CRX90B Rally Replica Project

Started by Armycook, April 04, 2017, 07:49:31 PM

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Ingman

What a great car.  Your attention to detail and ingenuity is impressive.
RJR

Armycook


Armycook

Been awhile but a lot of changes on this Works rally replica car. I decided it's time to replace the Minilites with the proper LP883 Cooper S steels just like on the old black and white photos. Found a nice newly restored set from Minimania classifieds and jumped on it right away. I was going to buy the alloy replicas but it didn't look right without the hubcaps as the alloy replicas are reinforced around the lug holes.

The new wheels looked very nice but it looked so damn clean for this car so I decided to wet sand the high wear areas a little and gave it a little patina with lint free rag and brake fluid. The bare metal wouldn't look natural with the theme so i placed papertowels and poured vinegar on it. Let it sat for 3-4 hours and then gave it a few coats of glossy clearcoat. The finish looked great.

Another additions I acquired were the two 50 something year old Dunlop SP44 Weathermaster tires from Ex Works rally mini LBL666D owner, Mr. Mike Hyrons. He told me it's one of the spares at actual mid 60s Monte Carlo Rally race.

velopackrat

Wow Dennis,

That thing is awesome.  Where did you find the Heuers? 
If you get a wild hair to put twin SU H4's on it, I've got a pair calling your name:)

cw

Armycook

#29
Yes sir i'm interested!

They're not Heuers. A friend told me where to get it on Ebay. They're just regular pocket stopwatches but same size and dimension at least. It works for now until my budget allows me.

I have a blowby. The engine is 1275 austin america with a cooper S head and a single HIF6 carburetor. My next project is to remove the engine and replace some things as this engine was claimed newly restored but it didn't have not even a single breather. Let me know what you have and let's talk offline. I don't have much budget so i'm doing this little by little.

Ideally i want it to get it very close to a proper Works engine spec. It's ambitious but it's a nice goal especially when a lot of Ex Works owners and participants are watching. No pressure right? lol

Armycook

Did I mention Les Leston steering wheel? I've added one too lol. I met a LL collector and bought one from him then found another proper flat 15" and won it in an Rbay auction too but it's gonna need a proper Morris bosskit and push horn.

Willie_B

Great progress. Just hope it does not get to the point where you quit driving it. 4.gif

Armycook

It's actually getting to the point where few people are starting to make offers lol

Been in this stage before but i love driving this thing. Just the blowby that's annoying. Been trying to suppress it and getting around the oil leaks. But overall i'm having a lot of fun.

Armycook

#33
I forgot I was able to acquire the Works exhaust system by Somerford. I like how it sounded and how it pulls. Here is a short video comparison between the two.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qswgHZQc594

Here's another clip of the Somerford

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=11s&v=GnlQRDDE5_8

Willie_B

Sounds good.
Lets us know how it is on the expressway for an extended time.

Armycook

#35
So I am back again. This time with a few additions. Finally got the dual H4 Carbs from Velopackrat and I also acquired a Smiths PCV valve to help minimize leaks. I still have the fuel mechanical pump breather vent with the baffle I got from Heritage garage. But I noticed that it is still spitting oil from back there. I also added another breather on the rocker cover. I would've gotten away with just hooking up both those vents to the PCV valve but with the oil still coming out I'm still dependent on that catch can baffle (but this time I removed the air filter from the Moroso catch can and found a hair spray cap and so it is sealed now eliminating vacuum leak w/ the pcv valve). I do plan on getting everything correct but i figured i'd make this work temporarily while i'm saving money for a full rebuild later when i'm ready. Might as well look at everything while the motor is out. I repositioned one of the heater hoses and installed this 1/2" copper tubing as a bypass just like how BMC Works minis does their engines.

Pardon the inconsistent parts. I'll make it look better after I find myself a time to permaswage some braided lines and make a proper catch can to be hidden underneath the wing.

MiniDave

What are you doing for air filters?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Armycook



94touring

Links or part numbers to that filter setup?

Armycook

Ask Velopackrat. He made those air horns  on a lathe and mill to fit these K&N part number B035B4. That dude is cool in my book.

Armycook

Great new year and i have acquired a few additions including a 6-hole pattern 15" Les Leston steering wheel. Also found a very nice gentleman from Japan that's helping me with a few bits like Lucas alternator light indicator, 700 and 587 vinyl Lucas lamp cover repros. His name is Akira Sagawa and he's shipped me the hard to find door pocket pads.

What are you guys using for insurance? How are you guys able to set a good valuation number? I have no idea what exact number Is out this car's worth except for a ballpark total dollar amount of whatever I have added on top of what I spent on the car when I purchased it.


gr8kornholio

I think mine is American National, there was an insurance discussion thread on here some where.  It's very non restrictive.  Just don't drive it everyday as a commuter and keep mileage under 5K, but they never took an additional mileage.  I also believe they will do an agreed value up to 50K without an actual appraisal.  They do request pictures and I'm sure there is some limit.  The previous owner of mine had the same insurance and had his value at like 35K.  Told me he had it that high so if it got wrecked he could buy a vtec mini.  So I guess it's a cost of insurance for how much you need if you lose the car.
I am the GR8KORNHOLIO! Are you threatening me?

Saussie Aussie 1965 Australian MK1 Mini.
"Beavis" - 07 MY/MY MCS, B/MY Konig Daylites, JCW sideskirts, TSW springs, TSW lower rear control arms -- Exploring the country with new friends since 11/09.

MiniDave

I'm insured with Grundy on a stated value policy, IOW we agree the car is worth X if totaled and the premium is based on that - it's very reasonable actually.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

Converting my non daily drivers to Grundy also.  Basically no restrictions aside from have a garage and daily driver.  Stated value and cost virtually nothing.

Armycook

Thanks! i'll contact them as soon as I get this Les Leston wheel from Michael Lempert. Oh by the way the way, I finally got the second Everoak corker rally helmet! So the rear parcel display is complete!

The last photo displays the two white helmets I've been using for weekend cars coffee meets.I think I'll save the Everoaks for bigger car shows so they won't rot too much.

Armycook

#46
So i'd like to let you guys know I have a facebook group page "Classic Works Rally Minis" I thought I'd unite all rally enthusiasts in one group so I can have an easier way of finding period bits and make my knowledge better about this specific type of mini. So this weekend I met two very nice folks that used to work for BMC competition and MG. They were sharing about their experiences on working on a few Works cars pertaining to the interior. I knew they got rid of all the chrome on the dash but did not know the details and extent of it.

Didn't know those were hand painted. One of the dudes' first jobs in Comps dept, was to remove headlining and (two halve <— not sure what he meant by this) and sprayed it matte black by fogging it on so not to soak into the lining, (in the early days theyd mixed grey primer with cellulose black) this is also what they used to brush all the chrome, he used a small lining in brush and didn't key the chrome before painting.

Only concern I have is that they did everything just to survive that once race and I'd like to keep my car for years and years to come. So I started to remove my rally dash panels and went to the store to get some matt black and satin black paint (was doing some tests which would look better), small brushes, masking tape, 400 and 600 grit sand papers.

I had to one by one scuffed the chrome and started masking them. I really wanted it all to come out nice. I sprayed two thin coats and touched up tiny areas using the brush and cotton swabs. The center binnacle housing, i was going to totally remove the silver trim by unlocking the wires behind but i noticed mine have a little bit of corrosion so instead I tried to unbend them a little as to not break them and used a flat screw driver to pop the trim by a few mm just for the news paper to barely go through in between so I don't have to risk breaking the trim's wire locks behind it.

I'm still thinking if i'm going to paint the headliner or just buying something in black but i haven't checked any stores that sells them. My interior panels are just repro vinyl so I'm not really too concerned about them. But i've gone this far so why not right?

MiniDave

#47
You could buy a black headliner, or just do what they did.....you can buy vinyl "paint" and takes yours out and just fog on light coats till it's dark enough. In the early cars, the headliner is composed of two halves (front and rear) on their own separate frames.

I assume all this black work is to minimize reflections at night during the rally? How cool that you found these two guys who could relate their story, you should document all this somewhere for the future, this is the kind of stuff that gets lost with time.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Armycook

#48
Yeah I was surprised they popped up and started talking about their stories. One guy telling me his story about this QA guy named "Bert" he's the one rejecting all the bad crackle finish on any parts and panels. So it was a collaboration between MG and BMC Comps department.

BruceK

Do you have a copy of The Works Minis by Peter Browning?  Not sure if it is still available - I've had my copy for 45 years.  The book contains a lot of build details on how the works cars were prepared and - but nothing beats the first hand info you are receiving!
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara