Most liked posts in thread: Mini Innocenti 1300 Export

I test fit the new header pipes to make sure everything would clear the shifter, and it looks great. So I took them out, cleaned them thoroughly with both solvent and lacquer thinner and sprayed a coat of silver high temp on them, then hung them in the sun to dry and cure out - it's hot out today so they should cure nicely.





Lastly - don't cha love it when they send you squared off pipes? These are the tail pipe/resonator and the inlet to the main muffler. I may have a pipe expander I can use to round them out again, if I don't a big socket and a 3 pounder will do the trick.

PITA!

 

Today's project - wiring harness. The last 6-8" of the rear harness that were in the engine compartment were in bad shape, with cracked insulation and bare wires everywhere, so rather than pull the entire rear harness out I decided to just cut off the last 12 -18" of the rear harness and splice in the same amount from the new rear harness.

While planning this out (I don't want to cut anything till I'm dead sure of what I'm doing) and studying on where the wires all go and what does what - I wondered why those wires go out to the engine compartment in the first place? Is it just accessibility of the connections? What I think I'm going to do is simply run them along the inside of the bulkhead, that should tidy up the engine compartment side of things nicely. The only wires that have to run out there are the ones for the wiper motor and the wires I'll have to make up for the reverse lights switch on the engine. For some reason they seem to think here's a switch on the linkage, but I can't find evidence of one in any parts books, and I don't see any place to mount one on the remote housing of the shift linkage, so since I have a switch on the trans that does work, I'll simply extend the wires to the switch.

I did have to remove the dash in order to hook everything up, it just wasn't possible to get my hand in behind the dash with it in place, nor to be able to see anything to know what I was doing. I didn't want to pull it for fear of breaking it but it came out OK and this will give me a chance to clean up both the dash and the parcel tray under it.....as well as repair and route the wiring.

 

More small bits of progress, the defrost vent tubing came in, the o-rings from Nisonger are finally on their way - he wrote my CC number down wrong, good thing he had my phone number. No joy on the eyeball vents. And more bad news, while wiring up one of the brand new glass turn signals, I dropped the lens which promptly broke.....it was hard finding a set of these in any condition, let alone brand new. Dan thinks he found a set of lenses, but they're a different brand, still Italian and it looks like they will replace these - won't know for sure till they get here....fingers crossed. Got most of the under dash and engine compartment wiring done, next up while waiting for the O-rings for the instruments so I can put the dash in and wire it up, I'll install the brake and clutch master cylinders and see about making up the new pipes.

More as it happens......

Oh and I hatched an idea for the speedo, because it's in Kilometers and I've changed the final drive, it will be wildly off. To see just how much, I installed the speedo cable and connected it to the gauge - since it's out anyway. So I'll run the engine in 4th gear and at various RPMs I'll get a reading from the speedo. Once I have it in the car I can use the Garmin to see what number equals what. I may wind up putting a taped on tick at the 50, 60 and 70 mph positions, just as a reminder. OTOH, I can just use the Garmin I guess......

 

Yep, that's a really nice MkII Innocenti - it's NOT a Morris as the title says......

Edit: I see BaT changed the title of the auction to reflect what the car really is. Good for them......

 

I pulled the brake booster servo off the shelf to clean it up and get it ready to install in the engine compartment. I noticed some weird white powdery sort of stuff on the vacuum pipe fitting, when I removed that fitting it was packed solid with this stuff, as was the port into the servo - it was soaked with brake fluid too - RuhRoh...

So I started digging around to see what I could learn. I found that it was an Italian made version of the Lockheed servo used on the MkI Cooper S, however - it was just that much different that the seal kits for the Lockheed wouldn't work.....but now at least I had a brand name..."Benditalia"

I could use the Lockheed style servo that MiniSpares sells for about $325, but shipped that would run close to $400, and we've spent a lot of money on this car trying to keep it original, so I decided to look further.

I put "Benditalia servo" into Google and low and behold it's the same servo used on the Alfa 105 series cars (like a GTV) and further sleuthing revealed that I could buy a seal kit from an Alfa supplier in the UK for only about $100. However that only covered part of the servo, the other part was another $100 - so $200 worth of seals and I can rebuild it myself.

OR

for $242 I could buy one from them already rebuilt, but there's a £50 core charge, and sending it back would cost almost that much.

OR

I could buy a brand new one for $255 outright plus shipping!

Guess which option I took? $286 to my door.

it should be here by Thursday afternoon, with any luck I'll already have the motor in by then too (the motor has to go in before the servo bolts onto the inner fender) and I can install it, then I can start making up the new brake lines.

I also got the little O-rings from Nisonger, so now I can install the gauges back into the dash then put the dash back in and wire it up.

Things are moving along...….

 

My back is feeling surprisingly better, so I decided to see about making the brake lines for the master cylinders. I had bought a kit earlier that was supposed to work with the new master (with its metric fittings) and the existing brake distribution fitting on the bulkhead - except - it didn't. The master cylinder end fit fine, a metric 12mm X 1.0 for the bottom hole and supposedly a metric 8mm X 1.0 for the other end. However, the dist fitting had other ideas as it was NOT metric. At least I assumed so as all the other fittings in it were English - 3/8-24.



No problem I figure, I'll just run down to the autoparts store and get the right fitting - 3/8-24 is too small, must be a 7/16-24. Except it isn't - as I found out when I got home again. Must be 10mm metric after all I thought, so back down to the parts store and back home again.

Nope, not 10mm either.

Getting the dist. fitting off the bulkhead so I could take it to the parts store and see if I could find the right fitting was more work than I wanted to do at this point as three of the 5 openings were already filled, so I decided to go the other route and find the original line that was there - knowing that at least the one end would be right. I don't throw way anything when I do one of these, but it still took me all damn evening to find the damn old line. When I did I measured it - 7/16 all right but 20 instead of 24!

Augghghghgh!

I called it a night, tomorrow I can bend up and fit some lines. With that done I can reinstall the carbs and things should start moving along pretty well - assuming my back doesn't let me down again.

BTW, the metric fittings have small notches around the nut. In the last pic, 12mm, 3/8-24 and 7/16-20

 

The clearance shouldn't be a problem, between the engine steady and the long remote shifter housing, it feels like this engine is tied down pretty well. I also have an engine steady that goes under the engine too, haven't decided if I'm going to install it or not.

So far the engine hasn't leaked a drop of oil either, so the Permatex gasket sealer seems to have done the job.

I have the alternator in so all the engine equipment is in except the radiator, I'll do it today and build a bracket to mount the horns and that should be it for the engine compartment. I still have to round out the exhaust pipes and install the exhaust system and weld in the bung on the head pipe for the o2 sensor, but that won't be here till Monday so that will have to wait.

Next I need to wire up the dash and install it, and the switches and heater. I think before I install the dash I'll do a systems test on everything electrical and make sure it all works. Still have to splice the new wires for the rear harness too. Wish that headliner wasn't such a PITA, I would have liked to just use the whole harness.

Oh, have to hook up the choke and throttle cables too and figure out a way to mount the coil, it originally hung off a bracket on one of the head bolts, but the oil pipe I put in won't let it go there.

Or if I can get the oil cooler mounted and have the hoses made then it will go back where it belongs.

Details. Lots and lots of details.

 

I've had my Unisyn for over 50 years, still works fine!

 

I just noticed how mangled that fuel line is in the full bottom shot, glad I bought a roll of fuel line.

 

Finally got the dash wired up.....so I powered up the car to see what worked and what didn't...…..too much to hope for that everything would just work I guess.

Ignition and starter work, lights all work correctly so that's good. Horns blow. Ammeter is wired backwards - I had a 50/50 chance on that one..….

However the heater blower doesn't, wiper motor doesn't, windshield washer motor doesn't even tho I tested it on the bench and it worked fine there, even pumped water. Rear defroster doesn't work either.

I'll do some testing after dinner tonight.

Edit: Wiper fuse blown, now I need to find out why. Could be wired wrong, could be a bad motor

 

Yes, I wish I had tested everything before hand, when we got the car......but so much of the wiring was screwed up I wouldn't know if the thing was bad or the wires to it were.....I did test all the components to make sure they worked before I put them in the car....everything except the wiper motor - I took it apart and it looks fine, but I didn't bench run it.

 

Tried to bleed the clutch yesterday and fluid just pissed out of the connection with the flex hose to the slave cylinder. After fussing with it for most of the day I took it out and made a whole new line. That one sealed up nicely and I got the clutch bled out. My plan is to at least get it running and drivable (no brakes, just the handbrake at this point ) with the goal that I can take it off the rack and put the other MINI/Mini on in turns to do the prep work for my trip on Tuesday.

After that line failed so miserably I'm fearful that I'll be chasing leaks on all the other lines I made - which fortunately is just the two across the bulkhead and the one from the booster to the union. All the rest were factory made lines.

I did find a fuel filter that will fit the tighter and tighter confines of the engine compartment, and bought a couple of gallons of gas. I'm going to run some thru the line to the carbs before I hook it all up.

