Racing Green 89 Mini

[MiniDave]

The air suspension isn't that complicated, but for someone who isn't a wrench it can be a bit daunting......

$7K to fix the bags is pretty crazy - from the dealer the front bags are $600 each, from Arnott they half that, however.....as good as they might be I've replaced 2 factory bags and 5 Arnotts.....if I have another one blow I'm going to coils springs and be done with it. I have no idea why we're having so many failures as she doesn't drive it that much - the car had 9K on it when we got it in Aug of '04, it only has 76K now and it's a 2004 car!

I'm down to about an hour a side to replace a front bag, I haven't done the rears yet as I haven't had any problem with them but I understand they are a bit more work to change than the fronts.

[MiniDave]

Today I went searching for the coolant leak on the Racing Green Mini, I knew it was either the bypass hose or the water pump itself, and I decided no matter which was at fault I would replace them both just to make sure I had a good car for Tenn in a couple of weeks, Since I towed it back from my friends shop it also gave me a chance to do a refresher on towing the Mini....which went off with no issues.

Once I got the rad out I could see where the leak was - this engine does not have the bypass going to the cylinder head, but the water pump still had the nipple for the bypass hose - instead a blanking rubber was used and that's what failed. I already had a new pump on hand so I pulled it too - I think the pump was fine, but it had the cheap stamped steel impeller rather than the cast one, so I felt better about going ahead with the new one.

Once it was all buttoned up I refilled the coolant and ran it up to temp, now I'm waiting for it to cool down again so I can recheck the coolant level in the rad. I also found my fan on backwards, so I rectified that as long as I was in there.

[Willie_B]

Get the next pump without the bypass.

[MiniDave]

Yes, that would be the right way to do it, but my local Brit parts place only sells Sprite/Midget parts that I can use, so I took what I could get......I also used a better cap for the bypass nipple.

[MiniDave]

I only had one issue in the 6-700 miles I drove the Racing Green Mini, and none in the transit behind the blue Clubby. On the downhill run on one drive I didn't lose the brakes, but they definitely got soft. I ran the rest of that run in cruise mode and didn't touch the brakes all the rest of the way down the mountain and they came back once they had cooled off. I'm going to pull the rear drums and check the shoes and maybe sand the drums a bit as I think these shoes (the Mintex supposed good ones from Mini Spares) might have glazed. I'm also going to pull the front calipers and rebuild them as I didn't get time to do that before the trip. I did have fresh Dot 4 fluid in the car but I may try to find some better stuff.

The engine ran perfectly and I didn't even use any oil that I can measure, so I'm happy with that. I also ran perfectly cool, even pulling long uphill runs on a 70* day.

I still have the issue with the wobble at 45-53 mph, my next move is to try my other set of wheels - I need some spacers for the front wheels to get them to clear the calipers but at least I can see whether it affects the wobble. If it doesn't, I don't know where to go from there!

[MPlayle]

Dave,

Have you ordered the spacers yet?  If not, I have a set (with new studs) that are extra from a change in direction on the Moke project.  (They were purchased before I decided to go with an entire new rear subframe fully built up.)

Let me know if you want more details.

[MiniDave]

How thick are they? I think I only need 3/8" and I only need them long enough to find out if the wheels are causing the wobble.....

[MPlayle]

They are 3/4" thick.  They were intended for the rears on the Moke (which did not have spacers) for adjusting to go with the disk brake upgrade.

They are probably too thick for your needs.

I would be willing to send them "on loan" if still desired.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, I have 3/4" on the rear, but I think those would allow me to at least test it. Let me see if I can borrow a set locally first - I appreciate the offer Michael!

[MiniDave]

One interesting thing I've noticed, since I turned the fan around it doesn't run any cooler than it did, but that sucker sure is a lot louder! I can really hear it, especially at highway speeds.......

[MiniDave]

Don and I were on our way to a Triumph picnic in the park and got spotted and Facebooked.....

[jeff10049]

One interesting thing I've noticed, since I turned the fan around it doesn't run any cooler than it did, but that sucker sure is a lot louder! I can really hear it, especially at highway speeds.......

Interesting the 4 blade fan on my 850 is stupid loud I hate it I wonder if I put that sucker on backward if it would still run cool enough and be quieter.
Although there may be some ridges formed in the metal fan that doesn't allow a backward install I'll have to look.

[MiniDave]

Score!

