The cotter pin/split pin in the bottom of the flywheel housing is actually called a 'jiggling pin'. Served my time as a Austin/Rover apprentice and that what we knew them as.
Instead of hammering and damaging the primary gear seal tool, use the flywheel bolt in the end of the crank to screw the tool in and ease the seal home. It's what the hole in the tool is for.
No tab washers these days on the fly wheel housing long time ago worked on mini,s my father wrote articles in a uk magazine about minis we had one of the first ever mini,s back in 1959/60 great to see you folks in the USA are keeping them running
It brings a lot of memories back, we didn't have the internet then so most information needed for tool making was spied at my local garages and later manufactured at home. It is the only car I made tools for, and it's still the car I've had the most fun with.
My 1380 engine had only 93hp but I felt happier putting in straight cut drop gears from the crank to the gearbox. Really would have liked to see same on your engine. They are noisy, but at least getting the power to the gearbox won’t be a problem ever in future. My gearbox was still helical geared, but I’d heard many stories about helical transfer gears grinding into the housing, that I wanted to avoid that.
So I think it is really important to call out when you make a mistake... I have been informed that the hole on the end of the rear main seal installed is made to wind the seal in place. This is what I get for skipping the instructions on that tool I thought I "obviously knew how to use".....
My old friend has beem fitting these to A series engines for many years now.He actually does the full super charger kit conversion for sale.He also does a 6 speed box for the A series.You may have herd about him.his name is stuart gurr from Vmaxscart
My first car was an 850 cc Austin Mini, which was not all that common in Canada. It was an awesome car in stock trim; I can only imagine what yours will be like. All the best to you!
Nice videos dude! I disagree with the "coolant velocity". I think (and what I know) is better a coolant moving faster because the temperature difference between water and air is too small compared to the temperature difference between the water and the engine. An oil radiator is one of the best options to increase the cooling in my opinion.
I've got the same primary gear oil seal tool,I don't hit mine I use the flywheel retailer bolt to wind it in,the tool bottoms out on the transfer case.great videos 👍
Hi Cole, looking good now the engine is almost complete hey! Re-fitting the clutch assembly looks so much easier on a stand than in the car as I did last year lol! Great stuff! Can't wait to see it running before it goes back in the mini 😊
Hey, just discovered your channel and it’s a great source of information. I noticed your viewer to subscriber ratio and it’s one of the best I’ve seen on TH-cam, good work.
FYI Sliding the rear main seal up the primary gear is a NO NO... these are a feather lip seal.. and one little cut on this feather lip is a oil leak which is a pain to fix.. Tape the splines ( which the clutch friction plate moves on _) with electrical tape.. to prevent this.. also .. using the later model BLACK COLOUR Rover Oil Seal .. is a much better version of the seal.. There is a special service tool to fit this .. ( recommended )
Thanks for the tips on the tape. I actually use the tool you recommend about 45 seconds further in the video. The black rover seals are good seals but not always suitable for engines that run hotter. The additional spiraled grooves in the black rover seals don't handle high heat and RPM very well and have a tendency to prematurely fail in those scenarios. The orange rear mains are better for this application.
I used to re engineer Mini engines for "mini rod" racing here in the U.K. ,,, used to make the little buggers go like the proverbial brown stuff off of a shovel! Once did an engine for a boy racer,, he told me it was for racing, but dropped in an old road car,,ran it in as per my recommendation, then , the joke was,, right outside my shop, at one time he was giving the Brmm Brmm Big one, at the traffic lights, they went green, the whole front of the care shot off, including sub frame, and the rest of the car just sat there!!
Just found your channel. Really great content, your descriptions and methodology are excellent, you're clearly a man with a lot of experience with Minis and I really respect that. Your camera skills are fantastic too, both behind it and in front of it. You've got a great balance of being informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work! I don't own, and have never owned, a classic Mini, but I've had (and still have) family members and friends who own them, and as a guy who enjoys working on cars a fair bit I've assisted in working on lots of them over the years. Big jobs, small jobs, I've done a fair bit. I do love Minis - I have a mate who owns a broken Mk II atm - I'm trying to convince him to sell it to me, but the other obstacle I have is my wife. She hates them. It's understandable - when she and her first husband were first married (in Ireland, we live in Australia now) they had no money and they owned a Mini which continually let them down so, she has many bad memories. Our circumstances are totally different now, we're not rich, but we're not living hand-to-mouth either, and it wouldn't be our only car, it will just be a fun project for me to work on and for her to enjoy driving. I've rescued, restored and sold a couple already (a 1965 XP Falcon Hardtop, a Datsun 200B SSS, and a Fiat X19) so she knows I'm okay at it. I'm making progress with her, but she's still not sold on the idea of a Mini as my next project. I'm sure one day soon the planets will align and I will finally get my hands on my very own Mini. My plan at first will just be to get it running again (I'm pretty sure it overheated and has a blown head gasket, but there may be other issues too), and then I'll tidy it up and make it as nice as the budget and time will allow.
I like to push the seal onto the sleeve from the other end so that the lip does not get damaged. It also means you don't push the seal all the way down the sleeve just the last few mm....
I never fit the clutch (main seal) dry. Lubricate the sleeve and primary gear running face so the seal doesn't stick and tare. Also, the tool for installing the clutch seal should be screwed in using the flywheel retaining bolt (hence the hole) Not hammered in.
It’s a pretty unique EFI setup. Uses the dizzy for ignition signal and timing but fully ECU controlled injectors. I’ll explain in more detail in an upcoming video.
you missed a bit ;-), the drive dog that goes on before the crank bolt, the dog is offset, bigger part to the left / rear when sitting in the car, do it wrong and the flywheel can come loose. when we use to run them on the floor, we did just that, sitting on the floor, no need for engine frame.
I do my best to cover every tiny detail but sometimes I will miss some. Thanks for the heads up! I have a few other engine build videos where I go into this in more detail. This is a bit more advanced build than the others so I left some basic details out. :-)
I don’t think it’s going to be needed on my car. I also don’t want to introduce that much open air on a daily driven mini. Too much risk of water and dirt ingress
@@paulhotson5820 Nah these clutches really don't get that hot in regular usage. You really have to be beating the snot out of them to warrent the holes on the housing at all and even in spirited driving in the mountain roads, you are unlikely to push it to its limit.
There is that small thermostat bypass hose, that is challenging to install after everything is buttoned up. Does this engine not have one? Didn't see you install it or talk about it.
The slave cylinder bracket has a part bent up with 2 mounting holes and a teardrop shape opening, what’s that for? Always see it empty on very mini, even on mine! haha
I believe this is for the housing that runs to the slave cylinder. If you are using a fully stock hydraulic line setup. Most people change them out for nice single braided lines though.
Let me think. I slow the water flow down and that improves cooling? Nope, just nope. More importantly, the same drive is used for the fan as well which will also run more slowly thus reducing the cooling air flow. The only reason that slowing the cooling flow down is because of turbulance and gassification which inevitably will reduce cooling effect. If however that is not the case then slowing the coolant down will not improve cooling because it's not about the actual temperature it's about the mass flow of coolant. More mass of coolant at a slightly higher temperature is just as able as lower mass flow at a lower temperature to deal with the heat output. Given that the engine performance is increased - thus heat load - it seems a bit odd that one would reduce the coolant volume flow. When designing a large cooling system on things like ships the main criteria is mass flow not the temperature.
No bypass hose? If you have never needed to remove the cylinder head in order to replace a split bypass hose then you just haven't had the full "classic" Mini experience, IMO. ;-)
This engine actually had the bypass before, I made sure the head setup I replaced it with didn't have one because I NEVER want to do that job again. Hahaha.
Me neither. I made sure to use really thick walled hose the last time I had to do that job. Those concertina-style thin rubber hoses which you can fit without removing the head are simply a disaster waiting to happen.
