Most liked posts in thread: MINI Max has a new little brother, Buzz

Matt, only on the highway, around town it was fine.....

But today I think I finally have a solution in hand. I took this one down to the local radiator shop and they pulled the lower crimped-on cap off, when they did they found the radiator was clean as a pin inside, just as I thought.

However - I was led to believe I had the "Supercool 2 core" radiator, today after talking to Jack at 7 enterprises, it turns out I have the "barely adequate for a 998 on a cold day in winter cheap ass crap throw it away not cool" radiator!

So I have a new all copper and brass Supercool 3 core winging it's way towards me via Big Brown, it should be here on Monday and I believe my hot running problems will be history!

At last.

 

More progress today.....it's down on its wheels and off the rack and it now has working brakes!

I found an arcane, weird brake procedure in the old Haynes manual - push the pedal down sharply, hold three seconds, let up slowly, wait 15 sec, then repeat. All I know is that it worked.....and I got a ton of old, black nasty fluid out of the back wheel cylinders. They also followed the (to me) normal procedure of bleed the left rear, then the right rear, then left front, then right front - which is how I've always done it, but the Bentley manual said bleed both front and rear on one side at the same time.......I followed the Haynes way instead and it worked. I was thinking I was going to have to buy a new master cylinder and maybe the proportioning valve too @ $400 the pair plus freight!

I also put the seat in and bolted it down.

I ran the engine for about half hour today, it ran a little warmer than I thought it would, just slightly above the middle of the gauge so I'll need to watch that - I removed the aux electric cooling fan as I didn't think I'd need it with a clean cooling system but I may still - I never drove it in 90* temps before either so I don't know where it will run - I did put a 160* thermostat in it. Oh and my heater valve leaks, I can get a new one at Vicky Brit's so no worries there.

I ran out of energy - plus it's bloody hot and humid out - so I didn't try to drive it yet, I should do that tomorrow. I still need another front outer CV joint boot clamp, then everything in the drivetrain is buttoned up. Once it's rolling I'll need to get it up to school on the alignment rack and get the ride height and alignment straightened out. Then I can really put some miles on it.

I still have an odd electrical thing going on with the rear fog light, but worst case I'll just disconnect it.

 

Buzz is alive again....

After days of trouble shooting what I thought was a fuel problem (although it did have a fuel problem - more on that in a minute) as the engine would start sometimes run up a little for 5 sec or so, then die and not restart, like it was running out of fuel......turns out the points had closed up. I had to reach back into my deepest, dimmest memories from the early 70's to remember that my '62 Cooper S used to do that sometimes, and when it did it ran like **** - if at all. So I pulled the points, cleaned, lubed them (I still have a tube of cam lube grease - most people wouldn't know what that was!) and set them correctly (I had to get out a magnifying glass to see the gap!) and the engine popped right off and purrs again.

<Sighs> - two days wasted.....

The fuel issue.....all I can think of is that I must have left the key on for a very long time while doing other things and it just flooded the carb - even tho there's no gas coming out of the vent tube on the carb like it should if it was flooded. But I know that it filled the cylinders and added at least 2 quarts to the sump, so I drained out my nice clean gas-contaminated Brad Penn oil and put in 5 new quarts. I now have 1 1/2 quarts out of a new case of oil left for the trip - hope I don't need it!

The good news is even tho it hasn't been driven, it's been run quite a bit and it's not leaking any fluids, oil, brake fluid, coolant - nuttin!

As it should be.

Since time is getting so tight for the Milwaukee trip (yesterday I was just resigned that I just wasn't going to make it) I'll try to get everything buttoned up and re-assembled today, then tomorrow take it up to school for the alignment. After that, if all looks well Don and I will take a run down K-10 to Lawrence and back, that's almost 100 miles round trip. If it does that with no major issues, then I'll feel a lot better about heading out of town with it....and I'll try and get as many miles on it as I can before Wed's departure.

More as it happens.....

 

Suspension bits came in today so I got to work installing them.....adjustable lower control arms and tie rods for the front, brackets to set the toe and camber for the rear. Got the front ones done today...



I bought the parts from Mini Sport and I'm very satisfied with the quality of the parts - good stuff!

