Minichick's Clubbie GT - '72
1275 etc
Hi fellow minis. My new GT is really shaping up. reconditioned gear box/full tuning, service etc., wheel alignment (runs like slot car now). Having front seats rebuilt tomorrow, getting a dash mat made and some nice new mats. blah, blah.

have a few decisions to make and would love your collective wisdom...

1/ anyone done any rustproofing on their minis? I live in Manly and am thinking about that as a preventative option.
2/ Was going to get electronic ignition installed and was told by mechanic that it was unneccessary. I thought it helped keep car in tune. Any views?
3/ Re. radio..have an original radio/console from a '73 clubbie ready to install (thanks to Brown Clubman). I am NOT interested in the high tech car audio thing. Have a Pulsar for long trips etc. Happy with AM thing at the moment. The cost of an FM conversion to allow IPOD etc. is massive - starts at $800. So, just want to get some noise in there. Not sure if I should put two speakers in the rear window tray, someone said that with the low wattage of the '70's technology, that it won't make much difference and just to stick to the one speaker below the radio. ???
4/ my car idles at about 1200 RPM...seems high but maybe that's minis. Any views?

many thanks for the advice I am about to receive.

mini chick
:lol:

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'72 Clubman GT - Crystal White
VW Golf GTi - Arctic White

I'll help u answer some of your questions son.
Lets start by saying a clubman GT is a very rare car, Its not just some beat around mini, that you can mod and it wont change the value of the car, any mod you do on this car I believe must be tasteful, and in period if possible. I would never put speakers in the rear parcel tray, there is very little minis left that have an un butchered parcel tray, so make sure u don?t butcher the tray, if you want extra speakers fit them under the rear seat on a board, where they can be removed without damaging the car.

Electronic ignition is a great thing but defiantly not necessary, and if I owned an original GT, I would defiantly not fit an electronic unit in, however this is a mod that you can do and very easy remove. There are many benefits of doing this, reliability is the major, and if you decide to go down this route, modifying a Jap pulsar dizzy is the best option for the money.

Rust proofing- there is some electronic jumbo that can be used but the best method is insuring the seels are in good shape and reg wash the car, making sure there is no water under the carpets, in the boot etc.

Idling @ 1200 is a little much, but it all depends on the state of tune on your motor, a race motor I had once wouldn?t idle under 1500. But I recommend a tune @ you local mini place and they will be able to get the motor idling at its prime.

Cooling the cabin. That?s why we have quarter windows. (U should also have a fresh air heater)


Hope that helps a bit,

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*Reasonable pricing
*I come to you..
Jay: 0431404607

Thanks Clubmn,

excellent advice re. not butchering the reartray. Yes, your point re. airconditioning is spot on. Trouble is my quater window (DS) won't stay open...keeps on flopping shut. Have to work out a way of keeping the blighter open...

re. original. I am lucky in that my car has been restored nicely...minimal mods...if any actually. so, will try to keep that spirit alive.



thanks again..

minichick.

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'72 Clubman GT - Crystal White
VW Golf GTi - Arctic White

I agree with everything you have said mate.

Also Grieg did the mechanical work on your car and he is spot on. there is not need to go down the electronic ignition route. and PLASE dont put speakers inthe rear parcel shelf!

It is quite beneficial for a mini to idle around 1200rpm, it keeps a steady supply of oil to the rocker/valve gear ..

My mini idles at 1400-1600rpm, but it has a wilder cam. I used to idle it stock on 1100rpm.

I agree do not cut holes in the speaker tray.

I would fit electronic ignition. If you want original get a pertronix and whack it on the top. Looks original and no more break downs when it rains Pulsar dizzy is probably the better option, but you lose some of the originality, but it wouldn't be hard to change back.

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

yeah i think we're all in agreement about chopping a GT for speakers lol

sure go for the electronic ignition, it will only make your car more reliable and run better, and can always be changed back to an original unit if so required.

1200 is too high for a standard mini

the owners handbook specifies 750-950rpm

if it won't idle at that, you have a problem or a wild camshaft.

I saw a GT the other day and looked at the parcel shelf, it already had a cutout for a speaker in the parcel shelf. but it also had the parcel shelf trim over the top of it, that wasn't cut out.Have a look in you boot on the left hand side. I will be interested to see if yours has it. The speaker shape is an oval type, smallish, and only one, remember you only need one for AM as it's Mono. IF and only if you can find the original speaker and it cover which was obviously the optional extra i would fit it in the parcel shelf. IF NOT, under the seat is good.

Re the idle, yes you could drop the idle down a little more to 1000rpm but as Josh said it is good for the oil supply to have those revs up a little, and hence why the idle was set at 1200 by your mechanic. It is also going to help with airflow in traffic.

Stick with points, no need to go with any electronic dissy's. as long as your have your car serviced regulalry, as you should, your points will be fine. after all points have been used in minis for over 40 years and they still are. I personally wouldn't go a pulsar dissy. Original car, orignal dissy i say.

The rust proofing you see on new cars would be ok to put on yours too, but it is unfortunatly messy and never applied nicely. if you go to a sale yard and have a look under the bonnet and boot areas you will see great big smears of gunk, thats the rust proof..... i would do it, unless i can do it my self PRIOR to paint in a resto. Yours may well have had that done during it's resto. Might be worth asking the question. If not, then i suggest you keep the car clean and chamoi it off after rain. if it happens to leak, lift the carpets/underlay and dry them. Keep and eye on the rust prone areas for signs of rust and attend to it as soon as anything is discovered. These areas include, but not limited to foot wells, wheel wells and seems.
A quick once over when you fill up the car never hurts. Call it a mini inspection. Check for rust, check your oil and tyre pressures, check your tyres for wear. check your washer bottle is full. check for oil leaks. all this takes less than 5 minutes and will save a lifetime of i shoulda coulda woulda. This is advice everyone should follow.

In regards to your floppy qtr window, buy a big bull clip from the new agents. grab a small peice of cloth(so as not to scratch the window or paint) and attach it to the qtr window at the bottom at the potistion you want the window open. it'll help hold in in place. to tighten them up, you have to get inside the door if i remember correctly, so if your not confident then let your mechanic deal with it at your next service. But the bull clip will get you by.

I met you breifly at the MCCNSW meeting the other week and i am looking forward to seeing your car too. Your partner's GT was very nice, but i didn't get a good look at it either. next time.

Cheers

Aaron

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G'day Elle,

We spoke at the MCC meeting the other week. Charlie's GT is brilliant, and I have pics of yours on my website (it is equally brilliant!)

'Clubmn' was really spot on with his reply (except for the 'son' bit)

Don't cut holes anywhere for speakers. ALL Clubmans had an oval shape hole as standard in the parcel shelf on the passenger side. The standard trim over the parcel tray should have an oval 'stitch drilled' into it, so that you can pop it out easily to fit a speaker. My GT has this (as Aaron pointed out) and my 1976 S has it.

I made 2 trimmed speaker boards and press fitted them into my rear side storage bins (next to the back seat). They sit about 3 inches below the top and each has a 4 inch speaker fitted. They are totally out of sight, and there is no cutting or screwing required into the car. Perfect dor daily driving, and easy to remove if need be. They also don't restrict the amount of room in the cabin (like speaker boards under the back seat)

In saying all this, there is NOTHING wrong with a standard AM radio, with 1 speaker in the unit in the dash. If you feel that will be sufficient, then fit one.

An idle of 1200 RPM could be fine for the cam fitted in your 1275cc. The cam in my 1100cc needs an idle of 1200.

Living in Manly is going to be harsh on that GT's body. I once saw a 2 year old Daewoo parked right on Nth Steyne beach. It had a parking permit tag, so I assume it gets parked there all the time. EVERY panel was rusty, and BIG TIME rust, not just surface. It was for sale for $1000......yes for a 2 year old car

Anyway, to get by why don't you get some 'fish oil' or equivalent and spray it around in those nooks and crannies. That will certainly help.

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Website: www.justanothermini.com

Well any Mini for that point! Lukily none of mine have had a chop in the back (even the 850 and adeee's shell which arent on the road), nor will they EVER get a chop!

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i must confess...i chopped mine i really didnt want to but its the only place i could think of. my floor gets wet, and i didnt want to cut holes in the doors.

if you want speakers in the back, you can make up speaker pods and fix them somehow to the parcel shelf (wedge them in maybe?), you can put the wires thru the existing holes under the parcel shelf.

as for your ipod, i have a shitty old tape deck in mine, which has a little input socket ( i think the new xplod head units have this too) and you buy a wire from dick smiths (about 2 meters, its far too much but you cant get shorter) and plug it in to your ipod headphone socket. works fine for me, and cost 10 bucks! forget this $800 rubbish!

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78 Leyland Mini - Prince

Elle, as with what Anton has said, just dont worry about the other speakers. they just
are not needed. plain and simple. you heared the speaker in the Sunshine. It is pleanty loud and i never find myself looking for more speakers.

And i am with Aaron, Stick to points. no need for electronic dizzy. my car and plenty of others run perfectly on points. Points are going to be much easier to fix if you ever get stuck somewhere. and they are a piece of piss to keep well maintained.

just don't let people pressure wash your motor!! bwahahaha

sorry.... I'll say something constructive....

the fish oil is a good idea - you can get it deodorised and the cans have a little straw for getting into the nooks and crannies, try and get some into your sills as they do get water in them, and if it's gonna live near the beach they will rust from the inside, watch the bootlid seal as well, my S's seal isn't sealing and a bit of rust has appeared in the spare wheel well

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

I have always put my stereo speakers under the back seat, just make a panel that fits under the back seat out of ply, they sound great down there

Jon

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Roundies and Clubbies(except vans) are both ugly that is why I have Midas and a van
1293 Mini Midas Bronze,1275 Clubman van

1/ anyone done any rustproofing on their minis?
really look onto this carefully....any protection you can provide will help in the long run.

2/ Was going to get electronic ignition installed.....
Well do it....points are one of the biggest causes of Mini problems around, especially with the iffy quality of some spare parts being sold these days.

If you aren't mechanically minded...well thats another reason to rid yourself of a difficult chore.

3/ Re. radio..what they said...

4/ my car idles at about 1200 RPM...seems high but maybe that's minis. Any views? as above...you may have a sporty cam in there....

5/ Enjoy the GT!!

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"Show me the Mini!"

many thanks mini men. Lots of info to absorb here. I'll see you Sydney minis at the next meeting. Will bring my car to that one. I think Ive got the story on the radio...no butchering the parcel tray...but.. will have a look see if a cut out is already there. I like the idea of popping a speaker in the storage side compartment without the need to cut out. Not sure about rear seats. Like the space it offers for jacks etc.

re. idling...normally mine idles at 1000. Had to refill about 1 litre of coolant after it was idling higher at 1200 yesterday and temp was slightly up. My mechanic Greig, said to keep an eye. Said that with the expansion of the water etc. some coolant IS lost during normal course of driving but that should be only couple of cups. Will monitor this. I think the way my car is set up, it should idle at 1000.

Rusting proof...mmm will have to think about this one. Basic maintenance re. keeping dry is good basic advice. Other stuff may look into....living on beach deserves special attention I think.

cheers for now....

minichick
(elle)

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'72 Clubman GT - Crystal White
VW Golf GTi - Arctic White