You have probably already damaged that oil seal as you did not put lubricant on that tube. Also you slide it over the splines earlier which can also damage the seal lip. When one does these videos the procedures have to be correct surely
I have done many of these seals, and while I agree it is very easy to damage the seal lip on the splines if you are not careful. I took extra care while illustrating this in my car. That said the seal was oiled prior to installation. I do my best to cover every detail but unfortunately, I miss things from time to time. Thanks for watching.
I use spring washers instead of lock tabs. Its a tip I got from John Guess (Guessworks) a year or so ago. Modern solutions in this case provide a more secure fastening than the old lock tabs do.
The housings between verto and pre-verto are the same. There are some extra brackets for a verto system. Switching between the two will also need completely different throw out plungers, slave cylinders and a few other items.
I use spring washers instead of lock tabs. Its a tip I got from John Guess (Guessworks) a year or so ago. Modern solutions in this case provide a more secure fastening than the old lock tabs do.
@@classicminidiy Spring washers have been around for years. They are used in various other places on the A series engine. Lock tabs are much safer which is why BMC used them inside the transfer case.
Correct tool used incorrectly, the primary seal tool has a hole in it for a reason, to pull in into place with the crank bolt, not supposed to be smacked with a hammer. Also you put the seal onto the primary dry and without the sleeve prior to fitting, as you say its an important seal why risk damage, bitch to change in situ.
Yeah I pinned a comment talking about this mistake I made. Cause you are probably the 10th or 11th person to tell me this. 😂 seal was not dry though. It was oiled off screen.
Having the right tool, but if you are producing a video stating how to use it, you should really know how to use it. You don’t hammer the tool you wind it in with the crank bolt
This sucks and will break you just added more things that could go wrong and for the price could be closer to a real swap the ev swap more powerful and more reliable
The cotter pin/split pin in the bottom of the flywheel housing is actually called a 'jiggling pin'. Served my time as a Austin/Rover apprentice and that what we knew them as.
What a funny name. I wonder where that name came from. 🤔
Think its the fact it used to jiggle around to keep the hole open. A lot of the older cars had them, not just Austins
Instead of hammering and damaging the primary gear seal tool, use the flywheel bolt in the end of the crank to screw the tool in and ease the seal home. It's what the hole in the tool is for.
No tab washers these days on the fly wheel housing long time ago worked on mini,s my father wrote articles in a uk magazine about minis we had one of the first ever mini,s back in 1959/60 great to see you folks in the USA are keeping them running
It brings a lot of memories back, we didn't have the internet then so most information needed for tool making was spied at my local garages and later manufactured at home. It is the only car I made tools for, and it's still the car I've had the most fun with.
My 1380 engine had only 93hp but I felt happier putting in straight cut drop gears from the crank to the gearbox. Really would have liked to see same on your engine. They are noisy, but at least getting the power to the gearbox won’t be a problem ever in future. My gearbox was still helical geared, but I’d heard many stories about helical transfer gears grinding into the housing, that I wanted to avoid that.
So I think it is really important to call out when you make a mistake...
I have been informed that the hole on the end of the rear main seal installed is made to wind the seal in place. This is what I get for skipping the instructions on that tool I thought I "obviously knew how to use".....
My old friend has beem fitting these to A series engines for many years now.He actually does the full super charger kit conversion for sale.He also does a 6 speed box for the A series.You may have herd about him.his name is stuart gurr from Vmaxscart
Yup I’m working with Stuart on this whole build. Bought the kit from him as well.
It's looking really good 👌🏼, can't wait to see it starting up for the first time.
Good work 👍🏼
Thanks Tom! :-)
My first car was an 850 cc Austin Mini, which was not all that common in Canada. It was an awesome car in stock trim; I can only imagine what yours will be like. All the best to you!
Nice videos dude! I disagree with the "coolant velocity". I think (and what I know) is better a coolant moving faster because the temperature difference between water and air is too small compared to the temperature difference between the water and the engine. An oil radiator is one of the best options to increase the cooling in my opinion.
