H reg Project

[monkeyjim]

Here is my Studio 2

I bought this car in 2000 and paid £600 .
It was standard when I got it .It needed new door skins and 'A' panels . The wings were trimmed and Sports Pack arches and 6x13 Ultralites were fitted .
When finished I then gave it to my partner and she used it to drive all round East Sussex during her Midwifery training.
Whe she qualified she bought herself a new car and gave me back the Mini .
By September 05 the MOT was due and it was obvious that it would not pass due to floor corrosion and subframe corrosion .
So it came off the road and the slow process of rebuilding and modifying it further began.

As you can see by the pictures it has had new inner and outer sills , floor repairs and although not shown the rear valance has been replaced and the boot floor repaired plus a new subframe that was fitted under my Pick up has been donated to the cause .

The front and rear arches have also had metal removed as has the front bulkhead in the engine bay .

The roof seam has also been modified , the gaps in the seam that are visible after the black roof seam cover strip has been removed have been welded up . Therefore I do not need a cover strip round the roof seam .


When the above was first posted the intention was to fit a 1600cc Vauxhall engine using a Allspeed frame .

[monkeyjim]

Due to the gearing of the engine I will be fitting I have decided to use 2 sets of wheels .
The car has had 6x13 Ultralites on it since the first rebuild in 2000 .
But
Depite the generous grip I hate the ride and handling with the big wheels and after driving the mk1 around on its 10's I had craved 10inch MB split rims for the Studio 2 .

I bought a set in Feb 06 .

I will use the 10 inch wheels locally and for longer distances such as Newquay etc I will put the biggies on for relaxed cruising and economy .

A sort of Sports Spec and Touring spec you could say . 10 for Sport and 13 for touring . ;D

[monkeyjim]

I have now received the subframe and suspension arms for my conversion that will use a Vauxhall engine and a Allspeed subframe . Rose jointed lower arms and Tie bars are also from Allspeed .
Between February and October I will be sourcing the rest of the parts required and assembling the car over winter 07/08 with the intention of it being ready for Brooklands 2008 .

[monkeyjim]

The shell is now 100% rust free , its all been cut out .
The gearchange mount for the Vauxhall gear lever is welded inside the car and the bulkhead conversion box fitted to clear the back of the gearbox . That is the rectangular hole cut into the car in picture 5 .
The main bulkhead where the fuse box , wiper motor and the soundproofing fits has also been modified.

[monkeyjim]

This is underway again , no progress recently because of Mk1 engine probs .

Change of plan.
It will now be fitted with a K series Rover engine .
Swapped the Vauxhall frame for the Rover one which I should get in a couple of weeks .
Dismantling the donor car at the moment , got the first week in September to get the frame and engine in and rolling .

[monkeyjim]

Been a bit busy this afternoon relieving a donor of its motor .
Here is the new engine .
It's a VVC 1800cc K series out of a rotten MGF in this case. Paid £30 for the car a few months ago and it drove really well . Pulled strongly and did not overheat .
On paper it's got 140bhp , going to replace headgasket as matter of course , its done 44,000 miles and these things seem to click 50k and blow the headgaskets if they have not already done so at a lower mileage
Must point out I would always replace the thermostat if doing a head gasket on a K series , they are quite often the cause of failure .
Anyway done loads of HG on K series so no probs with that . Other than that it's going to be standard . The only issue may be the gearbox which may not fit the Allspeed frame , will worry about that when it happens .

As you can see I had a little help from the Real Monkey Jim today . James was very helpfull.
No way it was coming out the top so we dropped the subframe , this did require de-pressurising the hydra gas suspension but this was no problem with the liquid levers tool I borrowed from work , both valves on MGF'S are under the bonnet and easy to get to . One does the passenger side front and rear the other the drivers side.
Unplug the 3 connectors to the ECU is all thats needed for the engine wiring , the engine wiring loom comes out of the ECU and a adjoining block connector so I did not need to disconnect anything electrical on the engine itself .
Removed the gear cables, throttle cable , handbrake cables, platic servo pipe undid the quikfit fuel connectors , cut the rear brake hoses and releaed the silencer from its rubbers and the thing came out .
Needed to lift the car quite high so I could wheel the rear subframe out but thats where my L2B win came in really handy as the Blue Point trolley jack lifts really high .

This pic shows the Liquid levers depressurising equipment . Nothing much in the front of a MGF apart from the battery , a spare wheel, brake / clutch masters , ABS unit if fitted and the radiator .



This is taken from under the car , the narrow slot of light with the shock absorber hanging in it is all you can see of a MGF engine when you lift the engine cover . The larger area of light to the right is looking up through the rear windscreen . To get to this area of the engine from above the rear of the roof needs unclipping a sheet of sound deadening and a large ally plate/rear parcel shelf held on by a load of bolts needs removing first .



Here is the Front Metro based subframe as used in the rear of the MGF , Yes the MGF basically has 2 Metro subframes. As you can see its a engine/subframe assembly just like a Mini .

The frame will go back in the car when the engine is removed and the suspension will be reconnected and pressurised. Making it a rolling shell if anyone wants one .

[Stephen]

have you got a FWD gearbox then or will that one work?

[monkeyjim]

The engine is situated in the car in the same position as a 25/45 etc ie, engine on drivers side, gearbox on passenger side . Guess your thinking I may need to turn the box round as its rear engined? I won't

Will use my gearbox if I can , the only doubt with the MGF 1800cc box is that gearbox mount is differant to the one the K series frame was designed for and the gearbox itself may not be able to take the correct mounting if the casing is not able to.
May need a 1600cc box from a 216/25/400/45 .
Still not got the blooming frame , so not sure yet .

[monkeyjim]

Whilst at Mini in the Mud (a muddy Mini in the Park) I visited the 16valve club stand for inspiration and ideas . Plus also had a chat to Steve and Toby..... helpfull as always .

Currently making a fuel tank to comfortably fit in the front subframe. Determined not to spend money on this project so its basically a modified Injected Mini tank that I had knocking around complete with fuel pump and tank unit. . Pics to follow

[AntMan]

Should be pretty nice when all finished and running!!

What kind of Bhp you looking at getting out of that engine when fitted 150+!?!

Ant

[monkeyjim]

said to be 140 new . Not going to tune it up.

[monkeyjim]

Had a sort out of my Mini's at the weekend .

Evicted the Pick Up from my lock up to another location for the winter and turfed the mk1 out of my home garage into the Pick Ups original lock up.

Then had another good clear up in my garage at home.

The Studio 2 is now sitting over the inspection pit in the middle of a double garage with plenty of space to work round it ;D

So yesterday afternoon with a bit of help I wheeled the rear subframe/engine of the MGF round into the garage to start removing engine from frame.

Everything is very rusty and seized . So glad that MGF never came into work for a cambelt or engine work because with seized or broken engine mount bolts that would have made it a evil job to do with the engine in the MGF.

[monkeyjim]

Stipped out car on monday , removed arches , rear lamps , wiring , bumper , all glass and headlining .
Its now a rolling shell ready for its rear end to be removed next Tuesday ;D

[monkeyjim]

Today I rebuilt the 2 top suspension arms Dean gave me a while back. These are going on the front subframe to be mounted in the rear of the car.
I fitted new bearings in both , gave them a coat of etch primer then a few coats of top coat .
I bought 2 top arm rebuild kits from Minispares @ £12 each .
They come with a new shaft , the thick washers, bearings , and nuts .

Found a easy way of removing the the fragile bearings and the nylon cup the suspension cone balljoint sits in .

[MiniGT5]

I thought you were front mounting this K-Series

N