middle of October, we are off on holiday, so everything is packed up for the winter.
2006
9-May-06 - I have taken the front suspension apart, using the compression tool I got from Mini-spares, wonderful bit of kit. Found a set of bearings has collapsed in one of the top arms, (poss new one required), and the fulcrum pins were both different, also one is full of rust, luckily I already have a replacement for this which matches the other one. Also found that both tie bars are bent, new ones required, one of the wheel hubs bearings has gone as well, a friend (Percy) is replacing those, also managed to de-rust (not that there was much) the front sub-frame using metal ready, powerful stuff by the makers of POR-15, rust came straight off. Have already undercoated it ready for painting with chassis paint. Started to clean up the rest of the suspension ready for painting.
10-May-06 - Painted half the sub-frame today, cleaned off the other side of the suspension arms only to find that one side of the car has had a rebuild (wheel bearings, fulcrum pin), going to have to change the other bearings now, and the top arm bearings are knackered.
11-May-06 - Finished off painting the sub-frame, See picture. looks good, started on cleaning up around the servo mountings, as mine is a automatic, I only have a blanking plate instead of the clutch master cylinder, the plate is rusted as hell, had to use the nut splitter on one of the nuts, the plate has come up well using metal ready....
Bloody weather, wish it would clear up.... not been able to do much over the last week or so because of it.
17-May-06 - Went down to Moss-Europe as they have a sale going on, got two donuts, tie-bars, front wheel bearings and a few nuts and bolts.
18-May-06 - Got my Hub back, it looks good.... have given my other one to do.... this one had the old roller bearings in.... have found out that he made a tool to get the bearings in straight. (good old Percy)
23-May-06 - Started to take the bearings out of the top arm, one side came out with no problem at all, the other side is stuck solid.... outside help is required here. Also painted one of my lower arms, which I must say is looking like new. Next job to do when I get the other hub back is to do all of the swivel pins (got on ebay).
25-May-06 - Painted the other lower arm today, looking good in chassis paint. Also painted the radiator surround and support bracket in red high temp engine paint.
31-May-06 - Got the other hub back yesterday and also gave him my upper arm to try and get the bearing out, (Percy said no problem), hopefully he is right, replaced all the swivel pins and painted both hubs, also painted one of the top arms. This has taken me all day, especially getting the shims right on the pins.
4-Jun-06 - Today I refitted the complete drivers side suspension, apart from adding the grease to various parts that need it, the rest is completed. (See pictures).
9-Jun-06 - BLOODY HELL, thats done it, went and did my ankle today. can't move. No work on the car for a few days.
14-Jun-06 - Have now got back the other top arm, have fitted the new bearings, and have also painted it ready to be fitted.
20-Jun-06 - Managed to fit together the near side front suspension, I must admit its looking good.
21-Jun-06 - Today I managed to strip all the paint of the bonnet, (a replacement one), its now ready to paint. Also cleaned more of the engine compartment, especially the near side, have sanded it down and primed it.
26 - 30-Jun - Repainted bonnet, top side only, still needs another couple of coats. Stripped passenger door complete, including door hinges. Also cleaned and repainted radiator side panel. Cleaned passenger side engine compartment. See Pictures. Also refitted the air-intake pipe on passenger side.
3 - 4-Jul - Have repainted door (nearly), and cleaned and repainted drivers side of engine compartment. Also painted the scuttle panel. Pictures.
8-Jul - Received parts from M-machine this morning, depending on weather should be able to start working on the wheel arch on monday.
10-Jul - Finished off engine compartment, refitted wiper components and motor. Tried to refit the windscreen, pressed a little too hard. Nice set of cracks going down the length of the screen, oh well, new windscreen needed now.
11-Jul - Started on the rear arch, managed to file away the old bits, worked on door surround and also parcel shelve. Painted the passenger door surround (front part anyway).
12-Jul - Put the door back together today and fitted it to the car. Also started on cleaning up the rear of the car.
13-Jul - Started on the rear today, after taking off the rear bumper and shearing one of the bolts, decided to take off the fog lamp, same thing happened, sheared a bolt, then took the lights out, nothing happened this time, started to cut out some of the boot, and after about 5 minutes, low and behold, my grinder gave up. Not a very good day, so new bumpers are required now. I did achieve one thing today and that was to get ready around the rear sub-frame mounting for welding. So not a total loss of a day. Also noticed that I couldn't lock the car from the inside, put the locking mechanism back on wrongly.
14-Jul - New grinder arrived. I found that the door lock was not working properly, its lucky I have another mini that I can strip for spares, also had to make another set of shims for the door as it was just catching on the A-panel. Also fitted new door rubber. Looking good.
17-Jul - Started to use my new grinder today, low and behold after 20 minutes, same thing happens, it stops working, phoned up screwfix, should have another one by wednesday. Did manage to get some more of the boot out. Did my first bit of welding as well, attempted the rear arch, way to much weld. At least it will not fall off. (Pictures).
