Thanks CBlock,

I try. It's not always as good as I would like but it's not for want of trying.

"If you don't aim for perfection you'll only hit mediocrity"... I've never hit perfection but that doesn't mean it isn't a worthy goal.

Keep on, keeping on right?

rob

 

Here's a link to the post on "Hatch Talk" on my overheating issue.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4527428

After a pressure test ruled out external leaks as well as any head gasket issue, I figured out the water wasn't circulating. [top hose was cool, bottom hose was hot.]

So it was either the thermostat or the water pump, both of which were new. [as was the radiator]
As the thermostat was easiest to get to I started with that. [there was the suggestion it could have been installed backwards {it wasn't} but I would have thought that would have showed up right away]

On removal and close examination the top of the post was missing and there was just what looked like a piece of nylon remaining, so I have to assume the entire post was nylon.
The new thermostat has what looks like a brass shaft.
When heated up the new thermostat opened correctly. The old one did nothing and eventually. spit the little piece of nylon out.

My advise is to reject any thermostat that has a nylon shaft.

And don't forget the cap on the "Powerbleeder" , brake system pressure bleeder, fits the aluminum coolant tank and can be used to pressure test your cooling system. I can't say if it fits the OEM plastic tank as it's at my shop at home but I'll check.



Right under the wire tie is the small nylon piece that remains of the shaft. It should go all the way to the top above the wire tie. The "missing link!"



New thermostat on the left. Plastic part POS on the right. Just say "No" to plastic...

 

So it was a bad t-stat and you replaced it again?

 

Glad it was the easy fix.

 

Yj,
It was a new thermostat from the build. Lasted all of 2 weeks. It looks to me that the shaft/post was nylon. And it was gone so with nothing to press on the top part it would have never opened.
The one I replaced it with tonight had a brass post. I'll have to look to see where I bought the first one and will report back.

I did notice the new, new one didn't have the little indentations around the circumference to orient the t-stat to the gasket, which orients the t-stat to the housing. The housing I bought, an aluminum aftermarket to replace the OEM resin housing has posts inside so the t-stat won't go in unless it oriented correctly. I can't recall if the OEM had that or not.
To overcome the lack of indentations I put the t-stat in the housing to where it was oriented correctly, marked it, then put it in the gasket and installed it. I think it would be possible to get it in wrong then tighten the housing bolts and mess up the t-stat and/or the housing as well.
I'll post some photos of all that later. For some reason my internet at she shop is a little slow tonight.

I was having a little trouble bleeding and what I did originally was use a tiny funnel and fill the top hose through the front bleeder. Took a while but seemed to work.

Didn't work as good tonight. While searching for answers on the current issue I stumbled a post from 4/11/17 by "tigger2011"

Thank you Tigger, wherever you are.
Below is the post and it worked like a champ. Put the hose on 5-6 times and after pulling it off saw lots of tiny bubbles in the tank.
It's been idling now for as long as I'm been typing, cap on. Top and bottom hoses are warm, heat in the cabin and the fan hasn't come on yet.
I may leave my truck here and drive it home tonight.

rob

Here's the post, and again thank you Tigger2011;

There's a much easier way to bleed the system without mucking about with the bleeder screw. Fill the system, start the vehicle with heater on high and the reservoir cap off. Then apply a vacuum to the reservoir with a wet dry shop vac. Five seconds on then release. Do that a few times and the system will be completely bleed. Mini has a special tool to apply vacuum while filling the system but this alternative methods works very well.

 

Oh my, that is a cleaver bleed method.

I have seen a lot of post of people having heater problems. I wonder how many of them had your T-sat issue and didn’t know it. The Gen 1 MINI has a lot going for it. Especially, those made late in the series. However, as good as it is, it is amazing how many little thing companies do to save a penny that cost them in reputation. The plastic T-sat housing for one for MINI and plastic in the T-sat for the aftermarket community.

 

Yj,
I got notification of your post in my email but it's not showing up here. Strange.

"So I went back through to confirm you serviced the SC, which you did, but did you inspect the WP drive gears when you did that? I didn't see much detail about your SC service other than experimenting with installing it with and without the WP attached. If the oil gets low the resin/polymer gears that drive the waterpump can get chewed up preventing the WP from turning."

