Project Trig - After 18 Months Away, Is Back In Town! by Mini 360

10 minute(s) of a 461 minute read

Wee update. Fitted the tank and got some help/advice from Chris with some wiring. turns out everythings was pretty much ok, just a wee bit of adjusting here and there. Fuel tank got painted straight gloss black. Not an amazing finish but didnt ask for perfection as the boot barely opens as it is so nobodys going to be looking inside anyway. Hooked up, just need to put fuel in and then fire it up! Should get that done tomorrow after checking over the coil connections as it looks like a ballasted setup but not sure whats coming out of all the wires. We shall see, but exciting times none the less!

Rolled it outside for some space. Fine morning helped!



Refitted the float/sender unit. Think its catching on the inside so will take it out, bend the stalk outwards a bit and refit before filling it up.



And firmly in place, ready to go!

4-14-2013

More progress. Or maybe more accurately one step forwards, two steps back.....

Wanted to get the car started this weekend. Everything was going well. Tank in, electrics sussed (12v coming from coil = non ballasted. Win! Meant I could get going with the firing. Until I tried to check the fuel lines were all ok. Overtightened one of the rubber pipes going to the pump aaaaand snapped the inlet pipe on the pump. Cast metal pipes = fail! No fuel in it so all is not lost but still means forking out £40 to replace a brand new unused pump. Never noticed you got 998cc pumps and 1275cc pumpsand mine appears to be for a 998cc so wouldn't feed enough fuel through anyway. Blessing in disguise maybe......

However the timing was set (dizzy was 180deg out....) and everything else is ready to go. Wee bit of electrics here and there still to sort though.

Hacked off with it for today, so its back in the garage and I'll maybe try and do some other stuff on it this week before trying again once the new pumps here. Bloody Minis!!!

4-18-2013

So having realised that my brake callipers were on upside down (mega fail!) I set about taking them off and swapping them over. Simple! Or so i thought......

The nice, new, shiny, expensive brake lines were tightened and tightened hard! As a result their soft faces got quickly rounded off and not even the much favoured mole grips would touch them. So tonight I too off the callipers and brake lines together, took the pads out and binned them. Destroyed.......



Bit extreme you may think but not when I found these 4 miles away.......time for an upgrade! MiniSport fully CNC'd alloy 4 pots! Special limited edition '50s' to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Mini too, so rather rare and only have 200miles max on them! Will help sharpen up the brake feel no end, plus look much better.



Shame to have to bin working brakes but they arent worth anything anyway. The new ones most definitely are though. Pocket will be hurting until payday but they are coming with the grooved and vented discs so did a deal.

So Im looking at it as a blessing in disguise. Just need to order up new lines and then get them fitted up again soon.

Getting the brake lines out when the engine is in proved to be a nightmare too, but nothing a 3' long extension combo couldn't handle



Took off the discs (which are now for sale as they are brand new if anyone wants) and took a pic of the assembly. Performance throughout



Also needed a red bulb for my rear cluster fog light mod. Shame none of the local shops sell the bulb in red, so out with the clear red paint.



Hoping to collect the brakes either tomorrow night or saturday and get them cleaned and fitted.

4-19-2012

Thanks man! Easy mistake to make, just really annoying!!!

So new parts are here. BRAKES!!! Birdog (Nikki) got the brakes disassembled for me so picked them up tonight. In desperate need of a clean so decided to split them and get rid of any brake fluid/dirt with some brake cleaner.



Easy enough, just 4 Allen head bolts per calliper. Stainless, of course.

So no ingrained dirt, just machined and anodised finish! Love it!



Came with vented and grooved discs. Yes they wear down pads quicker. Don't care. They look amazing.



And with them clean I set about degreasing, and then sealing with GTechniq C5 Wheel armour to fend off the dirt they will collect. Hopefully will mean it only needs shampoo to clean!



So a wee standard vs upgrade photo. Vast improvement and less than half the weight!



Ready to go once I go back and get the bolts for the drive flanges as they are different on vented discs compared to standard. Wo knew!?

4-20-2013

Dont know if anyones reading this anymore but.....

Another weekend means more work on the car! With the new brakes cleaned, I went to put them onto the flanges. Got the bolts from Nikki so set about it. Only to find vented discs need difference flanges. The bolts I had didn't fit through the standard flange. So thankfully Nikki had a set and nipped over to buy them too. So Ive now got full new brake assemblies. Needed a wee clean but nothing brake cleaner couldn't sort!



Wee before and after



Ready to go!



But the main goal for this weekend has been headlining. Attempted it a couple of times already but the fabric (alcantara) was just too stretchy and never sat right. So my mum suggested we added stiffening material to the back to prevent this from happening. With this ironed on we tried again. MUCH better as it made it the same sort of rigidity as vinyl, which is what it was originally.

So its in, we're just leaving it overnight to settle into place with all the bulldog clips before applying the glue and cutting/trimming off the excess. Then its windows in and more interior.



Not perfect (yet) but a very good starting point.



Tomorrow should be finalising this and then getting the brakes installed (would do it tonight but dont want to risk knocking the headlining out of place)

4-21-2013

Progress at last! Headlinings in, just two little bits drying out at the moment so will get them done after some food! What a pain of a job!

With the inside glued, we set about gluing the outer edge on. This is a small bit to ensure the fabric comes over the lip and is held securely by the door/window seal. We bought some cheap bulldog clips in Home Bargains and used all 10 packs



Just leaving the two bits here to dry, then final trim and leave to set fully.



Again, dont want to risk moving the fabric so we decided not to put in the glass. Sure it would be ok but not worth risking a days work for! Get it done tomorrow night. Going to crack on with getting the passenger door built up and the brakes installed ready for the braided lines to arrive though. More pics soon.....

Headlining = done! What a long day thats been! Almost 10hrs but we got there. Looks ace though!

Not the best photo....but its dark so will have to do!



and we are very happy with the fitment of the interior light. Not easy to get right but it is!



And I finished off the day by fitting the brakes (bleed nipples to the top this time.....!) They are such a vast improvement over standard. Look amazing behind the wheels too! Brake lines should be here mid week so i can get going with them too. Another productive weekend! Hope the fuel pump arrives soon too so I can start it for the first time in 3 years