31-Jul - Managed to cut out most of one side today. (See pictures). Took some doing. Also used the grinder to smooth off the wing that I patched before I went on holiday, needs a bit more welding done to it. The grinder lasted the whole time without breaking down. Also fitted the lights and the passenger door card and fittings. Looks smart if I say so myself. (See picture)
1-Aug - Today I decided to take it easy and finished off redoing all the taping on my wiring loom. Also fitted the other headlamp and reconnected all the lights after changing all the connections. Also removed the bracket for the brake servo, scrubbed it clean and repainted it.
2-Aug - I finally managed to refit the front sub-frame today. Dismantled the hubs so it was just a bare frame. Slotted straight in, well chuffed. Also refitted the servo bracket after painting it yesterday. Also fitted the door check strap bracket and seal on the passenger side.
3-Aug - Today I fitted the passenger side front suspension (See pictures), which included hi-lo's and a new cone, what a bugger to fit. Had to remove the upper suspension arm to get the new cone in. Also greased all the parts that needed it. Doesn't sound a lot but took me most of the afternoon.
7-Aug - Had a good day today and fitted the driver's side front suspension along with hi-lo's. Leant from thursday and took off the top arm before I started. Also cleaned some of the inside out, removed all the black sound deadening stuff. Looks good. Also fitted the electric fan to the outside of the radiator cowling, not wired it up yet.
8-Aug - Managed to get ready one side of the boot for patching. Also made the plate to fit the new hole. Cleaned some more of the underneath of the car. Darn oil gets everywhere. So thick in places as well.
9-Aug - What a day, first I managed to get my windscreen back in, (See pictures), only the 3rd one I used, managed to crack the first 2, plus the insert, took about 2 hours. Also welded in the boot corner, looks pretty good.
10-Aug - Started to put the interior back into the car today.... Put my dash back in the car, connected up the heater, fitted the front part of the underlay and carpet behind the heater. Also fitted my steering wheel. (See pictures.) Also fitted the cluster of switches back in, now that its been done out in carbon fibre just like the dash.
14-Aug - Only potted around today, tided up some of the interior of the car, cleaned out all the rubbish that has collected over the last year. Undercoated the area around the patches that I did inside the car.
15-Aug - Started on the engine today (See pictures), looking in a bit of a state, should clean up nicely. Have stripped most of the engine down. Already fitted with a unleaded head. Need new thermostat and studs, hose adaptor for the heater, sealing rubbers for the side covers. Started to clean it up ready for painting. Filled the coolant system up to see if there are any leaks.
16-Aug - Started off fine, No leaks, so have added the radiator and refilled the system. I wanted to change the gear selector oil seal which I know is knackered, I had already got a manual one which I thought was the right one. Got the old one out only to find that its different. I tried ringing all the usual mini spares shops but to no avail, even tried some more number that I was giving by someone, again no luck, then someone suggested ringing a transmission place, so after searching on the net, and several phone calls later, I managed to track one down in Leicester of all places. This only took 2.5 hours off this morning. This afternoon I carried on stripping things like the bell housing and the value guide covers. These are now ready to be painted with under the bonnet black. Also finished off one set of seat brackets in red.
17-Aug - Got the other side of the engine ready for painting, also sprayed the gear linkage cover, and the two rear panels of the engine in primer. Fitted the new thermostat as well. Also cut some of the boot out from the near side, still some to do yet.
21-Aug - Made a start on the rear wing today. Also sprayed the following with primer: Flywheel housing, oil filter housing, gear selector cover, top support bracket, seat support bracket and tappet side covers.
22-Aug - Sprayed all the bits that I got ready yesterday, come out looking good. Also stripped and painted my brake servo, (See pictures), and done some more to the rear wing.
24-Aug - Have now painted and started to reassemble the engine. Spent most of today cleaning up the paint that went onto other parts of the engine as I was applying it. (See pictures).
25-Aug - Cleaned and painted the inlet manifold today, also fitted it, have new brass nuts to be fitted. Also cleaned up the carb, still needs more work doing to it, also need to get another gasket for it. Still not right.
28-Aug - Jon came over and helped me put the engine back in the car. What fun and games, had to spilt the hubs again to get the drives shafts back in. This also meant getting back under the car to regrease and refit the bearings. The engine mount was a sod to align and fit the nut and bolts. But at last the engine is back, I now have to refit all the auxiliary items such as manifold, carb, alternator, cables, etc. The next task is to get it started. This should be fun. It has not been started in over a year. Again, many thanks to Jon for all his help refitting the engine. (Pictures to follow). Also suffered a cut head, no idea how it happened. (See picture).
29/30-Aug - Started to put the rest of the engine back together starting with the starter motor which has been cleaned and repainted, then I found the petrol overflow pipe which needed attention, along with the brackets, so I prep'ed them for painting. Fitted the gear selector cable back together, the accelerator cable is back in, the brake compensator with most of the brake pipes, learnt some thing new, should have done the brake pipes before the engine was replaced, the overflow pipe has and painted (brackets as well) and refitted. The starter motor is all connected up. The servo has also been refitted after repainting. The rear wing has also been finished off (See picture). The stabiliser bar has also been repainted and refitted along with new bolts and washers. Looks all new and shiny (See picture). Also cleaned off the bottom of the gearbox.