The first thing I did was the supercharger service as if that was bad it may have stopped the project right there. It was really before I even started posting, but I did do a visual of the SC and the gear looked good as did everything else.
As you can see it ended up being the thermostat.
rob

 

Poor Man Short Shifter

So I've always liked plain white shift ***** with just the shift pattern.

Why is that you ask...
Well, I can tell you exactly why. In 1970 my future brother-in-law lent me his bright red, 1964, Tri-Power, 4 speed, GTO convertible with a hurst shifter and a white shift **** to go to my senior prom. It's hard to remember who I went with but I really remember that GTO!.
[He must have REALLY wanted into my sister's pants which didn't happen as easily back then]

I think I spent an hour max at the prom then spent the rest of the night riding around in that GTO. At 17 years old it was a noteworthy experience!

Anyway I wanted a white **** for the Mini and as expected Mini ***** go on like no other. I bought a threaded white **** and one of the adapters for the Mini shift lever.

All well and good but now the **** was at least an inch higher than stock. That just would not do. But the adapter is held on with set screws and they don't care where they screw into the shaft so then I thought about cutting the shift lever off.

I thought about it for about 2 minutes then said "screw-it" why not?
Photos below;

rob


Shift **** with adapter



Stock shift lever with the plastic piece the OEM **** snaps on.



Used a Dremel to cut a slit in the plastic piece and removed that.



The top tape is about where the bottom of the OEM shift **** was. The bottom tape is the cut line. The new **** should sit about 3/4" lower than stock.

Correction: I think it's more like an inch lower. I may have been happier with 3/4 or even 1/2 inch as the shifting effort did go up. I'm probably not used to it yet, so I'm hoping with after some use it won't be as noticeable. Thinking about it I'm not sure I could have left it much longer as I needed the set screws to be low enough to be on the thick part of the shaft, and enough of the thick part sticking up into the adapter to provide stability. In addition, once back home I picked up the old **** and realized how much heavier it was. I'm sure that makes a difference as well.



The point of no return...



No going back now.



Worked out just right. Throw is slightly shorter but still good leverage. Exactly what I was looking for. More could easily be cut off, but for me this was just about right.



Cut off about 2 3/4 inches. The **** is only 3/4" lower due to the height of the adapter.



I might get one of the boot delete kits. I think it would look better. The height of the boot makes it look lower than it actually is. The set screws are in the thicker part of the shaft, and it feels tight. But down from the top the shaft is about 3/4" that's thinner. I uses some really thin fabric electrical tape [used for taping wiring looms] to fill that. I think it will be fine but if not I'll make a metal spacer.



So I've got my white shift **** to remind me of that May night in 1970, AND a shorter throw. Took about an hour. [I could have done without the "Effing Fast" on the **** but whatever..]. Dang, just realized that's 2 months shy of 50 years ago!

 

I went and read your other thread which explained a little more about the issue, then came back and edited that post to the one you replied to earlier.

 

If you're concerned about the set screws you could use the adapter as a guide and make some small indents in the shifter with a drill bit to help them hold.

 

I thought about doing that but I figure I'll see how it holds up. It seems pretty tight. Worse comes to worse I can epoxy it on. I have lots of West System sitting around from my boat project. It would never come loose then.

Now onto the hateful warning lights...

rob

 

So it's been a week or so with the "poor boy' short shifter. Despite being on Covid lockdown I've found 1-2 excuses, [ legit of course] to take the Mini out. No loosening that I can detect, and I've grown used to the slight increase in shifting resistance. I think, to be honest it''s just about perfect. Short throw, and only slight increase in resistance,

Really liking it, and almost free, I did order the "boot delete" and we'll see how that goes.
robj

 

Green locktite. It is made as a sealant for thread. But it also makes for a really nice light weight thread locker if you find the shifter **** set screws coming loose.

BTW - I love the “F*en Fast”...

 

Hey Rob!

You OK?

Haven't seen you go this long without posting a major project.

 

Hey Husky,

I'm good. In Md. they put in a strict stay at home order and that day I loaded all , [or most] of my tools in my truck and brought them to my shop at home which was pretty much a mess.I had TMS to begin with and working on the boat and being in the boat shed for 2 years I was pretty much ignoring the shop here. I had a dumpster delivered and has been really vicious getting rid of stuff. The shop is a converted barn, 30x80 with a full loft upstairs and it was just full of stuff including stuff from my parents house from when they passed away 15 years ago.
I also have a 20x50 tractor shed that attracted it's fair share of stuff. So far 3-4, 8 to 10 hour days and I've made a dent, but not a big dent.I figure I'm doing my kids a big favor as well as they would be stuck with this eventually.
The Mini is running good but I still need to finish up the RSD and the airbag light is still on, but It's probably going to be another 2-3 weeks of cleaning up and organizing here before I'm back to that.
So yes, I'm fine, just distracted. Thanks for checking in, that was nice of you.

rob

 

Rob - You are the best! Your kids will love you for what you are doing.

 

I won't take credit for being nice, I'm just bored and there isn't near as much good reading on NAM while you're out restoring the Garage-mahal.

Glad to hear that you're safe though.

Any chance you're going to do a garage restoration thread?

 

I know the Bargain $500 Mini has been quiet lately, but with Maryland under a "Stay at Home" order, I became sidetracked in cleaning out 30 years of accumulated sh*t from my barn/workshop and tractor shed.

My rule was, if I haven't touched it in 10 years it goes. [except for car and motorcycle parts of course]
After 4 or 5, 8-10 hour days I've at least made a dent.

To reward myself for at least making a dent I installed the "Black Flag", Shifter Boot Eliminator. There are a few different ones on the market but most seem to be essentially the same. Black flag does give you the choice of different logos, etc... I just went with the shift pattern. To be honest I'm not sure the entire concept is such a great idea as it seems like it may just collect dirt and crud, but I liked the look and after the "poor boy short shifter" with the boot on it made the shifter look unnaturally short, plus I had a tear in the boot.

But first some cleanup shots...



One way to deal with TMS! This was for the plastic and other stuff. All the metal went into a pile for scrap, and anything that would burn, did...



Something oddly satisfying here. This was just the start. The fire has been going off and on for 3 days, fence rails, pallets, odd pieces of lumber, more furniture, just "stuff"! Furniture type stuff no one wants, some from my parents house when they passed 15 years ago, some from when my kids came back from school when I was their storage facility. They didn't want it then and don't want it now. I texted photos with "keep or ditch" and to their credit, most was ditch. Wish I could find someone that could use it, but that just wasn't working out. It's good the live in the country at the end of the lane...



Early on. The scrap metal pile has grown considerably. I did manage to gift a 4 wheeler to one friend and a Toro ride mower to another. The thing on the cart is an Onan gas generator that would probably light your neighborhood... Ran when parked, [I think]

Enough of that depressing sh*t. On to the Mini.



First remove the shift **** and boot. The plastic ring for the boot just pops off. The **** on mine was set screws, on a stock Mini just pull straight up on the ****, really hard. [I had to straddle the console.] Then remove the 4 screws for the 2 plastic dash supports. Mine were a combination of Torx and Phillips so it must have been apart before.



On the glovebox side, one screw is in view, the other can be seen when the glove box is opened. On the steering wheel side you need to pull down the panel under the dash to see the second screw. They say it just pulls down but my finger would't fit. I used a plastic tool between the colored portion of the dash. and the panel. The lower panel pops off at the top and hinges down.



There's one screw in the center of the parcel tray under the dash. The console around the shifter and the 2 upper dash supports have to slide rearward at the same time so the rear screws of the console have to come out. To get to them you need to remove the switch panel for the mirror and headed seats, [if you have them-mine does]



I took the buttons off first as I wasn't sure how this went together but you may not have to. They just snap back on. The switch/housing was a little difficult to remove. It just pops up, but use a wide plastic tool as its a little flimsily. It helped to use 2 and pry up evenly.



To be honest I think the most difficult part of this was getting the plugs out of the back of the seat and mirror switches. There's a place to push to release but it's really small and not very effective. Don't break this, it's quite costly...

Under the switch are 2 more screws. Remove them and the console and the 2 supports slide to the rear so the console can be separated from the supports.



The cover plate screws to the top of console from the bottom.



