Mini project

Introduction

I've always fancied a mini but wanted something more practical and with a bit more get up and go than a standard car. The ideal is therefore to end up with a mini van with a 6-point roll cage and a modern engine setup. There's been a lot of procrastination on what the ultimate setup should be, which you can read about here

Myrtle

I went some way down the subaru path, even purchasing a couple of engines and whilst I think that it's still a great potential I've realised it's not for me yet. First I need to get a bit of mini experience to work out which way I want to end up going. So I've bought a 1990 cooper that needs some work.

I've yet to pick up the car but it looks like there's some assembly work to be done, and the exhaust/induction/electrics need sorting before it can be driven. The bodywork sounds like it's in fair condition but sills, A-panels and wings all need replacing and the roof needs a respray. Given it has a current MOT all the cosmetic and non-structural stuff can wait.


19th Oct 2004

To date the manifolds, carb, throttle linkage, engine plumbing has all been sorted. As have new disks, calipers and brake pads. I've also splashed out on some alloy door furniture, gear knob and some new carpets. Along the way I've discovered a few annoyances though, the water pump leaks which needs replacing and the window winders are missing part of the mechanism, the steering column switchgear has had some abuse so I'm replacing the switches there as well. There's a few rust spots that need addressing but for now it's all been treated to some waxoyl and underseal. To make tuning easier I've also added in a hole in the exhaust to fit my wideband lambda sensor.

One of the aims of the project was to see if it was possible to get the car back on the road for under 1000 pounds and sourcing parts entirely via ebay. Unfortunately I need a couple of oil seals that aren't available on ebay which is a pain, I've also splashed out on a bargain Safety Devices roll cage. Whilst this does in theory put me slightly over budget I'm not really counting it as a) I didn't need it and b) it would be foolish to scrimp on an item that greatly enhances the safety of the occupants. For the sake of the £1000 target I'm going to exclude the cage but it's still going to be touch and go whether I can do it within the budget.

Flip fronting: Using audi 80 boot hinges you can create a top flopping front end, hinging where the bonnet.


1st February 2005

Welding is pretty much complete now it ended up being a lot more than I'd originally planned but I couldn't bear to leave any rusty bits behind. The list of new panels has ended up as:

I've fitted a megajolt ignition system which gives me a full 3D mappable ECU. I've written a piece about it for the IME which I've copied onto the Megajolt page.

1st April 2005

Interior is back in, front end is mounted and sprayed up, roof has been repainted. Unfortunately a few problems cropped up along the way: a dodgy wiper motor, a leaky heater and a self destructing clutch slave cylinder - all of which combined to cause me to cancel the MOT. As a result of this I decided to take a bit of time out and convert the car back to fuel injection, partly because I can but largely because it gives me a level of control that I just can't get from the SU.

27th August 2005

She's all finished!

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Chris Good