Great job Col. Enjoying this build very much. Look forward to part 4, hope you get lots of smooth reliable power/torque. All the best.
I've got the same primary gear oil seal tool,I don't hit mine I use the flywheel retailer bolt to wind it in,the tool bottoms out on the transfer case.great videos 👍
Yeah I have been informed hammering it is not the "right way to do it" hahaha Guess I will know for next time.
Looking super!
The radiator hoses match with the crinkle black rocker cover nicely too
Thank you!
Good video, that gear box could of done with the old gasket being removed better as there was a lot left on. but keep up the good work
Hi Cole, looking good now the engine is almost complete hey! Re-fitting the clutch assembly looks so much easier on a stand than in the car as I did last year lol! Great stuff! Can't wait to see it running before it goes back in the mini 😊
I love your videos, I’m watching you from Paris (France). Can’t wait to see your next video ! 👍🏻
Thanks for tuning in! 🙂
Hey, just discovered your channel and it’s a great source of information. I noticed your viewer to subscriber ratio and it’s one of the best I’ve seen on TH-cam, good work.
Awesome, thank you!
FYI
Sliding the rear main seal up the primary gear is a NO NO... these are a feather lip seal.. and one little cut on this feather lip is a oil leak which is a pain to fix..
Tape the splines ( which the clutch friction plate moves on _) with electrical tape.. to prevent this.. also .. using the later model BLACK COLOUR Rover Oil Seal .. is a much better version of the seal..
There is a special service tool to fit this .. ( recommended )
Thanks for the tips on the tape. I actually use the tool you recommend about 45 seconds further in the video. The black rover seals are good seals but not always suitable for engines that run hotter. The additional spiraled grooves in the black rover seals don't handle high heat and RPM very well and have a tendency to prematurely fail in those scenarios. The orange rear mains are better for this application.
I used to re engineer Mini engines for "mini rod" racing here in the U.K. ,,, used to make the little buggers go like the proverbial brown stuff off of a shovel! Once did an engine for a boy racer,, he told me it was for racing, but dropped in an old road car,,ran it in as per my recommendation, then , the joke was,, right outside my shop, at one time he was giving the Brmm Brmm Big one, at the traffic lights, they went green, the whole front of the care shot off, including sub frame, and the rest of the car just sat there!!
Holy crap that's insane. Would have loved to see that actually...
Just found your channel. Really great content, your descriptions and methodology are excellent, you're clearly a man with a lot of experience with Minis and I really respect that. Your camera skills are fantastic too, both behind it and in front of it. You've got a great balance of being informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work!
I don't own, and have never owned, a classic Mini, but I've had (and still have) family members and friends who own them, and as a guy who enjoys working on cars a fair bit I've assisted in working on lots of them over the years. Big jobs, small jobs, I've done a fair bit. I do love Minis - I have a mate who owns a broken Mk II atm - I'm trying to convince him to sell it to me, but the other obstacle I have is my wife. She hates them. It's understandable - when she and her first husband were first married (in Ireland, we live in Australia now) they had no money and they owned a Mini which continually let them down so, she has many bad memories. Our circumstances are totally different now, we're not rich, but we're not living hand-to-mouth either, and it wouldn't be our only car, it will just be a fun project for me to work on and for her to enjoy driving. I've rescued, restored and sold a couple already (a 1965 XP Falcon Hardtop, a Datsun 200B SSS, and a Fiat X19) so she knows I'm okay at it. I'm making progress with her, but she's still not sold on the idea of a Mini as my next project.
I'm sure one day soon the planets will align and I will finally get my hands on my very own Mini. My plan at first will just be to get it running again (I'm pretty sure it overheated and has a blown head gasket, but there may be other issues too), and then I'll tidy it up and make it as nice as the budget and time will allow.
I like to push the seal onto the sleeve from the other end so that the lip does not get damaged. It also means you don't push the seal all the way down the sleeve just the last few mm....
