1981 Midas Coupe - Project Zippy.

[Mercdan68]

More good work there
This is really coming along now
Nice work with the electrical side of things
Good luck with the wheel refurb, looking great so far
More soon please!, cheers Danny

[mrbounce]

Not much work in the garage recently, mainly due to holidays and tripping over myself causing injury (not long-lasting!!). However, over the last couple of weeks I have managed to fit in some stuff, even if it's relatively straightforward.



First up was the exhaust manifold. This is a half decent Maniflow item, so I have given it a good going over with the wire brush on the grinder before a coat of VHT paint just to tidy it up. Kind of tempted by some Manifold wrap, but I am not convinced that it really works unless you get the really the expensive stuff - I think £9.95 on eBay for 10 metres would be a non-starter. Thoughts anyone?



The wheels have also been primed and painted. It's far from a completed job - they need at least another coat and also some lacquer. I do like the way they look mind...



Manifold cleaned up...







...and painted with VHT.







Meanwhile, at the front of the garage, wheels in primer...







... and in Black.

[ovimor]

Hello MrB... been following you along for a long time M8

Black wheels....

I went to the scrappies, at Backworth, and scored these 4 off a Proton Compactsport @ £50



... rubbed down/black enamel and fitted onto my Proton Savvy STREET... +5MM spacer (for the rear swing arm) 175/70-14"




loving the yellow.... Keep It UP


OVIMOR

[mrbounce]

Cheers Ovimor!


I have discovered a few things since my last installment. There are as follows:



1. Lacquer is great stuff but man does it stink. I have now given my wheels 4 coats of lacquer and I think they look rather nice. As they're a home-sprayed job they'll never be as perfect as those that have been professionally reconditioned and powder-coated, but then I'll have the satisfaction that I did them myself at a fraction of the cost.



2. I have found somewhere for the coil to go. I did not have a coil bracket which bolts on to the head stud - and I didn't like them much anyway. Instead, as I'd moved the solenoid, I whipped off the bracket I'd made up and modified it, then flipped it round for clearance. The coil now sits nicely there, and just for fun I put on the dizzy cap and leads for that "almost-finished" (yeah right!) under bonnet shot.



3. I am a prize plonker. I had dragged out my front indicator/sidelight lenses with a view to removing the rather sad-looking "chrome effect" surround that was painted on the inside sometime in the 70s. Some careful sanding removed this. I then spent several minutes carefully masking up the lights and hanging them up ready for paint. I then primed them. Do you see what the issue is here? Yup. Stupid ol' me primed the inside of the clear lens. I think to make it easy on myself I shall simply re-mask and spray on the outside. That's a bit easier than taking it all off again. Either that or I'll see how good it looks with the grey...



One of 5 beautiful shiny black wheels. I will be letting the lacquer harden suitably before even considering tyres...







New coil on its new bespoke bracketry.







And a pretty shot to show that I know where the leads go.







Shabby silver surround on sidelight lens before I removed it. I need to repair the screw hole where the old screw was rusted solid...







All masked up ready for disaster

[mrbounce]

Another quick update for all you lovely people who follow my rebuild.



I had a look at the light lenses having removed the masking tape and the result was not that great, so it was on to plan "B". I got out the 180 grit and keyed the outside edges of the lenses then remasked it and chucked on a couple of coats of satin black. I know it's not exactly the most noticeable aspect of this little car, but it's the little things, right?



I was also fed up of stubbing my toes on the exhaust manifold so it was time that went on the car. The thing was, could I remember where the manifold gasket was? Yup, that's right, on top of the garage stereo which is on a shelf under the workbench (obviously). It's often the case that Mini LCB manifolds and the separate inlet manifolds don't match up well and either require grinding or stepped washers to seal properly. Luckily, I'd bought a (secondhand) Maniflow LCB, and some quick checking with the digital calipers revealed a difference of 0.05mm - I'd say that's close enough! Also, I am led to believe that some people have difficulty fitting LCBs to Minis as they're a tight squeeze. Well, not on this Midas. It took about 30 seconds for me to get both parts hanging on the manifold studs - it must all be about the angle of the dangle... On went the inlet manifold and I nipped up the nuts, including the REALLY awkward one 3rd in from the clutch end. I used to have the perfect tool for this - a 3/8" ratchet with a uni-joint and a deep 1/2" socket. I think that the socket ended up in my friend's toolbox several years ago so I had to make do with an alternative in 1/2" ratchet flavour. Still, it's all on and looks great. More to follow!



