C'mon that is the most awesome thing! Holy crap that is cool! You're absolutely amazing.

 

Any updates?!?!

 

Nothing really worth repeating as it would happen. I have been working on the beetle and not had too much time on the mini however, I have also been doing a lot of little jobs to make it all a little nicer.

Made a mount for the coolant pump, this isn't the finished piece but it is a strap mount pump bracket using an AC idle pulley with a bracket welded to it. Very strong and will do the job nicely



Then added the radiator



Some pump information;

I have had some time to sit and play with the pump properly and managed to get the vipec controlling correctly based on rpm and temperature to give good control.

The water pump is a CWA200 from a BMW 118 and has the following specification;
* Pump duty point Q=7000 l/h / H=0,45 bar
* Ambient temperature -40°C ... +140°C
* Coolant temperature -40°C ... +128°C
* Voltage supply min. 10 V max. 18 V
* Power consumption P1 200 W
* nominal Current 16 A
* Quiescent current 6000 h
* Interface PWM
* Enclosure IP 67

If you wish to control using the vipec use the GP PWM and you will need to setup a control duty cycle too to give a good control. Using the Vipec I have had to add extra wires to the unit to control a relay and have an aux pwm for the water pump

The PWM frequency is 45Hz to 1100Hz

PWM operation is relatively typical
* 1~7% = Uncontrollable default to max speed
* 7~13% = 0 speed motor stopped
* 13~85% = 13% Minimum speed, 85 is maximum speed linear clime in rpm
* 85~99% = maximum speed

There is a tolerance of 1% so ideally a minimum speed would be 15% and maximum is fine at 85%, if you wish to stop the pump pick something like 10% to be far enough away from uncontrollable and minimum speed.

If you wish to only run the pump at maximum the you can run at 100% PWM which is technically just 12vDC

Running the pump at 100rpm makes filling the coolant system super easy as the header tank becomes a vacuum so as long as you can fill it fast enough you will be fine else it will suck air through once primed. The pump at 100% can just about open the thermostat which is less than ideal however you would not normally be running 100% unless you need to up the cooling and hence the thermostat would be open. (it only just opens as you can hear it fluttering)

I planned to sort out the pump and realised whilst its all working it is all backwards?? this must be a vipec output as my digital pwm creator is working as you would expect. So I have sat in front of the car with my stethoscope on the rear of the pump and a clamp meter on the supply.

I can confirm it is backwards and not quite as above unless you are using a PWM module not a vipec or alternative ECU

10% = max speed
15% ~ 89% = speed control where 89% is as slow as the pump can go
90% ~ 100% = off

I suppose this is because the ECU is pulling low on PWM rather than high which would help to explain what is going on. So in summary it all works however I now need to adjust my table as the pump was getting slower as rpm and temperature rose...

Got all this sorted and the pump is working great, I added some interesting control logic into the ECU, a line which says if the temperature is above 50c then use the duty table or if the rpm is above 500rpm then use the duty table, this does mean I can now run the water pump with the engine basically off in an over heat function or at idle the pump could go up to full speed as the temperature rises. Clearly I will need to do some testing to be sure I have the table right but this will be my starting point



Other than that I have started to install my android head unit



hoping to have some time to finish items off but I am driven to put it on the road and drive it for a while - I like a project but I am a little fed up with it only being worked on and never driven

 

Driving this project of yours on the road is obviously the ultimate goal. Please let us see it. Hang in there. We're all pulling (pushing?) for completion. It is still an amazing work of mechanical motoring art. Certainly the emphasis there is on the work portion you have put into this.

 

 

So I'll be honest and say I have hardly touched nor seen the chop. I've been so busy with the other cars I put this on the side but I am at it again. I need to finish it but I am finding it so hard now its been so long.

This is whats been consuming my time;



Getting this little classic back on the road which needed a whole lot of work



OK so last week I decided to rip all the interior out, I was't happy with it and this is one reason I keep putting the car off, some items I have purchased or had done in the past just frustrates me as the level of work is not where I wanted it to be or what I would have done. Also I know I could do better... Had the rear panels all flocked in a dark grey to keep it looking semi stock, I got another set of Orranje GP panels and made them fit around the cage and then trimmed them better than I did last time. I also managed to find a set of other GP rear panel covers which cover the parcel shelf catch and cover the rear seat clip hole which looks very nice


Then got an android head unit and installed it - that was quite easy

Then using one of my other minis I had my fellow bodyshop guy make me a new R56 front bumper with some differences - really happy with the outcome and I am now making another mould and who knows I may sell them one day...

Not sure what is next but I am trying hard to get this f**ker back on the road - I've said to the wife I will finish it and the beetle in the next couple of months...

 

I managed to get the interior in (with exception to the B pillar trim, mirror switch & foot well lights ) I am really pleased with the outcome this time



Sadly some will have to come out because my last work I did created an electrical fault. When removing lots of wires and adding wires to the BCU I connected the blue insert from the white connector into the blue housing and the blue insert from the blue housing into the white... Gives some interesting faults, the headlights put the interior lights on, the hazards open the boot, the heater turns the wipers on. Eeeek - well as soon as I saw it I knew what I had done so tomorrow I will have to sort that then it's on to the list and get the other bits done

 

Project upon projects. Nice ones too, but must say I love the work on the chopped Mini best so far. Interior is top notch. Keep at it!

 

Amazing custom work!!

 

I had a whole lot of little bits which just need to be painted so this weekend I broke out the mask and the gun and had it wild. What can I say - just super shiney as normal when I paint stuff, gun finish is super and only 1 part needs a polish as some dust landed in the wet paint. Really had a great time painting and only thing which would have been nice is a bit more heat in the day but the heat lamps did well.




