It's been quiet in the Classic Mini world
 

Just wanted to see how all of your cars are doing?

Winston's choke cable is still crimped - in the process of building up enough patience to work on it :lol: But other than that he is running great in the chilly weather.

I took my car to the track a month ago ... car ran great but in the 6th session I got some debris in my radiator and damaged some of the cores. My 12" wheels with Yoko 539s worked pretty well except I had a lot of rubbing on the inner fenders (enough to wear a slight groove in the tires). I did get tons of understeer.

I've replaced the radiator with one of 7ent's super cool aluminum ones. I also installed an SRacer rear sway bar to address some understeer issues and installed SRacer rear bump stops to address the tire rubbing.

Pictures are here:
radiator: http://desertwave.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=14908
sway bar: http://desertwave.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=14934
bump stops: http://desertwave.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=15055

I'm heading back to the track tomorrow and will report how the parts performed.

Jeff

We've already started the monsoon season in the Ohio Valley, so Bennie just doesn't get out of the garage. It seems to rain whenever I'm NOT in the office.

We'll be out and about this evening, though, dry weather is making a cameo appearance.:thumbsup:

Glad to hear Blue is going back on the track! Keep us posted!


Drive the cars while you can, Bennie may get a little jealous of your Clubman ;)

Unfortunately my Green Winston is garaged for the winter... Don't want to risk it in the snow. Just pondering what needs to be done next. Has a bit of an oil leak that needs attending too. Perhaps some sound deadening too.

winter is he11 here too - the low tonight is expected to be in the 60's :eek2:

60's?! Oh you poor thing ;)

Better plug in that engine block heater! My classic is undercover in the garage for the winter...

Now I need to get the garage heater going ... parts from across the pond.:thumbsup:

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...er/CylHead.jpg

All is queit in my garage as I'm waiting on a shipment of panels from the UK to get back going on my 76 pickup

My Mini is still in the UK. Once my tour in Japan is over, I'll be shipping her from the UK to the US.

Finally was able to wire up my front fog lamps. The previous owner installed the lamps but never wired them up... I was going to try the lights out tonight but it is raining so that will have to be postponed for the time being. I wish I took pictures of the steps for a tutorial as it wasn't as difficult as I thought. I bought the relay and wiring kit from 7ent, a laminated switch from Radio Shack, and used some other misc. wires and connectors I had laying around.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6...fcb083c5_z.jpg


Question though: For anyone else who has the front fog/driving lamps - have you devised a solution to the shaking of the lamps when driving? Since the front bumper wasn't originally made for them on my car it isn't as sturdy as it should to prevent the lamps from shaking.

I've only got two driving lamps, but they don't notice them shaking. Maybe that's because I'm shaking even more inside. Suspension systems sure have come a long way since Mini days...

I took advantage of the warm temps. today (around 50) to wash the cars. I don't think I've ever worn shorts outside before on January 1st. Can't call it the January thaw because the ground hasn't froze yet!

Mine still needs a turn signal switch and I need to figure out what up with the driver side headlamp.

Do you still have your xB?

Well I temporarily fixed my lamps...used some electrical tape to take the top of the outer lamps back to the grille. Looks very ghetto but it sure as hell works well, ha! Just wanted to do it to see how the lamps work and man are they bright. Now to figure out a permanent solution.

Wish I had time to wash the cars yesterday...now it is too cold to do it at home again.