Monday 29 December 2014

I found the easiest way to work on the chassis was with the front wheels attached and resting it on its side, this was particularly stable and without any weight on the chassis no damage would be caused.

New rear section with a pipe I had to bend to shape myself!


Both sections in place


Wednesday 24 December 2014

Hole filling

For any holes I had to fill I would cut away all the rust possible, and then once I have a hole, to strengthen the curved pieces I inserted (through much twisting and cursing) some galvanised channel section specially made to fit inside, on both the inside and outside of the curve.
Once I had those welded in place I made a plate to cover the gap between them and plug welded it into place, then sealed the pieces all round by welding it into the chassis.

The new trailing arm sections went in along with some outer parts of the chassis. My welding greatly improved on these parts and I am quite proud of the work on the chassis trailing arm sections (below)


Below is one half of the new segments in place. The trailing arm section (the matt looking piece) and the new outer section (the one glaring due to lighting) are in place and I will begin work on the next side soon.


Monday 22 December 2014

Work begins on TR6

Up on the lift

Body is off

And the rear suspension

Some fatigued parts of the chassis get new metal

Thursday 4 December 2014

TR4 Engine starting

My Dad sent me this today, seems he has been working on his 4A whilst I have been away.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

Another TR6 part 2

Here is the other TR6 in question, should hopefully start restoring this winter however there is a decision to be made first regarding a TR4A.

Saturday 25 October 2014

Another TR6

Came across another TR6 in the ads the other day, long and short I now have another restoration project. I will be keeping detailed logs of progress and plenty of photos.

Monday 15 September 2014

Welders tan

This is why you should wear thick clothing when welding, about 2 hours of welding with a t-shirt gave this burn.

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Back Together

Generator is up and running now, smooth engine, one or two faults with electrics to fix but shouldn't be too hard.

Monday 8 September 2014

Paint

Ran out of red hammerite spray paint today. Going to try some brush on stuff, it looks alright at the moment

Friday 5 September 2014

Generator Progress

Back working on the generator, its looking good now, just a few more things to paint and then assembly!

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Light work

Whilst going back and forth between uni and home, I have decided to do light work on parts that can be easily removed and replaced, while still leaving the car drivable. This week I'm doing the speaker set up.

Home made speaker board with two 130W speakers and a 500W 4 channel Amplifier, nothing outlandish but should make the loud motorway journeys more tolerable with audible music.
Some very neat soldering 

My new oil filler funnel, prevents having to clean up each time I refill the engine

Thats a lot of degrees!


New Battery Cable

After my recent exhaust troubles I have found that the battery cable has been melted by close proximity to the exhaust, whilst it has not failed yet, I do not want to give it that chance. So:

A freshly crimped end, with some left over heat shrink to hide the metal
Comparison: Old vs New


I know Green/Yellow is recognised as earth but it was the only suitable cable I had for the job. And by that logic, so is black (the original colour)

A very nice picture

Angus took his mini to Wales and this is a stunning photo from the trip.

Friday 22 August 2014

Honda Generator

Just a few pictures from an old Honda EB-1900X generator I'm refurbishing, heading off to university soon so might be a while before it is running.

The new grinder wheel I purchased is ideal for removing lots of paint, fast.

 Ultrasonic speaker location is very visible inside the cylinder head.

Lots of shiny, repainted parts. Still a bit tacky so waiting for drying time


My very haphazard fuel tank system; an upside down peanut butter jar with a piece of plastic pipe glued to the lid.


Shiny metal everywhere!


Thursday 21 August 2014

Seat Diaphragm


 Hit a rather nasty bump on the motorway, seat diaphragm split right down the middle.

Repaired with copious amounts of tie wraps.

Wednesday 13 August 2014

Car Camping

After arrival at the Harrogate TR Show, enduring 7 hour traffic from Birmingham (2.5 hour drive tops!) I found a lack of inspiration to find a tent spot, or to go out in the rain. I decided that the appropriate cause of action was to sleep in the car.

For future reference the most comfortable way to sleep in a Mini, is to put both seats all the way forward, lift up the drivers seat and rest it as far forward as possible, and sleep either diagonally with your feet on the passenger seat, or curled up on the back seat...
For added relaxation the remaining battery life on my laptop was spent on Dragon Ball, a worthy sacrifice.

Exhaust Catastrophe Part 2!

On the way to harrogate I was subject to torrential rain, I could not see a thing out of the front windscreen other than the blur of rear lights in front of me. Driving along suddenly the car jolted as I hit a puddle, obviously my exhaust must have dislodged itself once more as I found the next day during the Auto Solo that after a few races (which could only have aggravated the problem) that my exhaust had once again fallen off.

After the day was done I wheeled by car to the tent and begun work.

I managed to slot the exhaust in place and smear some borrowed fire gum all over the join but there was still a large blow at the head/manifold join. I decided that I would have to fix this at home.

Incase the exhaust once more dislodged I supported it by attaching it to the subframes with wire coat hangers acquired from the clothes store and made my way home.

I had barely made it half a mile before I stopped at Sainsbury's for some ear plugs.

Harrogate TR

Unfortunately the TR6 was not road worthy due to internal engine problems and suspension, so I decided to go to the Harrogate TR International Weekend in the Mini.

On the way I suffered yet more exhaust trouble, torrential rain and steamed up windows. Lots of awesome TR's about and found much fun in taking part in the auto solo race in the Mini.

Of course, Mini's handle much better than TR's so any comparison is negligible but 2 other minis thought they would give it a go too.

My best time was 70.00 seconds, but the prize was taken by a 69.00 done by another mini with a modified Toyota turbocharged engine!

Exhaust troubles to come later...

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Indicator Failure

Whilst driving along the indicators stopped working, but I was far from done driving... To remedy this I wired the indicator bulbs directly into a live feed from the headlights and used a switch to cut the circuit.

I then had my friend in the passenger seat who's job it became, to flick the switch on and off whenever we needed to make a turn :)

Later inspection proved that a faulty relay had caused a fuse to blow, hence why I could identify the problem on the roadside

Thursday 24 April 2014

Tuning

Engine is in need of a good clean out, new oil, coolant, carb needle and various other tidbits:

Very nice video of the firing inside the engine, bit yellow so still needs adjusting to get that nice blue colour

Thursday 6 February 2014

Exhaust Catastrophe!

Driving down near Milton Keynes I had lots of weight in my car, and may have hit a speed bump to fast, dislodging my exhaust. A few miles down the road me and my brother notice the engine sounding slightly louder than usual, after pulling over the exhaust dropped right off the car upon rolling onto an embankment, leaving me in the following state:


(Brother in high vis vest, RAC yet to arrive...)

Careful inspection of the photo reveals there may be a problem with the exhaust.

Below are images of the mountings that where torn when hitting a speed bump, quite obviously not from fatigue my only thought is that they have been torn.


This is the y pice where the exhaust had managed to come loose in the end resulting in it dropping off. A minor blow can be seen at the bottom of the picture, will be a bit more liberal with the Firegum next time.