Mini progress
Mini progress
Between other jobs, work has been progressing on the Mini.
Bodywork/painting are not my favourite jobs, but the front end refresh has gone OK:
Viper stripes, coz everyone knows they make you faster, and headlight blanks made in 1.5mm abs
New brake master cylinder (and a whole load of fuss getting the right computer to bleed the abs pump)
New R56 trailing arms (fully stripped and refurbed) with R56 hubs and polybushed hanger (would be ready to go on if I hadn't pressed in the wrong bushes )
New switches for fan override and flood light and new electrical cable pull
Refurb of the handbrake assembly
Moving in the right direction...
Bodywork/painting are not my favourite jobs, but the front end refresh has gone OK:
Viper stripes, coz everyone knows they make you faster, and headlight blanks made in 1.5mm abs
New brake master cylinder (and a whole load of fuss getting the right computer to bleed the abs pump)
New R56 trailing arms (fully stripped and refurbed) with R56 hubs and polybushed hanger (would be ready to go on if I hadn't pressed in the wrong bushes )
New switches for fan override and flood light and new electrical cable pull
Refurb of the handbrake assembly
Moving in the right direction...
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough"
Re: Mini progress
Good stuff.
And unless you have inserted a container into @scotta ‘s garage - it also appears to have moved (to StrongBroo racebase?)
And unless you have inserted a container into @scotta ‘s garage - it also appears to have moved (to StrongBroo racebase?)
Re: Mini progress
Yeah, it's temporary (I've delayed the return of the boat). Makes sense when doing suspension/setup work, and also allows me to potter away at little jobs while I'm down there for Forumla Ford reasons...
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough"
Re: Mini progress
Re: Mini progress
Is most of the work want to rather than need to?
Re: Mini progress
What are the 3 little holes in the bonnet for?
Re: Mini progress
Holes in the bonnet are for mounting a big fuck off flood light for the night stages of Race of Remembrance.
Bonnet work, as Scott says, was to cover some bare metal - and, given I had to do that much, thought I'd take out the dents and, you know, make it nice and shiny again (might as well start with it good-as-new, even if it won't stay like that very long). And seeing as I had the spray gun set up, I thought the bumper could do with some love.
R56 trailing arms should be a pretty decent performance improvement - 4kg of unsprung weight removed each side, the new hanger with ultra-hard polybushes effectively increases the overall spring rate (rules define the springs and dampers we're allowed to use), and the arm design gives more adjustability for camber and castor. Also lets us move to R56 hubs and bearings, which are supposedly a bit more durable.
Brake work was chasing a pedal that feels like wet cardboard. I've improved it, but it's still shit. Problem is that the master cylinder is mounted on a firewall made of old coke tins and it flexes like crazy. Rules specifically prevent us doing anything more about it
Electrical work was needed because we'll need the big fuck-off light for RoR, and the fan needs to be on a manual switch (want it off for fast warm up and for better flow while running, but on when returning to the pits/paddock). New pull cord was very necessary, as the scrutes would send us home immediately for a non-fuctioning one.
Handbrake just coz it looked tatty and was annoying me
Bonnet work, as Scott says, was to cover some bare metal - and, given I had to do that much, thought I'd take out the dents and, you know, make it nice and shiny again (might as well start with it good-as-new, even if it won't stay like that very long). And seeing as I had the spray gun set up, I thought the bumper could do with some love.
R56 trailing arms should be a pretty decent performance improvement - 4kg of unsprung weight removed each side, the new hanger with ultra-hard polybushes effectively increases the overall spring rate (rules define the springs and dampers we're allowed to use), and the arm design gives more adjustability for camber and castor. Also lets us move to R56 hubs and bearings, which are supposedly a bit more durable.
Brake work was chasing a pedal that feels like wet cardboard. I've improved it, but it's still shit. Problem is that the master cylinder is mounted on a firewall made of old coke tins and it flexes like crazy. Rules specifically prevent us doing anything more about it
Electrical work was needed because we'll need the big fuck-off light for RoR, and the fan needs to be on a manual switch (want it off for fast warm up and for better flow while running, but on when returning to the pits/paddock). New pull cord was very necessary, as the scrutes would send us home immediately for a non-fuctioning one.