I also installed an electronic ignition and new coil, people complained about my scratched, dented nasty looking coil so I bought a nice new shiny one (matched to the new ign system). It uses a hall effect generator to replace the points...



New coil

 

Today I went after more rattles on Buzz, this time it was the left door.

First off, you need a pair of pliers like these to remove door panels and trim - I saw Edd China use them on Wheeler Dealers years ago and found mine at good old Harbor Freight for IIRC about $5!



The screws holding the latch handle bracket were just loose - so that was easy to fix....



And the window winder assy was missing two screws completely (that should look familiar to those who watched the Project Binky vid) so I ran up to the Ace to find some 1/4-28 cheese head screws - they didn't have any but some 1/4-28 X 1/2" bolts worked just fine.



The screws that held the lock switch bracket were just .....well, not really screwed into anything but the door panel cardboard, so I made up some speed clips to give them purchase on the metal retainer behind the door panel and that took care of that.

Lastly, the chrome trim that holds inside window wiper (and ant-rattle fuzz) was bent like a banana, and when I got it off most of the clips were not attached either. I carefully straightened the trim and spread the clips evenly over the length of the trim and viola - it snapped right into place!

I'll bet it's as quiet as a new 1980 Mini now, which probably isn't saying much! :lol:

Tomorrw it's going to be in the low to mid 80's so Don and I are going to do a 100 mile round trip drive - if it stays around 180-190 I'll call it good.

IF


(/\ thats a big if :lol: )

 

I decided I just need some extra cooling to get thru the summer months, so I found this heater core that goes in the back of a big Ford E250 Clubvan to provide heat for the rear seats, it fits the three openings just below the lic plate perfectly so today I built some brackets to attach it. Tomorrow I'll get it bolted in and then work on plumbing it to the cylinder head - I'll have a ball valve mounted in the line for the winter months. It's 21" long, 3" high and 2" deep, if I can't keep it cool with this, something's wrong!



I also built a block to take the hot water out of the head - it fits directly below the heater valve on one end of the head, the other end will dump into the top radiator hose right above the thermostat.

 

All righty then, today was the day for a check ride on Buzz......we headed out due north on I-29 about 11 this morning, it was already about 65* so a good test of the cooling system. The major change is that I put a smaller water pump pulley on so it would turn the pump faster - and I'm calling this a total win! I did not open the valve to the additional core I installed the whole trip - however it may become necessary when it's 95-100 out next summer.

Here's a pic about a hour up the road......we had a pretty stiff tailwind all the way up to St. Joseph and those new tall gears really let it run!



And here's a pic when I was almost home, pushing that same wind for about an hour coming south again and temps in the low 70's.



Despite my best efforts Buzz is still living up to his name - I can not believe all the rattles and buzzes I still hear! Some of them are going to have to wait till after the November run, but I may have located a couple I can cure before next week anyway.

The new Miata seat was fantastic, now all I need to do is make an armrest and get my cruise control installed before I head to North Carolina in the spring. That and see how many more noises I can fix!

 

Very carefully......:biggrin5:

But seriously, a lot of people have asked me that, and I don't know the true answer.....lazy cops? clueless cops? maybe they think I'm just visiting from across the pond since its a right drive car? I've had a sheriff right behind me for several miles on a club run one day - paid me no attention whatsoever.

The car is registered, plated, inspected, insured and taxed in Kansas since the day after I got home with it, and I always carry the Ks plate in the car with me just in case. But hey, unless they force me to mount it I'm just gonna leave it the way it is!

 

Still down with the flu, but I decided to tackle one of the items on my Buzz list - why don't the turn signals self cancel?

Once I got the steering wheel off, I found the screw for the clamp for the T/S switch and pulled it off the column - with the switch off I saw the reason for yet another rattle - in this pic you can see a white plastic bushing between the column and the steering shaft - it's turned and not in the right place, that notch in the side is where the turn signal switch is supposed to locate. I have a new bushing so I'll put it in before I re-assemble the column. I can't say anything nice about the last guy who worked on this car, so I guess I just won't say anything.....but the large retaining nut that holds the steering wheel on was finger tight.



Once I had the switch off and studied it a bit, it became apparent why the self cancel didn't work. I didn't get the "before" pic, but this next pic shows a yellow part - that's supposed to be where it is now - before it was sitting on top of the switch. The yellow part has a nubbin that engages the works in the switch and it wasn't where it needed to be to make it work. Now how to fix it.



