The previous owner had some hideous piece of copper bent up and screwed from the engine side into the big hole in the firewall (the one right behind the speedo that i think was where the factory rotisserie went)

i've got a roundie, is the metal plate that goes over this hole the same on leylands and roundies?

also can anyone post a pic of one... as i'm curios if the PO has played with the wiring just want to know what i should be aiming for to make it a bit more like it should be...

cheers

I'm not sure if the later roundies had them, but I know early 850s didn't have any metal cover. The centre speedo and binacle covered them up, and the wiring loom just goes in through the big open hole.

Are you refering to Morris or Rover roundies?

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Saxon Green 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=62641
Nightfire Red 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66555

Australian made minis didnt have the hole blanked of, only a firewall "blanket" was fitted to cover the hole up. Very late clubbies didnt have the hole at all. Rover minis have a plate fitted, I dont see why you cant fit one to a early car.
You can see the Rover cover in this pic.

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Have a Nice Day.
If already having a nice day please disregard.

My 68 deluxe had no plate.. I made a cover that fits from the inside. It's the same shape as the 3 instrument Mini K / Cooper S binnacle, and attaches with the same screws.

To allow room for the cabling I left the top part of the cover open to the engine bay. Will probably seal up the hole with some flash tac or some such. As it is though even with the gap for the cables, it is much quieter in the cabin.

I had made one up to mount on the outside of the firewall, but with the HIF44 on the minispares inlet, there was no room.

I can't get any photos at the moment as I'm overseas, sorry!

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tim
68 Deluxe 1293, HIF44, megajolt/EDIS4, daihatsu alternator..

'a mini is for life, not just for christmas!'

Is that Rover one square?

The two Leyland Minis (Van and S) I have have a similar looking plate over the holes,
and as said the '78 shell I've got has no holes, front or back.

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Saxon Green 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=62641
Nightfire Red 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66555

Now that I think about it, I belive later model clubmans had the same plate as the Rover, it was fitted before the body was painted so it is body colour. 77/78 clubbys had the hole deleated. And yes, the cover is square.

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Have a Nice Day.
If already having a nice day please disregard.

This is actually not correct, i have a 1975 Mini S, and it has the centre hole, the cover plate is a square shape. It looks different to the one in that pic.

I can take a photo if you like tomorrow, and yes it was attached before paint.

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Aussie Leyland, Aussie Factory, Aussie Mini S.

As stated earlier, roundnose Aussie minis had the hole open, but usually a sound deadening blanket fitted across the whole firewall.

It's well worth fitting the blanket, not only does it reduce noise it keeps water, fumes and dust away from the rear of the instruments, the wiring and the fuse box. Also makes the engine bay look nice and neat.

Precut blankets are available from Mini specialists.

One of the previous owners of my car had used part of a cardboard fruit box to cover the hole. Would have been interesting if it had ever fallen down onto the hot exhaust.

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68 Morris Cooper S Mk1 (*ex 78 1275 LS 4th last built, 70 Morris 1500 OHC & 70 MiniMatic)

You can see the blanket in this photo ('62 850)

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Saxon Green 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=62641
Nightfire Red 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66555

You can fit the Clubby plate to a roundy if you make a hole for the speedo cable, and redo the wiring to go through the grommet.

The guy who built the wife's S replica `Barney' (now owned by Cooper Matrikon) did this. He used an early Clubby speedo cable, through a hole in the firewall on LH side- this made it so the whole instrument binnacle could tilt back into the cabin once the 4 screws were undone. Very easy to work on.
The oil gauge line is plastic, so is flexible.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I made my own plate.



My mini came with a hacked up piece of aluminium covering the firewall hole. With the Weber it was difficult to change the air filter so i made this dished plate.

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- Simon -

Hi Simon do you have any pics of this installed. Curious how much room there is.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

Hi Simon do you have any pics of this installed. Curious how much room there is.

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

I shall take a photo tomorrow evening if i remember.

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- Simon -

thanks guys,

as usual i should have given some more detail

i think my car is a bitsa... 71K with morris style door handles, not lift ups.

my firewall is looking like the clubman ones i've seen as it's got the retained nuts for the square plate to attach to.

so if i run the blanket (just bought one) with a big open hole, are the fumes too horrendous? SWMBO is very sensitive to fumes and i'm taking my sweet time fixing the window regulator on the left door! i'm happy to run with just the blanket and the hole though....