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Nov 16, 2017 19:58:16 GMT
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But you got those super cool GTs with the fancy door handles... I'm thinking of importing a set of those Leyland flares. Allready got a set for my round-nose. I think they'r simply the nicest stock flares ever made! For those who don't know what the F I'm on about... Downunder, they used to make 'em like this: Quarter lights, Mk1 hinges and super-nice door handles & flares. Amongst many other little cool details. And of course fancy racing stripes!
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Nov 15, 2017 21:35:58 GMT
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I know. My first car, also a Mini - link in signature, had drum brakes... Didn't take me long to convert them. But for now, they'll do just fine. If they are well adjusted - they'r pretty good. Unless, as you said, they get hot. Then they'r a bit less good
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Nov 15, 2017 20:14:21 GMT
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Thanks! I'm quite keen on it myself düdo There used to be many, when I grew up. But they still made them, back then. You do see a couple over a year, but mostly late Sportspack MPIs. And I've never seen a Clubman in the wild, only at meets - and the last I attended was 7 years ago. So yeah, they are a very rare sight these days. As for the €s - it is more. Especially the Estates and Vans are shooting up in value. and I think that's also thanks to BMW... Clubmans used to be the cheapest - they are almost even, if not more valuable (because many were scrapped for they'r runing gear or converted to round noses). mrbounce: the doors do have a bit of rust on the very bottom and the lower inner panel on the front has paint lifting off. But no holes as far as I can tell. Nothing that requires welding so far. Electrics... well, Italians and Lucas electrics don't go together well. There's a lot of fixing required. I'm on it. Cheers, Jan
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Yes, as I said - it's been given some little modifications. Also sports wide drum on the front. The side indicators are mandatory in italy, so I guess they have been retro-fitted in italy. And what you can't see in the pictures; it's got an dippable rear view mirror! Which is one THE best things you can fit to a Mini!
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Nov 14, 2017 19:00:58 GMT
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Hi! This is one of the reasons I sold the Jeep - and part of the reason I'm finally parting with the Turbodiseasel-Coupé... My oldest car yet. I always wanted an Traveller or Estate - this one more or less came to me, I didn't look for it. It rolled in at work. At first I accepted my fate of not owning it, but constantly found myself patting it's roof and sitting on the driver's seat. Then I gave it a closer inspection, drove it a wee bit - and the penny dropped that this could be the car I was looking for for pretty much more or less a decade. Not actively, but constantly, every now and then. A Mini estate was always in the back of my head. This car was not cheap, this I can tell you. So I needed a couple of days to work my mind - and then I came to the conclusion; now - or never. I'm not going to find a better one any time soon. Maybe never again. There's evidence it's been taken care of, it even has it's original Inspection Booklet - an item I have never seen before on any Mini. I had a bit cash from selling the Jeep (in favour of the other Mini) - so with a heavy heart I decided to finally put the Turbo-Coupé up for sale, since it's the only way to generate a bit of cash fast-ish. The Clubman is not fully payed for, but I gave all I had. Not a good situation to be in, but a risk I though I'd take. Anyways. This car was first delivered in Milano, Italy. Then I went to Rome - and now it's in Joymoney. Came back all the way under it's own steam. It's been taken care of, some little mods have been done. All in all it's a pretty solid car. You can tell mother nature is much nicer to cars in southern Europe. I'm not too keen on the 12" Rover wheels, this is the first thing that will have to go. But first it needs to be registered & inspected, so a couple of other things have priority. Mainly electrical issues (it's got "Lucas" written all over the place...). Engine runs perfect, gearbox is smooth (almost as good as my rebuild gearboxes), brakes pull straight (drums on front). I think I'm going with the stock 10" steels. But pictures, everyone wants pictures. Here's pictures: And this steering wheel... This also needs to go. You may have spotted that the seats are not original, but they are super comfy, maybe even re-upholstered. They are the most comfortable Mini seats I ever got to sit in! So - that's my new ride. It was not the best time to buy it, but I had to take the chnace, otherwise it would have been gone quickly, there was a big interest in this car. Take a chance if you can, you may regret it. That's all for now. I'll sort the gremlins, then it's TÜV, register and possibly don't drive 'cause by then the roads are allready as salty as the Dead Sea. Cheers, Jan
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Well, since I'm having the Mini back - there's just not enough time to tackle two projects. In fact - one is challenging enough. I'm working six days a week most weeks. So - the lesser loved car had to go. Better sooner than later. I advertised it - and it was basically sold immediately. Totaly didn't expect that - but I'm happy it all went so fast & smooth. It's going to a good home though, probably the best it could go to. With 3 others to play with.
