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Yes, another build thread, but this one has an interesting origin story that starts with glass of wine.
If you want to skip through the boring intro and get to the pictures..... go to bottom of the post.
Here is where I tell the back story of "Monty" our 2004 MC40 we intend to drive during MTTS 2021 (if they have it). If not, I would have built 2 Gen 1 hatchbacks for 2 different MTTS's and attended exactly zero events.
In 2019 I was on a short trip to Las Vegas with friends to celebrate their 20th anniversary along with another couple. We each with our wives along to keep us out of trouble. The overall points of the trip are unimportant other than to tell the the story about one evening while we all talking and drinking. This is the origin story for Monty. One of the wives regaled us with their adventures the previous summer when they had participated in MTTS 2018. My wife was sold the minute she heard cross country trip and Mini Cooper. She asked if we could go in 2020 and I said yes, we just needed one small thing. She tilted her head in slight confusion and I said " We need a Mini". And then I said, I have an idea of what I want: a British Racing Green Gen 1 with a Union Jack on the top. Now, I figured we would spend the next few months looking for a descent Gen 1 and settle on some nice color other than BRG and then have a graphics shop put the flag on top, but I could always wait, after all I had a year... NO! my wife went above and beyond ANY AND ALL expectations for finding the perfect car MTTS 2020. By Wednesday the week after our Vegas trip my she shows me a British racing Green Gen 1 WITH the flag already on it, and it was local. Exactly 10 days after the plan for MTTS 202 was hatched in Las Vegas, we had a nice Gen 1 BRG JCW sitting in our garage. Now the daunting task to get it road worthy for a cross country trip. ( but that is a story for a whole other thread).
MTTS 202 did not happen but we enjoyed many trips this past year in "Nigel" and our other "Mini Friends" as we have explored much of east and south Texas on some fun, and not so fun roads.
MTTS 2021 might happen. So....... a new plan was hatched. Build a second Gen 1 for our other friends who were with us in Vegas to drive in MTTS 2021 because the more the merrier right?
This plan seemed simple enough. Find descent Gen 1 that needs a few (or a lot) of basic service work and get it ready for cross country trip. After all I have more than 8 months and based upon my wifes' ability to find the right car, I figured this would be easy. She found what was advertised as a JCW (because it had a carbon fiber dash) I disregarded it because I figured it was not a JCW and someone had simply bolted on a dash piece. It is surprising the number of people who upgrade their trim level simply by gluing on an emblem. I took a second look the next day because it had these funny shaped stickers above the rear wheel and I confirmed it was an MC40, and now I had to take a look at it. So not just a second Mini for our friends, but they will travel in style in a newly resurrected MC40.
Now the end of the back story;
Monty (short for 40th Monte Carlo Anniversary edition of course) is now in my driveway.
"Monty" and his new home as he prepares for his journey to MTTS
The inside looks better than the outside
Please follow Monty as he starts his journey to Zig Zag or Bust
Last edited by Jefferson Riff; 12-17-2020 at 04:53 AM.
Nice. Amazing you are providing a mini for friends.
one time at a track event, a music producer who had a 911 turbo rented a couple hertz corvettes for his friends to drive at the track. Crazy to me at the time. But I guess I would do it if I had the money to spare.
The trouble with trouble lights and getting properly vented
Errk, thanks for the vote of appreciation. They are my friends and at this point I just consider it the cost of our vacation. Who knows, it may all work out economically in the end. NOW on the Montys' story"
Mony's after school adventures today involved fixing the bonnet/boot open trouble light and fixing a known problem with the boot vents.
1. I am not "saying" I broke it, but my wife drove Monty 45 miles home and when I sat in the driver's seat to pull it into the garage, the light would not go out.
We are all friends here so.... Lets just all agree that Monty is a 16 year old car and sometimes... things just break, and no one is at fault, and leave it at that.
pic 1
I checked the closing latch on the boot (that's the back of the car for folks on the west side of the Atlantic) for mechanical movement. It moved and latched, the electric switch in the lift gate activated the opener and the light stayed on...... Grrrrrrrr. More investigation is needed. I thought the switch was working so it was now time to look at the bonnet switch. This car has two latches. The one on the right has the switch. I sprayed it down with penetrating oil, cleaned up the mechanical latches and springs worked them through full range of motion cleaning a lot of road gunk from years of driving. I tried to lubricate the exposed portion of the release cable as well. I then pulled the plug and tested the wiring by shorting the plug. The light went out, so no wiring problem thank goodness. I was happy it was just a simple switch...OR WAS IT? it could be I can only get the whole latch mechanism which would involve cable adjustment and multiple bonnet openings and closing.... wash rinse repeat. This is more difficult enough as both the bonnet support struts are bad and the new ones have yet to arrive (hey Amazon... 2 days MY $SS!). Fortunately, I used a 4 foot carpenters level as a support rod and I got it cleaned up and the slides move freely and the switch started working, so the problem is solved.