31-Aug - Today I finished off the brakes, all complete now, refitted the exhaust and carb and some fuel pipes, exhaust washers cleaned of with metal ready (what good stuff it is). Also made a bracket for the heater valve as it just hangs in place.
4-Sep - Today started off really well. The moaning neighbour was out when I got home from work so that was it, out came the grinder. I managed to grind down the weld on the right hand side of the boot so its now ready for the next stage, and also managed to cut out most of the left hand side that needed to, (See pictures) still needs some going to it to be ready for the plate to be fitted. I then started on the engine again, still had the rad, fan, horn and alternator to refit. Well I managed to get it all back together, including all the pipes, looked inside the car to start on something else and what was sitting there, the fan pulley sitting in a tub of metal ready. Plonker I thought to myself, so at that I had to strip most of what I had refitted. Spent 5 hours working on the car today.
5-Sep - Cleaned, painted and refitted the fan belt pulley as well as the fan and radiator. (See pictures)
8-Sep - Took off the carb and gave it a good clean. It looks like new now. Looking in the engine compartment now, I didn't realize how compact it was in there. There's no room at all for anything else.
11-Sep - Did the drive shaft gaiters, also changed the vacuum block on the distributor, cleaned all plug leads and replaced the dizzy cap with a new one. Checked the plugs, which to my amazement came out first time, and did not look that bad. Refitted the carb. Also welded in the rear subframe bracket on the offside of the car. did some more grinding on the nearside, I think one more session and it will be ready for welding.
12-Sep - Started to clean up the inside of the car, changed the door light switch with a new one, tidied the wires behind the dash, took out the old accelerator cable ready for the new one to arrive, and started to strip down the door lock, then it started to rain. End of play for today.
13-Sep - New accelerator cable arrived this morning, already fitted it. Also redid all the connections for the temp gauge on the dash board, reconnected the instrument panel and fitted the dash board properly, also fitted the new gaskets for the door handles. Not a lot today. Patched up the group 2 wheel arches that I have with fibre glass.
18-Sep - Cleaned some more of the underneath of the car. The amount of oil that was on there. Also took off the fuel pipe and cleaned instead the brackets that hold it on. Found that the speedo cable was broken. Ordered new one from MOSS. Also cleaned off all the earthing points. Just got to get a new battery. Sanded down the wheel arches, looking good.
19-Sep - Speedo cable arrived today as did the connector heater hose. At long last, both fitted. Another day of grinding, started of by grinder down the weld on the right hand side which now means that this side of the boot is complete apart from the support bracket. Going leave that until the other side is complete. Completed the cutting out of the left side and also cut out the plate for the hole. Will send the rest of the week getting it right to weld. Also fitted the driver side door panel and the rear seats. Looks very smart inside.
20-Sep - Got new battery today, still trying to sort out problem with electrics. No such luck as yet.
21-Sep - I have discovered the electrical problem has something to do with one of the circuits. The fuse blows as soon as you look at it. Completed the plate for the whole. Right shape now and been held in by clips. All ready for welding.
25-Sep - I managed to weld in the near side of the boot, was going to do more but ran out of wire and gas, get some more tomorrow. Still a little bit missing which hopefully will do tomorrow, then clean it up on wednesday and then fit the rear subframe. Coming together nicely now. Still the same problems with the electrics which I can't sort out at the moment. Managed to determine that the there's a problem with the connections, which I started to fix, then the heaven's opened up, end of play for the day.
26-Sep - Today was a mixed one working on the car. I think I have solved the problem with the side lights. I recleaned all the connections and even managed to break a couple of spades of the box, (new one on order). Before I started to clean the spades the sidelights actually worked. Also cleaned the connections on the instrument panel and yes now the instrument panels work. The only thing wrong is that the sidelights only come on when you switch the lights on fully. Have to attempt to fix this problem when the new fuse box and light switch is fitted.
27-Sep - Had a great day today. Started around 10 this morning on the boot again. Attacked it with a grinder to clean it up a little. Then I welded in the small piece that was missing. Filled the spaces in on the off-side. Grinded a bit more. Welded in the bracket and cleaned that off (see picture). Painted more then half of the underneath of the car with POR-15, including myself. Next stage, possibly tomorrow, another coat of POR-15 and then I will be able to fit the rear subframe. Sealed all the seems in the boot with sealer. Only the support brackets, petrol tank bracket and the outer sills to go now. Finally getting there. (see pictures).
29-Sep - Fitted new fuse box and light switch. (see picture). Starter motor turned over, but still have problems with the electrics. Things which are happening are: No lights in any position but main beam works. Oil pressure light works but not the alternator light. All instrument lights including oil lights comes on when light switch is put to full position. Nothing from side light position. Fitted one of the wing mirrors just to see what it is like.
2-Oct - Completley finished the first coat of POR-15 on the underneath of the car. Hopefully tomorrow 2nd coat will be applied if the weather holds up.
