Roof chopped BMW mini cooper S

[rkde]

Been a while since I was last on here so here is my update, firstly I decided to bring the car home again to my garage, its smaller but I can go out in the evenings rather than just one day a week.

With the car home I can apply filler and work on getting the roof perfect, this is really an ongoing project alone

Also while working on the body the engine components went off to auto sprint to be balanced, you can see in some photos the drilling and grinding to balance the engine. The con rods came in with a difference of 30g between the top and bottom mass

 

[rkde]

With the car out in the garage I decided that it was time to build the engine.

Pistons and rods went together

Rings gapped

First rings on piston 1

Piston 1 into cylinder 1

All pistons in place, cooper gasket placed on the block

Bottom end comes together

Cylinder head being fitted and red baffled sump installed

 

[Robotstar5]

I'm suprised it's not a DOHC in one of those?

 

[rkde]

The newer ones are, after 2006 when they switched to a turbo unit but otherwise they are quite a highly polluting efficient engine however they are very strong!

 

[rkde]

Used my press today to take out the bushes as I am taking everything to the powder coaters tomorrow. Didn't realise it takes 4T to remove the bushes

 

[Robotstar5]

You don't want a Land Rover then had the press at work peaking at 20 tons pushing the suspension bushes out!

 

[rkde]

More engine building

Hussey copper head gasket in place with wellseal to ensure a good seal

Head on and torqued, chain, chain tensioner, all new and replaced

KAVs crank pulley in place - took a bit of heating to get in on but it looks great. Also I totally rebuilt the oil pump which included shooting the bypass piston of the pump around the shed. It was all replaced and good as new

 

[rkde]

little update,

Had some spare time so thought it would be nice to go and play a little more with the engine. Firstly as the supercharger I am using (twin screw lysholm AX1200) does not fit and the nose it wrong I decided to take the nose off so I can get the measurements to make a new one also this will make it a lot easier to weld the brackets on where required.

Nose off

Then it is a situation of deciding where I want to put the blower, I put on the stock plenum which most likely will be changed but offers a good size/area to work with. Then I have just been balancing and trying different positions to ensure there is enough room before I start and tack welding to fix on brackets, also working out where the best place to put the brackets at the moment.

 

[rkde]

Been having a bit of a clear up over the past few weeks. I have been grinding out some of my messy early welds and replacing them and I feel much happier with them. I will get some photos up soon as I am happy that it all looks neat and tidy so in turn I have less polishing and prep work to do.

Also the car is going to go to a local body shop soon too, the aim is to get it ready for paint and ensure that everything is perfect. A body shop pro will have a much better eye for small dinks etc around the car than I will. Also with my asthma I think painting will be better left to those with all the correct equipment and it will save me some pennies in breathing equipment

Things should really pick up soon as all the hard work comes to an end and its only assembly

 

[rkde]

Recently the car has been at the body shop and the guys there have been busy getting on with what I want while I have been busy with other stuff. I have been feeling a little bit down about the project probably down to the money pit it is becoming and also the time it is taking... Any how I got a call from city powder coaters in Birmingham saying that the fist batch of parts are now ready to collect, I though this would be something to really pick me up again and it may just have done that. The finish of the parts is really good and very well done.

I hope you enjoy the photos. I may start to assemble the sub frames soon. I do think I have some parts I do not need and some are not there so I may still have them in my storage or they are part of the second batch. I will be wax oiling the inside of all the frames to ensure they don't rot away as I plan to keep the car.

from here they are to be stored for a while and I will also be placing in my bushes where needed. I am very pleased that they powder coaters took their time and produced a stunning finish.

The wheels are XT Drift and came in red when I got them so I shipped them off to be gun metal grey which I really like them in.

 

[rkde]

Some work in progress, high build primer shot and only a little bit of time left on this roof. Looking like the perfect shape

 

[rkde]

Been away from here for a while so thought its about time for an update.

GRP roof mould making

New rear bumper made and offered up to the car along with the door alignment

Had some time over christmas so I made a new boot floor

Started to fit the accessories, worth noting that the water pump and blower are not from this car and the alternator is in a new place which needs to be modified to fit but I am getting there with it

Making up a new loom was both long and hard work

Wet lay of the roof skin

Roof cut out again to take the GRP roof and scuttle vents in place

Welded the a panel up to the scuttle, 0.6 thickness had enough of this thin stuff now! did it with 0.8 wire

 

[Shox Dr]

Looking really good, the roof chop makes it sooooooper long , remind me why you decided on the GRP roof

 

[rkde]

Long story but it is to save weight not to mention how much filler was need to get the shape of the 3 roofs

There will be a carbon layer going over the top too and I think I am going to make a carbon spider frame to go on the inside too

 

[rkde]

Been spending time working on the wiring loom and I am happy to say that with the exception of 2 wires it is all done but I need to find out what they are first...

Also spent some time out in the garage converting a a/c heater box into a non a/c climate box. Interestingly its quite simple to convert a normal manual box into a climate, just need to drill one hole for a temp sensor and its done and ready to go in.

Also spent a lot of time with my TIG welder in the shed working on the blower inlet, I managed to get hold of the correct unit but it didn't fit so I have had to change the port size, throttle angle, bypass pipe needs adding, removed side ports, also got to add a bracket which attaches it to the plenum. Still some welding to go! Not sure I really like ally welding but I am sure I will grow to like it...

 

[T.E.D. Jordan]

This is an epic project, excellent work on the roof especially!

Jordan

 

[rkde]

Things have been really busy so I have not had much time with the car or time on the car. The underside of the car has been painted in schutz and its looking really smart and clean underneath

 

[Coo]

...is that light at the end of that tunnel

 

[rkde]

...is that light at the end of that tunnel

I think it is

Photos from cartrix mods on facebook today bring an update of bondo and bodywork, the prep work is exciting to see and quite pleasing ~ hope you enjoy

 

[Shox Dr]

Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel yet