steve

+1 to that. I didn't make it along, but my old man said he had a yarn to you about your car and he was thoroughly impressed with it

http://www.weberspecialties.co.nz

Is this a mk3 golf style Jetta?

PowerSpark Ignition in the UK are good and cheap (from memory)

Wow! Kudos to you! That is some next level electronic wizardry right there!

A quick question for all the electricians on here - can you install and run a 15v stereo in a car and operate it with 12v? I want to strip one of these - and us the ipod dock and controls in my car. Would it work? Cheers, Steve

Awesome! Who was the safety inspector? He looks familiar to me.

Cheers to everyone for the feedback. Pulled out the stereo today and found the earth wire eyelet not connected to any ground point. Also pulled out the dash surround and removed the dimmer switch, opened it up and found it burnt inside. Still not sure about the wiring - the feed is from the ignition switch but i'm not sure if it will melt the dimmer switch again. Might need to source a wiring diagram .

A friend just installed a new head deck into his 2002(ish) Mitsubishi Galant. All looked okay until he plugged in his Ipod and the fuse blew straight away. He replaced the car fuse that was 10 amp with a 15 amp fuse and then there was smoke from behind the dash somewhere near the dash dimmer switch. Now the dash lights only work for the park lights and go out when switched to main beam/high beam. Has anybody had this before? Any suggestions for repairing it?

So I have been feeling pretty guilty for a while now about not doing enough work on the Traveller, but here's a quick update about what has been done. I have had the wheels powder coated and got some new rubber on them. Put the back ones on the car already but I decided I would paint up the engine bay while the engine is out and I didn't want overspray going through and onto them. Finally got the engine back together (well most of it anyway) and I got Lee at Minibitz to rebuild the gearbox to paint the assembled engine up for me. Also purchased some Maniflow extractors for it. Didn't end up finding a Cooper cylinder head for it however Lynn Rogers did port and polish my existing head for me. Replaced the valve guides, got hardened valve seats, head was milled 0.105" to change up the chamber volume. Got Cooper inlet valves - 1.215". Rollmaster duplex chain. New bearings throughout the engine, new oil pump, and put in my MG Metro camshaft. I ended up replacing the pistons with ACL +0.020" standard pistons and getting the block bored and honed to suit Found some Mk1 Cooper trims that I will put in at some stage. I'm not a massive fan of brown interiors. Also got some classic Speedwell gauges to put in - found a tacho that I thought was okay, only to find a even better one a month after. Got new C.V.'s/driveshafts to match the diff and put new boots and new C.V. on where required. Got some twin carbs and gave them a quick clean up. Not sure what needle they have, but I can sort that later when it's tuned. Hopefully I will finish the painting soon and get the engine back in.

Sweet starting point! Are you going to make it as a track car or just for the road/occasional blat on the track? Also, are you going to keep it original and roll on 13's or go bigger with the wheels? Good luck with your project!

Don't bother with it. Clean up the faces really well and torque down the head. It shouldn't be necessary to use a sealant if the mating surfaces are smooth and flat. In saying that I did use copper spray on my mini head gasket recently because it was a solid copper gasket. What is your application?

Where abouts is the mini motor thats making 192 hp? Thats crazy! What had he done to it? Who did the work on it and could he prove 192hp? Sounds like a beast if its all legit.

legend! sounds perfect - where could I meet you to pick it up? FCUK. Sorry bro, its a 30 mm. Your still welcome to it if you want it - as I said I wont ever use it. If you PM your address I'll throw it in the mail.

Do you still need a 32 mm socket? I am pretty sure (but will confirm tomorrow) I have 2 deep 12 point 1/2 drive 32mm sockets in my tool box at work - It was a stuff up when I ordered my tools a couple of years ago. It's brand new. If you want it, it's yours because I am very unlikely to ever need it.

