Mintec's Diary

[PaulC]

I like the idea of this matt. I'll give it ago!!

Ok so far i have bought several bits and parts for the conversion. I Started with a SAE subframe and associated bits but i still have to buy the rear spacers. I've got a watsons extended fiberglass front end but i'nm not sure if i'm going to use it. A set of spax coilovers ready and waiting. I've got 2 Cobra imola seats to fit when it done as well. And of course i've got the donor car. My honda civic vti with the all important B16A2 engine. I've got a sheet of polycarbonate ready and waiting to make some lightweight windows out of.
I have decided not to count the costs of the conversion because i've got a rough idea of what its going to cost but i stopped counting how much i spend on my mini years ago!! Its my hobby and as long as i'm living at home i can keep spending till my hearts content!!

So far i have removed the old a series engine and subframe from the car. Also the front panel and both wings have been removed. I have stripped back some of the top layers of paint from the bulkhead. I found some rust on the bulkhead,which surprisingly turned into holes when i touched them with my finger. So my neighbour very kindly welded them up for me.( I am one day going to learn to weld.!! I applied some rust killer to the surface rust. just to try and keep the dam stuff at bay!!

I have spent a fair few hours lining up the subframe to the body of the car as per instructions. it involves some measuring and measuring and some more measuring. But i want to get this bit right. Its my biggest worry.
Tomorrow Minimivic has very kindly offered a second opinion before i drill the holes and bolt it to the car. Plus hes hopefully bringing his mini over,which i am really looking forward too! 8)

Hows that Matt? Was that what you were looking for?Not to boring or long winded i hope!!

[corgi1]

dont suppose your old engine is working and a 1275?, have a relative that lives near you that needs a new 1275 lump
karl.j.pumfrey@talk21.com if you do
regards corghi1

[PaulC]

I went out in minivic's mini and its was fantastic!! :D 8) It has inspired me no end and i can't wait to finish mine. But i'm going to have too!

Also while minivic was over he aligned the subframe for me and it is now fixed to the shell. ( Big thanks to Paul. I'd still be out there aligning it now!! :lol:)
I have got it on its wheels and back in the garage as it has spent a few weeks out under the car port.
I have now got the lovely job of degreasing and stripping down the hubs and giving anything that is rusty a coat of black paint.
I removed the drivers hub ball joint and about 20 odd shims came off of it. Further inspection revealed that the cup where the ball of the joint sits had somehow become scarred. Which meant the ball was not sitting in the cup. So i've now got to get a new hub and paint that black as well!!

Hopefully if all goes well, then i am going to start taking out the vtec this week. (Fingers crossed)

[PaulC]

I've got bored of degreasing and painting! :lol: so today i have started to take out the engine from my donor car. All is going well, except i am hoping to use the honda ecu and i started to take out the wiring for it and its looking like its going to be quite a big job just taking out the loom. So far i've taken the radiator out, the inlet manifold and injection gubbins are off, battery and battery tray are off, the wiring for all the sensors on the engine is off, air filter is off, and a few other bits and pieces. I've have a good day today. :D

[PaulC]

I haven't done as much as i'd liked to on the mini recently due to buying an astra van which has been keeping me busy!!
I've finally managed to take out the bits of the loom from the civic (hopefully i've got eveything that i need!) and today i loaded it onto my trailer and set off to devon to deliver it to its new owner. In part exchange for the civic i have now got a type R gear box (which has a broken casing) and a pair of what i am told to be type R cams.( I wouldn't know a standard pair from a type R pair!!) So i'm chuffed with the result :D :D . I'm glad that i didn't have to scrap the civic as it was a tidy car. It was a first though... i've never sold a car with no engine!! :?
If i haven't got all the bits i need from the loom then the bloke said to let him know and he'll post them on to me as he is going to fit a complete loom to the car.
The next job on the long list is to get the rear spacers from SAE and drop my driveshafts off to them and get the cut and shut job done. It does seem a lot of money (£70 +VAT EACH!!:shock: ) to weld the two halves together, but as i cant weld and i want to get it back on its wheels then its the only option i suppose.

After that the plan is to get the wiring sorted and get it started.

[PaulC]

I have now got the rear spacers from SAE. In my opinion they are the best part of the kit. Very nicely done indeed. I have fitted them on to the car and fitted a sports pack arch on to see what they looked like only to find they stuck out too far!!! I've now got some brake drums without the built in spacer but when i ordered them the shop didn't have any studs so i've got to get them now as well. They look like they will solve the problem. It does seem strange to me though because the SAE demo car is i think a year which would have had the build in rear spacer brake drum? so surely he would make the SAE spacers half inch or what ever it is smaller?! :? Nevermind its sorted now.
I have my drive shafts now which i ordered form a company called drivelink who are in newcastle. They are excellent and the service i had from them was second to none. Its nice to deal with someone who knows what there talking about and are interested in what you want.
The engine is in the frame now all bolted in and square to the bulkhead thanks to a modifcation to the engine mount!! I've got the ecu connected in and the honda loom plugged into the engine loom. Ive now got to splice the mini loom into the honda loom.
I'm still not sure if i'm going to use the extended fiberglass front end or not. But it's proving difficult to find a box big enough to send it back to Geoff with!!! But i've got quite a bit of welding to do so i might be buying a welder soon and some sheet metal to practice with!!!