A mad, bad Mini project

[Peanut Gallery]

Taken from the other end of the cam shaft?

[colin_p]

Peanut Gallery said:

Taken from the other end of the cam shaft?

I wouldn't have thought there would be room.

As for the driveshaft idea, many many years ago the Mrs had an XR3i and that had little toothed belts running off the driveshafts up to the ABS modulator valve blocks (mechanical ABS!), there has got to be room for this on the main prop shaft in the rear seat squab area on the mini.

Also we had a MK1 Focus with the TDDI engine which had the alternator mounted at the center point of the engine block, it used an extension shaft and coupling to get back to the serp belt.

But, those tea drinking hooligans will no doubt engineer a far more elegant solution.

[NotNormal]

A look under the covers of a lot of race cars and the alternator is powered via a rear driveshaft so pretty normal affair. As to whether there is space in this particular mini is another matter!

The standard item looked pretty large to play with so by purchasing a smaller item will most likely help positioning but we’ll see in due course

Edited by NotNormal on Friday 5th October 12:00

[annodomini2]

Mk1 daewoo matiz alternator, small compact 65A, so unless you're running a stupid stereo it should be fine.

Common mod for Mini's wanting to run a front mounted rad.

[Penelope Stopit]

This build is one of the best I've seen in a long time
The design and build of the wiper linkage was amazing, heaven is a Mini with no wheel boxes

The choice of using a Rover wiring harness and fuse-boxes rather than building a harness from scratch is open to much debate, there is more work to be done with the Rover harness and taking into account the time already spent on it, building from scratch wouldn't have taken much longer and would have been a perfect fit, the Rover fuse-boxes weren't needed for this build, a couple of universal fuse-boxes and multi relay plate would have been sufficient

The chosen master switch that was fitted for "emergencies" looks like a Lucas style one that has a maximum current carrying capacity of 500 Amps for 5 to possibly 10 seconds and a continuous current carrying capacity of 100 amps, I have my doubts about this master switch being reliable over time but worse than this it is not the correct master switch for the job. When the engine is running and the Alternator is charging, turning this type of switch to the off position in an "emergency" will very likely not stop the engine from running due to the Alternator continuing to drive the electrical circuits

A FIA approved type heavy duty master switch is needed for this car in an emergency, this type of master switch is to be wired into the battery positive cable and not the earth side of the battery. When switching this type of master switch off when the engine is running it not only cuts the positive supply but also dumps the Alternator output down to earth through a seperate set of contacts and a resistor which overcomes Alternator run-on and also protects the Alternators rectifier, the switch also has a third set of contacts that cut the supply to the ignition coil which can be very beneficial when a wiring harness is melting together and the ignition key fails to switch off the engine

Perhaps this will be of some interest to the OP

Thank you for the very professional videos you are creating about this amazing project

[Mr2Mike]

Penelope Stopit said:

The choice of using a Rover wiring harness and fuse-boxes rather than building a harness from scratch is open to much debate, there is more work to be done with the Rover harness and taking into account the time already spent on it, building from scratch wouldn't have taken much longer and would have been a perfect fit, the Rover fuse-boxes weren't needed for this build, a couple of universal fuse-boxes and multi relay plate would have been sufficient

It would have been significantly more work and taken far longer to make a loom from scratch, not to mention the cost. They have already used Rover switchgear, wiper motors, rain sensor, heater etc. etc. so they would have to be proper masochists to not use the Rover loom.

[Penelope Stopit]

Mr2Mike said:

Penelope Stopit said:

The choice of using a Rover wiring harness and fuse-boxes rather than building a harness from scratch is open to much debate, there is more work to be done with the Rover harness and taking into account the time already spent on it, building from scratch wouldn't have taken much longer and would have been a perfect fit, the Rover fuse-boxes weren't needed for this build, a couple of universal fuse-boxes and multi relay plate would have been sufficient

It would have been significantly more work and taken far longer to make a loom from scratch, not to mention the cost. They have already used Rover switchgear, wiper motors, rain sensor, heater etc. etc. so they would have to be proper masochists to not use the Rover loom.

I have lost count of how many vehicles I have re-wired with new cable and terminals and having recently assisted someone by email in re-wiring their car, the total cost of the cable, relays, relay plate and fuse-boxes that I sourced for them was approximately 300 pounds, considering that the Project Binky crew sourced new specialist terminals for the loom where needed they aren't a factor in this
Building a new loom and terminating it with terminals to match what components are fitted is not an expensive job

[Baron von Teuchter]

Penelope Stopit said:

Mr2Mike said:

Penelope Stopit said:

The choice of using a Rover wiring harness and fuse-boxes rather than building a harness from scratch is open to much debate, there is more work to be done with the Rover harness and taking into account the time already spent on it, building from scratch wouldn't have taken much longer and would have been a perfect fit, the Rover fuse-boxes weren't needed for this build, a couple of universal fuse-boxes and multi relay plate would have been sufficient

It would have been significantly more work and taken far longer to make a loom from scratch, not to mention the cost. They have already used Rover switchgear, wiper motors, rain sensor, heater etc. etc. so they would have to be proper masochists to not use the Rover loom.

