Most liked posts in thread: Mini Innocenti 1300 Export

Slowly getting the wiring sorted out, doesn't seem like it would be that hard, but...….

Found another interesting bodge - they tapped into one of the headlight wires to get the power source for the driving lights (we removed them, they were crap and the installation was even worse!) and it looks like they just used hot glue rather than solder to tie them together!



I've peeled back enough wire that I think I'm thru all the bodges now.

I was able to get new headlight buckets from Vickie Brits, along with new gaskets and all new hardware, screws, adjusters and such. The headlight wiring harnesses I got were for British cars, so I had to modify them by removing the bulb holder and changing the wire ends for the park bulb. Then I had to shorten one considerably, the other one I should be able to leave the length intact. I'll be tying it all together with regular Lucas bullet ends and receptacles.



I made new harnesses for the repeaters on the wings and sheathed them in the correct tubing, once done it should all look pretty much factory original and new......and more importantly it should all work!



The last thing I need to do is make a harness for the turn signal/park lights that ties together with the repeaters, then I can go ahead and rivet the headlight buckets in and hook everything up. Then head over to the left side and do the same. Once that's all done all I have to do is re-sheath and tape the harness back up and put it back under the tabs. Once that's done I'll move back to the interior and start wiring the column back up, install the signal switch and then see if it all works.

More as it happens.....

 

Back to work on the Inno engine again today, first I had to clean everything again as even tho I had it covered with shop cloths it got pretty dirty. Once cleaned I installed the lifters, cam, oil pump and the crank. Before I can go further I have to assemble the pistons onto the con rods.....Once that's done then I hope to see pistons right at the top of the block!

While I had the crank out I cleaned off all the fretting on the end of the crank, ran a tap thru both ends to clean up the threads, fitted the flywheel and put some valve grinding paste on and lapped the flywheel onto the tapered crank end.

More as it happens.....

 

I didn't like the way the bypass hose (the rubber bellows style) fit, so since I hadn't torqued the head down yet I went ahead and pulled the head up and replaced it with a cut to size chunk of silicone hose. Much better fit now and it should last forever. The only way you can do this with the head torqued down is to remove the water pump.


I had to notch the edges of the valve cover for clearance for the head nuts and bolt - I also had to notch out the cork gasket to fit. I was going to use a silicone gasket but I did not want to try and take a notch out of it.....

 

Today's jobs.....

Torqued the cylinder head and adjusted the valve clearances to 15 thou.....I put the old valve cover back on as I don't have any new seals for the aluminum cover.

One of the problems with the carb/manifold setup used on the Inno was there were no locating tangs, holes, studs or anything else to center the manifold to the cylinder head - so I took the carbs off the manifold and drilled some 1/8" holes for some roll pins, transferred to the gasket and used that to locate the pins to the cylinder head. I then drilled the head (carefully, the holes are aimed right at the pushrod tubes) and checked the fit - looks really good. That should make it easy to install the manifold accurately once the engine is in the car.







Some more boxes ticked.

Seems like progress is really slow, but between my back and the other things I have to do (mowed the south 40 today too) I'm going about as quickly as I can. I hope to have it pretty much done by the end of July as most of it is assembly at this point, I'm sure there will be delays as I find bits I need.

 

3 steps forward, 2 back, one sideways.....

In the meantime both my other Mini/MINIs are running great, the green car is running as well as it ever has - yesterday I replaced the tire that got a flat going over Loveland Pass on the way to Snowmass last month. The patch job they did was good, and it ran another 1200 miles before I changed it, I'll keep it as a just in case tire....

 

I picked up the seats from the upholsterer's today, it took him a long time to figure out how to install the covers correctly and I'm pretty sure he didn't make any money on this job, but it was still spendy. I couldn't have done them and I don't think my partner Dan wanted to try again either after his first attempt didn't turn out too well, so sometimes you just have to go to "the guy" to get it done right. They turned out well and I'm happy with his work......I think I'm going to have him install the carpets too as I don't have the spray gun for the glue, and it will be a relatively simple and quick job for him.

