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.
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.
Finishing up some details on the Inno to get ready for our local All Brit show on Sat. First I had to sort out the brakes, Dan said they were really noisy - I had blasted the rotors and even tho I put in new brake pads they didn't seem to bed in, so since I had a set in stock I went ahead and changed them out - rechecked the adjustment in the rear and bled them - that seems to have done the trick - the pedal is right where it should be and they're smooth and quiet. I'm going to bleed the clutch, it releases right off the floor tho it works just fine, I can get all the gears and nothing grinds, even going into reverse. I also sorted out the steering wheel, the hub was rubbing on the shroud when I tightened the wheel down, so I had found another Hellbore wheel and swapped out the hub - bonus I got a horn button with the new one, unfortunately there were no "works" under the button, so I'll still have to figure that part out. Still, it steers nicely now. Lastly, I got to drive it today!!!!! First real drive in it since we got it.....this motor is STRONG! I haven't pushed it yet but it sure pulls like a train even on light throttle. Still lots of fettling to do, need to get a proper alignment and of course put the dash back in place and finish up all the wiring .....but a successful test drive is always a great motivator.
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!
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.
I really need to retire! I would love to go to some events. That’s a very nice tow vehicle. I bought my truck so I would have something to tow with. I love the truck but the tires are loud. Every other weekend it’s what we drive it 3 hours one way to see the grand baby. That Audi is a much better ride than my truck. I can’t wait for you to get started on the hot rod mini!
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!
Right now the plan is for the Inno, my green car and Don's pup to go on the dyno the day before we head to SD, if nothing else we'll get baseline numbers and make sure our fuel and ignition are spot on.
Well, it turns out the dyno we use is booked thru Sept, so that isn't happening. Plus too and also, Dan pulled the head on the Inno because - guess what - it had a damn blown head gasket! He's got it all back together now and running just fine. He also added an aluminum radiator as it was running a touch warmer than he felt comfortable with, around 200 at stops, and he added an electric cooling fan in case we wind up stopped in traffic or something. So, he's back on the road too, and will drive it every day between now and when we leave next Sunday to get as many miles on it as possible.