Vikram's 1960

Started by 94touring, May 15, 2016, 11:55:37 AM

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Vikram

OK thank you for all the replies.

Dan, thanks for the clarification on the doors. You even left an empty can for me, so I should be able to get the paint code right off that.

MiniGene, yes absolutely. I already had a good ball park figure for what the car was worth, so I knew I was being ripped off. Since my car isn't that original, £10k would be a reasonable estimate for what it is and is probably close to the sum of its parts.

Jeff, when the car arrives I'm going to tear everything out of the car and take a good look at the floor.
Surely if it was braced properly, a good floor job could be done? I will report back, but not make a final decision until I consult you guys.

Lastly, for the MOT it really depends on the garage that does it. At least it would give me a chance to look under the car and check brakes, fuel lines etc

Then again, I could just do that myself.

MiniDave

Are you now living in a place where you have storage, or a garage?

Makes a huge difference on what you can do at home when you have a place to work, as you found out when you stayed at Dan's....trying to work in a parking lot or on the street is not fun.

Sounds to me like you want to replace the floors more for esthetic reasons than need, and that's perfectly OK as long as the guy who does it knows what he's doing.

I take it your job is going well? Glad you're settled in now!  77.gif
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Vikram

I don't have space to work on the car, hence the MOT would be a useful check. But I've got this classic mini garage right up the road from me, and that's where the car is going. So I will always have a place I can take the car, if anything goes wrong.

Yep, worked on the car at Dan's shop and in my parking lot, and there is no comparison!

Job is going well, just started! On top of all this, I still have to get the v5 for the car so a long way yet to go!


MiniDave

Do you have another car for your daily or are you using city transportation? Are you in London proper?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Vikram

Well, I am actually in a town called Bridgnorth-that's where I'm working. I know my location says London on here, but I moved out! I still go down to London on weekends every now and then.

I don't have any other car, I take the bus to work. It's a nice short ride, and it's good to have public transport as an option to get to work.

Vikram

Car is at Premier Mini Company, who seem far better and infinitely more reasonable. They're a bit backed up so work won't start for a couple of weeks.

In the mean time, I came across some wheels and had to pick them up. They were priced really well and were a complete set of 5. They were the ones I orginally wanted to put on the car but couldn't find them at the time.

They're original 10x6 Weller Motorsports, single piece steel rims. They're not too common either. Slight surface rust on some of them, and will be cleaned up and powder coated. This time in black!

Willie_B


jeff10049

I like those wheels that red and blue pin strip seemed to be common on old school steel wheels I wonder if they were all weller or just a thing back then? 
Have they assessed the flors yet?


Vikram

Sorry for the late reply. No WiFi in my flat as yet, moving in problems....

I've been over and looked at the floors. I will change them. It looks OK on the top but the underside shows it for what it is. Looks a bit like a patched quilt.

Lots to come soon....!

Vikram

Long time, no post.

Updates so far:

I have taken delivery of my new VIN and body number tags with the correct details for my 1960. They will go on the car once the work is done, and a letter will be written from the 1959 registry to support the claim. Hopefully that goes well once the time comes!

I have finally been able to place an order for a full mk1 floor. I might as well do it properly. There is quite a long lead time as the panel is a single piece and is made to order. It is from Mini Machine, who apparently produce great panels. It certainly isn't cheap which is why it has taken me so long!

I've asked for the floor to be made for a remote 'box, i.e like the early cooper s. The magic wand would be period correct, however I have heard it is vague. Of course I have an A+ 1275, so I need a new transfer case (22G1128 is the magic number) and A series transfer gears and voila it should go together. The question is do I use this an excuse to put in straight cut drops or do I buy helical?

I have also been looking into engine management, and ECUs. MED do a really interesting kit:
https://www.med-engineering.co.uk/ancillaries/engine-management/med-ignition-management-kit

So you can stick with carbs, have complete control over timing, better reliability AND have a 3D map if you use their TPS! But man is it expensive....I could buy a really nice head with that. Then again I have been looking at 7 port heads, this is a disease.

P.S I bought a 'beater' 95 1 litre micra for my daily  :-[

MiniDave

Aren't those Micra engines a popular swap into Minis over there?  77.gif

Glad to see you're still moving ahead with your build! Keep us posted!

Oh, straight gears are fine if you're going to be making well north of 100 hp, but for almost every other application, helicals are the way to go - straight cut gears are NOISY!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Vikram

Yup, although I like the sound my concern is that it will get too much for long drives.

