Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes

Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Printable Version

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RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Jared Mk3 - 07-19-2017

I do like these a lot! I can't quite see, is the one chrome trim ring damaged?

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Vinay-RS - 07-20-2017

(07-19-2017, 09:20 PM)Jared Mk3 Wrote: I do like these a lot! I can't quite see, is the one chrome trim ring damaged?

It might be... I can have a look later. Honestly, I was impressed with the low cost and quick delivery time. I'll look into getting them stripped and see who can get them painted properly. I'm keen to refurbish them before fitting, just like all the other parts on the car.

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - gweir - 07-22-2017

Great Diary Vinay.

I have always been hesitant about eBay purchases and or bidding. I have made some purchases from MiniSpares. Any guidelines or words of advice for an eBay virgin?

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Vinay-RS - 07-23-2017

(07-22-2017, 10:59 PM)gweir Wrote: Great Diary Vinay.

I have always been hesitant about eBay purchases and or bidding. I have made some purchases from MiniSpares. Any guidelines or words of advice for an eBay virgin?

Thanks Gregory Smile

I'd say the first bit of advice would be to check the rating of the seller and see how they do with shipping. A lot of sellers in the UK don't offer international shipping, due to issues they've had with things getting lost. The eBay shipping program is a bit more expensive than royal mail (or the equivalent postal service), but arrives a little bit faster. I've heard of the horror stories where stuff is lost in SA customs clearing office, but I think there are ways around this. Especially if the item is marked as a gift and is of a low value.

Hope that helps. eBay is sometimes useful for finding rarer old stock parts that MiniSpares or one of the other Mini part suppliers don't stock.

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Vinay-RS - 07-30-2017

So it's been a while since I've done work on the Mini and he's been sounding increasingly sick over the recent while. Turns out I hadn't tightened the engine steady nut properly, so the engine was juddering badly. There was also a really loud squealing, the source of which I couldn't identify. This combined with the bad weather meant I've not really looked at these problems.

Fortunately, Abri had suggested that we might be able to get the carbs sorted out and fitted this weekend (which we actually didn't get to fit due to spending too much time trying to get them correct). So since I was there, I asked him for his advice in finding the source of the squealing. Turns out the lock nut for the jet had come loose, and was whining when I pressed the throttle. We also adjusted the clutch and sorted out the loose engine steady. The engine compression on three of the four cylinders was good and on the no. 1, it was a bit low. Also water seems to be leaking from between the head and the block. So Abri re-torqued the cylinder head and I'll check it everyday to see if there is still water coming out.

Since we adjusted the clutch, the close driving position of the S buckets was really making clutch control a pain, as the pedal was sitting a lot higher. So I decided to pull finger and fix that problem by fitting one of the extender brackets that I'd been given.

The biggest pain is that the nuts holding these seats in place were welded in, so I removed the seat from the car, and took a hack saw to the nuts and cut them off. Then, it made sense to wire brush and paint the brackets. They won't get seen, but it's nice that at least now they're a shiny black colour and not rusty brown.

[Image: 6gU5AY7.jpg]

This has definitely helped with the driving position and the feel of the pedals. Next up will be the passenger seat.

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - minitim - 08-01-2017

Guess you can't wait to get the twins on Vinay. Will make a good change and bring things to life!

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Vinay-RS - 08-01-2017

(08-01-2017, 07:56 AM)minitim Wrote: Guess you can't wait to get the twins on Vinay. Will make a good change and bring things to life!

Yeah, Definitely! I also need to get those brakes done. Then, track day!

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Vinay-RS - 08-02-2017

So I did something dumb and bought a set of Lucas LR8 spotlights off ebay. They were ridiculously cheap and the postage was also cheap, so I figured, why not. They were an optional extra on the 1275 E in the 1980s and I know they look good on a Mini Clubman. Best part, they arrived in a week, all the way from the UK! Big Grin

Here are some pictures of them Smile

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - DomMINIque - 08-03-2017

Nice Vinay!

So which spots are you going to put on your car?

RE: Caesar the 1275 E - Diary of minor changes - Vinay-RS - 08-03-2017

We'll see. I want to take measurements and make some drawings of some brackets.