I have lost count of how many vehicles I have re-wired with new cable and terminals and having recently assisted someone by email in re-wiring their car, the total cost of the cable, relays, relay plate and fuse-boxes that I sourced for them was approximately 300 pounds, considering that the Project Binky crew sourced new specialist terminals for the loom where needed they aren't a factor in this
Building a new loom and terminating it with terminals to match what components are fitted is not an expensive job

Yeah? Fancy making me a loom for my mk2 escort?

Edited by Baron von Teuchter on Friday 12th October 13:22

[Mr2Mike]

Penelope Stopit said:

I have lost count of how many vehicles I have re-wired with new cable and terminals and having recently assisted someone by email in re-wiring their car, the total cost of the cable, relays, relay plate and fuse-boxes that I sourced for them was approximately 300 pounds, considering that the Project Binky crew sourced new specialist terminals for the loom where needed they aren't a factor in this
Building a new loom and terminating it with terminals to match what components are fitted is not an expensive job

I've also made wiring looms for a kit car which was a piece of cake as it was so basic with conventional dashboard mounted switches, and very few accessories etc.

Modifying the Rover loom for this project is a no brainer given so many Rover accessories were used. Wiper motors, rain sensor, switch gear, electric windows, audio etc.. etc.. The only real downside of doing this is the bulky fuse box, but you'd have needed a good few of of the ugly aftermarket fuse / relay boxes with a scratch built loom anyway. Why would anyone go to the effort, time and expense to scratch build a loom in this case?

[CoolC]

Mr2Mike said:

I've also made wiring looms for a kit car which was a piece of cake as it was so basic with conventional dashboard mounted switches, and very few accessories etc.

Modifying the Rover loom for this project is a no brainer given so many Rover accessories were used. Wiper motors, rain sensor, switch gear, electric windows, audio etc.. etc.. The only real downside of doing this is the bulky fuse box, but you'd have needed a good few of of the ugly aftermarket fuse / relay boxes with a scratch built loom anyway. Why would anyone go to the effort, time and expense to scratch build a loom in this case?

Rain sensor was from a Peugeot

[Penelope Stopit]

FAO OP

Looking through your build I noticed that you had used 4 relays to reverse one motor for the Flip Front, you ended up with eight relays to reverse two motors, you later scrapped the two motor method and used a linear motor to operate the Flip Front, the Linear Flip Front video shows that you have used several relays to operate it and it may be the case that you have carried out the reverse switching of the motor by using your previous 4 relay per motor method
Below is a circuit that you can use to reduce the number of relays used by 2, the circuit I've drawn shows open and close switches, these switches could be push buttons or the signal to the relays could be wired into a remote control like you have used

The linear motor limit switches can be wired into the switches or remote control open/close wires of the relays to cut the operation at fully open or fully closed

Edited by Penelope Stopit on Sunday 14th October 14:17

[Baron von Teuchter]

In case anyone needs more encouragement to sponsor them via patreon, patrons now get 10% off anything from Competition Supplies

In future videos, BoM will be showing various parts from CS - and those will be subject to extra discount if you are a patron.

Great deal!

[rjbcar27]

Penelope Stopit said:

This build is one of the best I've seen in a long time
The design and build of the wiper linkage was amazing, heaven is a Mini with no wheel boxes

The choice of using a Rover wiring harness and fuse-boxes rather than building a harness from scratch is open to much debate, there is more work to be done with the Rover harness and taking into account the time already spent on it, building from scratch wouldn't have taken much longer and would have been a perfect fit, the Rover fuse-boxes weren't needed for this build, a couple of universal fuse-boxes and multi relay plate would have been sufficient

The chosen master switch that was fitted for "emergencies" looks like a Lucas style one that has a maximum current carrying capacity of 500 Amps for 5 to possibly 10 seconds and a continuous current carrying capacity of 100 amps, I have my doubts about this master switch being reliable over time but worse than this it is not the correct master switch for the job. When the engine is running and the Alternator is charging, turning this type of switch to the off position in an "emergency" will very likely not stop the engine from running due to the Alternator continuing to drive the electrical circuits

