Wide arch time

To pick up where I left off last time..

New arches were required to fit the larger-than-standard wheels I'd chosen. I went with a 'Race wide' arch. Depending on where you go and who you ask they're called slightly different names. Generally the 'Race' style arch comes in 2 widths, I chose the wider of the 2.

They're really quite easy to fit. Just make sure they're lined up properly and away you go! Drill through the preformed screw locating places and screw/attach the arches.

Now technically is screwing them on the best way to do it? The originals are fitted with rivet-type fittings. However given that I was going to need to remove and refit them several times (painting etc) riveting them on wouldn't have been the best course of action.

Also another factor  to consider is that drilling and screwing into metal will cause there to be untreated bare metal exposed to the elements. Over time that will rust of course, but I'm planning to bathe the entirety of the underside of the car in sealant some time soon so it'll be sorted in due course.

A slightly trickier piece of the puzzle are these little front bumper cut outs required in the arches. If you make your arch follow a really tight curve it might not be necessary to do this part as the front edge of the arch would be slightly further back. However in my view it just didn't look right to do that.

So that's that! They are a little shabby close up as they need finishing properly. They'll be painted black and a small finishing strip will sit between arch and body to ensure a nice, tight fit. 

Next up.. sorting the clutch out with a grippy new plate.

Time for new wheels!

Changing the wheels is probably one of the most instantaneously noticeable upgrades possible when modifying a car. I'd been waiting to upgrade ever since I got the car and when the day came it was glorious...

They look great but unfortunately in the images above that's pretty much all they made the car good for - looking at...

These wheels, being wider than the stock items, cause the tread of the tyres to stick out too far. If you're after an MOT that's a no-no around these parts. The tread of the tyre must be covered by the arch. So although they look pretty damn cool in the above shots, the standard arches had to go!

Another perhaps more important problem is the fact the wider wheels foul the metal of the arch making full lock unattainable. Standard arches off...

 Identifying the offending section of arch...

and marking out what needs to go with skilfully-applied masking tape and blue felt tip...

There are some out there who might think cutting away some metal just to fit new wheels is a bit barbaric.. it is.. but I have tried to remove as little as possible.

By this point it was dark and raining. October in England. 

Next up.. arches! 

The waiting game with a slipping clutch...

Clutch slipping. Losing oil. Waiting for parts. A necessary part of any build/repair/car procedure.

But when your car is just sat in the garage it seems like forever.

The arrival of the primary gear/clutch oil seal tool, flywheel puller and new seal!

Not an overly simple task by any means but doable. It involves having the clutch and flywheel assembly out...

...and removing the primary gear...

When the clutch is slipping in these cars it's apparently most often caused by this little red seal pictured above. It's supposed to keep oil inside the engine and away from the clutch and flywheel assembly. If it fails (which it had on my car) it sprays the clutch and flywheel with oil and causes the loss of friction resulting in a slipping clutch. Although time consuming and requiring a few special tools (all around the £20 mark) it wasn't too difficult. 

The time consuming bit is the disassembly and reassembly..

All back together again now. The clutch is still slipping but I suspect that's residual oil left on the flywheel and clutch assembly which should burn itself off after a few miles. I hope. Time will tell!

Next up.. Wheels and arches!

Mini Project

I recently acquired a Mini in need of some tender loving care. It took a couple of weeks to arrange but by the time the car was towed to my garage I was itching to get started. 

Room to do the work was a slight issue. It's a tight space - even for a mini. 

It turned out the head gasket had failed..

The head gasket is a thin piece of material (not literally material - it's usually metal) that sits between the cylinder head and the engine block and forms a seal between the two. In the picture above the tops of the pistons can be seen along with the other passageways for oil and water. Oil and water have to be circulated throughout the engine and up into the cylinder head. When the head gasket fails the oil and water mix together resulting in watered down oil and not enough water in the system. It's bad news all round for the engine and the resulting heat can warp the cylinder head. Luckily on these Minis the cylinder heads are cast iron (as opposed to aluminium) which is much less likely to warp so the cylinder head usually doesn't need to be skimmed. 

Along the way sacrifices were made..

Usually the head gasket doesn't just fail on its own. It's more likely to be a symptom of something else. In this case the water pump was at fault. Inside the water pump (pictured below) is a bearing and a seal. The small hole that can be seen on the top/side of the pump is a vent hole for the bearing as it can get very hot. On the old water pump the seal had failed which allowed water to pass through it and out of the bearing vent hole. Less water  in the system - less efficient cooling leading to engine overheating and head gasket failure.

Nice new water pump arrived..

Then onto the rebuild.. 

Fingers were crossed as the car went for an MOT.. and it failed. One of the front brake calipers was seized. Back to the garage and the problem was worked through. 

And then began many months of trouble free motoring..

Or so I'd hoped.. On a blast around the other day the clutch started to slip badly. No rest for the wicked.. More to come..