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#1
07-19-2009, 11:41 PM
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Tink
Well.. the madness has begun. I've been doing some pretty major things to get this car cleaned up and in running order. So it's time to start a garage. Tink is my 1989 Classic Mini. 30th anniversary. I've got some serious plans for this car, but a serious lack of cash flow right now, so it's going to be a long process.
I'll throw in the posts from my other thread describing my progress. Specs: 1989 Austin Mini 30 998cc stock motor black on black (full premium trim) Mods: Motor: 998cc Stock motor (Ported head) LCB Header Freshly cleaned and ported 998 head for a true stage 2 tuning Front mount secondary radiator (only when needed) 123 Electronic Ignition system with Bosch 3ohm coil 8mm plug wires w/ silver plugs PlayMINI 2.5inch exhaust with 3 inch outlet. KAD Short Shift Super 2Core Aluminum Radiator Mocal 13 row oil cooler Suspension: 13x7 Charcoal Superlites SRacer adjustable Hi-Lo suspension (currently running very lo haha) SRacer Track/road springs and perches all around Adjustable rear camber plates GAZ adjustable short body shocks 8.4" Disk brakes Poly mounts for the entire front end and the rear. Full race adjustable lower control arms Adjustable tie rods. Others: MOMO steering wheel Stereo Delete (Because Racecar) battery interrupter switch Custom boot trim panels to clean things up HID Projector Retrofit with Acura TL BiXenons. Sportspack arches 3 gauge dash with tach and holes for 3 aux. gauges. Flat black bonnet stripes (Made by hand) Tinted Windows (big whoop, right? lol) WiPac 4-driving lights (Not Currently on) Mods to come: Upgraded alternator Tow Hooks (Yes, I intend to track the car) Stuff I have that's not on the car yet: I've got a 1275 motor about to be bored to a 1380cc And most likely a custom trailer for a car as low as mine. haha 
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"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit." Last edited by MtyMous; 07-30-2012 at 06:42 AM.. 
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#2
07-19-2009, 11:42 PM
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and pics!
 all we want are pics...
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#3
07-19-2009, 11:44 PM
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First.. There was an INTENSE oil leak. I'm talking a quart every 1-2 weeks. So I figured it was coming from the most likely place. That's where the shift linkage goes into the gear box. So I got under the car (no small undertaking in that alone) and dismantled the linkage. I pulled the fist seal out expecting to see the proper metal seal behind it. To my surprise there was another rubber seal stuffed behind the first one. This is a common quick fix, but when the seal behind it looks as though a dog had been chewing on it for a week. I put the CORRECT seals in there and re-connected all the linkage but there was still a decent oil leak. Yeah. About 3/4 of what the leak was before. So troubleshooting was the next step.
So I figured out what I knew HAD to be the main cause. I could literally watch oil slowly dripping out of the output shaft from the differential on the passenger side of the car. I bought 2 seals and replaced both sides. Well. If you didn't know, a Classic Mini's oil is on a shared system. The oil in the engine is the lube for the gearbox as well. So in order to do the whole thing I had to drain the oil anyway. So I couldn't really tell at this point if I had truly fixed the oil leak. I put it back together and took the chance to grease the pot joints and the hub bearings. Tightened everything to spec, filled it with oil and called it a day. Well one day the car had overheated and spewed some water while out on a drive (This is why I carry a gallon of distilled water) and so I had to limp it home and find the problem. I couldn't duplicate the problem, but I know it wasn't coming from the radiator, the cap, the overflow, or the upper radiator hose. So.. I ordered a lower hose ( Kevlar reinforced ) just to be safe as it's the only hose really on the car that is custom molded and couldn't be bought from a hardware store. I pulled the radiator, the lower and upper hose, the fan, water pump pulley, and the water pump. No CLEAR sign of the problem, but the lower hose had a few small cracks that could give way under pressure. So I sprayed some degreaser on the radiator and sprayed some water lightly on the thing to try and get out any dirt and debris left in it.. a significant amount of dirt and bugs came out that I couldn't even see before. I flushed the inside once with tap water, once with Vinegar and water, and once more with tap water. I plan to flush the block in the same way and run it with no thermostat while doing so. Anyway.. While I had it all pulled apart I went ahead and replaced the bypass tube on the water pump with a Kevlar reinforced piece as well. Well... I put a new gasket on it and a little gasket sealer. I placed it back in place, but the alternator bracket was in the way, and the timing cover doesn't leave much room for correction. Somehow I ended up slipping the gasket JUST slightly enough to get a slow leak. Under pressure, a slow leak can turn into a fountain. So.. I ordered 2 more gaskets... just in case.. and the plan was to just pull the whole system again and put it in. So while I've been waiting I am keeping myself busy with the little things. I've been testing the paint to see how it responds to some buffing and polishing, but I'm thinking the car has been Maaco'd... Great so it seems that I have a DECENT at best one stage job on the car. Anyway. I've been playing with electronics and charging system a bit. Cleaned up the oxidized lights and tried to clean the windshield.. well. The windshield is pretty much shot. It's oxidized, pitted, and etched, and it seems that the laminate is starting to give around the base. Awesome.. Basically got stuck with nothing more to do than play with the Audio. Before, the rear 6x9's were in individual wedges unsecured under the rear seat... not workin for me. So I built a fascia for them to secure to under the seat and cut up the old boxes to make little enclosures for each of them attached to the face plate. Works great, but I discovered that there's a problem with the wiring in the head unit. The rear speakers are connected correctly, but the head unit doesn't play through them... awesome. All of this and now I'm sitting here waiting for UPS to bring me my crap tomorrow. So I was browsing on one of my forums and found a guy selling a couple windshields, a high flow water pump, and about 6 other things I could REALLY use. The windshield is a perfect fit for my year, the water pump will help flow more water for my cooling issue, the ball joint repair kit will get good use on the driver side of my car, the temp sending unit is nice because I'm not so sure about the one in it (factory and was kind of corroded) and a set of polyurethane stabilizer bushings which... well.. every bushing on the car needs to be replaced and I'll be going Poly. So.. this is awesome. All of this and more Is on this guy's list, but it's like $650 worth of parts. NO WAY I can afford all of it. Well. Apparently he sold his mini and it's all spare parts and he just wants them gone. I shot him an offer, and guess what.. I'm picking it all up tomorrow for less than a third of the price... pretty awesome deal. 2 windshields to boot. haha. So tomorrow will be a GREAT day to be a mini owner at my house. This means that tonight, the whole cooling system gets pulled again in preparation for the new high flow water pump and other goodies. Oh.. and the oil leak is fixed and I have the house to myself for a week... I'm having a pretty great week. haha
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"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit."
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#4
07-19-2009, 11:50 PM
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Quote:
__________________
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit."
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#5
07-20-2009, 02:58 AM
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Wow, we really need pictures!
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#7
07-20-2009, 09:32 AM
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Lol. Photo Shoot tomorrow. I'll post some before and after pics of the detailing session, too if the pics tun out alright.
__________________
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit."
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#8
07-21-2009, 12:23 AM
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Pics as promised. Funny thing is, all of these locations are about 1/4 mile from my house. lol
     
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"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit."
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#12
07-21-2009, 06:54 PM
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Thanks guys. I've been doing a LOT of work lately to this car. It's finally getting a bit close to a reliable DD and fun weekend car. The Stance of the car is awesome for the most part, but there is absolutely no adjustability. The only real adjustment is toe... that's it. The suspension is not springs. It's actually rubber doughnut shaped things called cones. They are the spring in the suspension. Only problem is that when they wear out, that wheel will begin to droop.. my right front is drooping. this raises the left rear, and throws off the suspension geometry. So I'll be buying a coil conversion and ride adjustment setup. Then I'll be changing out the other suspension components (Upper and lower control arms) to get a fully adjustable suspension. I'm going with a stiffer road/track spring to allow me to do some road racing in the future.
Here's a picture of the oiginal suspension and the kit I'm getting. Original Dunlop cones  Road/rally spings  Adjustable suspension components   And then some adjustable shocks just because I can. haha  Don't be fooled. These components may look normal size, but they're in the same tiny proportions as the car itself. One thing's for certain... this little problem needs to be taken care of before the bears get to me.
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"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit." Last edited by MtyMous; 07-21-2009 at 06:59 PM..
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#13
07-31-2009, 06:12 AM
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Ok. SO I have a spare wheel/tire, the battery, and I keep a jumper box in there. The car came with a big bulky subwoofer and amp also and I'd like to do away with having them just rustling around in the boot loosly. I plan to keep some minor tools in the ca, but generally.... I want to clean it up. I want to just take out the full sized spare all together. I figure I'll only be doing city driving, and everything in town is about 6 minutes from my house, so if I do get a flat, I can have my girlfriend give me a ride to the house to get the spare. So... with that said, I want to mount the amp on the lower side of the parcel shelf above everything and out of view. It will breathe and keep it out of sight. Then make a smaller box for the 10" subwoofer. It'll sit on top of the false floor I'm gonna build and somehow get secured there. Then I'll have an access panel for the battery, and drill a little hole for the battery cutoff switch.
In the end I want it to look a LOT like the picture below, but I'll have the sub sitting on top, and access for the battery (Also covered in carpet and not really noticeable. 
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"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit." Last edited by MtyMous; 07-31-2009 at 06:19 AM..
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#14
07-31-2009, 06:24 AM
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I love it, sweet looking car.
I'd really like to get a classic.
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Rick. 
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#15
07-31-2009, 06:33 AM
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Quote:
55mpg? Yes, please.
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"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're gonna see some serious shit."
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| classic, mini, modern, restoration, tink |
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