NOTE: If you have problems with the light being stuck on, unplugging the switch makes the light go out as a temporary fix.
pic 2
2. The rear panel has a thin black piece of foam to deaden sound coming into the car and let air flow out. These are similar to the thin black A/C filters you see as Walmart. They get brittle and disintegrate over time leaving what you see in pic 3.
pic 3
A little clean up was done to remove any of the old foam. I cut a few small pieces of foam leftover from the 4 yards of material I had to buy to do this repair to Nigel and glued them in place and ....
pic 4
"Robert is your Mothers Brother"... it is complete, and ready to install once it dries.
pic 5
I am not sure what adventures Monty will get into next, BUT, I will be sure to write about it. (Sort of like what Dr. Watson did to chronicle the adventures of his friend, I suppose)
Last edited by Jefferson Riff; 11-21-2020 at 10:30 AM.
Cool! I gather the hood is from a 05 or 06, based on the trim difference. Any idea on Monty's history?
I am by no means an MC40 expert, (but I am learning quickly) but what trim difference are you talking about? I can't tell anything different for the other MC40 pictures I have seen.
My Dog Danny had a bad day, BUT Monty had a good one
Well first thing this morning, two houses down from us had a huge garage sale. Probably able to see from the International Space Station BIG. Probably more accurately described as "HUGE" (hand gesture required). Poor Danny (my liver colored German Shepard dog had to bark at the thirty to forty cars AND all of people walking along the sidewalk as well as a FedEx driver, a USPS driver and some nice young lady driving a dark gray van with a smile on the side.
........ That's right! more parts for Monty.
Monty got the right top corner for the rain gutter,
New piece fit like it was made to go there (wait, it was made to go there) anyway a big thank you to ALLMAG for having this available.
an engine air filter, the proper Torx head bolts for the intercooler cover, a front bumper attachment set (all the bolts and fasteners to properly bolt on the bumper cover),
a new interior dome light fixture
Dome light from the bay place. I am still amazed that the headliner looks brand, new considering how worn other parts of the car.
and a can of adhesive remover for the stickers on his hind quarters.
People coming to the door delivering parts is quite the stressful experience for Danny. He runs to the front window, barks and runs to the back yard, comes back to the front window barks and runs.... and repeats as long as he has energy.
Then there was all the people coming to the door. It was bad enough for him but now they weren't just walking by, Oh No they came to the door and left boxes on the porch. This was quite a pleasant experience for Monty. They leave boxes at the door, my wife moves them to the the garage, I install them. - deliver, move, install, smile...... repeat until journey is complete.
No other pictures today as that is all I got done.
Please stay tuned for the next installment of Monty's Journey to Zig Zag or Bust
Last edited by Jefferson Riff; 11-20-2020 at 12:09 PM.
I by no means an MC40 expert, but what trim difference are you talking about? I can't tell anything different for the other MC40 pictures I have seen.
Please, make me smart.
Jeff
The hood grill surround trim is smooth and the lower grill surround has the inner/outer sections - not sure how to describe it. I've got a 2006, but prefer the older trim and have swapped it out. I think it looks more classic MINI and less of a modern sterile look.
Hope springs eternal and so do fuel lines that have residual pressure. The Fuel filter and O-Rings arrived today and I did not tarry even a swatch, I dove right in. It was as expected for a 100,000 mile car that had never received fuel filter service. I will wait to put in the cabin filter until I start cleaning up the interior.
It should be bright yellowish. but noooo. It was definitely time for a change.
Once the fuel filter was in and I could put the seats back in, I decided to give them a once over with the leather treatment and let them set overnight before wiping them down.
Now on the air filter, unlike the fuel filter this seems to have been changed a time or two, although I reckon George W. Bush was still in office the last time this airbox was ever opened up.
I vacuumed out the small trunk area behind the rear seats (I forgot it when I was vacuuming and shampooing the front part., but no pictures for that).
Tune in again for the continued adventures of Monty as he continues his journey to ZIG ZAG or BUST.
Last edited by Jefferson Riff; 11-20-2020 at 03:10 PM.
The first thing out of the box today was the hood struts (finally). I am glad too, as I was getting tired of using my 2 foot carpenter's level as a prop rod. Now Monty can hold his hood up high all by himself.
With the hood raised, the headlights were squarely in my view, I got a real sense as to how DULL they really were.