3-Oct - Have now finished the painting of the underneath of the car (see picture). Removed the broken stud on the bumper, will be able to fix it to the car with a nut and bolt. Got ready all the bits that I needed for the fitting of the rear subframe, ie. mounting brackets, nuts, bolts, hand-brake cable, shocks, cones, and Hi-Lows. Hopefully should be able to refit the rear subframe tomorrow. Fitted one of the wing mirrors. (see picture), and also new wipers and blades (see picture).
4-Oct - Managed to refit the rear subframe today. What a job. The only problem that I had was that I had to drill the holes for the rear mounts. But this was not a big issue. At the moment the subframe is in place and all but two of the bolts are tightened. (Pictures to follow).
5-Oct - Didn't manage to do a lot today because of the weather, as soon as I started anything it started to rain. Did manage to connect the brake pipes (see picture), and one of the shocks (see picture). Also sorted out the handbrake cable that somehow managed to get trapped.
6-Oct - Did manage to do a little today, despite the weather, sorted out the rear brakes so that the shoes were fitted correctly (see pictures), also greased the rear bearings. Have still to tighten the axle nut and fit the caps.
30-Oct - After been back a week, and due to a power cut, I decided go do something to the mini. I fitted the rear seat properly, greased the radius arms, torqued the rear axles and replaced the spilt pins and refitted the caps. Looking under the front, there was a nice pool of oil from the gear change lever. Also changed the rear lights back to the coloured lenses as the clear ones didn't look right. One thing is good, I didn't find any water inside.
31-Oct - Finally, after about two months of trying to get a circlip from SC Parts its arrived. Fitted together the oil filter (at long last), cleaned out the boot and primed most of it. Also rubbed down some of the rear valance.
1-Nov - Today I started on the lights again. Spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out what is wrong with them. No luck. At least the tail lights and brake lights work. I am now going to wait until the boot is finished and the petrol tank is back in so that I can get the engine going and run that instead of using jump leads to recharge the battery.
2-Nov - Did well today, finished off most of the boot, welded in the support brackets and the petrol tank bracket, grinded the welds down so it looks nice, also managed to paint one side of the boot (see pictures). Also welded the broken bracket for the handbrake and also grinded it down ready for painting. Refitted one of the rear lights.
6-Nov - Today I refitted the handbrake and cables. Still have to adjust it yet. Bled the brakes, I found two leeks but have sorted them already, also refitted the bar's which hold the seats in. Had a general clean up, another bag full of rubbish. God knows where it all comes from.
7-Nov - OK, where do I start, found a major leak on the brake system, the master cylinder seal has gone, oil coming from the hole on the bottom of it. Have to order a repair kit. Started to weld on the passenger side sill. Got most of the welding done, got about a foot to go before its complete.
8-Nov - Today I replaced the petrol tank and reconnected the fuel pipes (time to get the engine going). Nearly finished off the passenger side sill, its mostly on, apart from a little bit more welding to finish off. Ordered a new seal kit for the master cylinder. Hopefully should arrive in the next couple of days.
10-Nov - Took of my master cylinder today and took the container off, also received the new seal kit. Work on this on monday.
13-Nov - Stripped and fitted new seals into the brake master cylinder, refitted and bleed the brakes. most of the paint came off the cylinder. Have to repaint. Also fitted the front shocks and reconnected the steering rack to the front hubs.
14-Nov - Fantastic, the new seals that I fitted work a treat, no more leaks - (for now). Ordered the parts I need for wiring the electric fan.
15-Nov - Started on the driver's side outer sill today, managed to weld most of it until poor light conditions made me stop. Welding almost complete now. Just have to finish off underneath welding up the gaps in between the spot welds.
19-Nov - Bad news, the brake reservoir is again empty. I know its not the seals, I have checked all around the master cylinder and no leaks. Have to carry on searching.
21-Nov - At long last, I have finished the welding. Both sills are now completely on, seam welded all the way across. Unless any of the panels fall off my welder can now be put away. Still have to grind the excess weld of along the bottom of the sills.
22-Nov - Started on the grinding today, managed to do most of it before the rain started. Sodding weather is holding me up big time now. Will not be able to work on our mini until monday now because of thanksgiving.
27-Nov - I have finally finished the sills today, all the grinding is done, and I have even painted over the edges of the sills with POR 15 and used sealant to seal the top edges. (see pictures).
28-Nov - Today I finished painted the boot (see pictures). Also started to paint the sills, so far I have applied few coats of primer. (see pictures). Added the new petrol cap (see picture).
29-Nov - Started to fit the front piece of underlay then discovered that there were no hooks (or whatever they are called) that hold the underlay to the wheelarches, I cut out and replaced the inner wheel arch which doesn't come with them attached, I made a couple out of some metal that I got at the start and had to get the welder out again to attached them to the inner wing (see picture). Also cleaned out the car ready for the underlay, carpets, etc. to be fitted. (see pictures). Painted over the sealant that I applied to the A-Panels yesterday.
30-Nov - Replaced the grey rear arch covers for my black cooper ones, also fitted the rear side covers and rear seats. Also glued into position the front wheel arch coverings.
1-Dec - My spare oil seal for the gear selector arrived today, (see picture for a look at the area where it fits.) didn't do anything to the car because of the weather. Rained all afternoon.
