Tommyboy12

Swapped the needle at lunch and tweaked the mixture screw and dizzy. Its now quite happy to cruise at a GPS indicated 70mph! The speedo may have stopped working on the test drive though... Speedo cable on order!

It was just a local garage to me. He is firm but fair and was good enough to let me do repairs in the yard while he MOTd the next car. Blown bulb, loose brake line, emissions all got done. Was quite annoyed about the bulb. The only thing I didnt check was the sidelights and that was the one blown! Run it as it is! I like the patina look plus its never going to be worth the money required to make it shiny again. I suspect once I have given the carb and dizzy a further tweak I should be able to get a steady 70mph out of it no problem, although Im not sure about 5 up with concrete in the boot! The needle is entirely wrong for the car, looking it up in the books its more suitable for a hif6 in something bigger than a 1275 A-series (Its a BFZ needle for any SU geeks out there). So im going back to basics with a new needle, a mixture tweak and some more dizzy timing. Ive been reading up the SU needle charts to find something appropriate vs. a standard needle (which is BCZ) and I have a BDL needle in my stash of parts which should go well with it. BDL is usually what comes with a classic Mini 'Stage One' kits so is a little richer than standard up top but should work well even in a standard car.

Thanks all! Still got a few jobs to do and then of course @sharley17194 and I are doing Lands End to John O Groats including the NC500 at the end of the month so you will see many pictures of this escapade and may even spot me on your local motorway trying desperately to crawl up a hill at more than 40mph! Im intending to drag it to a hubnut social at some point and a few shows throughout Autumn. Watch this space and come have a chat if you see me!

Oh there was plenty of doubt 😂😂 Its not done yet though!

I did have to tweak a bit more advance in for the MOT so I think a tickle more and will help.

Obligatory roadside photos though!

So I have just been out on my proper first drive in it! Ten whole miles! Two takeaways. 60mph really is about all she's got. I did get to 70mph with my foot buried in the carpet. I think it needs more love from tuning. It was a bit of a fettle to get it through the MOT but it's just not pulling well up top. The gearbox is best described with the diagram below. Reverse is where reverse should be. Reverse is also where 1st should be. 3rd where 3rd is. 1st is somewhere in between the two. You can go straight down into 2nd from 1st but 3rd to 4th requires you to go slightly left on the gate. 5th is normal. I crunched reverse multiple times getting into 1st and hit 3rd instead of 1st a few times too. Should prove fun...

The badge fell off entirely so I had to glue it back on and I couldn't bring myself to glue it on wonky...

It's only bloody gone and passed!!

Final checks on the car before the MoT. Fog light bulb is a bit dodgy. Likes to stop working if you slam the boot lid too hard. Also bonus shot of my hideous roof liner. See the wooden cabinet I mentioned previously.

Ropey Montego with probable headgasket failure anyone? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255108283210

I assume by that you just mean a racket of tappets and ropey exhaust joins? 😅

Tank reattached. Underside drowned in waxoyl. Purrs like a kitten. Smokes like a miner. PXL_20210908_171616047.mp4

I have to do this with the Minis so pretty normal for me! I'm going to have to get it somewhere near before I take it because during rebuilding the carb I obviously found a lack air filter and a very rich mixture screw and I've since reset it to factory and put an air filter in!

Oh god I have booked an MOT for it 😬😬😬 Its next Monday which gives me a week to do the final bits which are: Completely reattach the fuel tank - I nearly got there on Sunday but ran out of time before the F1 started Drown the underside in waxoyl/paint Fettle the carb so the emissions arent horrible Take it for a short test drive to determine if the brakes actually work