Das Maus - A Reverse Lumpectomy

 When we last left off, I had finished the subframe. Pretty much everything was replaced: a gazillion ball joints; adjustable control arms, rubber cones and the like. All in all, it was now a thing of beauty.

A lot of work since then and a significant milestone was reached, so time to update the story.

To give you a taste of where we came from, here's some beauty shots.

Subframe with various suspension bits - make sure you have an up to date tetanus shot!

Subframe and motor in all its glory

And as you can see, the motor also needed a large dose of TLC.

That's one bucket of rust there. But it ran and had good compression

New cones vs Old cones

After many hours of labor, I ended up with a clean and refreshed subframe and bits. Looking ready to go back in.

Rated R: Naked Subframe and naughty bits

While waiting for some parts from the UK to finish the subframe, I started work on the motor.

The first order of business was to give the motor a good wash with industrial degreaser. Outside of course.

Surprise! It's not rust colored, but yellow

The head was pulled and sent off to the machine shop for inspection.

The block was then painted with Eastwood engine paint, Austin Mini green

The transmission was painted with an aluminum primer, then with Seymour Alumi-Blast.

Received the final bits, and it was time to put the subframe back - minus the motor at this point.

I should mention that I'm retired, so I tend to work on the car during the day when all my friends and neighbors are out selling their souls from 9 to 5 for our AI Overlords. That means it's just me in the shop without help. Luckily I have a lift in my garage, and I've been a racer for over 20 years. That means I'm real good at McGuyering things  and coming up with creative ways to complete tasks. Nothing like having an off and then having 30 minutes to fix the issues and get the car back to the grid for the next race to focus your mind.

Operation Subframe Installation underway

And just to make it more fun, we're in the middle of a heat wave here in the US, and the garage is about 85 degrees and 80% humidity. No A/C here, just a big fan. I was sweating bullets.

The thing about old cars - this one's 51 years old - nothing lines up properly. Now 50 years, on the assembly line, it was probably closer, but then again, the Brits aren't known for close tolerances on their mechanical bits. They are notorious for leaking oil. On the plus side, that was unintended rust proofing up front. 

So old cars ... I managed to get the subframe in, but the experience was very frustrating. I had to stop after a few hours after I ran out of expletives and had to order some new ones from Amazon. After a nice break I came back and finished it off.

Subframe in and bolted down. I can stop now right?

Ah yes, I see we're missing a motor. Let's go bug the machine shop for my head.

It's back. Only 2 weeks, that's lightening fast for a machine shop. I have always found that when they ask, "When do you need this back?"  Lie, just lie. Otherwise they won't start working on it until 2 days before you want it.

Let's finish up this motor. First some of that Eastwood engine paint. Gotta look good for Cars & Coffee.

The machine shop reported that the head had been worked on before in the past and looked good. The valve springs were binding though and he removed some shims and got it back into spec. He also reskimmed the surface.

The head studs were replaced with new ARP studs.

Jim also reported that the rocker shaft needed to be replaced. I sourced a new one and replaced the rockers.

The gaps were set with the rockers and other than waiting on a new distributor, the lump was good to go back in. 

Setting the rocker gap

I had bought a new A series distributor from MiniSpares but when I went to put it in, it didn't fit. It was too long. Talking with MiniSpares it was determined I had a 998cc A+ series motor, not the A motor I thought. Which was a surprise to me. It's actually a good thing. The A+ motors were built stronger, wiht a hotter crank and some other performance items. It was said a good 998 A+ motor could make a whopping 62 hp stock. A correct distributor was re-ordered.

The cherry picker was pressed into service and the motor was elevated and put into place. <-- a nice short, simple sentence when the reality was it took several hours and a lot of verbal lubrication, all done in the oven of my garage (the heat wave is still ongoing).

Slowly, step by step. Up with the lift, down with hoist. Repeat 
until your life has no meaning.

And finally Success!!! 

The Lumpectomy has been reversed!

Are we done now? Hell no. My punch list is continually growing. But this is a significant milestone. We went from a nasty, ratty looking engine compartment and motor to one I wouldn't be ashamed of bring home to my mother. 

More to come!