Most liked posts in thread: Mini Innocenti 1300 Export

I was amazed I could even find one!

 

I picked up the parts at my friend's shop this morning (man I am tired of the road construction around here - it's a wonder you can get anywhere so many roads are closed or detoured - but I digress) which is on the opposite side of town from me, about 30 miles away.

The bushings look perfect - the tech said they weren't round by quite a bit but that he was able to get them there and still hold tolerance.

So, now I'm ready to put the trans back together - I should have everything I need at last.

Good thing too as the next thing up on the body before I place the wire harness was to fit the insulation that I very carefully cut and fit to the bulkhead - and now I can't find the damn thing anywhere! Aaaauuuugggghhhhh!

 

More progress on the transmichigan…..

The biggest time suck is sorting out which bolts and washers go where, and then cleaning them all...…and then learning and/or remembering all the little idiosyncrasies of this particular trans, when I haven't had a remote gearbox apart since about 1968.

 

Some progress......motor is married back to the transmission, clutch and flywheel are installed. Still need a few bolts to button it up before I can put it in the engine stand and finish installing all the other parts.

 

IT's......A...….. LIVE!

1st start of the Innocenti engine, fired up and idles without the choke as it's pretty hot in the shop since I had to leave the door open to vent the exhaust. Also the fan is blowing (on me) so there's a lot of background noise, and I chose to put the muffler on it. The squeal is the alternator, it doesn't line up well so the belt is noisy, it got better as it ran.

Engine took a bit to crank up oil pressure - I had to pull the line to the oil filter and put some oil down the hole, then it cranked up quickly and held about 70psi on the starter motor. When it started it ran at 70, then faded to 65 as the oil warmed up - which is fine. Idles at 50 psi hot, just as it should.

Once it was warmed up I blipped the throttle a few times and it sounds really strong! Can't wait to get it in the car and put some miles on it so we can get it on the dyno too. Mediocre video taken with my 25 year old Canon Powershot.

I ran it for the recommended 20 min at 2K RPM, it only got up to about 185* by the end of the run, it mostly ran at 180* which is the thermostat I have in it. After I shut it off, I stuck it in 4th gear and started it again just to see the axles turn!

 

I called Nisonger for the o-rings this AM, (they don't list a price for these online so you have to call) and they sell them for $2 each BUT, they have a $15 minimum order, so I told the guy send me 8 of them! He said he'll get them out "in the next few days"

I guess when you're the only game in town you don't have to be like Amazon.

Since they're coming from New York, I'll expect them sometime next week, so that part of the project is now stalled, but I can go ahead with a lot of other stuff.

I also reached the guy in Croatia with the Inno parts hoard, he said he'd nose around and see if he has the dash vents.

 

I got the third line made today, from the clutch master to the flex hose coupling on the bulkhead.

My neighbor gave me a really old line bending tool and it worked way better than mine for making these tight sharp bends. Wish I had it before to make the others but there's no way I'm going to redo the other two now. I had to make this last one twice anyway, as I guess I didn't take into account the extra material taken by the bends and the first one was an inch too short.







Next I have to make some clips to mount them to the bulkhead since I can't find the ones I want anywhere. If you reference the old pic I posted beforeof how they're supposed to be run you can see the clips the factory used, I'm going to make some like those only, for all three lines.

 

Pic from my BiL's house near Bagnel dam at the Lake of the Ozarks.....we went down for our 25th anniversary.

 

Thanks guys!

I guess I should start another thread for the 66 and the work I'm doing on it....

 

The Inno is home again from Tulsa, can't wait to finish it up and get it on the road, I promise videos when I do. Dan did a great job getting some of the details buttoned up, including all the carpets installed, door card and seats in, bumpers and grill on and touching up a couple of tiny bits on the paintwork. The car is really looking good now!

 

Yep. It pops right off now, even tho I really haven't done any tuning on it yet, but at least I got the throttle linkage sorted, so now it's drivable. It's leaving tomorrow morning to go to Tulsa for a bit while I finish up some other projects, then it will be back for final fettling.

 

Today was a fun day!

Dan and I actually got to drive the Innocenti - and boy howdy does it run! Film at 11!



Dan came up to deliver the 67 S to cstudep, which went off without a hitch, they just rolled it off one trailer and onto the other.



He also delivered a couple of engines for me, which were not fun to get off the trailer, but we managed.

Then he loaded the Inno onto his trailer to take it back to his shop where he will do some engine tuning and fettling with the ride height and alignment.

 

Back home to my shop, ready to finish up some small details, then put some miles on it!

 

Yep, a LOT of damn work too.....but, almost ready for prime time!

 

At today's Heartland All British, the Inno won 1st place in its category! Of course, there were only 2 classic Minis there out of 120 cars that showed!

 

Yesterday the Innocenti went home to its new owner, and as he lives about 4 hours away he brought his truck and trailer to tow it home. When he got it there he promptly drove it around the block and pronounced it "awesome"!

This frees my shop up at last so I can get back onto the Hot Rod Mini project.....but first......

This summer is the Mini Meet East Meets West, held every 5 years but because of the pandemic it's been put off and put off......this summer it will convene in Spearfish, South Dakota with lots of side trips to Mt. Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Deadwood, Sturgis and all sorts of places. To get ready for this trip I need to get the Green Mini up on the lift and go thru it thoroughly....right now it seems to have a slight coolant leak among other bits and bobs.

I also have acquired a new tow vehicle (2018 Audi Allroad) that needs a trailer hitch installed and lights wired up before I hit the road in about 1 month.

Once back from that trip I can get started on the hot rod in earnest.

The black one is the wife's trouble free 2014 that we've had for right at 4 years now, the silver one is the new ride.