Generally, seems like Classic Mini Talk has been slow....with summer car shows starting and stuff....surely you guys and gals must work on your Mini as much as "well, anything".....So what did you do on your classic Mini today?

Me....oil line to the oil pressure gauge blew....nasty mess it was...replace oil line and spent "forever" detailing the engine compartment...

Come on now...share

From Tom, Maxfield Mini's Care Giver.....Max is a '77 998 from New Zealand

 

Well, I replaced both Shift Housing mounts two nights ago. It seems to shift a lot better now.

I plan on installing a rear sway bar to help out in autocrossing. I was told this is a good thing to do to help out. Right now I do seem to get a bunch of body roll.

My engine runs a bit hot in traffic so I am looking at maybe installing a 10inch radiator on the right fender and run the heater core hose to it with a small fan. There is another guy on here that did that and he said it works great.

I also would like to install hi lows but I want to enjoy the car and not spend to much time working on it unless I have to. I am going to MME in Tennessee so when I do something to the car I make sure I drive it a bunch to make sure everything works good. I have limited time to spend until MME. Plus I just like to drive it, and there are a bunch of car shows to go to right now.

ok there's my list. nothing fancy. just keeping the car going and having fun.

 

I looked at my Classic today. Does that count? It's starting to get too hot to work in the garage here in Phoenix, so the mech work will have to wait until Sept/Oct timeframe. I have a brand new powder-coated rear subframe begging to be installed. Should be a fun project once I get started, but the thought of working in the heat is enough for me to pass for now.

Jeff

 

I drove it

My regular Sunday 1 hour drive

up to the port, then south along the beach

stop at the station to top off the gas

clean off the love bug goo

done 'til next week

it runs good and I changed the oil last month

why mess with a good thing

 

OH, Great.......I drove mine to a local car show....always creates a lot of interest...and the kids think it is super......let's see ...on a scale of 1 to 10, guys over 6-4 seem to be interested at a 9.5 level and kids of all sizes and ages seem to be interested on a 9 and above level....ah, and then comes the Brits/Aussies/ and the Japanese....they all seem to come in about the 9 level as they always have at least one "story to tell"... yep, shows are fun.

 

seasons are reversed here

too hot in the summer for most to sit in a parking lot, so our shows happen while ya'll are pushing snow shovels . . .

 

I am starting to understand...if it stays 92 to 96 in ChicagoLand......Tommy and Maxfield Mini may find an air-conditioned inside show...yeah, like that will happen.....

 

the more I drive in the summer, the more weight I loose (hehe). Doesn't get any better then this.

 

I'm a show heavy guy

a modified Mini at a hot rod show is always a conversation starter.

One of my favorites was one of the first I ever attended. Memorial Day weekend there was/is a car show on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach (I've moved away). What was GREAT about this show, was that many folks were just heading to the beach (if it was a nice day) with no intention of attending a car show.

It was just 'in their way' but that ended up as an opportunity to talk to folks who'd never GO to a car show . . .

 

oh, I like that...."the Accidental Car Show"....

In a way, the First Wheaton IL Local Car Show of our Season was in the middle of Wheaton's full Summer "get folks to town" bash...with a Taste of Wheaton and a Carnival....it was beautiful warm / hot even day going into a Friday evening show.....the place was crawling...made it lots of fun....lots of folks, lots of stories....my son brought his 86 Yamaha Virago 700.....it almost embarrassed Maxfield as it was twice as powerful and darn near as big.

 

Well, due to a nasty cold front, it is now 54 degrees....a small drop of 40 degrees in the last 24 hours....not bad...opens up this afternoon to pulling most of the interior out of Maxfield and installing the new "Newton" carpet pack....much better done in cool weather me thinks...actually me knows

 

Got my mini out on the weekends but lately been busy getting thing ready for MMN. Plan to pull it out this weekend and give it a real good cleaning tho before i pack and head up to Mosport!

 

For ages my poor car just wasn't right; flat spots on acceleration, burning oil, brakes sticking, lots of little squawks that were keeping it in the corner of the garage. I finally replaced the 45 DCOE with fresh 1 1/4 SU's and that cured all the driveability issues (keep your Weber for the track). This week I put on valve stem seals, despite my mini "guru" insisting they weren't needed (he was also the one who recommended the Weber). For the first time in years, no oil smoke. Took out the booster so I could rebuild it, or at least figure out why it's sticking. Brakes need a good push, but they work great. Took it out for a spin, and it's finally a pleasure to drive, so now I'm working on the little stuff that accumulated for years; electrical, trim, etc. Took it out for a good long run yesterday in the 90 degree heat, and temp never went more than a tick over half way up the gauge; oil pressure steady on 75 psi hot.

I've owned the car for over 40 years. Always garaged, never hit or rusted. Just got a lot of patina. Never been restored, just maintained. Now I'll finally have some fun with it.

Hope to see of you who dwell in or around Southeast PA at the Hellertown British car show this Sunday. It's a great event!

 

mspace...sounds good---nice to have owned it for that length of time...I was always getting something else...anyway...let us know how those drives go....I occasionally get into New Holland PA....I like that part of PA...actually, I like all of PA

 

I've bought and sold well over 100 cars over the years; some were (and still are) keepers, and I always knew this car was one of them. A friend bought it off a used car lot in Ocean City, NJ, in 1969, when he blew the gearbox six months later he still owed me the $300 I had loaned him towards the $500 the car cost, so I took the car as it sat and stashed it till I had a chance to put it back together. My gut instinct about cars has usually turned out to be justified. Currently I've got the mini, a bugeye with 1275, '67 MGB-GT, and a mess of 50's and 60's Lancias. I love unrestored stuff with good patina that I can drive with reasonable confidence.

 

Took the laundry that had been draped on top of it off.

 

I am taking my out tomorrow to figure out a night rally is late July. I drive it as much as I can on the weekends. It is running a bit hot at the traffic lights. I don't want to tear it to much apart. I am driving it to Mini Meet East in July. I just figured it is a work in progress and will keep working on it. I installed a 123 dissy and I am still trying to figure out which setting is best for the car. The car is just so much fun, I love it.

 

Hey, where can I find out more about Mini Meet East?

 

http://www.minimeeteast2011.com.

see you there.

 

Mspace......great choices....I admire the selection

 

Lil Pigg....enjoy the meet....just can't pull that together this year...

 

Took my son out canoeing on the other side of town. He loves riding in the classic.

 

spent some time cleaning up under the hood today and maybe try to vacuum and clean up the interior later tonight.

 

Its not mine but I get to put a lot of hours in on it I am doing some tin work on the interior and inherited some electrical, well a whole lot of electrical work.
The pictures were taken in my attached garage / shop.

 

got jammed up with other "stuff"....like work...and my carpet is still not in...but today before carpet, must tighten up tailpipe/exhaust manifold joint clamp...I sound like a short stack aircraft engine at low rpm....not that good really