Posted: May-05-2008 06:23AM

"Retired:  No Job, No Money, No Wife!  Will travel anywhere for Minis"

hockey91dad@hotmail.com

Posted: Apr-17-2008 05:08AM

End float was set to spec, yes.

Crank pulley damper: what should I look for? I seem to recall a slight bend to one wall but Dave thought nothing of it. Wouldn't that cause issues throughout the range? 

After returning from a somewhat spirited run last night and pulling into the garage, I noticed the clacking was more pronounced -- would the idler gear become looser and clack more, or is this possibly just the throw out bearing? There is no play in the pushrod at all nor is there a gap on the stop. As an aside, when we put the slave cylinder back on, it had become completely frozen after sitting for a week and tapping did nothing. A bearing puller finally freed it. There's no relation is there?

Posted: Apr-15-2008 04:46PM

Your crank end float was all good too right? 

What's the condition of your crank pulley/damper?  That may cause your mid-range rpm resonance.

Jeremy

2004 Liquid Yellow MCS Sport/Chrome Pkg, 15% Alta SC Pulley, Alta Intake, Alta IC Diverter, Ultrik Cam, CM Flywheel/FX200, OBX ATB Diff, JCW Software, 1 Ball Exhaust, JCW Plugs, Powerflex Front Subframe Bushings, Powerflex Motor Mount Inserts, Alta Springs, Alta Lower Control Arms, Rear Seat Deleted, 17 by 7 O.Z. Ultraleggeras, Auto Meter Boost/Vacuum And Oil Pressure Gauges.

Posted: Apr-15-2008 04:03PM

Nope, not a modern flip color, as far as I can tell it's factory Applejack and it looks amazing in the sun, that bright Spring green, but in low light or evenings it goes almost Army. For those that don't know, the wee car wore a black vinyl top when I bought it; it was hideous! 

Thanks for all the cool comments on how it looks, and the support and suggestions for what the cause of the clacking (a better term than tapping) could be. My gut tells me it's a little slop in the the idler gear even though Mr B doubts it and I'm new to Mini surgery. I'll keep you posted. btw, if that's indeed what it is, there's little to no harm running it like that, right?

Posted: Apr-15-2008 01:40PM

Thanks for cheering me up Norm.   I know that's reality and I accept that, but this being my first one, I gotta say, it was exciting but frustrating toward the end and I don't think I ever want to do a rebuild again. If I have to fix something in there I will because it would be dumb to go through all that to have something incorrect. Dave is pretty convinced it's not the idler gear though and as he's done so many rebuilds I'm going to trust him until we suss it out. We're going to look in the clutch housing first and if that turns up nothing I suppose we drag it out and dig deep. I'm depressed.

Posted: Apr-15-2008 09:00AM

What really gets you is when, after you have "done the right thing", and really taken a whole lot of the car back apart to fix something right, and / or diagnose that thing to set it right, then you get it all back together again and say "whew", only to realize a few months later that there is something ELSE!

Trust me, there is nothing more demanding of your resolve than going back in again (and again, sometimes). And you thought the original restoration was the hard part, but no, that was exciting because it kept looking better every step of the way, this is sometimes just punishing instead (and paint gets scratched, and hoses get crimped and torn).

I wonder how many "recently restored, gotta sell it to move on to next project" car sales there are that are really "get this dam* thing away from me".

Recently I went back to figure out how many times I had my engine apart on my Midget restoration and came up with a large number. Racers deal with this, but they expect to. When I first built my engine it was totally oil drop free. But over the years, with repeated re-dos, it has developed a few leaks that p*ss me off because I know they were my fault because of having to remove and replace parts that were only put in super perfectly the first time.

Hopefully, the noise in your engine will turn out to be nothing, or at least something that you can leave alone for a while until it either gets worse enough to identify exactly what it is, or get used to it enough to "let it go". Do keep us posted.

Norm

Posted: Apr-15-2008 04:38AM

Damn, I hope it's not the idler gear but something fixable from the clutch. I don't want to tear that thing apart! I relied on Dave to confirm my work since I'd never done this so yes, we set the primary gear to spec tolerances. He's done 20+ rebuilds so I highly doubt it's in the gearing.

