From -
New England Mini Owners' Club 
From -
New England Mini Owners' Club
Articles from the British Marque News - July to December 2003
July 2003 Articles
Notes from the Mini Barn
by Dave Black
Woodstock, CT - Big news this month was the tech session held to replace
Bruce's steering rack. At least 10 Mini mechanics showed up to lend their
expertise to the two (Bruce and Greg) who actually turned the wrenches. It
really wasn't too bad a project, though it would have been easier if Greg
hadn't tried to force the steering pinion into the wrong hole (lots of
chuckles over that one)! Mike finally stuck his finger through the hole
from the inside and it seems we'd been aiming for one of the drain holes by
mistake! The rest of the installation went smoothly and we even got to use
the alignment tool developed by Jay Allegretti.
Tom Judson replaced a tie rod end during the session and also got to do
his own alignment.
New member Peter Lopes traveled all the way from Brighton to help with
the festivities and had lots of questions about his own Mini. Seems his
wife bought him a Mini as a present (I really want to meet this girl!). His
first task was to make the body presentable (body shop means big bucks, big
surprise!). Now he wants to do some mechanical work to make it go faster
than the 998 automatic lump that is currently residing under the bonnet.
This could be a really good couple of tech sessions.
Nick Schiappa reports that he is almost finished rebuilding his lump
after spinning a bearing. Seems the bearing was installed improperly and
became unseated, causing a heart-stopping rapping from deep within the
engine. He also found "shrapnel" in the oil pump and decided a complete
rebuild was in order. We hope to see Nick at Micro-Mini Car Day on July
12th.
Dave Reid contributed the following as his racing report: "I am still
building engines as the first one blew the main thrust washer to bits, not
good. The second engine is now back in the car and I am going to the track
Thursday to put some time on it before my next race at Lime Rock."
"When the thrust washer went, every time I stepped on the clutch the
engine would quit. In order to race, I had to start the car in gear and
keep going, which meant that I had to wait until the pace car and all the
other race cars left and start dead last. Starting dead last, I not only
won my class, Class 1, I also beat all Class 2 and 3 cars, most of Class 4,
and a couple of class 5 cars. Not bad for a little cheap transporter, eh?
Thank heavens for the dog box."
We sure hope the rest of the season is a little less exciting!
That's all for this month. Hope to see all of you at MME in Québec and
then again at Micro-Mini Car Day at the Museum of Transportation on July
12th.
Mini rebuild still stalled
Ken has been busy preparing his drivable Mini for Mini Meet East.
Perhaps this British project will be some inspiration. Visit
http://www.plmini.co.uk/ proj/trailer.htm
for more information!
Spot the Mini
by Dave Newman
Hope you aren't missing this new Fox TV series filmed in London called
Keen Eddie. Mark Valley plays a New York detective sent to London (like
John Wayne in McQ) to track down a drug ring he failed to bust in New York.
He moves into a rented flat where the current resident, Fiona (Sienna
Miller), drives a new red MINI One with a black roof. The filming style is
much like Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, with a great
soundtrack. We get to see the Marriott at the old London County
Council building, used as a stand-in for Scotland Yard, and some great
scenes around London like the Billingsgate Fish Market, Covent Garden and
Tower Bridge, all of which play host to the action. You also get to watch
some MG sedans, various "jam sandwich" police cars, and, of course, London
taxis and buses. It's worth watching, so tune in on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on
Fox TV. (for the summer only right now)
Articles
from the August Issue of British Marque - NEMO Section
"We made it
to Canada!
NEMO at Mini Meet East 2003
by Dave Newman (see pictures below)
Over 30 NEMO members made the trek to Magog, Québec, Canada in July for
the Mini Meet East, hosted by the Mainly Minis Montreal club. It was a
great time for most, with mechanical fixes for others and a mixed bag for
some modern Mini owners.
Our family went up in a six-car caravan on some of the twistiest
backroads of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, lead by our "wagon
master," Dave Black. To say that Dave sets a fast pace is an
understatement. I think he held back, though. We had three people and were
packed to the gills with luggage in a 1275 Mini and had to really work to
keep up!
What a great ride and views we had on Routes 100, 103 and 101. This
caravan consisted of six Minis, driven respectively by Dave Black, Bruce and
Faith, Ken and Brett, Tom and Marsha, Dan and Brian, and us; Dave, Barbara
and Christa.
We stopped for lunch in the Okemo Valley area and had designer pizzas
and subs. Then, feeling we must be close to being there, I asked Dave Black
how long it would be till Magog.
"Another five hours."
Oh, the letdown! Five more hours in a cramped classic Mini with no air
conditioning? Now we sense the satisfaction of owning a modern Mini with
A/C on long trips!
After stopping for petrol in the North Troy, VT Mini Mart, we did the
short two-mile run to a very slow border crossing. Dan St. Croix was third
in line. He proudly announced on the FRS radio, "We finally made it to
Canada!" - and his engine promptly died. Dead quiet. Right at the
Canadian
Customs house.
The Customs people were very friendly and allowed the bunch of us to
start performing fault analysis on his car. Feeling that it may have been a
clogged fuel filter due to bad gas (it wasn't), Dave Black and Dan got under
the car, after pushing it up on a curb. Looking like major heart surgery
gone wrong, the fuel hose could not be plugged fast enough and Dan ended up
lying in a half gallon of gas. Please, nobody light up a cigarette!
After this, fuel flow was fine of course and the search turned to spark.
Coil swaps were done - no result. The spark quit after a few seconds. It
looked like fuel, but no. Seemed like the optional electronic ignition
module Dan installed had gone intermittent. Dave Black tried old-fashioned
points, but we didn't have the fixing screws. So, Dan and Brian fit their
luggage into the back of Tom and Marsha's Vienna Inn van and then they
hopped into Faith and Bruce's Mini for the half-hour run to the hotel in
Magog.
At the hotel, Dan arranged to borrow John Mastrandrea's trailer and Dan
Viola volunteered his truck to go back to the border and rescue the now-dead
Mini. They arrived back after midnight.
Dan St. Croix was not a happy camper at this point.
But things got better. It was now Tuesday, and the first day of
activities at MME. At breakfast, Dan arranged to have Dave Black help work
on his problem - and also Keith Calver. Now, with two of the world's
foremost Mini experts to help, he was assured of positive results.
The rest of us washed cars and prepared for the day's Concours. Around
10 a.m., Concours had started with over 160 Minis, and Dan now had Dave,
Norm LaFleur and Keith Calver doing fault analysis on his running problem.
Now for those of you in the know, the next time you see Dan St. Croix's
car, touch it gently as it has also been touched or should I say blessed, by
the best! This is like having the Pope perform your wedding!
After an hour of fault analysis, and Keith Calver reminding us that he
was "on holiday" (and giving very good advice) - and finding a loose wire on
the ignition switch circuit to boot - it was determined that the combination
of Lucas Sports Coil and the aftermarket electronic ignition has caused the
ignition to fail. Dave Black tried a regular coil, but with no change.
Then some fitting screws and a set of old-fashioned points and condenser
were fitted and bang! Everything was running sweet!
Dan had no problems for the remainder of the trip. We all learned
something from the experts: how to fault check, and that we should never,
ever, run a sports coil with an electronic ignition! (And, thanks to
everybody who helped!)
Concours was over at around 3 p.m. and it was time to line up and make
the three-mile run to the Mont Orford Ski Area where Crabtree was taking the
panoramic photo. This year, a twist! The cars were lined up with their
sides to the camera! Interesting and different from all the ones in the
past. After that, we all went into Magog for a nice outdoors-brewhouse
meal. It rained. We rushed inside.
The second day was Rallye Day. To say it was a tough rallye was an
understatement. But it was fun and at the end there was a buffet meal and
the nearby Bombardier snowmobile museum. Please don't laugh. Snow vehicles
are serious business in Canada and Bombardier was one heck of an inventor.
It was well worth the visit. Those in the group who like working on the
innards of the Mini really appreciated the engineering of this stuff.
That night there was a Mr. Bean Mini competition. A Mini had been
fitted with a stuffed La-Z-Boy-type chair on top, complete with umbrella.
The driver of this Mini steered with a rope arrangement and was pushed
through an obstacle course while the team members picked up various "gifts"
for a Mr. Bean-style Christmas! They unloaded the car at the end and had to
put all the gifts back in the place they got them to stop the clock. The
NEMO team did well. You really had to be there to appreciate it! After
that, NEMO members split up for dinner, either in town or at the hotel.
The third and final day saw the autocross, the funkhana and then the
awards banquet. In the Concours awards, Dan Viola won awards for his Moke
and his Estate, Ken Lemoine for his Estate, Bruce and Faith for their Mk1
and Tom and Marsha Judson for their van. Some won door prizes and lots of
fun was had by all.
The next day, the Fourth of July, we made our way home, the only
casualty being a cracked windscreen on Barbara's British Open Classic. All
in all, a very good MME and thanks to the great planning of the Mainly
Mini¹s Montreal club.
Now, the footnote: on the Monday night of the event, somebody played
what they thought was a practical joke on the 15 or so new Minis attending.
A quart of motor oil was dumped under the engines of most of them. Now I
have no idea who did this, but not only was it wrong legally, it did
intimidate or disgust some of our fellow members.
Owners of new Minis also had to contend with people making fun of their
cars and various slurs about the origin of the modern Mini. Some left the
event angry that night, others the next day after worrying about what else
might happen to their cars overnight.
Our club, NEMO, consists of both classic Minis and modern Minis. It
consists of people who own Minis and work on them and those who know nothing
mechanically and just like to drive them.
The modern Mini was designed by British engineers at Rover, refined by
British engineers at BMW and is made at the factory just outside Oxford in
England. It is a British car. Just think, twenty years from now, the 2003
Mini will be a classic car in its own right. The current classic Mini,
based on a 1959 design, could not pass U.S. safety tests since 1968. A new
Mini had to be designed and the modern one takes all the best styling clues
from the classic, and it's a safe, fast and wonderful car. Yes, it is not a
classic Mini. No more that a 2003 Mustang is the same as a 1965 Mustang.
