Mini Ecoboost Project

Couldn't find anyone to do that, and this one was priced right at $120 including the sending unit and cap.

 

Hi Don, I HAVE been busy, but not too much on the Hot Rod. i built a 10X16 shed in the backyard, so I could clean out the small shed so I would have a place to put all the extra parts I've removed from the car while I fix the body shell. I've also finished my engineering on the gas tank and sent it back to the welder to button it up.

Next up, start cutting out rust and welding in new panels. Once I get the body shell stiffened up again, then I can cut out the back end floor and start engineering the subframe. I also need to depalletize the engine which will mean draining all the coolant and removing the wiring harness so I can fit it up into the shell and see where everything goes.

I think I've found a radiator that will do the trick, and I have all my brake parts in stock now. I'm deciding on an HVAC system and I'll start looking at how to build that in. Then instruments and wiring, plumbing etc.

Still a VERY long way to go!

Oh, and I built two more Sprite transmissions and a Sprite diff for my friend's race cars......

 

Since the big shed got finished I spent a day moving stuff into it from the small old shed, and then spent a couple of hours cleaning the mouse poop and other schmutz out of it so I could start moving car parts into it.

I still have a ways to go on that but today I wanted to get the modifications done to the gas tank. I had the end I cut off before and used it to make two panels, one to go on the end once it's all done and another to fit in the middle as a baffle.





I also had to bore a new hole for the sending unit and cut a slot in the baffle to allow the arm of the sender to swing all the way. With all that done the only thing left is to attach the pump to the pick up pipe - but to do that I had to order a couple of things.




The pipe is 1/2" OD and the nipple on the pump is a little under 3/8" I don't know of a hose that will stretch that far, so I ordered a 3/8-1/2 hose barb and a section of 1/2 fuel hose. Once those are here Sat I can shorten the pick up tube and install the fuel pump.



Once I'm done with all my mods I'll take it all over to the welder guy and he'll weld in the baffle, close off the old hole for the sending unit and weld the end cover on...that will do it for the tank and I can start figuring out how to mount it to the car/subframe.

 

Tank is done and back from the welder's....it came out well.
In this pic the round dealybobber is the fuel filter/pressure regulator. Fuel comes from the pump in the short hose in the pic, then exits out the metal pipe on the end of the regulator to go to the high pressure pump driven by the cam on the engine, excess fuel goes back thru the second hose to a one way check valve into the tank. The third fitting in the middle is for the vent hose. That hose will lead up and under the fender where I think I'll mount a charcoal filter box.



I made a small bracket to hold the fuel pump in place, just a zip tie passed around the pump thru a couple of holes in the bracket - that should keep the pump from moving around. In this pic you can also see the end of the float for the sender.



The baffle is welded in place with a slot for the sender float arm to move up and down, it also allows fuel to flow to either side of the tank. I thought about making a cup for the pump pick up to sit in but decided I probably won't run the tank low enough for fuel starvation to be an issue. We'll see. If it is an issue I can either use an accumulator/swirl pot or just add a cup to the bottom and drop the pump down a bit.

I also test fit the tank in the subframe and it fits perfectly, now I need to build some brackets to locate it and then set the subby back in the car to figure out the upper mounts. I had some tabs welded on the ends at the top to use for mounts.

 

I mounted the front subframe back in the car and cut a piece of 1 1/2 angle to act as the bottom mount, then set the tank back in. Fits perfectly and it's exactly the way I hoped it would fit, low enough for plenty of room to mount the filter/regulator and the tabs to mount it to the bulkhead. I also ordered the radiator today, and tomorrow I'm talking to a shop that sells vintage car A/C kits to get some measurements for their "mini" evaporator, if it fits I'll order a kit, that will get me the right sized condenser core and I can do the planning for those bits.





That will do it for the front end for now - that's the major part of the design/engineering for the front end. Next up - I'll brace the body so I can start cutting out the rust and welding in the new panels. Once I have that done and the body fairly solid, I'll pull the motor off the pallet and strip it so I can plan to cut the sheet metal out of the back and fit the motor into the shell. Then the real fun starts, engineering the rear subframe and suspension.

At least that's how I see it in my head!

 

New radiator and A/C condenser appeared, so for the umpteenth time I bolted the front subframe in again and mocked up the locations. It looks like it's all going to fit well....I still need to fab up brackets and such but it all went together pretty much the way I saw it in my mind's eye.





So I'll mark all the locations and build out the brackets and mount it up one last time for a final fit check, then that part is mostly done.

I also got the mock up A/C evaporator box, with a little bit of cutting of the sheet metal it looks like it's going to fit right in the dash too, so I won't have to Binky an air box together!



