1958 2 door, rolling resto

Let us all know what you are up to with your current restoration project. Get that Minor on the road!
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callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

I had a bit more time yesterday afternoon so i set about connecting all of the wiring up, including all lights. It had all been messed about with previously, so took longer than a standard one.
All lights now work as they should, everything (except headlights) has been converted to LED, including indicators. I am still aiming to remove the front and rear lights and fit the correct ones for this car. It has the later 1098 ones on it currently, which i am not a massive fan of. But i have had to reign myself in a bit and stop looking to swap things. I need to focus on getting it driving before i modify little things.

With that in mind, the next step is to make sure i am happy behind the dash before i put the glovebox linings and steering wheel back on. I am pretty sure i am done behind there though (famous last words). Then it will be adjusting the clutch and checking the brakes. I hope to have those bits all sorted before the end of the week, depending on whether i am allowed the time by my family.

My wifes "modern" car is in for MOT today, so we'll see how that goes, as i will need to do any work on that first. boo!
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Aye up
Well, with limited time and funds now in full swing, progress is slooooow.
Have been having a 'mare getting the car driveable. It was idling fine, but when i tried to drive it was bogging down and the plugs were sooting up within minutes.
Changed the HS4 to a HIF38 that was offered for free on the facebook Morris Minor page, lucked in massively with that!
No matter what i did, it would just not stop fouling the plugs, which was getting frustrating.
I did a compression check (190lbs on all 4), adjusted the timing, changed needle (i have an AAU and AAA), still nothing.
Anyway...back at the start of the process i put some fuel in the tank, a 5 litre Jerry cans worth. I rocked the car to hear if there was any fuel in it originally and it sounded empty (i'm sure that will be an issue at some point) but it would appear that it may not have been.
Anyway, the last thing i could think that could cause the plugs to soot up so quickly was bad fuel, so i drained it. The fuel came out the colour of my wee after a heavy night, so pretty poor fuel in there, no idea how old.
New fuel in and yep, ran much less rich. So i had yo mess around with the mixture and timing again to get it as good as possible, but it is now actually running well enough to drive 😱
I need to weld up the chassis leg before i can drive it, i can't see anything else underneath that looks like a hole, which is good.
Once that is done, it will be on the road properly as a rolling resto, when i can start to fully dissect bits and pieces to get it working well.
The brakes appear to work well enough (marina discs, standard rears) 4.55 diff doesn't whine at the low speeds that i have driven at, gearbox feels as good as a Minor box ever does and the clutch works pretty well.
I replaced most of the consumables on the clutch mechanism, but alas the relay shaft is worn on the rod holes, so i do want to replace or repair that (blob weld and drill). But it engages pretty well.

Interior is all back together, oil pressure appears good and water temp goes up as expected.

So hopefully, some smaller fun tinkering will follow, rather than bigger projects.
Operation "stop car looking like it has been dumped" will be in full swing.
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Hello folks,
Not posted on here for a while as i have been doing lots of little jobs.
The car is finally at a point where it is pretty good fun to drive.
Engine, after a head gasket change, feels really good. Pulls nicely, obviously not too much low down torque being a bored 948, but it is lovely and quiet.
I bought a NOS Lumenition Optronic on ebay for £45, which works well. As far as i am aware, they are one of the better kits to fit?
All of the electrics work, lights and indicators working when they should.
I have converted the rear lights to have LED indicators in the original light units, doing away with the later ones that the car had on it. I also did the same at the front, mobing sidelights to the headlights and using the original sidelight as an indicator.
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I also fitted new tyres to my Midget wheels. I have gone with 165/80/13's on the rear, 155/80/13's on the front. This makes the rolling radius of the rears somewhere between a 145/14 and 155/14, so fills the rear arch well. Fronts mean that it still has light steering and is only marginally smaller rolling radius than a 145/14.
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I have also made up some rose joints for the clutch mechanism after seeing Declans on here. They are great for taking up the slack in the pedal eye and relay shaft. I know it is just masking wear, but means the pedal now returns all the way to the top whilst giving a good feel, which is what i wanted.
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I have a 4.2 diff waiting to be fitted, which should add a bit more refinement and i fitted rear belts so i can buzz the kids around.
Aim is still to get it mechanically spot on before Spring, then focus on bodywork from there.
ManyMinors
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by ManyMinors »

