Tommy's A-series Misery - Three wheels on my wagon

[Tommyboy12]

Enough Reliant! Time to get back to my bread and butter Mini action.

I fitted a new bonnet. Unfortunately the original one is entirely rotten. I bought a second hand one which is much less rusty but does have it's share of dents. Being a factory bonnet means I'll have better references when I fit the front end though. Pattern bonnets with pattern wings and front panel will be even more of a nightmare than it's going to be.

I also repaired the sheared studs on my door hinges. They're 1/4 UNF so I just found a couple of bolts and set about replacing them.

The offending hinges

Into the vice

Cut off the studs then punch and drill them out

Then tap them out to origninal size. Some people convert to metric but as the drivers door never came off id like to keep the bolts the same between sides. Not that I ever plan to remove the drivers door cause I know I'll be doing the same job again!

Finally thread in the bolts and cut the heads off and little tack weld to hold them in place on the underside

New studs means I can fit a new A panel. I hate doing A panels because you have to take the door on and off multiple times and you just know you're going to be chucking tons of filler into them as you bend the lip round. You can see all the crimp marks down the edge after I got it in the fight place...

Also my top quality leftover silver paint covered up the external metal. I'll be rubbing this down later and painting it a much nicer shade of brown.

Obviously it got a liberal coating of brown on the inside. It'll need some seam sealer running down between the inner wing and A panel at some point

And the door back on

Next up is the front end. Also not looking forward to that. Pattern panels are a nightmare. Lining up the wings and front panel with the bonnet is going to be 100% hateful and will take at least two days on it's own.

[Stinkwheel]

16 hours ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Next up is the front end. Also not looking forward to that. Pattern panels are a nightmare. Lining up the wings and front panel with the bonnet is going to be 100% hateful and will take at least two days on it's own.

I'm just about at that stage myself, I bought pattern wings, A-panels and front panel. I think youve just confirmed how much of a knightmare its going to be

[sharley17194]

Good Colour match on the bonnet.

[comfortablynumb]

When we were doing my son's van, we gave up on pattern stuff and bought heritage bits instead

it's about 4x the price, but at least the fit was good 

With the pattern stuff, there was a 2 inch gap between the wing and the A panel

[Stinkwheel]

1 hour ago, comfortablynumb said:

When we were doing my son's van, we gave up on pattern stuff and bought heritage bits instead

it's about 4x the price, but at least the fit was good 

With the pattern stuff, there was a 2 inch gap between the wing and the A panel

It'll be fine, wont it?

 

WON'T IT?

 

(tries to figure out how to make panels fill a 2 inch gap)

[Homersimpson]

When fitting the a panel try using a couple of thin pieces of wood taped to the end of whatever you are using or some rubber tube.  If you can cushion them a bit it won't damage the edge like that, also bend the a panel lip over to around 45 degrees with a hammer and dolly before fitting to help.

With the front end I would bolt the front panel on then tack the rear corner of the wing in place in the bonnet shut, then clamp to the front panel, get the bonnet gap right then weld the front of the wing in the bonnet shut, weld the wing to the front panel and the front  panel to the car.

Then weld the wing to the inner wing and finally pull it back to the a panel and weld it on there. 

I've fitted loads of pattern and genuine fronts over the years and while genuine is better pattern can be a good job if a bit more work to fit.

If a pattern panel is hugely out then return it and get another as some are made better than others and you do get the odd bad one.

 

[Tommyboy12]

I'm using panels that came with the car. They need some fettling but they should fit. It's the front panel that seems to be the worst but I've fit a front end with pattern panels before.

[Tommyboy12]

I did some more Reliant work over the weekend. After the tank spent a week full of vinegar it looked pretty good inside. I rinsed out with some additional vinegar and degreaser then lined the tank with tank sealer.

Looking pretty good inside now.

After rinsing it out it spent some time drying out on a radiator.

Then I painted the outside and fitted a new locking ring and seal. I also prefitted some hose as it's in a pretty awkward spot to fit once it's on the car.

I also prepped and fitted two fuel filters. A pre-pump filter and a post-pump filter.

Reliants have a fuel filter fitted from the factory and it was still present. A really weird transparent design that had started to fall apart... The inside was full of tiny glued together balls but they fell out.

A new one in its place.

