Mk 1 Project Zippy. Looking Like a Car.

[MrBounce]

I am almost in the process of jumping around like a crazy thing. I have reached the stage where all the nose of the car needs now is a final skim of filler and some minor tidying. Big thanks go to Shaun who gave up his Bank Holiday afternoon to watch me swearing about fibreglass. I also managed to build up the area around where the steering rack meets the body. It looked like it had worn away over the years so I have rectified this. I had a discussion with Shaun and we have both agreed that as it's not a concours car we're going to paint the underside with some sort of underseal/underbody protection paint. I know it's not factory but it will be virtually impossible for me to paint the underside in bodycolour, so I would much rather do it as a "fit and forget" method and then the car can be back on its wheels.

As I was fed up with sanding, I thought I would bung the head on the engine (the gearbox is currently with Guessworks being refreshed). It was at this point that I remembered one of the main reasons that buying an unfinished project can be a pain in the rear end. You know the engine that was dismantled into its component parts? Well... not all of the parts were there. Luckily they weren't that expensive (the four rocker studs) but it was still annoying. The rockers and all studs and nuts were given a clean up in the parts washer and then all the threads were cleaned up. I used the "two-nut" method to put the studs in the block then popped on the Payen gasket followed by the head itself. In went the pushrods and then the rocker gear. A tighten up in sequence with the torque wrench and all was done.

Final skim to do. Good.



Built up area around the steering rack hole (still some to do when pic was taken).



Cleaned pushrods, studs and nuts.

[MrBounce]

Studs in block



All finished and torqued down.

[MrBounce]

I figured that as the head was now back on the engine along with the rockers, I may as well adjust the valve clearances. After an initial aborted attempt where I was so tired I saw fit to forget all logic, I used the "rule of 9" to sort them out their proper tolerances.

I then popped to to the London to Brighton Mini run to get my hands on some bits that I needed, which included the following:

Thermostat & 2 x gaskets
Solid front subframe rear & tower mounts (I already have the teardrops)
Rocker gasket
New washers/grommets/spacers for the rocker cover
Clutch oil seal & plastic protector
New oil filler cap
Blanking plates for both the fuel pump and heater tap

I also picked up an MG Metro rocker cover from Ted at the East Anglian Mini Centre for a tenner. Granted it's a bit grotty, but all it needs is a clean and polish. If it's too pitted, then I can easily paint it.

Talking of painting, I have also sprayed up the thermostat housing and sandwich plate along with various clutch arm parts; these are next on my list to put together.

Pile of new purchases. Rocker Cover was a particular bargain.



Blanking plates on and rockers adjusted.



Thermostat housing and sandwich plate in primer...

[MrBounce]

...and clutch arm too.

[MrBounce]

I have discovered two things I could do with in the garage. One is a bigger vice; the other is a hydraulic press. I have no idea where I would put it but it would make my life a whole lot easier...

First job was to mask and spray the flywheel housing. I spent ages cleaning it then carefully masked it all off. Two coats of primer followed by a couple of coats of silver were enough to see it looking somewhat more refreshed. However, next door's barbecue was a bit of a distraction.

Next up it was clutch release bearing time. I had a brand new bearing and a brand new plunger. However, they did not fit in the vice. I decided I would use one of my sturdy G clamps (held in the vice) and started to wind the clamp in. All worked fine for a bit until it suddenly got a little easier. This is always worrying. Sure enough, the clamp had given way and cracked. Time to find someone with a press methinks...

Flywheel housing primed...



...and painted.



One of the disadvantages of not having a press...

[rallyjon]

All i can say is,i have just read most of this topic,with the amount of time you have spent over the years,fair play/well done/labour of love all come to mind,but yes im very impressed with your motivation and all the updates.
Keep up the good work fella it will be worth it in the end

[MrBounce]

Many thank rallyjon - it's comments like yours which make me think it's all worthwhile!

