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72 Morris mini acts like no transmission is in there

bluemg

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Just picked up 72 Morris mini, that was abandon and rusting away. I have not gotten it running yet. Low compression, rings could be stuck or bad wear. Car is not stripped. putting it in all gears, car rolls like it is in neutral. Pulled off remote and shifted from underneath there is no engagement. Drained crudy oil expecting to find metal, but none was in there. Ran magnetic rod through sump, no metal ? This is going to be a retirement project next year (maybe) so I don't want to pull it all apart now. ANY IDEAS WHAT IS BROKEN IN THERE? Or next step to look in a diagnosis without pulling everything apart?
 

LarryK

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Clutch could be problem is why it sat. but, sounds like needs work and next year is tear down point. You are going to have to pull everything apart anyway on a restoration. Chock wheels and let set.
 

Jerry

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Good news is that you can buy almost all the parts on a mini. Lots of suppliers to choose from. I found the transmission fun to work on. Simple but lots of youtube videos to help you. Post some pictures!

Jerry
 
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bluemg

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I know this is real ball park guessing with out looking inside, problem is the body is rusted and a lot of bad bondo, None of this is scares me off, however I would like to get an idea about resto $$$, (and then triple it) . If something is broke in the clutch, I can understand that, but usually on a LBC the plate rusts to the flywheel keeping it engaged, this would be something broken, or keeping it from engaging. Not having been into a mini before, it doesn't appear that broken clutch parts could go into the sump, or could it? If it is something in the differential stripped, WOULD I EXPECT METAL FROM THAT IN THE SUMP??
I fully expected my magnet to pull out a bunch of filing, but there was nothing.......
 

Jerry

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Since there are so many re-vin mini cars out there, I would check on the title first before you spend money. Then go to a website like minimania, or minispares and save items to your wish list. this will give you an idea of a budget. I upgraded all the suspension, brakes, engine, oh, pretty much everything, so my budget is probably not your budget, but it is very easy to spend $10K in parts on these little beauties. Paint is another big expense. Plan on a minimum of $2500 depending on how much you do yourself.
Jerry
68 mini
TR3A
AH BJ8
 
D

Deleted member 8987

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You've been underneath it. Are there any driveshafts?
You HAVE to have the outer ends or the hubs won't stay on, but if this was put back together from dead parts, maybe no shafts, just the ends.
Center hub could be ripped out of the clutch plate. Facings could be completely gone from the plate...as in, pieces piled up in the bottom of the bellhousing.

No real way to know until you yank the engine and separate clutch housing.
Primary drive gears?
Someone had it apart and left something out?

Pull the lump, take your time looking at the bits.
All a guess until you do.
Dave
 
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Been a lot of years since I worked on one of these. But:

Have you had an assistant shift the vehicle while you visually and manually observe the exposed shift knuckle on top of the shifter housing on the rear of the sump for movement?
This will ensure nothing has come adrift in the shifter housing, and that the knuckle has not dropped a bolt.
Once you are certain of that, if I recall...and it might be with engine out, cannot recall...you can remove the end housing (that holds the speedo gear I think) and visually observe the rods (shift shafts) moving, and that the selector is not broken, or the big bolt has fallen out and wedged in a corner somewhere.

Just some old dusty thoughts.
Dave
 

dklawson

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Which gearbox? I know you said it's a '72 but Minis seldom have their original parts. Your gearbox could be a magic wand type, a remote shift, or (most likely) a rod-change box. Take Dave's approach and have an assistant shift it into gears while you look around the car for obvious problems. If the drivetrain problem is in the gearbox, it is difficult to make educated guesses without knowing the gearbox type. As stated above, it could also be missing shafts, linkages that are not engaging, missing primary gear, broken or missing differential gears....

You asked about the costs. As Jerry said, many new parts are available. Keeping a wish list will help you keep track of what the "new" parts will cost. You are likely to find placing a couple of large orders directly with Mini Spares, Mini Sport, Somerford, or DSN Classics in the U.K. will be much less expensive than buying from MM or Seven. Used parts are always an option but people are tending to hoard them a bit these days. eBay can be helpful.

You said rust. Are you planning on fixing the rust yourself? Bodywork costs a lot on any car. While the Mini body is simple it is easy to spend thousands on body repairs if you do not do the work yourself. Likewise, painting a car can be cheap or expensive. If you are on a budget, it is not unreasonable to consider MAACO, Peach, and other discount painters for a driver. If you are going for a concours level restoration... be advised a rebuilt '72 may never be worth the money and time you put into the restoration. Do this as a labor of love, not an investment.
 
