So the people, I though I would make a thread on here all about my micra engine powered mini most of the posts will be copied across from the mini forum as I have a long standing blog on there also!
Ooh comment already it's an interesting read with two fires added for fun!
I won't put the mini restoration on here but just the engine conversion part
March 2014 post to uploaded soon
Ohs what's that I hear you say, a micra???
With one of these bad boys inside
I also got a actual saxo tho if anyone cares about French cars
So my new plan is ditch the a series for now keep the engine however for another time as it's a desirable metro gta engine
I chose the micra engine conversion as it's not hugely commen but reaps economy over power gains so while the mini is running with the micra inside Ill have some spare cash for lovely things!
So I've done some shopping
I'm ditching the brake servo to make more space, plus mine leaks so I won't miss it
Tidied the man cave ready for some fun
Stripped the engine ancillaries
Bought this manly beast (planning to sell it afterwards if anyone's interested
It's quite compact too which is handy as my garage isn't the biggest
Stripped the suspension
Driveshafts and hubs out
Time to bring on the crane
Out she be coming putting up a fight the entire way, noooooo she cried haha
Hanging around
And back on the floor
Time to remove the subframe
Subframe out
Poor beasty looking sorry for herself
Rolled her outside with great difficulty and she's now up on bricks
And there's the micra in the garage ready for round two
So as you can see I have been doing bits and bobs
If anyone is interested I've got the specalist components trigger wheel and sensor bracket up for sale as it won't fit on the micra
Hope I get some comments and if anyone got any tips for removing the micra engine they will sure come in handy,
Many thanks, hope this update is enjoyable
Lawrence
Engine in the micra stripped out ready for removal
It took me about 4 hours to remove everything. Half the bolts snapped! Soo annoying
Garage once the micra engine was out and the car rolled out
Micra left out on the road
Mini up on blocks, poor car looks so dejected sat there
Garage all arranged ready for some fabrication
I've got landrover engine mounts in the post and picked up £25 worth of steel to start making the custom front subframe up
I've also got a new lcb and my old one to fabricate the new exhaust manifold from. This afternoons aim will be crack on with the exhaust and get that done by this evening and if I finish that Ill make a start on the subframe
Cheers mini moke, it would be nice to have a bigger garage but hey Ho I'll have to make do with what I've got
Update from the Friday just gone
I've started fabricating the exhaust manifold for the k11, got it all modeled on the mini lcb so I can still fit standard mini exhausts in the future, it's made of two lcbs morphed together
Now all tacked together and starting to look like an exhaust
Picked up my steel
Crane bought out again to see where I need to cut
Reinforcement bar welded to the turrets to make up for the hole that will appear to clear the micra diff
Frame continued
Next update of the micra mini then
Made a start on the subframe got the first side done and cut out
And the other side
Engine fits which is always a winner!
Pretty snug on the drivers side
I had to trim around where the passengers side inner cv is to give it some clearance
And it's nice and level sitting in the frame also
It will clear the bonnet, I've got about an inch clearance when I measured it
And I've trimmed the original front of the frame to clear the exhaust which I've yet to finish welding up
Carbs, engine frame completion and first trial fit
Well then people, I think it's time for the next update, it's three days of work
Day one!
Bike carbs have arrived got them at a good price too which is nice
Started on the front engine mounts. It's difficult to think where to put them that will be stable and strong yet you can still undo the bolts!
Closeup of the ps one
Close up of the ds one
And the rear mount
I chose those positions because they are the most out of the way of anything, plus they are using the standard mounting points the micra used so should be strong enough
Day two
Engine hovering in the air
It's trial fit time
Had to trim the lower leg to get more clearance
And there we are, mr engine tucked into mini.
It took me almost and hour the get the engine into the car without damaging the car (doing all this on my own)
I decided to trim most of the inner wings, I know physically it can be got away with but it's going to mean most work to do on the car will be an engine out job. I'm also going to make the front slam panel removable so she's easier to work on
Exhaust trial fitment and everything clears
Carbs in their rough position
Tightest part
So that's day two. I got the frame in the car and the mounts on the engine, bits and bobs need trimming but nothing too drastic which is nice onwards to day three
Day three
Engine and frame back out again for final welding and strengthening
Engine mounts beefed up
Tacked together the lower leg on the left
Frame in primer
Frame painted
And frame back in the car, scratched everywhere which is mildly annoying
And voila engine back in the car
So that's day three
In conclusion folks the engine is now solidly mounted in the subframe, everything clears and lines up nicely.
