|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a great little car, it would be a shame to put a stop to it now. Ive had a tough time recently and simply havnt had the headspace or time to do anything hobby related, but id never sell my hobby, thankfully its small enough that I can stash it in a box and forget about it until I need it again, and we all need hobbies. Stash the car in the garage until you feel like doing it. It needs to feel like a hobby, not a job if you know what i mean.
|
| |
Last Edit: Mar 1, 2021 9:45:41 GMT by bmcnut
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's not like it can rust!
Stow it for a while.
I'd agree with getting the linkage sorted and either come back to the exhaust later, or get some one else to do it.
Or make it a side exit or thru the bonnet!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Condolences on your loss of your mum chap
As regards the car you’ve done so much great work
I’ve followed it with interest I love that little car
Keep going it will come together, just take a break from the exhaust for a while , I’ve had to put my van back in the garage with no exhaust on because the one I made over the winter was awful and I’ve got to start again!
Good luck with it I’m sure you will win
|
| |
Fraud owners club member
2003 W211 Mercedes E class
1989 Sierra sapphire
1998 ex bt fiesta van
|
|
jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921 
Club RR Member Number: 40
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Midas
Part of things
Posts: 515
Club RR Member Number: 14
|
|
|
|
|
Do you have a Powerflow distributor near you? Exhausts are one of those things that I’d be tempted to take to them and let them bend and weld up a system to fit with comeback if it doesn’t.
That was the practical bit...
Sorry to hear about your Mum, was there nearly 8 years ago and it still hurts. What I do know is that for a year or two I made a lot of poor decisions. Don’t do anything rash that you’ll regret.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have been completely blown away by all the support I've had recently. This forum and the others I am on are full of like-minded people who have problems with what they're doing too. Everyone's kind words and encouragement has rejuvenated me. If I could I would bring a couple of crates of beer and just say "help yourselves". I think that the "knocking it on the head" rant I had last weekend has done me the world of good. I've had a long think about what I have achieved and that little set-backs ALWAYS have a solution. Just for the record though, I will NOT be rushing to get this finished in time for the 10th anniversary of me getting it. I'd rather do it properly. Which brings me on to my next update, and it IS a better one. I have re-attached the gear selector properly, and has made quite a difference. I jumped on to the Mini Spares website as they do have a bracket to attach a rod change selector to a remote change tunnel (which is much more "rounded" for those that don't know). I had initially rejected the bracket due to its cost and made my own (it was out of stock back then), but as I am working from home and not commuting at the moment, I bought one and had it DHL'd to my eager waiting palms. First thing I noticed when getting the bracket out of the packet was that it didn't quite line up. That was a really easy fix - a gentle tap with Clyde the Club Hammer saw everything brought back in line. The second thing I realised was just how much smaller the bracket was in comparison to the one I'd made. Yes, I'd used the bigger cotton reel mounts on mine, but there was quite a significant difference. This would really help with fixing the issues with exhaust clearance. The new bracket is also angled to the rear of the car, so new holes needed drilling. But I am not that untidy - I spent some time filling in the old holes so I wouldn't get road spray when it rains. I then lined up the bracket having attached it to the bottom of the selector, made some marks and drilled some holes. I bolted up the brackets first then slotted the bolt through the selector. I then made sure that I could easily select all gears. SUCCESS! In the words of a guy called Tony who used to work on my Mini back in the 90s: "Well I ain't takin' that f***er off again!" There is SO much more room there for an exhaust now. Very pleased. I am now waiting to hear back from Maniflow as I also shot them an e-mail last Sunday. I expect that they're on a skeleton staff at the moment. I will chase it up in a couple of weeks. Difference in brackets quite substantial.  Holes filled in  Nuts have appeared and are holding stuff in place!  And doesn't it look neat all tucked up there!  |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 19, 2021 13:25:20 GMT
|
|
Hi 5 well done on to the next challenge
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 29, 2021 15:55:42 GMT
|
This update has no specific photographs. However, I will treat you lovely people to couple of images. I recently had a birthday. I asked for some contributions to the Zippy fund - and I have had some generous donations. Thank you family! Therefore I picked up this:  flashed this (ouch!)  and in a few weeks will have a delivery from these guys  Sadly the guy I spoke to wasn't called Barry but the super helpful David was brilliant. This has put my mind at rest. Excellent. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Apr 11, 2021 14:52:22 GMT
|
I haven't posted much in a while as it's been a bit of a rubbish Easter. One of our cats, Moneypenny, had a spinal stroke and we've been ferrying her to and from specialist vets and now we've got her home we're having to do a lot for her. It hasn't been the best of times. She is now home, which is great, but progress is slow and it will take a long time for her to regain the use of her right legs. Daily physio and massage will help, and at least we can do that! So I give you the world's smallest update. When I was doing my thing with Minis in the late 90s there was a guy in the club who turned up gear knobs on his lathe. I have acquired one of these (Tink had it in his garage) but the original insert for it to screw to the gear stick was missing. Instead there was a much larger hole. I asked a few knowledgeable people and the suggestion was to fill it with epoxy and either tap it or put a nut in there with the correct thread. Epoxy I can do!. So I quickly mixed it up and chucked it in. Drilling and application of the appropriate nut will follow. I will be out of action for a couple of weeks as I need to have a minor operation next week (day surgery, nothing serious) so will be back on things when I feel more up to it. Miss Moneypenny in happier times  Wooden gear knob I want to use. It will be tidied up before use.  Big hole where there was once an insert.  So I filled it up with epoxy. Drilling and other shenanigans will follow.  |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Apr 11, 2021 19:06:17 GMT