You have made some excellent progress there! It just shows what can be done without spending a lot of money. I do prefer the look of the earlier lights - and if you can get them to work decently as indicators too then so much the better. I have added orange indicators under the bumper on mine because I feel they are a little more visible. I might investigate fitting LED tail lights though because the standard ones are very dim by today's standards.
The Midget Rostyles work well on a Minor. I had a set on mine many years ago and, as you say, the rolling radius isn't that much different with sensible tyre choice. 13inch wheels give you access to a much wider choice of tyres and better prices. My speedo was still accurate and I found that with a 4.22 diff the car's gearing was about perfect for my purposes.
You can have a lot of fun with a slightly shabby car which goes very well!
myoldjalopy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by myoldjalopy »

That car looks much better with the earlier rear lamps! In my opinion, it is slack and careless to fit the later lamp units when wings are replaced on the real old-timers and it just looks ugly and wrong. But it has become quite common now...... :(
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Thanks for the kind words, muxh appreciated.
Yes, the indicators work well, but i do appreciate that there is a trade off with visibility compared to the big later ones or fitting individual lights as is the norm.
I understand why people fit the later units, cheap and everything is there ready to go. BUT, i'm not a fan of them, but most certainly not a fan of the late front sidelight/indicator units.
The only issue wirh LED stop/tail bulbs in the early lights is that the bulbs face downwards. So getting LED's with with a wide view is essential, rather than just a forward facing one.
I like the Rostyles i have, more than the late "common" rostyles anyway. They'll get painted up when i do the body.
The car gets up to 60 without too much fuss at all, that's a GPS 60, not speedo 60! The 4.2 should calm the revs down a bit when i get to those speeds too.
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Hello folks.

I have been busy doing lots of little things to the car. Nothing too major, hence lack of posting.

I have fitted a Mini RC40 exhaust system to my car. It is a 1.75" all the way through now. Welded on a new piece to the twin outlet Ital downpipe to mate up to it. It needs a little fettling still as it taps on start up on the rear damper drop link, always a squeeze getting a box back there. It does sound quite lovely now though and placebo affect says it drives better than with the 1.25" exhaust. Might be cobblers, but hey, i'm happy.

I have fitted the 4.2 diff this week, certainly feels happier at 60mph now. Diff is not too whiney, which is good as it was bought as an unknown quantity. Funny that 30mph in 4th now isn't really happy going up an incline. But that is the trade off i suppose and not really an issue in Portsmouth as it is nearly all flat!

I topped up front dampers with thicker oil, appears to have made the handling a bit better, which is nice.

Oh, i also fitted a Lumenition Optronic electronic ignition kit. It has worked a treat and means my car starts up pretty easily, even at the end of a cold night shift.

Current waiting projects are:
• fitting rear leaf springs, as mine have really flattened out too much. I will fill the rear dampers when i am there.

•fitting a Chinese heater system. Mine has developed a tiny leak and over the three Minors i have had, that is 4 round matrixes that have given up, so i have gone for a cheaper, brand new version. I will post about the success of that when it is done, but it looks neat and was only £41.,

• changing the cam and duplex timing chain. I used a second hand chain, from my dad and to be honest, it seemed a bit slack when i fitted it. So i have bought a new one and whilst i have the cover off, i am going to change the cam to a 731. I know it isn't ideal for a 998, but i have one, so i am going to give it a go. Only a couple of hours work, so worth a punt. If it's crap, all i've lost is a bit of time and a few quid on gaskets, so no big deal.

• i am in the process of modifying a Spitfire air filter box to accomodate a K&N inside. I have a K&N filter and am a wee bit tired of the raspiness, i always have been a bit on the fence about the exposed K&N's, so this is my compromise.
Hoping it should look alright once it is complete
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Some holes drilled on the outside will aid some airflow.
Hopefully get the filter finished up this week, then i want to focus on the other jobs.
pgp001
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by pgp001 »

Hi Callspoy

I have just seen your post re the clutch linkage rose joints.
Looks like a good mod, can you share details of any part numbers or sizes for those rose joints please.

