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

13 minute(s) of a 461 minute read

Had a wee while outside again. Not much done as ran out of things to do and need parts to be ordered before I can progress!  

Tidied up my fresh air duct that goes in the inner wing. As I don't have the eyeball vents in the dash anymore I needed to cover up the hole that leads to this. So one Hammerite spray can cap later. We have a cover Perfect fit for anyone out there looking to do the same!





Gave a few parts a coat of hammerite so leaving them to dry. Then I ran out of things to do so came in again. Frustrating lack of progress and parts list needed is scary.....return date of 3rd June looks all but a dream now.

4-27-2012

Another few hours of graft tonight. Not as much as I would have liked but awaiting parts and waiting for stuff to dry meant I couldn't get more on.

But I got the front bumper on as I was fed up of catching my leg on the leading edge. Stainless bolts and rubber grommets throughout and underside of bumper painted with Hammerite for rust prevention.



Painted up a few more bits but nothing interesting. Got my air duct bolted in, again with stainless bolts. Pig of a job for clearance and access but got there in the end. Not a fan of fishing for bolts when you can't see what you're doing!!!

As one tie bar and bottom arm were dried and ready to go, I got them bolted in with poly bushes in place. Contrast of black and yellow looks ace.





Ultimately these will be replaced with adjustable tie bars and bottom arms for neggy camber but funds simply don't stretch that far at the moment which is a shame.....

Should HOPEFULLY get my parts tomorrow but if not Monday and I can get going with fully reassembling the front frame, get it installed and then get the engine in and wired up ready to go. I feel i need to get this stage done asap so I feel like the car is progressing as at the moment it feels like its not progressing at all.

Also texted Phil about door, boot lid and bonnet and he says they should be ready end of this coming week so can't wait for that. Been waiting a while but I know they finish will be worth the wait, especially my little surprise on the bonnet.

5-5-2012

Got a wee bit more done. Mainly bolting things to the subframe ready to accept the engine again. Got some help from my mate Greig again which was dam handy when it came to the Hi-Lo's!

So engine mounts.......



Braided hoses from frame to calliper



and then the hi-lo's. I don't have the tool at the moment as a mate is using it so it was a bit of a fiddle but they are in! Pretty much put it in as a top arm, hi-lo and spring assembly and then fixed it in place with the top arm shaft. Pig of a job but its done now :)



Need to give it a dam good clean up as grease went everywhere and yes I know I have to fit the rubber over the nylon cup to stop it getting filled with crap but it was getting late so finished up for the evening :)

Next stage.....who knows!

5-13-2012

Finished uni so Ive been working a fair bit to keep me busy.  Means more monies for the rebuild too But today my dad began his weeks holiday from work so we got stuck in (after a break for the epic grand prix of course)

So the helper getting stuck in with the cleaning up of parts!



I had tried to shim up my hub ball joints before but the kit didn't have enough shims. So I contacted Simon at MiniSpares and got some sent out FOC straight away. More great service but postage is still really slow. Could be because Im in Aberdeen but its the mainland so no reason why it takes so long.

However we got both hubs completed and now we are just waiting wheel bearings to go in.



Also you may remember my CV joint ball bearing issues. Well after my 7th attempt we got it all assembled. Not a fun job! But this meant we could get the driveshafts fully reassembled ready to go back in. Just need to buy proper clips to seal them all up.



And with that dad cleaned up one of the pot joints and gave it a lick of primer and then paint.





Also got my thermostat cover stripped cleaned and primed. Waiting for it to dry to give it the top coat of silver.



Took a look at my old brake pipes for a bit of reference for refitting. This was the rear section that sits on the rear frame. Pretty horrible and rusty....



however after a clean up.......



it looks awesome again!

I also got the front subframe rear mounts fitted to the frame ready to go....



and I began to run the brake lines on the front subby too...



Im just awaiting a banjo bolt for this union now.



and then left some more parts to dry overnight.





and this standard intake/exhaust manifold is for sale now its all nice and shiny again




So lots of progress! Plan to have the engine and from subframe in the car by end of the week.

In other news I have just ordered a genuine rear subframe from MiniSpares. Costs a bomb but being genuine it will fit and will last forever with the right protection. Should arrive by end of the week hopefully which means I can finally get the car rolling! Then theres no holding me back

5-16-2012

Wee update. Nothing major as parts are en route to progress. Main part being a genuine heritage rear subframe (huge dent in the pocket....) as I have been mucked around by two guys from TMF now offering genuine frames only to find one had been sold to a relative and then one seemed to want it collected not posted. Shame as it would have meant money saved but I need a frame to get going.

So got a text from Phil saying almost all my parts were done. Went over this morning to get a door and my arches. Bootlid is done as are the seam strips but didn't have enough room in the polo to take them home too without risking damaging them.

So heres the pic I got sent. It looked awesome even here......



Then I saw it and it was just as good as the car itself. Spotless and totally like a mirror.



and this is me in its reflection. No distortion in the paint, only the shape of the door thats making me appear pretty short when intact Im 6'6"! Stunning finish as expected from Kirkton!



I then found out how small the polos boot is.....made to measure!



Also my dad has been busy breaking down the rear brake assemblies and refurbing all the parts in them. Everything seems pretty good nick/new anyway but Ive had a set of Ferodo brake shoes sitting for years in a box so fitting them in while the assemblies are apart which should make the brakes perfect. My back plates were rusted through in a couple of places so some genuine AP ones are on their way as I type. Will get them rebuilt and adjusted asap to then bolt onto the trailing arms.

Got a wee order from MiniSport on the way too. Mainly pins, seals and other little things. Devils in the detail as they say!

So hopefully I will get my frame by the end of the week meaning I can get stuff bolted onto it saturday ready for fitting sometime next week. Also hope to get the engine into the front subframe and then lower the car onto the assembly. Fingers crossed that install goes smoothly! Cant wait to get the car onto all fours finally!!!

5-18-2012

So today we thought it would be a great idea to get my flywheel off the engine in order to change over my clutch. Bad idea.

We bought the flywheel puller tool designed solely for the Mini however we didn't know what all came in the kit and it turns out we were missing a bit..... This resulted in us stripping the threads on the end of the crankshaft. One ruined crank and engine!



Picture doesn't look too bad but the thread is beyond repair and theres no way Im going down the engine strip down route as its just a standard 998 at the end of the day and Im not keen on the idea of ordering a new crank and getting it all balanced up either......

SO! After many sweary words we got started on the 1275cc engine I have had lying for about a year. I didn't want to install this engine as insurance will be nuts as is given the amount of modifications the car now has. Being only 20 this isn't ideal but needs must!







Looks pretty tatty but so did the other one. Managed to get it all cleaned up and Deox'd and its now sitting in primer ready for top coat tomorrow.





While we were working away on this my MiniSport delivery arrived. Nothing major but it did contain genuine AP brake drum back plates. So we got stuck in and rebuilt the assemblies. Easy enough which was good as I was expecting it to be a nightmare job.

So a before and after......



and all reassembled!



And I also got my pot joints cleaned internally and then popped these onto the driveshafts. Nice and easy thankfully! They are now, along with the CV boots, clipped on ready for refitting.



Only got one done as the other was only painted today so leaving it to dry.



So a productive but rather annoying day. Didn't intend on ending today with a 1275 engine away to go in but I think its a blessing in disguise.....more poweeeeeeer!!!!

Tomorrow is more engine painting and then get as much bits from the 998cc engine transferred over to the 1275cc. So all in all its not been a massive hold up.