96 Rover Mini
Figured I'd finally start a thread on here for my mini, seeing as I hope to finally get some work done on this thing.
It's a 1996 Rover Mini Cooper S with the 1275cc motor, 4 speed manual, and single point fuel injection (SPi)
The day I picked it up, and then immediately dropped it off for the OOP.
Shortly after picking it up, I had to do an immediate mod.
Seat rail extensions
Absolutely necessary for anyone over 5'4". It's almost comfortable (almost).
I then went to a buddies house, down his ice covered alley.
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If you notice, you'll see the front end is much lower than the rear. Rake is cool and all, but unfortunately it means the only 12" winter tires that kal-tire could find (165/65/12) rubbed at all times. Turns out the front suspension (which are rubber cones, instead of springs) are collapsed, as it common on these cars after a few years.
Number 20:
I haven't ordered any parts yet, as I'm trying to get a full list of what I need, which then turns out to be a lot of money, so I don't order it.. Pretty much everything has to be ordered in, including oil filters and windshield wipers.
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I also noticed that it was leaking, so after checking on one of the fairly dead classic mini forums, they recommended I throw some cardboard underneath, so I can pinpoint what it is. I make sure to check both the oil and the coolant level before driving it.
Their (likely correct) guesses are
1) Diff output seal
2) Gear selector seal
3) Water pump gasket
2 of those are easy. One involves removing most of the cooling system, since the engine bay is so tiny.
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For the most part, being a character car, this thing doesn't see the roads too often (although it is registered and insured).
Last Friday (May 9), I decided I would take it downtown, to work, as I had a few curious co-workers.
Going down 14th st southbound, I hit a few bumps (as is unavoidable, and very uncomfortable having a collapsed front suspension), and eventually hit a tiny crest... and she stalled.
Which caused havoc at 6:50am
I had it towed home, because I needed to get to work, and let it sit all weekend, because it was a long damn week.
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So on Monday, after work, I decided to finally take a look at it.
Based on how it died, where I just hit a bump and we slowly coasted to a stop, it sounded electrical. There were no (extra) leaks, no big bangs, nothing to indicate that there was anything mechanically wrong. But I was so pissed after a long, tiring week, I decided to let the stupid thing sit all weekend. On Sunday, before heading out for dinner, I decided to just try cranking it again, while standing outside the car (thank god for no clutch switch). I heard arcing.
*bzzt* "pop".
Huh..?
I let it be, and arranged for a friend to come see it on his day off, seeing as I had no business poking around an ignition of fuel problem in my condo parking lot, without supervision... But I felt brave today, and wanted to at least take a look. So I opened up the trunk, turned the key to on, and heard the pump priming... Well unless it's clogged, the pump is at least working. So I tried cranking it, and again heard the arcing.
I popped the hood, checked the 4 spark plug wires, saw them all good, and traced them back to the distributor where I saw... a 5th wire? Now my experience with distributors is limited to my '92 swapped civic, 6+ years ago. Needless to say, I had no idea why there was a 5th cable on a 4cyl motor. So I followed it.... to some sort of black canister. Or rather, it was sitting under the canister, having fallen out.
I plugged it back in and...
VOILA!
Turns out, that "canister" is the ignition coil... Which is apparently important. Regardless, free fixes are the best fixes. I just with I knew this Friday morning.
And that's where it's sitting right now.
Originally Posted by heavyfuel
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