MINI Max has a new little brother, Buzz

Discussion in 'Classic Mini' started by Minidave, Mar 9, 2014.

  1. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    [​IMG]
     
  2. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :cornut: Very Cool!:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  3. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Met some fascinating MOMO's along the way, broke bread, did a little wrenching......

    [​IMG]
     
  4. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    Was good to meet you again Dave. Great looking and sweet running Clubman Classic you have. Glad you stopped here in Columbus for the night.
     
  5. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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  6. Jason Montague

    Jason Montague New Member
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    :cornut: Ah HA. I thought that that guy in the middle looked familiar. It is Nathan isn't it?:Thumbsup:

    Jason
     
  7. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Mid Ohio Mini Owners?

    Thanks for the link to all the great pics, Crashton!

    Yeah, it left one of these in my garage last night too.....sorry bout that, Metalman!

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    I thought you confused us with an Italian accessory maker. :wink:
     
  9. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    OK, got insurance arranged for thru Grundy (same people who insure my Jag - very reasonable and good service) so today I can go down to the DMV, get the HiPo to verify the VIN, then pay my tithings to the state and get him plated, taxed and registered.

    I also ordered some new motor mounts and steady brace rubbers, and some axle seals so maybe he won't mark his place (well, as much anyway), then I'll be looking for the sources of the remaining buzzes and rattles to see if I can calm the cacophony a bit before I head off on another 1000 mile fun run with my classic Mini buddies next week.....
     
  10. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Heck all Brit cars leak, they are supposed to after all.
     
  11. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Alrighty then, after only 3 hours of officialdom, Buzz is now a duly inspected, licensed, taxed, registered and plated member of Kansas society.

    Today it's 75* and the temp gauge actually got up to the middle of "normal", without the fan kicking on.....the fan does come on a few minutes after I shut it off tho, as it should.

    The alternator light has quit flashing at me completely, don't know WHAT that was all about, and I have parts on the way to fix the most egregious oil leaks. Things are moving forward for our first event this weekend - a donut run for the KC Miniacs.

    Then next week we leave for the Missouri Ozarks and a weekend of hooning about the hills with half dozen other classics. Should be fun!
     
  12. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    You sure that wasn't left by the dog.......:biggrin5:

    Nice find. Looks like you will enjoy it as it should be enjoyed!
     
  13. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Nah....axle seals. I've got two new ones on the way.....

    this summer I'm planning to drive Buzz to the East meets West classic gathering in Milwaukee too.

    I definitely intend to put miles on it, that's what it's for, right? :Thumbsup:
     
  14. KittyMini

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    That is so cool! Love it!

    Oh, and I see Crashton's whip is spotless in the pics :Thumbsup:
     
  15. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Two Mini-Poopers ready to hit the road!

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Looks like spare little pony's for the engine should you hit a big hill.
     
  17. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Yeah, if the squirrels get tired they can chase them and speed me up again! :D

    I tore the covers off the driver's seat as it needed a little help in the padding, the headrest has a long tube that goes down into the backrest and it had poked clear thru the foam and into my back on the trip home so I had to do some work on it. I found an auto upholstery shop right here in the 'hood, and he sold me enough foam for 3 seats - for $10! I spent $20 on a spray can of 3M glue!

    I think the seat came out nice!

    [​IMG]

    I got the seat re-padded and trimmed out and it looks pretty good - we have a MINI Club event this Saturday so I'll give it a test them.

    I also made some new brackets for the wood dash - it rattled and buzzed something fierce (how Buzz got his name) - and I epoxyed them in for some extra strength. I also put some felt along the edges of the wood and shimmed the glove box door latch so I'm hoping that will take the noise level down a few notches.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    We'll see what happens on Sat.
     
  18. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Success! Sort of......

    My wood dash repairs worked a treat, completely eliminated all the noise coming from it, but unfortunately not all the noise.....it's still pretty buzzy and rattle-y, so many more to go.

    So Saturday afternoon after the donut run with the KC Miniacs I took it up to school so I could put it up in the air on the two post lift, and there was good news and well.....other news.

    The good news, the body is really solid..... hard to find any Minis like this, most of them are simply rolling piles of rust held together with paint.

    Now for the other news.....

    The engine is leaking oil from everywhere, well at least that's how it looks. Rather than try and patch things up in the car, once I get back from my trip this coming Thursday, I'll schedule an engine-ectomy......it will be a lot easier to replace gaskets and seals with it on the engine stand. That will be the time to change the motor mounts too.

    One of the biggest rattles seems to be in the heater and the heater fan isn't working - they could be related; once the water's out I can pull the heater assy and fix what's bugging it too.

    I found the right wheel bearing was loose, I reset it and it feels fine but I will pull them apart and repack them at the least. That also might have been where I was getting the vibration at highway speeds. I tried to balance the wheels but our equipment at school simply won't balance these tiny little 10" wheels, I'll have to take them someplace. My buddy Don's had good luck with his, so I'll try his place I guess.

    All in all Buzz is in pretty good shape and worth spending the time and money to update him a little and fix those things that bug me.

    I'd love to put in a taller diff ratio while I have the engine out, but unless I find a way to get more HP out of it I'm not sure it will pull the taller gear.

    I found a source for bi-zenon replacements for the 7" halogen headlights for a fairly reasonable amount of $$$ - about $380 complete, which is less than MINI charges for the zenon upgrade on new cars! Being able to see at night is a real plus.....it's on my wish list for now.

    The car still has the English headlights and I though I could just buy some sealed beams and swap them out, but nooooooooo.........

    And as it turns out there is a bit of rust - the headlight buckets have big holes rusted in the backs of them, since I have to buy new ones anyway to accommodate the US style sealed beams, 7Enterprises has some nifty plastic ones, complete with all the hardware and seals needed to install them, so I ordered a pair.

    Before we head down to the Ozarks I am going to get the fog/driving lights wired up and working, and I'll take a look at the heater to see if there's anything obvious I can do to stop the noise.

    I found it has an extra engine steady, and one end of it has poly bushings, I'm going to replace those with stock rubber ones and see if it helps the vibration also.

    While I have the engine out I'll address the engine compartment, and paint the engine block and head. I can't decide what color to use the, I'm not a big fan of the old Morris green that was originally used on these engines so I was thinking maybe black block and gold head - like an old Jag motor, or maybe just red. I dunno......
     
  19. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Black works nice. I always painted my MG engines black. That way the oil didn't show up as much. Don't go crazy trying to make that A series not leak oil. Fix the big leaks & accept the small seeps & weeps, that is true Brit car character. :)

    Very glad to hear you have a solid shell. No welding patches for you. :Thumbsup:

    Enjoy Buzz & keep us informed on his transformation into your dream Mini.
     
  20. Nathan

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    This is gonna be fun.
     

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