Back of the garage

While it's quiet I thought you'd like to see my modest progress on the Mini.


Interior back in but could do with another Hoovering out (I love sitting in it :I) Notice genuine Paddy Hopkirk accelerator peddle [^]
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Not bad for 90 odd thousand miles. After a swift wipe over with a scotch pad and paraffin(paulfordy style) piston crowns as good as new, only the faintest of ridges at top of bores. Changing oil and filter twice a year paid off.
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Made a right mess of me new front panel getting lump out [:(!]. I'm a heavy handed bu**er at the best of times and its a tight squeeze in there. Ended up taking brake fluid reservoir off the make the last bit of room but not before graunching the panel, it'll knock out though.
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A bit of a tidy up required :)
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~original
 
Good to see progress in the forward direction[8D], looks great - not a lot of space to play with - good luck with further works.
 
A little bit of progress to report. Fitted new(ish) Piper 285A cam along with new oil pump (both off of eBay) and crankshaft oil seal also cleaned off all the jointing surfaces ready for the re-build. Was going to fit a center pick-up oil pipe, but decided against it as it meant completely stripping down the gearbox [:0], I'll save that for another time.
Spent a little time cleaning and painting engine bay.

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Had a little bit of paint left after the 'respray' so slapped it about with a brush, the result was actually better than the finish I got with a spray gun [V]. Managed to kick the paint tin over so now have about a spoonful left for touch-up [:(!]
This really is going to be an eBay special when it's done, virtually everything has been bagged off there, can't wait to fit the vernier timing gear and stage 3 head :p:p:p
 
Sounds like it wont be long till the Mini is on the road Mr Panky!.Good to hear im not the only one kicking things over, mine was several litres of auto transmission oil...:(
 
quote:
Originally posted by commerchris

bet ch ya can't wait to go for a spin ;)




That's probably what it will do, how can I control this beast I am creating Mwha ha ha ha ha
. Probably start with renewing the brakes :)
 
Getting techy now. Fitted a Piper 285 cam a couple of weeks ago but to get the best out of it the correct valve timing needs to be set.
First thing is to find true top-dead-center for No1 piston using a dial gauge as manufacturers settings can be out. Comparing the marks on the cam and crank sprockets against the setting with the dial gauge showed the timing to be out by about half a tooth which equates to a couple of degrees error, not good for power or economy.

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The protractor is fitted to the end of the crank shaft and TDC marked with a piece of stiff wire. Next the dial gauge is transferred to the end of the push rod for No1 cylinder exhaust valve.

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The crank is turned clockwise until the cam lobe reaches it's highest point, for the 285 cam the reading on the protractor should be 106 degrees. The initial reading was 109 degrees so this was altered by loosening the ring of Allen bolts on the vernier cam sprocket and turning the outer toothed ring very slightly. I found the tool for changing the discs on my angle grinder was ideal for this.

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Once the ring of Allen bolts was re tightened the timing was checked again and TDC again checked against the temporary pointer to make sure nothing had moved. Nothing had [8D] Hope you don't mind me rambling on about the Mini but I hey it's an engine and who knows someone might fit a 'hot' cam to a Commer, Tim ;)(not sure if you can get the vernier sprocket for a 1725 though).
 
looking good panky. its well worth the effort with a good cam. piper 285 should be good :).commer did,nt offer race/rally profiles as an option did they [?]. i think ran might end up with the one we bought:D[8D][:eek:)]

"you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off"
 
hey panky looking good mate how much longer do you think it will be before the minis finished off so you can start on the camper.;)
 
Hoping to have the engine re-built and fitted next weekend, probably another month before it's roadworthy as long as no surprises jump up and bite me in the rear [:0]
 
better check the springs in the seats then - good luck with the cam and engine refit - sure it will run like clockwork - undo the wrong bit and the whole lot pings all over the floor[:eek:)]
 
I guess my last estimate was slightly, out two months on and still rebuilding the engine. If you think I'm slow with cars you should see me with the decorating [:0]. Anyway the engine is in and most of the bits and pieces bolted on, took some pics of the head before I bolted it down, what ya think Tim does it look any good [?]

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