I've been mocking up other bits and bobs too, the accelerator is mounted to its own bracket and it looks like it will bolt right to the bulkhead and be placed perfectly. I love it when complicated things go together easily!

There will be challenges plenty yet to come!

 

Today's project was to get the engine settled on the hydraulic table and remove the engine electrical harness......which was a total PITA! But I didn't want to have it in the way when lifting the engine in and out of the car to mock up the subframe and suspension.





With that done I'll probably move back to the front subframe and build and weld in all the brackets needed to mount the fuel tank, A/C condenser and radiator. With that in place I can start thinking about how to run the pipes from the front to the back, I have some basic ideas already but I'll need to refine them as I go along. Looks like the two big hoses will be in the right place to hook them to the pipes, and I'd like to put some elbows in the front part to match up to the radiator, so all I'll need are a couple of short elbows to connect them. However, there are a couple of small bleed pipes that were attached between the coolant recovery tank and the thermostat housing, that used proprietary fittings. I'm not sure how I'm going to make those work, or even plug them off if I can't make them work as intended. Challenges....

By the way, each one of those little blue tape markers are for a sensor or control........there are a bunch of them!

 

This engine, in addition to being turbo charged and direct fuel injected, also has variable cam timing, so you have cam position sensors and cam phasers......so yeah, a LOT of sensors. But that's how you get 250hp out of 2 Liters and 40 mpg (if you can keep your foot out of it! )

 

Today I'm making brackets and such to weld in to mount all the stuff in front.....to that end I got to use a new tool today! I needed to remove the big heavy bracket that the clutch hose attaches to, so I got out my spot weld cutter kit. I bought it about 30 years ago and never had used it before, so there was a learning curve as I broke one fairly quickly - but, once I got the hang of it, it worked really well, even in this thick metal. Should make separating some of these other panels easier than just ripping them apart with an air chisel.

I was concerned that if I just chiseled it off it would tear the underlying metal and I would have to weld in a patch.

I also was sent a link to a Facebook page for folks who put modern engines in classic Minis, and one of the guys on there has done exactly what I'm doing, so I'm hoping he has a build thread somewhere so I can copy his work!

 

I had to pause my bracket making when I realized that if I set the tank all the way down in the subframe, the pipes for the coolant wouldn't clear and would hang down below the subframe......so.......

I decided I was tired of working in filth and I need to get the shell outside where I can go after the mud and mud dauber's nests with my pressure washer. To do that I needed to make some sort of dolly. I dug around an found these 5" casters, I bolted them to a 2X6 and bolted that to the subframe. I figure if I can get a couple of my young, strong neighbors to help, we can "wheelbarrow" it out onto the driveway. Getting back in might be a trick, but we'll figure it out. I had to make it wide enough that the casters would ride on the boards beside the lift....



I had a problem with the front panel not being square to the subframe, so Don brought his porta power over and we moved it out enough to get the spacer in place. Things lined up pretty well except for the gap that opened up at the outer corner between the fender and the valance. Dan thinks it will pull together with a judicious application of clamps and welds.





Next up I'll be cutting out the floor pans and welding in new ones. Lots of rust to deal with there so it will be an adventure getting it all right so the door will fit and line up correctly. I have to get the shell as strong as possible before I cut the giant hole in the back for the motor.

 

Absolutely. That's why I want to get the rust cut out and repaired before I cut the big hole in the back. I'll brace up the rear first....the front subframe will keep the front end lined up. Lots to do before I get there, and now that the weather is cooling off I'll be able to spend more time in the shop.

 

I still haven't gotten the car out of the garage as I'm having trouble co-ordinating with strong/younger neighbors to give me a hand (one's wife had a baby this weekend so he's excused), and since a car ran over my foot at the car show last Sunday I'm not really in any shape to lift it, so I decided to get started on cutting out the old rusty floor panels and welding in new shiny ones.

I started by removing this crossmember - I noticed after drilling out a few spot welds that a LOT of big rust chunks were falling at my feet.





When I got the crossmember out, this is what I found - yes the blue paper towel was in there too - it looked like someone had closed up a hole by shoving that paper towel in there and gobbing a bunch of bathroom silicone over it.





You'll also notice there is a fairly thick sound deadening applied to these panels which I have to remove in order to get at the spot welds, and it is a royal PITA to get off of there. Sometimes if I can catch an edge I can drive a scraper under it and lift off a section, but usually I have to take my heat gun to it to get it soft enough to scrape off. PITA!

With that out of the way I dropped the new panel into place so I can start figuring out where exactly to cut out the old one and start welding in the new. I'm a little undecided about the sequence of what to cut and weld first as I'll be rebuilding the entire lower side of the car. On Binky they welded in the door step area first and I need to do that as well, so I may do that before cutting out the floor. It's a mess, no question!