A FIA approved type heavy duty master switch is needed for this car in an emergency, this type of master switch is to be wired into the battery positive cable and not the earth side of the battery. When switching this type of master switch off when the engine is running it not only cuts the positive supply but also dumps the Alternator output down to earth through a seperate set of contacts and a resistor which overcomes Alternator run-on and also protects the Alternators rectifier, the switch also has a third set of contacts that cut the supply to the ignition coil which can be very beneficial when a wiring harness is melting together and the ignition key fails to switch off the engine

Perhaps this will be of some interest to the OP

Thank you for the very professional videos you are creating about this amazing project

Thanks for your contributions. The master switch is not intended to be used for "emergencies," it's simply an isolator to be used when we need to disconnect the battery for any reason or when the car is stored unused for some time. It's hard to get to the terminals under the seat so this seemed like an effective way to achieve that. A competition type master switch is a rather ungainly thing in a road car so the subtle black switch tucked away somewhere looked good to us. Also, we are less likely to lose the key...

Cheers,

Richard.

[Penelope Stopit]

rjbcar27 said:

Penelope Stopit said:

This build is one of the best I've seen in a long time
The design and build of the wiper linkage was amazing, heaven is a Mini with no wheel boxes

The choice of using a Rover wiring harness and fuse-boxes rather than building a harness from scratch is open to much debate, there is more work to be done with the Rover harness and taking into account the time already spent on it, building from scratch wouldn't have taken much longer and would have been a perfect fit, the Rover fuse-boxes weren't needed for this build, a couple of universal fuse-boxes and multi relay plate would have been sufficient

The chosen master switch that was fitted for "emergencies" looks like a Lucas style one that has a maximum current carrying capacity of 500 Amps for 5 to possibly 10 seconds and a continuous current carrying capacity of 100 amps, I have my doubts about this master switch being reliable over time but worse than this it is not the correct master switch for the job. When the engine is running and the Alternator is charging, turning this type of switch to the off position in an "emergency" will very likely not stop the engine from running due to the Alternator continuing to drive the electrical circuits

A FIA approved type heavy duty master switch is needed for this car in an emergency, this type of master switch is to be wired into the battery positive cable and not the earth side of the battery. When switching this type of master switch off when the engine is running it not only cuts the positive supply but also dumps the Alternator output down to earth through a seperate set of contacts and a resistor which overcomes Alternator run-on and also protects the Alternators rectifier, the switch also has a third set of contacts that cut the supply to the ignition coil which can be very beneficial when a wiring harness is melting together and the ignition key fails to switch off the engine

Perhaps this will be of some interest to the OP

Thank you for the very professional videos you are creating about this amazing project

Thanks for your contributions. The master switch is not intended to be used for "emergencies," it's simply an isolator to be used when we need to disconnect the battery for any reason or when the car is stored unused for some time. It's hard to get to the terminals under the seat so this seemed like an effective way to achieve that. A competition type master switch is a rather ungainly thing in a road car so the subtle black switch tucked away somewhere looked good to us. Also, we are less likely to lose the key...

Cheers,

Richard.

Ok all is well then, I seem to recall you mentioning the master switch being fitted for emergencies and took it as literally rather than as on off when not carrying any current
I look forward to viewing your next video and wish you luck with making much progress in a shorter timescale than the present. You have chosen to achieve the very close to unachievable at such a high standard of engineering and many people will benefit from your project and the sharing of it
Thank you

[Butter Face]

Episode 20 now up!

Those who missed the grommets got a shout out

Edited by Butter Face on Thursday 1st November 20:07

[Davislove]

WOW! What an episode very interesting.

Well done guys.

I found myself wondering how much this thing would be worth at auction with all the custom engineering it has entailed! although I guess it’s a keeper

[Legmaster]

Fantastic attention to detail chaps as always.

I have to watch each episode the day they come out, but part of me wishes I'd never heard of the project so I could binge watch the whole lot in one go...

[thetapeworm]

Enjoyable viewing as always and full thanks to them for speeding up a lot of the processes in edit as I'm sure they could have made three episodes out of the alternator setup alone.

[Smitters]

Legmaster said:

Fantastic attention to detail chaps as always.

I have to watch each episode the day they come out, but part of me wishes I'd never heard of the project so I could binge watch the whole lot in one go...

For ages I would rewatch from Ep. 1 in prep for a new release. This timely update malarkey is really fking with that. My Mrs just doesn't understand why I'm watching a bloke weld a subframe for the fifth time instead of observing the jiggly bits on Strictly. Neither do I to be honest. Ah well.

[annodomini2]

Still shocked you didn't go with an electric AC compressor