Susan's 63 Mini

[MiniDave]

This car belongs to a Lawrence British Car Club member, her husband spent years restoring it and unfortunately passed away just as he was finishing it up.

She's just now started driving the car, she also has an MGB and a Hyundai Veloster DD.

For some reason he decided to put a fuel cell in the trunk which takes up practically the whole thing, plus it's barely 5 gallons - fine for a race car but not so much for a car she'll want to take on longer drives. In fact, when she drove to our last big event at the Roasterie it took 4.8 gallons when she got home, too close for comfort! Plus too and also, there's no fuel gauge.....and even tho our fuel gauges aren't known for their precision, they're better than nothing!  ;D

So, we ordered up a new 9 gallon tank from MiniSpares along with the fuel sender, strap, mounting bracket and all the parts I could thing of to do the install and I'll start on it tomorrow.

Here's a few pics.....

[94touring]

Ha, little baby fuel tank back there!

[BruceK]

And interesting and nice looking Mini from what I can tell.    I like the interior and the red exterior with the white grille.  Since the K reg plate is from 1972 or so, it doesn't seem it was original to the car, but it's a nice addition.   

[roadhouse]

Wow that car looks great. Unfortunate he didn't get to see it to completion but glad she is enjoying it.

[MiniDave]

Yep, it's a sad situation, but good for her for moving on with her life and enjoying the car the way he would have wanted her to.......

[MiniDave]

Today I pulled the fuel cell, I find it a lot easier to work in the boot if I take the boot lid off first.

Once the cell was out I trial fit the new tank and it fit as expected. Next I installed the hold down strap, fortunately where the top end of the retainer bracket bolts on there is already a welded nut, the other end bolts to a bracket. I ordered that bracket and primed it yesterday, today I welded it in and gave it a coat of black Rusty Oleum.

The only thing that might give me some trouble is the sending unit - I may wind up having to make a tool to install it. Right now it is almost impossible to turn it and lock the sending unit in. I did find that the sending unit wiring is still there, so I can wire it up once it's in.

The only thing I forgot to order was the gas cap, but Victoria British had the right one so that's good to go now.

[John Gervais]

Sure is a sharp looking car!  (Why does my 9 gallon tank look bigger - or my boot look smaller?  Must be the shiny-bright red paint vs my pit of despair black-hole boot cavity...)

For fear of vandalism, is it safe to use a non-locking cap these days?

[94touring]

Nice job.  If I remember last sending unit I did with new rubber took a few calculated hits with a mallet to get it to fully twist on.

[John Gervais]

My Haynes is in the garage, and though I've got various repair manuals here on the 'puter, I can't really be bothered to check them right now.  I believe they say to use a pair of crossed screwdrivers, though I can't imagine how - I've always just used a single (old and misshapen) screwdriver and tapped the locking ring into place by light hammer force.

[MiniDave]

John, I have a locking gascap but I think they're a PITA, so I just use a regular cap, never had a problem.

I was thinking of making a tool out of a piece of pipe, since there are three tabs I thought I could just cut three notches to fit the tabs and put a pipe cap on  so I could press down while trying to turn it......I can always put a pipe wrench on it if I need more torque.

Failing that, a hammer and drift may be the next or last resort.

Since Susan's car is on the lift mine is just outside, some of the parents tonight have asked if it was a Mini under the car cover!

[John Gervais]

Wow, I've never seen one that tight!  Does the ring fit without the gasket?

[MiniDave]

It's as if the seal ring is double thickness, I might have a sheet of 1/16" Buna lying around, I could make a new one. When I changed the sending unit on the racing green I had no issues getting it tight.

[John Gervais]

I believe I've got an extra couple o'seals in my box of fuel system spares, but sending one 'over there' might take a while to arrive.  If I remember correctly, mine are only around 1/16", maybe 3/32".

Did you order the correct seal?  ARA1502

[MiniDave]

Yep, it's the right number, but this one is thicker than 1/16"

Edit: just went and measured it - 1/8" thick.

[John Gervais]

I'll try to get up to the garage tomorrow and see what I've got.  I ordered 3 when I installed my new sending unit, so I should be able to find a spare and measure it if you're interested.  I believe mine are thinner, but not 100% certain.

I should also have a set of late-model rubber front subframe mounts (lower tower rubber) KGE100060 that I'll never use and could be passed on to someone who could use them, for example, Dan's shop.

[MPlayle]

It sounds like you have two seals stuck together.  When I converted the Tahiti Blue Mini (Flur) to carb and put a new sender in the replacement tank, the new seal was only about 1/16" thick and everything went together with just a few taps to lock the ring in place.

[MiniDave]

I thought that might be the case too, but it's clearly one piece....

I can always make one, so no issue there.

[MiniDave]

Tank is now in, all I have to do is hook up the fuel line and vent and see if it leaks - I did have to make a gasket for the sender, that one just would not work. Hope mine is gasoline tight......

I also will have to modify some of the wiring for the LP light, it hooks up behind the tank so I'll have to lengthen the wires a bit and the fuel gauge doesn't work - could be it's not hooked up on the gauge end.

So far so good.

Oh and a pic for John showing how much boot area the tank takes up - feel better now?   ;D

Oh, and yes, that is a slight bit of damage in the freshly painted body at the right tail light.....she was backing down her curved driveway and hit her other car.....  ::) once I'm done it will go straight to the body shop that painted it to get repaired again

[MiniDave]

All done......turned out well I think. Still haven't tried to fix the gauge, it's hotter'n hell here today and muggy. I'll pull the cluster later and see what I can learn, but I might be done for now.

[John Gervais]

Yeah, it looks sharp and I feel better now.  Thanks -

One thing that I did when I installed my larger tank was use a couple of 4" sections cut from a bicycle tire tube which I then opened up to form a single layer and inserted them between the fuel tank and the metal strap to prevent rattling and to protect the tank from strap-skuffs.

[MiniDave]

She was very happy with it, and she and a friend hauled it back to Lawrence on his car trailer so she wouldn't have to drive it at night, even tho all the lights work just fine.....I think they just dodged the T-Storms that rolled thru last night too.

I drove the car around the block and there were a number of revelations - the brakes need adjusting, you have to pump it once to get a full pedal and the handbrake doesn't hold. I adjusted the choke a little bit - on full choke it would rev to what sounded like 5k (no tach) so I backed that down a bunch. It still needs tuning and carb work....

I never did get the gas gauge to work - it reads full all the time, but then I don't know how the front end is wired, she has a guy who did the wiring going to go thru it this weekend - it could be all that's wrong is the wires are reversed at the gauge.

The car rode so nicely - now I see what fresh cones feel like, and I almost wish I'd gone that way instead of coilovers.....the motor in this car is a well built 1330 and it goes like stink....she'll have a lot of fun with this once it's all sorted out!
She said she prefers driving this over her MGB too.

[John Gervais]

Nice one -

Did you ask her to join our online group?

[MiniDave]

Yes, she is registered here but hasn't posted......I sent her a link to this thread.

[MPlayle]

Keep her updated on the "Spring Drive" thread as well.

[MiniDave]

Yep, she's planning to go with us......