 

She's been "kept" since 94, but we started dating 20 years before that - took me that long to convince her to stay!

Our first date was to an IMSA race near St. Louis, she tells people that had I asked her to dinner and a movie she would never have gone out with me, but the race invite kinda caught her off guard.

 

So, I got the shifter all built up at last.

I had one heck of a time getting the shift linkage socket that the ball fits into tight on the shaft, finally I put it in the vise and squeeze it down at the split, then it was too tight to get started on the shaft, so I took the shaft out and drove it into the socket, drove it out again then put it all together again. Now it's perfect, no play at all and the shaft moves smoothly.....

Here's the final project.....compare to the pic in the previous post. In the last pic near the engine end there's a hole that looks like it should be for a zerk fitting to lube the shift shaft, but it's a blind hole - now I'm thinking I should drill it thru and tap the outer end for a zerk….but that would mean taking it all back apart, and I already greased everything.....so maybe not.

 

Got the hose made this morning at the local hydraulics shop.....it's a little clunky on the block end but it fits and it will allow me to run in the engine on the stand and even in the car till I get the oil cooler hoses sorted. The hoses from Spares are SS braided with nice 90* ends on them and only about $50 the pair plus shipping, but this one hose from them would have been $75 plus shipping by itself! I paid $37 for the one they made me.....for that matter I can buy the fittings really cheap from Spares and have the local hydraulic shop make them up for me.

Now once I sort out a few more details it's ready to run!

I don't know if I can make it considering just how much I have left to do, but the local All British show is Labor Day weekend...….

 

I built the test stand about 3 years ago for the express purpose of running in the engines I build....it's just made out of scrap I found, but I did put in a full compliment of new gauges. It has tach, oil pressure, water temp, and volt meter. The volt meter is kinda overkill, but it lets me know that the alternator is working properly before I drop the engine into a car or send it home with its owner. So far it's been really handy - I've restarted some engines that sat for many years, determining that they were OK to use and of course I run in new engines, so I can make sure they don't have any oil or water leaks and set the timing and initial mixture on the carb.

I think I did a thread on the build, lemme check.....yep, here it is....

https://www.motoringalliance.com/threads/mini-engine-test-stand.30479/

Here's a better, more complete thread on Restoration Mini

http://restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=994.0

 

Thanks! It's been a slog but things are coming along now - slowly!
The Germans do love their tank engines - Russians do too - you can find a lot of these "lets see if we can get it started" diesel engine videos on YouTube!

I love that - "Aussie" accents!

As for my Inno motor, they're supposed to be that way - at least I think they are. I have my test stand setup all pretty well dialed in so there's no issues with carbs or ignition. So if you build it correctly they should start and idle just fine.....but I'm always pleased and maybe just a little bit surprised when they do!

 

Like the wiring harness, I'm always surprised when I find something unique like this is available at all, let alone at a somewhat reasonable price.

My next treasure quest is for the radiator overflow tank, I figure it was removed in England when it was converted (poorly) to RHD, as it bolts on the bulkhead right where the master cylinders live on a RHD car. It's a really unique animal, I don't hold out a lot of hope that I'll find one. I've already been to Ebay Italy and left messages on several English forums but we'll see......

Edit: Already got nibble from a guy on the English Mini forum that thinks he knows a guy who has several!

 

Thanks Dave....
Today they delivered the new brake servo from the Alfa Parts supplier in the UK, it looks like a perfect match to the old one. I have an email in to the seller to find out if the fittings are metric or English. 6mm and 1/4" are very similar and close in size....


I also mounted the carbs on the manifold and onto the head...before I could do that I had to trim the gaskets slightly to match the openings in the manifold.



Once mounted to the head I could start to plan where and how I was going to run the pipes from the master cylinders over to the other side of the bulkhead where the fittings are for the clutch and brake connections. It's really tight but I'll figure it out.







Someone sent me a drawing of how they're supposed to be run, but that's for a stock Inno with the smaller H2 carbs and stock airfilter.

 

Today I remade the bracket so I could attach the bottom engine steady, it had been modified - poorly - so I decided to weld up the mess and drill a new hole in the correct spot.

Once done I gave it a lick of paint and bolted it on the car - fits perfectly now! I don't know if it really needed it between the upper steady and long remote shifter that also acts as an engine steady - but it was there and so was I so......





I may have to pull the carbs off the intake manifold in order to get to the inner two studs/nuts that hold the intake and exhaust center pipe on. I've tried everything I can think of and I just can't get either my hands or a wrench in there. Really didn't want to do that, but like everything else on the build, seems I take two steps forward only to take three back again. Oh well......

 

It's starting to get crowded under the bonnet (to be)

 

So, got the oil cooler mounts made up tonight out of stainless, I spent a lot of time getting it set just perfectly and in order to get it there I decided I had to put the fittings on the bottom and mount the cooler flush to the frame opening - bolted it in and installed the grill. Coulda kicked my self, there's a good inch between the cooler and the grill due to the way it's made and how it attaches to the front of the car, as there is this much room that explains how the cooler could have fit in there with the fittings on top. If it sits flush to the opening like I have it the top mount fittings won't clear the alternator

So tomorrow I'll go back and try it again......and I'll see if it makes more sense to continue to have the fittings on the bottom or if it's better to have them on top.

I might be able to put the horns under the oil cooler if the fittings go above, otherwise I'm still looking for a good place to mount the horns.

 

I think I came up with a way to make it all work.....this is just the rough version, I'll clean it all up and give it a coat of paint before the final, plus I'll drill another mounting hole for the bracket into the subframe. I looked at mounting them in the wheel well and that was my next choice.



I also carved a small radius on the inner edge to clear the brake line that runs along the edge of the subframe.

I also reset the location of the oil cooler and put the fittings on top again.

Still need to make another bracket for the one end of the oil cooler, as the ones I made before quite won't work.





The horns are mounted and wired.......



Once the fittings get here next Tues I can finish up the oil cooler and that will just about wrap up the engine compartment, then I need to finish the dash install so I can put the carbs back on.

Then I'll weld the o2 sensor bung in the collector pipe and install the exhaust. After that it's bleed the brakes and clutch and then see what happens when I turn the key...….after that button up the interior and put some miles on it.

Oh, the front holes to the subframe aren't lining up so I'm going to loosen the subframe all around and see if I can shift it around and get them to match up - there were bolts in there before!

 

Yes, well before OBD. It's for a wideband sensor so I can read the mixture while getting the needle and carb tuning right. Once set I take it out and use it on another car and just cap off the bung.

 

A few more things accomplished on the Innocenti….

After I got the bung welded into the collector I decided to install it and the rest of the exhaust. Apparently they sent a center pipe for a wagon or Pup as it was a bit too long, but a few minutes with a saw shortened it up and it all fit together.




I also cut the new hoses for the vacuum pipe to the brake servo, but found I don't have the right size clamps so I'll have to get them on the way.

I also fixed the windshield washer pump, it was all gummed up and all it needed was a good cleaning. I still have to take the frame somewhere and bead blast it and give it a coat of paint. Then I'll have to figure out how to mount it.



Lastly I fit the heater hoses, but I'm going to see if I can find some pipe and make a connector pipe that will run across the top of the intake manifold rather than running the big ol heater hose all the way across.

 

I've been gone a lot for the last few weeks so the poor Inno has been languishing in the shop, now I'm home for a bit so I can get back on it - but first I needed to spend some time cleaning and organizing the shop - I already have two engines booked in to be built, one arrived last weekend and the other is due in a few days so I had to make room even tho I'm not starting on them right away. A third engine and a Sprite transmission are also waiting for me to tell them when to come over. Gonna be a busy winter!

Part of my organizing is also directed at cleaning out the basement, it would be easy to use the basement for engine building, but I have no idea how I would get them up and down the stairs, so for now it will just be for storage.