Handbrake just coz it looked tatty and was annoying me
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough"
Re: Mini progress
Tweaking and refining
The firewall surprises me, I'd've thought it was a recent enough car for problems like that to have been long known and designed out, but evidently not. It sounds like there's so much gain with the R56 rear arms it shouldn't be allowed, especially as you can't do anything with the breaks Refreshing the handbrake is textbook if it looks right it probably is, and reliability doesn't happen by accident.
The firewall surprises me, I'd've thought it was a recent enough car for problems like that to have been long known and designed out, but evidently not. It sounds like there's so much gain with the R56 rear arms it shouldn't be allowed, especially as you can't do anything with the breaks Refreshing the handbrake is textbook if it looks right it probably is, and reliability doesn't happen by accident.
Re: Mini progress
Making good progress
Re: Mini progress
out tomorrow night again in the mini - 3 hour tracknight at knockhill.
Chance to use all my new race kit whilst looking like a tit with the rest of the trackday fraternity dressed in jeans an T-Shirts but fuck it i spent £redacted on it so I'm using it!!
Chance to use all my new race kit whilst looking like a tit with the rest of the trackday fraternity dressed in jeans an T-Shirts but fuck it i spent £redacted on it so I'm using it!!
Re: Mini progress
Did you (guys) manage to improve the brake pedal?
Re: Mini progress
Best to get used to driving in it anyway, you’ll need to be comfortable with wearing it for the endurance race
Re: Mini progress
Back out and the car feels amazing. Lap times moving in the right direction too (our collective "ideal" time would put us at the very front of an SMRC Mini race, and our individual times were all faster).
But it very nearly didn't happen.
The more observant amongst you might've noticed I've been up to my eyes in property refurbishment recently, so inevitably final prep got left to the last minute. On tuesday, I started doing the final fit on the rear trailing arms and discovered *every* bolt is an annoying bitch - the thicker arm means that either the lengths were slightly wrong or the threads were just slightly in the wrong place. Cue a whole afternoon of cutting and tapping to make a suitable set of bolts. With it all done and one side fully bolted up, I stupidly make the assumption that the other side would be child's play and that I'd have loads to time to do it, along the a new ABS sensor and a bit of wiring, before set-up and loading the whole thing into the trailer.
But no, it was not to be. One of the old bolts in one of the control arms had welded itself inside the bush. Attempts at lubing it and rocking back and forth saw the bolt sheer. But it still wouldn't drift out. So I took the upright and control arm off and started attacking it on the bench with increasing force.Big, big blows with the heavy hammer on a punch, but it still wasn't moving. Then a mis-aimed blow from my helper saw the punch fly out and rip a somewhat uncomfortable hole in my face
We drilled the bolt through, til there was virtually nothing left, but it still wasn't shifting. After using heat, more drilling, and more violence, we had to admit that we'd ruined the bush in the arm. This was 1.30pm.
The next three hours were spent in a mad panic, sourcing, collecting and fitting a new arm (as well as sourcing and collecting a new bolt to go through it), doing a basic set-up, and loading up.
We made it, only about 10 minutes late. I was bit nervous, as all the rear suspension was new, had been bolted up in a rush, and hadn't been tested in any way. So I've very pleased to report that, apart from having to shave a couple of mm off the bottom of the arm to stop it fouling it all rim under heavy cornering, everything stayed together and worked like a dream (as did the rest of the car!).
The trackday itself was a bit meh - couple of big accidents and long stoppages limited out running time, and what we had was fairly trafficy.
So, all things considered, to get out there, put in some solid times and know that we're making genuine progress is definitely a win.
Face is a bit sore this morning though...
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough"
Re: Mini progress
Nice recovery.
Did all 3 of you get seat time?
And I am hoping your failure to mention anything about the brakes suggests that improvements made were at least partially effective?
Edit:
PS: GWS face.
Did all 3 of you get seat time?
And I am hoping your failure to mention anything about the brakes suggests that improvements made were at least partially effective?
Edit:
PS: GWS face.
Re: Mini progress
I'd go as far as to say the brakes are now fine. Not great but fine. Certainly nowhere near the brakes on the Lotus but they work.