When I took that gold plate of the switch all the little bitzas went flying, of course, so it took a few minutes to find them again and then a few more minutes of study to figure out where they all went, then it took about 3 extra hands to hold everything in place while I put the yellow cam back in, oriented it correctly and screwed the cover plate back. It still didn't work the first time, so back apart again. I made some helpers out of bits of wire and what have you to hold things in relation, then carefully worked the plate back on again.......success! It now cancels.

But that brought up the next problem.....my steering wheel is non-OEM, so it had no engaging lugs to fit into the slots on the cam to turn it with the wheel. I could have welded something fancy up with a couple of lugs and a flat plate to attach to the wheel's hub, but I went simple, and tapped a couple of 6-32 holes and locktited in some screws - there's very little force on this part to make it work so I think this will do, but if it doesn't it's right on top and I can get out the welder and fab something better up.



So, that's several mysteries solved all at once.....while I had the column out I replaced the upper bushing and lower felt bushing with new ones I already had, once everything was in the correct place the column tightened up like it was brandy new. Once I get it all re-assembled the signals will self cancel too. While I have the column out I'm going to re-install that blue hose - it feeds fresh air to the heater core and with it loose like it is it brings huge amounts of cold air right on my feet, not what you need on 30° or colder days like we've been having. Before I do any of THAT tho, I need to get my head up under the dash and see if the brake switch wires are undone, if that's not what's keeping my brake lights from working, I'll want to dig deeper before putting everything back together again. Oh, and see why the heater fan stopped working too.....

At least I made progress......

 

More Buzziness......

I noticed after I replaced the clutch that sometimes I'd have to pump the pedal in order to get it into gear, other times it seemed to work just fine, so I decided to replace the clutch master cylinder - I had rebuilt the old one but I guess the new, much stronger clutch was too much for it.

That done the next challenge was to see why I could not get my alignment to hold, and why the car had a small pull under braking - I think I found the answer to both.....



Those bushings were brand new 9 months ago and about 3K miles......I bought OEM rubber bushes but I replaced them with poly.....

The left side wasn't much better.....



Can't wait till I can get it back on the alignment rack and see if I can get it straight now!

 

After our Fun Run in Arkansas I decided to pull the dash and upgrade a few things and make some changes, also to look for those last few rattles and buzzes still in the dash, much to my frustration.

First thing I did was replace the two switches on the steering column - I did this for two reasons, first so I cold fix the self cancelling problem and second so I could change sides and have the signals on the left instead of the right. That was fairly straightforward, two new switches and some longer screws on the back to activate the self cancelling mechanism.



Next I pulled the main dash panel - I have several things to do here - I'm going to move the tach to the right side of the dash so it will be easier to see when driving, consequently the temp gauge will get moved over to the main panel. All that moving required a new wiring harness for the tach, and while I was making that I decided to upgrade the connector so it's easy to disconnect and remove that side of the dash. I also had to make a bracket to attach the tach, before it was just a press fit in the wood dash. I was surprised that my local Ace hardware had the 4mm nuts and washers that were missing too.

Here's the tach, bracket and wiring connector I made installed in the wood panel.



I also had no dash lights and pulled the instrument cluster to find the reason, which was pretty obvious once I got it out - there was a burned spot in the circuit board - it probably happened when I last had it out, I probably touched something and grounded it out. I found a guy nearby that has a video repair shop and he soldered it up for me - he also put some JBWeld over the top to protect it - I wouldn't have done that but whatever....



Lastly, swapping the tach and temp gauges means a new harness for those gauges too, for the lights and also I swapped the amp gauge for a volt gauge -the amp gauge was woefully inaccurate. Now all three gauges match too...





Now, all I have left is to make the car side of the harness for the tach and then re-install everything. I'm hoping to get it all done today so I can take Buzz to the KC version of Cars and Coffee tomorrow morning - it's moved from the previous location at the Roasterie to the KC Auto Museum, but it's a mere shadow of the events in Dallas and Charlotte, let alone California.....with more late model stuff than classic. But I'm hopeful that as the weather improves maybe more cool cars will start to show.....