Next update will be alternator and intake manifold based. I'm intending to use the standard nissan alternator and use the manifold that came with the carbs, it just needs a trim first of course
Hope you all like this update
Feel free to comment
Lawrence
So people, next update today I've been cracking on with the cluch, inlet manifold and gear shifter
Also finished primering the bulkhead
Bit of cheeky radiant red for the rocker cover
Bulkhead painted and bits and pieces put back In place, all looking pretty awesome tbh
Plenty of clearance between the carbs and brake master cylinder
Not so much for the bonnet, looks like a bonnet scoop may be in order
New rad position also
Made a start in the clutch
Tacked together and working nicely
Clutch arm removed for final welding
Inlet manifold fully welded up
So people, thankyou all for your comments, they are very helpful
In regard to the engine mounts, I've since strengthened the rear one but when I change to the 1275 micra engine I'll redevelop it again
Alternator bracket redesigned, thanks for spotting this out people.
Radiator steady fabricated
Carbs fully plumbed in, all cable and fuel pipes connected
In regards to tuning the carbs l jones, I've left the manifold bare metal for the time being and is bonded to the block with just instant gasket so I can remove and adjust the angle if needs be, however the engine is running sweetly at the moment so I think I may get away with the angle they are at, I've got my fingers crossed but I do have room to adjust the carb angle if needs be
Trigger wheel fitted nicely
It's using the specalist components mini trigger wheel and boss, it fits nicely to the micra hub with a penny washer to align it up
Cleaned up my brake disks
Driveshafts have also now been sent off, hopefully should be finished some time next week so I can out the hubs and wheels back together
Lower radiator steady made, rubber lined to protect the rad, nice clearance all round too
Rad leaked
Had to take it all apart and find out why, my soldering was fine but some bolts I used were too long and went into the cores, stupid me, all soldered up and fixed now, rad no longer leaks!
Exhaust welded up and fitted, looks awful but the flows good, I'll change it for a k series when I get a 1275 micra engine
Sorted out the coolant hoses and connectors
Mini part fitted to give me a nice angle to work with for the coolent system
Another pic of the finished exhaust
Megajolt system all fitted, all wiring soldered, heat shrank and covered in expandable braiding so looks well tidy
Starter motor all wired in also
New washer fluid reservoir and pump, fitted in the wing out of the way
Gear shifter mechanism sorted and shortened
Megajolt plug given a home
Megajolt fitted
And as I left her today
So that's the update for the last few weeks
Ignition - done just needs mapping
Cooling - done
Clutch - done
Misc wiring - one day one and then will be done
Driveshafts - once picked up and fitted will be done
So that's my update
Not sure when the next will be as I'm back to college next week so really need to concentrate, conversion will be finished by the end of this month I hope!
Feel free to comment
Lawrence
First engine broken
So then people, there has been a lack of updates
First off I've finished the gear shifter and put the centre console back in, it's modded to give me a shorter shift too which is nice
However on the first warm up run I seem to have gained a bit of an oil leak/petrol leak from the engine
Pulled the plugs
Exhaust showing a mix of oil and petrol
Oil in the combustion chamber
So engine out
Started to cleanup the brake calipers ready for painting and new hoses
Engine dismantled, oil everywhere, valve stem seals have gone
New tap and die set
Polished up the cylinder head, only took 4 hours! Gunna paint the block and gearbox black so should look nice
Contemplating buying this
But that's all I'm afraid, ordered a new exhaust manifold as I don't like mine and some wrap also so that in the post waiting to come through
Trouble is I need a new gasket set which is£40 and a valve spring compressor which is another £50 and I have no money ATM
Progress will happen again when I get more cash
Engine back together and back in the mini, new exhaust made also
Engine all retimed and back together
Inlet painted and new gaskets fitted
New exhaust made, as everyone who came and looked at the car pointed out the crappy DIY one!
Garage tidied and engine ready to return to car
Engine and gearbox painted up
Engine bay tidied up again
Dropped it in
I've been cracking on with he brake lines however and they are now all done
So that's the front brake lines all sorted, they are all wrapped in insulating rubber and then polyester braiding due to the small tolerances through the areas they have to go through.
Brake callipers were painted also and will be rebuilt with new hoses etc sometime this week
Hope you all like this update
Lawrence
Between June and July 2014 I roller painted most of the car. Also did various mini related things which I ahvent transfered from my mini forum blog
End of July 2014. First movement by own power, exhaust system shown in full with variable valve video also
My photos are all nicely uploaded
Exhaust tip position finalised
Undercar shot
Exhaust manifold being finished off
Y piece being modded for flexi pipe so give the exhaust system some movement
Rear silencer section fully welded
Qtp exhaust valve fitted and exhaust system mocked up on the drive
Exhaust fitted
I changed the centre pipe part of the exhaust shown on the driveway picture for a single straight through pipe to make a tidier job of it all
Rolled her out of the garage for a mini photoshoot
The exhaust system is a 4/2/1 system, k series manifold modded to the micra exhaust flanges and then modded to a mini lcb y piece which is the welded to a flexi pipe in the middle of the mini lcb y piece for some flexibility. Keeping the mini y piece will allow me to fit standard mini exhaust, such as rc40, maniflow system etc.
I chose a 1 3/4 straight through pipe going to two 90deg bends then to a stainless silencer from ebay, end exhaust diameter of 2inches.