Outside edges of the lenses now in paint - here's hoping that it looks a bit better this time...







Manifold hanging on the studs...







...and all nipped up with its inlet brother.

[mrbounce]

Well it's time for an update, even though it's quite a small one. I have been struggling for time recently, so I've only got a few minor things done. However, I can report that the painting of the sidelight lens edges was a success. There's some minor overspray which should clear up easily but overall I think it looks rather good. I've also managed to repair the hole in the lens where the screw goes through. Some careful use of epoxy resin saw that the hole was a thing of the past.



One thing that I have only just remembered AFTER I have started putting the car back together was that the throttle pedal fouled on the wheel arch slightly, so full throttle would be difficult. I had meant to amend this when it was all in bits, but like most good ideas, I didn't write it down so therefore didn't remember. Removing the subframe, filling then redrilling the current mounting holes was a "Hell No!" idea, so I just decided to "amend" the pedal using Tink's welding skills and some metal bar. It' simple, it should be effective and if you think it's not that pretty, well I don't care coz you won't see it anyway!! Beats ripping the whole car to bits to do one small thing!! I haven't trial fitted it yet but that's on the list of "to-dos".



Finally I went to fix the K&N air filter to the carb. And found that I couldn't. This will be because it's for a 1 1/2" SU carb. My carb is 1 3/4". Whoops... I shall see if Tink's got a spare one.



Lenses look good.







Amended pedal with extra metal. Functional.

[ovimor]

.... have you clocked my 'cut 'n shut' work on the Heater Speed resistor? Start with a really big one and chop it up

All very smart this is, MrB


OVIMOR

[mrbounce]

In between tidying up lots (house move next year), I've done a couple more minor jobs. A friend came up with a lovely looking K&N filter which fits beautifully, apart from the fact it fouls on the heater control. I may have to do a little bit of rethinking in regards to this - I may have to do some cutting and shutting with the heater pipes. I shall investigate further.



I've also mocked up the top hose arrangement - all fits together nicely - i just need to get myself some more hose clips as the ones I have are all old ones. Not that I don't trust them, but they look a bit rubbish.



I will update with further little jobs as time allows...



New filter. Looks awesome and fits well, except the heater valve is in the way...







Top hose arrangement under initial trial. New hose clips needed!

[mrbounce]

There will be precious little work done on Zippy in the next month or so as we have the delights of a house move to sort out. That said, I have managed to do one small thing I have wanted to do since buying the car: sort the fuel cap properly. The problem I had wasn't the cap itself - I'd reconditioned it by giving it a coat of fresh paint and replacing the knackered foam with some fuel-proof rubber. That said, it wasn't perfect and the seal was knackered. All the Triumph TR7 specialists do not stock a new seal for the big cap (this was only used on the early TR7 fixedhead models for about 18 months) and I have never been able to find one on the bay of e. I then decided to search on the TR7 forum on the off chance. It turns out that one of the members has indeed commissioned new ones at the decent price of £12.50 including delivery. So a brief email exchange and some excellent work by Postman Pat saw the new items on my doormat yesterday.



Fitting was relatively straightforward (although getting the screws undone is awkward as you have to angle the screwdriver), and it was eventually all back together and looking VERY smart. I shall report more once Zippy has been moved to his new home.



New seal and foam backing obtained from the extremely helpful TR7 forum







Old seal really was in a dreadful state







All fitted back together on the bench







And a view from the front. Lovely.

[mrbounce]

As there 's an imminent house move in the Bounce household, Zippy needed to go to a "temporary new home" as I really didn't want to juggle all the fun of moving house along with the delights of car/trailer interfacing on the same day. What did I do in this situation? Call on my car-friendly mates, that's what. So Mr T, the Man of the Chair & Plank all popped round with a Volvo and a trailer plus the necessary muscle to get it up the ramps. Typically we'd chosen the worst possible day for all this - it was absolutely chucking it down. All that was needed was the kettle and a tub of Roses to keep everyone happy.