 

Well, Sat we got John's almond green S on the alignment rack and straightened out - it didn't take a lot either.....turns out the left rear camber adjuster had slipped - again, he tightened them the last time - I tightened them this time, I don't think they'll move again. Between that and front tires down to the wearbars, he felt pretty unsettled driving home on our donut run - and no wonder, the storm we drove thru was huge, super high winds that constantly changed directions, rain bucketing down....Buzz was moving around quite a bit too.

However with the rain and family requirements I didn't get much done on Buzz. In between thunderstorms I did get outside and get some paint on my drums, so they're at least ready to install. Also, I picked up the new shoes and hardware from the local Brit Car Parts supplier - it sure is handy to have these guys in town - while they don't carry any Mini parts, many Sprite/Midget parts are identical, like these brake shoes and the wheel cylinders I bought a week ago, and their prices are pretty good - plus no shipping!



Our joint run with the Iowa club will happen rain or shine, and right now the forecast for Sat is 90% chance of rain and thunderstorms, if it stays this way (it's the midwest, the forecast can reverse in the same day) then I'll leave Buzz home and drive the Blue Max instead.

 

Block news today....

The Sprite block has been deemed "viable" so they'll start on it today. It will be bored and honed, line bored, new cam bearings installed and plugs, the crank will be turned on both the mains and rods, and the assembly balanced.

If everything goes well I'll see it by the weekend, then I can take some pics to show the differences between the two blocks and get started with the paint work. Since my parts are still a ways out that will give time for the paint to cure before I start to reassemble, and I'll have time to finish cleaning and painting all the bits that go on it too.

More as it happens....

PS: My calipers turned out great!

 

The brake line issue turned out to be much ado about nothing......one of the nuts was stuck tight on the line that goes to the rear and I was afraid I'd either twist, break the line or not be able to get the nut tightened properly. I had sprayed it with Kroil a couple of days ago and fortunately it broke loose today.

Next I got going on the engine again.....I laid the crank into the main cradles, added the thrust washers and snugged the main caps down - it turned nice and free so I went on to the rods...pulled them up onto the journals, added the rod bearings and snugged the rod caps up too....



Before torqueing anything down I checked my torque wrench with my electronic tester. Since the rods only torque to 40 ft lbs being off even a little could cause them to strip or break, I prefer to be right.





Once the crank was in and torqued, I set the engine back on the transmission temporarily so I could install the rest of the odds and ends onto the block and check the fit of the block to the transmission - since this is a Sprite block I wanted to make sure it was all copacetic......so far, so good!



More as it happens.....

 

I'm going to talk to the machine shop tomorrow before I do anything else with the rockers, then I'll either go buy a reamer and do them myself or drop them off at the machine shop - if his price and completion time are acceptable, I'll probably let them do it for me. Still ream a mans rockers and he never learns, if he buys a reamer and does it himself he'll always be able to do it......

Today I worked on suspension, and got one side completed, I only tore down one side in case I had to refer to it on re-assembly but it all went together so well and easily that I probably should have just done them both. Since I didn't I now have to tear down the right side and clean and paint everything, but they claim they'll have the bead blaster at school up and running again tomorrow, so that will help. I'll get it all torn down and degreased today, and I could be painting things tomorrow afternoon.....then I'll have to let them cure out a day or two before I try to put it back together.

I started by driving the new inner bearing races into the hubs, I use a brass drift here because brass is softer than the race and it won't accidentally damage it if I miss.



Then I packed the bearings and installed them and the grease/dust seals. Once in place I slide the stub axle with the outer CV joint in and put the disc/hub on from the other side and hand tighten the axle nut to hold it together. Next I pack the CV joint with grease too. Yes I know what the disc looks like - just call it my version of drilled/slotted rotors. I'll have to replace it soon.....



Before I put the axle into the CV joint, I need to install the boots - first the inner one. You slide it on then turn it inside out and install the tie strap, the reverse it over the CV joint and install the outer boot. Then the axle goes into the CV with a good tap from a dead blow hammer to overcome the retaining clip and drive it into it's proper place.







Once it was all together I put it onto the subframe, hooked it up to the control arms, then added the brake caliper, new hose and installed the pads and she's ready to go. I won't tight everything down till the subframe's back in the car, especially the control arm bushings - you don't want to tighten them till the cars sitting on it's wheels.

