Author Topic: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!  (Read 62300 times)

Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #310 on: 09 April 2017, 20:42 »
Cheers guys! Means a lot  :cool:

Not a huge update as I have had a lot on this week. Grabbed a quick hour today and managed to bolt on one beautiful brand new damper, then turned my attention to the radiator mounts I'd knocked up. one of them was a re-used and re-bent bracket that was once attached to the original radiator. This looked a) a bit rubbish, and b) had a huge fatigue point on it where I'd bent it back the other way. This was proved to be a weak point when I knocked the radiator over and it landed on the bracket. It snapped, not entirely unexpectedly.

However, as this was only meant to be a mock up anyway, I grabbed the remains of the old Ultimate Engine Steady I had kicking around and fired up the angry grinder. A brand new cutting disc made short work of the thick steel, then it went under the pillar drill to get a suitably-sized hole or two made. Once this was done I chucked it in the vice and attacked it with a blowtorch until suitably warm, then clouted it with Clyde the Club Hammer until bent to shape. It's now hanging up with its brother having had a coat of primer before paint. More soon.

Brand new sparkly damper. Yeah.



Radiator brackets (including new one) now in primer.



Keeping schtum. Mostly.

Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #311 on: 11 April 2017, 22:10 »
Time for another quick update. I started to clear the main workbench as it had got a bit messy. Pulled out the heater as I had managed to get some overspray on it. Stripped it down and gave the outer panels a fresh coat of satin black. Then, as I was sorting other stuff out, I found a piece of scrap metal I thought that I had lost or thrown away. "That'll do for a bracket for the solenoid" I thought. So I dug out the solenoid, took it out of its box and started mocking up with good old CAD (This time it was the cardboard packaging for a new pack of socks!). If your starter is the older type with no piggy-back solenoid, you need to find somewhere other than the inner wing for the solenoid to sit as of course there's precious little in the way of inner wings on a Midas...

Once happy with the mock-up, out came the angry grinder and I used a 1mm cutting disc to make mincemeat of the now marked piece of 3mm steel. I cleaned the edges up with a file, then set about measuring then drilling a few holes for mountings. It's going to live on the front of the clutch cover above the starter, so all I needed were 4 simple holes and judicious use of a blowtorch and hammer. Over to the pillar drill, then I marked it, heated it with the blowtorch for a good few minutes then clouted it hard with a hammer until it was the right shape. In went a couple of 5mm rivnuts and I tested out where it's going to sit. It'll still need a little bit of trimming but overall I am happy with it.

CAD Template



After bending and rivnutting



Fitted. Still needs a bit of trimming but fits pretty nicely.



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Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #312 on: 19 April 2017, 21:56 »
Back on it tonight after a hectic long weekend, I sneaked into the Manroom this evening to get an hour or so's worth of tinkering. I'd chopped a a couple of bits off the solenoid bracket to avoid losing a hand whenever I went under the bonnet and had also painted it, so I then chucked it on the engine to get it out of the way. When i was looking at the engine I thought I'd try the steady bar. Of course, this was a stupid idea as a) you need a shorter one in a Midas and b) there was a clunk and the metallic "clink" of something hitting the floor as I pushed the bolt through the bracket. Yup, the washer that had been welded or brazed on had gone walkabout, leaving a larger hole. How helpful.

I remember when I first added this bracket thinking that I was glad I would never have to fit it again. That of course was without the pedals and clutch lines added. Now of course, it was the most difficult thing in the world to remove. As the pedals are in the way you cannot get a socket on the bolts. The only option is to jam a spanner in there and hope for the best. After 20 minutes of adding to the swear box, off it came. Then off to the bench to give it a quick strip with the angry grinder and wire wheel and then find suitable washers to weld on properly. I will be taking it to Tink's tomorrow to use his ridiculously good MIG then will give it a fresh coat of satin black. It's likely I will then spend 3 days trying to put it back on...

To stop myself getting too annoyed I chucked in the heater brackets under the dash shelf so when I get some more time I will be able to add said heater to the car and get it out of the way. And finally I started making a CAD template for the expansion tank, which will hopefully sit on the crossmember just in front of the washer bottle.

Solenoid bracket amended to make it less lethal to hands...



The most awkward thing to remove in my car. This includes the M/C split pins. Viewed from above to amuse you.



This is the reason why - there used to be a washer here, making a smaller hole for the bolt.



Bracket stripped of paint and washers ready to be welded.



CAD Template started for expansion tank. I need to find something appropriate to cut up for the bracket now...



Keeping schtum. Mostly.

Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #313 on: 22 April 2017, 16:02 »
You know those days where everything goes a bit wrong? I appear to have been having one for the last 3 days it would seem. Firstly my welded washer came off my steady bar mount so I took it to Tink's to use his welder. He discovered that he was out of gas. So he kindly took it to work and got it sorted there and I picked it up this morning. I then primed and painted it, running out of primer at just the wrong moment... Once the paint was dry I set about putting the mounting back on the car with a view to nipping up the new adjustable steady bar (also painted).

Amazingly, given my recent luck, the mount went back on the car really easily although of course I scratched the newly painted steady bar. I made up a spacer for the mount and bolted it all together. I then went to line it up with the engine and found that the steady bar was almost an inch too high. I suppose that nothing should surprise me on this car given the number of bodges I've encountered, but the steady mount is THAT far out?? Of course it may never have been used as there was a "Heath-Robinson" effort on the thermostat side of the engine (which looked about as effective as using Play-Doh...), but surely it doesn't take much to measure something properly?? Maybe I should have checked it first, but you wouldn't expect a mounting point to be that far out.

I shall use my CAD template skills (still in their infancy) and will make a new bracket up that utilises the original mounting points so I don't have to "drill and fill". That is, once I have stopped wanting to find the man who put it there in the first place and subject him to something severe. And possible painful...

Repaired bracket and new steady bar, both wearing new paint.



It should be about an inch lower. Must resist the temptation to grab hammers and get ugly...



Keeping schtum. Mostly.

Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #314 on: 02 May 2017, 14:15 »
Having not gone into the Manroom for a week, I returned the other day realising that, in no uncertain terms, I have been an idiot. My apologies to the man who made the steady bar bracket. If I hadn't been so grumpy and tired I probably would have tried a different way of attaching the steady bar - this was, quite simply, to attach it to the engine first (loosely) and simply raise it up to fit the bracket correctly. All is now attached at the top, so I moved on to the other steadies.

I don't like the "Ultimate Engine Steady" bars that are offered on the Mini market having had a bad experience myself, so I looked into other ways to keep the engine in place. The older Minis of course never had a problem with the enormous aluminum gearbox extension on the remote boxes, but having a newer rod change box meant this wasn't an option. The standard set-up is of course the top steady bar from the bulkhead to the engine, and the one from the front of the gearbox to the subframe. Then there's the option of the "Ultimates" which I didn't want, but there are also the bottom rear steady bars available from Mini Spares. I had bought these ages ago so got them out of the cupboard and set about fitting them. The front one was a piece of cake, as was the left hand rear one - simply bolt up and forget. The right hand rear one just required one extra hole drilling in the subframe - not the easiest angle to get to. However, once the hole was there it was nice and simple. The engine doesn't move at all now - job done.

Continuing the theme under the car, I figured I may as well attach the gear selector too. Now bear in mind that when I got the car, it had no engine and gearbox in it, and the previous engine had been a Cooper S engine complete with remote box. As a result the gear selector hole was in the wrong place. I had filled in the hole with fresh fibreglass a couple of years ago, and now it was time to a) drill the holes for the bobbins and b) cut a big hole in the floor.

I don't know it different Midas models came with different transmission tunnels (or whether they could be ordered with different ones according to gearbox type, but it's clear that mine was designed for a remote box as it's far more curved. However, I drilled the holes (twice it turned out due to the curve - the unused ones are now grommeted up) and managed to get it all mounted. Amazingly I got the roll-pin in first time (yes, I did make a smug face underneath the car) - now all I needed to do was to cut a hole. So, using the mounting plate for the gaiter as a template, I marked out roughly where to cut, and attacked it with the angry grinder and the Dremel. It still needs a bit of tidying up, but I am happy that  it's now done.

Finally I turned my attention to the engine and popped the oil pressure light switch in as well as the sender unit for the electric gauge I have. There's not a lot of clearance in there at all, so I may change my plans to just use the gauge. I shall consult various experts and see what they suggest.

Top steady bar now fitted after previous idiocy.



Bottom front bar fitted as well



Left rear...



...and right rear all bolted up.



Extended gear selector also fitted and bolted up.



Template marked out for making a hole...



There's a hole in my car. Selector taped up to avoid filling it with fibreglass dust.



Thick fibreglass in this bit, thankfully.



Not much room for the oil senders. I am thinking of changing my plans - nothing is set in stone.



Keeping schtum. Mostly.

Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #315 on: 09 May 2017, 20:16 »
Just a quick update tonight, but it is another successful one. A few months ago, when I'd fitted the tank sender unit, one of the bolts didn't nip up properly and I made a mental note to check it out. When I had a tidy up in the garage, I moved the tank and had a look at it. Turns out that, despite me using new bolts from Mini Spares, the threads had stripped. The tank itself was bought secondhand, so my guess is that someone had re-tapped the bolt holes. Either that or they were all knackered.

This left me with a number of options. 1) Throw the tank away and buy a new one. I really didn't fancy the idea of spending £150+ on a new tank that I would then cut the filler neck off a bit. Plus I didn't have £150 spare. 2) Chop the offending area out and fabricate a new bit and weld it in. Both mine & friend's welders are out of gas. Plus I would not be sure how successful it would be. 3) Drill and re-tap the offending knackered holes to a larger size. Armed with encouragement from 2 very helpful Mini Forum members, out came a 4mm drill bit, which was followed by the hoover and then an M5 tap. I did need to make the holes in the gasket slightly larger (using a belt punch of all things!) but it all went together surprisingly well. The acid test came when I'd put it all together - would it leak? 5 minutes with a litre or so of fuel with the tank on its side said no. Success! And a happy me with more in the bank!

Stripped threads on new bolts.



Larger M5 bolts make a good seal. Lovely.



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Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #316 on: 29 May 2017, 13:36 »
Apologies for the somewhat glacial pace of this rebuild - things like work and family seem to get in the way, which is a little unfair really! Anyway, after a trip down to Brighton to see all the Minis and the stalls, I came back with a few bits and have done a few minor things and come across yet ANOTHER problem. I shall explain:

I got some more blue paint and have given the tank a decent covering of it as the black I'd hit it with was a bit rubbish. So all I need to do with it now is to pop a new seal on to the sender (the old one looked ropey) and chuck it on the car, which will help me with determining where to put the fuel pump. I managed to pick up up various bits in Brighton, including new wiper wheelboxes, a dipstick which (almost) matches the engine and a new alternator, as when we tested it, my current one doesn't do as it's supposed to.

The calipers were ready to go on, so first of all I found my fresh set of EBC Black stuff pads, new pins and anti rattle shims, then built them up on the bench and after remembering the copper washers, put them on the car. It will soon be time to put poor Zippy back on his wheels and move him out into the daylight so I can have a good look at what needs to be sorted. There's numerous little scrapes and chips on the fresh paint (all my fault) so I will be needing to do some touching in. Oh joy - more painting...

Finally I have discovered my latest problem: My beautiful MG Metro rocker cover with its new cap does not fit under the bonnet. There's precious little room under there anyway, but the cap and the t-bars foul, so unless anyone can suggest an alternative oil cap that fits in the MG cover, then a different original-style cover it is. Balls.

Freshly painted tank - soon to be added to the car.



New wiper wheelboxes. The old ones were beyond saving.



Calipers built up on the bench with new pads, pins and shims.



Attached to the car



New dipstick (there wasn't one with the engine in bits). It almost matches...



Brand spanking new alternator. Far cheaper than it ought to have been - gotta love Mini Shows...



And the Rocker Cover that's too tall for the bonnet. Probably a combination of Mk1 bonnet, new engine mounts and, well, new everything.



Keeping schtum. Mostly.

Offline lemski

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #317 on: 29 May 2017, 13:41 »
Good progress. Could you not trim the bonnet a touch or is it no where near able to fit under there?

Offline MrBounce

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #318 on: 29 May 2017, 19:12 »
There's very little to trim. It's VERY tight under there, and with the 1275 being 3/8" taller than the 998, it doesn't help. A trial fit of the carb also looks like it won't clear...


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Offline lemski

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Re: Project Zippy (Midas Mk1 Coupe) Engine In!
« Reply #319 on: 29 May 2017, 19:48 »
Its always them nightmare little oversights mate