This is so exciting. You explain things really well and the video is very clear too. Big thumbs up 👍 from me.
I never fit the clutch (main seal) dry. Lubricate the sleeve and primary gear running face so the seal doesn't stick and tare. Also, the tool for installing the clutch seal should be screwed in using the flywheel retaining bolt (hence the hole) Not hammered in.
Note the importance of having the fan installed correctly.
Even though it says 'engine side', I've seen them mounted incorrectly so many times...
I slowed it down just for that part so people could see I was putting it on the right way... :-D
Looks good, I did similar mods but found it to be very unreliable due to heat, boost pressure past rings. Good luck with your setup 👍🏻.
The engine looks really great. Blue was a good choice for your car.
Thanks Tim! Yeah I am super happy with the color. Came out really nice.
Why no oil inside the seal or on the slide? Plus you are supposed to use a soft hammer / mallet when hitting the seal installation tool.
Nice video. Looks a nice build and I will be interested to see it run
Great videos. Have you got a video about how the clutch works on the mini?
Looks really good, Cole!
Looking great, I bet you can't wait to drive it
Can't wait! It's getting pretty tough to see it in the garage and not in the car right now. Hahaha
Great videos, love how well you explain the things you do!
Glad you like them! I try my best to cover the important stuff.
put the seal on the 'fitted' end of the sleeve first. saves pushing it all the way down the sleeve 'against' the lips of the seal.
Thought you were going EFI? How come you're still using an old school dizzy and not electronic ignition aswell?
It’s a pretty unique EFI setup. Uses the dizzy for ignition signal and timing but fully ECU controlled injectors. I’ll explain in more detail in an upcoming video.
you missed a bit ;-), the drive dog that goes on before the crank bolt, the dog is offset, bigger part to the left / rear when sitting in the car, do it wrong and the flywheel can come loose. when we use to run them on the floor, we did just that, sitting on the floor, no need for engine frame.
I do my best to cover every tiny detail but sometimes I will miss some. Thanks for the heads up! I have a few other engine build videos where I go into this in more detail. This is a bit more advanced build than the others so I left some basic details out. :-)
@@classicminidiy today top tip, weld nuts onto the engine mounts, saves trying to feed the bolts through the subframe and mount.
Another good vid keep it up straight from Greece!!!
Thank you!
On most racing minis they drill holes in the transverse case for cooling clutch,this might be a good mod on yours.
I don’t think it’s going to be needed on my car. I also don’t want to introduce that much open air on a daily driven mini. Too much risk of water and dirt ingress
@@classicminidiy I agree, good idea though.
What about living the flywheel inspection open do you think that is of much benefit?
@@paulhotson5820 Nah these clutches really don't get that hot in regular usage. You really have to be beating the snot out of them to warrent the holes on the housing at all and even in spirited driving in the mountain roads, you are unlikely to push it to its limit.
I can't believe you installed the rear main oil seal dry.....
I spotted this too.... Must be an oil shortage in US🤣
There is that small thermostat bypass hose, that is challenging to install after everything is buttoned up. Does this engine not have one? Didn't see you install it or talk about it.
Kinda shoulda used a *mallet* on that seal installer.
Hello! great videos and really helpfull. I would like to know what treatment did you applied to the manifold. Is it a ceramic coating? thank you!
Never knew there was a dust seal available 👍
Yup! My thought process is, every little bit helps.
The slave cylinder bracket has a part bent up with 2 mounting holes and a teardrop shape opening, what’s that for? Always see it empty on very mini, even on mine! haha
I believe this is for the housing that runs to the slave cylinder. If you are using a fully stock hydraulic line setup. Most people change them out for nice single braided lines though.
Omg i just subscribed :p
Thanks for subscribing! :-)
OMG!! 😮
You didn't lap the flywheel onto the end of the crankshaft, why?
