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Ive kept the originals, but I need bigger brakes for track days hence bigger wheels. Colour will be getting changed after show season too, I will be dipping them too!
Mini is a rover mini mayfair on a g plate, an eBay impulse buy for the wife lol, needs a resto
its been a while since i posted here, during which time, ive decided to give the old girl a bit of a resto. although she was driving brilliantly, it did have an issue changing down into fourth, syncro i suspect. so shes now in my unit, and ive been doing bits and pieces as and when i can.
seeing as i was taking the gearbox out, i figured i may as well take the lump out also, get it checked out by a pro, gaskets stem sills etc, the usual.
turns out its actually got a 200 block, and 2wd head. bonus!
it also has
rs500 intercooler
turbo intercooler
air injection
3 bar map sensor
it is a t34 (i have learnt alot since my earlier posts lol)
and many other goodies. i whipped the cam cover off too, and its got the arp stud and nut kit. will be sending it somewhere for some love soon, tempted to long stud it etc, go for over 400 hp and beyond.
turbo has slight play in, so that will be off for a rebuild, or sold/swapped for a t38, or any other recommendations?
any who, engine box out, i stripped the interior as i knew of a couple of little patches that needed doing, a penny hole in the foot well, and found two similar sized holes in the tunnel. thats all ive found for now, but im yet to uncover the sills, and i know from my past experience with the escorts, they are never in great shape!
lastly, i spent a few hours on it today, removed most of the bits and bobs from the engine bay, then the prop, rear sub frame, diff and suspension etc. all of which is pretty clean, although im going for mint, so it will all have a good clean before going back on.
ive decided to fully restore the underside, mad not to as its all out, so ive bit the bullet and purchased a rolling jig! it looks a great piece of kit, il take pics when it arrives at the end of the week, ive bought attachments for the wifes mini too so that can go on the jig once the saphs done
Thats what I thought mate, but when I tried flipping the shell, I almost broke my arm, took everything I had to stop it spinning. A mate managed to get the pin in to stop it, but the pin started bending too! So I had to ratchet strap it back to level. I'l get some more pics of it tomorrow
Thats what I thought mate, but when I tried flipping the shell, I almost broke my arm, took everything I had to stop it spinning. A mate managed to get the pin in to stop it, but the pin started bending too! So I had to ratchet strap it back to level. I'l get some more pics of it tomorrow
Do you have the MK2 mania jig ?
I had the same problem and it's all about the balance point.
Use the middle hole on the angle iron cross bar to raise / set the height and use the threaded adjuster to set balance point
It will spin easily with the doors on.
Just make sure that if you take one door off, take all of them off as it screws the balance
Edit to add second pic showing a better view of jig - ignore the old git with the spray gun !
It was a total nightmare getting the car high enough, i purchased a winding mech from the jig suppliers, what a waste of money! used an engine hoist in the end!
Always wondered about Jigs. How do you adjust the body to get the correct angle, is it just a case of 'knocking' it into shape?
Martin
With the MK2 Mania jig, you set the balance point with the threaded bar and the angle you want to work at with a spring loaded plunger that locates in the holes drilled on the central disc.
With the MK2 Mania jig, you set the balance point with the threaded bar and the angle you want to work at with a spring loaded plunger that locates in the holes drilled on the central disc.
Yeah i use the same jig.
I would advise not to go all the way round it might take your limbs off.
Only a short and frustrated update, the shell is still not sitting right and is causing stress to the points where the jig is fixed. After spending all morning fucking about ive now got the maker of the jig coming down on Saturday. I jut want to crack on with the resto now!
Well the jig Man came today, true to his word he stayed all day until we got the job done! Between us we got it set up and balanced better, made some modifications to the brackets, tested my welding skills (holy shit, I can weld!) and shes sitting pretty now.
Hell was massively top heavy still, so he even stayed to help take the doors off, which meant also stripping parts of the dash away. Got finished around 5pm, so hats off to Tom from handling solutions in Hertfordshire, top bloke! Some pics to be added. And now I can crack on ith the underside! Found some rust but im suprised at just how good a condition this shell is in! Just a bit of crut on the sills and a couple of holes
This bit is easy to fix invisibly with a steel plate after you've cut open the outer sill - do all the welds from behind and don't bother putting the random hole back in unless you are dead set on originality
i used the same spit stu and i never trusted it tbh ,car felt too heavy for it
It did mate, but the alterations we made, has really made a difference. Feels a lot more solid now. That said, I still wouldnt want to 360 it, doubt I could hold its weight still. My arms still hurting from the last time!
Cheers phill, I only plan on doing it once, so its being done right!
spent a bit of time on the car today, it seems that every time ive gone to my unit with the intention of working on the saph, i end up shifting stuff around and organising the hoard of escort and sapphire parts ive amassed! its finally looking sorted up there now, so today i got the dash out. its in really good condition for its age, but then the car is generally.
so clean!
gearbox will be next to be put on a pallet and taken for a rebuild. its a bit crunchy from 5th into 4th, sometimes needing to be slipped into 3rd first. been told its the syncro, we shall see! on the look out for an uprated gearbox if anybody sees or knows of one
engine is now on a pallet and, bar a bit of shrink wrap and carpet for protection, its ready to go the engine expert of my choice!
Thats it for now. next on the list is the loom out, then petrol tank off. ive decided to have the underside stripped back by a company called the dustless blasting co. look them up, their work is amazing! this is why i am now taking the dash and loom etc out. worth it though, and the underside will be mint once finished, i wont be doing all of this twice!
Most of the loom is out now, just the fuse box to un bolt. Then the tank to take off, and its ready for the dustless blasting guy on the 30th. il take before and after pics of the process
There a place in croydon who done my engine. One stop shop, he does all his own machining, very good attention to detail ex clubman rally driver still has his escort group A cosworth.
There a place in croydon who done my engine. One stop shop, he does all his own machining, very good attention to detail ex clubman rally driver still has his escort group A cosworth.