I still have a couple of electrical things that aren't working, but nothing critical at this point, the wiper motor and rear defrost are MIA, everything else works......

 

Yesterday I spent the day getting two of my cars ready for the trip to Wytheville, Virginia for the Classic Minis United Mini 60 event, I'm leaving early Tuesday so I can avoid traffic both here in KC and in St. Louis. To do that I needed to clear the lift - I carefully rolled the Inno off the lift and down the driveway, this left just enough room to get a car into the shop and on the lift in front of it.

I started with the green classic - I pulled all the wheels so I could rotate them, and while I had them off I pulled the rear drums to check the shoes - all good there so I buttoned them up, readjusted the rear brakes and then flushed the fluid. I changed the oil and filter, and noticed that I had lost the valve cover cap and who knows how long I've been driving without it? There wasn't as much oil under the hood as I expected......I topped off all the other fluids, set the tire pressures and gave the interior a good vacuum. While in there I also set the light bar in the back window, cleaned the windshield and replaced the wiper arms and blades. She should be good to go...…

Next up was the '09 blue Clubman S, it also got all 4 tires off so I could check the brakes and rotate the tires. I also changed the brake fluid in it, topped off all the fluids and set the tire pressures. This car has been so reliable, it's been a really good car for me. We debated replacing it a couple times as it's closing in on a 100K, but we've decided to just keep it and the Audi both.

Then I had to get the Inno back into the shop and on the lift again...….my neighbor came and helped me push it up the drive to the edge of the garage but that was as far as we could push it. No matter, I have a 120V boat winch attacked to the crossbar of the my metal workbench, I just hook the cable up and it drags a car right up and onto the lift - I had to stop a couple times to straighten the tires, but it's a pretty painless way to do it.

Today I'll do laundry, mow the grass and a hundred "honey do's", then late in the afternoon I'll hook up the green car to the blue one and load tools and spares and be ready to head out about 7 am.

Back in a week or so!

 

Yeah, I really can't wait to get it on the road.....Dan and I both wish we lived closer so we could trade more work like this, I like doing the mechanicals and he prefers the paint and interior work - it's a good matchup but the 4 hour drive makes it tough.

I built an engine for his daily and it made 80hp at the wheels, or about 100 at the crank - that's a LOT for a normally aspirated A series motor. I think the Inno will do just a bit more as it's not only bored but stroked and makes 1410cc vs Dan's 1293. We'll see in the spring when it goes on the dyno - need to get some miles on it first.

We're looking at changing his over from carbs to fuel injection, might pick up a couple more HP then.

 

Dan has been working on the Inno as his real job allows, the carpet and door panels are on....I'll be done with the 66 Cooper S this week and depending on the weather and his schedule we'll be trading back again.

 

My partner in Tulsa aligned the front end and has already been putting miles on the Inno - he and his wife in particular like it so much he may try and buy me out on it! He's going to do a little tuning on the carbs and continue to do the break-in mileage, then he'll see about getting it on the dyno and we'll see what HP and torque it makes. I expect it to be about 100hp at the wheels, considering a stock 1275 makes 52 at the flywheel, that's a pretty strong result if it does. I know it felt really strong when I drove it around the block.

 

Drove the Innocenti over to the alignment shop today, post alignment it really drove well!

The brakes are "interesting"......It has a vacuum brake booster that doesn't seem to do anything at first, then seems to overboost. It just takes a little getting used to..

But boy howdy is this thing a runner! Tons of low end torque and wants to rev like mad! The gearbox is a little noisier than expected, but then I never drove it prior to rebuilding the engine.....it's not bad, just a little whiny.....works perfectly tho.

All in all the nicest most powerful Mini I've ever driven.....almost hate to sell it!

I still have a little electrical work to do to it yet, and some minor tuning on the carbs - seems a little lean coming off idle.

Need to get some more miles on it now.....it's so hard not to put your foot in it, it's so eager to rev and pulls so strongly!

 

Got a text from my buddy with the Inno, he did some carb tuning, timing adjustments and so on and really got the mixture dialed in - and did a number of hard pulls to 100 mph! His comment - "it's a beast"!

If you all remember this one has a 1410cc motor, 1275 bored 60 over and a .250 stroked crank running 10.3-1 compression, a fully ported head with the biggest valves we could put in it and a 266* cam. So, it idles smoothly but pulls like a truck - I also put a taller final drive in it ( 3.0-1) so it was turning about 5300 @ 100mph on 10" tires.

A beast indeed!