|
Good luck with the op  |
| |
|
|
|
|
Beetlejuice
Part of things
Living rent free in heads since…
Posts: 212
|
|
Apr 25, 2021 22:23:59 GMT
|
Looking great! Is that Gulf racing orange? you’ve done a great job on getting that front end shaped up.. especially considering all,of the cracks you chase out! love it! |
| |
Stuck in the 90’s - mostly minis
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking great! Is that Gulf racing orange? you’ve done a great job on getting that front end shaped up.. especially considering all,of the cracks you chase out! love it! Cheers! It's a standard RAL colour called Bright Red Orange. And as for the all those cracks... fun fun fun (or something like that!) 😁 |
| |
|
|
jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921
Club RR Member Number: 40
|
|
Apr 29, 2021 12:40:40 GMT
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Apr 30, 2021 21:30:45 GMT
|
James I hadn't seen your post - I definitely know of the car and that Murray bloke probably has a better workshop than me  Well I am "almost" back to normal - just waiting for all the dissolvable stitches to disappear. However, I had a delivery today. Mr Parcel Force turned up with a large box. I will let the pictures do the talking. Big box. I wonder what's in it?  Pipes. And an exhaust box. Twin box exhausts are for wussies   Penny was able to give it the once-over. She is much improved, although still unsteady and stiff-legged.  I will hopefully be able to give it a preliminary fit over the long weekend. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I probably shouldn't have given that I still have stitches in, but I wanted to get under the car and have a look at the exhaust and see where it would hang. To cut a long story short I popped on the Y-piece and attached it to the downpipes of the LCB. It fits fine, and there's more than enough clearance around the gear selector - enough to get my sausage fingers through the gap anyway. I propped the pipe up with a handy piece of wood and pushed the second section on. This is a curved pipe (30 degrees I believe) and it's the straight bit before the curve that the exhaust will hang from. That said, the hangers I had (RC40 fitting kit hangers hammered flat) were too long. Last thing I wanted to do would be to rip it off once I go for a drive (one day...) so using an idea from a very helpful chap on the Midas Facebook page (cheers Simon!), I have cut a piece of flat steel to size, drilled it and welded it to the clamp part of the U-clamp. This will then hang from a standard exhaust bobbin on the rear beam. Sadly, just as I was gearing up to have a look at fitting the rear box and establishing where the rear hanger should be, the battery ran out on my workshop LED lamp. This displeased me, but I did not want to split stitches etc (done that once already, VERY messy), so I have left it for the time being and will come back to it at a later time. I did notice that the front to rear brake pipe does get fairly close to the Y-piece - I shall construct a small aluminium shield just to make sure nothing gets too hot. I also need to line the tunnel further down. I am much happier. Fitted to LCB (fairly loosely)  Plenty of clearance around the selector. Excellent.  And 1st part of the rear pipe. Modified bracketry has been created - ignore what's there in the photo.  |
| |
|
|
Beetlejuice
Part of things
Living rent free in heads since…
Posts: 212
|
|
|
|
|
Nice 👍
|
| |
Stuck in the 90’s - mostly minis
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just a very brief update today. I didn't get much time to get in the garage but I made use of what time I did have. I was able to put the back box and rear pipe in place and measure up for a modified hanger. There is precious little clearance between the fuel tank and the back box so the rear hanger has to be significantly longer and the exhaust hangs a bit lower than expected as a result. I made the hanger by grabbing a piece of steel and cutting the end of a normal RC40 hanger off then welding the two bits together. This has been painted to stop it rusting, so I am waiting for that to dry before setting about tweaking the exhaust hangers to make it fit a bit better. I also need to get some more heatproof barrier material so I can cover the tunnel and the part of the fuel tank the exhaust runs under, just in case. I'd rather not chance scorching my fibreglass when the car eventually starts running again! Bracket created, now in paint.  Initial positioning looks very low, but the pipe cannot go higher due to the tank's position. Still, there is tweaking to be done - this is by no means a finished article.  |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 16, 2021 15:48:19 GMT
|
Today I have mostly been lying on my back in a confined space and swearing. That said, I have finally got a couple of awkward jobs DONE on the car I've been meaning to do for AGES. Item 1: The front to rear brake pipe had a flare on the rear section that I was distinctly unhappy with. It was one I had done myself with a budget flaring tool, and it just didn't look "right". Having followed some advice on one of the many forums I am on, I bought a better tool. This involved the brake pipe going into a block and a specific die being tightened into said block. It's a much better built bit of kit than the cheap one I have so that one's going off to pastures new. Due to the car only being up in the air on one side it was a very tight squeeze to get under there and work "comfortably", but eventually I got the tool in the right spot, tightened it all up and the pipe now has flares good enough to get into the 70s Disco. Item 2: The tunnel and other parts of the car where the exhaust was close to would need protection from the heat. I got hold of some self-adhesive high-temperature resistant fabric from Demon Tweeks and once I'd cut patches to size I had a whole barrel of laughs making sure it was straight enough to be stuck on and rolled into place. I had enough left over to also do the tank and the "hump" in the boot area. If any of the fibreglass on this car is getting scorched, it won't be because of the exhaust. Hated jobs done: 2. Happy me. I will chuck the exhaust on properly next time... maybe. This little so and so caused a significant amount of displeasure this afternoon. But it's now done. Whoop!  Tunnel is now covered in silver heat-resistant stuff. (Don't look too closely - some of it might not be 100% straight...)  And there's some on the hump and tank too.  |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
May 16, 2021 17:09:30 GMT
|
|
Progress is progress.
Little by little its moving along/
|
| |
|
|
jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921
Club RR Member Number: 40
|
|
May 16, 2021 20:44:36 GMT
|
|
Going to be a nicely finished little car so the effort will be worth it.
Keep up the good work.
James
|
| |
|
|
|
|