I think the swap is fairly common, K11 1 litre but I think turbo charging them is even more popular. It has a 5 speed, but its pretty dismal, and puts out 55 hp so the same as a stock 1275....not sure why you would swap it!

Vikram

Update.

Hard to admit I was wrong about supercharging, but I was. By the time I've done it properly, it will be expensive and the results are mixed. That combined with the potential teflon issue, I'm out. So now?

Drastic change in approach to the engine. Ive sold the complete 93 rover ex spi engine, and bought this using the money. Its only a short engine, so no gearbox and no head. All happened very fast, saw an opportunity and jumped.

I had to get a different transfer case anyway because of the incoming mk1 floor, so no biggie. Central oil oickup and x pin diff are a must too.

So for power, the question is what head? Definitely something exotic. Those DOHC bmw k heads are at the top of my list, along with 7/8 port. All expensive options, but screw it. I bought the car in late 2015, I can wait a bit longer for greatness.

Anyway enough waffling, here is the engine.......

A+ block, Cooper s lightened and balanced rods, arp studs, +60 overbore with slots for valve clearance, large centre main strap.

Oh and EN40B 1071 crank! Time for a screamer.

MiniDave

#413
Call Keith Calver for a top notch A series head - there is a company over there than makes the complete BMW motorcycle head kit too - Specialist Components. If you go that route you can have about 160hp with fuel injection, all plug and play.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

I looked into the bike heads, the whole kit you bolt on and make tons of power.  The problem for me is the A series gearbox and everything else can't take that much power without requiring a lot of costly engine rebuilds.  Doing a Calver head like mine, port matching the manifold to it, and a fast road street cam (Kent 266 or equivalent) on a properly built engine is really the way to go.  A fuel injection kit vs carbs or webbers may have been more appealing to me as opposed to learning everything about tuning twin carbs and cost close to the same.

Vikram

Yes, Specialist Components. I am currently talking to John from SC.

I would like to avoid the 5 port route out of personal preference....

Vikram

Dan, I've heard the weak points are the box over 100bhp and the crank for high rpm.

Short stroke crank and centre main strap should sort this. Leaving straight cuts for the box? Not looking for over 130bhp...

MiniDave

The longevity is strictly down to how you drive it.....if you're slamming shifts and doing burnouts - you will trash the box with 50 hp. If you drive it smoothly and use the power, the box will hold up - just use the cross pin diff like you said.

Stock crank is good for 7500 rpm, how high do you want to turn it?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

I suppose for myself if I wanted to push 130+ out of an A series, I'd put in a D series vtec.  Anthing I've ever read where guys run big cams, engine all built out, revving to high hell to get that 100+ horse power, they're rebuilding engines like I change socks.  And spending a fortune to do it. 

Vikram

As ironic as it sounds with the mods planned I'd like to keep it mini-ish. So no vtec for me. Very cost effective though.

Since this is short stroke, and nitrided I'd like the ability to wind it to 8.5k, 9 if I can have it. For special occasions

MiniDave

#420
If you're going to have that sort of RPM, you won't have any power down low, it will be miserable to drive unless you're on a race track. Just sayin......BTDT, bought the T shirt, spent the $$$$ money.

I think if you drove Dan's car now you would find it more than powerful enough, and it's still drivable under all conditions.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

Quote from: Vikram on February 19, 2019, 12:32:19 PM
As ironic as it sounds with the mods planned I'd like to keep it mini-ish. So no vtec for me. Very cost effective though.

Since this is short stroke, and nitrided I'd like the ability to wind it to 8.5k, 9 if I can have it. For special occasions

That's race car talk! Bring it back down to reality  ;D. Hell even my rotary I shift at 8k. You're going to be shooting for 7500 tops and that's still sacrificing just normal driving around town.  6k-6500 redline is the a series street car sweet spot. 

Vikram

Ive seen dyno curves for the K1100 heads and they produce a flat torque curve low down, with great power 254 cams.

Bearing in mind that the crossflow bmw head is far better ported and engineered than the a series.

What spec did you run Dave?

Got to dream big Dan! Didn't the original 1275 cooper s cars run to 8500?

MiniDave

Yes, race engines will turn up that high, but like Dan says they don't last, they rebuild them after every few races. Plus too and also, there is a lot of very bespoke (read expensive) stuff done to them to turn those kinds of RPMs.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

Having driven Dan's car where I (briefly) planted my right foot all the way to the floor, I can tell you it is mighty damn quick.  "Holy F$&@#% Sh!t !!!" was my involuntary exclamation.    Something to be said for that combination of parts and state of tune.
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara