Practically Classics Forum

nice!

Topaz wrote:Hi Mark - nice car and well done with the MOT - I like the idea of just putting it in for the test to see what's wrong

At a guess you must be based in the East Midlands - I saw your videos of Stenson Lock and the Berkeley T60 in Mansfield. My son has a 1979 Mini and we took that to Peter Burgess in Alfreton for a session on the rolling road - spent some time making various changes with the end result that it just ran better and was more responsive. No great boost to the horsepower as it's just a bog standard 998cc with no modifications what so ever but Steve was pleased with it - cost me £70 for a couple of hours work two years ago.

Mike

Hi mike yes I'm from a little village in Mansfield called edwinstowe..the Berkeley t60 is my mates, he's a collector of bubble cars and in summer time the t60 is always the choice to ride in ..Stenson was a lock that I'd wanted to visit for some time so me and my grandfather went in his 50ft narrow boat, it was very exciting to say the least..I have a real soft spot for minis there a chap just round the corner from me who has one on his drive and it's been there for a good few years he's adamant it's running a b16a vtec engine but won't lift the bonnet to prove

Ok for some reason the pics I'm uploading are only showing half?? Is there a reason why ?

There are some handy instructions on putting pics on to the forum here:
http://practicallyclassics.phpbbhosts.c ... f=2&t=4146
and here:
http://practicallyclassics.phpbbhosts.c ... f=2&t=4120

larger images often appear cropped or flow off the side of the screen depending on the forum style you select. if you resize the image you want to post down to 800x600 it will fit comfortably

Super

Can we assume, that as John hasn't posted on this yet he's imploded over a perfect purple pukka plastic pig?

Bump.. coz Johns now back & he missed it

Good call Mr Zipgun! Somewhere, I have a pair of the door armrests that are missing from those door cards. They're rubbery things that simply clip to the tops of the pockets to prevent your carving into your arm when resting it on there.
Also, you need the kitten register as we're probably the only source there is for most suspension and body parts these days, the man to call is Brian Marshall and the register's phone number is 0141 8866117, membership runs from January 1st to December 31st but if you sign up after the start of the year Brian will send any magazines that you'd missed from the year so far.

That particular pre-DL saloon does look better in that purple than it did in original Caramel. Me likey.

While it's good to see an uncut dash, the Reliant engine needs an oil pressure gauge because of the eccentric way in which the relief valve works - or not, but without a gauge you'll struggle to tell what it's up to. Newer cassette type relief valves are hard to find these days but can be scavenged from post-1991 three wheelers and are an essential upgrade along with that gauge and its matching voltmeter, again essential as the alternators tend to suffer from overheating to their regulator packs because of its proximity to the exhaust downpipes. a more swept back manifold can be found from the likes of Joe Mason in Gloucestershire and that solves that known issue.
Now go forth and purchase a few more, one isn't enough.

And finally, ditch that oil filter! These are very fussy about such things and that one has no suitable anti-draindown valve so will slow the buildup of that crucial pressure at startup. The one you should aim to fit is a Volvo one with the 3/4" thread, as supplied for 120, 140, most 240 and some 340 series Volvos, they're made by Mann but only the actual blue and white ones have filtration medium and anti drain valve of suitable quality, Mann's own brand equivalents don't, I can supply those in limited qualities but please avoid no-name or generic filters even if they're from reputable outfits like Fram as none bar the now-defunct o/e ones and the Volvo ones are good enough. These engines can and often have been seen to last for over 200,000 miles between rebuilds if they're properly balanced and have the right relief valve and filter.