Bodge!

[BruceK]

I thought I'd start a thread where we can show bodges and screwups and downright deceit we've discovered.

This one is minor - but annoying.  I was looking at the carburetor overflow pipe on my car and was wondering what's the deal with all the electrical tape that is wrapped around it?   Was it done to dress up the pipe in engine compartment because it really needed to be painted?   Nope.  The tape was wrapped around there to hide some big holes in the pipe!  Lovely.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, like THAT's going to contain gasoline!

I don't know where to start.....

How about using a solid line to connect a slave cylinder on a moving engine to a solid body!

[ADRay]

is this thread for found or perpetrated bodge?  ;D


When I replaced my floors I found that someone at some point welded rocker panels over the rotten rocker panels.


but to be fair, my repair was a bit of a bodge in itself...

[BruceK]

Yes, you may confess past sins here my son. 

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[BruceK]

My first Mini had some interesting wiring done by a previous owner.   He used home electrical wire, such as for a table lamp, and secured the connections into the Mini's loom with beige masking tape.

[94touring]

Covering cills and other various panels with panels is a fairly regular occurrence when I dig in.  Sometimes I find rags stuffing holes or chicken wire with bondo over it.  I'd even call what I found on Bruce's right wing a bodge considering a pro shop did up the car.  I will admit the first mini I did was embarrassing how poorly I went about things.  Just young and didn't know better.

[ADRay]

I will admit the first mini I did was embarrassing how poorly I went about things.  Just young and didn't know better.

me too. I've had to have my own handiwork repaired by a professional. That seam at the bottom of the kickplate had to be rewelded because my welds had cracked, and it felt like the front subframe was going to take off without the rest of the car...

[tmsmini]

My first Mini had some interesting wiring done by a previous owner.   He used home electrical wire, such as for a table lamp, and secured the connections into the Mini’s loom with beige masking tape.

I had this in my 66 Mini that I had in the 70's. Big puff of smoke from the engine bay. Zip cord had been spliced in and soldered in poorly, then it weathered a bit.

[BruceK]

I'm gonna count this one as a bodge. I pulled my water pump off this evening and discovered that my engine has a later model head without a bypass hose. But that didn't stop someone from using the wrong water pump and adding a slug of metal to fill the unnecessary bypass outlet on the pump.

By the way, that's only four years of rust and crap in there. And I flushed and flushed and flushed the cooling system.  And that crap was still in there.

So, do I need a different new water pump?  Because I just ordered a brand new pump and of course it has the bypass outlet. 

[John Gervais]

Beige masking tape - interestingly enough, I pulled a small wad of masking tape out of my heater fan today. 

Last weekend, I took the mini out on it's first drive since June for the club's last drive of the season.  Horrible day, but had a great time.  Cold and sunny, cold and windy, cold and rainy - biblical rain.  Needed to run the heater, and all of a sudden it started making a heck of a racket.  Decided not to run the heater until I got back to the garage.

I'd taped a nut and washer to a wrench in order to install the new ignition coil to the inner wing and the tape fell off of the wrench and into the fresh air duct; turning the fan on sucked it in.

[94touring]

I'm gonna count this one as a bodge. I pulled my water pump off this evening and discovered that my engine has a later model head without a bypass hose. But that didn't stop someone from using the wrong water pump and adding a slug of metal to fill the unnecessary bypass outlet on the pump.

By the way, that's only four years of rust and crap in there. And I flushed and flushed and flushed the cooling system.  And that crap was still in there.

So, do I need a different new water pump?  Because I just ordered a brand new pump and of course it has the bypass outlet.

I ordered the fancy one from spares without the bypass. 

[MiniDave]

I have a pretty slick little kit you can use on your new pump to block off the pipe.....I bought the same pump for mine not realizing I needed the newer style too....I have a spare if you want it.

[BruceK]

I have a pretty slick little kit you can use on your new pump to block off the pipe.....I bought the same pump for mine not realizing I needed the newer style too....I have a spare if you want it.

I'm interested. What's in the kit?

[MiniDave]

Just a little rubber cap held on with a hose clamp....Looks like the rubber tip off a cane or something.

[John Gervais]

The new MiniSpares 'Evo' water pumps won't fit under the old, small pulleys, so you might need to check before you install.  If you're using a large pulley, you might be ok - I haven't checked.  I ended up shelving the new pump and using the small pulley on my 'not-so-old' old pump.

[BruceK]

Just a little rubber cap held on with a hose clamp....Looks like the rubber tip off a cane or something.

And it can deal with the heat and pressure?  Sounds like a better solution than what I have.  Yes I want it, please. Trade it for the choke cable? 

[MiniDave]

Deal, I'll mail it out to you today but you can bring the choke cable up in Oct, no need to spend money to ship it.

[BruceK]

Super!  That way I can use my brand new water pump.   Thank you

[MiniDave]

On it's way

[BruceK]

Just found another &/$#%* bodge!    The brake pressure regulating valve was secure to the firewall with a friggin' wood screw wrapped in electrical tape!  Argh!   I am pissed.

[94touring]

Haha!

[MiniDave]

That's the kind of stuff that makes me crazy! Really? You couldn't find a friggin 1/4-28 bolt?

[BruceK]

That's the kind of stuff that makes me crazy! Really? You couldn't find a friggin 1/4-28 bolt?

The hole where the bolt would go looks screwed up (sorry for the pun).  Not sure there was ever a captive nut there - I'm going to have to run a tap in there to see if I can cut some threads for a proper bolt.  But the sheet metal is a quarter inch thick there at most...    I can kinda see why this was done. 

[MiniDave]

Can you put a nut on the inside?

[BruceK]

Can you put a nut on the inside?

No, not accessible.  Behind the hole is where the big bolt drops into the tower of the subframe.