Today's challenge was to get the rest of the stuff off firewall so I can clean and repaint it. First was the steering rack - it's fairly easy with the subframe out - just remove the pinchbolt at the bottom of the steering shaft, then there are 4 nuts at the floorboards to unwind, and out she comes - I wanted to clean and paint behind it, but I also noticed it has a torn boot, so I can replace both of those while it's out. Next it was both the clutch and brake master cylinder's turn....to get them out first you have to remove the clevis pin that hooks them to the pedal linkage. To do THAT, first you have to remove the seat, seat bracket and carpet, then you have to stand on your head to even see them, let alone manage to get the cotter pins out and pull the clevis.....interestingly, the clutch clevis was held with a piece of wire, rather than a cotter pin.... This is what you see if you look straight up at the master cylinders - While we were in there I decided to rinse out the heater core - it's a good thing too. The water that came out first looked like deep dark chocolate, it took 3 gallons of hot water run thru it to get it to run clear - hard to imagine that's what's been running thru the cooling system! Now I can get to everything, I'll clean everything up and get a coat of primer on it while I get a can of paint made up at the automotive paint store..... I'll order a couple of kits so I can rebuild both master cylinders, it looks like both of them have been seeping a bit. I got the piston rings ordered this am, since this company is still in the mid 90's computer-wise, I had to FAX my CC info to them. The only place nearby I could do that was the local Kinko's, the young lady tried 4 times but couldn't get it to go, so while she waited on other customers I entered the info and "poof", off it went! I don't know what she was doing wrong, but I should get an email confirmation tomorrow that they're on the way. I also got the spring kit ordered, and all the other bits and bobs coming from England so in a week or two I should start getting Xmas presents on the front porch. (I say that cause there's no way I can afford Xmas presents this year now! :lol: )
Nice update Dave... It's kind of funny how a "String runs through it"..... One thing leads to another.... Start out with a simple goal in mind and it just explodes into a completely different monster that only $$$ can satisfy.... It will be a "Honey" when it's done....
Paint is turning into a real challenge too.....there is no paint code stamped on the vin tag and I can't find anything on the interwebz that tells me what the hell this color is called. The paint guy says he can scan it, but then he has to make a quart ($40), and then put that into the spray cans ($10ea x 2) so $60 for 2 cans of spray paint that still might not even be close to matching! If I could find the correct name of the paint, then I could find a code, then all he'd have to do is make up the cans. It's always sumthin.....:crazy:
Odds are it is some old carriage paint color made from Queen Mary's dead daffodils. Best let your paint guy scan it. It is the engine bay after all & soon it will have a fine patina of various things on top. Dave I'm very impressed with all your work. Looking at the picture of you under the dash makes my back hurt. Was the seat bracket sticking you in the back?
Ha! that's a friend of mine, but no we took the seat bracket out on the other side and laid a thick towel over the edge...
Dave, just read your post, good luck on the paint. There isn't any paint code for these cars. The only chance you have is if you know the name of the color. The problem with that is the color is called numerous names. If a paint guy can scan it (good luck on that) then it still might not be the correct color from the factory. good luck
This is probably too simplistic, but did you try this BMW VIN lookup site that Nathan shared as a possible information source for a paint name or code. If it's any help.
Well, DryMartini.....this is a 1980 Mini made by British Leyland I'm working on, those are for cars made under BMW ownership...... LilPig, there are codes stamped on the vin plate under the hood, or IF I can figure out what the name of the color is then I can correlate it to the lists. My brother in England thinks it's Champagne, but I'd like to get confirmation from someone who has one with the paint code still stamped on the vin plate. I do have a workaround for this issue, I'll tell you all what I did once it's complete.
Today I went down and picked up the block from the machinist, left my wallet considerably lighter! They did an excellent job and I'm confident in everything they did, the rest will be up to me. I got the whole shebang - line bore, cylinder bore and hone, new cam bearings, crank turned and micro polished, rods straightened and honed round on the big ends, and the whole mess balanced to within 1/10 of a gram. For those who want to play along at home let's see if you can spot the differences between the Mini and the Sprite block - excluding the fact that one is shinier and has freeze plugs in it! In all these pics the Sprite block is on the left - by the way, they have the same casting number , tho there are some machining differences. It's rainy today and I don't have any gaskets or bearings or other parts yet so I really can't do much with them, but I have lots of other projects still to do. Tomorrow it's supposed to be warm and dry, so I'll at least get a good coat of paint on it. Top Back Front Right side Left side Bottom
Today I took the block up to school to do a final bit of machine work, the oil pick up tube on the Sprite is threaded in and just goes down to the sump, where the Mini sump is the transmission, so it's just a port between the two. Also the Sprite port is 1/8" smaller than the Mini, so I decided to match it up. The engine machinist said it wouldn't matter but I figured the factory did it for a reason..... Here you can see the difference in the port and also the difference in size of the bore...... and here's the hole in the Sprite block up close, you can see it's threaded and chamfered for a fitting The oil pump fits in that round recess, and the suction port is the large opening in the left side of that recess... First I used some metalized epoxy to fill in the threads and to neck the port down to the same size as the original, that way the hole I bore will be consistent all the way thru the block. Then onto the BIG drill press, I had to drill twice, once from the sump and once from the oil pump..... The resulting holes came out perfect
Still waiting for parts, it may be another week or so as it's a bank holiday on Monday in the UK, and they haven't shipped yet. Till then I'm still cleaning, and painting, and cleaning, and painting.......well, you get the idea...... When I picked up the block the other day I didn't notice they forgot to put the cam bearings in, so another trip back to the machine shop I guess. I could do it if they just wanted to give me the bearings, but I figure by the time I drive all the way down there, and since I already paid them for them.....
While waiting for parts to come in from Jolly Olde I started cleaning the engine compartment today, and was surprised to see that again, there is no rust to deal with, just some surface garbage that needs cleaned and repainted. I also got word that my parts are finally on the way and should start arriving by the end of the week. You watch, they'll show up Thursday while I'm at school and need a signature or something.... :frown2: :biggrin5: Once things get here I'm going to be busy for the next few weeks, and just in time, school is out next Tuesday. I still need to find a color code or name of this color so I can repaint the engine compartment, as I need to do all of that before the engine and subframe go back in.....