On the Black Flag model the screws are #1 Phillips and even that screwdriver didn't fit too well. I ended up grinding off a tiny bit of the tip of the screwdriver so it would fit better. Make sure you have a #1 as a #2 will not work at all.



As they say, "assembly is the reverse of disassembly". Don't forget to first put the spring and the flat piece on that comes with the kit on the shift handle. Take your time with the console and the dash supports. It's a little fiddly getting everything lined up at the same time. I got everything in place then screwed the front of the console down, then the supports then the rear of the console.

All in all about 2 hours. Again I'm not sure this is going to be anything but a crud collector but it looks neat.
I wonder what would prevent the crud collecting?
I know, a boot...

robj

 

I am so glad I only have a small 2 car garage and the basement and attic of a small city house. i can still fit 2 MINIs in the garage or a MINI and the Wrangler (did you know a Wrangler is almost the same size as a MINI? ). Yup there is junk in there and the MINIs just fit... “I might need it some day” is my excuse. Really? You’re saving the blown out shocks from your MCS, Why? I guess I should throw those out, at least.

Nice work there on the MINI. A little dust brush on a shop vac will keep that clean. I find there are plenty of places in a MINI that I need to use one of those to keep them clean. So what’s one more...

I would keep the generator, if it really does work, unless you have a modern one. And you need to be careful that the modern one is pure signwave (as in a real 120 or 220 v generator) not one of these things that they are selling now that use an inverter which likely has a square wave output. These days I don’t trust that the power will stay on. Up here our utilities are owned by a company that is based in the UK the last I knew. What’s the chance they care that much that our power stays going...

 

Hey Eddie,
I learned a while ago, Nature abhors a vacuum. The more space you have the more sh*t you will find to fill it. At my parents house there was a Model T-sized garage. By 18 I had built an addition on that. to restore a '52 Military Jeep. My first house had a driveway but no garage but there was a decent basement. I restored a sailboat in the driveway. My second house was another Model T-sized garage. I was pretty amazed at the amount of stuff I could get it there. I'm not sure it could fall down if it wanted to... A full size table saw and a planer plus a Triumph M.C. and my tool box and all my tools. My third and current house, a 1.5 car garage that I restored quite a few motorcycles in.
Then I sold our first house that we had been renting out and put the proceeds into renovating the barn. That's where the trouble really started, too much room to collect "stuff".
30' x 80' with a loft. Plus a 20' x 50' tractor shed. I couldn't say no to anything that seemed to have potential as a worthy project!
That's what I'm dealing with now. TMS!
I do have a modern 10K generator and the Onan hasn't run for 10 years. I'm sure it can be made to run but at 68 I have to pick my battles and that Onan isn't one of them.
In fact I've collected quite a few projects that are no longer a battle I'm going to fight.

So, farming out what I can to those with a longer scope, to focus of the fights I have a chance of winning...

So, consider yourself lucky that your space is a little limited, it helps maintain focus...

robj

 

My whole property is 50’x120’...

My wife did a good job of throwing things out over the years, but the basement, attic and garage are mine. I know what you mean. I have a beautiful old, 220v, 12” direct drive Craftsman table saw. I went to start a project that that I was doing for my wife that I needed it for. It took me more than a week to dig it out and make it usable again. It was at that point I realized the “trouble” I was in. I have been slowly cleaning stuff out since then.

Sounds like you are set on the generator.... I understand both the reluctance to dispose of something that should be of value and the need pick “battles”. You and I are both at the age where that is very important.

 

Here is a link to another Gen I MINI thread I think you will appreciate (my I apologies if I linked this before). The person is a “do-all” as you seem to be:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4529280
​​​​​​​

 

Eddie,
I'm that guy. There are few things I pay others to do as in general the results are less than what I can do myself. Roofing is one exception, [not big on heights] and to be honest around the house I've adjusted my thinking as to what's "acceptable". And, with getting older, I'm a little more willing to farm stuff out, just not on my projects.

And speaking of projects, when I realized the Rennline "Track Mats" included only the flat pieces for the floor I ordered the "Track Boards", which are the back part. They ended up sending 2 passenger sides and no drivers side. While waiting on that I figured what the heck and ordered the pedal set. Everything came the other day and once I got enough of the tractor shed cleaned out to actually get the Zero-Turn in there, and generate an empty bay in the barn I installed them last night.

Are they pricey? Yes!
Do they make you go faster? No!
Do they serve any purpose? Not really.
Do they look cool? To me they do although I'm not sure it's worth the price. I'm normally a "form follows function" sort of guy, but for some reason I couldn't resist these....

Installation took a while, maybe 3 hours. A little longer than I expected.




First was the gas pedal. Remove the entire assembly by reaching into the hole in the left side of the bottom piece, press up on the tab and slide to the left off the floor bracket. I placed it very slightly to the left of the OEM pedal to avoid any clearance issue with the carpet on the tunnel and to move it a tiny bit closer to the brake pedal to make braking and throttle control for downshifting a little easier. I clamped it then put 4 screws in but use caution as to not put the screws where they can interfere with operation. The directions said 1/16" bit, but I think it should have been 1/8". Thats what I used and it was fine.



Be careful the new pedal is mounted high enough that when it's in a static position it clears the base. And make sure there are no screws where the socket for the actuator rod is situated.



Next were the pedals. This was a little trickier. I wanted at least 3 screws and finding a position for the new pads that was the same on both sides, used the same 3 holes on both, straight and had clearance for the nuts in the back wasn't easy as the OEM steel pads are somewhat smaller than the new ones. Also I wanted to avoid the weld "lumps" in the back as drilling through the weld would be much harder, and the nuts wouldn't sit flat. I finally found a position that looked good and clamped both in place.

The bolt holes are 3/16's. I used a 3/16 bit, [a short "jobber" bit] as it just about fills the hole in the new pad. Drilled a dimple with that as it keeps it centered in the hole, then used a 1/8" bit [centered by the dimple] and drilled a through hole. Then drilled again with the 3/16" bit. Much easier than drilling through the steel plate with the 3/16" alone.
To help keep the pads in place, I put a bolt in each hole as I drilled them.



The 3 hole positions I used. Your's may vary, [due to the weld lumps mostly] If you don't care if both pedals have matching holes it's probably easier.



Next was the bracket for the footboard. It slides under the dead pedal and goes under the gas pedal bracket using the OEM screw. I had a little trouble with the dead pedal side, finding the right spot. There's a half circle cut out in the bracket that fit's around "something" under the dead pedal. I ended up using a 2" wide flat pry to lift up the inside edge of the dead pedal slightly then it went right in. It can only go in one spot and when you can line up the gas pedal bolt you're there.

Note; Put the gas pedal back on before mounting the board to the bracket as the pedal won't go on with the foot board installed. [rob, try reading the directions...twice.]



While on my hands and knees I took the Rennline dead pedal off and modified it by putting 1" spacers underneath. Raises it to a position where it is a bit more like a dead pedal and a little closer to the level of the gas pedal. If you have big feet, [mine are 10.5] you might not want to do this as your foot can hit the dead pedal before the clutch is fully depressed. It works for me but it took a few tries before my foot was "muscle-trained" to be directly on the pedal



Turned out good and thank heavens [for my OCD's sake] all was symmetrical.



I like it. Not sure it's worth the $$$ but it looks very "official". I did flatten the angle on the front of the track pad and drilled for 2 screws to attach it to the foot board.

I still have my airbag light to tackle and epoxy, paint and install the rubber mat for the rear seat delete. I have to take the whole thing out for that and so far I like it so much, [and so does my dog] I don't want to take it out.

Happy motoring and wash your hands!
robj

 

I’m with you on that one... farm out what is reasonable to let someone else to do. No way was I going to mess around doing the windows in my house. The guy I hired did them in 2 day (3 years apart). I would have been the whole 3 years. That wouldn’t not have gone well with the Boss.

Love the pedals!

 

Nice to see the updates! Somehow I haven't been getting the notifications and I was getting a little worried. Glad I logged in!

I'm not as wise and experienced (read: old) as you guys, but I am certainly learning what's reasonable and what isn't. I've also started purging some of my accumulated crap periodically. Used the dumpster when I did my kitchen a few years ago to purge some stuff. Probably wouldn't tackle that on my own again, though. I had my dad to help and he was a huge help, but it still took at least twice as long as he had initially anticipated.