I'm doing a bare-metal nut and bolt resto on a pristine 1963 850...nearly finished.

it's very, very tall after new donuts and shockers all round.

the tie rod ends come down at such an angle from the rack that it isn't possible to put them into the steering arms from below - and they obviously won't fit from above (incorrect anyway) as the tapers are the wrong way and only gives a few threads.

The drive shafts clear the subframes by perhaps 5mm loaded...I know it will settle but there is no way the steering will go together.

am I doing something wrong?

do I need to manually compress the donuts?

Pictures? might help (others) with trouble shooting

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Nick

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=86675

Yep, can do.

I contacted Tony at Minisport and asked...

he reckons I can't use standard donuts with the standard trumpets coz that's what will happen....I don't get it???

The only option I have is apparently to put hi-lo's front and back to lower the very high ride height and allow the steering arm and tie rod to meet properly.

I did steel springs and hi-lo's on my clubman and the results were excellent...but...

Why, when I am trying to make the car as authentic as possible, wouldn't the donut / trumpet combo work unless the donuts are an inch taller than they were when first used???

Have you got the top arm rebound rubbers on? The suspension shouldn't droop that far?

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Did you put the steering arms back on the correct way? (don't want to sound arrogant but I am sure its been done before)

edit: are the tie rod wound all the way onto the rack, you may need to wind them out a bit.

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Nick

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=86675

^^^ Yes rebound rubbers could be it.
But 850s sat very high when new, I owned one in the early 60s..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

And also are the knuckle joints, cones and trumpets all seated correctly?

I have also heard of people putting the cones in upside down which causes a very high ride height!

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is the engine in the car? (sounds like it because you have driveshafts in there but...) the weight of the engine on the rubber cones is what puts the car down at it's correct ride height

otherwise, get a couple of helpers to hold the wheels toe-out and push the car forwards a few meters - it'll pull the wheels as far apart as they should be in operation. They always sit high after taking them off a jack and need to drive forwards a bit to sit down properly

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Thanks everybody...very quick.

I had a talk to Gary James who tells me that the new donuts are taller...so, on the front suspension, with the trumpet ball-joint only perhaps 30mm or so from the hinge pin of the top arm...a 5mm taller donut would translate to several centimetres at the wheel end.

makes sense!

So, I've dug yet again into my bottomless pockets to purchase a set of 4 x hi-lo's and a compression tool...when I did the new donuts, I made one out of a bolt, nut and a some heavy washers...now the subframe is back in the car I'm nervous about damaging the fresh paint so have also forked out $110 for a proper spring compressor.

the tie rod ends should be basically parallel to the ground at rest rather than at the ridiculous 30 degrees at present...that will make the tie rod bolt ends go into the underside of the steering arm, and stop the rather bad pigeon-toed front wheels...don't laugh but I had put the bolts in from the top side but, of course, they won't go through enough due to the taper being the wrong way...I did think it looked odd...and my clubby has them from the correct side - nut on top.

ditto for the back - the shockers are at full stretch and it's about a foot off the ground...the hi-lo's will fix that.

I put steel springs and hi-lo's on my clubby some years back and they made an amazing difference to the car.

would have been nice to keep the 850 standard but I threw the old donuts away believing them to be hard and compressed because, yes they are shorter...dang!

Thanks for all the input and, when I can work out how to put up a photo, I'll load one or two.

couldn't get a decent avatar with 9k resolution.

here is a link to photobucket for this build...

http://s1160.photobucket.com/user/keithgreen1/library/Lizzie%20the%20850#/user/keithgreen1/library/Lizzie%20the%20850?sort=2&page=1&_suid=1474950033428009776963694747714

and a link to my clubby

http://s1160.photobucket.com/user/keithgreen1/library/Club%2075#/user/keithgreen1/library/Club%2075?sort=3&page=1&_suid=14749504653590902937626132076

needless to say, I love my minis and am having a ball though am considerably broke!

oo I like the fuse box and the boot on your clubby.

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Nick

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=86675

is this how tall it is??

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

Must be some very tall rubber cones.

Yep, and I wear a top hat when I drive it! The new 'off-road' mini...and, though the pickie doesn't show it, the front wheels are like crossed eyes with the tie rods upside down in the steering arms due to the extreme angle.

I've been told I can shorten the trumpets but it would be hit-and-miss and I could take too much off...and weaken the trumpets.

I'm guessing a 5mm taller donut could translate to 75mm at the wheel end due to the lever effect...and it could be even more as I reckon it's close to 100 - 125mm too high.
Wish I hadn't binned the old donuts...I thought they were compressed with age and too hard but at least I would be able to compare them now.

Installing hilos should also cure the awful pigeon-toed steering as the tie rods will be the correct length.

Does anyone have a how-to procedure for doing the polarity reversal? When my mechanic mate started the car, I wasn't there and I am assuming he put the battery in with negative earth...by reflex...and it worked so it may have been done well before I bought it.

All of the drawings of the time show a positive earth and I'm struggling to translate the changes necessary with the aftermarket replacement loom that doesn't match the colour codes...I would have liked to retain the old loom but mice had reduced it to fluff.

I assume the battery, the coil...anything else needing a polarity change - the dynamo?

Dynamo connections stay the same. Pull the cover off the voltage regulator. Use a screwdriver to push the cutout contacts closed for a second or two then pull it open. Your polarity is now reversed.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.