 

Cinderella story........................




Out of nowhere.....................










































IT'S IN DA HOLE!



And no one has even asked about the mysterious white box that's been sitting up there for weeks now......

 

Thanks Dave.....as long as it works, I'll be happy.

I did manage to find a 3/8" straight connector, so I was able to get the wiring to the alternator sorted, I also completed all the rest of the wiring for the engine, it's pretty much ready to run electrically speaking. I also got the fuel pump wired up....I really like that sheathing that I got from McMaster Carr - thanks for the tip on that Metalman! I used marine grade shrink tubing to seal the ends and connectors.



Still no video to share, although I'm really close - maybe tonight since Rose will be at work and I don't have to worry about running her out of the house with fumes....


I had to not only remove the right side axle but also the stub at the transmission in order to get the header in, I don't know if the extra thickness of the wrap did me in or what but it would not go in otherwise. Once I got enough "stuff" out of the way it dropped right in of course. I also removed the left axle again because I could not remember if I greased the inner joint before I installed it and I just wanted to be absolutely sure - I had done so of course. So several steps backward before I could go forward again.

I also installed the hood hinges - that little challenge took over two hours.....not only is the bolt hole well hidden up under the bulkhead, but there are two plastic washers that go between the arm and the bracket they bolt to, I tried grease to hold them in place, I tried running a small drift thru to locate them.....sheesh! I finally got everything in place and used a nylock nut to make sure I could have the right tension without binding the hinge. Job done.



I still have to finalize the fuel line, fuel filter and pressure regulator's location and re-install the exhaust system I took out to get access to put the fuel pump in, plumb and wire it. I also got the shift linkage reinstalled and it works smoothly. After that the brake booster goes in, and then bleed the brakes and clutch. Still a lot to do before I can drive again, but right now the plan is to take it up to school this Saturday for an alignment.....then just put some miles on it. I'll probably wind up re-torqueing the head and adjusting the valves in the parking lot of the hotel at the Mini Meet since I doubt I'll be able to get a thousand miles on it before we go on July 2nd.

 

I'll just leave this here.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFGHHIK8AaM&feature=youtu.be

The noise in the background is a box fan I had running in case it smoked badly on start up - but it didn't.

I only ran it for a few seconds as I didn't have any coolant in it. Tomorrow I'll do that and warm it up thoroughly so I can re-torque the head Sunday.

Still have a lot to do, can't seem to get any fluid out of the rear brakes, even with my pressure bleeder - don't know what's up with that, the fronts bled right out. I'll fuss with them some more tomorrow.

 

Probably cause I haven't put up any pics lately! :biggrin5:

So tonight I fixed one of the worst rattles in the dash, I'm still not sure how I did it. The right side - when you pulled out the heater knob the whole right side of the dash would pull out, which would disconnect the headlight switch. I found there was a small bracket that was supposed to be attached that wasn't. I tried one little tiny nut after another out of my collection and invariably I'd drop it and it would roll into someplace I couldn't see. So I stuck my little magnet in and moved it around and came up with most of them - including the one that was originally on the bracket! Somehow I managed to get it to thread on and from there it was all downhill. Fixed!

 

[ame=http://youtu.be/JbcgHCoptaU]MVI 2817 - YouTube[/ame]

Cautious optimism...this little snippet of video was taken after 20 min of running this am.....

The culprit turned out to be a bad condenser in the dist. I've had them go bad before, but it usually just results in short life for the points, I've never had one that caused the engine to start and stop like this. I put a new set of points and condenser in it this am - which took a while to do as I had to make some leads up and they were different - and once done it fired right up and ran perfectly. After a few minutes all the smoke cleared out of the exhaust giving credence to my thought that a bunch of gasoline had gone down the pipe when it hydrolocked - still don't know for sure what caused that unless I just left the darn key on for a long time without realizing it.

Anyway, this afternoon I'll redo all the things I undid while troubleshooting and if I have time take it for a quick spin around the block, then tomorrow up to school for the alignment - then take the run to Lawrence. If all that goes well I'll start having some confidence that I can make the trip next wed.

Fingers crossed.

Edit: Chkmini called it, but I had already fixed it by the time I read his post today - but he was right!