In the last two weeks of July, we finished the brakes and lowered Mini onto the floor.
On the 15th, Allen and I made progress on bleeding, but ran into an issue.
The weekend of 22-3 was very social, and on the 26, Brad and I made (mostly Brad) progress on the brakes: assembled and bled.
The 26th was local Brits, and we had great cars, for example:
classic British!
Allen and I mounted the wheels, but found the jack’s reservoir was empty. I filled, and on Sunday 30 July, I pressured the tyres, and lowered the car to the floor, and torqued the wheels.
(N.B.: “Scope creep” describes adding to a project after it starts, e.g., the ‘remodel the kitchen’ project becomes remodel the kitchen and replace the carpet and the drapes, and then redo the bathrooms… )
Having raised Mini onto the quickjacks, we set out to prepare for the 2017 Season, including:
o resolve and remediate pernicious oil leak
o replace front brakes and shoes to remediate out of round condition
o resolve braking issue which occurred on last run of 2016.
The latter was resolved when my son Allen and I found that the brake master cylinder did not displace any fluid when the pedal was moved: resolution is new master cylinder, now in place.
new master cylinder
Disassembling a drive shaft, we have found the cause of the leak: a missing washer and seal. (Still no clear diagram of same.) Parts to remediate are on order or in place. Kudos to super star Brad!
We had spacers and stud extenders in place on the rear drums, and when I found that there are drums available with the offset cast in and with long studs and screws, I decided to order them, with new wheel cylinders. (Scope creep.)
I removed rear drums and hubs, and after examining them and the bearings, I decided to get new – more scope creep.
rearsrear hub, etcdrums, hubs, etc
I had purchased two unused Yokohama A008 165R70x10 tyres, and decided to start with new rubber on the car – bought two additional new – scope creep. Got mounted at local tire store. ($$$$). (On the way back from the store, the Beatles song “With a little help from my Friends…” came on …)
new tyres, old wheelsRock-on!
To put on road:
o finish rear brakes: fit shoes on LHS, wheel cylinder and shoes on RHS
o new long studs in new rear hubs, seals, bearings, mount hub, washer, new wheel nuts, tighten and torque
o finish LHS and RHS drive shafts
o put clean paper underneath car and fill engine with oil.
o reinstall sump guard
o fit front brake shoes and drums
o prelim adjust front and rear brakes
o check if oil stayed in engine
o bleed clutch
o bleed brakes
o check if oil stayed in engine
o mount wheels and pressure tyres
o brake adjustment
o lower car and torque wheels
o check fluids
o check if oil stayed in engine
o bring up oil pressure on starter motor
o roll car out-side
o place fire department on standby
o start and warm up
o first cruise (around the block: fair enough to verify, but close enough to push home)
o recheck for leaks
o set timing to 26/7 degrees total advance
o second test run
o recheck brake adjustment, leaks, etc
o invite neighbors over, and open Celebratory Fluids…
neighboursdreams of summer
and of old prom dates
hottest gal in our graduating class…
May the Fourth be with us!
And if problems occur, there is always YOGA with Katey!
Today Allen came over and we moved Mini out of her cozy spot in a corner and into the general population. The goals for the day were to move her and get her up on the quickjacks, remove the wheels, remove the sump guard, and investigate two issues: brakes and The Most Pernicious Oil Leak!
When I took Mini out for a drive in October, I felt the brake pedal suddenly ‘going down’ until it had no effect, and I drove back home very slowly, and stopped with the hand brake.
Although there is no indication of fluid leak, we inspected the reservoir, and it was drier than a WCTU convention. We added fluid, but numerous pumps of the pedal produced no discernible pressure. Removed the hydraulic fitting from the top of the cylinder, but pumping the pedal did not force out any fluid…
Removing the sump guard, we were able to inspect under the car, looking for a source of the leak: from the flange where the drive shafts join the diff…
There is a milky, whites foam/goop around the rim of the flanges -picture of that
leaking here?
The quick jacks not only lift the car up quite high, but they provide a solid platform – thanks to Chuck Linick for the suggestion.
on the jacks…sump guard off!Allen skilfully manoeuvring quick jacks.in the air…
Our Mini has quietly waited in the garage while I plan for the summer.
Mini in winterYes!
While waiting, I have obtained tools and parts, including: an impact wrench; a new drill motor; a polishing kit from Eastwood, with which I plan to polish metal bits such as under the bonnet; a new bleeding kit; a bench top drill press; some bits for Mini; and varied supplies.
A scene
In the shop, I have been organizing all of the fasteners, sorting and labelling the drawers.
side by side – garagebefore reorg in shop
In addition, I obtained new rubber matting, for use in shop and garage.
new mats (on sale)
I have kept up with yoga:
Yoga!
And weight training:
strength
We are going to redo the front brakes, but not lower the suspension any further…
Not I!
In the meanwhile, our loyal dog Babe is keeping on top of things…
Babe
We plan to bring Mini out of hibernation on 1 April- no fooling!
Mini 