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Haven't got round to ordering the bits yet, I see kits with a little pipe bender and cutter for about a tenner so I think I'll try one of them and see if it works well.
Going to have to pull my finger out though, crossmember will be going back in soon, gonna need some brake pipes!
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Got a bit carried away today. Front clip off, stripped half of it off today. Tomorrow going to strip the other half. Will measure up for new upper and lower wishbone bushes, make sure all four ball joints are ok (I think the two on the side I took off are alright, can't feel any play. Need to get or make up some new metal clips to hold the dust covers on). Going to go at it with a wire brush, vactan and paint it. Also going to make up new front brake pipes while I'm about it. I'm the worst at taking pictures so I haven't really got any progress shots but will try and get some tomorrow.
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I guess good quality brass fittings from Automec or similar are my best bet?
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Little update.
Car's currently on stands in the garage, took a front and rear shock to Gaz Shocks today and they're making me up some replacements slightly shorter to accommodate the lowering. Also just received a couple of days ago a set of track rod ends.
What I really should do is use the 4 week lead time on the shocks to get her cleaned up underneath and undersealed, we'll see how my motivation lasts for such a **** job!
What I'd also really like to do is take the whole front clip off, clean it up, sort some polybushes out, and get some chassis paint on there. Bit daunting with a lack of space, but once I got started I'm sure I'd be fine.
Hoping to have an investigate of the running issues as well. Hoping that it's to do with the kickdown cable as it's a possible culprit. Should be able to find out just by disconnecting it and seeing if it behaves when it goes into gear. Hoping to get a bit of time with it this weekend.
Got a bit of vinyl trimming I can get on with in the interior too, also could look at getting some foams to shore up the front seats as well as they look tidy but are a bit collapsed.
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Apr 26, 2018 17:04:10 GMT
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Insured it yesterday and took it for an MOT today - fail! As expected. The suspension and so on has got hugely worse, it's got quite the shimmy to it now.
Failed for a leaking front shock (probably the lowering finished it off) and worn track rod ends.
Payday tomorrow so I'll order up the track rod ends, will have to get the shocks off and see if I can get appropriate shorter ones. Planning on doing all four.
It's also running just dreadful! When adjusted to idle nicely once warm, it dies as soon as you put it in to gear. It runs fine with the choke out but obviously idles really fast, this all makes it a massive pain to drive because it desperately wants to go all the time, and when you put it in neutral it starts revving up quite high so there's a bit of choke fiddling at lights. Big clunk into first as well - some castrol QTF on the way and I think I may have a leak in the box as I could swear I topped it up not that many miles back. No clue really how to proceed - any opinions welcome. I have very little knack for carbs and basically no experience.
Really want to get some sort of remote servo set up when I can also but money means that will be a while. I don't think she'll see much if any of this summer due to money but that's the way it goes.
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Apr 23, 2018 20:45:04 GMT
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It's been a bit sporadic over winter, for your normal reasons.. cold, poor, can't be bothered! Front calipers back from Bigg Red. Rear shoes relined. I did eventually get the calipers off, and got some new bolts for them, so they're all back on now and bled through. Got new pads on as well - currently still got the old rear cylinders and master cylinder on. Its been playing up also so I've cleaned and rebuilt the carb, new accelerator pump in there also. Fiancee's dad helped me tune it back up because I was having real trouble. I've also secured the carpets properly as they were moving around everywhere and exposing the sound deadening. Took all the ropey sealer off the leaky windscreen, and have put Captain Tolleys in there instead - it actually looks like it might have done the job, but I'm going to do the inside too. Now on the lookout for a suitable rev counter to replace the non-functioning clock in the dash with. New shock bushes for the back, and... all the bushes for the front. All the ones I can see are a right old state. I'm not much looking forward to it but it needs done. Took her to the cinema a while back!
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Apr 23, 2018 19:06:08 GMT
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I took it all apart again to check everything was clear, it looked to be - and my fiancée's dad helped me tune it up - no idea if it was a blockage or he's just got the ear but I reckon it was the ear! All seems pretty good now. The plan long term is an engine swap so I'll stick with this as long as it behaves Thanks guys
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Apr 19, 2018 17:42:51 GMT
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Sorry further info - all the bits went in an ultrasonic cleaner for 40 minutes after I stripped it, and I don't *think* any of the jets are blocked - they all looked good and I blew them through with an air can.
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Apr 19, 2018 17:41:58 GMT
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Hello, So recently my super minx has been struggling a bit - when slowing down, then pulling away again, i,e pulling from one road to another, it would struggle and occasionally stall. This got rapidly worse, and would then do it even just sitting still and revving the car a bit. It basically tries to stall when you give it a reasonable amount of gas, but if you bring it up gently it will then rev freely. It also doesn't do it with the choke wide open. It was also weeping fuel. I have stripped and rebuilt the carb (mostly, not all the linkages), and put new gaskets and o-rings on it. When I put it back on it was still doing it, so I also got and have just fitted a new accelerator pump diaphragm. When I stripped the carb I found a lot of the bolts holding the two halves together were loose and three of the five threads were stripped - random nuts and bolts holding it together and the main gasket between the halves was torn. So I thought that would be my problem! I drilled and tapped it and used new slightly larger bolts and its secure now. Then when I read up a bit more, I thought the diaphragm was a sure culprit! So this evening after fitting that it was still doing it - then noticed it was weeping fuel very badly from the new accelerator pump diaphragm so I nipped that up further. Still same issue - I'm out of ideas now as I'm not very experienced. As for tuning it's only got a slow running and a mixture adjustment - the slow running I've just tried to tune by ear as there's no rev counter. The main mixture I've tried a few things, but pretty much just in the middle of too lean and too rich. Any ideas? Pointers for trying to get a basic tune on it as someone with no experience? And any ideas as to what my issue could be? Sorry for the long post! Thanks
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Mar 24, 2018 23:10:02 GMT
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Love it, looks really healthy underneath too.