And another one in the engine bay

I also decided to drain all the fluids ready for a start and change the filter. The gearbox fluid was spotless but changed regsrdless. This oil filter was ancient and was starting to rot out on the underside. The oil was a bit gelatinous so it definitely needed changing. The car is now full of fresh fluids (diff topped up only as it has no drain plug).

I did fit the new rear silencer but when I drained the engine oil I noticed this...

So that silencer will be coming back off while I try to change the down pipe without shearing manifold studs. Lucky @sharley17194 bought a parts car for us to pilfer!

[plasticvandan]

Up to you but I always avoided having any filters in the engine bay for obvious reasons,would extend that overflow to go beyond the starter if you can.

[Tommyboy12]

I took the day off today and spent a couple of hours on the Reliant.

First off I removed my rather holey down pipe. Turns out it was rather wafer thin...

Unfortunately when I did so one of the studs literally fell off. Somebody had snapped it and just gently placed it back with a blob of glue...

However when I took a closer look I saw that the stud lengths still looked ok so I attempted to rethread the studs

First off I removed the extremely thick and definitely* not* asbestos* gasket.

Definitely* not* asbestos*

Then I set about squeezing my threading tool into the gap between the studs and the block 

Thankfully they cleaned up nicely and I was able to thread new* nuts on

Once I did this I started looking at the fuel system again. Now the tank is back in I was expecting to hook up the fuel lines and get fuel to the carb. However, nothing was sucking through to the carb. I suspected a dead pump. When I removed it it seemed to be stuck. The arm moved freely but I think the diaphragm was either split or something else has seized up because I couldn't feel any puffing air from the outlet when I manually moved the lift arm.

When I took the pump off I thought it looked a lot like a Mini pump and I happen to have some spare Mini pumps. This is the Reliant pump.

Here is a Mini pump I have spare. The castings are identical with the same manufacturing marks. Unfortunately the Mini pump has a slightly longer lift arm and it is clocked to pump fuel in the opposite direction

However! I remembered I had a Mini pump with a plastic-sheathed arm and a clockable top! So I smashed off the plastic, measured and filed it down to the same size as the Reliant arm and clocked the top and scored myself a free fuel pump!

It was fitted and pumped fuel! Unfortunately it seems my tank cleaning escapades were not entirely fruitful as when I turned the key I pumped some lovely black fuel into the filter... I think that I may not have managed to clean all the tar like substance out the tank and it's dissolving into the fuel I put into the tank. I guess it'll dissolve out eventually. If it proves problematic I'll flush the tank with some more fresh fuel.

When fuel eventually flowed through to the carb it unfortunately poured straight out the overflow... Jammed float no doubt.

So I took the carb off for cleaning, which I knew I would probably end up doing anyway.

Emptying out the float bowl resulted in a lot of sediment

I also found the carb heater was full of salts from dried out coolant. Bodes well for the rest of the cooling system...

Then I set about stripping and cleaning the carb. Unfortunately the jet was seized in the body of the carb so I had to drive it out. The seals were also plastic and brittle. I had half a rebuild kit left over from when I did the HS4 on my 998 Mini engine rebuild but the jet was incorrect so I managed to replace a few bits including the float needle but not the jet.

As such I have had to order a new jet and some gaskets. So I wait on parts with a pile of carb bits on my work bench.

[Tommyboy12]

The weather is shocking so today all I did was rebuild a carburettor with a new jet and bowl gasket. If there's a gap in the weather tomorrow I am aiming to try and fit it

 

[Tommyboy12]

Hello AS! Been a while since an update on the fleet.

I don't like doing too much car stuff in the winter months so I have only been chipping away at a few things but haven't had a huge amount of time on stuff. Now the weather is improving I'm hoping to get the Reliant done soon.

Firstly I got the carb back on the car and got it running! It ran great. It needs timing and fuelling adjustments still as it's a bit diesely from pre-ignition but it runs smoothly. I did however find out that the fuel tank is still full of junk so it's got to come back off to clean it again...

I didn't run it long as I hadn't yet tackled the cooling system which I suspected would be full of sediment. These alloy engines just build up junk in the block.

Alas that is exactly what had happened... It was full to the thermostat with silt, silicates and brown water...

So I had to strip out the rad and water pump and flush the block. I basically jammed my pressure washer in various holes and blew out all the crud

Then reassemble with another radiator after I found mine had had some sort of dodgy repair. I also put on fresh gaskets and belt and new heater coolant hoses.