4-Dec - Thats it, new oil seal for the gear selector rod is in. Had fun again with the electrics, last week I painted the boot, and whats in the boot, yes the battery, this I removed along with the earth cable, cleaned all around the boot and resprayed the whole boot, put the earth strip back on, no electrics. Spent awhile today trying to figure out what was going on. All fixed again now. Took some more pictures of the interior. (upload later)
6-Dec - Great news for today, I finally managed to get the engine going. Sounds a bit rough at the moment but I am sure it will not take much to fix. I had a mishap as well, the union for the oil pipe that comes from the filter was not done up tight. Yes you guessed it, oil came gushing out of it, a quick tighten with a spanner and it was fine, apart from the pool of oil going down the front of the engine. Really pleased with myself.
11-Dec - Changed the plugs and fitted the exhaust pipe today, started the car and it ran a lot better then the other day, had it running for about 20 minutes. Some knocking from around the radiator, nothing to do with the engine. Also misfiring now and again. not to much. Took it up to around 2500 rpm. The timing still needs to be done.
12-Dec - I didn't do a lot today, only fitted the new battery clamp and strap.
14-Dec - Finally managed to sort out my ignition problem with much needed help from one of the forum members (Irostoke), Many thanks. The problem was that I had one of the set of cables that go onto the solenoid fitted to the wrong terminal, I had a set of cables fitted to the terminal that feeds the starter motor. Now that is solved I can go onto the lights, they still have a live feed to them. Retaped all the cables from the solenoid to the alternator. Also fitted the fog lamp, this works fine.
18-Dec - After getting an early christmas present from my wife (a new torque wrench 60 - 300 Nm) I was able to do my hubs up to the correct torque. Another job out of the way.
29-Dec - After messing around with the flip switch for the auxiliary fan that I have fitted. I came up with this bracket (see picture), its made out of sheet metal and covered in carbon fibre, it replaces the switch holder for the fog lamp which I have incorporated into the new one.
2007
9-Jan - After a few days of making up the wires for the auxiliary fan, I finally managed to fit it all together today, and even to my surprise it works. Well at least the fan turns, not sure if its going in the right direction as the air seems to be pushed away from the radiator instead of towards it. Another problem, another day.
10-Jan - Checked with the good folk on the BMC forum, fan is set up correctly. One more job I can cross of the list. Just have to tidy up the wires.
17-Jan - Was out on the car today, started up ok and was running well, I was trying to sort out the lights, switched the lights on and the sides came on, it was looking good, then I decided to take a break, went to turn off the ignition and took the key out, the engine carried on running, it wasn't until I switched off the lights that the engine stopped, big short somewhere in the wiring loom. Might have to take out the loom to inspect it.
23-Jan - Today was great. I finally got the lights working properly. After stripping all the tape off the wiring loom, and talking to Jon, I found that I had replaced one of the wire back onto the new fuse block onto the wrong fuse. I also found that I had by accident, when I had changed the connections of the in-line fuses, put a double connector to two of the fuses, basically making it the same circuit. This caused the headlights to be on permanently. Now I have to fix the indicators and rear fog lamp.
24-Jan - The indicators were easy to fix. Again it was down to me, as soon as I looked at the connections, I realized what I had done. The same thing as the fuses. I had used a double connector to join the two wires coming from the front indicators. As soon as I replaced them with single connectors the indicators worked.
28-Jan - Today for a change I worked on the car with the help of one of my friends. He came over to sort out the electrical problems, ie. hazard warning lights and the rear fog lamp. We started on the hazard warning lights and discovered that the relay was the wrong one, it was new and the shop I got it from had sold me the wrong relay, it was for the indicators not the hazard lights. Next was the rear fog lamp. This turned out to be the fuse holder, the thing was knackered. The only thing that isn't working now is the parking switch on the wipers.
29-Jan - As soon as I got home from work today I started on the car. I taped all the wiring loom then started moving some of the wires around. By this I mean, I had put a couple of the wires coming from the electric fan relay though a couple of holes in the bulkhead, I moved them so that they followed the main loom and went though the main wiring loom hole in the bulkhead. Then taped them together from the bulkhead to the switch. Next I started on the temperature wire that went from the sender unit over the top of the engine to the bulkhead, it now goes over the alternator and joins the main loom that goes around the engine bay. Also refitted the instrument panel to the dashboard and refitted and connected the dashboard to the top and bottom rails. Also had a go at fixing the parking switch, I tried a different one and that didn't work either. I stripped one of them down and found the inside to be competently full of crap. I think a new one is in order. Retried all the lights and they still all work.
30-Jan - Received the relay holder today. Its now fitted and the hazard lights are working perfectly. Also started to install the radio, found out where the wires need to go and made up the connecting wires needed from the rear of the unit to the fuse box. Have also nailed the mounting sleeve to my dashboard, as I cannot use the tabs because of the thickness of my dashboard. I don't think anyone will get that out in a hurry. Also one of the speakers is all wired up and ready to go.
31-Jan - Carried on with fitting the radio, wired up the other speaker and taped together the two cables. Cleaned up the passenger rear compartment and sprayed it ready for the cable to be layed.
1-Feb - Cable was fitted under the carpet and through the cross member and up to the radio by the door frame. Cable was to long so has been cut to correct length. Took out the heater, stripped, cleaned and reassembled. Also fitted the aerial just to see if I could tune in the radio. It all works. After listening to the radio, I attempted to start MinniHaHa, worked first time, and that was after listening to the radio all afternoon.
2-Feb - Refitted the heater and connected all the pipes back up. Put the speaker cables and aerial up though and under the dash. (need to get some more connector's for the radio). Also primed some more of the floor.
5-Feb - Painted some more of the floor and just a bit of clearing up. Surprising amount of rubbish you collect.
6-Feb - Today I received the connectors (from here), and have now changed most of the connectors for the radio, its now fitted and so is the dash. All the electrics for the dash are now connected and working. Have finished off all the wiring and now the engine compartment looks all neat and tidy with no loose cables hanging around. Also started on the crankshaft oil seal, have decided to try and do it with the engine still in the car. Have managed to get the cover off, after removing the starter motor, brake servo and air intake. I already have a flywheel puller and got to the stage where it was needed. The flywheel bolt came out with now problems at all. I tried fitting the bolts that came with the puller and they were all too big, this stopped work for the day.
7-Feb - I managed to get some bolts that fitted the torque converter and again tried to fit the pulley, the gap between the bolts is a lot smaller then the spaced holes in the pulley, after a few phone calls, especially to DSN Classics (very helpful people). Out came the round file and I filed away the elongated holes until it fitted on my converter. I am now at the stage that I have now tightened the pulley on the converter.
8-Feb - Started to work on the flywheel again today, hit it a few times with a mallet, no joy, then attempted to tighten it, and a bolt snapped, the engine will have to come out now as there is no space to see how much of the bolt is visable. Really hacked me off. And the flywheel didn't even move a millimetre. Had about four inches of snow today, mini was covered in it. (See pictures.)
12-15-Feb - This week I was determined to get the interior completed. I have managed this, including carpeting the cross member with a spare bit of carpet I had. I have also replaced all the runners. I got these from Newton Commercial for the grand price of £3.00 each complete with fixings. So after nearly 20 months the interior is finished, just have to do a bit of cleaning and that will be it. (See pictures.)
16-Feb - Today I started on the rear valance, where I had welded the new inner pieces on, it left an uneven edge, I sorted this out this morning and also rubbed it all down. Painted it this afternoon. Also cleaned up the area between the wheel arch and the seam ready to fit the new pieces in place. Have to get some new clips now. Also cleaned up the boot hinge areas and painted it. (See pictures.)
19-Feb - Spent this afternoon putting the boot back on with its nice new shinny stainless steel hinges (See Picture). Also had a bit of a tidy up around the car, especially the boot and the inside, there's fewer bits left every day. Cleaned up the rear bumper ready to go back on. (Really needs a new one).
26-Feb - Work on putting the bumper back on today along with drilling the holes for the passenger side wing mirror. Also modified my boot board to fit properly. Also fitted new parking switch. and the covers on the seams down the side of the windscreen.
27-Feb - Even though the weather was crap, I have managed to get the engine out, the snapped bolt came out with a twist of a screwdriver (how happy was I), I have now attached the new bolt and am applying pressure on it every day. Bit by bit, but it still shows no sign of coming off yet. Fitted my electric fan properly and also tightened up all the brake pipes and joints in the engine compartment.
28-Feb - Crappy weather again. Tightened up the flywheel some more and applied more WD40. Also fitted my boot board. Had to cut some of the board out as it didn't fit around the petrol tank properly.
1-Mar - Well today I finally managed to get my flywheel/torque converter off and change the oil seal. Also changed the connector in the heater hose, so that's one more job out of the way.
2-Mar - Didn't do alot today, replaced the snapped earth cable on the wiper motor after I had made one up.
5-Mar - Got given a set of spotlight bracket at the weekend, so today I have cleaned them up and fitted them. Also torque up the converter bolts. Took some doing. Not a lot today as the weather is against me today.
6-Mar - Well I went for it today, I managed to get the engine back in, I am in a position where its ready to be started. Only thing I have left to do is the drive shafts (tie up the boots). Think I did well today. Not much left to do now.
7-Mar - Did a couple of final jobs like contact up the ht leads, etc. and attempted to start MinniHaHa. After trying for about a minute, I noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment, on investigating I found that the ignition to coil lead had started to melt in at least three places. On further investigating I found that I had connected two wires incorrectly, I had the distributor lead attached to the starter motor and vise-versa. Oh well, another balls up on my behalf. The wire itself is of the resistive type so I will not be able just to replace the wire. (See pictures.)
8-Mar - Spent an hour or so on the phone ringing around mini shops, finally, DSN Classics suggested I contact Autosparks to see if they could help. They can and 2m of cable should be on its way to me now. Have rubbed down and painted the drivers side of the car. Its looking good. Have still got to rub it down again and apply the lacquer.
10-Mar - My ignition wire arrives from Autosparks, will be starting again with this on Monday. Dash will have to come out.
12-Mar - Replaced the ignition after undoing all of the loom. The new cable is now in. I have managed to tape from the front of the car up to the fuse box. Also rubbed down and lacquered the drivers side of the car. Doesn't look to bad of a job. Also preped and painted the drivers side sill.
13-Mar - Big test today, time to start the engine again. Battery is recharged and fitted. Started up ok and run her for 20 minutes on about 2500 rpm. The crackshaft oil seal seems fine but I had oil coming from the banjo union and the oil filter and also the alternator wasn't charging, but that was alright as I was trying out a different one, the original is now back in. Tightened both the banjo and filter up. Will test again in the morning after the battery has been charged again. Tested out all the electric, all seems ok. Also fitted the lights warning buzzer and secured it to the steering wheel stay for support. Works a treat. No more leaving the lights on for me. Had to take out the dashboard to be able to fit the buzzer. Also lacquered the drivers side sill.
14-Mar - Engine still running a bit rough, misfires now and again. Refitted the dash with everything connected, apart from the speedo, the cable has snapped so a new one is required. Also bleed the brakes, went though a litre of oil, and found a leak which was on the pipes that connect on the rear subframe, have tightened it up but will keep a eye on it. While the engine was it suddenly cut out, on investigating I found that the battery cable had moved against the exhurst and shorted out. That is now fixed as well, but in the long run a new battery cable is required. Also changed one of the seat belts.
15-Mar - Today fixed some of the cables that run undernealth the car. The brakes seem to be fixed, no leaks from the rear sub-frame connection that I can see, I had paper towel wrapped around it overnight. Also sanded down half of the drivers side front arch and painted it. Also the oil pressure switch was loose, so that was also tightened. Also rubbed down some of the wing.
19-Mar - Thanks to Jon, I did a compression test on my engine, not to good, here are the results. No.1 piston - 9.2 bar/132 psi, No.2 Piston - 7 bar/100 psi, No. 3 piston - 9.6 bar/140 psi, No. 4 piston - 10 bar/141. The head is going to come off and a good clean is in order along with grinding the value seatings. This is going to wait now until the weather picks up alittle.
26-Mar - Not a very productive week, started to install my car alarm, managed to locate under the back seat and hide all the cables under the carpet near to the center tunnel, then up under the heater, this meant having to take out halve of the interior again, have not connected any of it up at this stage. The brakes are still holding out. Must have fixed them.
5-Apr - Took the head off today and started to clean it up. Looks like the values need grinding. Taped iup the holes on the block and vleaned up the pistons. Also managed to get three of the valves out. (See pictures).
10-Apr - Today I managed to get the rest of the valves out, this is how I did it, attach the compressor to the valve and take up some pressure, then tap the arms surrounding the spring and apply pressure at the same time, and hey presto it comes apart, it took me about 20 minutes to remove the other five valves. (magic) All are bagged up and numbered. Also made a start on my wheels, out came the dremel and wire brush attachment. Managed to do nearly one of the wheel before running out of brush, have to get some more.
12-Apr - I fitted the car alarm today. Well at least the alarm bit, will have to order some more cable to install the immobilizer side of it. Works a treat.
17-20-Apr - Well the bits I ordered have arrived. But the cable is too thick. Started to install the spotlights as well, have decided to wire them in to the main beam circuit, I have got them working but need to get a new fuse holder and a connector so that I can connect them to the starter motor. Also fixed the wing mirror by using some metal glue (can't remember the correct name of it at the moment) its now solid as a rock. Will be posting pictures of the spots when they are finished. Also this week I have managed to do some other small jobs like fitting the spring washers to the gear selector cable cover. Fitted the flashing light for the alarm in the top dash rail. Refit all the interior, and fitted the new speedo cable.
23-Apr - Today I finished off the spot lights, connected up all the cables including the new inline fuse, it also took me over an hour to thread the cable though the tidy. Does look neat. (see picture). Also fitted the grill but still have to fit the end bits.
24-Apr - Carried on rubbing down my wheels today, I thought I was going to have to do a lot of work on these wheels, but after rubbing them down I only have one that I have to do any filling on, and even then, not to much of it. I have even managed to spray one of them on the inside. The other job I did today was fix on the passenger side wheel arches, attached at the moment with screws, this will change when MinniHaHa gets painted.
25-27 Apr - Carried on with my wheels, I have filled the dents and nearly sanded them all down. One has been undercoated and had a rub down.
30-Apr - Fitted the drivers side wheel arches today. Also sanded down another wheel, they are coming along great. Certainly getting use out of my dremel, such a wonderful bit of kit.
10-May - The wheels have at least been primed. Took alot of work and two cans of primer to get to this stage. But its been worth it, the wheels are looking alot better, even if they are only primed.
11-May - Recarpeted my boot broads, this time in black. (Pictures to follow).
14-21 May - During this time I have been doing my wheels, have got them to the stage where they are ready to be wet and dried ready for laquer to be applied.
22-May - Today I have reseated 7 out of 8 values and refitted them. Reason for not doing the 8th is that I am still waiting to get the value. All parts have completly cleaned down in a paraffin bath and wrapped up ready to be fitted back onto the engine.
