ausmini :: View topic - Oz '66 S now a Brit '91

Hey all,

Never found a buyer for the '66 S, but had a fellow here in Seattle who has the time and money for the project, and he offered his '91 spec '76 (wink wink) in trade for the '66. Here's a photo of the new one in it's former and current lives:

Oops, sorry, that was a photo of me with Rush in 2008 at Red Rocks (next to Geddy).

Here we go (any clues what racing circuit this would have been from?):

As much as it pained me to let go of the S, for the time being it was a good compromise on both sides--I got a nice running car with seatbelts for the kids, and he got the classic project. I'm glad to be close to him so that I can see the car come to life. I do plan to find another S down the road, and will be looking specifically for one from Australia. You have all been awesome and the worst part of the deal is that I don't know if my UK mini is welcome here, ha ha! I have sent the new owner to this site, and you may see him. His name is Mark, and he's from Newcastle, Washington.

I have a couple of bonehead questions regarding the mk3, if UK minis are allowed to be discussed on this forum. First off, the steering column has a lowering bracket on it, and so the steering wheel covers the top half of the gauges. I removed the bracket, but the steering shaft/column is rigid and doesn't easily move up to the original mounting point. Is there an easy trick to loosening this to allow it to go back upwards? Second, the front seam covers (a-post down to a-panel, etc.) are loose, and I'm wondering what is a good way to secure them in place so they don't get lost on the road. Finally, the gauges were replaced during the rebuild, and they are not matched to the final drive (the speedo reads about 10% over). Is there an article on how to determine your final drive ratio, and then to change gears in the speedo/odo to match? The car is zippy, but doesn't have the punch in the low end that the S had, and I wonder if I might kill two birds with one stone by doing a higher final drive, etc.

Have any of you put the BMW mini supercharger on the classic mini?

All the best and talk soon.
Ben McCafferty

Author:	bmacpiper [ Thu May 28, 2009 1:59 pm ]
Post subject:	Oz '66 S now a Brit '91
Hey all, Never found a buyer for the '66 S, but had a fellow here in Seattle who has the time and money for the project, and he offered his '91 spec '76 (wink wink) in trade for the '66. Here's a photo of the new one in it's former and current lives: Oops, sorry, that was a photo of me with Rush in 2008 at Red Rocks (next to Geddy). Here we go (any clues what racing circuit this would have been from?): And how it is now: As much as it pained me to let go of the S, for the time being it was a good compromise on both sides--I got a nice running car with seatbelts for the kids, and he got the classic project. I'm glad to be close to him so that I can see the car come to life. I do plan to find another S down the road, and will be looking specifically for one from Australia. You have all been awesome and the worst part of the deal is that I don't know if my UK mini is welcome here, ha ha! I have sent the new owner to this site, and you may see him. His name is Mark, and he's from Newcastle, Washington. I have a couple of bonehead questions regarding the mk3, if UK minis are allowed to be discussed on this forum. First off, the steering column has a lowering bracket on it, and so the steering wheel covers the top half of the gauges. I removed the bracket, but the steering shaft/column is rigid and doesn't easily move up to the original mounting point. Is there an easy trick to loosening this to allow it to go back upwards? Second, the front seam covers (a-post down to a-panel, etc.) are loose, and I'm wondering what is a good way to secure them in place so they don't get lost on the road. Finally, the gauges were replaced during the rebuild, and they are not matched to the final drive (the speedo reads about 10% over). Is there an article on how to determine your final drive ratio, and then to change gears in the speedo/odo to match? The car is zippy, but doesn't have the punch in the low end that the S had, and I wonder if I might kill two birds with one stone by doing a higher final drive, etc. Have any of you put the BMW mini supercharger on the classic mini? All the best and talk soon. Ben McCafferty

Author:	blue_deluxe [ Thu May 28, 2009 2:19 pm ]
Post subject:
To raise the steering column again did you loosen the u bolts that hold the rack in place? should be one next to where the steering column goes through the firewall and one on the other side.

Author:	jess [ Thu May 28, 2009 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:
of course you are still welcome here with UK mini! We have several members on here in Australia with UK minis and a few members from overseas as well Have fun with the new brick!

Author:	Harley [ Thu May 28, 2009 2:28 pm ]
Post subject:
To fix the column, loosen the four U bolt nuts in the floor. Sikaflex might be a good idea on the seam cover, but don't use silicone as it may eat the paint. If a diff change is too difficult, change the faces on the gauges. For example:

Author:	bmacpiper [ Thu May 28, 2009 3:41 pm ]
Post subject:
BTW, forgot to mention that the new car is a 1275, stage I kit, carburetted. Hi/los, adjustable tie rods, etc. Pretty nice setup. But always looking for more... bmc

ausmini https://www.ausmini.com/forums/

Oz '66 S now a Brit '91 https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=53689	Page 1 of 2

Author:	bmacpiper [ Thu May 28, 2009 3:44 pm ]
Post subject:
Harley wrote: To fix the column, loosen the four U bolt nuts in the floor. Sikaflex might be a good idea on the seam cover, but don't use silicone as it may eat the paint. If a diff change is too difficult, change the faces on the gauges. For example: If I change the faces, will that solve the problem? In other words, if the speedo is off by 10%, it's off different amounts across the speeds, and so not sure if the new face would take that into account? tx, bmc

Author:	Harley [ Thu May 28, 2009 4:05 pm ]
Post subject:
You make a new face to suit where the needle points. So all the markings are increased radially by ten percent each.

