Frog - Re-spawned! *I'm Back Baby, and Castle Combe Sept 21*
Turbo Mini Forums

Something to aim for then! Good to meet you Tim, thanks for coming over and saying hi.. :)

My build thread: http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=440970

So sorted the ancillary radiator mounting. Have an adjustable bracket coming off the top of the starter And then an anti vibration mounted second bracket off the sub frame. Holds nicely in place, with clearance from the grille, maximising cooling area and leaving room for an oil cooler in future if required. Also moved the horn and solenoid to make room for the breather oil catch tank.









Found one of the hub nuts was barely torqued, so tightened that and will road test again before committing to disassembly and inspection of the drive shafts.

My build thread: http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=440970

Just a suggestion but where you have made that new bracket over the top connection of the matrix, I would drill it larger and put a nice rubber grommet in it.

Otherwise your thick steel bracket could easily wear through the thin pipe connection with normal vibration/movement.

I'm just being picky, but that's what I would do as the pipes on those matrices are very thin.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

If the hub nuts are working loose on their own it can be due to wear on the face of the drive flange that butts up against the outer bearing inner race.

Long overdue update!

Did a couple of Track days last year, at Castle Combe and again at Abingdon. Prior to this, I fitted a full Mini Spares suspension geometry kit and had it set up over at Slark Race Engineering. Both track days went really well, especially after increasing tyre pressures to 35 psi (as advised by Neil Slark). The reduction in tyre side wall movement really improved handling.

I did however completely cook the brakes. Never again will I buy Green Stuff (and I can't believe I did in the first place). They were complete cheese when I took them off. The Mini went into storage then over the winter, pending some welding jobs before MOT.

So this spring arrived, and with numerous other projects on the go, I didn't get the chance to get the welding done. Cue a rapid booking of Trailer training and an exam to get ready for Combe last Friday (17th April). I did have time however to upgrade to 7.5" vented discs and Mintec 1155 pads, with the 4 pot Mini Spares calipers amended accordingly. I also added a grommet to that external radiator as suggested above!

Combe was awesome. Much more confidence on the brakes, and knocked 6 seconds off my best lap time (not that I was timing or anything, ahem). Mini attracted lots of attention, especially from the guys in Porches I kept overtaking!

The car is now handling and driving really well, so it's getting more difficult to decide what to upgrade next. Neil Slark recommended a rear anti roll bar, and I hope to get a set of wider and stickier tyres. After this though, I think some power upgrades are inevitable. Currently running 10psi boost, and the RR showed that 14psi wasn't giving that much improvement, probably due to exhaust constriction. Some head work is therefore probably required.

http://youtu.be/20lf75N1gHI

My build thread: http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=440970

nice one - 6 secs is a pretty impressive improvement.

never heard good things about greenstuff pads

Looks great. What are you using to record speed, track position etc?

In the 13's at last!.. Just

Looks great, enjoy it!

I run a supercharger and I don't care the TB is on the wrong side.
VEMS + 12 PSI + Liquid Intercooler = Small Bore FUN!

Latest outing was Friday 17th courtesy of MSE again.

In preparation for this one I was determined to sort the oil leak which had been blighting me ever since the gearbox rebuild. Thought it was coming from the crank half moon seal. Got the lump out and clear evidence of a leak from one of the output shafts. Replaced the seal and changed the cover that was damaged around the seal (an old part from a replacement box). Also took the opportunity to fit by breather system, in prep for motorsport competition. Pretty chuffed with it. See below



Other job was the stickier tyres. Managed to source a set of used Dunlop slicks on 6" Wellers. Wasn't able to source a second set in time for the track, so changed the tyres for some yoko 32Rs in case of rain. Also stripped and painted the wheels. Additional challenge was the home tyre changing setup, but that's a whole other story! Had to fit bigger arches as well. Made a bit of a hash of the lacquer but did the job for now.



Few decal changes too...



Car was good again at Abingdon. Had to tweak outer tracking with the new rims. Was a bit disappointed with the sticker rubber. I think I preferred the a-008. Harder wearing too. Difficult to tell if it was a huge amount quicker. Abingdon being an airfield circuit is not good for a reference. Continued to build confidence on the brakes though. The new setup is excellent. As usual, the mini attracted lots of attention.

Sadly still have an oil leak. Possibly from the other output shaft, so will change that in situ and see what happens. Next job will be that rear sway bar and my second set of rims arrived so need to get them refurbed. Will definitely be back at Coombe before the end of the year.

My build thread: http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=440970

Looks great with those arches :)
I agree about the tyres, I don't like the feel of the cut slick things either, will be changing mine back soon.

I’m back! House restoration project put pay to and mini time, so the Frog has been in dry storage.

A large puddle of oil had developed. Thanks to some UV stuff, identified the bottom bolt on the diff cover which was accessible and needed nipping up. Added a bit of gasket sealer to be sure.

Drained the old fuel, popped in some new oil and fitted a new battery. Started first time no issues!

Quick pre road test identified some adjustment to the brake light switch and the need for a new horn. Now all I need to do is fix my pot-holed driveway so I can actually make it to the road!

Trying to decide whether to jump straight into a track day or insure for some road use for a bit and a longer shake down. Quote from Sterling insurance (new name for HIC I found) was £250 so not a simple choice.

Put a big smile on my face today!

My build thread: http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=440970

Back after 6 years. Good effort!!

Phil.

WWW.TURBO-MINI.COM

Another one lives! Either way it's a shakedown, depends if you want to lose valuable track time sorting little issues?

GOt a great deal on the insurance from Sterling so now road legal again. After a successful road test, booked a track day at Castle Combe today.

Car was epic, just comes alive above 3K RPM. Huge grin on my face! Much better car control this time too with my foray into sim racing.

Car still got a touch warmer than I would like, so electric fan still on the to do list.

Main worry was a partial loss of steering through Quarry. Proper brown trouser moment as i hopped over to the grass and narrowly avoided the tyre wall. Recovered without too many issues, steering wheel skips a 1/4 turn or so. New rack required.

Edited by daveg79 on 13th Sep, 2021.

My build thread: http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=440970

I think most of us of an age have had the steering splines jump on us at some point! It definitely puts things into perspective really quick!

As Dave says, its likely the splines worn in the column to rack joint. Typically its the column that is worn out.
Its important the right shanked bolt goes back into that joint,