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(18/02/20)
OK time for some metalwork. Starting with a new sheet of ally.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...bfab9ba456.jpg
Drew round existing bracket.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...bfab9ba37e.jpg
Drilled some holes.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...bfaba27695.jpg
Did some jigsawing- couple of blades later.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...bfaba28304.jpg
Just got to sort out the tension slot at the top abd belt sand the edge to the profile.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...bfaba3e714.jpg
Finished, just got to give it a quick polish. Took 2 hours start to finish.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...bfc4b4c5a9.jpg
Now got to find some 7/8" spacers to get the right alignment for the belt.
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(07/03/20)
Finally managed to mount up one of the headlight stands. Think it looks about right.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...3d80346b95.jpg
The small lamps at the top of the stand are front indicator and daylight running light. DRL=just because I can http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...n_bigsmile.gif
The stand had to be mounted on an ally wedge as the chassis rail starts to slope down at that point.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...3d80364e9d.jpg
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(09/03/20)
Bit of polishing done. Not gone to mad just polished up the rough casting a bit.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...613f57db70.jpg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...613f57db70.jpgBit of polishing done. Not gone to mad just polished up the rough casting a bit.
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(14/04/20)
Bit more done over the Easter weekend...not as if I could do much else at the moment anyway http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...ilies/wink.gif
Have been looking at the windscreen wiper requirements for BIVA. The original motor is a single speed wiper mounted on the screen above the driver.
BIVA needs minimum two wipers and dual speeds.
I have a kit from Car Builder Solutions with all the parts but they aren't going to fit above the windscreen due to steel frame work, cable ducts and the fitting of the roll cage eventually. Looks like I'm going to have to convert to scuttle mount and possibly add a third wiper (like some Morgans!)
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...59b6442b27.jpg
The glass on mine top to bottom measures 6 1/2 ".
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(17/04/20)
Bit more playing this afternoon.
Dug out the glass front fenders and bent the original brackets to fit. Passenger side done.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a0e8fd26e5.jpg
Then got onto the wipers. I've been putting this off for a long time but surprisingly all went easily.
I found an old Minor wiper arm in my bits box and shortened it down as far as I could.
When I get the sweep right I'll order some new ones.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a0e8fd66af.jpg
50mm wheel box from CBS. I'm going to need three of them now.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a0e922a523.jpg
Wheel box mounted up under scuttle.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a0e91bf01a.jpg
Got the bundy tube fitted from motor to first and second wheel box, waiting for the third box to arrive.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a0e96d2af2.jpg
The sweep will need some fine tuning when all the bits arrive, but it's looking good so far.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a0e950ebec.jpg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a0e96a47ce.jpg
Have connected a battery and got two speeds working now...result http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/images/smilies/tup.gif
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(24/04/20)
Started on the washers. Drilled out the spout of the bottle to 6mm and fed the clear hose to the bottom.
The bottle will be held on the passinger kick panel with a bike water bottle cage.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...2a2602c172.jpg
There is a small inline pump up under the scuttle with a non-return valve in the hose.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...2a260da13c.jpg
Then bit the bullit and connected a 12v supply to the fuse panel input and tested all the wiring!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...2a260e0f74.jpg
Switches all work, lights all work, indicators, DLRs working, wipers (2 speeds). All good so far only found one problem with the N2O arming (I'd forgotten to run 12v ignition to the Leash controller. Did that and now the solenoids all click when the WOT switch is closed. Purge sols also work http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/images/smilies/tup.gif
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(29/04/20)
When testing the electrics the screen demister was only blowing cold air. I need warm for the BIVA.
Guess what? The heater circuit was broken. Traced to the silver and blue item open circuit. If linked out the element got so hot it smoked!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...9699759b61.jpg
Can't get just the part so had to visit the bay again and get a good one that blows warm air. All in and working now.
Next up dropped the trans pan to fit the temp sensor. Drilled and tapped a 1/8NPT hole. Fitted.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...9699853a22.jpg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...96998415b1.jpg
Then noticed the trans fluid dipstick was only just showing through the tube.
The low mark lines up with the top of the pan.
***** can you advise where the high and low marks should sit approx. The box is a TH400 with deep pan.
I don't want to put too much fluid in when I fill up for the first time.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...96997b7ff7.jpg
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(03/05/20)
Found a 'new' Mini handbrake on the shelf today, so stripped it down and tried it in place.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...f097129987.jpg
This has actually solved a problem as the shifter needs to sit where the old Lockar handbrake was.
The Lockar handle was very low to the floor and the shifter would not sit in place where I could reach it when strapped in the seat.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...f09707439f.jpg
As the Mini brake lever is higher I can move the lever back between the seats and still get to it and the shifter now sits in reach. It also meets all the BIVA radius rules...result http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/images/smilies/tup.gif
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...f097143e4c.jpg
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(10/05/20)
Had to re-visit somewhere I'd rather not have gone today!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...4fe82dabc.jpeg
When I was originally building the engine I built it upside down on a stand then rotated it right way up.
The oil pump was already in, I dropped the oil pump drive shaft down the hole and all aligned, the dissy was fitted and all was well.
Yesterday I filled the engine with oil for the first time, then tried to use the correct drive tool in a hand drill to prime the block and heads.
The drill started to smell of burning as the load was so great!
Pulled out the drive tool to check all was well, then had an idea to use the starter motor to turn over the engine to prime it.
Checked all electrical connections, connected battery, ignition on....press start switch... and the engine turned over beautifully.
Then realised the dissy had to be back in as the cam drives the oil drive shaft http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...ilies/slap.gif
Couldn't get the dissy back in as when I pulled the drive tool off the shaft it pulled the drive shaft out the top of the oil pump and wedged it in the block. The shaft normally drops into the pan!
Had to drain out all the oil I'd just put in and drop the pan.
Oil pump out, and remove the drive shaft.
I wondered what the star washer was on the drive shaft for when I removed it http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima.../surprised.gif Now I know for next time.
Reversed all above and I'm back to where I was Saturday morning!
Still got to find a way of getting the oil in the pan without having to remove the dissy.
As the heads slope I can't just pour the oil in the head as the rocker covers aren't fitted yet.
Onwards and upwards....
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(12/05/20)
Funnel worked but took almost half an hour to get 5 litres of oil in.
Turned the electrics back on and pressed the start button...nothing!
Checked all the cables disconnected to drop the oil pan, all connected.
Then remembered I'd wired in the neutral safety switch...guess what the shifter was in 1 http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...ilies/slap.gif
Moved back to park pressed start and the motor turned over http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/images/smilies/tup.gif
Cranked it a bit, oil light went out at 15psi and after approx 5 or 6 seconds had 40psi on the gauge, result.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...ea6c6fff3.jpeg
Oil present at rockers.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...ea6c638f9.jpeg
Girdle back on.
Filling the trans tomorrow...
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(19/05/20)
Well didn't get round to putting any trans fluid in yet.
Got side tracked into fitting the seats.
It took two days faffing around to figure out the mountings.
Was looking at welding in steel re-enforcing plates under the steel floor but there are so many spurs and brackets already welded to the chassis from the original build the plates would not fit.
Eventually found eight points on the chassis that I could mount some uni-strut to positioned across the car.
The sliders then mounted front to back on top of the uni-strut.
There's a small bit of fiddling to do but the seats are mounted.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...9857c2770.jpeg
For those wondering about the bomber seat I made earlier, after sitting in it for a while in the car it became fairly obvious that if racing and some thing happened it would not be strong enough.
The new seats are fibreglass buckets that have an integrated headrest and harness slots so all round are a better solution even if they don't look as cool. They are a lot lighter than the BMW seats I tried last year.
Then I took the passenger seat out to move the handbrake lever again and try and fit the shifter housing in the gap between the seats.
It has a very precise location as the throw of the lever is quite long so I need to be able to reach Park when strapped in the seat and also not bang my arm on the seat when selecting 3rd gear.
On to the trans fluid.
A TH400 has to be filled via the dipstick tube. I have a nice Lockar braided stainless tube that the funnel doesn't fit in!
The story continues.....
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(19/05/20)
Oil transfer pump arrived today so managed to get 2.5 ltrs of diff oil into the 9".
Filled until the oil came back out the side fill hole on the centre section.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...3ff6b62ee.jpeg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...3fdd2af7b.jpeg
Moved hand brake lever 2" over and had a play with shifter height and position.
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(10/06/20)
Have been waiting for bits to arrive so slow progress over the last couple of weeks.
After moving the handbrake lever I needed to find a way of ending the cables to the wheels as the Mini assembly needs a toggle type end to the cable and the original Lockar handle used a couple of grub screws to grip the cables.
The answer came when looking for so turnbuckles for a shade sail I was installing in the garden.
Swage-less ends for yacht rigging!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e09ee7a.jpeg
Removed hand brake cable and fitted the two new ends.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e30f256.jpeg
I now have a solid connection from lever to caliper all fully adjustable....result.
Finally managed to get 4 quarts of ATF into the trans down the dipstick hole, took almost half and hour for the fluid to get in there. Now just sits on the low mark of the trans dipstick.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2df98e00.jpeg
Then started on the coolant.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e141f6f.jpeg
I've decided to use waterless coolant as I'm building from scratch.
Got 5 lts in then remembered the boss I'd asked for for a fan switch. Guess what, it had a plastic bung in to protect the thread and was leaking.
Drained out the fluid I'd just put in.
Ordered a fan switch of the right type, arrived fitted.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e09f7eb.jpeg
Refilled with 10 ltrs of coolant.
Seems to be a problem with big blocks you need so much of everything...another 5ltrs of coolant on order!
Not seen this much garage floor for years http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...n_bigsmile.gif
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e10e28b.jpeg
On to the exhaust.
Re fitted the old headers and exhaust system. These will be changed at a later date but I just want to get the car running now.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e088179.jpeg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e4418d9.jpeg
Onto door mirrors. Not very "hotrod" but they meet the BIVA requirements and you don't really notice them from the side.
The bonus is you can actually see behind you!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e471ff4.jpeg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e66e183.jpeg
New footbrake pedal next. The old pedal was positioned to the left of the steering column so you had to drive with two feet.
BIVA fail, big time, so I've had to make a new pedal to move over to the rhs of the column.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e611924.jpeg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e6ecaac.jpeg
New cradle being fabricated just waiting for some 18mm tube for the pivot.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e7ba6f1.jpeg
Will also have to investigate a new brake light switch...the original one is a rather shagged microswitch!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...a2e76e4ee.jpeg
The cable ends work really well. You just need to sort out what type of cable you have as there are a few different sorts.
Mine were 7 strands of 7 strands. The centre strand goes through the middle hole and you place the other 6 in the slots in the star shape washer.
Once tightened up all is good.
The pair cost me £30+ but solved a problem.
They do swaged fittings at £3.99 each but the machine you need to swage is almost £1500!
I've found a solid looking brake switch on Amazon of all places so all systems go.
Just got to get some fuel now.
With this motor I need 99RON so a trip to the local Tesco's is needed, only thing is they wont let me fill up a 20ltr metal can.
I can however fill a plastic 5ltr can 4 times and pour the fuel into the metal can!!!
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(14/06/20)
Bit more on the brake pedal done this weekend.
Had to move the mounting for the pedal pad from the right hand side of the shaft to the left as the pad was sitting to close to the accelerator.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...54a065e32.jpeg
Looks OK until all was bolted in and tried.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...54a09def2.jpeg
The pad now hits the steering column http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...s/icon_eek.gif
Spent this afternoon fabricating a new pad from some 10mm ally I had lying around. 70mm instead of 80mm.
Hope to fit during the week, pics to follow.
The reason for the offset pedal mount is that is the only place it can go due to chassis members under the floor.
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(16/06/20)
I can only wish I had a lathe to spin up a new pedal pad, but I haven't got the space so I had to use a jigsaw to get it octagonal then use my belt sander to get it almost circular http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...n_bigsmile.gif
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...26d7b0eb5.jpeg
Woo hoo look what arrived today!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...26d7cc187.jpeg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...26d805f97.jpeg
Fantastic company to deal with, really fast turn around from order.
Custom made 10mm silicon with high temp end boots.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...26d8ca2a6.jpeg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...26d9356f5.jpeg
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...26d922463.jpeg
Can't find many more excuses until I fire her up for the first time!
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(21/06/20)
More done over the last few days.
Got the brake pedal sprayed up, rattle can etching primer then rattle can satin black.
All fitted in and now the brakes work!
The rubber on the pedal was a 99p sample from an e-bay trader.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...c3ffc1e23.jpeg
Then fitted a high level rear brake light.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...c434304ce.jpeg
Under the car next and installed a proper brake light switch.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...c590c2761.jpeg
Then saw three little red drips on the oil pan http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...s/icon_cry.gif
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...c5902cfe4.jpeg
Coolant leak... the drips were coming down from the pan gasket.
Followed the trail of fluid to the corner of the timing chain cover. After a quick interweb search found out the lower water pump bolt goes right into the water jacket and guess who forgot to put any thread sealer on the bolt...bu**er...http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...lies/sniff.gif
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...c590b1df0.jpeg
Looks like I'm draining out all the coolant again!!!
Did manage to get 20ltrs of 99RON from Tesco the other day. In the end I went to the furthest pump from the office and did a pay at pump.
Put the gerry can on the floor under the car filler cap and filled up...sorted. Just another two trips to make!
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(25/06/20)
Bit the bullet and removed the 10mm bung from the rad drain.
The thought process was just undo it a few threads so we have a small trickle back into the bottle.
What actually happened was...the bung came right out followed by a lot of coolant!
This hit the front cross member and went all over me, the floor and the front of the car http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...icon_angry.gif
Looks like a bad day in a butchers shop!!!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...8a2e56220.jpeg
After removing the bottom water pump bolt you can see the red coolant flowing out the front of the water pump leg.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...8a2e88db4.jpeg
Liberally coated the thread with thick black RTV sealer and re-installed.
Left to dry off. Hopefully will be able to re add coolant tomorrow.
Question. Do I need to drain the oil now and check to see if coolant has leaked into the oil pan!
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(28/06/20)
OK, into the garage, feelin' good it's time to start her up!
Tightened up all the spark plugs, fitted the HT leads properly.
Checked for any leaks....all good.
Switched on the battery.....all good.
Opened up the fuel shut off valve and fuel pi**ed out all over the place!!!
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...f0da2ab4f.jpeg
Now got to replace the shut off valve after draining 40 Ltrs of fresh fuel out the tank.
One day......
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(07/07/20)
Couple of spare hours fabricated and fitted a passenger side kick panel. Mounted the screen wash reservoir, installed a USB socket and a 12v socket.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...d85bc2628.jpeg
On to the door locks... As mentioned some time before the original welding left a lot to be desired.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...d8c95e256.jpeg
The welding took up so much space the bear claws had to be mounted upside down to clear.
This meant you had to lift the door handle to open the door...everybody always pushes down so things got a bit worn!
Just cut all out to start again.
http://www.torquedup.co.uk/forum/ima...d8c9b2a78.jpeg
