Most liked posts in thread: Heeeeeeeere we go! (Fiona's 2011/2012 Service Project)

SHE LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Managed to get gas to the pump but then the pump started leaking like a sieve. ARGH!!! Rather than order a replacement and wait another week, I bought a $45 electric pump from AutoZone and hooked that up instead. Now I have plenty of fuel into the carbs. She fired up (roughly) on the 3rd crank, and started to smooth out after running for a few minutes at idle.

Something was smoking pretty bad on the rear of the engine when she warmed up, but then stopped - I think it may have been an impurity or something on the exhaust header, which I painted with high-temp BBQ paint months ago. Wish me luck with that (although at this point I'm getting pretty fast at pulling the carbs off the manifold).

I still need to fill and bleed the brakes but this is a HUGE MILESTONE for me - the first time the car has run since I took the head off Gawd-only-knows how many months ago... :cornut:

Since I don't have a timing light or any experience with adjusting the carbs, I'm considering taking the car up to Northend Wrench (a trusted local garage that works on vintage vehicles and MINIs) for a full look-over, tune/timing, etc. My "krew" that helped with the re-install (did MOST OF the re-install if I'm honest) was made up of seasoned veterans, but God only knows how I may have effed things up since they took their hands off it.

There's light at the end of the tunnel!!!

 

I'm SO CLOSE!

She's finally back on her wheels, all major components are installed, and I'm ready for an ignition test. I would have on Sunday, but I ran out of daylight:



Engine is all put together, minus the wiring for my accessories (driving lights and tach, which I want to re-sort and tidy) - check out those Cooper S carbs and braided stainless lines:



The cabin needs some love - after much internal debate I pulled out the padded lower dash rail to expose the painted metal lower (which I like the look of). I need to fabricate something to hide the exposed switches on the late-model switchplate, but that shouldn't be hard. I'm considering removing the padded upper dash as well.

Of all the things I've done so far, the closest I came to having my spirit broken was THIS SUNDAY, trying to hook up the clutch pedal to the master clutch cylinder push bracket - ARRRGHH!! It was SO %$#@!! TIGHT IN THERE! My hand looks like hamburger... Finally got it hooked up after much cursing and gnashing of teeth, and it worked right out of the gates - woohoo!!

Still to do:

* Fill and bleed brakes
* Prime oil pump
* Re-install battery (with extinguisher on-hand, just in case a wire(s) got crossed while I was messing with everything)
* TRY STARTING
* Replace brake switch on pedal (somehow I broke the old one)
* Purchase lower engine steady bracket and install steady
* Adjust hi-los
* Fix accessory electricals (tach and driving lights)
* Wire up manual switch for accessory cooling fan

 

Ooops... forgot I had this thread here. So sorry...

In the end, the engine needed to be completely re-bored and rebuilt with larger pistons - I had no compression in the #3 cylinder (filled the cylinders with oil and one was empty within 2-3 hours... ugh). Took several months to complete the work, then, just before I was due to pick it up the garage caught fire and the engine was MELTED along with several irreplaceable cars including a Bug Eye Sprite and several racing engines. :eek6:

Insurance covered part of the replacement cost for a new engine, which was ordered from Seven. Cost... well... let's just say quality don't come cheap and leave it at that. In the end , I decided on a slightly-overbored 1275 engine with a split-pin diff, but basically all the rest was late-model carbureted stock. I'm told by Seven that the new powerplant should make something like 75 HP all told, lots better than my stock 50-ish HP (((crossing fingers))).

Here's the box it arrived in, just before the July 4th holiday:


Unpacked (oooooooohhhhhhh.... aaaaaahhhhhhhhh.....) :drool:


New carbs supplied by the garage - a cool-looking dual setup I'm told came off a Cooper S:


Engine ready to be installed (thanks a million to Paul and Jason for getting it ready and lending me your extensive knowledge and sweat!!!):


Checking to see if the drive shafts will clear (they did):


Shiny new engine installed in Fiona's bay - check out that massive engine steady on the thermostat housing!:


Unfortunately some critical components, including the clutch connecting rod and clevis pin, as well as some of the engine steady stuff, was left on the original motor and is now slag someplace.

I also need to figure out a way to adapt the intake manifold so that the late-series vacuum-assist braking system will work with my new setup - tapping a banjo bolt will be required. Wish me luck.

More photos will be coming just as soon as I get the car into my garage - it's in Dayton ATM where the engine was dropped into the car.

 

Took me almost an hour to get the gas tank back in... ^%$#@! awkward, tight spaces. One. Piece. At. A. Time. I. Will. Win.

 

WEEKEND UPDATE:

Well, I did *not* try starting her - I discovered that my clutch slave cylinder looks odd. Instead of there being a piston, spring, circlip, and other parts inside the cylinder housing, the only thing there is a meletallic cup insert (which is shown in the serice manual, but as only a single component of a more complex assembly). Rather than put fluids in that I may very well have to remove (or worse, tjat would have leaked out allover my freshly-painted engine) I opted to work on things like the exhaust and the cabin detailing.

Good news it that the Maniflow exhaust I purchased like 3 years ago fitted up like a glove without the usual trimming, grinding, and drilling that I usually have to go through to get aftermarket parts to fit up... SO nice to work with quality stuff. Also, the new throttle cable fitted right up as well and trapped in the spindle just as people here said it would. I still have to clean things up and finish up some of the secondary wiring to things like the driving lights, but as you can see, things are looking pretty good (if you look close at the left-lower side of the pic you can see that the clutch slave is out of the car ATM):



QUESTION:

I have a component I can't identify: on the positive terminal of the coil, I have a black, plastic widget - one side it's clipped to the coil with an adapter that allows me to also connect both wires shown in my wiring diagram, and on the other end of the widget is a wide spade connector, like it was hooked to a bolt or something (which makes no sense seeing as how this is connected to the positive coil lead). My Haynes wiring diagram does show a "ballast resistor" in-line between the coil and the ignition switch, but that component is mounted to the engine bay firewall. I can't locate the widget in the Haynes book - does anyone have anything like this connected to their coil, and can you tell me what it's for and where it's connected?

Cross your fingers for next weekend!

 

Yes, I have a late-model combined unit just like this one. And yes, when rolled backwards in 4th the entire engine turned and sucked oil into the oil pump, so it's not locked (thank God).

Someone came by to assist and we tried touching the hot lead from the battery direct to the starter motor post and it spun the motor, so we knew the motor was working. It didn't actually crank the car when doing this though because additional current must go in via the spade terminal from the starter relay to engage the flywheel with the unit I have. And yes, the spade terminal wire (red/brown on my late-model car) was passing current only in the start position just like you said it should, yes.

What's really odd is that we reconnected everything, pulled off the red/brown wire from the starter relay to test it again, and as we were futzing with it the starter suddenly began working! Now she cranks... Seven says "the solenoid is the most common electrical failure on the Mini" so maybe it's going bad... I'll think about buying a spare for eventual replacement - right now, I'm just glad SOMETHING happened.

Still not running though, I'm afraid - after repeated cranking she still wouldn't start so I checked the carbs and no fuel is in them or in the line from the mechanical fuel pump. I cranked until I was losing the battery and nothing fuel-wise. I'm pretty sure I connected the pump up correctly, but it's impossible to tell with the dual-SU setup - they totally block the pump. I'll need to pull the carbs off to get to the lines and the pump, but at least she cranks now.

QUESTION: does the fuel pump need to be primed somehow, like the oil pump was? When I replaced the pump a few years back she fired right up after just a few cranks... I didn't totally drain the fuel tank that time though - there would have been fuel still in the hard line from the rear of the car. Seems like it should have drawn it up to the front by NOW though...

One step forward... one step back.

 

I found this video on Youtube showing the carb setup and adjustment procedure on an MG (I assume it's the same for Mini) - the good stuff starts at 17:30:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ush9Zc-hNIA"]Dylan's 544 #3: Setting those SU Carbs! - YouTube[/ame]

Reading the instructions was very frustrating since I had no idea where the various set screws were located, but watching the video it looks pretty easy, now that I can see where everything is.

I really like the adjustment meter he's using in the video (different from the one mentioned earlier) - does anyone know what unit that is?

I'll still probably have a proper garage set everything initially just to make sure I reassembled the engine correctly, but it's good to know how to KEEP it running in proper tune once it's set, absolutely. Thanks, guys!

 

Mother-%$#@!...

Took Fiona into Northend Wrench this morning for her final check-over, timing, and tune. Very hard to start, but I chalked it up to the cold + the raw, unrefined mixture. Just got a call letting me know that one of the pair of rebuilt SU carbs supplied by the garage that melted my old engine is sticking. They're going to try polishing the affected component with an emery cloth in the hopes that it will restore functionality, but the technician didn't sound hopeful.

I'm trying REALLY hard not to bad-mouth anyone, but taking my engine to the garage I did was a decidedly TERRIBLE decision, one that's cost me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars and many months of extra time.

Wish me luck (again)...

 

12/3 UPDATE...

Got the head out - no issues. Ended up pulling the entire radiator (figured I would) since mine is a new model with no drain plug. I'm tempted to replace it with a more modern unit WITH a plug and an extra core for better cooling, along with a metal-blade "tropical" fan. It's louder, I know, but cools better.

Carb is off, as is exhaust manifold. The carb needs cleaning BAD - I brought it home to work on in the basement. I noticed the exhaust pipe bracket is cracked (probably from the engine moving around because of the bad steady bushings) so I might just end up swapping the entire exhaust for a Maniflow (I think it's called) unit in stainless for no-hassles convenience. It's just money, right? (Sigh)...

Didn't even bother with wiring or other stuff - I was just thrilled to have the head off in the first go.

The cylinder walls feel totally smooth below the "ring groove" with no scarring/marring/scratches. The valves look to be the right color and look flat (yay). I'm gonna clean up the head and take it over to the machine shop possibly after Xmas for new guides and seals and to have everything looked over. I also got a performance rocker bar in with my kit (thanks, Paul!) that I'll have them use when they rebuild everything.

