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PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:24 pm 
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Location: SE Melbourne
How do you get the speedo to work accurately when its cable driven?
Do you get the gauges re-calibrated or alter the drive pinion?


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 6:31 pm 
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Location: Armidale, NSW
Harley wrote:
How do you get the speedo to work accurately when its cable driven?
Do you get the gauges re-calibrated or alter the drive pinion?


I was able to get my gauges recalibrated, I'm not sure what they did but I suspect they are able to change gear set in the back or similar.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 12:35 pm 
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fuzzy-hair-man wrote:
I was able to get my gauges recalibrated, I'm not sure what they did but I suspect they are able to change gear set in the back or similar.


Look for a small gearbox between the speedo head and the drive cable...or down on the gearbox :idea:

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:29 pm 
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9YaTaH wrote:
Look for a small gearbox between the speedo head and the drive cable...or down on the gearbox :idea:

It wasn't insanely expensive, but I can appreciate the diy aspect.

On the micra there is no small gearbox etc, the instrument place only had the gauges to work with but I suspect there may be small gears in the back of the cluster, there is a magnetic type wheel thing that works in there as well so perhaps they can adjust the air gap on that?
There's also the speedo drive gear that engages the diff, changing that will effect speedo output but there's probably a pretty limited range it would still engage and you'd have to find the gears.
But like I said I don't know.

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 02, 2019 11:18 am 
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Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:17 pm
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
The real fun has started with me dealing with the Toyota Starlet wiring loom. I pulled all the loom tube and tape off everything and using the detailed wiring document that I made years ago, I marked each connector with electrical tape - green to keep; red to remove.
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Instead of just installing the entire loom in the Mini and leaving unused wiring in place, I wanted to remove everything that I won't need - Electronic suspension, fog lights, all Air-conditioning components/sensors/relays, rear demister, rear wiper/washer, power mirrors, power windows etc. Starting at each connector, I traced each wire back to it's source, making sure it wasn't used by something else and this is what I stripped out (roll of electrical tape included for size reference :) )
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Any wires that needed to be rejoined were done with the proper crimps
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...and using a cheap eBay de-pin tool, I also removed all the terminal pins from the connectors
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Just be aware that most connectors have a locking mechanism which has to be levered out before any pins can be removed
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After approx 12 hours of work, all the redundant wiring was removed from the cabin & engine bay looms in the Mini. I quickly found that there was not enough room in the engine bay to comfortably fit the main fuse box so I have decided that this will be relocated somewhere behind the dash and as such, a lot of re-routing of wiring will have to be done and plenty more hours work in store...
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I will also be adding wiring back into the loom for some gauges/sensors, dash lighting, stereo, central locking, power windows... and shortening/extending wiring for the modified positions of the alternator, battery, radiator, instrument cluster, ignition barrel.

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I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one :D
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 15, 2019 12:14 pm 
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
Here's a small update for everyone ...

With the instrument cluster fitted in centre of the dash, I had to make a new cover for it as the cover on the factory item was just too bulky to fit in the Mini dash.
Image
I trimmed the black surround piece and sanded it down on my linisher to form a (relatively) flat surface instead of the curve in the above photo
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After a few MDF prototypes, I created a CAD (DXF) file for a local plastics company, I had them laser cut a piece of 2mm acrylic (perspex) laser cut to use as the replacement protective cover. I glued on some small acrylic tabs to this piece so that the cover could then screw onto to the the main cluster. The grommet in the acrylic piece is for the odometer reset pin - which I had to shorten to fit the new cover.
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With the cluster bolted into place, I marked and cut a small hole in the firewall for the speedo cable. The factory Toyota Starlet speedo cable was too long to fit in the Mini so I made a mockup and got a new one made. This new one was FAR more flexible than the old one - which had gone hard and near enough petrified into a fixed shaped curve!
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Thanks to the contour of the typical oval-shaped indent in the upper firewall/bulkhead, I couldn't use a standard grommet for the speedo cable. I instead machined up a tube that was welded in place
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...which could then use a standard grommet to seal it.
Image

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-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one :D
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.


