Irish Mini Owners Club

Hi all,

Does anyone have photos of MKIV onwards rain gutters for both the front and back? I am creating repair patches and I want to match the original shape as best I can. Mine were so corroded I don't know what the shape should be like.

The more original the better.

Thanks in advance.

Conor

Haven't been in the garage for a good few weeks. Lots of other commitments took priority. Various stages of tack welding. I didn't weld the ends until the end because I didn't want the expansion and contraction of the patch to warp the roof. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53129497982_d1c361da38...

It's time to cut out the damaged gutter from the roof. My approach is to cut across the door opening as it is the shortest path for the butt weld. The rest is all spot welded. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53062584003_1a7d121465_b.jpg Initial cut is to just leave the spot weld faces to grind d...

Thanks Colin.

My brother is driving over from the UK in a couple of weeks so I jumped at the opportunity to pick up some bits and pieces including both passenger and driver floor quarter panels from M-Machine and some new stainless steel bumpers.

I am back from holidays and time to tackle the damaged area above the passenger door https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53053394234_aaec419743_b.jpg I have cut a section from the donor roof, however, the leading edge of the donor section needs replacing. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53053209...

It should be connected to the carb which I see is blocked off in a previous picture. A slight vacuum via the carb will have the crankcase at lower pressure which will help reduce oil leaks.

Yes woody, it certainly seems the consensus out there. Found a decent review of all the good fillers out there - https://everydayshowcar.com/best-car-body-filler/

Wasn’t too bad temp wise Colin. The stone walls on the garage keep it cooler.

What do people feel about lead loading vs body filler for smoothing out over the welding? Is it worth the extra effort for the lead loading? Or epoxy prime first and body fill over?

Working through the other repairs on the roof. It's slow progress and tedious. Had to do two additional cuts to relieve stress on the joint after I did the first couple of tack welds.

AC Dodd recently published a series of videos that goes into his tuning regime, worth a watch Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv0lr_bRFFA Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OWcQr7Tu78 Part 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKzz6BbYiAI Part 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhGWcz...

Hey Colin you made it to the show! Goal achieved. I anticipate over the coming months there will be lots of tweaking to get it just right.

Thanks Billy.

The next two repairs are now lined up. The right-hand side is the upper side of the previous repair.

This was heavily corroded on both sides so needs repairs to the underside of the gutter and the roof panel https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52979770068_c5c6073ae7_b.jpg No corrosion on the inside which is good https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52979770048_fe556c1421_b.jpg Starting to remove the...

Very tempted to buy an AEM X-Series Wide Band AFR meter that I can use with the Mini. It would be great in this scenario.

Colin, have you done the timing on the engine? What is the max advance above 3000 rpm? I think 30 degrees would be about right.

My engine is a very early 998 A+ (791PZ vs 791P which was A series). It has pre-verto, inertia and the DAM2886 gearbox. The block has a coolant drain on the back of the block. Later A+ blocks don’t have this. Also main bearings have different tabs too. BL must have put a suitable ring gear on the ea...

I suppose throughout the years there was such a mix and match of parts as they changed components like the clutch, brakes, gearboxes and even body panels.

Thanks woody 2nd of 9 repairs I need to do on the roof and rain gutters. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52964140429_10c0538c50_b.jpg The pieces of steel are to avoid the tack weld from contracting during cooling thus distorting the alignment of the patch https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/5296...

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52938695761_81f1456f5a_b.jpg Does the starter motor match the flywheel? I could be wrong Colin but I thought the verto clutch required a pre-engaged starter and a pre-verto requires an inertia starter. I know it's possible to get the ring gear switched. Just wond...

Flip-flops, shorts and a string vest kept me cool

Happy with the finish, just hope all the rest of them come out this good.

I picked up a secondhand roof that I can use to create my patch panels for both the roof panel and the rain gutters. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52950918563_e1dfed2046_b.jpg First one to take on is the hole at the back. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52949871442_aee77191b4_b.jpg First j...

The internal resistance of the coil used needs to match the setup of the car I.e.ballast or non-ballast. AC Dodd has a video on it on YouTube.

You are making great progress Colin.

Fantastic Colin! Some dates don't move... maybe by a few days at most

Great work Colin. Seems like most evenings you are getting some work done. It's coming together nicely.

I think this bolt in solution from Electric Classic Cars is great - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ9td0EnRpk it's probably quite pricey.