Well, I haven't updated this in ages but this is whats been happening on my rebuild. The wiring is all finished with new Hella H4 headlights installed. Got rid of all the crappy house wiring and twisted together and unsoldered joins. Also replaced the front indicators to being orange lenses and replaced the bulb holders and the rubbers for them. Installed my Moto-Lita steering wheel that I had been given at Christmas (I had to get a boss kit for it). Installed a new gear shift lever and lever extension - new old stock Speedwell parts. No photo's of the engine yet, but I have been working on it at Lynn Rogers Engine Reconditioning shop. Cross drilled the crankshaft. Have got the crankshaft assembly from the front pully to the clutch diaphragm balanced down to 0.3 of a gram. I'm still on the lookout for a 12G295 Cooper Head for the mini because I found out that you have to notch the tops of the cylinder bores to allow clearance for the valves if you put on a 12G940 1275 Head. Also got a 70 Amp alternator to put on - not sure exactly what will be required to change out the current generator and fit an alternator, but I'll work it out. Found the paint mixing codes on the internet for Old English White so will get my Cooper rims painted soon.

Love the white wheels! But thats just my opinion - I think they give better contrast to the steel bodywork. Good work on stripping back all the body - it looks sweet.

Small update: I have dissassembled my 1100cc engine and checked it over for wear. It wasn't too bad but there is movement in the top piston ring, so I have decided to bore the engine +20 thou and put in new ACL pistons. Might do a few small engine mods but I intend to drive it everyday so I don't want to go to extreme on it. Got my new wheels sand blasted and primered with 2K. I'll get them finished soon, but I need to save up for some tyres for them. The mini is starting to over heat so I ripped out the radiator and replaced it with another one which I had reconditioned, also put in a thermostat as it was missing, and rebled with new coolant. Started to fit my bonnet catch, but found lots of wiring tucked up by the old latch. The wiring looked a bit crap in places and I have some Hella H4 bulbs to put in so I am re-wiring the front of the mini. Hopefully it will be all done by the end of the weekend.

Cheers! I best keep it in then.

I started stripping down the front wiring on the mini on Tuesday night to install some H4 headlights and found a whole lot of crap wiring (some joins just twisted together and taped up). From the generator however there was a ?something? that had been soldered onto one of the generator terminals. It was bolted up to the oil filter housing (just because it's close I think). Can anyone identify what this is for me? Its the bit on the right hand side - it kind of looks like a capcitor.

Damn! Thats not cheap. Oh well, doing it yourself is way more satisfying anyway.

Awesome mini bro, I like the look. What part of the country are you in? Could you soda blast the body to clean it up? Can't wait to see it back down to steel!

Recieved my first parts deliveries last week. Got an internal bonnet release An electric fuel pump so I can immobilse the car a little better New rear door seals as the ones on the car are starting to perish and the rear doors are bad for rusting out from water leaking in through these seals. And some rusty as cooper wheels LP918. I will get them sand blasted and probably powdercoated, or maybe 2K paint. Got a clutch spring return bracket and spring as they were missing when I got the car. Cleaned up and painted the bracket with some matt black because it was rusty. Also rolled out my old 1100cc engine. I think i'll give it a quick rebuild and drop it in as soon as possible as the traveller is running a bit hot, and I think the piston rings are getting a bit worn because it is giving blue smoke signals as I drive it.

Lol, I had never heard of a Traveller used in that context - but urban dictionary has it as a definition so i'll believe you. It also said it was a Irish-American gypsie or a alcoholic beverage disguised in a plastic cup. Price is still a bit of a sore point it wasn't a cheap (for me anyway) find, but when I added the cost of doing a big restoration (Lee at MiniBitz offered me one of his Travellers for 2 g full resto required), it worked out cheaper just buying this. The guy wanted 7 g for it so I offered what I thought was quite a bit less considering faults and he said yes. I have bought some Cooper steels for it hopefully I'll put up some more pics soon. Do you (thminiman) think the whole car should be black? Or was that in reference to wheels? -I think I'll paint the steels old english white at the mo.

Any modification / rego plate ideas? Super keen to get 4 pot discs on front.