Stan's 78 mini restoration

[94touring]

We spoke yesterday.  He's headed down Monday and is using a trailer.

[MiniDave]

Thanks, we had discussed him using my tow bar to tow it......

[94touring]

Yeah we talked about that over the phone.  His front wheels are flopping around though.  Do you have a solution to that?

[MiniDave]

Did he remove the axles? I told him to remove the axles and take the outer joint off then reinstall it and tighten the nut, as long as the steering is connected it should run true, unless somehow removing the weight of the engine affects it.....I wouldn't think that would bother it tho.

[stan360]

Dave , I ended up taking the steering column and steering rack out so Dan wouldn't have to. So  I will trailer it now that it's kick a tire to turn . Plus I really wanted to get that pedal box out so I could remove that stubborn nut from up under the dash area.  :(  The drive shafts are there and easily removable...sloppy wheels without them in there. I'm trying to look at the shafts and cv joints and do some planning...I have the hardy Spicer joint and different shafts because the mini was an automatic. I don't know if I can use any of this when putting a manual in or not.

[MiniDave]

You'd be best served to get the later potjoints and uprated axles out of a rod change gearbox.....chances are that's the style gearbox will come with the engine anyway.....

[94touring]

I know what I'll use to pull the shell off the subframes .

[Willie_B]

Neat idea.

[94touring]

That was just a test run.  If I get rid of some slack in the strap and add a 2nd one for balancing I could get it off the ground with plenty room to spare.

[stan360]

busy sorting through parts, cleaning and replacing things .....I ended up  going  with the MiniLites and now I just have to find someone around my area who can put a tire on 10" wheels.

Dan I did get most if not all the subframe goodies lined out...Cones, Hilos, adjustable shocks , lots of bushings .

I haven't worked out  the brake line / master cylinder yet .  I have diagonal split style with GMC167 master cylinder.  That master cylinder seems to hard to find , maybe no longer made.  I think Mini Sport may have some ??  There is no easy line kit for the dual split on Minispares though.   They do have GMC 227  master cylinder with a front to rear line kit.  Not sure if this is actually a safer system.   I think I may also  need a PWDA valve for this setup....I believe my diagonal split had a single line valve on the rear subbie.

Also went with some Magnolia gauges.  My instrument pod had remnants of an old mouse house inside it  and the wiring harness had suffered a bit.   Although  all my gauges worked fine, but I am partial to the magnolia faces, So I just started over. ......I have no idea how the foam piece inside the dash pod  looked , only that one existed in tiny nesting bits inside my dash  pod , so I crafted  2 new pieces for that.  \

Still working on replacing some old connectors on the main wiring harnesses and I believe I will start working on the heater unit  and duct work next.  The box needs repainted. 

[94touring]

That foam should cut down on noise a little.  Too bad you couldn't find wheels pre mounted with tires. 

[Willie_B]

Never knew there was foam inside the binnacle like that.

[stan360]

I think 7 ent. sells some wheels w/ tires mounted combos....they just have a few options from what I seen. 

[94touring]

I know minisport sells them mounted, and if you don't care about knockoffs, midland wheels sells pre mounted also.

[Spitz]

I know what I'll use to pull the shell off the subframes .

I'd be careful with that...you don't want the straps squeezing the roof line.  I've had that happen ( thanks Mr. Farmer ), although the weight of the engine was there also.

I'd use a spreader bar at the top so the straps are pulling straight up

[stan360]

I disassembled the heater today and , while it needs repaint , it does look pretty  good and rust spots are minimal.  The matrix looks good also but I flushed this 6 times and still has murky mud water coming out of it.  I may  have to replace this part. Mine just might be full of crud, but are there any techniques to help flush this clean before I give up on it.

[jeff10049]

fill it up with whit vinger over night. and heat it with a hair drier or heat gun while full a few times.

[MiniDave]

That's a good heater core, save it if you can.......the replacements are made like modern radiators, with plastic caps crimped on aluminum cores.

I just filled mine almost full with hot water and shook it, drained it out - rinse and repeat till clear water comes out.....it took a while. It's like they collect mud somehow.....

[stan360]

I will keep on cleaning ...  they don't make things like they used to.  I have been disappointed in a few of the  modern replacement parts I have ordered so far.

[stan360]

I would like to clean up the wiper motor and bring it  back to a nice metal finish without painting it ( rack and wheelbox also ) ....This one has had some silver paint slopped on the front of the motor . Has anyone been able to get a presentable finish on one of these with a wire wheel or some other technique  ? 

[94touring]

Probably a little media blasting and quality paint would do the trick. 

[MtyMous]

I fought with mine for a while, but all of the little pieces of webbing and casting marks made for sub-par finish. I ended up stripping it down to bare metal and then cleaning it up before re-painting it. I have a cover for it, but I don't think I'll be using it. I want to show off my DSN brackets.



I might go back and change the color... who knows.

[94touring]

I've got it in que to move to the main floor for work to happen.

[John Gervais]

I looked at the image you posted earlier for your lifting strap test. 

Perhaps it'd be a good idea to brace between the straps above the roof to prevent possible crushing the roof?

[94touring]

Probably not a bad idea but empty it didn't do anything to it.