Chrome_GT

This doesn't explain the rattling but maybe a strand of your clutch cable has snapped. The cable is 3 wires wound together and maybe just one of them has snapped. It would feel like your not pushing the pedal fully in. Also the pedal will have dropped towards firewall by a couple 20mm or so. Otherwise maybe your thrust bearing isn't attached to the pull arm properly.

I once installed an engine with a rusty flywheel face, so had to use emery cloth to sand it back. Give Emery cloth a try

Yeah tryed Cobra super lows in my capri when i had to replace my shocks. Ended up sticking with my standard springs as the new monroe GT-gas shocks didn't hold the Cobra springs captive. I only lost another inch so stuck with my old springs. What springs do you have in the Capri RT? Are you using Gas shocks (std for 2.8i) or hydraulic?

Yeah you should defo reach 100, I think i got up to 130 but my gauge is usually showing 10 to high so may have been anywhere between 115 and 125. Thats with all standard bits too

I've searched on another forum i use. In capris the fuel and temp gauges apparently require 3v. It is actually called a voltage regulator too. If you want to read the posts i was looking at go here http://www.network54.com/Forum/67242 Now go search, and type "fuel temp gauges" in search field. Heaps of posts will show up so go through them. Good luck

Have you wired the gauge to the sender via a voltage regulator thingy. I know that on my mini and capri, the temp and fuel gauges are powered via a thing on the back of the cluster. I think its a voltage regulator but i'll edit this message once i've found out the proper name. I also know that when these voltage thingies fail, they cause bad or no readings on each of the gauges. Its a little brassy box with spade terminals coming out of it. They are usually screwed into the back of the gauge cluster.

It's not your fan belt is it ? - more of a screach than a whine though. Try tightening this by lossening the alternator/generator and retightening under tension.

Here are some good sites with the GT starlet conversion. http://www.bretts.com.au/~con/mini/ http://www.twincamturbo.com/ http://www.members.optushome.com.au/minigt/

Like you've read my mind. I've been looking into this honda city turbo thing but haven't found any info yet. I'd like to get a hold of one to measure it up. If you do find any info on let me know. The VTec thing has been done heaps. Will take heaps of time and $$. I have neither. I've got to keep in mind that this mini is supposed to be my everyday, cheap runabout. Not another project. At this stage i'm just keepeing an eye out for other austins/ morris' etc with 1300 engines. That way there isn't all the extra costs of certs etc and its a simple swap.

71mini.myphotoalbum.com I've posted more pics in my photo album for you. They show how i created the illusion the bonnet sits flush with the grill etc. Myne was almost identical to yours in the way it sits. By taking the top surround off you can see where the bonnet hits the slam panel (cross bar thing). Myne hits in the middle and it always falls to the right (left side sits high). I could probably fix this by hammering the shit out of the slam panel to make it lower but I didn't. I put bolts between the bonnet and the grill surround, and then put a longer screw through. Yours may be riveted to your bonnet so just drill these out and use screws. I also pushed the grill forwards and outwards by putting the screws through the grill-through a bolt and then into the slam panel. I have a photo of this also. One reason your bonnet dosnt bend ebough at the front and sits forawrds is because the skin has detached form the x-frame underneath. I think they are supposed to be spot welded but i know that on myne this gave way due to rust. I put a rivet through the bonnet skin and xframe to tighten the front bend. If that doesn't make any sense PM me with a cell number and whereabouts in chch. I'll catchup sometime to show you what I did. Check out the photos because they show you the spacer idea

Any chance of a frontal photo of your mini? I'd like to see how the bonnet sits up/ misaligns with the grill etc because I had the same problem. I fixed it my repositioning the top grill surround( i thought it was called a moustach but may be wrong) in relation to the bonnet. You say you shifted the grill up to improve allignment, I reckon you could shift the top surround down to improve it more. On myne i found the bonnet and surround sat forwards of the grill. I fixed this the same way - by spacing the grill forwards. Hope this kind of makes sense.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/message? ... 1112694314 http://www.network54.com/Forum/message? ... 1112702198

Oh is that what the yellow stains are? I thought the may have been smoker stains or something but what you say makes more sense because i couldn't clean it off. I know in some cars the windscreen has to be taken out to change the headlining anyway. Plus noone looks up a the headlining, except maybe your Mrs

Yeah mate it does apply here. Both my cars have leftwards reverse. I always hit my mates in the knee when i go into reverse in the Capri. . Cheers 2dayslate. I'll print that out and try it when i get some time.