If you wonder if the paint is wet, nope that is the dry finish. I only take them dry else I want to touch the paint and normally wreck it being too keen

From there I decided to put my headlights back together with the DRL kit I made - really pleased with it. Plan is to only run white but I can go any colour I want (kit up for grabs on my blog rkde.co.uk)


I have placed the bonnet on, painted the trim on the bumper, pushed the lights in and just did a lot of test fitting. Tomorrow I will actually assemble the items but I am really pleased with the results so far - just wish I had put the bumper grill in and also the fog lights as it would have looked much better but tomorrow



Then just some close ups of the bonnet vents, done properly, not just stuck on the bonnet but a recess created and then dropped in. Other than there being dust I didn't blow out I am very happy with the result and that the recess looks stock is a bonus.





The car is booked in for Vipec tuning but I feel like I still have a lot to do before it can go in only a few weeks

 

Another day at it;

(I can't close the bonnet as the bonnet isn't quite aligned - next job)
Bumper grills and lights added



Also wired the LEDs into the car and wow, really pleased with them on the car especially as I can control them from the android head unit


[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NABmlWyl0y7b-OBaRjr0qTV_iwhHTg21DqTn-zEKai5OZGv8k6oTeiButvrpXe6SSZz6GlLERxXh7xvWArWsjpj v1CkD42LHy8LSOe2inxzSx3cbJxCMqwexoxCsmdsratspKcCy6 c7cS2nsvPZU8nTrwfbFWQBS7VlQP277_AEifdETMNZ-tu4q2CMroj9UAb0jc3X5Z3V_Cu4CUj-gFcSJufYSRzcEfoWUXC2qbSHXgZEEZyye9pGmNnnmzutDyUw5F p0DrkL18uyw-jW87mdNtj3QSxDk4h3t4h44meLE_urdx5aWqTdceW3coSBeduZ stVA0AoSwobMvTEfX2Jshj14HNl53KwutPSCBQjUYumggRVInB 6Jk2E-gLROs33idCcS3d64LYzEgUXTKlse6u_3ZRazPb7MJHJ2ir3xJc Jac7AhrezkfocJ6hLtcoE_I_EZmp6pJaroSrFpUzzhSmotGA3k 1eNwgd-eqlPtM1n
EQAy0gwg70C26XfV7pYfXKDzUiNuhG_7OK0nE15wYmpnmw6lrK 88ScyAfwqUXO1kIwY0ecDNQRYXGfmHYy845p8vWUWzDIygA5l5 QbZDz72Xt_SlalIq8v7DlHvmD8kuq5On7OLTOs=w1225-h919-no[/IMG]


Had a few people asking me about how the LEDs are when the lights are on, well here is the photo

 

The car made it down to the rollers at 1320 and I had some great success. There are a few issues I need to go resolve but this as a first run is very good.
Need to change the injectors out to 1000's, need a larger cooler for the charge cooler as the temp would not go down below 45°c

The car is now running so I can start to make changes and get it on the road.

The engine was designed to make power low down and it does and very nicely, with only a small amount of throttle the car shifts - the torque is just great and the blower boosts 2bar very quickly - not huge power but I am more interested in the torque and also the driving experience of the car which I am very pleased with. When I have more fuel we will be able to open the RPM range as it locked down due to the car running out of fuel I will be able to make more power.





More to come but this is the first shake down and there is a lot of scope for the engine yet

 

And of course it looks and sounds great already.

 

Very cool!

 

I just came across this today. When I first started viewing this post and saw it was from 2012, I figured there'd be a few posts and end abruptly. WOW! The devotion you gave over a 5 year period not only to the build but to updating this thread as well is absolutely astounding! Absolutely amazing looking car! You've got yourself a unicorn.

 

Wow; this is incredible. What a great looking car; the chop is a fantastic idea and looks amazing. (The bug looks like it's going to be beautiful, too).

 

There have been a lot of updates to this project but I am not able to post pictures from google images so have stopped updating as I do not want to host in more than one area.

I will take a look at why but the thread may die if I can't add photos...

 

Please solve the problem, we need to see and know about the progress.
Thanks
Ben

 

Amazing. Lets see a on road video

 

I use Flickr now. Much easier, and they even give you the embed code to use in forums.

 

Its been a while since I have been able to post photos on here, something to do with picasa moving to google - I can now do it but I need to change the string from google. I do not want to move my photo hosting as it works in all other forums but this and I have thousands of photos I would need to re-reference.

So the last update was the car on the dyno at 1320 making 235whp since then it has had more work done to the conversion and last made 275whp. However I have not been overly happy when the engine is cold as its just not running correctly so I decided that the time had come to give up... Here is the photo of it all removed



I then hit the internet buying parts, first up was everything I needed to build a 3" exhaust with a 200cell cat. Took me a few hours of cutting and welding but here is the new exhaust


Without going into lots of detail, I then purchased an owens GBT5468, made a manifold and down pipe, moved the power steering tank and relocated the header tank, made a temporary inlet manifold


Welded all the intercooler pipes, front panel was cut out for the larger intercooler and then had the parts powder coated


Turbo all installed and running


Lots more has happen, I have been finishing off lots of other parts but the car now has a set of RKDE GP skirts fitted and they look great. The car is coming back together but more than ever I want to take it for a drive...

Before the GP skirts but off out the garage

 

We need a video! Nice stuff.

 

How about an update?

 

It has been almost a full year now. We do need to see some pictures from all angles of your Mini, too. I know this is horribly blasphemous, but Mini really should look at the White paint that "rkde" used here as a factory color. Looks brilliant.

 

@rkde you are an absolute hero.