Then I broke down (74 mini mild refurb)

[94touring]

Nah, I think it's about 275lbs.  Have to look a my notes.  Some of that may be rotational values.  Might be closer to 200 actual.  Fiddling with lights.  Have driving, skips regular beams, goes straight to high.  Turn signals work.  Have a burnt out bulb in the dash and one bad ground to the oil gauge light.   Haven't checked brake lights yet but calling it a day.   

[BruceK]

That is huge.  Means the car will weigh about 1,000 to 1,100 lbs, right?

[94touring]

I'm shooting for 1100lbs.   I know the rear subby is 30lbs less and the doors around 60.   Then tons of little things.  Plus it should make tons O power.   Adding the aerodynamic under trays as well to reduce drag.   It will haul ass I'm sure. 

[94touring]

A highly productive week.  Working on my own car was rather nice.  I have officially hit the pavement with it!  I have a list of small odds and ends to accomplish but it drives!  My master cylinder is mushy after countless bleeding.  Everything is new but it and since it was mushy before, new one is on the way.  I'm taking it easy while I break it in but I will say partial throttle  (10-20%) is faster than the old 998.  Blip the throttle barely and it rockets off.  Considering I only have roughly 50lbs of weight to toss back in, it's going to scream. 

[MPlayle]

My Moke's brakes are still a bit mushy on the first push after countless bleeding and adjusting as well.  Let us know if another new master cylinder solves the problem.  (Mine is the older style single line master with the plastic reservoir.  It is a new master purchased this past spring as part of the Moke's restoration.)

[94touring]

Yep first pump soft, then firms up.  No leaks and everything is adjusted properly.  These rear disc are very easy to setup.  This master never did work properly.  I thought it was old drums causing it before but now there's nothing old to blame it on. 

[MiniDave]

How exciting to see it in the car and running! Can't wait to see the numbers it makes on the dyno next month!

[MPlayle]

Dan,

Keep me informed as to your results in changing master cylinders.  The soft first push and firming up is exactly what mine does and my system is also totally new.

[94touring]

Seems to be a common theme with mini brake masters when the first pump is soft, it's time to replace the master.  At least what my reading has uncovered.

Back to job #1 today but before I left my Deka 8AMU1R Miata battery arrived for the mini.  I read conflicting info on battery weight ranging from 17-25lbs.  It weighed in right at 25lbs.  Dimensionally it's tiny, 5x8x7 inches.$106 shipped which wasn't bad.  The battery I had been using was relatively small for a car battery and weighed 30lbs.  The other mini batteries I have in the shop were normal sized and 35lbs.  Opted to stay away from the super light weight race batteries for reliability purposes. 

[MPlayle]

Seems to be a common theme with mini brake masters when the first pump is soft, it's time to replace the master.  At least what my reading has uncovered.

Seems pretty sad when a brand new master cylinder already has to be replaced.  Speaks to poor production quality.

[94touring]

Yeah it was brand new to the car after I bought it.   Dunno if it sat on the shelf so long the rubber hardened or just faulty from poor production. 

[94touring]

Tallied up weights from my notes.  Once the Force wheels arrive  and the regular glass comes out for poly (minus windscreen) I will have taken about 230lbs off the car.   Going by minispares/mania on rotational values of the flywheel and deducting a lesser amount  for lighter wheels, flanges, disc, ect...  I should have a seat of the pants feel of roughly 300lbs less.  A lot of weight has been reduced high on the body as well, yielding a lower cg.  Plus, a ton of unsprung weight taken off.  The final touches as I find time will be some aerodynamic shielding under the car using some extra thin poly.  I'm not entirely happy with how my exhaust is hanging, plus it has a few leaks, so I will modify and tuck it closer to the body.  A shield behind the grill blocking all but the rad area will also asist in aero drag.  I of course took off the front plate and will have the aluminum race style bullet mirrors mounted on my slider windows. 

[94touring]

Miata battery on the left and regular mini battery far right.

[94touring]

Got a fair amount done today.   One door is assembled and ready for the poly to be cut, just as soon as I get the poly.  Bought a small piece to test fit mirrors on the windows rather than door skins.  It will work perfectly.  Turns out taking the glass out saves 27lbs opposed to the 15lbs or so I was expecting.  Fiddled with the hand brake for a bit but finally got it.  Low beams work, and fabbed up the switch plate since I took the lower dash rail out.  Need to fiddle with seat belts tomorrow and sun visors.  Boot lid is on and rear plate and badge.  Bonnet is on with leather straps since all the latch pieces aren't used with the fiberglass bonnet.  Tomorrow plan to paint flares and redo the one door.  More to come...

[MiniDave]

Time to drive!

[94touring]

95% done.  Done enough for pics. 

[MiniDave]

You wound up doing a total restoration......well done!  77.gif

[gr8kornholio]

I know the feeling.   77.gif

[94touring]

I can officially get insurance on it and update the tag.  Will be nice moving it out of the shop since it's getting crowded in there.  Set up toe and camber on the front.  The alignment tool really makes it easy.  Will tackle rears next week.  Need to adjust spring tension on the throttle, it's stiff!

[BruceK]

It turned out really good.  So much better than the poor 998 car with low (or) no compression that you drove down to the Texas Hill Country 18 months ago!

[MiniDave]

And you've got 2 weeks to get some miles on it..... 77.gif

Does OK have a state inspection?

[94touring]

No inspections.  I put a black tag on it while it was off the road.  In the process of getting a quote from Grundy.  Will toss in the new master when I get home next week and hit the road to break it in. 

[Vikram]

Looks great! You're still waiting on the force racing rims right?

[94touring]

I am.  Hopefully doesn't take too long, but they are custom made.

[94touring]

A few more pics.  Brake master showed up about 30 minutes ago.  May start in on some color sanding next week depending on my mood.