Hello

Looking for a few stories about what people have found working on their Minis'

I currently sit here staring at a gearbox wondering what the person before me was thinking.

After having to cut the diff housing off the block due to studs being what looks to me like JB welded, got to the end of my teardown to find the gear selector has also been set in place with not one mm of rotation.

Please tell me in not the only one.

Adjusting ball joints with a cold chisel. Found out that a company in Brookvale use this method. 'Lift up the rubber ball joint boot and place the cold chisel on the joint then a big whack with a hammer' There is also a bloke in the western suburbs of Brisbane that uses this method too.

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The bitterness of poor quality (or Crappy Workmanship) remains LONG AFTER the Sweet Taste of Low Price is forgotten.

Not a mini but on a falcon work van years ago a new silencer was fitted but it rattled like an old pram. The exhaust place fixed it by using a lump of 4x2 and giving the new silencer a big whack leaving a huge dent in the silencer.

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Cheers Dave.

I've lost count of the number of M8 bolts that have been forced into 5/16 unf and unc holes.
Do these people only buy from Bunnings!

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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.

When I bought my ex-police S in 1975, I was surprised to find used spark plugs everywhere: in the door pockets; under the seats; in parcel shelves; even found one that had become lodged between the gearbox and sump guard.

The family friend who'd recommended the car had been a Larke Hoskins mechanic and often did work on the S for the previous owner.
I mentioned the spark plugs:
"Ah. Yes. That would be 'passion fingers'" he commented.
"But why so many single spark plugs? I asked.
"That's what he did - fancied his ability at tuning the car but really had no idea. Just liked to readjust things. The final cure was always 'change a spark plug' - not as a set, just one at a time."
When 'passion fingers' managed to tune the car to a stand-still, he would ask our mechanic friend to take it home and fix it for him.

A so called mini expert from northern NSW built an engine and among a dozen things that were wrong he cross threaded the cam nut !

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That's why it's good to be.............ME

I think I've been pretty lucky with minis.

I've found crazy things on other cars and equipment though. We wondered why the grey motor was running poorly, we found out when the carb fell apart as it had been glued together. I never knew there was a shortage of grey motor carbs. It was Lightning Ridge though, anything is used when there's a lack of money or parts suppliers. The same engine had TPS cable as the rocker cover gasket.

I'm working on one of three Bradfords which crossed Australia together in 2008, they haven't done much since so you'd expect them to be decent right? Not at all. Half the bolts are missing or loose, every steering component is worn out or loose. There's chunks missing from the steering box worm too. Some well known club members had worked on it before it was sold too, nobody realised it had a burnt valve which is quite obvious on a two cylinder engine. Then there's the electrical system... I'm told the previous owner was an electrician. I'm also told the other two cars aren't much better, one having missing studs hidden by the hub caps.

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1986 Mayfair (998 auto), 1974 S, 1974 Van, 1972 PMG Van

Too many minis

I'm just in the process of rebuilding the front hubs on my mk1 S.
The locking tabs on the steering arm bolts were broken off.
One arm came off without any issues.
The drivers side was a different story.
Both bolts were difficult to remove, I removed one and the arm fell off as the other bolt had sheared.

Looking at the sheared bolt it was obvious it had been sheared for many years. The only clean metal was where I'd had to punch the head out of the arm.
Both drive flanges were extremely worn.
I suppose when you rescue a car that was advertised for wrecking you expect issues.

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Mk 1 Cooper S 1965
If you could erase all your mistakes of the past
You would also erase the wisdom of your present
Remember the lesson not the disappointment.

Using a chisel to tighten the flywheel bolt and destroying the crankshaft because flywheel came loose

I don't think I've ever seen a steering wheel nut that didn't have damage from being undone or tightened with a tang-through screwdriver and a hammer.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

Its always a 50:50 if the flywheel bolts have been previously removed with a cold chisel.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I had to check - mine isn’t surprisingly. I don’t know how many owners my current car had before 1982 when I purchased it and I have found a few sketchy things.

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1970 Mk2 Cooper S under restoration

Looks like they missed the nut and went straight for the end of the column

I think its 1 5/16" (something big anyway). Most socket sets don't go that high, and you can't really get a shifter in there. So lets just hammer it off!

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

People who do their front 7.5 or 8.4 disc brakes have the right 1-5/16", or a 34mm socket.

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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.

But that is not the end of the story either. The socket is unlikely to be found in less than inch drive so a bar will be needed and if you have an after market wheel then an extension is also likely required.

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Cheers Dave.