Colour is great - if you don't like attention you're in the wrong car! That'll snap necks in any colour.
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Front brakes being sent off to Bigg Red today for a refurb. Current plan is to either buy new rear cylinders or have mine rebuilt - the price for resleeving is quite a lot more than new cylinders, but according to one of the resleeving places, a resleeved unit is actually likely to be better as they're sleeved in stainless. I wonder if there's any merit to it? If the price for cylinder resleeving turns out to be per pair I'll go for it but I very much doubt that it is! When I was taking them to bits I discovered my shoes are a) very glazed and b) very worn: So I got the new ones that came with the car out. Don't fit! Of course they don't! And I can't find the correct ones anywhere so I've been in touch with a couple of places about relining the shoes. This is getting expensive, but I'm a pretty big fan of not ploughing in to the back of people so I'm going to bite the bullet and do a full-on refresh of everything except the hard lines for now. Side note, still can't get one of the nipples out of a rear cylinder, but I'll deal with that.. somehow. Maybe just dismantle the entire car around it
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Biggred can refurb my calipers for £85 a pair which is more than reasonable if you ask me so that's looking like the best option at the moment.
I have tried to find out what fits but aside from asking, I've no idea how to find matching calipers! I feel like I saw someone, somewhere, mention Volvo four pots. Might have to try and find out where I saw it.
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These are the calipers fitted to my super minx: Marked 112018 then I think Q18. The other casting marking I can't really make out but possibly OA189, or DA189. Seems that 112018 calipers were fitted to MGBs and you can get brand new ones for really reasonable price, but will they fit? There seem to be various versions of these. Anyone clued up? Also would be interested in any improved calipers I could fit - I was hoping they would be Girling units so I could fit M16s but no joy.
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Got my grip nuts quite early today: They're magic! They're actual magic! Ha! Have that. Nice bit of rust on them. The grip nuts, my favourite big t-bar and a jack handle got them off in the end, one was so tight I thought I was going to give myself a hernia but none of them actually broke so that's nice. Once I got them in the vice the nipple came out easy with the grip nut. The second nipple I actually cracked while it was on the car but I still made sure I cracked the caliper bolts even though I didn't take it off. I've only got one decent hose clamp - I did buy some draper ones to bring me up to three which should be enough to get all the brakes off at once, but they don't grip the brake hoses tight enough. I'll nip and get some more of the orange ones soon, although it's just started snowing. So the brakes are Lockheed and 112 018 seems to be the model, and I think it says Q18 underneath. 112018 seems to be the model used on MGBs and some other bits, but I'm unsure about the second part. Although I've got the nipples out, and I reckon I can use the grip nuts to get the ones off the rear also, I'm leaning towards replacing all the calipers. Off to find out if there are bigger better calipers I can fit to the front. I figure if I'm planning on putting a more powerful engine out of an MX5 in, it's wise. New flexis, rear cylinders, maybe master cylinder as well. Dunno yet.
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I think it's blue point that are the snap-on Chinese made stuff, I've got stubby AF spanners by blue spot and they seem decent enough, mostly went for these for range of sizes. The 15mm hopefully should be just about right as a 15mm spanner just about goes on (aside from it being round!). I think it's supposed to be 5/8. I'll either have a go tomorrow or Wednesday depending when the Amazon man comes
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Well - I'll try and get it out first, as I don't have a grinder. nomad you said find a better version of the Erbauer nut removers - there's an Irwin set, but it doesn't seem to have an appropriate size whereas I reckon the 9/16 would probably chew on to the most rounded head. Reckon it'll be alright? I could pick one up tomorrow. OItherwise there's a Blue Spot set that's about a tenner more but has a lot more sizes, mostly in 1mm increments. Spend the extra and wait, or do you think the Erbauer is worth a look? Edit: **** it they'll be here tomorrow, I'll get the bigger set. And a proper size breaker bar.
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I've tried banging it with a hammer as well! And six point sockets as well as normal 12 point ring spanners. And mole grips.
I've borrowed an impact driver and was going to try and bang on a slightly smaller six point socket to the rounded one, but maybe I should go for the bolt removers also. I got a 14mm part of the way on, with more perseverance I reckon it might go on. Maybe file it down some first. Hopefully can get to it with the impact driver.
I'm off this week so with any luck I'll be able to get it done.
You're right though I might end up pulling the whole lot off!
It's not the end of the world if I break the bolt, as long as I can successfully extract whatever's left, I just want them out - I'll replace them after. Obviously the preferred outcome is taking it out in once piece.
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Thanks I did try and do them up a bit as well but they didn't budge. I think possibly I need to be braver with the heat but it's not something I've ever done before, especially with it on the car. May also try and file better flat sides onto the bolts. Once they're off I want to clean them up and fit new bolts etc, maybe do the seals and so on also.
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Ugh! Attempted to get one of the front calipers off today - no dice yet. Both bolts very rounded or very stuck. Drowned them in plusgas, tried a bit of heat (probably not enough), tried a jack handle on a breaker bar on the one that's not rounded. Going to need some help with this but I reckon!
The calipers are Lockheed ones I've found out, of course I forgot to note which one and didn't remember til I'd put her away.
Wanted to achieve something so ran the wires to the rear speakers. At least I can have some tunes on while I drive around with danger brakes, right?
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