Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby dusz » Wed Jul 28, 2021 1:56 pm

Commiserations to you and your family on your loss. We lost my mother-in-law in April.
Take care of yourself.
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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby fozzza » Wed Jul 28, 2021 3:06 pm

So sorry to hear that Dave.
Regards Roy.
Roy
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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby johno » Thu Aug 05, 2021 9:02 pm

Sorry to hear your news. I enjoy keeping up with all the progress reports. You'll no doubt have lots to do 'at home' but garage time can be a great way to unwind.
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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby MrBounce » Tue Aug 10, 2021 8:47 pm

Thank you for the messages of condolences and support. It really is very much appreciated. I can't pretend that it's been an easy time, but I am starting to get there. Lots still to arrange but all is ok.

I figured that an hour or so back in the garage would be beneficial, so I had a tidy up first, then started on something that wasn't an exhaust or a dashboard (I REALLY didn't feel like doing more dash work at the moment). The headlining. Or, more importantly, something that was screwed to it. The Mk1 Midas has a Fiat 126 rear view mirror and interior light all rolled into one unit. And it seems that the old adage that some Italian build quality isn't up to much rings true in this case. The light lens that fits onto the base is hard plastic and clips on with 3 brittle tangs. I have two different lenses, both of which are missing one tang. This makes the design useless, as the lens simply falls out thanks to Sir Isaac Newton's favourite discovery. It's a really poor design, but then I suppose if the car in question was first introduced in the early 70s, its life expectancy was more than likely to end some time ago. In theory I could get another 126 mirror unit with good lens, but I would more than likely be throwing money after something that would probably break again.

So I decided (as with a few things in this car) to do it slightly differently. I would fill in the holes in the one piece headlining with good ol' chopped strand mat and resin, then put an interior light in its place (design is yet to be decided). I would then get a mirror to either mount on the screen, or on to the dash top once it's completed.

I grabbed a Jaffa Cake box for Cardboard-Aided Design, then covered it with parcel tape. I then taped this to the headliner, and flipped it over. Out came my resin and fibreglass, and I carefully filled up the holes. I will make sure it's all ready to be modified once I decide on my interior light set up.

This thing will be moved on. I don't like it as I think it's a really bad design.

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Of course this leaves a hole needing to be filled...

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...so out came the CAD and some tape...

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...which was quickly followed by some fibreglass and resin.

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One final thing - I am not sure whether the headlining (which is a one-piece bit of fibreglass) should be kept as is, painted with textured paint, or recovered, possibly in a lighter colour to make the interior a bit less sombre. What's everyone's thoughts?
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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby dusz » Wed Aug 11, 2021 9:21 pm

I suppose it is like interior decorating. Everybody has their own ideas of what is considered to be good.

The basic headlining is rather close to my head in my MkII although I do have a sunroof which may rob a bit of head room. Last time I drove it (over 20 years ago) I used to drive with the sunroof cracked open for slightly more ventilation. My hair (what is that?) used to get sucked out of the sunroof so I always had to be careful closing the roof when I stopped. There would be no issue now though. :lol: :lol:

Standard or repainted at least it would be wipe clean although if it were covered with something, foam backed fabric fo rinstance, it would possibly look more upmarket if there can be such a thing in a Midas. :D

I agree with you dark head linings tend to make the interior look smaller. I once drove a 2015 Merc A-Series that had a dark charcoal head lining that made the car quite sombre. It actually put me off the car so I chose something else. The head lining in my MkII is tan. If you want to come and have a look there would be no problem as we are not far from the Mendlesham Mast. Send me a pm if you want to come an have a look.
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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby MrBounce » Sun Aug 22, 2021 8:28 pm

I haven't done any more work on the headlining for now, as it needs a bit more filler, and I've run out of hardener. So I turned my attention to the other end of the car.

One thing that's always bugged me about the Midas is that it has an old Metro expansion tank, which, I am led to believe, are prone to splitting and also the caps don't tend to like sealing very well. As I have never been able to get the tank 100% clean from its previous life as a container for rusty water, I've decided that it can go. I remembered doing some maintenance under the bonnet of my old VW Bora many moons ago and noting how the cooling system never went wrong. So I got myself a VW expansion tank as these are plentiful because they've been used on a whole host of VAG cars over the past 15 years, they are reliable and above all, they don't cost much money. Therefore all I had to do was mount it.

I set about a bit of angle iron with the grinder and Dremel and soon had a suitable bracket to mount it using existing holes. I attached a small "stub" spacer using the magic metal melty stick so the tank would sit flat (the existing holes I used made it "droop"), then gave it a coat of paint. I have an additional hose to join up with the existing system - I just need to cut it to size, and get another hose clamp.

VW expansion tank (available in most VAG cars since 2000-ish) is plentiful and cheap.

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And bracket is now painted and will soon be ready to fit.

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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby dusz » Sun Aug 22, 2021 9:45 pm

I notice one other difference with your Midas regarding the thermostat housing.
On my Midas the housing has a removable screw in cap. To bleed the cooling system I have always set the heater to its hottest setting, removed the cap on the thermostat housing and then lifted the expansion tank so that it is higher than the head. I then refill the system and when the water starts to just spill out of the thermostat housing I then refit the cap before lowering the expansion tank. Doing this I have not had the system airlock.
You might want to review if the VAG bottle is going to be high enough to be able to exclude air in the cooling system.
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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby l_jonez » Mon Aug 30, 2021 12:39 am

Good choice on the expansion tank, I did the same and it's mounted in pretty much the exact same spot
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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby MrBounce » Sun Sep 05, 2021 4:31 pm

It is often said that retail therapy can cure a lot of things. As I have understandably been feeling a bit low these last few months, and we'd just had Dad's funeral, it was really quite pleasant to see these pop up in my Faceache feed the other day. I stuck 2 fingers up at doing the Boot Sale, then borrowed Mrs Bounce's Yaris and drove 35 miles to pick these up this morning.

"But you have wheels!" I hear you cry. Yes, and beautifully painted and painstakingly restored they may be, but one thing that bugs me about Minis and their variants is that nearly every wheel design is a bleeping Minilite-style. There is nothing wrong with that per se, but I have always been one to do things a little bit differently. These are a set of 5x12" Revolution RFXs and they don't tend to come up very often. Whilst available from Revolution and MiniSpares as aftermarket wheels, as far as I know, the only Mini that these were fitted to as standard was the 94-onward Convertible. At £20 per wheel I couldn't say no as I had been looking out for some for a while. I might need to look at some clearance issues but I LOVE the way these look. The Midas was available from the factory I believe with 5-spoke alloys made by either ATS or Cosmic (I THINK), but the chances of me finding those is similar to me getting a date with Hayley Atwell. Not very likely!

It's my plan to get these blasted and possibly powder coated in gloss black if funds allow, and I will probably just bin the tyres and get new ones as although some have tread they're 6+ years old.

Revolution RFX. Yup, yummy wheels, even when scruffy.

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Look great on the front (if a bit wide)...

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...and on the back. Awesome.

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Re: Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

Postby dusz » Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:43 pm

Always liked the 5 spoke Revolution RFX, looks like a very good deal even if they do need refinishing. Three years ago I managed to get 4 wheels for my X-Trail. I had the tyres removed and was able to take them into work and use the grit blaster. Then rattle canned them with etch primer, colour coat and a lacquer. As there have been fitted with winter tyres and we have not done much mileage due to a certain pandemic they are lasting well.
There is a wheel re-furbisher at Bury St Edmunds right alongside the A14 - http://wheelcarerefinishing.co.uk/ - I have not used them but someone in our village has used them and is happy with their work. Apparently he drove his car in, left it with them. They removed the wheels, cleaned them up, powder coated them (in a different colour) and then refitted the tyres. Obviously all you need to do is drop off the wheels. Depending on the age and condition of the tyres you might want to consider changing them
Doing a search there is also https://www.thealloyrepairspecialist.co ... h/suffolk/
There may be others locally as well. Don't know what they charge.
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