Stan's 78 mini restoration

Started by stan360, September 25, 2015, 08:58:48 AM

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94touring

Couple options for engine swaps for us to think about...  I may very well end up with a full front assembly with subby/1275/disc/rod change off this one divorce car.  I mentioned selling that to Stan.  Or I sell him the 998 assembly for a bit less and keep the 1275 for myself.  Dave you may end up with two 998 autos if you buy the green car for your eventual conversion. 

Spitz

I would keep your subframe from the automatic!

It's slightly wider so 3/8" spacers are used on each side of a manual going in.  The wider subframe gives you a little more room to work on other things later on.

I've done the swap.....once you have the clutch pedal ( it simply mounts to your existing pedal box ), and shifter and clutch master etc...it's easy peasy.
Even the shifter mount holes in the tunnel are the same

stan360

#52
Spitz, I was also  thinking the current subbie would be fine with some spacers.  I am looking at what Dan may have  available with the 1275 divorce car which would also have a manual subbie available I believe.... If you do have a 998 w/4speed rod change Dan that may be  a possibility also.

Dave.....  whatever I do in the used engine/ gearbox department ,I would need to have that  completely rebuilt.  You have the expertise, if you have the time available.

I would then still have my 998 auto and then possible subbie  and  so however all this  may work out , then that  could be up for grabs.  I could do some partial trading if there is any interest at all in the 998 w/ auto box and or subbie Dave .   

I could get a  shake and bake engine kit if nothing works out with the divorce car and other options Dan, so no worries.

94touring

I'm basically waiting for tax returns and the remainder of my closing cost figures on the shop to roll in and that will determine if I buy the divorce car to part out.  I would really prefer to buy the car to get it off my back per say.  I have one or two interested parties on a restored shell that would allow me to recoup losses, then theres the engine/subby assembly worth a good bit, nice seats to be had, and other odds ands ends I can use on my truck.  My 998 needs the tranny opened up to fix a 2nd gear synchro, otherwise it's been screaming down the highway.  I do have a spare tranny sitting in the shop as well and another box of gears. 

MiniDave

Stan, if you need some engine/trans work, just let me know.....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

MPlayle

I've missed a story somewhere about this "divorce car".


94touring

Ah the one red shell/car I have the guy is going through a divorce.  Basically I can't get paid to finish the work UNLESS it's "driving", which isn't what I signed up to do.  I was being paid to fix the shell and he was putting it back together.  The dollar amount he needs is fairly high given the current state of the car so unless someone pays me to do a full build or I sell a restored shell and part the rest, it's a black hole. 

MiniDave

#57
Will you get paid what you want if it's driveable? Do you have all the mechanical gubbins at your shop? Would it be worth your while to complete it if someone else got it running so all you had to do was the body?

Stan, my schedule is flexible, but my advice is to slot that 998 right back in once it's home from the body shop and drive it....then you can build up your engine/trans at your leisure while you're having fun with it, and once the engine's ready, it's a weekend job to swap it.

Option 2, if you have a motor already located, I can redo it while the car's at Dan's, then once it's done - in it goes.

The only thing that slows down an engine/trans build is waiting for parts and/or waiting to get in at the machine shop.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

I'll get paid for the remainder of the paint job...which I won't do to produce a running end product.  It's something to do with her lawyers releasing money for him to pay me.  I'd put it back together but I won't be doing it for free and shelling out money for broken odds and ends. 

stan360

#59
Dave, I have had that thought also of putting the original engine back in the car to tide me over.......but I know when I get the painted shell back from  Dan its going to look like a million bucks .  I can probably clean this grubby  engine up good.  But I may want to just hang in and put a new or refurbed to new  engine in it and be done with it, even if I had to hang on longer to do it.  I would be less at risk of dinking up the new paint if it was a one shot deal.


Depending on what is going on with Dan's engine possibilities.....those options when and if they work out  for me would be a determiner  of if or when I could  pick  up an engine  and then send it your way Dave to refurb for me.    If it turns out to be  sooner than later then all things may fall into place and work simultaneously.  If you were able to wizard that 998 block of mine to be able to accept a manual gearbox....that could work.  I heard that  might be a very  difficult possibility though.

If everything fails I could just bust out the small rust hole in the floor pan big enough to get my feet through and run this thing around town Flintstone style.  :o

94touring

What style wheels are you going with?  I'll also be recoating 12x5.5 alloys from that car as well. 

MPlayle

Dan,

If her lawyers are holding the purse strings and aren't going to pay for work done so far, possibly counter with a "mechanic's lien" for work performed and do no more work without payment terms more favorable?


94touring

I got payment for what's been done.  Till there's more money I will be doing nothing.  But I'm not opposed to buying it to rid the headache. 

MPlayle


stan360

#64
I have the 10x 3.5 on there now.....I like the 10's... I don't want fender flares on the car.

Spitz

If you can find some positive off-set 12" wheels, you would be able to go without flares I suppose.
I much prefer 10" though.
Can you get the Rose Petal wheels in an S offset in 4.5"?

stan360

You can get them in 10 x 4.75 with correct offset for cooper S type disc brakes.  They come with washers and spacers so you can also make  some adjustments to  the fit. They are a making these as reproduction of the original racing wheels , so they are over engineered for just putting around town but look very nice. 

stan360

#67
Since I have the car stripped down now, I am starting to clean up parts and see what is salvagable and what needs to be replaced.

I spent the last 3 days  refurbing and rewrapping the wiring harnesses.  This was far more time consuming than i expected. The first photo is the grubby engine harness beforehand... overall condition was good aside from grime.

I was able to salvage a couple of the original tags on the engine compartment harness.  I think I am going to replace and upgrade some of the connectors now and after reading Mini Dave's post on Wilson's Wiring I think I need that blade style fuse panel too. 

Willie_B


MiniDave

I agree, but keep this up and you go right past your original intention of a nice paint job and a spruce up and sail right over the cliffs of full on restoration!   ;D

There be madness!   :-\
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

stan360

It's to late Dave...I am halfway down the rabbit hole on this one.

94touring

Once you've stripped a car you're pretty much committed to the full restore.  Which is why I'm trying to keep my clubby rolling on wheels as I fix here and there.  My problem is there isn't enough time! 

stan360

Every rubber and plastic item and  I took off the car looks terrible now that I am sorting through it all and the shopping list grows.

94touring

You might as well plan on replacing all rubber lines, be them fuel or hydraulic.  Replace wheel bearings, brake cylinders, master/slave cylinders, coil and ignition components, carb rebuild kit.  You'll at least be reliable to drive after you've done that.  But even my BRAND NEW mechanical fuel pump failed me last week.  Electric pump went on and wired up in 15 minutes. 

MiniDave

Stan, have you picked a day to haul the body down to Dan's shop? If so which weekend, and do you still need the tow bar?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad