I rebuilt the engine in my '62 Cooper S and it didn't leak, I also rebuilt the engine in my old Jag and it doesn't leak either.....I don't buy the "if it's English it leaks oil" premise....even tho they all seem too! The engine won't come out for a while, unless I blow it up on next weekend's run!:crazy: I'm not going to rebuild it exactly, just replace a lot of gaskets and seals and pretty it up a bit.
Well, I may have solved the mystery of the bad vibrations...if so I may have to rename him! Turns out that since this isn't the original engine, it doesn't fit perfectly - the base of the carb is hitting the firewall. There's evidence that someone tried to make a little extra clearance with a hammer, but it didn't work, the edge of the carb is worn significantly so it called for a different strategy. After looking at it for a moment I noticed a 1/2" thick spacer.....aha! Exchanging that for a thinner one should move the carb far enough away that it won't hit anymore, now all I have to do is find one. I looked in all my leftover Jag parts as I changed the carbs on it from Strombergs to SUs and I remember having to use different spacers on them too, but no joy - at least I couldn't find any. Next idea, I went up to British Victoria's Secret (A local British cars parts purveyor - they don't carry Mini parts per se, but some things carry over from MG and such MG, Triumph, Austin Healey, Sunbeam Parts & Accessories - Victoria British, Ltd. and spent a few minutes looking thru catalogs till I found just what I needed! $10 later I'm home fitting it to the carb. It still took a little engineering but now I have plenty of clearance and I won't have to beat the firewall in or weld a small divot into it! I didn't get it all finished tonight but tomorrow will tell whether I cured Buzz's buzzes......fingers crossed! In the pic you can see where the paint is worn off the firewall from the carb hitting it....and at the left of the pic you can see the black spacer I put in between the carb and the manifold.
<Sighs>..........unfortunately my carb ministrations did little to nothing to quell Buzz' bad vibrations, I still have more work to do. to that end I'm going to pull the motor, while I have it out I'll do a little spiffing up of the engine bay, do some wiring repairs and upgrades, fix the oil leaks (more on that in a minute), clean and paint the engine (I may pull the head and have hardened seats installed while I have it out so it can run on unleaded, right now I'm just adding lead substitute) and in general get him ready for the East meets West event this summer in Milwaukee. But today was headlight day. The lights worked just fine, but they were English lights and they pointed the wrong way so to speak, so I bought some regular halogen sealed beams to replace them. I also noticed the left headlight bucket was completely rotted out, so I bought two new plastic ones designed to add sealed beams to Euro cars. First I had to drill out the rivets to get the old bucket out.... The left bucket was rotted out.... I made up some new headlight harnesses as the ones in the buckets didn't look too good.....then installed the bucket with stainless screws and speed clips. BTW, Victoria British has these exact same bucket kits $10 a piece cheaper than the Mini parts places, just sayin..... Then it was lather, rinse, repeat on the other side - that bucket was OK, but you need some other parts to use the US sealed beams, these plastic bucket kits were an easy way to do the changeover. The first time I lit them up the right one was far less bright than the left, but it turned out to be a poor ground - there's a lesson there - if you have dim lights, always check the ground connection first! The driving lights are wired into the high beam circuit, they add a lot of light on those dark country roads, and my tired old eyes need all the help they can get!
Hardened valve seats are a good idea. I used to use tetraethyl lead in my MGs. Once it was no longer available I used a lead substitute. Didn't seem to do the trick as my valve clearances kept getting tighter. Pulled the head & went with harder seats for unleaded. The A series is a pretty easy engine to pull the head on, you'll be gald you switched seats. Nice job on the lights. You might consider a set of Hella, Bosch or Cibe headlight conversions. You will love them. [ame=http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Bosch-301-600-118-7-Round-H4-Headlight-Harley-Davidson-Head-Lamp-Light-/130785131505?_trksid=p2054897.l4275]New Bosch 301 600 118 7" Round H4 Headlight Harley Davidson Head Lamp Light | eBay[/ame] They say for a Hardly Ableson, but they will work in an LBC. https://www.busdepot.com/0301600118
Actually, I'm planning for a set of Zenon's, these are a temp solution. I'm very familiar with Cibie's, I had them in all of my cars back in the 70's, but now that Zenon's are available, they're even better.
Yes xenons are great provided they are in the correct housing. Some of the conversions are dreadful for others on the road.
Right, if you install Zenon bulbs into halogen housings the results can be horrible for oncoming drivers - but what I'm looking at is a complete conversion, lenses bulbs ballasts etc. It won't have the self leveling motors like our new cars have, but if I set them up correctly they should be OK. I got the link from Metalman - thanks! Dapper Lighting 7 Inch Classic Projector Kit | Dapper Lighting
Forgot to talk about the oil leaks....it's been suggested to me that the reason it's leaking oil from everywhere is too much crankcase pressure.....and in doing a little research (by looking under the hoods of the other cars this weekend) I saw that they all had some sort of crankcase pressure relief - but mine doesn't. It has the one vent at the top of the valve cover that simply is open to the air (it's supposed to hook to the air cleaner I think, but it doesn't match up at all) so my friend Don gave me a breather assy. In order to install it I'll need to drill and tap some mounting holes, and I'll also have to drill a breather hole into the drop bearing's housing, as that's where this one mounts. Then I'll need to figure out how to plumb it to the intake somehow. Some guys just mount one of those little breather filter assemblies on the outlet, but that lets a fine mist of oil vapor onto the engine over time and miles. Once I have the engine out I can address this more easily, so it will have to wait till then - that also gives me more time to figure out how to plumb it.... I'm also seriously considering ordering a taller diff ratio, it would be nice to get the revs down so I can cruise at least 70 mph.
Dave send a PM to Jason Pigg aka LIL PIGG & ask him what final drive he is running in his Mini. He used to struggle with high speeds, but since changing the final drive he can keep up with a modern MINI being drive fast. :arf:
If you could find one, VERY spendy! Well, turns out they are available in Hengland for only about $3K!
Yay! Found another rattle! The main bolt at the footwell that supports the heater was loose. One down, one thousand to go....
How about a scavenge pipe welded to the upstream exhaust in such a way that the exhaust gasses passing over the (let's call it a reverse pitot tube) create a vacuum and help draw the fine mist into the hot exhaust stream and help burn the oil mist at the same time... Would not think it would add noticeable blue smoke.... Just thinking out loud.....:idea:
Today's rattle repair brought to you by the fine folks at Buzz Laundry detergent! When we left our hero he was valiantly searching for the source of Buzz' cacophony, and slowly but surely Buzz has been giving up his secrets, one at a time. Yesterday it was the heater bracket bolt that was loose..... Today, it was the alternator. I noticed that occasionally the belt would squeal for a moment on start up and I found out why - one of the bolts was missing. I found a good one but had to shorten it about 3/8" so it would fit - no biggy - I have a hack saw. Then once I got everything in place and adjusted properly, just as I started to tighten the last bolt - snap! - it broke off, so back to the bolt bin, found another likely candidate, cut off about 3/8" and Bob's yer uncle Annies yer auntie it's nice and tight. Job done, on to the next. Alternator, now tightened and adjusted properly.... I've been debating on which way to pull the motor, out the top, or drop it and the subframe together out the bottom - I was leaning towards the former, now I'm thinking the second way might be better as I won't have to remove the brake booster and associated brake lines - either way I'm waiting on a friend to bring his engine crane over, and I'm still planning the wiring reforms and fuel pump replacement. I'm running into so many weird odd things in the way of a good electric fuel pump install that I'm considering going back to a manual pump off the engine. The block off plate is there, as long as the cam has the lobe to drive it I can get one for about $40, cheaper than the electric as far as I can see, and should be every bit as reliable.
The idea is to introduce the fumes into the intake and burn them in the normal combustion process. My buddy Don gave me a breather assy that bolts to the intermediate plate and pulls vapors from the crankcase away from the splashing oil, it mounts in a fairly innocuous place and will easily plumb into the vacuum port for the booster. That's the way another friends '93 carbureted car is plumbed and it seems to work for his car so I may give it a go.