The business ends of the rockers look discolored, as if from heat - does anyone know if the rocker arms were in fact heat-treated for strength on the later-model Mini 1275s or did they get cooked when I almost overheated the car a few years back (ran out of radiator fluid... don't ask). I'll have them take a look but I was wondering.

Other than that, all is going according to plan with no major frustrations. Wish me continued good fortune.

And now what you've all been waiting for... the pics:

Removing the head studs in proper order (note Haynes' Big Book of Lies on fender...)


Head bolts loosened - ready to commence hammering!


A few brisk whacks from a dead-blow mallet and... success!! Great White Hunter and his prey...


Piston topzzz!!!! Toasty! Mungy! Must resist urge to start polishing at this stage (my friend the mechanic recommends Scotchbrite wheels and brake fluid - we'll see).


Post-op recovery.

NEXT STEPS:

• Drop off head at machine shop
  
• Begin cleaning up radiator surround, thermostat bitz and other bric-a-brac in prep for powder coating
  
• Order new radiator, hoses, bushings, throttle/choke cables, coil, and other schtuff.
  
• Boil carb in Pine-sol and clean/polish (fugly as all get-out).
  
• Learn cost of new exhaust system and no doubt faint
  
• Clean and polish bright bits (valve cover, coil cover, etc)
  
• Order proper air cleaner parts
  
• Consider whether or not I'm really going to pull the rest of the block out for painting/clutch/oil leak sealing, etc. I'm about 70/30 in favor ATM.

 

Hmmmm... I'll keep that in mind re: the charcoal cannister. If nothing else, I may just delete the vacuum hoses in the engine bay, then, and leave everything else alone (so the gas can properly vent as you indicated).

Re: the breather - my carb setup is now a dual-carb system and will run off THIS MANIFOLD. The single tapped port on the top of the manifold will accommodate the line for my vacuum-assisted brake cylinder. I was planning on replacing the old, cheap-looking plastic hose for that system with something nicer. Will I have sufficient pressure to drive the brake assist if I plumb a secondary line off that hose and hook it to the breather can I'm purchasing on Monday? My original single-carb setup had an additional vacuum line pick-up independent of the large brake-assist line which is where things like this were hooked up, as I recall.

EDIT: To clarify, after installing my new carbs, the only vacuum line I'll be running is the assembly #9 in this parts diagram. I'd like to remove this cheap-looking hose, which is made of black hardline plastic, and replace it with something nicer - braided line, for example, clamped to the existing banjo bolt and the fitting on the servo. I'm wondering what will happen if I install a "T" junction on that line and run the splice to the breather, specifically if it will lower the pressure to the point where the servo functionality will be impaired.

Thanks!

 

WEEKEND UPDATE: It's almost finished!!!

Brakes: all hooked up but not yet filled/bled.

Cooling: Still need a section of radiator hose to hook up the cabin heater, but cooling system is otherwise complete.

Electrical: Wiring is almost all done as well - just a single odd connection to be worked out (a plastic lozenge attached to the coil positive with a large spade connector on the end). Doesn't show on my wiring diagram so I'm hesitant to omit it, but will keep checking.

Exhaust: Header attached to engine but center and tail pipes need installed. I also need to figure out where the %$#@! the brace near the bend in the header pipe clips to the engine (someplace near the gearbox, but I can't tell where, exactly).

Carbs: Installed but I'm having a challenge hooking up the throttle cable.

QUESTION:

The carb setup I'm using looks almost identical to this one described HERE.

Can someone who has used this setup tell me how the cable is connected to the multi-nut assembly shown in "Fig. D.6" in the linked document? On my carbs, the spindle on the throttle manifold assembly is held in place on one side by a cotter pin; on the other side are multiple hex nuts and a single washer, which looks like where the cable is supposed to attach. Problem is, I'm not seeing any place in the assembly for a hammer or other hardware fixture, and the throttle cable itself is simply a bare cable. Is the cable supposed to be trapped/captured between the nuts and/or between the washer? That seems... tenuous. On carbureted motorcycles I have, the throttle cable is held to the throttle spindle/arm via a hammer inserted into a slot or cut-out. The last photo in the linked page above shows the throttle cable disappearing behind what looks like the washer in the middle of the "nut stack" but does not indicate what's holding it there... friction? Unicorn farts and rainbows? (((shrug)))

Hopefully I'll be ready to install the battery, get oil pressure up, get all other fluids into the engine and brakes, and fire her up next weekend - anyone in Columbus want to join the revelry (celebratory or conciliatory) that will ensue?

 

Yes, I put about 2 gallons into it just before I tried starting it. My worry is that since I had the pump connected when I filled the fuel tank, the air trapped in the line is keeping the liquid from running down into the pump. We tried cranking the engine with the main fuel line disconnected (to break a possible vacuum or blockage) but nada unfortunately, so my next plan is to unhook the fuel line from the pump and let gravity feed gas all the way into the engine bay (hopefully)...