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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 4:35 pm 
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
cgo wrote:
A great story, I admire your ability to fabricate parts. My Dad was a fitter and turner, Dad-in-law a boilermaker scale maker. I used to get them to make bits and pieces for me, not so any more. Great work.

Thank you. All my fabrication skills are all self-taught over the last 10 or so years. I've only ever attended one TAFE welding short-course, watched MANY hours of YouTube videos to learn but not officially qualified for anything :D I admire the stuff that qualified or experienced people can do but I keep learning and improving every time I spend time in the workshop.

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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: Thu Jun 28, 2018 4:50 pm 
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Location: Wollongong, NSW
Mearcat wrote:
I've seen a few suggestions of MGB or Triumph columns in other forums and found one guy locally (Perth, WA) who used a Mk3 Ford Fiesta column for his VTEC project. By coincidence I found a guy close to my house scrapping a G102 (1989) Daihatsu Charade and it had a collapsible column. I got it for free and amazingly the spline is the same as the Mini steering rack! It will be a while until I can play around with it to see if I can use it but it seems promising as a solution.

There is an obscure link between Mini and Daihatsu.. Innocenti in Italy made local versions of the mini, they then made a hatchback version which ended up with Daihatsu engines in later years. I wonder if that explains the same splines on the steering rack or it's just coincidence?

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 5:32 pm 
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Suzuki Swift & Ignis also have the same spline, as do the old Opel Corsa (previous Barina).

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:55 am 
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998cc
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I have just a few minor updates as I'm not getting a lot of work done thanks to winter.

The last few engine bay parts have been fitted : coil/ignitor assembly and windscreen washer bottle. The coil/ignitor assembly was bolted to the bulkhead (it has to be electrically grounded). I got a new HT Coil ignition lead custom made to suit the length required
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I removed the engine at this point so I could sort out some other items including the washer bottle. It was a generic one from eBay that (just) fitted above the drivers side subframe tower. After measuring and ordering an appropriate size bottle, I put on on some wood pieces and fitted the bonnet to make sure clearances were ok
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I made a small bracket from some flat bar onto which the bottle slides onto
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While I was removing the engine, I noticed that the vertical part of the driveshaft layshaft bracket was not quite square to the block. When I had the pieces for the layshaft bracket laser cut I incorrectly specified 10mm holes in the CAD design when I needed 8mm holes. The holes ended actually up being roughly 10.6mm from the laser cutting and I've never really been happy with this and it meant that the whole bracket could potentially be bolted up at be unacceptable angle to the layshaft.

The photo below is not the angle of the bracket when I first noticed the misalignment, but in the worst case scenario the bracket against the block could be rotated anti-clockwise (due to the larger holes) causing a significant gap at the top of the bracket between it and the layshaft assembly.
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I cut the pieces of the layshaft bracket apart and to correct the hole sizes, drilled out the holes to 12mm, machined some pieces of tube (just over 12mm OD, 8mm ID) and press fitted them into the holes.
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The layshaft was then inserted into the gearbox and ensuring that it was square to the engine (both vertically & horizontally), I tacked and welded everything two bracket pieces together.
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A clearance issue that has been on my to-do list for some time was between the radiator thermofan (bolted to the back of the radiator) and the radiator hose at the thermostat housing. Despite me using a radiator hose piece with a tight bend at the thermostat housing outlet and trimming back a small part of the thermofan cover, the hose was still fouling against the plastic thermofan cover behind the radiator. The hose was not squashed at all, it was just touching it but with engine movement over time this would probably rub a hole through the hose.
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I really wanted there to be a reasonable physical gap between the hose & thermofan cover and to achieve this I had to lean the top of the radiator forward further. I cut away some more of the front panel (I had done this already but not enough) and welded on a new steel strip to retain the original 90degree angle in the panel and giving it back some rigidity
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After making a new upper radiator mount, I achieved an extra ~13mm which should be enough for the hose clearance but I won't know for sure until the engine is back in. Of course I couldn't go too far forward otherwise the bonnet latch would not fit
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: Tue Jul 24, 2018 4:30 pm 
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
Sometime after removing the engine, I glanced at the front of the car realised that the tie rod mounts on either side of the car were not at the same height. I made sure the shell was level and measured the height of the two mounts, and found that the difference in height of the two mounts was 7mm.
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When I first welded the tie rod mounts on, the subframe was out of the shell so this discrepancy probably occurred many years ago and I had never noticed until now. I cut away the passengers side bottom brace bar from the front subframe mount plate, grinded back the welds but really had no easy way to bend the steel bar to where it should be - so I cut it off.
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After making a few relief cuts getting the toe rod mount at the corrected height, I measured the angle of the tie rod compared to the drivers side. It was a 0.8 degree difference between driver and passenger sides - not perfect but the angle of the tie rod changes significantly as the wheel/suspension moves up and down anyway.
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With the passengers side mount now at the correct height, the pieces were then welded back together. Hopefully this is the last of the fixing-my-previous-stuff-ups
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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: Thu Sep 13, 2018 5:36 pm 
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998cc
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The fuel lines will be the next task for me but before that, I figured out a route for the fuel lines (feed, return & vent) within the engine bay. I decided that the steel lines that would run under the car had to stop half way up the firewall and have a bend formed at the end of each of the lines to clamp some rubber lines onto.

The problem with ending the fuel lines there on the firewall is that the brace bar between the front subframe towers would hit the fuel lines when I try and fit or drop the subframe.
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I had the idea to make a small part of the subframe brace removable by making some roll cage joiners. I borrowed use of a mill and milled some 30mm rod
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These pieces were machined down to size and drilled/tapped for a M8 bolt
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and then welded in place
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Now when fitting or removing the subframe, the small length of the brace can be temporarily removed and the fuel lines can stay in situ.
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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: Sun Sep 16, 2018 10:55 am 
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Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 10:07 pm
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Location: SE Melbourne
On behalf of the “Taking things too far” police, consider this your first official warning.
Unnecessary, overly complicated and bar raising stuff like that is too much compared to your average builder and makes us, I mean them, look bad by comparison!
:D


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2018 12:16 pm 
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Harley wrote:
On behalf of the “Taking things too far” police, consider this your first official warning.
Unnecessary, overly complicated and bar raising stuff like that is too much compared to your average builder and makes us, I mean them, look bad by comparison!
:D

Looks like he's been watching too much project Binky :lol:

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:15 am 
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timmy201 wrote:
Looks like he's been watching too much project Binky :lol:

:shock: That's next level stuff and a bar that I'll never reach, nor do I intend on trying!

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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 Oct 08, 2018 1:13 pm 
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998cc
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Fuel lines - I have a Rover EFI tank and after ordering a fuel grommet for the Rover Mini, I cut a hole in the boot so the three lines (Feed, Return, Tank vent) can be passed through the boot floor
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I used 5/16" (8mm) lines for the feed & return, and 1/4" (6.3mm) line for the vent line. The fuel lines were bent to go up and over the rear subframe and pass through the rubber grommet in the boot floor. The short line in this pic below will connect to the outlet of the fuel filter, which is mounted to the rear subframe. Note that the shell is upside-down in all of these photos
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To hold the fuel lines in place, the factory metal tabs spot welded to the shell are only good for ONE fuel line so I planned on making some custom clamps from a sheet of HDPE (inspired by Bad Obsesssion Motorsports project Binky :) ).
First clamp was to hold the lines in front of the rear subframe.
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The other clamps were made to hold the lines against the floorpan.
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On the firewall I made a longer clamp to hold the lines evenly spaced, leaving space for the rubber lines. The ends of these fuel lines on the firewall were angled at 45 degrees away from the firewall and I also formed a bead on the ends of the feed & return lines. The vent line does not need a bead as it is not under any significant pressure and a simple clamp will hold it on okay.
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The final fuel line piece to make was a short one from within the boot to the fuel filter and then one more small clamp for the feed & return lines
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... and one final clamp in the boot
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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 Oct 08, 2018 1:17 pm 
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It's a shame they're all under the car and you won't see them! They look really neat

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 Post subject: Re:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 2:41 pm 
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Mearcat wrote:

