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Hazz's 1971 mental Mini Clubman - JDM B18CR engine

I'm glad I have no idea what that song is ^

Spent the weekend doing more work. Still not finished.

Vtec solenoid gaskets done and solenoid cleaned and painted. Skunk 2 cam seal fitted - this is where things started to go wrong. I chowdered one of the special bolts on the cam rail. New one ordered. So I can't reassemble until that arrives.

Good news is in the process of doing all this, I've discovered the actual source of the oil leak. It's the distributor. So new o-ring and gasket ordered from lings for that along with the special bolt I fudged.

Sticker numberplate arrived. Looks dogsh1t. Not impressed. I'll look for an alternative.

Didn't get around to doing the dash. This week it's going to be 'done'.
 
I am sure Mook did sticky plates, think that is where we got one for the Teg all those years ago
 
It appears they no longer do them :(

Reach out to them mate. These are well known and respected in the ford scene. They are always doing bespoke stuff, will be worth a shot. I used them for my Ford Performance vinyl for my sunstrip


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Sorry Hazz, I forgot to mention (sparked the memory with you saying they weren't listed on their site). You have to contact them via telephone and they give you a "secret link" once they have your V5 etc to get the plates made up.
 
I emailed them, they emailed back and said new DVLA restrictions mean they can't make them anymore.
 
Buy the right tools for the job kids.

O6ZzCIZ.jpg


Dizzy seals done. New cam cap bolt installed. All that for that this cam seal (which wasn’t even leaking):

slPJJ53.jpg


And just a random shot before the rocker cover goes back on:

ZTlcrbw.jpg
 
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I'm always a big fan of doing the ground work when it comes to oil leaks. Tons of brake cleaner and some leak detector spray takes all the unnecessary work away. It's basically anti perspirant deo and leaves a white powdery residue which keeps the oil still. Really good stuff.

Glad you're sorted now though mate, always a nice feeling knowing what's in the sump has a bit more chance of staying put, bar all the smoke out the back!

One step closer though, loving the work.

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Fired it up earlier, ran like absolute sh1t.

I marked up the dizzy before removal to line it back up so no issues there. I’ll double check the leads but I’m pretty sure they’re right.

Is it possible I’ve got the cam end of the dizzy 180 out perhaps?
 
Still not figured this out. It's backfiring and missing all over the place. I can only assume I've somehow got the firing order out of whack.

I'm going back to basics tonight, find TDC and point the dizzy rotor at cylinder 1 plug lead.

I'm also pulling up an error code P2649 which is rocker arm actuator solenoid high voltage. Not sure what's going on there, hoping it's just a symptom of my poor running.

One small bit of positive news though... My ECU is Bluetooth and there's a hondata app for phones. Means I can get my injectors done this week... if I can get it running again first.
 
Got it working last night :D fcuk yea! Couldn't drive it though due to rain... and it was still smoking from the engine bay like crazy. Hopefully that was just residuals burning off but it could also be my workmanship. It was dark, couldn't be arsed struggling with it, I'll find out today.

I go to the land of sand for a month tonight though so it looks like it'll probably be laid up until next year now :(

Weather permitting I'll get it down to Grinspeed for a leak check on the ramps and back to ADE for the 550cc injector retune. I'll fit them when I'm back from working abroad.

Oh and the reason it wasn't working... Dizzy rotor was out of alignment. I've corrected it and also ordered a new one because it's delaminating on the contact thingy. Dizzy cap ordered too, why not?
 
Update o'clock.

Back from the middle east and back working on the mini.

I missed a tuning at ADE on Monday, partially my own fault. I tried to fit too much into a weekend and failed to get all my jobs done on the car. Close, no cigar.

Oil leaks are fixed. Injectors are in, runs like sh1t now. Hence the tuning required. Things that stopped me were a new exhaust leak from the manifold to downpipe flange and not getting my dash fitted. The latter wouldn't have bothered me if the weather was decent but it wasn't and I didn't fancy driving without lights or rad fan.

All that said, it's still smoking way too much for me to be happy with it. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how far to go with it... Should I just attempt a top end rebuild and hope it's a stem seal (which are relatively new) or do I just jump in with both feet and get a total rebuild?

It's probably £500ish for the top end rebuild which might not work and I'd hazard a guess at £3 to 4k for a full rebuild with a rebore, forged rods and oversize pistons.

Big decisions ahead. GTR off the table for now :(


edit: oh and new dizzy rotor fitted, new dizzy cap was the wrong one, not sure how I managed that. FML.
 
Is it blue smoke out of the exhaust? Personally I don't have much blue smoke, if any, but major oil consumption. I am planning to change the valve steam seals and the piston rings, and this should help solve the problem at a reasonable cost. Maybe you can get away with such a "small" job too. Let us know when you made the decision on which route to take! :)
 
Aye, blue smoke & smells oily and fuely. Pretty certain it’s not the head gasket and burning coolant. Rings and re-hone are an option, I’m just thinking it’s probably too far gone given the amount of smoke. Maybe I’ll get lucky (that’d make a change)!
 
Any particular reason you're still running a dizzy and not going coil on plug? Easy gains to be made there.
 
Money and effort mainly.

I had the trigger wheel on the crank when I bought it but no crank position sensor and no coils. It also had some kit from a ford which took cam position and turned it into a coil signal.

S300 ECU doesn't run coils, hondata sell an add on kit for £400 then I'd need to find coils that fit and wire it all up. It was just another level of complexity that I didn't need when setting up an engine for the first time.

Once I've got it running right and not smoking as much I'll start looking down routes for more horses. Intake or ITBs, coil on plugs, air filter relocation etc.
 
It's been a while since I updated...

The main thing: I've tweaked my map and uploaded a new one, it now idles sweet again.

Dash is back out. ECU removed and taken to be unlocked. Whilst the dash was out I did a bit more work on it that I really should have finished before installing it for the first time. Drilled off and bolted the dash attachment brackets that were previously just bonded on with 2 part epoxy. I also did a 3rd attachment point at the top of the dash that'll hopefully reduce any rattles. I'll take some pics tonight whilst it's all out of the car. Once it's back in I'll have one last bracket to make to attach it to the floorpan and it's job done.

So it'll be dash back in this week and I can finally test it on the road. I'm semi hopeful that these new injectors and a map to suit will reduce the smokiness... Wishful thinking.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this previously or not but the seating position was terrible when I bought the car. A combo of dodgy pedal position, seat and steering wheel. Steering wheel is fixed. Seat has limited adjustability and pedals are constrained by steering column. So, I purchased and fitted some brackets that allow for further adjustability of the seats. Done that. It's now maxed out as far back and as low as possible. Knock on effect being I'm now further away from the gear knob and it's extremely uncomfortable to use. Tegiwa 360° gearknob extender would be perfect. Only mine's 5/16 UNF and Honda is M10x1.5. Custom adaptor required.

I think I'm going to run it this summer before I rebuild the engine. I need to drive it, had it 3 years and done about 2k miles, if that :lol:
 
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