I chose 1 3/4 as that's what the rc40 on my a series 1275 performed best at, the micra 998 should put out the same bhp approximately therfore I chose the same diameter system.
The electronic exhaust valve will be linked to megajolt so when the car is at certain higher revs (3500 plus for example it will open) I doubt it'll add any power but it'll sound pretty cool!
Hope everyone likes this update
Two more jobs to do for her then I can think about insurance and driving her
>front brakes need bleeding efficiently! going to get a gunson easy bleed kit next pay day
>fix the slight oil leak from the timing chain gasket
We'll today started well, got the exhaust manifold all nicely wrapped up
Fitted it all back up completely forgetting that the petrol pipe was leaking
Engine backfired popping the carburettors off the manifold and ignited the petrol pissing from the carbs resulting in 3 foot flames in the engine bay
So I grabbed the fire extinguisher From the car and put it all out
Mini is completely fine thank god but covered in the powder everywhere
Source of the fire
So I've packed her away for now as that powder is causing me to cough loads
So on the shopping list is petrol resistant silicone hoses for the carb to manifold connection and new petrol pipe connectors between the carbs, gunna get them made from milled aluminium so this mistake does not happen again!
Kinda rubbish update to be honest but at least I didn't get hurt !
Lawrence
Tinkering with the interior
So guys I've done a few bits to the mini
Got an easibleed kit and the brakes are now sorted
Work needed on the inside
Too many different colours
Got some blue LEDs
Fitted the speakers in properly
Before
After
More LEDs
Before
After
During the day
Dials
All sorted during the day
And at night
I have to admit it looks pretty awesome
New grill
Mini update as expected, I've taken apart and got my carbs sonically cleaned, new seals all round
They are now fitted I just need to finish off the air filter setup
Made a new grill the other week
Before
After
Also a few parts arrived like my temperature sensor module for the thermostatic fan as well as my automatic lights module.
Currently I am tidying up the wiring behind the dash. May make a start on the megajolt shift light
Cheers Grahama, in all honesty I'm not happy with how the brake pedal feels, however I have changed from servo to no servo so it may be down to that. All the nipples etc bled fine however
So people I've been doing bits and bobs. Mostly wiring
Sorted out all the front lighting
Automatic lights now come on at dusk too
The red you can see ontop of the carbs is a k&n filter that I cut up and flattened, possibly not the most ideal but should filter some air and looks pretty awesome
And a photo of how she is now
And my last note is that I got a quote to insure her this evening £318 from flux direct!
So to conclude once the carb jets are drilled she will be ready for the road Barr a few small bits that I can do when she's working. The need for rushing the last part is that I need to move house in 9days! So if she's not on the road it'll mean trailering her 15miles!
So guys time for another update of the past few weeks
On the trailer to go to my parents
In new home
Washed
Retro fitting reversing sensors
Fitted
My helper
Fitted
Working
Ready for some engine work to fix the oil leak
Refrence pics for me
Found the source of the problem!
Feeler gauge showing gap in gasket
For the time being I've plugged the hole with some instant silicone gasket, thought I'd give it a try as I've got nothing to loose
There will be another update soon once I've uploaded my photos
Feel free to comment
Lawrence
Saxo fixing, headgasket change and intermittent cat photos
Had to do some more work in the daily
She was blowing around the silencer welds and it was breaking up along the folded seam
So I did what any man with a welder would do
Woo straight though!
New mats for saxo
New gear knob
Now before anyone says stop spending money on the French car if I do the little things to her now she'll be worth more! So more money for mini then!
Back to mini
Need to weld a small hole in the petrol tank
No photo of it welded unfortunately. I shall be buying a square race tank when funds allow
And with the oily bits. Gasket repair didn't work
So off with its head!!! Haha
Wayyyy past just sealing there!
New gasket!
Didn't take a picture of it one built up for some reason, but it's back together
Oil topped up too
New bluetooth head unit fitted
The sound quality is really good now I've got some speaker in the dash
New temp gauge and ebay special fuel pump
Learning new skills today
Soldering brass to copper
The brass bung is for the temp gauge
Where it goes
Drilled and ready for flux and solder
And sorted
Looks almost factory!
Very happy with that
So that's my updates from today!
Great news is that the engine keeps at a steady temp of just over 80 deg c at idle which is bang on what the Haynes says!
Turning on the aux fan rapidly lowers it to 50 so I think she's going to be fine on the cooling side of things!
I shall be posting a video in the technical problems tommorow tho as I have a problem
Feel free to comment, they are always appreciated
Lawrence
Well people, today had been very productive
The engine is fooked unfortunately!
But not broken enough so I can't fix it!!!
Basically this happened
The reason the engine refused to start, even with easy start was that the valves on the inlet size of the cylinder head we not moving at all. This became instantly obvious on removal of the valve cover!
