'81 Mini Clubman Estate

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KLAS
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by KLAS »

there is a specific closing panel for this hole, formed to give lots of clearance at the lower edge. im sure i have one in usable condition, will take a look later.
ehb
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by ehb »

KLAS wrote:there is a specific closing panel for this hole, formed to give lots of clearance at the lower edge. im sure i have one in usable condition, will take a look later.
I've read about this panel, but couldn't find a part number for it? Well, I'm satisfied with what I have now. Nonetheless I would be interested how it's supposed to look like!

Couldn't do much these past days, except for cutting up the Y- and flex-piece and welding them together:
CIMG4357.small.JPG
Seems to fit, albeit close to the gear lever mechanics.
KLAS
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by KLAS »

is looks like this. but ignore the cut top left, i had to free it to fit a center speedo without removing the full loom
Image
ehb
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by ehb »

Thanks Klas! Interesting panel, but I'll stick to mine for now.
Note to others: Klas couldn't find a replacement part # either, so it seems it has always been a non-available part.

I've finished the exhaust, replacing the larger pipe with a 45 mm one. The old pipe had been rotated lengthwise to somehow fit, but hung much lower (3 cm or so) than the new system. Now the entire system sits much more snugly in the tunnel.
CIMG4359.small.JPG
The new pipe was very precisely round, however just didn't fit with its 45.4 mm actual diameter. :?
Turned it down to 44.9something mm and reused the formerly cut-off collar from the flex piece at the existing first muffler.
CIMG4363.small.JPG
My beautiful wind chimes, ready to be painted.
CIMG4364.small.JPG
Unfortunately I discovered some ugly rust around the brake booster, caused by leakage. I guess a repair set is in order, if not even a new servo. Will have to investigate. :(
CIMG4367.small.JPG
I re-fitted the carb and there is now a comfy cm between air filter. Looks like it's going to be fine.
CIMG4371.small.JPG
So hopefully tomorrow I can fire it up, drive it outside and give it a wash.
Next would be driving it onto the pit at my brothers place and fixing up some rust and dents in the floor. Looks like it had been improperly jacked up lots of times... :roll: I'm thinking about adding some beefy and obvious reinforcements in proper places so that any car lift operator doesn't need to listen to and ignore instructions.

Have a good night everyone.
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Fred
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by Fred »

2 tips:

1) Paint the jacking points an obvious colour
2) Don't let others work on your car at all

2 works well for me :-)

Most of mine have seen jacking damage, though. Really annoying. Nothing to do about the previous passage of time, though. Fix or ignore and move on.
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KLAS
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by KLAS »

according to this i'm sure a lot of Minis never where lifted correctly even once
Image

image found at http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=93289
ehb
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by ehb »

Fred wrote:1) Paint the jacking points an obvious colour
2) Don't let others work on your car at all
The first one is actually a really good idea! I'm thinking about powder coating the gearbox-protector (where the oil pan of a "normal" engine would be) in red anyway. More red elements from below would look nice. :) (oops, the ricer in me)
The second one kind of duh :P, because sometimes there's no choice... if our TÜV decides to lift it up, they're going to do it. But yeah, thanks. ;)
KLAS wrote:according to this i'm sure a lot of Minis never where lifted correctly even once
So sad. :(

Unfortunately, the lift points as shown in Klas's picture aren't reachable with every lift. At least that has been my experience.
I'd like to have some sturdy points on the chassis at the inner ends of the wheel arches instead of the sub-frame, but need to have a closer look if it's feasible. Would be handy too in case the sub-frame would need to be lowered (one possible way to remove the engine).

Yesterday I shoved it to the entrance of the garage, checked if everything should be in order, turned the ignition and .. realized the battery was dead (which even was my fault).
Well, today, I drove it outside and washed it. Forgot to take a picture. Sounds and runs pretty alright, with a new gasket under the manifolds. Didn't drive a lot though, as no license plates.
The freshly paint on the exhaust didn't smoke as much as I thought it would, so burning them in with a heat gun is advisable.

Things to do before TÜV:
- Replace left steering boot
- Add another place for hanging up the exhaust
- Remove play from gear lever
- Mount start engine button
- Put a bolt into the lower front engine mount (missing!)
- Adjust suspension a little higher, a little softer
- Find squeaking noise coming from the rear suspension
- Remove carpet, clean carpet, nicely mount carpet
ehb
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by ehb »

Coffee break...
Remember kids, safety third!
CIMG4379.small.JPG
I did put some wooden blocks under it now though... ;) And I'm using the official jacking points!

Order list:
- Steering tie rods
- Wishbone bushings
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Fred
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by Fred »

I stole your photo fair and square, FYI!
DIYEFI.org - where Open Source means Open Source, and Free means Freedom
FreeEMS.org - the open source engine management system
FreeEMS dev diary and its comments thread and my turbo truck!
n00bs, do NOT PM or email tech questions! Use the forum!
The ever growing list of FreeEMS success stories!
ehb
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Re: '81 Mini Clubman Estate

Post by ehb »

You're shameless, aren't you?
Don't count the chickens before they're hatched, I say! It's still too many moons away, I fear. :(
But yes, some time... :)
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