Stan's 78 mini restoration

[94touring]

Here's the latest and greatest on my end.  Put some fresh paint on the radius arms and subby and began the rebuild.  Stan bought all new parts (in some cases the same part multiple times lol)  Waiting for a shell reamer to arrive to finish off the radius arms.  Here's a pic of a reamer and the device I intend to fabricate to do it properly.

[stan360]

painting / refurbing small parts today....

[stan360]

hardy spicer flange refurb & replace u joints....

[94touring]

Nice!

[94touring]

Finally had a chance to get back in the shop.  Got some brake lines run and a freshly rebuilt rear subframe on.  I should have put the kyb adjustable shocks on for show, but they'll be on soon enough.

[MiniDave]

I'm starting to warm up to the color....which suggests a name for the car - "Butters"   ;D

Ya all know Butters last name on South Park is Stotch, right?

[MiniDave]

hardy spicer flange refurb & replace u joints....

Are you going to use those with the new engine/transmission? Cause I don't know if those will work with a rod change gearbox......

They look fantastic tho - are those new axle shafts? The part number looks laser etched....

[stan360]

Ha !  Butters....that is good, I like that. 

Yes to Hardy Spicers on the rod change ,  using the Hardy Spicer output shafts and having to machine the standard sideplate covers to accept the larger diameter shaft.   7ent has some modified side plates .

I picked up some hefty driveshafts after Dan sent me a reminder pic of the ones I have in the car ... these are a bit thicker  than the originals, but I  can clean the old original ones up and keep them for spares since they are a bit hard to find.

[MiniDave]

I knew there were mods involved = that it wasn't a straight swap for the pot joints.

So, have you found an engine for this beasty? It's looking gorgeous!

How's the budget holding up?  ;D

BTW, are you going to the KC-Lawrence run sat the 24th?

[stan360]

It has became a bigger project than at the onset. Tearing the car completely down has been fun, and I will have a bit better understanding of how things work on the mini.

My Saturdays are always chewed up and that is the day all the good stuff happens.....I will have to make it to one of these runs.....I hope this coming year I can take " Butters".

The 1275 project has been bumbling along....Did find A+ 1275 rod change..turned out to be  not what I needed  , on to the next one now , earlier A 1275 w/ rod change and ironing out the bugs with that.  Would maybe have been easier to redo or remove that rectangular tunnel in the  car and use your 1275 block w/remote shift.

[MiniDave]

I have since acquired a really good 1300 (12G940) head for it, so I'm ready to build that motor now....just need a few bits and bobs which I know I'll find soon.

[94touring]

Getting a lot done on this car.  Not much longer now.

[Willie_B]

Shouldn't the bleed screw be on the top for the front brakes?

Man that is looking good. 4.gif

[MiniDave]

What a difference! Stan has got to be anxious to get it put back together now!

WillieB has good eyes! I didn't even see that......

[94touring]

Oh probably...funny thing is I referenced other cars here and they were on the bottom too.

[MiniDave]

Nope, WillieB is right, bleeders have to be at the top for them to work.

[94touring]

Well 4 bolts and a couple brake lines to disconnect, no biggie.

[stan360]

Everything is looking great ....I just organized the parts piles this past weekend, got some things of the house and into the garage to get  ready to start putting the rest of the car together. Won't be long.  I will be busy over the winter.

[jedduh01]

Stan = can you share where you got the U-Joints for the Refurb?

Im about to need to do the same for a friends car.... Tranny building now.

[stan360]

Mini Spares.....here is a link

http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Drivetrain/GUJ101EVO.aspx?08&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/hardy%20spicer%20joint.aspx|Back%20to%20search

[jedduh01]

Thank you ! 
   keep this noted for when its time. (SHOOT - Just got 400$ from MS for the transmission)

I probably will grab a set of TR6 speced replacement Joints.. as they are also the same joints used in the Nylon cup type universal joint more commonly upgraded on mini's.

Those joints are always very cheap locally at the local parts stores... then we shall really know!

[stan360]

Still sourcing a few odds and ends parts I need to get the engine ready.  I didn't want to pay almost $50 on minispares for a radiator/engine mount bracket that I needed so I found one online for about $15.  The downside was that is had been made ready for a mini pimp mobile with a fresh coat of gold paint .  But , the part was media blasted before painting so the barely cured gold came right off with stipper. 

[stan360]

I found a really cool old shift knob, supposedly  out of an early mini.  It is made of Bakelite and has a brass thread insert baked into it.  I cleaned and polished that back to life. The threading was metric M8 -1mm and did not fit on my shift lever that  is the 5/16-18 UNC.  I used a tap and it only took about a minute through the brass and it fits perfect. I even found a blackened jam and washer at the hardware store that made it  look like it was meant to be.

[94touring]

I could have paint matched your subframes to that gold bracket.

[stan360]

I could have paint matched your subframes to that gold bracket.

Ha, yeah that would make the car more valuable.   I had a good laugh when I seen it .   Of all the colors to pick for refinishing that bracket for resale.