A clearance issue that has been on my to-do list for some time was between the radiator thermofan (bolted to the back of the radiator) and the radiator hose at the thermostat housing. Despite me using a radiator hose piece with a tight bend at the thermostat housing outlet and trimming back a small part of the thermofan cover, the hose was still fouling against the plastic thermofan cover behind the radiator. The hose was not squashed at all, it was just touching it but with engine movement over time this would probably rub a hole through the hose.
Image

I really wanted there to be a reasonable physical gap between the hose & thermofan cover and to achieve this I had to lean the top of the radiator forward further. I cut away some more of the front panel (I had done this already but not enough) and welded on a new steel strip to retain the original 90degree angle in the panel and giving it back some rigidity
Image

After making a new upper radiator mount, I achieved an extra ~13mm which should be enough for the hose clearance but I won't know for sure until the engine is back in. Of course I couldn't go too far forward otherwise the bonnet latch would not fit
Image


Have you thought about using uprated but maybe smaller OD hoses? (making sure the water pump and flow is as required...)

https://www.summitracing.com/int/search ... s-radiator

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 Post subject: Re: Re:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 3:21 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:
Have you thought about using uprated but maybe smaller OD hoses? (making sure the water pump and flow is as required...)
https://www.summitracing.com/int/search ... s-radiator

The engine goes back in soon at which point I will be able to confirm how much of a difference the radiator angle change has made. I also plan on making a retaining bracket (maybe like a big P-clip?) to hold the radiator hose close to the engine and away from the thermofan shroud to gain even more clearance. If it's still an issue, I may have to consider something like a smaller OD hose.

_________________
-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 Oct 15, 2018 5:37 pm 
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998cc
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
I fitted the steering rack to confirm that the fuel lines did not interfere with the rack however the boot did touch the lines slightly. FYI, the dip in the panel directly under the boot & lines is a large dent so I couldn't simply bend the lines around the boot - this dent was since been has beaten out.
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To solve this problem, I wanted the rack to be moved away from the lines but it only needed a few mm. I made a 3mm thick plastic spacer ring on the lathe and cut/shaped it so it fits snugly within the steering rack U-bolts
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This spacer now gives just enough clearance so the boot does not rub on the lines.
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The other clearance issue I had was with the front subframe. The part of the subframe that is close to the firewall had to be modified to clear the fuel lines against the firewall. I cut away part of the subframe and replaced with a piece of angle to make a channel for the lines
This is a photo of the back of the subframe :
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.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 12:41 pm 
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998cc
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Location: NOR, Perth, W.A.
My next task after routing the fuel lines under the floorpan was to do the same for the brake line and battery cables.

The Toyota Starlet battery cable was measured to be 6AWG gauge, however because the Mini has an extra 2m of cable run from the boot, I decided to use a the next gauge/size up (4AWG/4B&S) to prevent any voltage drop over the extra ~2 metres. I also decided to run both 12V AND ground cables to the engine bay. Some say that a separate ground cable may not have been necessary however it simply put my mind at ease when thinking about possible cable-to-body grounding issues

The battery cables use the same type of custom made HDPE clamps as I used for the fuel lines but I spaced the clamps closer together because the cables are more flexible and prone to moving around.
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Instead of routing the 12V cable through a hole/grommet in the boot floor (as per the original Mini setup), I chose to use a through-panel connector for the 12V cable. I made one myself - for about $2 in materials. It was made from three simple pieces - with a custom machined bolt screwed through the middle of the (thread tapped) HDPE pieces.
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To make the cabling route simpler under the boot, the connector and bolt for ground were both fitted in the boot in front of the battery box
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The battery cables are easily removed from these connectors (if the rear subframe had to be removed) so I didn't bother routing the battery cables up and over the subframe - between the boot floor & subframe, like the brake line and fuel lines. Note that both cables have matching red/black heat shrink to visually differentiate the 12V / ground cables.
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Once the shell was the right way up and subframe was back in, I trimmed the cables to length and crimped on new cable ends connectors (with matching red/black heat shrink). I also machined a small adapter to allow the ground cable terminal to fit better against the round brace tube.
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I lastly made a short length of the ground cable to the body.
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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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