My Goodness my $300 STI struts sure look good value! JRZ Double Adjustable Race Coilovers Mini Cooper R53 01-06 Off back to the sun tomorrow. Bags fully loaded and ready to go.
you missed the K! hahaha actually the jolly TSA threw out my struts due to they said they were dirty! I've been taking car parts to CR for 6 years so that's a first for me. I'll give a clean for next months visit. Must have been a off day for the TSA agent.
I think so beacuase I brought with the exact same suspension last month! worst part is I paid $40 for the second bag which arrived empty to CR. Looks like I'll be emailing United on that.
See thats why you need a parts handler to go with you to Costa Rica Someone to watch over the parts......
A friend of mine brought a Coventry Climax engine block home from England as a carry on. He bolted a piece of wood with a handle to the top. That was long ago & things really have changed since them.
When I was sponsored by Middle East Airlines way back we used to un load the tyres and suspension from the plane and put in another! imagine that now!
Unlike the East Coast the weather was just right for some Mini work. I welded the exhaust as it was catching on the body. Then built a small tool to take off the tension while I changed the alternator belt. I'm not using an A/C or A/C idle gear so the change is pretty quick with this tool......now the cold start squeals are gone! The tool Fits in a hole on the tensioner arm, then I turn the nut to wind it up. New belt on the left v's deep worn out grooves on the right.
With no suspension to play with until the next visit I found myself with a free weekend! shock/horror! So I accepted a BBQ offer with co-workers.....which just happened to be at a farm on a lonely gravel road! haha which meant 2 co-workers are convinced rally drivers are insane! Just ordered 4 new spherical joints from Helix for the lateral arms 2 to replace some wear and 2 for spares. There is a Pre season show at the Hard Rock cafe on Thursady so it looks like the new rally board are stepping up.
The rally season should begin sometime in May with 4 rallies planned. I really want to win this year and really don't see why not if lady luck is with us. The Mini beat all comers on the last rally so I'm going to pull the gearbox again to replace all the bearings and 1st and 2nd gears courtesy of Mini Geaboxes UK. Even though the box is working well that element of doubt will bug me. I stripped down the 2013 STI struts I've just bought finding them to be as new. The damper settings are super stiff so I hope they'll see me through the season. I have a new radiator to fit too! I've got more under body protection to add and a strut top plate to add. Hopefully when I do tech this year I will get the corners weights. As Crashton knows we rally folks never stop building and rebuilding.
The dates are in! May 17th is the first rally which just happens to be a round of the NACAM championship. RPM TV/Media have taken over the rallies so we hope for some good medai coverage. 5 rallies in total which I can do 4 of which is within my budget. I'll have to fly in just for the rally in May as my works schedule puts me in the US. Meanwhile a box of gears showed up from Mini Gearboxes UK so a very big thanks to them. TSA once again stopped my rear suspension from my checked in bags. Strange they let the front struts go???? anyway I have contacts a AA so the rear sturts now await my return. Last weekend I replaced the rod ends on the Helix lateral arms and this weekend out comes the gearbox for a check over. Weather wise it's around 88F so just nice for some work on the Mini and a few beers
Love reading this thread! Lots of good stories and information. Keep it going and good luck this season!
There went the weekend! The plan was to pull the gearbox and swap in all the gears and bearings sent from Mini Gearboxes UK. I have always wondered if I can split the casing on the engine to save time but after some hours fiddling around I decided this was not an easy option. At least now that nagging in my head is gone. Haha The best part of Saturday was getting the box out and checking it over. The bearings were getting loose so I swapped them all. I changed 1st gear from a 3 piece syncro to a 2 piece and replaced the worn 2nd gear. Also I fixed the stiffness in the shifting by cleaning up some ridges in the shaft and grinding a few thou off a pin that was tight against 5th gear shifting plate. Another thing I noticed was the 5th gear teeth were worn so I’m going to replace them. Unfortunately I don’t have any spares so I’ll have the wait to get them next month. With the decision to ground the car until I return next month I finished putting the box back in as 5th gear can be serviced on the car. Then I swapped the radiator for new, fix a slight oil leak and started to swap the front suspension from 2008 to 2013. The dampers on the 2013 are much stiffer which should help. All in all it was quite a pleasant weekend under sun and Mini. The clutch slave cylinder bracket flexes and can break so I added a small piece of bar to rest on the gearbox. With the Gripper LSD you have to cut down the spline to avoid hitting the cross pins. I use the outside temperature sensor to monitor the gearbox temp. Also I added inlet to fill with oil. The pin you see here runs along the black plate when 5th is selected. 5th has always been stiff so I took a few thou off the pin to free up the shifting Output end bearing is showing signs of wear. This is getting to be a regular view! Habor freight gear pulled set is a must for this type of job. 2nd gear looks a little worn! Fun in the sun!
Wow Chris, good thing you are pulling things apart & rejuvenating. Me thinks your box of cogs & widgets was about to say enough. Good on ya Chris! No DNFs for you.