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bluemg

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Thanks guys, Actually I hate to think of any LBC going to spares. I have done a "A" two B's and a bugeye, most all myself and rebuilt several rear wheel transm. and an overdrive, so jumping into something like this isn't the problem. Jan is retirement time, naturally Im laying in the projects and have a 60 "A" that a bondo and rust mix, ahead of the Mini. But the more I look at the mini the faster its moving to first place.
On the shifter I pulled the remote completely off, and have shifted the peg, and can hear the forks inside selecting....... something...... the underneath is in tack, nothing stripped off. I was letting the pistons soak in oil for awhile and recently did a compression test, not good 3- 60# and one 120. So my desire to at least run the mini so I know whats there is gone for now. Like Larry said put it up and wait for next year tear down.View attachment 33627View attachment 33628View attachment 33629 A (11).JPGView attachment 33639A (10).JPGAND THATS THE GOOD SIDE...........
 

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dklawson

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With compression like that you know the engine is coming out anyway so I would not worry about the gearbox. There will be plenty of time to sort it on the bench later.

The roof looks like no fun at all. How are the floors, sills, and boot floor?
 
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bluemg

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The floor is better then I expected, being it was sitting on four flats in the sand, there is some rust thru at lower doors and inner sill's but it isn't too awful. Thats one of thoes thing you don't know how much long strand fiberglass bondo you need till it comes back from the sand blaster. The front end is all bondo with rust pushing it out in places like the photo of the left side fender- body junction I wasB (20).jpgB (19).jpgB (18).jpgB (13).jpg kind of thinking about taking the roof off and doing a full convertible top, like the jeeps have. Saw a posted photo of the mini like that. Slide windows and Florida summer is not going to work well ! I have $200 in it, plus $200 NOS tires and grill, plus $200. to straighten out the title from being imported from New Zealand about 10 years ago. So I have a little wiggle room before my wife starts chasing me with the tire iron !
 

bnw

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I'm curious. I will have a 72 Clubman for sale as soon as the owner gets the title straightened out. Would you care to tell what yours was going for?
 

dklawson

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NOS tires? Anything over 8-10 years old should be considered for static display only. The compound gets hard and the sidewalls easily crack. Not really safe at speed.

Cutting the roof off? Cutting off the roof is probably OK if you build and install a frame underneath the car to stiffen it. The sills on a Mini are important but the roof contributes an important amount of stiffness to the car. Don't cut it off without stiffening the body elsewhere.

Though purists would disagree with me, I would feel perfectly OK using that long-strand fiberglass to patch the roof corners and the floor. Alternatively you are going to need a roof from a donor for your project. New roofs are expensive to buy and ship.

When you were talking about the existing bondo on the left fender, did you mean the rear fender (quarter panel)... just behind the door? That is probably all skim coat to build up the panel so its height matches the door curvature. It may not be as bad as you think.

The car appears to have a wet suspension. Visit my friend Todd's Austin America web site (link below, select "technical advice", and the "suspension brakes & steering") and read up on the wet suspension. His site includes steps telling how to make your own hydro-pump. Pump up the displacers on your car to see if they will hold fluid. If the won't, there are no NOS displacers so you are left with sourcing good used ones or converting to a dry suspension. Both are possible, both reflect a significant investment.
https://members.tripod.com/austin_america/index.html
 
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bluemg

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Thank you Doug, I will keep the frame in mind, I sort of pictured a roll bar type structure in my minds eye to support the car. However a modest frame with a roll bar coming behind the seats would work.

Allowing the pistons to soak in oil loosened the rings up. I was able to start it just squirting starting fluid in the intake manifold. I let it run until I could read the oil pressure which was 55 pounds. Then did a compression test and they were all at 150. I just finished the carb. and will try sustained running this weekend. That will answer a lot of questions once it gets warm.
Too answer the other question so far I have about $600 in the mini, I hope your clubman looks better then this !
ANOTHER QUESTION, thinking ahead..... I have a 60's morris smooth case transmission and a MGA transmission laying here, any chance some of the parts are interchangeable ????
 

dklawson

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If you have the early 3-synchro remote box on the Mini I think one or two of the gearbox components are shared with the early Spridget but i cannot remember how many. I seem to remember that the 1st-2nd selector hub (or something like that) is common between the two and perhaps the laygear. That would be for the remote shift gearbox. I don't think the magic wand gearbox for the Super or Super Deluxe used any of the same gears.
 

BWA

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Well, for starters, it's not a 72. That is a MKII Mini, can only be 1967-1970. Late 70 on would be a MKIII with different doors with wind up windows, concealed door hinges and, no door pockets.

That car would also have originally had Hydrolastic suspension instead of rubber cones. Just looked closer at the pics, and, it still does have the Hydro suspension.
 
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