So, more Innocenti craziness......I went to install the heater - they are attached with two sheet metal screws at the front and two nuts at the back where the studs are held in two brackets - and those two studs are NOT 1/4-20 or 1/4-28, but M6X1.... So I run up to Ace hardware and they have M6X1.5 and M6X.75, but no M6X1, and they want $1.04 each nut! I drive about 5 miles to the Home Depot and they have M6X1 stainless for $1.50 for 5..... Oh well, it's a nice day to be out buzzing around town in the Racing Green Mini, it's already in the high 80's tho and will be in the mid 90's later this afternoon......
Work continues.... The heater is installed, as are the ignition and turn signal switches.....and all the wiring to the rear half of the car. Next up the dash goes in and gets wired up. I also found the coil bracket and fit it along with the coil, and I wired it and the distributor up - that completes the wiring under the hood - except for the horns. I have NO idea where they're going to go......but once I get the radiator back in and figure out where the oil cooler will mount...then I can figure out where I can mount the horns. It's really getting tight under the bonnet! I went out and picked up the parts I left at the blasters last Wed and gave them a coat of primer. However once I took a look I found a split in the sheet metal where the bottom bracket attaches the shroud to the support on the engine. I cleaned it up and welded it back together then re-primed, then gave it a quick topcoat later. It's so hot this afternoon that the paint dried really quickly. I also gave the sump guard a coat of primer, and the first coat of color - but it will take several more coats to get complete coverage.....I used the same paint on the shocks and I think it took about 6 coats to get good color on them.
I finally figured out how to mount the Italian oil cooler Dan found for the Inno - if I turn it over and have the hoses come out the bottom there's plenty of room. Dunno why I didn't think of that before, but the old one was mounted the other way so I tried to follow that. I took Jeff's suggestion and found the local Parker dealer and drove out to see if I could get the fittings I needed to mount the oil cooler. It took them a while to figure out what the correct thread and fittings I needed, and they had one - but the other one they were going to have to order - as Jeff said I can reuse the two old fittings so I also bought some new hose. The last fitting I needed was a 90* BSPP - no one seems to have this one but they had them in stock at the factory in Louisville so I ordered one - they gave me a deal on it as I looked it up online - prices ranged from $95 to $33...…...…………….for ONE fitting! They charged me $29, no shipping. Later on I was looking up some bits on MiniSpares - and damn - they have the fittings for about $5 each! If I hadn't just dropped my last order yesterday I would have added them......but no sense doing it now. I may buy some anyway as I want to add a cooler to the Racing Green car but I'll wait till I do the next order. Victoria British has the coolers and lines already made up but they're for a Midget or MGB. They also have this cool snap on shroud that you can use to cover the cooler in winter. Since they're having their summer sale right now I might go buy the 10 row cooler and shroud, then I can order the fittings and hose from Spares later.
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.
Thanks I would have never thought! I would have been driving it and pulling the plugs till I got it right.
No substitute for digital instantaneous information! My buddy Dan did this for his car and it was a long difficult process to get the mixture balanced in all running conditions with his particular setup - it would go lean at higher rpms because the head and carbs were so optimized for flow, and then be pig rich down low, without the wideband letting him know exactly where and when he was rich or lean it would have taken much longer to get it dialed in, and it's possible to burn a valve in the process if you don't have a very sensitive butt dyno - or instruments.
Long ago all I messed with were Webber carbs. Your right it took a lot of fiddling to get them just right. If you had a flat spot in acceleration that made it even more fun. The shop I worked for had a big box of all the jets and emulation tubes. I spent plenty time in that box. We did have a sniffer so that helped.
I'd have used a Gunson color tune & a piece of rubber hose to sync the carbs. Yes my LBC cars often ran like carp.
I gave my Unisyn to a friend with a big Healey. He's got 3 SU's & can use all the help he can get. When I bought my Meotter with its fuel infection I figured the Unisyn needed a good home.
I've been working ahead on the Inno, I finished the oil cooler installation now that the last fitting came in today. I used the push on hose and fittings, the push on hoses are slick as if you screw up the measurement and make it too short or too long, you're only out about a couple of bucks worth of hose, not an entire $35-40 crimped line. I also welded in the o2 sensor bung in the collector pipe too..... And I bought some new stainless wiper blades and arms. I bought the park right style cause that's what my LHD Mini has, but I saw on the Inno that just sold on BaT that those park left. Turns out they can go either way. So I may be using these on the Green car and buying another set for the Inno - once I get it powered up and see where they actually DO park.
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 just noticed how mangled that fuel line is in the full bottom shot, glad I bought a roll of fuel line.
Good news, the fuel line is fine, it was just some cobwebs wrapped around the line and the camera caught it funny.
Engine compartment almost done and boy is it getting crowded in there.....see for yourself! Carbs still need to go in there too..... Now you can see why the horns wouldn't go on the right side of the engine compartment..... I think I figured out where and how to mount the windshield washer bottle, I'll have to build a bracket first. Speaking of building a good bracket - the Project Binky boys lost power for a day - they were supposed to have the new episode out Fri night for the Patreon, but now it will be Sat might, sunday for the hoi polio....