At the end of the cam there should be a small metal peg to locate the cam, this has somehow broken and disappeared meaning the engine was never going to start
Drive to Hainford hall (nearest scrapyard) yielded me with a second hand hand inlet cam from a low mileage auto micra for a whole £12!
So guys time for today's update, I only managed to do a half day as I did a part night last night
Let's start off with this photo
That's the end of the carb fuel feed pipe, yep it broke off, for the 3rd time! Brittle old plastic is to blame I think. Last time I bought spare carbs to steal the petrol feed pipes from, this time I'm doing something more permanent!
I went on a journey to a machinists nearby to hunt for some 10mm brass rod, I chose brass over steel as although I can weld due to the size of this part soldering will be easier. Rod cost a whole pound!
Extremely technical drill setup to drill out the centre of the rod with a 5mm bit
This is the piece I am trying to replicate in brass
Hollowed out piece of brass in hi tech lathe (aka drill mounted in vice)
Groove was then made using a combination of metal files and a chisel, hole drilled in middle for t piece
Hole being drilled
Ready to be soldered, clamped together to keep everything straight
And soldered, then lightly filed to remove excess solder then given a going over with a wire brush
And the finished article beside the brittle rubbish original
Fitted in its new home
Shortened and tidied the ht lead caps, also fitted button Allen bolts to hold the coil pack securely
And driven to the front of the garage
So that's all from today folks, as I seem to have got the burning oil problem almost sorted I will now look into getting her taxed and insured on Monday
Let's hope I can twist my dad's arm to help me with insurance!
Feel free to comment, I'm working for the weekend now so no more updates till Monday
Stay tuned for more details
Lawrence
So guys, sorry about that strange update, ever since I've updated my iPad its made it stupidly complicated to upload photos
This post needs a bit of a update to be honest
Aim was to get the car moted on the 17th of December.
Insurance got started on the 13th.
Brakes bled on the 15th as when took her for a spin up the road they didn't work on the front haha
So come the morning of the 17th she was all ready to go to the mot centre but I though I would go fill her up and that's when it all went bad.
The engine wouldn't go above 45mph. She would Rev to 4000 in 4th, go to fifth and she would have no power and start to slow.
Limped to petrol station and back home being overtaken by the world and his wife
Got home about 3pm and diagnosed the problem as low fueling. Took the carbs apart and drilled out them out slightly more to let some more fuel through the main jets. Put it all back together and she seemed to drive better and was a bit quicker.
So me thinking it was fueling packed up for the day as at least it worked!
On the 18th in the morning I said I'd take the girlfriend for a spin but mini wouldn't start. Tried easy start and nothing, so thought the timing had slipped.
Took the chain off to reset it, found an issue the the chain tensioner, So ended the 18th needing to go to the scrapyard thinking I had sorted the problem.
Worked 19,20,21st.
On the 22nd went to Hainford hall for timing chain tensioner. Took home to fix the engine but ran out of time as it got dark and I'm working outside.
23rd set the timing, didn't work. Checked compression. Bugger
150,150,0,170
No compression on 3. Great. That would explain the low power and nothing to do with the fueling.
So rings or valves.
Teaspoon of oil says valves are borked
New engine now needed.
Nothing done 24th,25th,26th
Found and engine on ebay. Won it £40.
Picked up the engine on the 29th from fakenham.
So today I stripped the new engine and now we're up to date
Plan tommorow is to remove the broken engine from mini, then fit the new running engine!
Hope you'll like this update
Feel free to comment
Lawrence
Cheeks bud, that's a handy site. I just made a safe map while I got used to the car so nothing would get broken!
Time for an update
Found myself an engine
Stripped and cleaned
Next day started off a bit nippy
Time to get ready for the engine to escape
Part way through
Shafts removed
And engine out
Garage tidied
Broken engine brought into garage
Gearbox removed
However on removal of the engine I have discovered I've got two different types of clutches one car was pre facelift and the other post meaning According to the Micra forum I have to make myself a hybrid clutch or redo my subframe and or driveshafts!!!
So I'm mildly annoyed
So guys, mini update from yesterday. Like recommended by l jonez I've stopped the flywheels
Flywheels both off
Oil drained from old engine, it's castrol gtx so I'm stealing that and the new filter to put on my new engine. I'll popin a can of engine flush and change the oil again in a few weeks time.
Flywheel fitted
I also took the sump off he old engine and left it to drain, I need to stick it to the new one as it has the crank sensor bracket welded to it. Additionally I made a little metal sleeve to centralise the trigger wheel more efficiently that I had before.
So that's it for yesterday. When I get home from the girlfriends later today I'll fit the new clutch I picked up last night and then the gearbox too. Then all I will need to do is modify mysubframe slightly where some parts are a little tight round the nsf inner cv
Update time guys
Few things have happened now firstly I've started uni so it's been a bt of trouble to work on mini!
