I'm new to the classic world and have lots to learn. Reading a recent post by Argo where he mentions the crankcase rebreather prompts me to ask about that.

As I understand it the breathers (I have 2 on my 1275cc) were connected by hoses up to the air filter. I don't have the air filter however as the single carb is fitted with a K&N filter. The breather outlets are open. They don't throw oil or smoke but just having two open holes doesn't seem like a good idea. At a minimum something could get sucked down there, or just fall. What to put over the openings?

Would appreciate e-mail addresses for any experienced coaches as I work to upgrade a modified 79 formerly known as "Vince's Orange Mini" and now renamed "the orange crate".

Those familiar with the car, and possibly the saga of my acquisition, who would like to keep track of my progress in keeping this classic in the inventory can PM me an address and I'll send periodic updates. Unless there's enuf interest for a thread here.

So far the saga includes a glorious overheat 1 hour after purchase, a trip on auto train, fuel and oil leaks found and fixed and I think the car now weighs 50 lb less since I've been pressure and steam cleaning the accumulated mud and crud that was simply covered with undercoating at some point in time!

But when OC is all together it sure is a kick to drive!

Funny story - took my 02 in for state inspection on Monday. The guy writing the ticket asked 'what kind of car.'

'A MINI'

'What?'

'A MINI Cooper S'

'What's that?'

At that time his work mate leans over and says, 'A MINI, one of those new little cars,' while pointing out the window. The first guy nods and continues writing and the second continues, "of course thats not a real Mini, you don't see many of those. But on Friday I saw one on my way home, an orange one, right by here, with big pipes and right hand drive. A real English Mini."

"Yea, that's mine too, I live about 3 blocks from here."

I was test driving right after installing a new fuel pump.

 

#1 you can buy inexpensive breather filters at the parts store and simply attach them

#2 you can install longer hoses connect them with a "Y" and vent to under car

BTW, when Minis were first produced in 1959 they were covered in a primer that had an orange hue. They were called "orange crates" around the factory.

 

Remember, all that oil and road grime on the bottom of your Mini serves as a 'built in rust preventative'.

Last weekend I installed a new steering rack on my MkI and when I got underneath and started to scrape the floor pans looked brand new after I literally removed pounds of crude off the bottom.

 

Cheap breather filters...too easy....

I'm off to the parts store again

crud from the bottom: my triage mechanic/evaluator recommended getting the bottom sand blasted (by a body shop that specializes in oldies) to see what the crud is hiding. So far I'm doing my own cleaning but already looking at the costs of a new rear sub-frame.....under the undercoating and crud are where I've found hiding a couple of rusted thru spots.

Since the car is a 200 miles a year vehicle right now - garaged and occasionally driven - he recommends cleaning the crap to bare metal & painting with a rust inhibitor. "At least it won't get worse."

Comments?

 

It's not a REAL Mini unless it has a few rust holes.

 

I use the Pep-Boys air filters on my breathers but you should make sure that you also have the correct (vented) rocker cover cap before removing the pipes that connect them. Otherwise you will have a rough idle among other problems. For several tips, see this Austin America website which is maintained by one of the best A-Series technical people I know (The Austin America has the same basic engine and gearbox and nearly everything applies to the Mini). http://members.tripod.com/austin_america/id68.html scroll down to “crankcase ventilation.”

 

great site....many thanks....

Pep Boys ...off to find a Pep Boys. Can't find anything usable at Auto Zone, my closest hangout.

everything was disconnected when I got it. It idles fine....I'm afraid to start plugging things!

Met up with a group of 'new' owners today.

OC had close competition since Checkered Flag took the time to have a rep bring a new convertabile to our Sat morn meet at a local (won't give 'em the plug) coffee place. All the attention the Mall customers paid to the MINIs, including the 'vert, and my - " what's that little one " - Mini will probably pay off in a sale or two.

Smart move CF .... we loved it and I bet it works out for you too

 

Aintifreeze suppliers, and Haynes manual say run 50% solution. But researching on the web I've seen some say no more than 25%.

Recommendations - when I got OC, owner said the solution was 25% or less. I had a near overheat but that was on a VERY HOT day in Tampa. (I think a rust flake cloged the system for a short while cuz the needle has stayed 'normal' ever since)

I was planning to back flush and fill with 50% this weekend.... solution recommendations????

 

One of the most important things to do is make sure your fan is fitted correctly. Correct is opposite of what looks correct and most fans are fitted wrong! Look at that Austin America link that I posted above – he has a thing on that. Also, flush out the block and heater core and run Water Wetter in the 50/50 water/antifreeze mix.

 

Oh, and make sure there is a thermostat fitted. If not, make sure there is a ST sleeve. Neither fitted will cause overheating.

 

In addition to his fan mounting issues he recommends 25%....

I have new fan in hand and since there's a couple of chunks missing from the one mounted I was going to drain, pull the radiator - flush the beejeebers out of it, hang the new fan and put it all back together.

Question remains 25% or 50% ... what do some of ya'll run. I've heard the recommendation for 'water wetter' but that ain't the same as anti-freeze either....you say 50-50 plus water wetter?

Actually that sounds good to me....

 

I say go with what Todd recommends on his website. He is the man and probably covers more miles on his A-Series engine than anybody I know.

 

maintenace for the SU carbs says 'fill the piston damper with the correct grade oil, until the level is 13mm above the top of the hollow piston rod. Now refit the plunger.'

I don't want to screw this up...every reference says the same thing. The "hollow tube" will be filled with oil once I fill the damper right? I'm guessing that if oil shouldn't be there, I'd really mess up the carb.

I removed the cap/plunger & as far as I can tell there might be a little oil on the bottom of the damper right now, but no where near the top. It certainly isn't over the top of the 'hollow tube' which I take to mean the center of the damper, where the plunger goes in. So I just put in engine oil (running 20/50) until "13mm" over top of the center tube?

What kind of problems should I be seeing...or rather, what effect will fixing this little glitch make go away.

 

Engine oil (thin!) works but I used 3-in-1 for that ... and you only need to fill it to the top of the tube: the plunger displaces some of the oil when it is (slowly) reinserted. The extra oil above the tube runs down the side of the piston tube soon enough so you don't need to add extra - just keep an eye on it (top it up every week).

The function of the dampener is to keep the carb piston from rising too quickly when you step on the gas - no oil in the tube means the piston jumps up and you get a really rich mixture until the rev's of the engine catch up ...

 

You're filling the center tube with 3 in 1, or the damper around the tube just to the top of the tube?

Thanks

 

The tube attached to the piston is all that needs to be filled - not the whole dashpot cover tube ... and if you use oil that is too thick, it affects your acceleration by not allowing the piston to rise quickly enough ...

 

Too much oil isn't much of a concern because it will run off. The type of oil is a concern, though, and many people recommend different types depending on your engine and/or modifications. Your engine may require different oil than the next guys, so experiment and see what works for you. ATF, 3-in-one, and 20/20 are popular but I found that 10w synthetic motorcycle fork oil works for me the best (any Honda MC dealer).

 

Fill the center tube to just short of full. Play with oils as that can affect throttle response but thinner is better than thick. And don't worry about small overflow as long as I don't flood the wrhole damn thing with oil.

Thanks....Haynes book left me scratching my head on this one.

Wanna another one? I have what I think is a "water cooled intake manifold" - it matches pictures I find in a parts catalog. Has a port on top, either side of the carb that's capped right now. I guess that's to route cooling water...from radiator? across the tp of the mainifold. There are no labels for in/out. Heard of such a thing???

 

There were water-HEATED manifolds - they would get the manifold temp up quickly so you didn't need to use the choke as much. There should be something like a copper tube cast into the aluminium manifold, and it gets plumbed into the heater hose that returns from the cabin heater on its way to the lower radiator hose (just before the pump) ... btw, I used a 1/3 mix in the coolant - kept it from freezing in upstate new york winters, and the only boil-over problems weren't the coolant's fault ...

 

OK, i just read that again .....

If you have a manifold that has threaded plugs on top of the manifold (or in the balance tube for twin carbs) , those were for the emisions hardwear (gulp valves and the like) and water should not go in there ...

 

Older British cars like your Mini ALL seem to leak oil. Don't worry, it's just marking it's territory. And the oil all over the frame is the Mini "rust protection plan".

It actually works!

 

my bad - double checked the Mini-Sport catalog and it is a water HEATED manifold, and that's exactly what I have. Popped the blanking covers off and they are not threaded but have a hose lip on copper tube. Since I don't exactly live in a cold part of the world I guess I should leave them closed for now.

Once again, many thanks.