I've never been happy with the seats in any of my Minis, they simply are not comfortable, especially on longer drives....I had a Miata seat in Buzz which was so much better, so I've been keeping an eye out for another set when these popped up on Facebook Marketplace. They're from a 2017 Subaru Sti, they're heated, reclining, height adjustable (they also have airbags which I'm not going to hook up!) and in excellent condition. They even have red stitching on the edges that goes with the red trim in the car! I may run them without the headrests, otherwise they're really tall. I was surprised to see that I could fit a modern seat in this car, and due to the way they're built I think they'll slide all the way to the back seat if I want them too!

The young guy that sold them to me replaced them with a set of leather Recaros....don't blame him, but I prefer the cloth.

I only bought the fronts as the back was just too wide and I would have to spend a bunch of money making it narrow enough to fit, but I told him if he didn't sell it I would take it off his hands (for free of course) and maybe I can make a comfy chair for the shop out of it?

[Willie_B]

Very nice. I prefer cloth also.

[MiniDave]

The backs (without headrests) are only about 6" taller than the OEM seats

[BruceK]

Those look great!  So they won't hit the rear parcel bins?

[MiniDave]

Surprisingly, I don't think they will hit, but obviously it will depend on how I situate them. On the Miata seat, I had to move it considerably towards the center, but that allowed it to go all the way back.

The seats I have now I put new foam in the bottom and I sit too high, plus the backrest is miserable.

Edit: no, they won't go back past the companion bins, and I will have to modify the sliders to get them to sit low enough, but I can do that. I took the sliders off and set the back in the car and they feel great!

But - I have several projects I have to finish first, including this last transmission and the Inno, plus getting rid of all the stuff from my Uncle's garage that I so far have been ignoring.

[MiniDave]

Got the right seat installed today, I could not figure a way to use the sliders as it just raises the seat too high, and it will not go back any further because of the companion bins, but I was able to use the stock seat mounts in the front and it sits well now. the seat feels great, especially compared to my stock seats!

The left one will be more of an engineering challenge as it has the height adjuster - which I'm hopeful that I can figure out a way to utilize, it sits lower than the right seat with no brackets so I think I'm up to the challenge and if I can figure out how to make it work it will give a lot more positions for the driver.

My back gave out before I could do the left one, and besides I'll need to think on it a bit before I start cutting and welding up brackets. Interestingly, the pump part of the height adjuster only works on the back risers, as it raises it pulls the front up by pivoting the front risers, so I will have to fab up a linkage of some sort.

I may also have to come up with some std brackets - the ones that bolt to the cross member. this car has some extra long ones that go all the way from the front to the back of the crossmember, I'll either have to shorten them or trade for a set of stds to someone with long legs.

I'm undecided on whether I'll use the headrests or not......

[MPlayle]

What are your plans for the stock seats?

My right side seat (driver's - RHD Mini) has a broken recliner - the handle will not move to release the seat back.  It is in a comfortable enough position, but I would like to set it one notch more upright.

I think the fabric pattern is a close match to what is in my 1991 (Miss Ruby).

Edit:
I took a look at some reference pictures I have of Miss Ruby's seats and they are enough different I would need the full set.  Mine are the half leather with similar pattern to the cloth, but no red - just black and grey "lightning" pattern.

[MiniDave]

I'm planning to keep them, so if/when I decide to sell the car I can put the OEM seats back in.

[MiniDave]

I got the second seat mounted in today, I did not get the raise/lower function to work yet, first I wanted to get it mounted up. I does sit a little lower than the right seat due to the different mounting....which I like - I can now see the gauges and I might even be able to see a stop light!

Can't wait to take it for a drive and see how it rides, especially now that I've raised the right front up so it's not dragging on every turn.

I'm also going to have to reposition the inner seat belt mounts, they were right in the way, but moving them back about an inch will work perfectly.

Right now the rear frames are just sitting on the floor like the OEM seats, I'm also debating whether to bolt them thru for extra safety. If I do I'll have to make up some brackets for there too....

[Willie_B]

If you move the seatbelts back could you use the old hole for a strap to hold the seat down?

[MiniDave]

Probably not, I think they'll bolt straight down.....and I need one for the outside too.

Took it up the street to pick up a pizza for dinner tonight....drove great!

[Jimini II]

They look great.

[jeff10049]

Nice! surprised how well they fit.