Let's take off from before
Coolent pipe relocated and re welded
It gives me more space around the back of the subframe now
Also fitted modified sump
The engine and gearbox were now together so to save splitting them again I decided to transport them to the car via roller method
All the way out the garage and over the gravel all by my lonesome
Painted the valve cover
And all done
And engine fitted.
That's my progress from last week
Also sorted the clearance issue on the subframe and fixed the slightly bleeding brake bias valve
So then it's time for a update from Wednesday until today
I put the rest of the engine bay back together
Fitted my new air filters
Ready for mot booked at 2pm Wednesday
So we went to the mot and all was good accept she failed but a reasonable fail and considering I hadn't planned to take her till today to get her ready for Wednesday was great!
Fail list
So as you can see a reasonable fail list, did the last bits to it last night and took her in this morning and well she passed!!,!!!
So I'm very happy on the way home the gf and I took some photos and I'll upload them in a bit
Hope people like this update! I'm soo happy that all my heard work has paid off!
Feel free to comment
Lawrence
As with all minis when you get them back on the road they tend to break
And this is mine on the side of the road when she conked out
Called the Ms (mum and sister) and they came to the rescue to pick me up and take me home to get fuel and fuel hose to return and fix mini
Main issues from this breakdown were as follows
>petrol feed pipe to fuel pump partially blocked by something of unknown origin
>fuel levels so low crap from tank entered carb float bowls so they had to be removed cleaned and refitted.
No idea where the crap in the tank came from as it was flushed only a few months ago. Also found out that not only have I lost space from where I relocated the fuel filler cap of approx 1 gallon but also due to the angle the tank is installed And how I've done the cutout ive lost about another gallon, some of which is lost as can't be sucked up. So I've got about a 5 gallon tank of usuable fuel and I've done 150 miles hence needing a topup!
Mini is back home now but I really need to look at the fueling and balancing the carbs. Saturday will be a tinkering day
Feel free to comment
Lawrence
Well ive put a smaller jet on now and she seems to be running well, averaged 30mpg over a 100mile run. I think I need to get the carbs completly balanced before I play with the fueling anymore.
I haven't got an air gauge and was trying not to due to the cost. Do you recommend it? As I understand the logic and it should help me get bang on fuel ratios!
Cheers miniobsessed, glad you found my build entertaining! I have made a lot of mistake I know that but I think I'm getting on top of them finally!
So then, update time. Got her home so tucked up safe and sound under her snow blanket No photos of how I fixed her, she had a blockage in the fuel feed from he petrol tank so I attached my bike pump to the end and blew the blockage out, can't see what it was tho so bike pump has been added to spares in the boot!
Poor baby when I took her bonnet off on one of my days off she was covered in oil , checked dipstick and just covering minimum, no wonder she was leaving dots on the floor. Hadn't realised as she was parked on the gravel drive
Shiny oiliness
The blanking plug I had made to block the distributor hole had ruptured. So made a new aluminium plug out of the Micra distributor
Where the plug goes
Fitted oh so snug
Wish I had a lathe
Took her to get 4 wheel alignment done with a laser alignment kit.
Tracking was adjusted and and she handles loads better, may need to look into changing the lower arms at some point as the negative camber on the front isn't very equal. One is 2.5 percent and the other 0.5 so I think my bushes may be tired.
Took so photos underneath.
So dirty and only done about 500 miles tops
However I spotted this issue .
I've got a small exhaust gas leak but the bigger issue is the exhaust is about a mm from the rear subframe so that could account for some of my vibration and reverberation issues I have been having at certain revs.
So onwards. She needed to have more clearance, was catching on too much road . Numberplate position adjusted and all suspension raise for the winter
Sumpguard trial fit
And fully fixed on
She is attached with 4 bolts at the front but the rears are on sliders that go into the box section that the subframe is made, it was an idea that I had when making the frame and deliberately left open two bits of box section on either side of the subframe. Means that there is some movement of the sumpguard
Fog lights fitted and test wired
Annoyingly illegal blue sidelights that I'll look into changing if I can
So guys that's mini up to date, I also had a wiring fault which was edis playing up but that's fixed now with some elecrical contact spray.
Plan today is relocated wiper motor back to engine bay, looses style points in the bay but gives back practicality. Need new wiper blades too
Also want to take off the exhaust and fix that leak. Will add a silencer from my rc40 system to quieten it down slightly
Feel free to comment. Phot update to be added tonight if girlfriend allowes
Lawrence
I'll look into them, the only thing that's putting me off is the cost of about £150 for a reliable and accurate one.
So then, today has been productive. Started off with assessing the exhaust system and its faults. Need to give it more clearance and a silencer.
That's as it was, clearance tight on the left by the old battery cable girdle slot, so wanted to move the exhaust to the left with a kink.
Removed and next to spare rc40 to be slaughtered for the cause
Donated parts cut up and realigned
Tacked together for test fit
Refitted and its bang on where it needs to be
Loads of clearance for the silencer
No longer mm close to the subframe
Removed and fully welded up
Final fit back to car.
All welded and clamped joints sprayed in zinc primer to clearly show rust pinholes
Took mini for a drive, if say it's about 30percent quieter so should be nicer when I get to speeds of 50mph or so. Vibration is defiantly down too!
However two issues flagged up
>it was raining and my alternator belt was making a lovely whine so that's something to be fixed, just needs tightening so simple fixed but a wheel off jobbie to do due to my design
>she conked out completely, carb vacuum gauge said carbs working. Megajolt light still on, fuel running fine in the system. Wobbled the ford edis module wiring and she fired to life so got an issue there
I'll fix the alternator another day as its livable for the time being as squeaks only happen at a low idle before she's up to temperature so nothing major there.
This afternoon I relocated the wiper motor back to the engine bay and it's much better, especially in the rainy weather we've been having, no photos as it was pissing it down but I really wanted to get it done.
I'll do another update sometime this week when I have time. Oh and the ignition key looks fractured so I need to find my spare till I ca get another cut
Feel free to comment. Sorry for all the text haha
Lawrence
Cheers mini obsessed I can try and get some more footage, drive bys are more difficult but I can get some in car footage on a nice day.
So addressing the four issues I had
>grabbing clutch in the rain
Planning to make some cover plates for my clutch tommorow on my day off
>throttle return slow
That seems to be due to the carbs and the fueling, I have changed the jets and its pulling great through the Rev range for the last week. I shall pull the jets tommorow and see what the spark plug colour is
>Oil leak
Half fixed, no leaks at low revs, leak at high. Needs revision tommorow
>clicking noise
Definately nearside inner cv, my rubber is still chafing on the frame unfortuatly so the inner gaitor is damaged and spitting grease, I need time to take apart and asses what I can do to fix it.
So then, I have been doing not alot. As a student I am poor, major poor
But I did do a few bits, changed the catches on the bonnet for genuine aerocatches and now they are tip top! Also got some gromits to use on the engine bay to try and stop some of the petrol smell coming through
Got a nice picture at the park and ride
Needed to do some work on the front end, so took off the spotlights that I never wired in
Now I need to fill some holes and re do the exhaust cut out
Panel made
Camouflaged the mini
Part welded
All welded up
Ground back and filled
Ready to paint
After two coats
And after four
I've left it to dry overnight and then I'll refit the grill tommorow happy with the finish too!
Look for the next update tommorow night
Feel free to comment
Lawrence
Oil leak fixed yet again and final shot of the front end
So then,
Today's update.
Throttle return is sorted, carbs just needed a bit of adjusting
Oil leak is sorted too hopefully, remade bung with liquid metal
and a day shot of the bodywork I did yesterday
Front is looking tidyer now, I'm thinking of making a braket to lower the numberplate back down and onto the front valance, it'll give me more engine bay airflow too. In addition I am contemplating making the front panel the older style with the corners smoothed off
Other than that I didn't do very much, cleared up the oil leak and am intending to give it a check over half way on my journey this evening. I also pulled the plugs and it seems to be overfueling ever so slightly so will lean my carbs off a half turn or so
Next week depending on car situation I may have a look at the clicking cv and paint the bonnet again
Right then, were are now happily back to the present time with breakdown number two!
Well guys, this update starts off with a rubbish note!
9:30 pm just finished placement for uni so driving home,
About 7 miles from home my drivers side main headlight goes. I assumed it was a bad connection like these things tend to be so pull into the next garage about a mile later
I get there and find my light ballast bracket had broken, rubbing on the aux drive belt (waterpump+alternator)
It had rubbed a nice gouge down the middle essentially making two belts out of one. Decided that it was ok to limp home sticking to back roads and sub 1500revs. Only have 5 miles or so.
Pull out the garage to pootle along at 30mph to limp home, all of a sudden alternator light come on, burning rubber smell, squealing, the whole works basically. Bang her to neutral and come to a stop at the crest of the hill I was going up and wonder what to do.
Options were, roll down the hill to the next lay-by and leave here there overnight or turn round and go to a friends back the way I just came. Chose the latter, so pushed her round (baring in mind this is a main road but haven't much choice!) and rolled her down the way I just came to my friends (1/4 mile or so), rolled her part way up said friends drive when I then called her and she and her kids gave me a hand to get her safe and sound.
Checked mini over
>hid ballast broken
>drive belt shredded
>oil everywhere
>outer cv gaiter slashed by drive belt, cv grease everywhere
It's now 10:30 pm and I've been up since 6 so very pissed off called my mum for a lift home.
Cue this afternoon, loaded up panda with tools, got changed after placement and headed to Friends house to commence works
Tools unloaded a work to commence
Cue first ****up.
I took the alternator charging cable off the alternator, totally forgot its attached to the starter motor and battery! Cable taps frame, creates short. I grab it to stop short. Fine for a moment but the the insulation I wrapped around the frame by the starter motor has gone and melted therefore battery is now shorting straight to the subframe. Entire car fills with burning starter motor cable smoke (cable runs inside) Rush to the boot to disconnect the battery. Can't find the freaking spanner! meanwhile car is billowing smoke and I'm in the boot trying to disconnect he battery! Lever off the negative earth clamp breaking a screwdriver but breaking the short.
Photo was taken while waiting for the smoke to clear whilst holding the fire extinguisher.
What remains of the starter/battery cable
So that's the bad news. It's gunna get better now
Cleaned up the engine bay, took off alternator, checked it, totally fine just oily. Waterpump not seized so that's a good sign too. Checked oil, no sign of headgasket failure. Low water in rad but that's normal for her. So far thinking I got off lightly!
Go for a drive to wilco to pick up new aux belt and fitted with no issues.
Start mini up, check aux belt area and a fine spray of oil covers my face. Thanks mini
All that area was clean moments before
So in conclusion.
>aux drive belt sorted
>new oil leak
>need a new battery main cable
>new outer cv gaiter needs replacing
Oil leak looks to be coming from two places
>timing chain cover and crankshaft oil seal. I'm putting this down to overheating and causing the seals to breakdown/ fail.
Plan for tomorrow.
>limp home (5miles or so)
>fit new battery cable
>check spares for another cv gaiter and fit
>buy some degreaser and find the source of the oil leak!!
Feel free to comment on this stressful day!
Lawrence
So then guys, it's time for a bit of an update
I drove her home/limped along at 40mph on Saturday morning, engine feels fine although she did overheat slightly but I have no idea how badly as my gauge is situated in the radiator not the engine block
During the drive home there was a slight mist of oil gently spraying into the windscreen so I knew something was broken big time, it was just was it the engine or something easier to fix!
I took her apart when she was home, cleaned up the block to find the source of the oil leak.
It wasn't the cylinder head thank god, it wasn't the cam chain view port area, so could only be the timing chain cover a big engine out job!
So started her up with the alternator removed and it was instantly clear where the oil was from
Oil after two seconds of running
So it was the lower pulley oil seal! Awesome, should be a nice easy fix if the engine was in a micra as there is loads of room!
However this is a mini micra so room is tight! Luckily I could get the lower pulley off as if not it would have been an engine out job!
Remains of the oil seal
Just need to clean up the old seal area
New seal has been ordered and so has 5 metres of battery cable so I can start her again. I am hoping the parts will arrive tomorrow as I am currently without car but still have to get to uni and placement!
Oh and there is nothing wrong with the cv gaitor, I must have simply not done the cable tie up enough so it slipped off!
So that's my engine micra/mini blog uploaded onto here, as said on my first post the entire build is on the mini forum any comments are all ways appreciated and depending on the reception ion here of the blog I shall continue to update on both sites
Many thanks for your comment pork regarding the float bowls, through research into it the angle of the bowl is stated to make a difference but in practise I have had no issues from it at all.
It's had its ups a downs for sure. Running total is;
2 engines
2 breakdowns
2 fires
Today's update
The seal arrive today so I fitted it this evening after placement just before it got dark, no photo of it fitting but here's one showing a dry oil free aux belt!
Now waiting on the battery cable to arrive!
However on startup it seems one of my fuel pipe rubber washers has got damaged, most likely from when I took the starter motor off, it's not a huge issue but I'll have to take the carbs of to fix it! Although on the plus side she was running rich on the jets I had in so I'll change them when the carbs are off the car, may also make another brass fuel t piece so both sides match. More for my piece of mind to be honest
Also where the two Allen head bolts in the picture are I am planning to make some sort of sturdy belt guard to prevent the fan belt damage re occouring!
Time for this afternoons mini update
Battery cable never arrived
So I took the carbs off and started fiddling
Made a new fuel pipe t piece from brass
Part way through
And completed next to the first one
And the evolution of t pieces
From left to right there is
Mk1- Repaired with metal tube and petropatch putty. Failure caused first engine fire, max bodge
Mk2- Entire set of spare carbs bought cheap from ebay, t piece then filed down to fit, medium bodge but completely worked
Mk3- Entirely new part, made from brass and silver soldered together, fitted perfectly, two issues in that it fits carbs slightly loose so may potentially leak and at 10mm was too big for the 8mm fuel pipe
Mk4- Again new and from brass. Fits carbs perfectly with many trial runs, double o ring for extra protection just in case, also turned down to 8mm to fit the fuel pipe snugly!
Also changed the jets in the carbs
Previously 118.116,118,116 now 114,116,114,116
I really want a wideband lambda sensor
Shall be an update tomorrow if the battery cable ever arrives
Cheers p-3 it's nice to know my hard work is noticed occasionally haha!
Time for some updates. Update from April 10th
Day after she was fixed took her to a mini meet on Easter Sunday
Also went of a bit of a run with them too but unfortunately had to finish early
My carbs played up the other day with one of the float bowls not shutting off, it's something that happens every once in a while but is a case of lowering the fuel pressure and then upping it again to sort itself out
Also got around to painting the bonnet on a nice day off
Before
Half way
Done
Also did a paint repair on the wing where the paint had peeled
Done
And all fitted back together, also fitted the outer light rings too, shall repainting these in black at a later time
And fitted second subframe hole cover to tidy up the front
And this post is finished off with some nice photos of her posing
That's all then folks
Current plans are,
>Look into anti stone chip for the sills, hoping to find some paintable type and then I'll spray over them in White, rest shall be undersealed but I'm not rushing to do that
>Gunna take the sump-guard off and adjust its mounting points so it stops rubbing annoyingly on the exhaust
>bought some stainless Allen cap bolts for the carbs, I can then adjust them easier as currently I have to use a range of different screwdrivers to enable rejetting
>change the interior gearbox mount, currently it's solid mounted internally, this is causing her to pop out of gear when using reverse.
>play with the ignition map slightly to have a choice of switched maps
It's hard trying to separate micra stuff from mini stuff! Not much micra related things have gone on really
New carb bolts fitted
Now all cap head Allen bolts so no more almost sheared cross heads to put up with! Also will make jet changes a two tool job opposed to 7and a Ratchet
I've also tuned the megajolt so I've got two maps as until I get a new battery for my laptop I cant do tuning as I drive unfortunatly
I also need to have a look at the micra gear change mechanism as it feels rather sloppy and it's getting on my nerves now when I compare it with other cars I drive
so guys new update been doing paintwork on mini but that's all on my other blog
But on the micra side I've bought a new engine for mini!!
It's the 1275 micra engine unfortunately it has a broken timing chain! But I got it for a steal at only £40! It came with an alternator, power steering pump and the whole inlet manifold system so hopefully if I can sell them I can recoup the £40! Which would be great as I'm rather poor!
I've taken it apart and so far it's great! The chain snapped at engine startup apparantly and the chap I bought it from hadn't investigated into it and sold it
Top chain snapped and tensioner exploded
The plan is to take the head off, check the bores out, do a petrol test to see if the rings are damaged.
I have already tested the valves by manually turning the camshafts and they are all sealing great so there's no damage to them or the Pistons theoretically!
Once I've checked the bores I'll send it for a head-skim of 3mm and fit a half link in the lower timing chain and make a high compression 1275!!
I've made a post for the bits I've taken off to sell also
Feel free to comment! And drones anyone know what sort of bhp a skimmed 1275 puts out?
I got my student loan in and like all students I spent it on my studying and bought a bike.
And did my cbt paid for insurance etc so it kinda wiped me out.
But on the plus side it does silly mpg and is only a 125 so I'm not gunna get wiped out speeding which is handy!
Back to the mini then she's being a good girl mostly apart from the cooling issue still isn't perfect. She is still getting slightly warm when I have to accelerate in traffic, under no load it's fine but accelerating up the few hills causes the temp to rise again. I shall investigate this issue further
So what have I done? Well the engine parts are back from the machinist
Flywheel has gone on a diet and lost about 5kg.
Head has had a skim and lost 2mm so compression should be higher
Had a breakdown on the 6th June. Waterpump belt went unfortunately mid journey so had to drive about a mile to the girlfriends with no waterpump going.
On examination in the morning I found that the waterpump bearing had gone with 2mm play side to side. Most likely causing the premature belt failure
Changing the waterpump
Cleaned up ready to fit new one. Access through the inner wing isn't too bad. I'm glad I cut them back however or it would have been an engine out job
New coolant in the engine and she's running fairly well. However there is a grumble at low revs. Probably the engine has had it but I'll keep it going for the time being. Also main good thing of the breakdown is that I found a bolt rubbing on the subframe, removed it and there is no more engine drone!!!
So back to the engine mentioned in the last post
After checking the valves with petrol they all had leaks to some extent and the combustion chamber only remained full for about 10seconds before draining
So lapping the valves in
Nice Matt finish
Pitting evident on the exhaust valve seats
So they are all lapped in. New stem seals gently tapped to places and valves oiled
Had to adapt my spring compressor tool after having a shock finding the price of the proper tool
All done. Took over two hours to fit the valves due to the complicated tool I made!
New plugs fitted
Bosch super 4s as a little treat and as the late Richard Attenborough said i “spared no expense”
And tested with petrol
Needed to tidy my gearbox mount as it was cutting into the carpet
Tidied up
Covered in sound deadening to try and cut down on engine gasses creeping in so mucH
Carpet cleaned up and refitted
Interior all back in
And then back to the engine
New headgasket (£15 bargain)
Head placed on
That was all done by the 5thjuly. New engine was ready for fitting cams and lower timing chain all torqued up
most of the posts will be copied across from the mini forum as I have a long standing blog on there also!
