Hey all! My Mini has been in the panel shop almost all year and its FINALLY almost finished!!! Yay!!! buut.... I do have a problem, in that although i gutted the car as much as I could before going to the shop, I do not have enough expertise to get the motor out and as it is going in for a complete colour change, it needs to come out to paint the engine bay... I have been asking my "Mechanic Buddy" for help for a couple months now but he keeps bailing out on me and now the deadline is getting URGENT as in the motor has to come out by the end of next week (4th nov. roughly at the latest) Now I am not completely inept around motors but all the same I am not an expert and dont know the proper way about things so what I am asking is........

Is there someone out there in the Mini loving world who knows the do's and dont's in this matter who would be willing to come to Avondale Heights (Near Maribyrnong, essendon, east keilor) and assist me? I can put in the brawn! I will repay you however I can whether it be a slab of beer, a portrait of you mini (I am a professional Airrush Artist) or whatever - I am not rich but I dont expect you to work for free!
Please Please pretty please????????

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Size DOES Matter!!!

There are some great threads in here that helped me with my first mini engine removal, but i'm sure one of the melburnians will be happy to help you, especially with the offer of a personalised portrait of their pride & joy

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Carl
Previous Owner & Driver of 1 Morris "It's not a Cooper!!" 850

let me see..........can you tow your mini??

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

I can help, but with exams next Wednesday and Friday, it would not be before the end of the week, and Saturday will still have an alcoholic residue about it.

Can help Sunday if not to late?

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Hey! thankyou so much for your quick replies, ummm Ballistic no sorry I am having major dramas with the panel shop there is no way they will let me take it n bring it back before they paint it... And Mick - Panel shop not open Sunday damn I'm starting to realise how many damn restrictions there are - If nothing else can be organised, I will see if I can pull some strings cos otherwise next Sunday would be good.... Thankyou again we'll work through this and I will keep you posted.

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Size DOES Matter!!!

so its already at the panel shop? do they have an engine crane or something there so an engine can be removed? let me know and we can work something out as im not that far from you.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

hey ballistic yeah already at the shop - I did as much as I could regarding the removal of paint and stripping the car of entire interior and all exterior brrightwork etc but it had some major body damage - beyond me and I wantd it done properly...! Car has been in shop since early march but now getting to the stage where they are actually about to paint the bloody thing!!! and have been trying to get a mate of mine to assist me to get the engine out for ages but he is a very very busy man and I have all but run out of time and I would love some help especially from some one who is familliar with minis. Are there any specialised tools needed? I only have the standard stuff... Do you have or do I need to find??
Also, no they dont have an engine crane but there are a few options I can try should be able to borrow one. Is there any reason why we cant just drop the whole subframe with engine out the bottom? Initially I thought it would be a whole lot easier that way but someone told me that wasnt a good idea but I dont know why....?

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Size DOES Matter!!!

it can be easier to a certain extent but you still have to move the engine/subframe out of the way some how. If this is done you then need to be able to move the body some way as there will be no steering. easier in the short term to just remove engine frome the car. really depends on how far you are stripping the car aswell? are you going to remove both front and rear subframes, wiring, etc etc so it just a shell? or is it just getting a "blow over" and you still want it to be a "roller"? i have a crane just no trailer to transport it and i dont really want to disassemble then reassemble etc, etc......

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

Never used a hoist or crane to get my engines out. (Wish I could though) I just loop a rope around the engine and pass a pole through that loop long enough so that it can sticks out past the fenders a couple of feet. I get a mate on the other side, put a folded up pillow on a shoulder, squat down under the pole end, position it and stand up. Then I usually put it straight in a wheelbarrow to move to the shed.

I've got a Clubman and I remove the slam panel and grille. With the ancillaries off and the oil drained I can lift it out of the wheelbarrow by myself while the mate helps with lining up the engine stand. Mind you, he has to be dam fast and I keep a tyre on the floor in case he takes longer than I can lift the engine by myself (which isn't very long !!!)I'm 54 and it's only a year since I last did it. You can take the head off to make it evenlighter.

If it's not going in the wheelbarrow I put it in a tyre. However, I have built a very nice movable engine hoder out of an abandoned shopping trolley. Just cut off some of it and weld them back where you want them and they are fantastic.

smithy

fair enough ballistic, it does seem more complicated - I dont intend on removing all the wiring etc... but I can get a crane and the actual car body is sitting on a lift so the option was there if i wanted to take it from underneath that i could raise the car up and take removed bits away easily... Oh and thankyou smithy - some very resourceful ideas there!
Also all the bits there need working on anyway - boots, bushes, brakes, control arms etc and could make it easier to clean up inside wheel well/arch? Oh and no not touching the rear subframe at all. This car is practically getting a complete overhaul/restoration. Hasnt been driven except for the odd squirt for nearly ten years but no major problems it just need a freshen up... Any way I will go with whatever the expert says is the best idea... I have never done this before and really at the end of the day is only being done for the sake of the the paintjob...

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Size DOES Matter!!!

Why won't they let you take it out of the panel shop then bring it back..... are they forgetting its your car or have they got a good reason?

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Talk is Cheap because Supply Exceeds Demand

no good reason other than the fact that they are horrible miserable
A-Holes! They stuff me around for eight months and now that they have gotten bored with the project they are puttin the rush on ME! not to mention the guilt trips and standover tactics every time I go in there. Couple of days ago I got the whole lot about gettin everything organised cos they want the car gone in two weeks... next thing I know the boss has buggered off on a four week vacation meanwhile I dont have an official quote so I gotta wait till he get back anyway! Regardless, I still need the engine out asap, so they got time to do the rest of the work cos as soon as boss gets back im gettin my car outta there no matter what! Rant, Rant, Rant...............................................

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Size DOES Matter!!!

Sounds like a one-sided deal to me - I hope you dont get stung with the bill my friend!

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"Not Speeding Officer..........Qualifying"

Yeah, it doesnt sound great... I'd say make sure you get everything on paper.

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Talk is Cheap because Supply Exceeds Demand

hey mate just caught your thread. im out 15 minutes from that area i might be free to give u a hand on saturday i havent done a clubman before but ive pulled my roundy a good couple of times even if i dont get the job done it would make alot lighter work of the sunday. what still needs to be done on the engine to remove it?

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Enjoy Chris