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Post by monkeyjim on Oct 11, 2009 19:13:45 GMT
Had a productive day Saturday , or shall I say destructive .
Finally got the engine and gearbox out of the donor vehicle .
The fuel injection loom on the engine disconnected nicely from the main loom at 3 block connectors so I didnt need to undo each individual connector on the engine electrics .
Got most of the loom out yesterday and only spent a hour today with the remainder and a bit of clearing up .
Trial fitted the engine/box in the Mini/k series subframe . Will certainly need a bit of adjusting . Reckon a trial fit of the engine in the car without the subframe will be a good idea first of all .
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Post by monkeyjim on Oct 30, 2009 22:57:18 GMT
Not got very far since last post , did a bit last sunday and been ill since .
With the engine in the frame I found that a bar welded betweeen the 2 subframe towers was in the way of the inlet manifold so I removed that for the time being . It will be welded back in a few inches lower down latter .
With the bar removed the engine could be correctly positioned in the subframe . As well as making sure the engine/box is positioned in the right place i also need to make sure the driveshafts are sitting correctly and run at a sensible angle out of the box towards the hub as possible .
The driveshafts are not made yet so i used 2 lengths of box section , put one end in the gearbox the other out through the middle of the hub this enabled me to help get driveshaft angles and engine/box position in the subframe .
Now I am happy the engine is in correct position in all aspects I will start making the engine mount brackets . The rear will use the standard rear gearbox mount and bracket with 2 made up brackets required on the front . I have Land Rover engine mount rubbers (£2.29 each) to fit on the brackets . No time to do anything this weekend so I will be making templates for the front mount brackets during next week .
The steering rack , rack bolts and steering arms have now been painted so has all my front suspension i, hubs lowered shock brackets and the special Allspeed rose jointed lower arms and shorter (bent ) tie rods . Still need a set of lowered Spax shock absorbers and a new pair of front rubber doughnuts .
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Post by Miniböttcher on Oct 30, 2009 23:06:26 GMT
sounds good, were are you getting the drive shafts made as you cant get them off the shelf.
have you got your engine mounts yet.
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Post by Rachel on Oct 30, 2009 23:09:39 GMT
It seems to me you have done quite a lot ;D Now you have the engine positioned where you want it, it should all fall into place now ;D ;D Every little bit that you do takes you closer to completion - that's what I keep telling myself  ;D ;D |
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Post by monkeyjim on Oct 30, 2009 23:15:56 GMT
Using the standard rear nissan mounting rubber and bracket , got to make the front mount brackets out of thick metal plate but got the Land Rover engine mounting rubbers for the mounts already .
It is still a bit of trial at this stage , shall see if I have the engine positioned correctly when its mounted securely in the subframe and the whole assembly fitted in the car . I may need to adjust mountings , i dont know at this stage .
Driveshafts I will make from a combo of Mini and Nissan parts . Basically cut to right length sleeve the 2 sections and weld . There is a bit more to it than that but you get the gist . I wont be commisioning any custom shafts .
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Post by oldgit on Oct 31, 2009 13:42:55 GMT
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Post by MiniGT5 on Nov 1, 2009 11:01:10 GMT
What engine is going in now  N  |
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Post by monkeyjim on Nov 1, 2009 21:11:52 GMT
nissan
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Post by MiniGT5 on Nov 2, 2009 15:07:53 GMT
micra Have you see the subframe build threads over on TMF N |
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Post by Stephen on Nov 2, 2009 15:30:27 GMT
Driveshafts I will make from a combo of Mini and Nissan parts . Basically cut to right length sleeve the 2 sections and weld . There is a bit more to it than that but you get the gist . I wont be commisioning any custom shafts . That's what my old man has attempted on the 2 litre clubby project. It helps having a lathe in the garage! We'll see if they take the power though... |
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Post by MiniGT5 on Nov 2, 2009 15:56:36 GMT
Most of the cut and shut drive shafts seem to last ok. I think it just comes down to how good your welding is. N |
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Post by MiniHaven on Nov 2, 2009 19:19:26 GMT
when i had some austin 1100 shafts shortened a good few years ago they were welded using some special sort chrome sodium welding rods and bevveled prior to welding in order to get a deeper weld these never gave any trouble ,however it is important to get them ballanced after as they can develop quite an iteresting vibration which will kill any oil seals if left unattended.
incidentally Dave the engine mounts in the vauxhaul 16v jobbie of my mates was slots in place of holes where the studs in the engine mounts locate with lock washers and nuts so there was plenty of scope with the positioning of the motor for fine adjustments like the gear shaft position to get the gears right .
these slots were in the subframe done at manufacture , makes life a bit easier, may be worth considering on your build ?.
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Post by monkeyjim on Nov 29, 2009 12:54:04 GMT
i know about the bevelled ends , going to sleeve the joint as well plus got access to a lathe so in theory its there .
Using Micra gearchange and it will need a bit of modifying of the rods .
Yes Neil I have been looking on the Mini forum , been looking at various differant engines over the years and even taking measurements of engines when I have a certain car in .
It was obvious right at the begining a Micra would go in but as I was given the MGF I was going the k series route .
Now full circle I am back to the Nissan having been given the 1275cc Micra .
Thought I would look on the 16v forum a short time ago and found Bigchief from Trinidad who has been doing Micra engines into Mini for a few years now .
Result , he puts up loads of info which is great .
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Post by MiniGT5 on Nov 29, 2009 13:33:08 GMT
Glad you found the thread on TMF looks easy when those guys from Trinidad do it. Are you going to add a Turbo or just keep it standard N |
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Post by monkeyjim on Nov 29, 2009 19:52:16 GMT
Going to keep it standard , big power ( 200 plus) can be made from the Micra 1275 but its not cheap .
The aim is a reliable motor with a 5 speed box .
Think of the times your on the motorway with the cast iron A series screaming its nuts of in 4th at 70 and a Micra , Yaris , or even a Daewoo Matiz (3 cylinder ) wiz past effortlessly . My mark 1 is quite happy all day at those speeds and higher but wouldnt it be great if everything was a bit more relaxed and refined .
Thats what I am after , modern engine and reliabilty in a Mini shape ;D . Ok it wont out accellerate a M3 but thats not the point again .
Not sure if I have already said this , according to Big Chief who does the Micra conversions the A series block crank and pistons weighs more than the Micra complete engine .
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;D ;D