You know how they say things have to get worse before they get better? When it comes to cleaning up headlight covers, there may be some truth to that.
Not wanting to put sand marks on the chrome trim, and unable to locate one of the 13.7 rolls of painters tape somewhere in my garage ranging in width from 1/2 to 2 7/16 inches and running the full spectrum of the color from dark blue to frog green, I removed the lights, gently lifted off the trim, reinstalled them and then sanded/polished them to as new condition as possible with the 3m headlight kit.
But all is well that ends well. The headlights are done.
They are 200% better than when I started and most importantly, my wife thinks they look good, so that settles it.
I got some soap and water and scrubbed the floor mats and then coated them with a trim restorer and left them in the driveway to dry
I am tired, so I guess it was not a totally wasted day (wasted mechanic- yes, wasted day-no)
Not sure what Monty will want to do next. I did look under the front bumper and found a new strategic oil reserve all over the engine sump pan and every piece of front suspension, so I guess it is safe to say there is not much rust with the oil coating it like that and all. OH and I noticed that the Oil temp wire was not plugged into the sensor, I hope that is all that is wrong on that one, Monty can use a break that's for sure.
Stay tuned for the future updates of Montys' Journey to ZIG ZAG or BUST.
Last edited by Jefferson Riff; 11-20-2020 at 12:27 PM.
I did not fix anything.
I did not repair anything.
I did not clean anything.
I did no........... well you get the idea.
But if you think I did not do anything, you would be wrong because I got a lot done, and Monty fought me EVERY step of the way. It all started when I tried to take off the wheels. (well, actually it started yesterday when I tried to start my Land Rover. 2,000 mile + trip and when I get home, it won't start... That is true loyalty there.
Back to today. The left front wheel came off, no problem. The left rear and right rear were corroded on to the disks. I used half a can of penetrating oil 30 minute wait time and then still had to convince them with a rubber mallet. The right front had the odd wheel and as it turns out a completely different type of lug nut. I got help from the forum and found the right part and fortunately, the local [name of favorite parts store] had one. (just one) and this is where the story of the Land Rover comes into play.
I figured I would take the dogs in the rover to [name of favorite parts store], get the tool, take off the wheel and tire and run it up the tire store to get swapped over. But..... the rover would not start, even with a jump start. So the dogs went back inside, unhappy that they did not get an outing and I took Nigel (my 2003 BRG Cooper S w/ JCW stuff0 to the parts store. I came home with a new socket that may or may not fit the wheel lugs. and Oh, and an order for a new starter relay.
The socket fit and the plan for getting Monty into "front end Service Mode began in earnest.
It is now 4:28 PM and I am worn out and done with all things automotive.
Monty in front end service mode
The right front disk looks clean and there is a lot of pad left.
A large amount of "gunk" on the front of the engine.
The o-ring on the dipstick tube (hey! were all adults here, no snickering) was deteriorated beyond recognition. I hope that is the cause of the gunk on the front of the block.
The supercharger looks OK on the outside, I will pull the horn tomorrow when I change the oil and see what the rotors look like. The serpentine belt looks new, but I will replace it just to be safe. The tensioner on the other hand may need a new damper (like the struts on the tailgate) or a complete unit, I will wait to make that decision.
The water pump (on the end of the supercharger) looks good from the outside, I will know more when I pull it from the supercharger and look at the linking gears.
One bright spot! it looks like the alternator is less than a few months old.
As I said at the beginning, I did not fix anything, but boy did I do things.
Monty's day took a few detours, but he will be back on track tomorrow.
Join Monty again for his journey to Zig Zag or Bust
Last edited by Jefferson Riff; 11-20-2020 at 12:39 PM.
Pics aren't working for me but enjoyed reading the story.
Sorry to hear that. They do seem too large. I have a chromebook and photo editing is limited, but I am still looking for a way to make them smaller. Maybe that will help.
Also, I will be a little more descriptive of what is in the photos.
A little bit of this and a little bit of....... well just a little bit of this.
I cleaned some stuff with my new steam cleaner, but the big news is I got the crankshaft pulley, timing chain, followers, tensioners and sprockets replaced. I was all set to put the faceplate back on when I discovered that I made the same mistake as some generals of the past by moving faster than my support elements and supply chain.
That right, I did not have the gaskets to replace the faceplate. I found the order and it will be here sometime this week, so I will just have to move to the brakes and suspension until they arrive.
Nonetheless; here is a recap of this weekend;
Cleaned up mess of gunk around the head and faceplate.