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PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 10:55 am 
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Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:17 pm
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
One of the issues I'm sure we all face with our builds is having to repeat things. I've lost count the number of times I've had to scrap and remake something because of clearance issues, designing something better or just simply changed my mind. Here are two small things I've redone recently...

My original plan for the upper radiator hose was to include a coupler with a sensor adapter in it for a coolant temperature sensor in an aftermarket display. This meant that I needed three random pieces of radiator hose to hold it all together. Despite the hobbled together look once 6 hose clamps were fitted, it did the job.
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I've since found that one of the sensors in the thermostat housing area was used for the Toyota Starlet HVAC system (which has been removed). I decided to use this spare port for the aftermarket display sensor (so had no use for the coupler with a sensor adapter in it) and then had to remake the upper radiator hose. This was a simple task of getting some stainless steel tube with the same 22mm ID as the coolant engine outlet.

Some 1" OD tube was good but because it was thin wall, I had to make come collars to bump up the OD size to match the 28mm hose ID. As you can see, I also machined in some beads while I was there :)
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The collars were slipped on the ends of the tube, welded on and cleaned up
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I luckily found a single radiator hose that I cut up to get the two bends I needed
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Another change was to the horn. I wasn't happy with the tone of the single horn that came with my Starlet front cut so I got a pair of Hella discs horns and mounted them against the bulkhead at the back of the engine bay. The ground will be via the body mounted bracket and 12V connected into the wiring loom.
Image
Image

_________________
-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one :D
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.


Last edited by Mearcat on Tue Dec 03, 2019 10:23 am, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 6:59 pm 
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Location: Melbourne, VIC
Fantastic fabrication work. It's a real credit to you. With those skills you belong in an automotive design and manufacturing organisation, or a major race team. :)

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 06, 2019 11:13 am 
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Location: Wollongong
very talented, looking forward to more updates!

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 30, 2019 10:21 am 
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Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:17 pm
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
Wiring... considered by many to be the hardest part of any conversion!

I realised after a quick test fit that the main fuse box (normally in the Starlet engine bay) was not going to fit in the Mini engine bay so I chose to mount it behind the dash. I made a mounting bracket for the main fuse box, and then also modified it to also fit items from the cabin wiring loom (Headlight reminder relay, Flasher relay (for indicators), Circuit opening relay, 2x Auto-reset circuit breakers for power windows, 4x Relays for power windows)
Image
Image

This main fuse/distribution box bracket was welded in where the glovebox would normally be and there will eventually be an access panel for checking fuses and relays.
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I then made a 55mm hole in the firewall directly behind the box to fit the loom grommet and passed through the bulk of the wiring
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From there it was a LONG process of figuring out what wires needed to be moved into the cabin to the new fuse box location, which wires had to be shortened or extended. Armed with a heap of wiring that matched the factory wiring colours and wire gauge, the work began. Any new joins in the 3mm or 4mm wring were completed with F-Crimps (aka open barrel), with heatshrink over the top.
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As a public announcement : I've used an EC5 connector when re-routing some of the thicker 6mm wires for the battery and alternator. They are normally used for Li-Po batteries in RC planes/cars etc) and rated at 120Amps, although I only needed 60Amps.
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To move some wiring back into the engine bay, I had to add a firewall grommet on either side of the firewall to route wiring from the fuse boxes. For the drivers side there was the alternator, battery and windscreen washer motor wiring :
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Image

For the passengers side there was wiring for lights, indicators, radiator fan, wiper motor that was routed around the wiper motor. At this point, I also connected the Starlet wiring to the matching Mini wiper motor.
Image

_________________
-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one :D
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.


