Ok,,, so Stew has been building this car year a very long time,,,, a few years,,, bit by bit, a little at a time,,, he`s a spray painter by trade & works very long hours during the day so as you may imagine he doesn`t get "That" much time to get things done here... There was plenty of stuff up with the engine, stripped threads & the diff was locked up & ,,,well i won`t mention all of it,,, but there was lots,,,, But still we got it all running & after the last mini muster last year (it`s first real drive) it grabbed up the primary gear bush onto the crank (It`s a KG Engineering built engine) as it was about to be driven onto the dyno,,, obviously we didn`t dyno it & just took it home, so we stripped it down & fixed that, then shoved it back in only to find dramas with the gears all sticky & grabby etc,,, so we stripped it out again & ripped the box apart (see 6 speed dog box thread) down & had to "Make" a reverse gear selector lever & pin assy,,, so we did all that & shoved it all back together again & it was running all nice

so,,, it was time to test it out,,, Off to the Willow bank Autocross/dirt sprint track ,,, now i was going to run my V8 Kombi, but it`s going to need a new clutch very shortly so i decided not to & Stew offered me a drive in the sports sedan, so of course i was happy to accept

His first run was going to just be an exploritory run,,, just a shake down for both him & the car,,, hes a bit scared of this thing, it really is an animal of an engine & he also needed some time with getting used to the gears,,, 6 speed dog engagment box & hook first gear & yeah well it`s a bit of fun getting used to it

so that was all good,,, Stew came in shaking,,, all buzzing about the run, heaps of grunt, heaps of wheelspin tho,,, so we lowered the tyre pressures & it was then my turn,,,

I havn`t been on this track in a mini in over 10 yeas so i was glad to be back, ,,, off i go & it`s all wheel spin,,,settle it down & get some grip & into 2nd gear now,,, more wheel spin,,, ok thrid gear now & it`s not so much wheel spin anymore but revs are racing like it is wheelspin,,,, it`s the clutch,,,, dam it,,, the clutch is slipping,,,, & the more i drive it the more it slips

pull into the pits & sure enough there`s a fair bit of oil comming out of the clutch area

I`m suspecting that the primary seal has pushed out there is sooo much oil there

anyways, Stew has another run & we pack up cause it`s pointless to run it anymore,,, but,,, the other guys check the lap times & my 2nd run was 3rd outright (apparantly)

well,,, with the massivly slipping clutch & virtually no decent forward motion, just effctively cruising around, no power, no grip,,,& 3rd outright against all sorts of weapon rally cars like a pile of wrx`s , evo6&7s, mazda famillia 4x4 turbo , turbo corrollas, a gaggle of Datto 1600s, honda civics etc etc etc,,, Just about every type of hot rally car under the sun

well we`re pretty dam impressed Only the Evo7 & Cameron Freemans mazda famillia 4x4 turbo weapon beat me

New clutch within the next few weeks & we`re back to Willowbank to take the fastest time of the day

videos were taken & i`ll try to get ahold of some during the week

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Sounds like an awesome car to drive.
Maybe with a new clutch you might end up getting slower times due to increased wheel spin!

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'72 English Van...'72 Export Moke ...63' 850...KZ 750E1...'74 P76

ha ,,, yeah like automatic traction control you reckon???

nah,,, if i had some "go-Forward" ,,, well i would have "Gone-forward"

it has the tyre grip now,,, we lowered the pressures dramtically (dropped 20psi) & it has plenty of bite now & i`ve already driven round that track under 45 secs in my 1510 roady green "S" (Lap record at the time actually) so this thing of Stews will absolutely eat that i`m sure ,,, no , correct that--> I Know!!!

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Damn piss weak clutches. When I found that the clutches in my engs were slipping that was time to stop and look at the problem.

When I tested my engs I had the whole lot sitting in a subframe and the advantage was I could make the positon of the clutch against the flywheel.
Then put the box into 2nd gear and start the eng. Give it a few revs and start to apply the brakes and the rev the eng and jamb the brakes on.
I found that the clutch slipped when the revs were quickly increased then the clutch grabbed.
After about 10 mins testing the plate was cooked.

I destroyed 3 plates trying various mods to stop it ,but I came to the conclusion that it was time for a twin plate set-up.

Back to the drawing board.

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Research is the difference between speculation and investment. Anyone who copys some one else will always be second
www.minisprintgt.com

was this the blue mini out there yesterday?

What do you reckon causes this Matt, engine crankcase breathing not coping?

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

BigJobs,,, yeah the little blue one with the big flares & bonnet buldge

Mick , it`s just pushed a whole heap of oil passed the seal,,, the seal is still actually in there,,, we have the clutch & flywheel out now & will sort it all before the next meeting for sure... & no, there was absolutely no excess crank case pressure,,, if you saw the breathing system on this engine you`d understand that will "Never" be an issue

It`s more than likely the old seal that has been sitting fitted in this engine for approx 9 years ago,,, just sitting there,,, & we were stoopid enough not to change it when we did the gearbox,,, i should have,,, again (just like the turbo moke piston breakage) it`s all my fault

It`ll be sweet when it`s back together & we`ll go & have a stab at the fastest time of the day next time out there

OHH!!!!! & it was actually an EVO 9 that won don`t worry tho, we`ll get him

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Ok cheers matt, seals are better these days, but they're still not perfect..we've come a long way from leather strips..

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

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

hee hee,,, yeah thems were the days

ut i like leather whips & nipple clamps & ,,,oh!!! wrong site

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

hey matt whens the next meeting at willowbank and what time does it start might come down and check it out.

cheers dan

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Cheers Dan

FIRST COMES THE MONEY, THEN COMES THE POWER, THEN COMES THE WOMEN.!!

They pretty well have one every month, we may miss the next one because it clashes with the Morgan PK Histericals (Warwick) so we`ll be at the one after that (er...ar,, august meeting i spose it will be) You should come out & have a spin, In fact "Everyone" should come out ,,,they`re SOOOOooooooooooo much fun , fast & safe & cheap & great social event to boot, heaps of friendly people all just there having fun,,,, but there`s some fast cars too with strong competition,,, i`m keen to get my lap record back

Talking with the chief scruitineers there last sunday they said that all i need for my hillclimb special to run there is a set of mudguards, so i`ll be very keen to finish it off & have a run ,,, We have Stews clutch to finish off & he will be ready again,,, also Gary Farrels sports sedan mini is almost ready too,,, so we should have a gaggle of hot bricks racing there again soon

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

so..... no Byron trips for a while?

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hee hee , i`m going to Byron this friday

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I hate you

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Obviously you were there then,,, what car were you with or driving or what??? why didn`t you come & say hi? (or did you? )

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.