I never want to replace a reliant radiator again. Getting the bolts into the brackets on either side of the rad was a nightmare and there's so little room down either side

So now I am at the position where it runs (on a jerry can),  the brakes are all new and work, and the cooling system is refreshed. Now I just need to sort the tank by taking it off again and flushing it out some more. Then clean it. It's disgusting and filthy.

 

Meanwhile I have treated my white Mini to it's fourth clutch oil seal! I don't know what the problem is but I keep blowing oil seals and I've already ruined one clutch plate so I'm keen to keep an eye on it this time. I've put in a late Rover version  of the seal with a more quality material and a tighter seal spring which was meant to combat the crankcase pressures on the last Minis. Hopefully i won't be doing it again...

I also had to change the clutch slave cylinder.

It has rusted up on the bore and tore the seals up. I couldn't get a decent pedal after doing the clutch seal so I had to swap it out. Thankfully I keep a spare slave cylinder on the shelf!

The Mini is now ready for another year of driving!

[Tommyboy12]

I took part in a grass car trial on Sunday. For those that don't know it's basically how far up a technical twisty course can you drive and the further up you get the better score you get. Often these are over rutted tracks or through forests. However this being a grass event it was in a hilly field with a few rutted sections.

I decided that one of my lowest slung vehicles was best suited for the task!

Unfortunately I had an unscheduled disassembly of my exhaust halfway through the event...

I ripped the rubber mounts clean off on a crest and left the rear section behind then removed the mid-section myself as it has no hangers and was dragging on the ground.

However, after I removed my exhaust my scores got way better (lower is better) and culminated in a clean run at the end of the day!

I came 2nd in class and 12th out of 50 cars. Not bad considering I've never done it before and this was by far the lowest car of the event! I was also one of the only cars to drive to and from the event. I did have to subject myself to an exhaustless drive home though...

Ive ordered some more rubber mounts...

[Matty]

1 hour ago, Tommyboy12 said:

I took part in a grass car trial on Sunday. For those that don't know it's basically how far up a technical twisty course can you drive and the further up you get the better score you get. Often these are over rutted tracks or through forests. However this being a grass event it was in a hilly field with a few rutted sections. I decided that one of my lowest slung vehicles was best suited for the task!

Unfortunately I had an unscheduled disassembly of my exhaust halfway through the event...

I ripped the rubber mounts clean off on a crest and left the rear section behind then removed the mid-section myself as it has no hangers and was dragging on the ground.

However, after I removed my exhaust my scores got way better (lower is better) and culminated in a clean run at the end of the day!

I came 2nd in class and 12th out of 50 cars. Not bad considering I've never done it before and this was by far the lowest car of the event! I was also one of the only cars to drive to and from the event. I did have to subject myself to an exhaustless drive home though...

Ive ordered some more rubber mounts...

Brave man 🫡

[comfortablynumb]

Where was that @Tommyboy12?

[Tommyboy12]

2 hours ago, comfortablynumb said:

Where was that @Tommyboy12?

Harlton near Cambridge. Part of the Cambridge Car Club. They run it once a year

[M'coli]

They did well to find a hill!  When I lived in Snots and worked in Huntingdon, I never needed to get out of the big ring when commuting on the bike and that.

[Tommyboy12]

So after my car trial exhaust removal I refitted my exhaust and thankfully no major damage underneath. However I did drag on a few seat bolts

I've tucked the exhaust up when refitting it but unfortunately tucked it too high and now it's rattling off the body at idle. So I need to do a bit more adjustment still.

I've also been working on the reliant. I had to drain the tank again and wash it out again.

Believe it or not this fuel is only about 2 months old... It's useless for anything but a mower now. Although I might dilute it down with good fuel and chuck it in a less valuable car

After that I washed the tank out with caustic soda and a pressure washer then refit it with new high quality fuel filters. These cheap things were useless. Not even sealed at one end so all the sediment could get past the filter media.

Then I had to deal with a stuck clutch! No pictures but I warmed the engine up then started it in gear and kangarooed it down the road in first gear until it freed off. It felt very mechanically unsympathetic but it worked!

So I took it on a short drive round the village. It doesn't run very well but it drove around fine and the brakes and all the lights work!

Next step is to wash it. The interior is covered in a layer of grime as you might be able to tell from the above picture and the paintwork is disgusting with grime and oil. Time to get it cleaned and get some miles on it to make sure it's ready for its big road trip later this year!

[Matty]

44 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

Although I might dilute it down with good fuel and chuck it in a less valuable car.

Than the Robin? Bloody hell Tom, what else have you got?

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, Matty said:

Than the Robin? Bloody hell Tom, what else have you got?

I'm not sure how up to date his sig is, but it gives an idea. (Though you can't see sigs on a phone I think)

[Matty]

30 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

I'm not sure how up to date his sig is, but it gives an idea. (Though you can't see sigs on a phone I think)

That's me buggered. I don't own a computer 😄

[High Jetter]

44 minutes ago, Matty said:

That's me buggered. I don't own a computer 😄

@Markeh to the beige phone please, shiter in need 😀

The Rialto & Minis, from memory (am on phone now)

[Zelandeth]

Please *don't* tell me when you eventually come to sell this...I absolutely don't need it yet keep being tempted by them.  

I really don't need two small, beige, plastic bodied cars...Nor do I need two* three wheeled cars!  

*Plus one if you count the C5, though I don't generally count that as a car.

[Tommyboy12]

My signature is indeed up to date but for the benefit of those that can't see it I currently have a TE20, three Minis ('79, '83, and '89), the Rialto, and a 2011 Porsche Cayman.

Now the Rialto is on the mostly sorted I want to focus my attention on my '79 Mini. I've committed to taking it to International Mini Meet in Sussex in August and I still have a lot to do!

Also the Rialto will definitely be up for sale here when it's time! Although I've got plans first!

 

[Matty]

Looking forward to those plans. Going to make the previous LEJOGS look like a warm up.

[High Jetter]

36 minutes ago, Tommyboy12 said:

My signature is indeed up to date but for the benefit of those that can't see it I currently have a TE20, three Minis ('79, '83, and '89), the Rialto, and a 2011 Porsche Cayman.

Now the Rialto is on the mostly sorted I want to focus my attention on my '79 Mini. I've committed to taking it to International Mini Meet in Sussex in August and I still have a lot to do!

Also the Rialto will definitely be up for sale here when it's time! Although I've got plans first!

 

Tell me about the August meet? Closer than Mini 25 in Derby that fucked my R16 😀

[Tommyboy12]

14 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Tell me about the August meet? Closer than Mini 25 in Derby that fucked my R16 😀

It's usually a really big show. Last one in the UK was Bristol 2019 which was a wet and windy one but it was nearly 8000 in attendance. Probably 5000 Minis. @sharley17194 and I did the Germany one last year in his Mini as it rotates round Europe every year but every fifth year it comes back to the UK and Sussex is a bit closer than south Germany!

We will be going down as part of a club to camp all weekend from Thursday 21st to Monday 25th August.

https://www.imm2025.org/

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Tommyboy12 said:

It's usually a really big show. Last one in the UK was Bristol 2019 which was a wet and windy one but it was nearly 8000 in attendance. Probably 5000 Minis. @sharley17194 and I did the Germany one last year in his Mini as it rotates round Europe every year but every fifth year it comes back to the UK and Sussex is a bit closer than south Germany!

We will be going down as part of a club to camp all weekend from Thursday 21st to Monday 25th August.

https://www.imm2025.org/

Thanks, that's only 20 minutes away from me!

[Tommyboy12]

Yesterday I did some tuning and cleaning of the Reliant. I've been wanting to clean it for ages as it's absolutely disgusting inside and out.

I did the basics on tuning. Set the timing, set the fueling, set the timing then back to fuel and idle. It's running a lot nicer now although I noticed some serious wandering from the ignition timing. It cleans up under load so I suspect it's worn weights in the distributor.

The whole interior looked like this. Covered in dust and grime

 

So first off I hoovered it out and made the carpets half respectable

Then I set about a bucket of soapy water

Wiping down all the surfaces with dirt and dust on

A stiff brush on the dashboard and door cards and it came up quite nice. Then wipe down with a cloth.

And then we ended up with a nice dust free interior and I finished by drowning it in deodoriser because it still smells a bit. I'm planning to wet vac the carpets when the weather gets a bit warmer.

 

Then I gave it a wash. Which made absolutely no difference whatsoever. Whatever grime is in the paint is actually engrained into the paint. I'm going to take it to a petrol station brush washer at some point so I can get some leverage on the grime.

Also this is definitely concourse level bodywork...

Today I'm taking it on its first run to a cars and coffee morning!

[High Jetter]

I've found this from CPC is great for cleaning grim from dashboards and steering wheels.