I pulled the plugs and the tips looked OK except for number three and four being a little dark and number three looked like it had some oil on the top part. Probably the spark plug gasket on the valve cover. ( I have four new ones so, no problem there)
The valve train looks good, but there were some markings indicating that someone had been into this head for some repairs at some time in the past.
Old chain (on the left) was about 3/4 of a link long and the followers showed some wear, so it was a good thing we changed these items out.
New chain is in. Crankshaft and camshaft are indexed (notice yellow marks on chain)
When the gaskets arrive later this week I will put the face plate back on, put the new crankshaft pulley on, attach the tensioner and belt after that, install the A/C , Alternator, Supercharger, and intercooler. I want to get the engine work done before I tear into the suspension (mostly to clean all the parts of my work table).
I think I will wait to change fluids in the engine or transmission until I get the front subframe out. That may make it easier to see the back of the engine.
Monty had a light workload this weekend but his journey to Zig Zag or bust is still on track.
Last edited by Jefferson Riff; 11-20-2020 at 01:13 PM.
Reason: resized photos
oday we got to the ...... "little bit of THAT " part
I removed the rear brake calipers, scrubbed them up and steam cleaned them, then used the brake cleaner to prep them for the high temp aluminum paint. Don't worry about paint on the rotor disks. I put a micrometer on them and found out they were too thin to keep some time ago and I already have new ones sitting on the shelf, so there that that Monty!
While the paint was drying, I reworked the driving light mounts (the mount was incorrect and I put it in according to the factory installation guide. Pop riveted in the correct place, facing the correct way) Tomorrow, I will put a clear protective coat on the rear calipers to "preserve" the natural aluminum finish that I just painted over......go figure.
You will notice that the top trim piece above the grill is missing (actually it is not missing, it is on my shelf). As was pointed out in Monty's journey to Zig Zag or Bust thread, the trim was incorrect. I have one of those sitting on my shelf now.
Thanks for the great catch by smschriefer!
/////////UPDATE///////// I had to take the lights back off to get the trim piece on. I was to embarrassed to take another picture, so you will just have to believe me when I say I screwed up.///////////
I got the new oil in the supercharger and mounted the water pump.
I hope to put the valve cover on tomorrow or Friday in anticipation of closing up the front of the motor this weekend. Once that is done I will start putting all of the motor parts back on, clear my workbench of parts and tools and prepare to remove the front subframe to work on the front suspension.
Oh, I got the pretty wheel and the ugly wheel up to [insert favorite tire store here] and had them swap the tire around. It was $21 for the mounting and balancing service, but the kid that did the mounting wanted the wheel, , so I sold it to him for you guessed it......... $20 and I left thinking I had FINALLY caught a break on Monty's costs (for now).
Well stay tuned because as the weekend approaches because:
people will keep delivering boxes and
Danny will keep barking and
my loving wife (and tolerant) will keep putting them in the garage and
I will keep keep bolting them on and
Monty will keep smiling as he continues his journey to Zig Zag or Bust.
I appreciate the vote of confidence on my mechanical abilities. I am sure when he is done, Monty will be a well sorted ride, ready for a cross country trip.
As for the Automotive QuickJack, (be careful how you search for that on google) I like it. They have several models and mine is the one rated at 7,000 lbs. Up side is I can lift my 6,400 lb. Land Rover 3, down side is they are about twice as heavy (read that as harder to move around by an old man) as the 3,000 lb. models. I can't say they are any faster, but they are somewhat easier. I don't have to reach under the car to place a jack stand and they have a 24 inch lift capability. I don't know if I would trust them if I were crawling ALL the way under to work on a drive shaft (or exhaust) without adding at least one jack stand just for "peace of mind" , but for brake suspension or front end service work, they are great. It is nice to be able to pull all four wheels off at one time when doing a brake job or even getting the car level for an oil change. It is more stable than you think so I would not worry about it falling over unless you are "REALLY yanking on it for some reason.
I keep them upright against the front wall of the garage and roll them out to each side of the car, add the rubber blocks, push them in to the right spot under the lift points and push the button on the pump. Check placement of blocks then raise it up just like a pro.
If I am on a long term project like Monty, I raise it up until the mechanical locks are in place for height I want, release the pressure and unhook the hoses to get them out of the way.
Monty expressed a need to keep moving on his journey. I explained that there were A LOT of parts on order and a lot of tools scattered about. I reminded him the brakes were painted and dry, so that was good. He wanted me to get the rear suspension ready for the parts that are supposed to arrive tomorrow.
Somehow, I lost the argument... (still don't quite know how that happened). Nonetheless we did get the right rear assemblies ready for the rebuild.