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And it's back home, much sooner than expected... Though on the back of a flat bed. Parts ordered and on the way. Though I'm not sure if I try to make this engine run, or just pull it and put the 1275 in instead. Anyway - there's work ahead! Cheers, Jan
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Sold and heading for a new home...
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It's still a little journey to it's home port, but I'm actually confident it can be done under it's own steam. Well - not so sure anymore... How fast things can change, eh? Had nothing better to do today, so I decided to give the Mini a good check-up. I replaced the flasher relais - only to find out both new ones don't work at all. So I put the old ones back in - and after letting them run for a while, they seem to work OK now. Sigh. Then jacked the car up to inspect the calipers for seized pistons or leaks. We've seen a lot of calipers that start to leak after long-ish periods of storage... Also greased everything - all good. No apparent damage, brake pistons move nice & easy. ^it's perfectly safe, I found this jack in the boot of an Alfa - all good! After I had greased all nipples, I drove the car out and gave it a quick wash, to get rid of the worst dirt. And since then - the engine never ran again... Naturally I assumed water had gotten into the ignition. Replaced cap & rotor (I planed to replace them anyway) - nope. No spark. Checked everything, all good. Replaced the spark plugs, checked the wiring, coil, leads - all within spec. But no spark. In the end, I found only one things; the pickup coil inside the electronic dizzy has no electric passage. Which I think might be the issue... Why it died in this exact moment - no clue. But it's the only thing I found. I think it's safer to bring the car home on a trailer or flat bed... Though I think this problem has been in the coming; the last couple of days driving this car on the roads (5 years ago), I had an issue with the engine cutting out randomly, mostly after high revs. But then I though it was the plugs fouling, since the engine burned a lot of oil (badly worn valve guides and no shaft seals )... And on the way back home I got cought in the biggest traffic jam in the whole year, over 2h for a couple of KM... Not how I thought this day would go. Cheers, Jan
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It's (almost) back home! I'm so happy, I can't put it into words. We unloaded it and pushed it inside. And I couldn't resist trying to start it... Still had oil & water in it, but the battery of course is not just dead, it's extinct. And over 12 years old. Anyways, I shot a bit of brake clean into the carb - and it actually did a *vrouum*. YAY!! Bit more cranking to fill the fuel bowl - and it ran. Just like that. On all four. Like nothing happened. No smoke, no missfiring - AWESOME!! The clutch disengaged perfectly, 1st gear went in smooth as silk (well, for a Mini anyway) - and I found myself taking it for a spin Boy was it NICE to finally drive this car again!! I only then realised just how much I missed this car! It's still a little journey to it's home port, but I'm actually confident it can be done under it's own steam. Brakes are not seized, which probably surprised me the most. It'll get new fluid and a proper inspection, though. And there's stuff that doesn't work, like indicators and fuel gauge and a rear light. Minor stuff. Cheers, Jan
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Oct 26, 2017 18:14:46 GMT
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What an excellent 100th post in this thread Wow... I just spend the last few evening occasionally browsing through there. Someone's put a lot of time into that database. And I'm glad he or she did!
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Oct 22, 2017 13:57:10 GMT
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Column shift I felt natural with the very first time, I actually enjoy it a lot! Sadly I don't get to drive manual column shifts a lot...
My worst driving experience. Hmm. I think that's the VW T2 van. Can't find gears, can't see sh!t anywhere, weird driving position and instant death if you hit a pot hole. And I can't get used to the floor mounted pedals.
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Oct 21, 2017 15:17:35 GMT
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Hi! The heater blower started to squeal a little, mostly when cornering. Time to take preventive measures, before it's too late. Ripped a big hole in the engine room... Wiper assembly needs to be removed to gain access to the blower. A good opportunity to have a look inside and re-grease everything. Most wiper gearboxes run on nothing a but crunchy remains of what once was grease. No wonder after 30 years of service... This is the beauty of the early cars; they have wiper gearboxes that can be serviced. Later cars have crimped gearboxes (with a plastic "turtle back") that are very hard to take appart. Apparently. I never bothered. Whilst the whole lot was out, I was able to cast a look at the heater core. This car always had this problem with not a lot of air geting through the heater. Now that I was able to look at the heater core, it confirmed my suspicion. Completely blocked with dirt... I guess that's a downside of ultra-high-milage cars. Hard to see in a picture, but the heater core evaporator's matrix is full of dust and dirt and partially blocked. I didn't bother to clean it, since the evaporator needs replacement anyway... And if I remove the heater unit, I'm going to replace anything inside anyway (since it's a major task). Also greased the wiper motor. I was a little surprised to see a plastic gear here... ...but it seems to do the job just fine. Greased it with Bosch silicone grease. Put all back together - and it all was like nothing had happened. Except less noise, the wiper doesn't rattle anymore and moves a lot faster. All good, all part of "things you should do when owning a W124". There's nothing worse than a slow mono-wiper. Nothing! Well, except W116 & W126 wipers. Not because they are bad, but because of their spastic movement, makes me scream everytime. Anyway, the blower received a dash of oil, that's usually all that's needed. And I know, what blower motor I need, in case I have to replace it. Since there are two versions that don't interchange. Cheers, Jan
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Oct 18, 2017 17:21:53 GMT
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Sooo - I have a little little addition to the herd. It's not a Steinbock, but it's pretty old as well. And it isn't even a trolley jack. It's a little mechanical bottle jack. There were a few situations in which I wished I had a bottle jack. Now I have a bottle jack. I was given this by my employer who found it in a shed he'd just bought. Nice! It is made by BLITZ. Blitz was founded in 1872, as a repair company for machines. They soon started production of jacks, air compressors and other garage equipment, mainly hydraulic & pneumatic tools and jacks. And - they are still in business, doing the same thing. I think most of the axle jacks used on 4-pillar lifts & pits in germany are made by Blitz. The axle jack on the 4-pillar lift at work is also made by Blitz, dating to 1972. And still working like a charm. I'm not sure, but they may be one of the oldest garage equipment manufacturers still in existence (if merged with other brands under a mother-comapny, like it is usual today). Anyway, back to the jack: What I like about this; the lifting spindle is fixed, turning the input shaft, you rotate a collar that pushes out the main spindle, which is held in place with a pin (green arrow shows the cut out in the thread used to prevent rotation): Pretty nice little jack that. No clue about it's age, but slotted screws indicate it's pretty old. The handle is missing, sadly. Looks like it had a reteining ball, there's a notch in the square. Lifting capacity is 1200kg. That's all. Cheers, Jan
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Oct 16, 2017 18:20:00 GMT
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As far as I know, they did. On he other hand, aftermarket lockers don't seem to be too expensive to get hold of. Though the stock DANA 35 doesn't have the best reputation amongst off-roaders. Pretty much any serious off-roader swaps in Ford 8.8" rear ends of a certain Explorer. The long bed Comanches with Metric Ton package had DANA 44s, but finding an Comanche D44 is hard. Cherokee axles are no direct swap, since the Comanche has a different rear setup (spring under axle). Though it's just a matter of welding on two brackets to the axle tube... All from hear-say, not done it yet. For mostöy road use, the D35 is probably plenty good enough A locker is on my list of stuff to do. Anyway, back on topic: the blower motor is making bad noises again Lastet about - a single day. Oh well, at least I can't say I didn't try Cheers, Jan
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Oct 13, 2017 21:09:04 GMT
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Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?
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Oct 11, 2017 19:37:02 GMT
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Took the blower motor to work today and riveted it back together. Hooked it to a electrics supply - and thar she blows! No more noises. But I think it's still a bit sticky - so I'm looking for a replacement. Slowly. And it looks like I may have burned out the low speed resistors... During testing they were glowing red hot and then dimmed - and then I realised it maybe wasn't so clever to plug in a stuck blower. Full speed works, all I need right now for demisting the screen in the morning. All good And whilst re-installing the blower, I couldn't but note the refined factory welds on the bulk head... Oh dear.
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Oct 11, 2017 18:01:25 GMT
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Could use it as a sauna later on :-)
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Oct 10, 2017 18:46:37 GMT
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Brief intermission; the blower motor decided to make EVIL noises... And much to my surprise; it is very easily accessible: ^think that's the easyest solution I ever came across. And apparentlx it's also the biggest water leak in any Jeep firewall So - I tried to oil it from the outside, without any success. En contraire; when I rocket it about, a TON of cräp fell out and it was actually tighter than before... Bügger! So I drilled out the rivets holding both halves of the motor together. Removed loads of dirt & rust particles. Re-greased the bearings and assembled the lot. About at this point I realized I have only 1 rivet with the correct size. 4 are needed. Bügger times two. At least it seems to spin free-ish now... Cheers, Jan
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How many left? I didn't even know they existed.....
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