Exhaust System

 NEW?  CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE!

---UPDATES ARE ON MONDAYS---

Click here for a 3 minute video of the entire build.

Not much to report this week other than a I drove the car to Walt's Radiator and Muffler in down town Puyallup to have the exhaust system built.  Ron has been in the business for 20 years and I pick up my  car after work today!
Other than that, I've been tweaking the wiring and removed a big Honda relay box because I was only using 1 out of the 5 relays in it.  I'll wire up a small stand alone relay and create more room behind the dash.

Car dropped off and ready for exhaust system installation.

Mini Wires

 NEW?  CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE!

---UPDATES ARE ON MONDAYS---

Click here for a 3 minute video of the entire build.

This week I was able to drive the car a bit down the street again, fun stuff!

I finally grounded my coolant temp gauge so that now works.  That allowed me to run the engine at a high idle and build some heat, too much heat really.  I kept it running till the gauge was almost to the red zone and shut it down, I wanted to see if the fan would kick on but no-go.  I need to revisit that system before I can take the car on the road.

Other wiring issues I've been dealing with are the wires that send power from the old voltage regulator to the old fuse box.  The problem is the regulator isn’t used anymore, so I needed to tap into another source of power for the fuse box.  Simple in concept really, just took some work.  I have that done so now I have brake lights, parking lights etc.  Something is still mis-wired behind the instrument cluster because my fuel gauge only works when the high beams are on.   I had those wires all labeled, but evidently not well enough, only half of the labels are still legible.  Oh well, it’s almost done.

Next I’ll need to track down a problem with the brakes, they are firm in the garage but with the engine running they take a pump of the pedal before they work.  Something isn’t right, maybe the brakes are backing off somehow with the vibration of the engine. 

Dash apart again.

My new jumper wire.  THIS TIME I'm using a fuse inline.  No more smoke in the car with a wire glowing bright orange...

Hydrolastic Suspension Pump

 NEW?  CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE!

---UPDATES ARE ON MONDAYS---

Click here for a 3 minute video of the entire build.

This week I made a device that was able to push the hydrolastic fluid (50/50 antifreeze and water) into the system at 300 PSI.  What I did was I took a 1 ½ inch pipe I had kicking around then added a few fittings and filled it ¾ full of antifreeze.  Next I hooked up my CO2 tank from my MIG welder and cracked the valve.  A liquid CO2 tank has a pressure of around 800 PSI so I only opened it a bit at a time while filling the hydro system on the car.  Now that it isn’t sitting on the bump stops any more, I can actually turn left and right without hitting the fenders.

I drove the car a bit down my local street and got the temperature up and didn’t have any leaks.  My temp gauge wasn’t working however and I figured out the sending unit isn’t grounded.  I made a tube with a bung to hold the sender but it’s clamped to two rubber hoses.  I’ll attach a grounding wire and try that again.  Once I have a working temp gauge I’ll be able to get the engine up to full temp and verify the fan kicks on.  Then it’s time for a real trip, keeping local of course.  The engine runs strong and smooth without any sign of smoke or problems.  This next month will be fun!

Here you can see the driver's side is pumped up, right side to follow.

Here is the device, a simple piece of pipe.

Ready to run (in theory).

NEW?  CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE!

---UPDATES ARE ON MONDAYS---

Click here for a 3 minute video of the entire build.

I just torqued the last bolt as the sun went down and dinner was ready.   Test drive will need to hold off a few hours more.

Sitting on all 4 wheels after a year on jack stands.

Minis are low!  The car is sitting a little lower than normal though, I need to pump up the suspension a bit more.  I haven't decided if I'll put the front valance back on or not, You pretty much need to be on your knees to see it's missing.

Picture of the car with camera at head height.  Yes it really is that small.

It's ALIVE!

NEW?  CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE!

---UPDATES ARE ON MONDAYS---

Click here for a 3 minute video of the entire build.

After hooking up the last wire there wasn't much to do other than gas it up and hit the starter to see what happens. The engine started right up instantly! I'm so happy about that, and I love the light weight flywheel.

Next, all that is needed it to stuff all the wires behind the dash, assemble the driver's hub, build some radiator hoses and it's off to the races.  More likely to have exhaust made, get an alignment, then to the dyno.

 

It started up instantly and settled into a smooth idle. 

Wiring has been put away behind the dash, the OBD1 ECU and fuse box are hanging under and will be mounted soon.

Here is some stainless tubing and clamps from my dad's little project.  Thanks!

Lower radiator hose installed.

Another shot.

Electrons, they are a flowing!

NEW?  CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE!

---UPDATES ARE ON MONDAYS---

Click here for a 3 minute video of the entire build.

Over the weekend I have achieved "power on" so now you can turn the key and hear relays turn on, and the engine cranks over.  What I did was I supplied the power using a battery charger not a battery.  I watched the gauge on the charger then plugged in one fuse at a time and made sure there wasn’t any spikes in power usage.  
The mini side of things are mostly untouched so lights and dash systems still function as they once did.
One problem I have is the fuel pump relay isn't getting a signal from the computer to turn on, I can jump the main relay and the pump turns on but for some reason the computer isn't doing it.  There are several factors the computer uses to control the pump so for now I'll need to do more reading.  The Honda forums have been very helpful.
Next I can fuel up, flush the fuel lines, then put oil in the engine and tranny.  After that I hope the garage gets noisy!  No exhaust system in place yet..
Other things needed are radiator hoses, some assembly of the driver’s side wheel/brake/bearing set up and some odds and ends.  One thing I keep forgetting to do is to plumb up my classic mechanical oil pressure gauge.  This is a must before engine start up, if I forget to do that I’ll have a big mess in the car with the tube pumping engine oil all over.
  .

The rat nest is getting closer to being tucked under and in the dash.

Electrons

NEW?  CLICK HERE FOR DAY ONE!

---UPDATES ARE ON MONDAYS---

Click here for a 3 minute video of the entire build.

All this week I only worked on electrical.  I boiled the Honda wires down to about 5 wires that need to interface with the Mini harness, and spent lots of time online as well as testing several circuits to verify what wires need to be connected together.  One problem I had was the diagram I was using had a few relays that don't exist on my harness and that was throwing me off!
Anyway as you can see below, things look the same but progress has been made.  The fuel system is wired up, as well as the starter, and the VTEC solenoid.  What's left to figure out is the "on" circuit to get power to the main Honda fuse panel.  There are some fat wires on the Honda side which make me nervous when the Mini main wire is so small.  BUT, I think the fat Honda wire needs to be big due to things like headlights, defogger, power seats, and a bunch of other items this fuse panel won't power on this car.  I'm adding up the values of the fuses that will be used to figure out what wire gauge is needed.  If a larger wire is needed on the Mini side, then I'll run a relay to deal with the larger power draw.  There is always a way!

I used same picture as before because things look the same!