If you hate the new Mini, fine. That's your right. But to intimidate,
insult, snub or cause harm to new Mini owners is wrong.
No NEMO member took part in this "hazing." NEMO is a club of all Minis,
no matter if they were made in England, Australia or Italy, and no matter if
made in 1959 or 2003 and beyond. The new Mini has resulted in an awakening
of the general public to all Minis. And many modern Mini owners also own
classic Minis. Let us hope that at future events, that the people who
"hate" choose to stay home.
The trailer project begins!
by Ken Lemoine
The NEMO mini-van-trailer conversion project kicks off Saturday, August
16th at 9 a.m. at Greg Mazza's house in Grafton, MA. The intent is to make
a club party/regalia trailer that can be brought to club and New England
automotive events. It will be fabricated from an Austin van body, and a new
trailer frame will be constructed to meet the underside of the van. We will
be bringing the van body to a metal shop and welding so anyone interested in
learning how to weld and play with sheet metal will want to be there. We
are planning to shorten the body by most of the length of the side doors as
the trailer would be too front-heavy at full van length.
We will welcome all ideas for items to be included in the van. Some of
these include condiment trays hidden into the side panels, a portable
generator to run the party lights (and the blender), a table for
preparation, cooking, and displays, a portable grill, etc. How to fit it
all in, drain the ice, and balance it out are just some of the items you can
help us figure out. Try and drive your Mini to our day.
NEMO shirts and hats!
by Dave Newman
We have just placed an order for 36 mens and 12 womens golf-polo style
shirts in assorted colors with the NEMO 'states/car" logo on them, and also
24 hats, 12 khaki and 12 black. We should have them in a matter of weeks
and Barbara and I will be selling them at events and by mail. Full
details/pictures will be on the website when they arrive, along with the
available colors. Hats will cost you $15 and shirts $25. These are
produced on Cape Cod by Karen and Steve Resnick of Pro Stitch of Cape Cod.
Buy one at a NEMO event!
These are top quality shirts and hats! New logos and items will be
coming in the fall, including a three-seasons black jacket with silver wings
and a Mini on the back, along with a classic Mini and new Mini logo.
Minis in Magog!
Dan and Deanne Viola's Moke;
One of the newest Minis (2003, Jeff Nichols)with one of the oldest (1959, Ian McGee's)
Not a Moke, but David Friedl's special edition (for the Queen!) "Beach Car" (note wicker upholstery)
Brian Owens 1962 Wolesley Hornet
Mini Magazine guru Keith Calver (foreground
right)
helps diagnose an electrical problem as owner Dan St. Croix (far left) and
Marque reporter Dave Newman (far right) listen.
Photos by Bruce Vild
Articles from the September Issue of British Marque - NEMO Section
From the Mini Barn
by Dave Black
Well, we've had a relatively quiet time this month with only one
activity, but that was a doosie! Our outing with the Micro Car Club at
Waushakum Live Steamers in Holliston was a brilliant idea. The railroad
guys were all excited about our cars, and the car folks had an absolute
blast riding around on live steam model trains and learning about a hobby
that is just as much "over the edge" as ours! Many thanks to Chuck Gould
and his group for arranging this event and including the Minis.
In Barn News this month, we've been quite busy removing all the outside
barn boards, then insulating, wrapping and reinstalling the boards in hopes
that we¹ll have a more hospitable spot to work in this winter. A chimney
was put up last Saturday and a wood stove is ready to hook up to provide a
better source of heat than those nasty old kerosene heaters.
Inside there have been several projects completed. Bruce stopped by to
install a vented tappet cover on the back of his 1098. This could have
proved to be a typical Mini project, but everything worked out so it only
took a couple of hours to do. Hope this helps with the oil spitting!
Tom Judson was up to install suspension cups to try and raise the front
of his van. He's been having tire rubbing problems since taking delivery of
his showpiece and has never been able to turn the wheel fully from lock to
lock. We changed one cup and gained at least an inch in height. Tom
tackled the second one at home and can now steer normally. His rubber cones
are in pretty bad shape, so next will be AdjustaRides. That is going to be
much more of a project.
Geoff and Barb Neiley's subframes and master cylinders are finally
complete! As you know, this has been an ongoing project since last October.
Jeff Sieferts MCS is in for some mechanical work before finally going
to a body shop for a much needed makeover. The most immediate concern was
the cloud of smoke issuing from the exhaust. (This engine was rebuilt in
2000?) I spent some time adjusting carbs, checking compression, etc., but
the smoke continued unabated. Finally I thought perhaps something in the
sump would tell the tale, and out came six quarts of almost pure gasoline!
I am still trying to figure out how this could have happened. Any thoughts?
Anyway, two oil changes later the volatiles seem to have burned off and
things are getting back to normal. Just need to change front wheel bearings
and brake pads before Jeff gets his MCS back.
That's all for now, and remember that all are welcome anytime to work on
their cars or just come for an old fashioned visit!