brads 1963 mk1 850 - roll cage complete, got a weber & ideas

[MkI]

So tonight (it's approaching midnight here) i was stuffing about with some of the steel, got more angles and sections cut for the rear frame. The top length in the boot will be the first strut brace (required by the engineer), but i think it might change to allow fitment of a fuel tank (and square section looks naff)







I figured i'd grab some photos of the motor. As far as i know, AEG312 means it's a thin walled block, but the flange for the gearbox is thick. I have posted on mini forums, so hopefully i can get a definitive answer! Pretty sure they're also Hardy Spicer joints, which are stronger than the usual Pot-joint















I think the number on the gearbox casing says 22G1128. According to http://www.ozcooper.com.au/new_page_3.htm it's a Mark2 Cooper S gearbox, which is a good thing...i think. It should mean its a stronger gearbox

[MkI]

Confirmed my engine block is one of the rare desirable thick flange Cooper S blocks. Worth a few bob and purists love it. Lucky for them i own it and its already bored and stroked for an extra 133cc lol


Got my new tyres off a mate this afternoon. Nice Dunlop Formula R's.

Also grabbed a spare set of doors off him to check against my shell. My ones are seriously ill-fitting.

[scotto]

My Grandpa used to race these here in Canada in the late 70's. I remember him having 3 or 4 in the garage at a time and parking them all sideways taking up only one side of the garage. Love the new wheels and to think that 10s are an actual tire size nowdays seems silly.

[MkI]

My Grandpa used to race these here in Canada in the late 70's. I remember him having 3 or 4 in the garage at a time and parking them all sideways taking up only one side of the garage. Love the new wheels and to think that 10s are an actual tire size nowdays seems silly.

They are so small. Its handy as!

Thanks, cant wait for the wheels to turn up! The tyres are ridiculously small. A mates hilux with 33" tyres has literally double the rolling circumference. It goes twice as far with one rotation

[MkI]

One of the new tyres against my mates 33" hilux haha

[MkI]

Excitement! Just got home from work and this parcel is sitting waiting for me



So the process started off unwrapping. Mannnnny layers of packaging. The excitement levels were peaking!






Annnnnd here we are! Two of Carls brand new mesh design. Force Racing 10x7, 3.5" inner and 3.5" outer rim.

Loving them!

[Water Boy]

Love it. Minis are a cool car.

I work near Link automotive in Mitcham so also have a perv as I go past!

[MkI]

Love it. Minis are a cool car.

I work near Link automotive in Mitcham so also have a perv as I go past!

Oath, they're odd, but have a certain cool/charm about them. Link have a great reputation in the mini world


Called Protech in the UK this afternoon and after some discussion with Kevin there, i have ordered some 14" rear non-offset coilovers. Got the spring poundage sorted and had a nice chat to him. Definitely recommend them, they do all sorts of vehicles and can build custom shocks/coilovers. Not sure on ETA of the coilovers

[PassionGarage]

Dude im loving this build!!!
keep it up man !!

[PassionGarage]

Also where about in sydney you from ???

[MkI]

Dude im loving this build!!!
keep it up man !!

Thanks mate. Im in the st george area down south. You?

[MkI]

Needed somewhere to write all the stuff/jobs for the mini, but had no spare wall space. Except the garage door.

This is my new chalkboard!

Just a few days to harden and the chalk comes out



Took a few days of sanding and prep and two coats of a Dulux paint for chalkboards, but its done bar re-doing the white trim.
Im slowly reorganising the garage to suit me

[MkI]

Rear coilovers turned up, surprisingly quick!

[MkI]

Not much, but i had a fiddle and cleaned one of the trailing arms up last night. I didnt pull it completely apart as i wont remember how to put it back together :s

[MkI]

During the week i found some motivation and did some cutting and grinding to make the 4 pieces of angle fit into the beam, ala



On thursday and friday i went to richards workshop and we measured 5000 times and then cut, checked, ground, re-checked, did some more grinding, tacked, checked again, filed and welded. And checked. We ended up with something that resembles a beam.

Not a bad place to work



I brought the old subframe up for extra measurement goodness



Then the work started. First we determined the trailing arm shaft position in relation to the body and the main two bolts holding the subframe to the body. Then relayed that to the outer angle pieces. We didnt need the full length and area so i trimmed them all up to neaten it





Once we positioned the camber slots, we traced and also got a rough shape of the trailing arm. Then i trimmed



Then came time to weld the plates on. Once on, we drilled and filed the slots out. Nothing like a good old hand file









Once they were done it was time to do the inner angles. The shaft holes were drilled 8mm closer to the beam to allow for our toe adjustment



Once again we made a radius of the trailing arm diametre and neaten the angle up



And the finished inner angle. Holes drilled (carefully after a pilot hole was off centre), trimmed and linished





Then it was time for it to roughly go together. The four mounting holes in the inner angle pieces had to be transferred to the beam. Due to access issues i started by hand drilling (rather than the drill press i used for everything else), but it all worked out well. The beam is now completely drilled



.

While richard was welding i trimmed some 2x1 channel to use as the rear part of the new subframe. Richo welded my little pre-drilled angles on it later







So its almost done. The beam needs a few slight mods and its complete