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PostPosted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 10:19 am 
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998cc
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
Continuing on with the wiring, I added a waterproof connector for the radiator
Image

I also found that the oxygen sensor and oil pressure sender wires that are in close proximity to the exhaust were hard and brittle from extended heat exposure so I replaced both the wires, then fitted some high temperature (basalt fibre) sleeve over the wires to protect them.
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A substantial amount of time was put into the wiring behind the dash as it had to be moved around, shortened or lengthened to make it neat and tidy and only a bunch of wires hanging down underneath the fuse box / relays was left for the ECU which was going to be mounted directly underneath the fuse box
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The mount for the ECU was made from a few simple 90deg brackets, where one side had a cutout to clear the connectors
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I removed the circuit board from inside the ECU o that I could use the case to keep everything square when welding in the support pieces under the dash
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Image
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The factory Starlet engine bay wiring loom is now installed in the Mini however I won't be wrapping any of the loom in loom tube or tape until the engine is running and everything has been tested. I also have to add new wiring for some aftermarket sensors for oil, coolant, EGT, wideband O2 etc

_________________
-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one :D
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 2:18 pm 
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Location: Canberra
Nice work Alan! Looking great and you'll be glad you put the effort into making it neat and tidy, as well as with future maintenance and troubleshooting in mind.

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-1970 Morris Mini Van - Work in progress-


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 Post subject: Re:
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 2:26 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:32 am
Posts: 12390
Location: Sthrn HiLoLands, NSW, Australia
Mearcat wrote:
Another change was to the horn. I wasn't happy with the tone of the single horn that came with my Starlet front cut so I got a pair of Hella discs horns and mounted them against the bulkhead at the back of the engine bay. The ground will be via the body mounted bracket and 12V connected into the wiring loom.
Image
Image


You may want to relocate those horns towards the grill/front of the car...on the firewall they are liable to sound louder inside the car than outside where you need them to sound a warning :idea:

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 Post subject: Re: Re:
PostPosted: Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:28 pm 
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998cc
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Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:17 pm
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
9YaTaH wrote:
You may want to relocate those horns towards the grill/front of the car...on the firewall they are liable to sound louder inside the car than outside where you need them to sound a warning :idea:

Yeah - I'm still not 100% sure if they'll stay in that location or not...

_________________
-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one :D
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:01 am 
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998cc
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Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:17 pm
Posts: 946
Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
It's dash time and wow, this made the car feel more complete than it has in a long time.

To form the shape of the main panel, I cut and glued together some strips of MDF to make a basic frame. This shape was copied to a piece of plywood and cut out.
Image
I won't have a glovebox due to the main fuse box being mounted there but I still needed as access panel - made from fibreglass with cutouts for some magnets, and the access panel is held in place onto some 1.5mm steel sheet tabs screwed to back of the main panel.
Image

...with a small flush/recessed pull handle to be able to remove it
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Directly in front of the driver I fitted a multi-gauge display (a copy of the Defi ZD gauge) and a boost pressure gauge. These are mounted in another removable panel as the display control box will be mounted behind the dash. I bent up a simple bracket to hold the display in place.
Image
Image

As for the Starlet instrument cluster in the centre of the dash, this needed a new surround. Using the offcut from the bottom of the original Starlet instrument cluster surround (black piece in photo below) and a section cut from a cheap plastic bucket, I superglued it all together to make a mockup of the surround and then made a fibreglass copy of it
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The surround piece depth was trimmed to size and fibreglassed onto the plywood.
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To hold the dash in place, I inset some bolts and made some of the common C-shaped clamps
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I integrated the Starlet hazard switch into the dash also by making up a complex little mount with some plastic locating pins
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Image

I also made a fibreglass copy of the hazard switch opening in the Starlet dash and inset it into the main dash panel
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After a quick coat of primer, the main dash panel is ready for prep and paint
Image

_________________
-Alan
I blame my dad for my love of minis. I think I was conceived in the back seat of one :D
I also blame my Dad for me being 6' 1" - not really the optimum height for driving a Mini.


Last edited by Mearcat on Wed Jan 29, 2020 8:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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