The clutch cover assembly is now finished. I went round to see my friend Mike and used his unfeasibly large vice (along with a socket and a nut) to properly press home the bearing onto the plunger. It took a lot of effort; I was tempted to ask Dave if could use his press. No need in the end and all looks good. Then it was just a matter of assembly, making sure the bits that usually seize were given a decent coating of Copperslip. It'll be properly adjusted once everything is on the car. I also shortened a couple of bolts so the timing-mark cover could be bolted on.

It was then time to give the underside of the body its first coat of stonechip. I spent ages masking up the bottom of the car and making sure that any holes/apertures were suitably plugged. Note: it is not the best idea to do this in bright sunshine with a hangover... Once I was happy with everything I gave a good coat of stonechip to the floorpan and the bottom half of the underbonnet area. Typically the two cans I thought would be ample ran out just before I'd finished... I left it to bake in the sun then popped it back into the garage to await the next delivery of stonechip.

Clutch cover all new and ready to go.



Everything masked up.



Stonechip on. Irritatingly there wasn't quite enough...

[b1zbaz]

That's gonna be some car when you have finished with it mate excellent job so far

[MrBounce]

Many thanks Baz - I hope so! It ain't gonna be perfect but I think it'll be a nice achievement. I'll be able to look at it and say - "I built that"

Not much to report this week - I moved the car out of the garage into the blazing sunshine again and finished off all the missed bits of stonechipping. I didn't take any pictures as it looks much the same as the first one. I will get a friend or two over and we'll put it back on its belly so we can start prepping it for the painting process. Eek.

I dragged the MIG welder I've been given out and decided to create my own captive nut engine mounts as the ones I had were - for want of a better word - rubbish. I ground off the crimped in round threaded "things" (they certainly weren't nuts) and cleaned up four nuts I had in the box. I then proceeded to not make a pig's ear of things and surprised myself by welding on the nuts without too much bother - I have only welded once before! I am sure it would have been better if I had a proper arc-sensitive flip-down mask rather than the hand-held one I have and things would doubtless have improved with a lot more practice, but I was quite pleased with my attempts. I wasn't the most accurate as my free hand was holding that damned mask, but I know a friend with a proper mask if necessary. Granted there was a bit of pigeon-poo splatter on my first attempt (the nuts weren't spotless) and I managed to weld the tip up, but I fitted a replacement and all was good!

Captive nuts done (this is probably the best of them)

[MrBounce]

Once more I have been putting off sanding the bodywork (mainly for silly reasons such as next door having an afternoon in the garden and Mrs B telling me not to sand whilst the washing is out...) That said, the first 50% of sanding the main part of the bodyshell is now done. It makes such a difference as well. I have my mojo back and all is good. I have however got sunburn. Ow.

Before I finally got out to do some bodywork, I asked David if he would mind sandblasting my rocker cover when he next had a moment? Half an hour later, it was done! This happened when he popped back to his to get his slide hammer whilst Tink & I were trying to remove my idler bearing in my flywheel housing. We'd managed it by the time David returned, but he'd taken a while because he sandblasted the cover. Once home, I primed it then gave it two further coats of Rover Platinum Silver to go with the rest of the bits on the engine. Typically the bolts I had were too short to fit it. I rectified this with a pair of T-bars from Mini Spares, then topped it off with a new oil cap. Am tempted to have a "Midas" sticker made up for it but am not sure...

I was also struggling with my indicator stalk and after a particularly bad time in the garage I said "Sod it!" and ordered a new one from Mini Spares. This arrived and has been paired up with the good wiper stalk I have. The wiring has been recovered in decent electrical tape. Another thing I have finished was the front brake pipe on the subframe. I fitted the front braided hoses with new nuts and washers, then bent the pipe to fit as best as I could , being a total novice at this!! Although it's far from perfect, it isn't bad for a first effort and nobody's going to see it anyway unless they're really nosey! Next week is hopefully going to filled with LOTS more body prep. I am feeling good about it.

Beautiful rocker cover now fitted.



New indicator stalk, now paired with its wiper stalk buddy (Blatant advert in the background!!)



Brake pipe made up and fitted to subframe.