23-May - Today I rubbed down and repainted the wing mirrors, fitted a new temp gauge, sprayed the front of MinniHaha, laquered three out of four wheels and also fitted the boot boards. Quite a busy day.
24-May - Cleaned up my sunroof, repainted the lugs, cleaned the glass which I think had been splattered with bits from were I had done some grinding inside, refitted the sunroof. Also removed the minispeed sticker.
08-Jun - Finally got the remaining valve and fitted it. Managed to get the head onto the car but not tightened down. The information in the Haynes manual about which sequence to do the cylinder head nuts and the recoker assembly was somewhat confusing, ie (there was not a complete diagram showing the sequence). Put the question on the forum.
11-Jun - Got the answer back, head first then rocker assambly, refitted everything else, adjusted the rockers, topped up with coolant and started the engine. Nearly started with the first turn of the key. On the second came into life, same story, 2 and 3 still not firing. Then I did a compression test and all four came out at 10 bar. I am pretty please with this.
12-Jun - Spent most of the day messing around with the ignition, no joy, still only firing on 2 cylinders.
13-Jun - Today I changed the coil, ht leads and distributor to see if the problem would be recified, to my surprise it was. An engine running on all four cylinders, over the moon or what. Also did the timing and colourtuned it, this surprised me as well as I needed to adjust the jet nut by 2.5 complete turns. Boy was this motor running rich or what.
14-Jun - Have spent the day clearing out the inside of rubbish and generally clearing up. Spent some time on cleaning the coil and bracket, nice and bright now.
15-Jun - Decided today to change the coolant as I had only filled the system up with water. I undid the drain plug on the rear of the block and nothing came out of it. A bit worrying to say the least.
18-Jun - After thinking about it over the weekend I decided to take off the head and water pump and give the engine a good flushing and try to unblock the hole for the drain plug.
28-Jun - Have working on it for the last week or so. Apart from going to the Festival of Speed on the 22. Also fixed my temperate gauge and connected it though the voltage regulator. Finished one of the wheels.
29-Jun - After asking several people for advice on the drain plug have decided to go ahead and refit the head. Completed this task before the weather stopped me working. Also finished off another wheel.
01-Jul - Filled the coolant system up with proper coolant and tried to start the engine. Same as the last time, only firing on two cylinders. Here I go again.
04-10 Jul - For the last week or so I have been trying to sort out the ignition and timing, as only two cylinders were firing. Changed the distributor, coil, points and all the leads, and finially sorted the ignition out, the ignition was 180 degrees out. Also changed the alternator, as the one that I had had the wrong pulley on it. Fitted the spare one that I had. Looked at both of them together and found that I could change the pulley onto my one. Feel alot better about this one as it fits perfect. I started on fitting the central locking kit that I got, so far I have managed to take off the door fittings and door card. Also been working on another wheel. Thats another one finished.
12 Jul - Started to fit the central locking kit, drilled out the hole in the door pillar then had to take the door of to drill the hole under the hinge, fitted the bars to enable the system to work but hold to drill another hole just off the template that was supplied with the kit as it unlocked the door but didn't lock it again. Managed to route the wires though the door and fit the frommets and sleeve and taped up the openings on the door, has to take out my dashboard so that I could place the cables behind it. Only managed to do one side. (see pictures).
13 Jul - Finished off tapping up the door and replaced the door card and fittings. Also fitted the cover over the distributor to stop it getting wet. (picture to follow).
24-Jul - Finally managed to do some work on MinniHaHa today, the sun was out for most of the day. I finally finished off the central locking today, well most of it, still have to connect the power cable and earth cables. Managed to do the rest of the wiring and the door levers. It works as I tested it out connecting the power cable straight onto the battery. The only down side of the day is that when I was refitting the door, one of the bolts snapped. Will have to get another one or drill this one out and fix it with a bolt. Still have to refit the doorcard, fittings and dashboard.
02-Aug - Have drilled out the hinge and managed to weld the bolts into place. Went to fit them, the weld wasn't strong enough. Refitted the bonnet today, at one point the bonnet slipped and scratched all down the top of the wing. Another job to do now.
13-Aug - I had a friend weld up the door hinge for me with a gas welder, it wasn't quite good enough, will have to buy a new hinge now. Refitted the door card, door fittings, and the dashboard, started her up for the first time in ages, fired first time, temp gauge wasn't working, this turned out to be the connection on the sender unit. All fixed now. Hacked off over the hinge. Could do with out this. Started to rub down the wing ready to be primed again.
2008
Apr - to date - Its been a while since I have updated these pages, the mini is nearly finished now, this year the weather has been terrible, I have not been able to get out all that much, the o/s rear wing has been redone, I was not happy with the way it was looking, the near side is complete, including the painting, the side strip has been fitted and the wheel arches have been fitted, they are the same colour as the rest of the car. The spot lamps have been fitted properly and have had the rear bolts fitted. I am now going to change the bolts to stainless ones in the near future. The inside of wheel arches have been done and are looking good. The wheels have been fitted, boy, if I must say so myself they look good. (See pictures.)
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