We put the car away for the winter, and the on 18 Dec 2017, I had open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve and repair two others. I have been recovering an restoring since.
mini snuggled in for the winter
In late May 2018, my son Allen came over and helped me get Mini Out and ready for a rebuild of the off-side inner CV joint.
Ready for repair
On June 18 – exactly 6 months after my surgery – Brad came over and we – mostly he – rebuilt the component and put the car on the ground – thanks.
Today I took Mini out for the second shake-down run this season
First I changed to brand new sparking plugs, then I rolled her outside, and torqued wheels – about 1-2 flats each bolt.
old plugs lite tan where it counts – dark due to oil on first start upout of the box…
On our first run, we had observed that under hard braking, the car pulled right. I adjusted the (front) brakes, and found the left free, so I cranked down on the adjusters ( pumping the pedal after each adjuster). On the right, the adjustment was tighter _ explains pull _ but there are two high spots.
Back on the ground, I added oil (SU oil) to the SU dashpots (when all else fails!) and started up – right off.
Since this car does not enjoy cold running, I warmed her up at 2000-3000 RPM, until I had 140 H2O temp, and then went for a little cruise.
o Brakes much better, pedal better, less pull.
o car ran well
o new turn signal works well
Back in the garage, I measured the ride height (wheel to fender arch), put everything away, and declared it a good day!
As for any leaks, I am going to wait for all the old stuff to leave…
Thanks to all who have helped, esp. Brad, Don, and Chuck
I tried to adjust the clutch, and found I had to bleed it. I tried to bleed it – using the pressure bleeder – and ran into difficulty. Chuck Linick came over, and we discovered the source of this problem: a small hole in the bottom of the master cylinder.
lower ventilation
New part on order.
Chuck also looked at the leak from the rocker cover cap, and we decided to order a new one – see picture.
On this saturday, I did some organization and cleanup in the garage, charged the batteryand then I removed the plugs,added oil to the cylinders, and brought up oil pressure (to 60 lbs.in**2) on the starter.
I put the plugs back in, and started, running until the excess oil was burned out.
Tried to put in gear, but problem: I diagnosed clutch adjustment.
I will try on my own, but could use help.
If any can help, you can test drive.
Brakes feeling good!
after hydo leak from jack – self inducedfirst start of season!