Headliner-i need it but never considered getting one as it's bound to be expensive. I don't know how practical you are so i'm not sure how you'd go doing panel and paint yourself. Dont forget you need tools. such as air compressors, angle grinder, spray gun. Then you've got to consider that you have to have the car garaged for ages while you do it. You'll probably go back to bare metal on the roof so you'd need etch primer, etch thinners, acrylic thinners, and acrylic white paint. What you see took me 2 weeks but i was flat out trying to get it done by the time i restarted work following the holidays. Also my roof had realy bad pitted paint and half the reason i wanted to do the repaint was to make sure corrosion didn't have a chance to start. There was only light surface corrosion. Otherwise i was stoked that there was no rust in the roof or roof seams at all. Honestly- unless it really bugs you don't bother. I wouldnt touch the green areas as the photos shows them looking mint.

Yeah. First time I had done panel and paint. It came up good considering. However my preparation wasn't good enough so on certain angles you can see the areas where i've been adding spot filler etc

Paint, thinners, primers etc cost me approx $400. You can create the illusion that the bonnet sits lower by spacing the mostache lower. My bonnet actually sits up higher on one side so i put a spacer between the bonnet and mostache. Now it looks even. Compare photo 1 and photo 9 from myphotoalbum.com. In the first one you can see the bonnet isn't sitting right. In nine the bonnet is still in the same position but I Made the mostache sit lower on the RHS

Sorry - no idea of cost. Occasionally they are on trademe but i reckon keep an eye out for minis being wrecked in the Buy sell exchange. Try mini spares and repairs. Also Swift automotive do mini bits. If you do find someone selling them cheap though let me know.

Try taking the top surround (mini people call them the moustache) off the bonnet and straightening with wood and soft hammer possibly. Be real careful. Have you got a front photo? You know when you said the bonnet didn't line up. Were you meaning the moustach doesn't line up with the side grill surrounds (if looking from front) ? if so use bolts between the moustache base and the bonnet. Put the screw throught the bolts. They will act as a spacer so the moustache sits lower. This is how i lined myne up. Another tip for ya. If you have dirty brown seems going around the windscreen and rear screen, paint over them in silver paint.

Luckily there wasn't any dints in the grill. The chrome surrounds are crap though. Yeah man - go the white grill. You'll be the second mini in town to do it- no one else has. Cheeper than rechroming and more custom looking.

I'm not sure what you mean about the bonnet meatal things ya retard I know on myne the front sticks forwards about 10mm from the surrounding panels, but the top is flush. I've seen other minis like this so maybe it's normal. The grill I painted white. It was one of those boring black ones so i thought it would look cool if it blended with the stripes and roof. I reckon it was the one thing that made my mini-the white grill. The first photo in that bunch shows what it looked like before the quality paintjob. I redid the grill with the same acrylic laquer as used on the roof. I've been messing around all day trying to prep it for a warrent. Keep finding faults. Bloody shit old cars - i lovem

Hey dreaded... I've put some new pics up showing the k&n. http://71mini.myphotoalbum.com

Hey twodays late. Might try that on my 5speed. If it feels good then I'll go for the proper plate as RT said. Cheers guys. It great finding stuuf like that in forums eh. In response to the gear lever hitting the handbrake. Have you tried fitting one of those gear knobs that are basically a aluminium stick (ugly). They dont have an actual knob so you'll have an extra 10mm or so between gearshift and handbrake.

My carb is standard, They are real expensive. I checked retail and it was about $220. I got myne off trademe for heaps less so try there. Listen to CaM as he seems to know a bit more about the performance side of minis.. I'm still learning too

Sorry my mistake. I've reread the other messages and realised you are talking about something totally different. The hot air pickup your talking about takes warm air from the extractors/manifold so your mini runs better on cold mornings. The K&N doesn't allow for this as for more performance you need cold air. The hose attachment i'm taking about is for what i thnink might be a vacuum hose. It connects to the opposite side on a standard filter drum. Be careful about spending $100 plus on a k&N for a mini as myne already runs rough on cold mornings and will probably get worse when we get into winter. But don't bother with Ramflo and other foam filters as they tend to light up in flames occasionally.