So, Today This Happened.....

Turns out all the wing nuts (3 sets) were reachable from below or from the glovebox, so I got the gauges changed now.....came out great!



Also, these showed up today.....

 

Yep, full on coilovers for classic Minis...they were reasonably affordable, and I'm hoping that because of the extra spring length and progressive windings it will improve the ride quality too.....I also bought the adjustable arms and camber adjusters for the rear.

It's a bit of a job to change them, you have to remove the cones, and in the back you have to remove the gas tank to get at the top nut.....

 

I had those on Buzz, and they were an improvement over the rock hard rubber donuts that were in there, but I thought I'd give these a shot this time.......

 

So, it's been a while since I updated this thread, since I got the car it's been all over Kansas and Missouri, and I towed it to the San Antonio area this past March and did about 600 miles running around the Texas Hill Country.



Of course doing that meant installing a trailer hitch and wiring on my Clubby too.

I was glad I changed out the radiator for an Ebay Chinesium one - worked perfectly and no more watching to see if the temp gauge is going to start climbing.

My rear windows would not stay open so I cut a couple short pieces if fuel hose - fit right into the brackets perfectly and the windows stay open now.



I also added a custom made Euro rear lic plate in the Kansas livery with the correct registration numbers on it - I don't know if the constabulary will appreciate it but so far no issues....

I did not change the final drive, which is why I flat towed it to Texas, plus too and also driving my '09 Clubby with A/C made the trip down and back SO much easier and more comfortable!

I have done a ton of work on the car - as is always the case when you get ready to do one thing you find 10 more that either need doing desperately or become "while I'm in there" repairs. For example, when I removed the upper control arms to get the front rubber donut springs out I found the bearings and shafts completely done in, fortunately I anticipated this and had ordered repair kits when I got the rest of the parts. I also had to replace all the ball joints too.









So, pretty much all new everythings up front, adjustable tie bars and lower control arms with all new bushings, rebuilt the upper control arms, put in the new coilover shock brackets and installed the coilovers, then spent a lot of time setting ride height and alignment.



In the rear, you have to remove the fuel tank in order to get to the top shock mount on the left, and while I had it out and drained I replaced the sending unit that had an intermittent fault. The new one works perfectly - it's absolutely accurate when it's full and when empty - the rest is always more of an estimate!



I installed all the new coilovers and took it to school for an alignment but the car did not drive "right", it wasn't bad but it was just a bit twitchy on turn in. I left it alone and took it to Texas, but when I got back I decided to tear down the rear suspension control arms and sure enough, I found the bearings back there just as bad or worse as the fronts.









While I was in there (heard that before?) I rebuilt the brakes, as I found a weeping wheels cylinder had contaminated the left rear shoes, cleaned and painted everything and once together the car handles normally again. I also replaced the rear wheel bearings and seals.

I also put on 4 new tires as the ones on the car were weather cracked.

Meanwhile, I had the clutch slave cylinder fail so a new one of those went in too.



Inside, I replaced the 3 clocks (speedo, tach , fuel/temp) with the Magnolia faced set in MPH, and added three new gauges, a voltmeter, clock and oil pressure gauge.



Adding the voltmeter told me the alternator was not performing correctly, so a new one was installed too. I also added an extra 4 fuse box to support the extra equipment and load, and a double power socket for my Garmin and dash cam.

I forgot to mention that when I did the front end I also put on new pads and rotors and replaced the wheel bearings.

since all this the car has been pretty dead reliable, it starts every time and seems to run really well...especially now that the alternator is keeping the battery fully charged.

I still have a few things I'd like to do like pull the heater and put fresh foam on the flap so it doesn't rattle, but right now I'm just having fun driving it - that can wait.

The next thing I did was rebuild the foam in the driver's seat - I found a place locally that had the correct density foam and bought some chunks, then spent a day with the electric carving knife shaping it to match the old. It was a bit of a job but the results we so worth it! However I decided the passenger seat was OK.



I wish I had done the differential, but oh well......

One last thing.....I installed a set of new Moulton Smooth a Rides rubber springs on a friend's car and now I'm totally jealous of his car - it rides so well, smooth as can be and handles sharp too. My coilovers are a bit stiff for my taste and I'm seriously considering taking them off and going with these cones. I can recover some of my cost on the coilovers by reselling them but I think the ride improvement might be worth it.