Author:	bmacpiper [ Thu May 28, 2009 4:09 pm ]
Post subject:
Harley wrote: You make a new face to suit where the needle points. So all the markings are increased radially by ten percent each. So there are faces available that do this, in other words. Yes? Steering column is raised, thanks for the replies on that. Now I want it lower. May need to add the bracket back and only lower it halfway or so. But it is nice being able to see the gauges and to get in and out without cracking my knees every time...will see. bmc

Author:	Harley [ Thu May 28, 2009 4:25 pm ]
Post subject:
You'd have to make the gauge yourself. I couldn't tell you if there are different faces for different diffs, but it actually makes sense to me to do it that way.

Author:	graham in aus [ Thu May 28, 2009 5:03 pm ]
Post subject:
Looks to me as if the car was stickered up for 'the Italian Job' Charity run each year to Trento in Italy, probably not raced as such. The Cover trims should have metal clips holding then on, you can get a stainless version, or sikflex as was said above. Yes, loosen the four nuts on the Ubolts holding the steerring rack, re position and retightne the nuts. Easy!

Author:	9YaTaH [ Thu May 28, 2009 6:29 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Oz '66 S now a Brit '91
bmacpiper wrote: Hey all, Never found a buyer for the '66 S, but had a fellow here in Seattle who has the time and money for the project, and he offered his '91 spec '76 (wink wink) in trade for the '66. Here's a photo of the new one in it's former and current lives: Oops, sorry, that was a photo of me with Rush in 2008 at Red Rocks (next to Geddy). Here we go (any clues what racing circuit this would have been from?): As much as it pained me to let go of the S, for the time being it was a good compromise on both sides--I got a nice running car with seatbelts for the kids, and he got the classic project. I'm glad to be close to him so that I can see the car come to life. I do plan to find another S down the road, and will be looking specifically for one from Australia. You have all been awesome and the worst part of the deal is that I don't know if my UK mini is welcome here, ha ha! I have sent the new owner to this site, and you may see him. His name is Mark, and he's from Newcastle, Washington. I have a couple of bonehead questions regarding the mk3, if UK minis are allowed to be discussed on this forum. First off, the steering column has a lowering bracket on it, and so the steering wheel covers the top half of the gauges. I removed the bracket, but the steering shaft/column is rigid and doesn't easily move up to the original mounting point. Is there an easy trick to loosening this to allow it to go back upwards? Second, the front seam covers (a-post down to a-panel, etc.) are loose, and I'm wondering what is a good way to secure them in place so they don't get lost on the road. Finally, the gauges were replaced during the rebuild, and they are not matched to the final drive (the speedo reads about 10% over). Is there an article on how to determine your final drive ratio, and then to change gears in the speedo/odo to match? The car is zippy, but doesn't have the punch in the low end that the S had, and I wonder if I might kill two birds with one stone by doing a higher final drive, etc. Have any of you put the BMW mini supercharger on the classic mini? All the best and talk soon. Ben McCafferty Hey Ben...I think I met your brother Phil once I would agree that it probably did an Italian Job...and possibly came from Leicester: Profile Motors Ltd Tel: (0116) 283 3726 1 Saffron Wy, Leicester, LE2 6UP

Author:	74snail [ Thu May 28, 2009 6:38 pm ]
Post subject:
If your going to go to the trouble of changing your diff ratio and you want more punch off the line then maybe a 3.76.1 will do, also have a look at the Swiftune SW5-07 cam works really well in a 1275, strong torque curve.

Author:	MINImal effort [ Thu May 28, 2009 7:55 pm ]
Post subject:
The earlier (eg Australian era) Minis had a standard (or small choice) of speedo drive ratios - the calibration was by different speedo heads. Later UK models actually have some capability to change the speedo drive and use more standard speedo heads ( I've only read about this so don't know all the ins and outs....or dates etc ) If you have a look here there is some info about the drive options that may help once you work out diff ratio you have (or plan to put in) http://www.minispares.com/Articles.aspx?ty=ad&aid=304

Author:	bmacpiper [ Fri May 29, 2009 12:23 am ]
Post subject:
Thanks all. I do know that the car was restored by Planet Mini and will contact them for any history also. The gauges were replaced with Magnolia gauges also, so they may not follow the rules of the original UK ones. Got a picture of the stainless clips for the seam covers? tx, bmc

Page 1 of 2	All times are UTC + 10 hours
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/

Author:	graham in aus [ Fri May 29, 2009 10:18 am ]
Post subject:
http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx? ... 20STAINL... Minimania in the US also probably have these, some people dont like them cause the sctratch off the paint on the flange as you install them, I squirt wax on before and after fitting.