I removed the brake Caliper I had held up there to paint, the caliper carriers, and the disk. I don't have pictures of it, but because the way the lower swing arm is made it takes a long extension to get to the bolts for the caliper carrier AND the wheel bearing hub. The good news is they are all 13 mm so I did not need to change the socket over, just undo 6 bolts in all. By the way the bearing felt like sandpaper when I turned it.
I got the wheel speed sensor off and cleaned it with no issues and then started on the sway bar drop link. I believe these are original as they were correct and had an Allen inset to help remove them.
That is when I told Monty I could not play anymore and had to go inside for supper. (it wasn't ready for me to eat, it was ready for me to make). Either way, he and I agreed that I would try to get the left side done before I went to bed tonight.
Monty and I had an argument again (which I lost somehow, again) and I think it carried on all weekend.
I have had to make many mini projects today and cover a lot of areas. Basically I looked at the parts shelf and said, OK, because of parts delays, my plan is not working. I need a new plan.
NEW PLAN!
Look on the shelf and see what parts are here and put THEM on. So in no specific order (much like how the other parts of the weekend went) Here is my weekend report;
Replaced o-ring on cam position sensor, replaced cam positions sensor back in head. Put spark plug gaskets in valve cover and put valve cover gasket on valve cover. Put valve cover on head. torque to 9 flt lbs 108 inch lbs or 12 newtons, I cant recall which, but since 12 Newtons seemed like nearly a whole bag of them things I went for converting foot lbs to inch pounds so I could set my 1/4 drive torque wrench appropriately and get the valve cover on.
Who wants to twist a Newton anyway?
Funny thing though, just like coming home from vacation, it always takes longer to reinstall than tear apart. But then, I am not in a business where I have to check the torque value of the part I removed and record it in the repair log. No not me no sireee, with impact or 1/2 breaker bar in hand to remove, and a torque wrench out of the case to install.
I wanted to get the front subframe out this weekend so...........
I pulled the left strut instead.
I started by removing the tie rod end. A 16 mm wrench (I think) and Big swing with my Louisville Slugger with a 5 pound piece of steel on the end and it popped off. After loosening the 17mm nut on the bottom, I was unsuccessful with this technique on the outer ball joint. I had to take a different approach. I removed the outer ball joint from the steering knuckle. Two 13mm bolts removed and a gentle tap on the control arm it was free. After a quick run up to the local [favorite tool store] I was able to get the outer ball joints loose with the new splitter. I was ready to put in new ball joints (I could have sworn I had them on the self when I checked last week). Oh well, I can put them on when they arrive easy enough.
I looked at the body where the struts mount and the left side was flat, the right side is going to need a hammer. After confirming all wires were disconnected from the strut, the three 13mm nuts came off easy and just fell out.
Next the wheel bearing hub came off, and then back on again. No I did not forget to order these too, The ones that went on were new.
I then put the spring compressor on and tightened the spring enough to get the top nut (22 mm) off and to index the springs into the rubber mounts on the top and bottom. If these are not in the right place, it can affect the ride height after they are installed. I then pulled off the old top mount and put the new one on and tightened the nut until it stops. That's right ladies and gentlemen ....until it stops...... no need for that pesky torque wrench or squashing Newtons here, just turn it until it stops.
Old one off, new one ready to be installed
Wash rinse repeat for the right side
A nice young lady in the grey van with a smile on the side delivered a 4 inch diameter eraser late in the afternoon. It hooks up to my electric drill, and in conjunction with my new steam cleaner (for the tile floor in the kitchen, of course) I needed a break form some of the heavy lifting from earlier in the day, so I thought I would see if this thing works as advertised.
So with these;
I was able to achieve this!
For those just tuning in or just weren't paying much attention, the old 40th anniversary sticker is removed and what little marks that were made by the eraser buffed out by hand with just a smidgen (that is a scientific term for more than touch but less than a glob) of rubbing compound. I can still see a faint outline of the old sticker, but hopefully the new one will be the same or slightly larger and hide the sun fade in the paint. If not, then it will show.
That's it for this weekend folks. Not the most entertaining, and certainly not the most technical, but I did get some heavy lifting started on the suspension. The rear suspension is completely apart and waiting on parts and I think maybe 2 or three hours and it will be back together. front is apart and may not be back on until after the subframe is removed, power steering hose replaced along with all of the bushings and ball joints on the sub frame.
So, thanks for dropping by and taking a peek at what's happening as Monty continues his journey to Zig Zag or Bust.
The caramel disc works well, I received the tip a little while ago. Didnt know such a thing existed
I know right? I did find that if I used steam for 1 to 2 min first the label just seem to peel so much easier. I should have used more last time as this one took half as long to get cleaned off.
11-02-2020, 03:20 PM
