This might go very good, or very bad.

UPDATE:
A significant amount of "discretionary spending" has occurred and the Mini has been on a rolling road dyno.
The brief I gave the tuning shop was "fed up messing around and poking & hoping in the dark....sort it for me please".
They did.
It now runs very nicely (still noisy in the cabin) but no more pops & bangs, just exhilarating fun.
What did he find wrong?
1. Incorrect coil (he reports that it had a "points" style coil on there instead of one suitable for the electronic dizzy). I never knew there was a difference in "type" just in primary winding resistance and whether the coil needed a balance resistor or not so the one in there was correct AFAIK. So he changed the coil out.
2. Std "Stock" SU BDL needle mis-fueling very badly so he created a custom needle to suit the engine at all rev ranges and loads.
3. Rolling roaded to get the performance figures and tweak the needle to get the best performance and AFR figures across revs & loads.

Dyno reports says 62BHP Max @ 5129RPM and max torque of 72.6 lb/ft @ 3276 RPM

That's not too shabby from a stock metro engine (which apparently this is). All the description in the raffle advert blurb is/was really hogwash; NOT a gas-flowed expanded cc head, just standard, not a "lumpy Cam" just standard.

So the results are pretty good and I am not at all unhappy. It is a nice fun driving experience. :cool:
 
That's really nice, that the max torque comes in at that RPM - Makes for an excellent driver!
I always liked a car with good handling, more than one just having max HP. :D
 
That's really nice, that the max torque comes in at that RPM - Makes for an excellent driver!
I always liked a car with good handling, more than one just having max HP. :D
I was really pleased with the acceleration on my drive home on a 70MPH stretch of road.
I also fitted a steering column "drop-kit" to lower the Steering wheel this afternoon. :)
Now I can see all the gauges as I drive along without having to lean forward while driving.
 
I was really pleased with the acceleration on my drive home on a 70MPH stretch of road.
I also fitted a steering column "drop-kit" to lower the Steering wheel this afternoon. :)
Now I can see all the gauges as I drive along without having to lean forward while driving.
So the obvious question needs asking ............

Did anythink fall off on the way home ?

Glad your toy is sorted , when's the next ' Event ' ?

Paul
 
So the obvious question needs asking ............

Did anythink fall off on the way home ?

Glad your toy is sorted , when's the next ' Event ' ?
Nothing fell off. :)
It is good to have it running so well. :)
There's a few events in May, more in June & July.
It may sound a bit daft but many of them don't really appeal. :(
There was an opportunity to take the Mini to a car thing at an eatery in Harlow this weekend but the 90 mile round trip just to eat a burger and look at other cars wasn't of sufficient attraction.
 
Just to say that the mini still has NOT fallen to pieces (yet).
Today I have checked oil level (all good, and still surprisingly clean).
Just for S's & G's I thought I would try and put together a little arduino project to emulate a working car-alarm (Red LED in a bezel on top of the dashboard).
A 2-phase bit of code that fast-flashes the LED for 0.5s on/off for 25 seconds, then drops to a slow 1 second flash every 8 seconds.
Looks just like the alarm led on the Rangie and my wife's Bini All4. :cool:
 
You mean like this ?
flashing led
£2.49 ?

I'll get my coat

Paul
OK, that's all very doable, but where's the "fun" in that for goodness sake?
One that flashes 3 times every 2 seconds? Or one that is solid ON all the time. Hmmmm...... No thanks.
The LED's that are constant/flashing are just that either/or; no programmability, no fun.
It would be like buying an "off the shelf" quad only to find it doesn't do what you want and no-one wants to do that. ;)

I shall get my coat too!
 
just to eat a burger and look at other cars wasn't of sufficient attraction.
Autocross is what you (and Mini) want / need - A chance to put that poor, under-utilized, wee beastie through its paces ;)
Surely, there must be one being held within range of you, somewhere.
But, you may want to look outside Mini-dom to find one :


We shall await the report of your best time ........
popcorn-emoji_le0b4d.gif

I just read the UK rules - Wow - VERY different from the US!
You may not want to do it, unless you don't mind Mini getting dusty and adding mudflaps ?
Here, the events are held on a paved surface - No mudflaps

PSS - What I was thinking of would be called "Autoslalom" on your side of the pond - That's what you want :)
 
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Autocross is what you (and Mini) want / need - A chance to put that poor, under-utilized, wee beastie through its paces ;)
Surely, there must be one being held within range of you, somewhere.
But, you may want to look outside Mini-dom to find one :


We shall await the report of your best time ........
popcorn-emoji_le0b4d.gif

I just read the UK rules - Wow - VERY different from the US!
You may not want to do it, unless you don't mind Mini getting dusty and adding mudflaps ?
Here, the events are held on a paved surface - No mudflaps

PSS - What I was thinking of would be called "Autoslalom" on your side of the pond - That's what you want :)
Yes, Autocross isn't for the faint-hearted or those that don't want their pride & joy battered beyond all recognition I think.
I shall pass on this tempting offer of introduction into motorsport. :)
 
I forgot to regale you all with what happened to me in the Mini on Saturday.

It was VERY exciting.
😱


I was storming up a local hill (just for fun and to let the Mini stretch its legs a bit). I got to the top where it drops from 60mph to 40, then 30 and took my foot off the throttle but she kept on going and not slowing down. I was running out of road with a very tight bend ahead.
In the end I had to shut the ignition off and coast up the last bit, brake, and make the turn and then pull in and stop.
I started it up again and the revs immediately went through the roof so I switched it off again. Popped the bonnet and took a gander.
The speedo cable had managed to shift and jam itself in the accelerator return position.
I freed it off but did not spot that the choke cable had also jumped off the mechanism and so the choke was well "ON" and the revs wouldn't drop below 2,000.
I had no tools on board so had to limp home with a bit of clutch slippage.
🙁


Could have been worse I suppose.
🤣
 
Could have been worse
Sure - Maybe try it in stop and go traffic, next time !

I can tell a Mini story:
One very dark night, on an untraveled "shortcut" dirt road, in rural NW Connecticut, on the way back from an evening at the Marbledale Pub,
the car just completely shut off - Lights, ignition, all of it. D.E.A.D.
I also had no tools at the time, or even a flashlight - So I blindly felt around the battery, trying to wriggle things - No go :confused:

This happened about 5 miles from my house, so, lacking alternatives, I just started to walk down the road.
I probably walked along for a few hundred yards, when suddenly I saw headlights appear behind me.
Thinking, "Hey, maybe a ride home", I waited by the side of the road for a bit - But no car, no engine noise approached ........Hmmm?

I bet you know where this is going ......... I started walking back, and lo-and-behold, there the Mini sat, headlights burning cheerfully away.
So, I got in, turned the key, and it fired right up! The drive home was uneventful .

The moral of the story - They are most interesting little cars, but bring tools, and a flashlight :)
 
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