Let me think. I slow the water flow down and that improves cooling? Nope, just nope. More importantly, the same drive is used for the fan as well which will also run more slowly thus reducing the cooling air flow. The only reason that slowing the cooling flow down is because of turbulance and gassification which inevitably will reduce cooling effect. If however that is not the case then slowing the coolant down will not improve cooling because it's not about the actual temperature it's about the mass flow of coolant. More mass of coolant at a slightly higher temperature is just as able as lower mass flow at a lower temperature to deal with the heat output. Given that the engine performance is increased - thus heat load - it seems a bit odd that one would reduce the coolant volume flow. When designing a large cooling system on things like ships the main criteria is mass flow not the temperature.
No bypass hose? If you have never needed to remove the cylinder head in order to replace a split bypass hose then you just haven't had the full "classic" Mini experience, IMO. ;-)
This engine actually had the bypass before, I made sure the head setup I replaced it with didn't have one because I NEVER want to do that job again. Hahaha.
Me neither. I made sure to use really thick walled hose the last time I had to do that job. Those concertina-style thin rubber hoses which you can fit without removing the head are simply a disaster waiting to happen.
Cole, did I miss the woodruff key going in before the flywheel went on?
Yup that was in the last episode. You can see it at this time in the old video
th-cam.com/video/hVPKvN_RmRQ/w-d-xo.html
you didn't lube rear seal before install
You have probably already damaged that oil seal as you did not put lubricant on that tube. Also you slide it over the splines earlier which can also damage the seal lip. When one does these videos the procedures have to be correct surely
I have done many of these seals, and while I agree it is very easy to damage the seal lip on the splines if you are not careful. I took extra care while illustrating this in my car. That said the seal was oiled prior to installation. I do my best to cover every detail but unfortunately, I miss things from time to time. Thanks for watching.
So how much horsepower are you expecting from this engine Cole?
Aiming for 150 🤞🏼
Locking tabs on the housing?
I use spring washers instead of lock tabs. Its a tip I got from John Guess (Guessworks) a year or so ago. Modern solutions in this case provide a more secure fastening than the old lock tabs do.
That engine is so small it looks like a model. I think the Geo Metro 1.0 3cly is bigger.
Haha I mean this is technically bigger...1.3 liters and 4 cylinders. But not that much!
Notification squad😎
:-)
Hi what do you need to change from pre verto to Verto? Thanks
More clutch options for high torque/horsepower engines. This RTS clutch for example doesn't exist on the pre-verto setups.
@@classicminidiy i understand that but do you need a verto clutch housing or can a pre verto clutch housing and clutch arm be used thanks
The housings between verto and pre-verto are the same. There are some extra brackets for a verto system. Switching between the two will also need completely different throw out plungers, slave cylinders and a few other items.
No lock tabs used ??
I use spring washers instead of lock tabs. Its a tip I got from John Guess (Guessworks) a year or so ago. Modern solutions in this case provide a more secure fastening than the old lock tabs do.
@@classicminidiy Spring washers have been around for years. They are used in various other places on the A series engine. Lock tabs are much safer which is why BMC used them inside the transfer case.
First - again
I think you deserve some stickers for being first. Shoot me an email classicminidiy@gmail.com with your address if you want me to send you some. :-)
Correct tool used incorrectly, the primary seal tool has a hole in it for a reason, to pull in into place with the crank bolt, not supposed to be smacked with a hammer. Also you put the seal onto the primary dry and without the sleeve prior to fitting, as you say its an important seal why risk damage, bitch to change in situ.
Yeah I pinned a comment talking about this mistake I made. Cause you are probably the 10th or 11th person to tell me this. 😂 seal was not dry though. It was oiled off screen.
Having the right tool, but if you are producing a video stating how to use it, you should really know how to use it. You don’t hammer the tool you wind it in with the crank bolt
Already addressed this in my pinned comment. I have been informed I used it incorrectly.
This sucks and will break you just added more things that could go wrong and for the price could be closer to a real swap the ev swap more powerful and more reliable
Lol