Down pipes are tubular steel. Can't really hear the exhaust note over the vibration. Maybe it'll temper some with time.

I have a length of tube for the clutch breather, just need a Y connector.

The speedo sheet metal was installed by the previous owner; it's a fantastic thing to have but it caused a headache with air filter clearance: we had to remove the carb spacer and alter the throttle and choke arms to clear the manifold but it works just fine.

Peter, I can't figure out how to get the door stops in either -- I think I'd have to alter the dash fascia and that's out of the question. Not having them made me near cry one day last fall when out for lunch with a friend the wind took the door too far and I had to have the crease tapped out. btw, I certainly don't hear the tapping from inside, just standing in front of the car.

Not sure if the bottom end was balanced. What's that mean and how's that done?

Posted: Apr-14-2008 09:04PM Edited:  Apr-14-2008 09:05PM

Dead sexy mate, nice job.

I am surprised you hear anything with all the sound deadening.

did you ever get to install the door check parts?

Peter

No more cars left, Westpaminis is now just a memory, Good luck to all those hard working dealers left out there, We can tell you its not easy. We have fully enjoyed meeting all the fine folks we have in the business.

Posted: Apr-14-2008 07:35PM

Was your primary gear end float within spec? 

Nice looking Mini!

Jeremy

2004 Liquid Yellow MCS Sport/Chrome Pkg, 15% Alta SC Pulley, Alta Intake, Alta IC Diverter, Ultrik Cam, CM Flywheel/FX200, OBX ATB Diff, JCW Software, 1 Ball Exhaust, JCW Plugs, Powerflex Front Subframe Bushings, Powerflex Motor Mount Inserts, Alta Springs, Alta Lower Control Arms, Rear Seat Deleted, 17 by 7 O.Z. Ultraleggeras, Auto Meter Boost/Vacuum And Oil Pressure Gauges.

Posted: Apr-14-2008 07:15PM

Tapping?

The usual issue with a noise from the clutch end that goes away when the clutch pedal is depressed is the idler gear set up incorrectly. Noises from the throw out bearing usually start when the pedal is depressed. But neither could be called tapping noises.

Posted: Apr-14-2008 06:05PM

the resonance is probably the manifold, which kind are you using? Some have said that mild steel tubular headers are quieter than stainless.

I installed a '94 ~ '00 cast iron "LCB" manifold (with matching 2 into 1 down pipe) from an MPI 1275 and am amazed at both the pull the engine has, and the decent, throaty quietness of the set up!

Beautiful car, great job.

Oh, and you will want to hook up the end of your flywheel cover breather to something if you want to keep your engine room as clean as it is right now (oil mist will come out over time).

Norm

Posted: Apr-14-2008 04:32PM

Excellent!

No idea about the tapping sound - can't hear it from here. A wild guess might be the throw-out bearing being a bit loose.

The harmonics are probably due to the new exhaust system - probably larger than the 998 one and more open. Also the exhaust pulses it is carrying are much bigger, and the cam may likely have something to 'say'.

Drive it like ya stole it! (Once it is properly broken in of course).

"Hang on a minute lads....I've got a great idea."

Posted: Apr-14-2008 03:43PM

I rebuilt my very first motor. Over February weekends and a couple evenings here and there, with Dave Black mentoring, I deconstructed a 1275 and built it up myself to a 1293, 3:1 FD. Cleaned and reconditioned every reusable part via parts washers, wire wheel or sand blaster. Tossed in a Kent 276, lightened flywheel, a Maniflow, other new bits and peripherals. Fired right up on the test stand and put it in the car these past two weekends and took it home Saturday. Also added an oil gauge to the dash and had the 1300 seats reupholstered to something more complementary (they were gold before).

It's far and away more potent than the 998 and I already miss the gas milage but I think I'll be able to get over that.

I have a question: Dave and I aren't sure what it could be but there's a slight tapping coming from the clutch housing at idle (no idea if it occurs in gear too) but ceases when the clutch is depressed. What could that be? Anything worisome?

And I have a nasty loud resonance at 33-40+ RPM -- I don't seem to recall anything inherent with the 998 but I could be wrong, and it's just pronounced now. What would cause that? It's quite uncomfortable. Could the two be related?

And here are some pix.