Zippy was easy enough to get out of the garage, down the driveway and on to the ramps, mainly because I currently live on a hill, but also because of the fact that he weighs about the same as a crisp packet with wheels. He was soon up in the trailer and strapped down. Given that the trailer was specifically designed for Mini transportation, and Zippy's that little bit longer, it was a tight squeeze length-wise but all was soon sorted. I will get him back one we've moved in to our new pad.



Out of the soon-to-be-old garage.







Belligerent orange Midas ignores driveway sign in pouring rain.







In the trailer and strapped down. Time for a voyage!







It was a bit tight in there!!

[greencarfritz]

Oct 10, 2017 13:30:46 GMT mrbounce said:

Not much work in the garage recently, mainly due to holidays and tripping over myself causing injury (not long-lasting!!). However, over the last couple of weeks I have managed to fit in some stuff, even if it's relatively straightforward.



First up was the exhaust manifold. This is a half decent Maniflow item, so I have given it a good going over with the wire brush on the grinder before a coat of VHT paint just to tidy it up. Kind of tempted by some Manifold wrap, but I am not convinced that it really works unless you get the really the expensive stuff - I think £9.95 on eBay for 10 metres would be a non-starter. Thoughts anyone?



The wheels have also been primed and painted. It's far from a completed job - they need at least another coat and also some lacquer. I do like the way they look mind...



Manifold cleaned up...







...and painted with VHT.







Meanwhile, at the front of the garage, wheels in primer...







... and in Black.

I can recommend the Design Engineering branded exhaust manifold wrap, I got mine from Demon Tweeks, inside the engine bay of green car (oil cooled flat twin) the exhausts run close to the sump and underneath the motor so heat is a big problem. Wrapping back to the swan neck reduced the oil temp of the engine by 5 degrees.

Their metal cable ties are expensive though, I got the same quality with those from Car Builder Solutions for much less money, the slotted tool for tightening them is worth having (just keep wrapping the loose end to tighten and you just leave it as a neat wrap, looks nice), CBS are also a handy supplier for other bits and pieces on such a project as yours.

[mrbounce]

New house (well bungalow, actually), new garage, new home for Zippy.

[peteh1969]

Well done on the move, It looks like you have more room to play in the new place.

[mrbounce]

Feb 16, 2018 18:49:25 GMT peteh1969 said:

Well done on the move, It looks like you have more room to play in the new place.

A little bit Pete - it's longer and a touch narrower than my old garage but once the furniture under the plastic is moved (stored for the landlord's son for a couple of months) there'll be a bit more space. 

Needs more power points though. Must speak to my mate the sparky!! 

[logicaluk]

I saw what exhaust wrap did to my mates spitty exhaust, ive never seen steel rot like that before.

[mrbounce]

Mar 6, 2018 19:36:39 GMT logicaluk said:

I saw what exhaust wrap did to my mates spitty exhaust, ive never seen steel rot like that before.

I didn't go for the exhaust wrap in the end - I thought after some investigation that it wasn't necessary. 

[mrbounce]

Hi guys and gals.



I don't want you all to think that I've been doing nothing over the past few weeks or ignoring my project. There's been a massive amount of work needed to sort the garage, I've been on holiday and I have now just come out of hospital after contracting pneumonia. I hope to be able to give you an update on Zippy in about 2 weeks once I feel a bit more like me, but for now Mrs Bounce says I've got to stay inside and get better. So in the meantime I will be fighting this infection with more drugs than Lance Armstrong ever had, and most likely looking at loads of silly things on YouTube. I have deliberately left the credit card in the wallet otherwise I would be surfing the net to buy car stuff I don't need...



See you soon 

[jamesd1972]

Get well soon !
Is this an excuse to install garage heating ?
James

[glenanderson]

Yes, get well soon. Try not to overdo things. Speaking from similar recent experience and unplanned hospitalisation, don’t run before you can walk.

[mrbounce]

Thanks guys   Mrs Bounce is keeping me on a tight leash so no tinkering in the Man Room for a bit. As glenanderson says, there's no way I will be trying to run before I can walk. 1st day out of hospital and emptying the dishwasher was surprisingly tiring so I am not going to push it.

jamesd1972 it's a rented house so not an option. It's actually pretty well insulated and I do have a propane-powered space heater if it's chilly. I will be back on it in a couple of weeks hopefully