Thanks
Phil
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Hi pgp,
Yep, pretty cheap off ebay.

These are the bits i bought, people have suggested getting dust boots too, which i can imagine would be good for longevity.
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pgp001
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by pgp001 »

Cheers for that info.

Phil
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Well, this is the air filter all hooked up. Did all the modifications this morning. It appears to have quietened down the K&N noise, which was the aim.
It won't be to everyones taste of course.
Also, the wiring was stripped when i had to decipher what all the new wiring did, awaiting fitting some relays before i re-cover it all, so i understand it looks ridiculous at the moment!
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panky
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by panky »

Nowt wrong with that, looks great. Sort of a starship Enterprise thing going on :D
Or should I say the starship K&Nterprise :D
Image
les
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by les »

I’d be tempted to add NCC-1701 :D

callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Haha, i hadn't thought of it, but it is uncanny!
I wonder if all the Spitfire/Late Midget owners realise!
panky
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by panky »

Before setting off do you say............ 'Engage' or 'Take us out Mr Sulu' :D
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Sleeper
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by Sleeper »

Sorry to be the odd one out here....but ....the photo of the air filter in the cannister makes me think you may be strangling the engine , only a small part of the filter element looks to have air-flow through it ?

John :wink:

EDIT on second glance,it looks like you will have lots of air but not filtered?
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Hey Sleeper,
It does appear that way yes.
I have blocked those two "unfiltered inlets", and where i have drawn in black, have cut it out there. This means that air is now filtered going into the housing. I have also drilled some extra holes in the front.
I located the filter within the housing in the position it is so that i could also drill holes at the rear of the housing and allow some air in there too.
So air can now enter front and rear which should prove sufficient. If not, i will drill some additional holes.
Sleeper
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by Sleeper »

Good man...

John :wink:
irmscher
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by irmscher »

Looks good :D
callyspoy
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Re: 1958 2 door, rolling resto

Post by callyspoy »

Aye up,
Car is running well still. The last 2 weeks i have been doing a 25 mile commute on the motorway for 3/4 of the journey. The 4.2 diff pulls nicely, it does miss that pep away from the lights, but once revs are up, it holds them well, so worth it for me. I certainly wouldn't want anything like a 3.9 or 3.7 in hindsight.
Mine will now cruise along at 60 without any real hassle, has plenty of throttle left and accelerates further when required. This is GPS speed, not 60 year old speedo speed!

Today i fitted the heater unit that i bought. It bolted up quite easily and appears to be working. It isn't perfect though. I have had to mount it vertically as it is too long to mount horizontally. This means the demister tubes are at the bottom, so have quite a distance to travel before they get to the screen. It appears to be ok, but if i feel the force/power is not good enough then i will see about flipping it 180°, which would put the coolant pipes and wiring at the wrong end, but would be doable with a bit of effort i'd think. I am unsure if it is any better than say the Mini heater unit, but i have had enough of leaking old ones, hence buying this. And it is also cheaper than a Mini one (unless you're willing to wait for a cheap one to pop up on ebay, not helpful if yours is leaking as mine was!)
I made it sound worse than it is, and i am quite happy with it. Also i have a cardboard fascia that goes on the front (obviously Callum, that's why you said fascia 🙄😂), covering it all, so it is all still looking as it was.
The heater switch has been relocated to the dash top where a switch hole had been cut by a previous owner. I will attempt to cut down the knob and epoxy the fixing onto the original knob so that it is less bulky looking.
This leaves a hole in the heater fascia that i may just use to mount a 12v socket. One day 😂
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This is what it looks like. Minus the fire graphics, hopefully.
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I did also wire up an MGB tacho that i bought. This will be going inside the drivers glovebox. I am making a wood/fibreboard "box" to house it in the glovebox so that i can still put my bluetooth speaker in it and shut the lid for that standard look when i want. I just have the two fibreboard fascia's left to do on that, so should only be a couple of hours work.
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