Tiger Tamers 1964 Hillman Minx Project

[yoeddynz]

MX5 gearbox will take a toyota celica/landcruiser etc etc hall sensor like this. I get mine from the wreckers.

Same thread-  will screw straight in place and can then use multitude of electronic speedos (as I did in my Viva just gutted a celica speedo and made my own casing for it. 

[Tiger Tamer]

On 03/09/2025 at 19:38, mjrstar said:

Na mx5 is cable drive for the speedo, so a bit of a headache if you are running electronic speed signal. I assume maybe nb onwards is electronic?

I'd by a link ecu and 2 Metre loom, and ignore dbw and make it work. 

If you run some sort of eccentric throttle wheel the low percentage driveability will be just fine.

 

The reason of using the ecu from Kpower is I would have their support and their wiring is basically plug and play. Which means I shouldn't fry the electronics like I probably would going it alone. They even supply the software for the ecu for the state of engine tune or in the ball park. My engine being standard is should be relatively straight forward. The gearbox is a Toyota R151 which is not cable drive. I would rather have gauges rather than an electronic display.

[Tiger Tamer]

21 hours ago, yoeddynz said:

MX5 gearbox will take a toyota celica/landcruiser etc etc hall sensor like this. I get mine from the wreckers.

Same thread-  will screw straight in place and can then use multitude of electronic speedos (as I did in my Viva just gutted a celica speedo and made my own casing for it. 

The gearbox is a Toyota R151 which is not cable driven. It maybe able to be changed as a quick search some say there was both cable and electronic. I would rather have gauges than an electronic display really. I will probably have to do something like you did with the celica speedo or give Robinsons a call and see what they can do. I do have a Smiths 120mph gauge which maybe able to be gutted and converted. Smiths look like they make a 10,000 rpm electronic Tach as well.

A couple pics of the gearbox. I would think the first pic is of the speedo pick up. I don't know as yet what the connection in the second pic is, looks like temp sender ?.

 

[mjrstar]

Aah I thought you were considering an mx5 cluster, hence the discussion around the cable vs electronic..

A mate of mine has an s2k powered escort running a stock ecu and trimmed down loom. There was a guy in tye UK doing the loom diagrams and it was something super simple like a 6 wire hookup. But if the kpower setup is something that you are comfortable with I'm sure it'd be sweet. 

[Tiger Tamer]

3 hours ago, mjrstar said:

Aah I thought you were considering an mx5 cluster, hence the discussion around the cable vs electronic..

A mate of mine has an s2k powered escort running a stock ecu and trimmed down loom. There was a guy in tye UK doing the loom diagrams and it was something super simple like a 6 wire hookup. But if the kpower setup is something that you are comfortable with I'm sure it'd be sweet. 

I did consider an mx5 cluster as there was one on trade me. Kpower's main business is repowering mx5- miata  with K20-24 engines so I thought if I bought one of their dash looms it would connect to the cluster. But you have to splice their loom into the mx5 loom to make it work.

At the start of my build thread there are a couple of pics of a blue minx built in Canada with a S2000 engine and trans. He used the Honda Instruments and fitted them into the Smiths gauges which is probably similar to what Alex has done with the Viva build. I must have a look through the build.

Cheers and thanks for your input.  

[yoeddynz]

I'll be doing an update on my instruments soon. You'll like it. With those printed faces you could do all manner of designs to go along with your hillman/Honda mashup. 

Then wind up the purists at the car shows 

[igor]

Would that be a Honman or a Hilda Alex?

[Tiger Tamer]

So, I did a google search to see if there a solution to convert or replace the electronic pick up to cable and AI said this. 

 

AI Overview

 

 

 

+5

 

To convert an electronic speed sensor drive from an R151 gearbox to a cable-driven mechanical one, you'll need to replace the electronic sensor with a mechanical speedo drive unit, which involves swapping the appropriate gear onto the output shaft and installing the correct mechanical housing onto the gearbox's tailshaft. For easier installation, you can use a converter box like Speedhut's SPEEDBOX that takes the electronic signal and outputs it to a mechanical cable, eliminating the need to open the transmission.  

 

Option 1: Physical Replacement of the Drive Unit

This method requires opening the gearbox to swap out the internal components. 

 

1. 1. Identify the correct mechanical drive unit:

   Find a mechanical speedo drive unit that is compatible with your specific R151 gearbox. You may need to swap the driven gear from the electronic unit onto a new mechanical housing or vice-versa to match the gear ratio. 

    
2. 2. Swap the driven gear:

   Carefully remove the electronic speed sensor and its gear from the transmission. Press the plastic driven gear off the electronic shaft and onto the mechanical shaft. 

    
3. 3. Install the mechanical drive unit:

   Install the mechanical drive unit and its corresponding tailshaft housing onto the gearbox. This will require disconnecting and reconnecting the tailshaft and its related parts. 

    
4. 4. Connect the speedo cable:

   With the mechanical drive unit in place, you can now connect a standard mechanical speedo cable and run it to your gauge. 

    

Option 2: Using an Electronic-to-Mechanical Speed Converter Box

This is a more straightforward, non-invasive option, especially if you want to keep the original mechanical speedometer in your vehicle. 

 

1. 1. Obtain a converter box:

   Purchase a device such as the Speedhut SPEEDBOX. 

    
2. 2. Wire the converter:

   Connect the converter to your vehicle's power, ground, and electronic speed sensor signal. The converter will accept the electronic speed signal as an input. 

    
3. 3. Connect to the mechanical cable:

   The converter then outputs the signal to a mechanical drive, or in some cases, includes a mechanical cable for you to connect. 

    
4. 4. Attach to the gauge:

   The unit can be mounted under the hood or in the dash, and then connected to your existing cable-driven mechanical speedometer. 

    

It did say that AI can make mistakes so I will need to do a bit more research, which I haven't done yet but it's worth a look.

 

 

 

 

 

[Tiger Tamer]

A minor miracle has happened as I finally made the decision on the colour of the car after much decision changes and sample trials I finally bought the paint for the Hillman today. I have more samples of green paint than you would have thought possible. I have even tried mixing different ratios of two and still couldn't quite decide.

Anyway, today I received an email Total body shop and there it was, my most favorite shade of metallic green paint. Price had nothing to do with the decision making process as at last I found that special colour I had been looking for, for a long time. 

Though it does say I saved $432.15 on a 4ltr can. Happy days.

4 Litre Dulon Acrylic lacquer GREEN MET (GM27)

 

[Tiger Tamer]

I have been fitting the engine wiring loom-fuse box etc from Kpower. You don't get any instructions as it is their universal wiring loom.

Anyway I have a 3 way DTM connector to wire which I am not sure about.

Pin 1, I have connected to a fuse box I have fitted which is supplied from the ign switch when on.

Pin 2, Starter ground trigger.  I presume this is an earth connection to complete the circuit through the ECU as the starter wire on the solenoid must be constant 12v powered ?  What do you think. Am I right ?

Pin 3 Starter 12v typical hit ?  I thought this may connect to the terminal on the ign that supplies power when the key is turned to start position, but I am not sure at all here.

I have emailed them and they usually reply in a few days but I thought I would pick your brains as well.

Cheers

[chris r]

Pin 2 if assume is if you are using a relay for the starter and the relay is ground switched. I'd ignore that

Pin 3 - shit /stupid terminology but I would say you are correct. Start output from ignition switch going to starter solenoid 

[Tiger Tamer]

3 hours ago, chris r said:

Pin 2 if assume is if you are using a relay for the starter and the relay is ground switched. I'd ignore that

Pin 3 - shit /stupid terminology but I would say you are correct. Start output from ignition switch going to starter solenoid 

Cheers for the reply.

Pin 2 The fuse box that this connector is wired to has the relay in it and is their fuse box they supplied with the engine loom, ECU etc as a kit so I am thinking it will need to be used. Ground for the relay?

Pin 3 

 

[chris r]

4 hours ago, Tiger Tamer said:

Cheers for the reply.

Pin 2 The fuse box that this connector is wired to has the relay in it and is their fuse box they supplied with the engine loom, ECU etc as a kit so I am thinking it will need to be used. Ground for the relay?

Pin 3 

 

Ecu might want a start signal to know when it's cranking. I'm 98% sure the ecu wants a positive signal so you can use the same wire/terminal as pin 3

Getting a ground signal for the starter off they key will involve another relay and using a relay to trigger a relay seems a bit dumb to me