Mini project

[RussellG]

DaveGedro said:

I am new to pistonheads and have only just seen this thread today. I read the whole thing this morning with great interest and jealousy that i don't have the time, skill or money to do this sort of thing to my mini. I do have one question though, which i hope doesn't come accross as rude... How much did the roll cage cost?

Dave.

Im glad you liked my build so far. The cage isnt anything fancy think it was about £250 ish

[RussellG]

Hubs, drive flanges, calipers & driveshafts all stripped down for me to sandblast them and then paint


28/8/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

[RussellG]

Pixel-Snapper said:

Cracking on well there lad.

I went in the garage to work on mine the other day and all I got round to doing was sweeping the floor.

Now the floors clean again get on with the build

[RussellG]

Some more bits arrived today

Pads & Discs


29/8/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

rear brakes


19/8/12.2 by russell.grant, on Flickr

Flexi Hoses


29/8/12.3 by russell.grant, on Flickr

2 sets of front & rear wheel bearings were deliver too and i have now stripped all calipers and drive flanges down completely ready for sand blasting.

[RussellG]

More parts


1/9/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

Should hopefully get enough time this week to sandblast and paint all the parts needed to finish rebuilding the subframes.

Edited by RussellG on Sunday 2nd September 16:29

[RussellG]

Started to Sandblast some bits and pieces today

Bits sandblasted so far


3/09/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

I hate sandblasting as its such a messy and unpleasant job so after that lot I decided to stop there and instead paint some of them


3/09/12.2 by russell.grant, on Flickr


3/09/12.3 by russell.grant, on Flickr


3/09/12.4 by russell.grant, on Flickr


3/09/12.5 by russell.grant, on Flickr

[RussellG]

FWDRacer said:

Are you using a blast cabinet at home? Care to mention the make and give a user appraisal?

Yes I have been doing my own sandblasting. The model,of blaster I use isn't in production anymore but it'd similar to this one http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/... It's siphon feed so requires a powerful compressor to run it. If I was buying a new one I would go for the pressurised type instead now as they don't use as much air and are slightly more powerful apparently.

I just use a make shift blast cabinet when required. When I was doing the subframes and other large parts I built an 8 foot square tent out of polythene sheets to contain the mess. Smaller bits I just pop in an appropriate sized box.

It's not a job I enjoy doing though as its really messy no matter how much you try to contain it and even wearing a face mask, breathing mask and gloves it's still really unpleasant to work with.

All that aside there is no denying the results and paint goes on much better after the blasting too.

[RussellG]

Managed to get the rest of the bits and pieces sandblasted and painted today


4/09/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr


4/09/12.2 by russell.grant, on Flickr


4/09/12.3 by russell.grant, on Flickr



4/09/12.4 by russell.grant, on Flickr

I will make a start to rebuilding the hubs next time

[RussellG]

bmt216a said:

All this work and not changing the CV boots?

They will be changed by the time I am ready to fit an engine to the completed car.

[RussellG]

I've been caught out like that in the past as well. It would have been a lot better if British leyland had just made the holes in the subframe a little bigger.

[RussellG]

Didn't spend long in the garage today. But a bit of messing around with shims has this as today's results


5/09/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

[RussellG]

Just an hour or two in the garage today. Did a bit of tidying up the workshop 

Then attached the rear brakes to the radius arms


6/09/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

And fitted bearings to the front hubs


6/09/12.2 by russell.grant, on Flickr

[RussellG]

Today

I have fitted the rear wheel bearings and finished rebuilding the rear brakes ready to fit the radius arms to the rear subframe. 


7/09/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

I also finished assembling the front suspension all though the balljoint bolts are only run up by hand until the driveshafts and engine are fitted. 


7/09/12.2 by russell.grant, on Flickr


7/09/12.3 by russell.grant, on Flickr


Front discs all bolted up to the freshly painted drive flanges just ready for fitting as well


7/09/12.4 by russell.grant, on Flickr

Next time I will rebuild the front calipers and attempt to figure out how to rebuild the rear subframe with the adjustable radius arm brackets. 

[RussellG]

Pixel-Snapper said:

Cracking on nice there Russell.

Thanks just killing time waiting on the painter doing the shell. So thought I would make a start to the suspension.

[RussellG]

GTRMikie said:

A brilliant job but, just one suggestion, I wouldn't re-fit your nicely painted brake disc shields. They don't really do anything apart from inhibit brake cooling!

I did consider just throwing them away but I'm not keen on the idea of running without them. They still offer a bit of protection against something like a burst cv boot.

[RussellG]

Yesterday's progress before before a trip to the pub

Nsr suspension built up


8/09/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr

Both front calipers fully rebuilt


8/09/12.2 by russell.grant, on Flickr

Just waiting on a few parts arriving during the week and then I can rebuild the or suspension

[RussellG]

I have adjustable brackets for the rear radius arms but they didn't seem like a good fit the holes were miles from lining up properly. So I have refitted the original fixed bracket for now and will revisit the problem later. Anyone else experinced this problem ?

[RussellG]

Shells not away yet it's still in my garage but the painter has been round and looked at it. He reckons its ready for him now. So I'm just waiting on him clearing a gap in his work for it. Should hopefully be in the next couple of weeks.

[RussellG]

Rear subframe and brakes are rebuilt now. 


13/09/12.1 by russell.grant, on Flickr


13/09/12.2 by russell.grant, on Flickr


13/09/12.3 by russell.grant, on Flickr

[RussellG]

Front subframe and brakes are fully rebuilt as well. 


13/09/12.4 by russell.grant, on Flickr


13/09/12.5 by russell.grant, on Flickr


13/09/12.6 by russell.grant, on Flickr


13/09/12.7 by russell.grant, on Flickr


13/09/12.8 by russell.grant, on Flickr

Running out of stuff to do now till the shell is painted