If anyone needs/wants a set of Pro Tech coilovers with only a couple thousand miles on them, sing out.

 

Another update.....the Racing Green has been running great but it was time for a few maintenance items. I pulled the plugs as I thought I might replace them but the color was good and there wasn't any wear showing so I put them back in. I also thought I might change the needle on the carb but again, the plugs looked so good that I left it alone too.

I did a valve adjustment - one exhaust valve was a little tight and a couple of intakes were just a bit loose, so all in all good shape there too.

I did an oil and filter change, and I was going to replace the shift shaft seal (say that fast 5 times!) but forgot before I put the oil back in - oh well.

I also reset the ride height as it had settled a little, especially in the right front and was rubbing on hard turns.

Lastly, I came by a good deal on a rear anti sway bar and spent a few hours installing it - the hardest part was changing the exhaust mounts so that the muffler wouldn't hit the bar, but it's all good now. I'll be heading out for a drive in the Am to see if I can tell any difference in the handling with the new bar - it's adjustable over a fairly wide range so I have plenty to fiddle with, but I'll bet I leave it in the softest setting.

 

Actually I'm not sure....but I think it's solid - 3/4". I'm almost certain it's the one MiniMania sells

https://www.minimania.com/part/C-AJJ4008/Classic-Austin-Mini-Rear-Adjustable-3-4-Anti-Roll--Sway-Bar

 

Well, it rained buckets overnight, blew like crazy and today the Racing Green would not start - not so much as a cough, just cranked.....once it quit raining I took the air hose and blew everything dry, and it hit a few times but wouldn't go. So I pulled the plugs and cleaned them off with some carb spray then put them back it, after some more cranking it finally started, so I was able too pull it into the garage.
Debating whether to order a new ignition switch or just put some new firing pins in it and call it good.

 

No points in this one, electronic ignition in these later cars......Sully, it cranked over fine on the starter motor, it just didn't fire a lick.

I think it might just be due for some plugs, I've had the car for 2 years now and have never changed them, even tho they're not terribly worn, they could just be old. I also keep a can of WD40 in the car, when things get wet a good spray down is sometime all it needs. (WD40 stands for water displacement formula 40)

It did feel like it just wasn't getting any fire - smelled like it was flooded but when I pulled the plugs they were dry, however the porcelains were really wet under the boots, so I dried it all off and it ran. The other possibility is that the ign switch has failed partially and it just wasn't getting any voltage to the ignition system, but I'll try the plugs first and see how it goes. This car has always started easily, so it was a surprise when it didn't go yesterday.

 

The solution turned out to be a new set of NGK plugs to replace the Densos that were in it. I doubt they had that many miles on them, but with the new plugs if fires up on the first turn of the key, so I'm calling it good.

But then.........if it ain't one damn thing it's another..............

I drove the Mini about 30 miles across town to a friends place, then later we went to lunch. When we came out there was a nice big puddle of green under the front of the car.....I went in to the restaurant and got a quart of water and it took most of it, so we drove back about 3 miles to his place and I left it in his shop. Yesterday I hitched up the Mini to the MINI and towed it home, at first I thought it was the water pump but on second look I think it might be just the bypass hose - I bought a new water pump anyway under the "while you're in there" theory and I'll change them both.....

Actually I'd rather it happen here than on the road or on one of the CMU runs in Tenn later in the month. I'm also going to rebuild the front calipers, put in new brake hoses, flush the brake system and turn the rotors - I put new ones on only a few thousand miles ago but they're pulsating a little, so I'll take them up to school and give them a light skim on the brake lathe.

Today it's supposed to snow (April Fools on us!) and then we're scheduled for T-Storms the rest of the week, so it's a good day to work in the shop.

 

Today I went after the coolant leak on the Green Mini, I knew it was either the water pump itself or the bypass hose, but once I got the radiator out I found the culprit.....this car doesn't actually have a bypass pipe on the head, but it had the bypass nipple on the water pump, and it had a cap over the pump's nipple and it had split. I could have just replaced that but I decided to do the water pump too while I was in the neighborhood. Good thing too as the pump while not leaking was one of those cheap ones with the pressed steel impeller instead of the better made cast one. Once it was all buttoned up I ran it long enough to get the thermostat open, then let it cool and topped off the coolant.