Ancient Hi-Lo

Here is the old Hi-Lo for one side, minus the knuckle joint.

Spring End

I had some difficulty getting the Hi-Lo to seat into the cone spring, but cleaning it up, along with judicious removal of some of the metal endge on the cone upper, took care of this problem.

Old Nylon Cup

Circled in yellow is the remains of the old nylon cup that the knuckle joint rides in.

Toe Bounce

In the process of pulling the nylon cup, my grip slipped and the swingarm swung down onto my big toe! The nail turned black almost instantly. Like they say, it's not the fall that hurts, but the impact of the fall. I'll get to learn what it's like to lose a big toe nail...

Together

Here, you see the Hi-Lo, cone spring, and swingarm attached as an assembly. No mean feat, when you're trying to get this to all play together nicely, and get a knuckle joint to fit between it all.

Knuckles

Here is a shot of the swingarm-knuckle-HiLo assembly, from inside the subframe. The knuckle is the black bit at the end of the aluminum Hi-Lo.

Down the Hi-Lo

Another shot of the knuckle, looking down the Hi-Lo and swingarm.

Cups

Working a little more carefully on the other side, I was able to remove the old cup without hurting myself. Once the cup was removed, I cleaned the pocket out with a Scotchbrite pad and greased the inside of a metal to prevent future seizing. The new knuckle joint (nylon cup up) is pictured in the bottom of the photo, alongside the original cup.

Mistakes

Let this be a lesson: When installing the swingarms, ALWAYS make sure that the front pivot mount is in place first! There's no room to turn this wrench.

Backup Plan

Instead of pulling it all apart, I used the wrench to hold the nut, and, not having the proper tool, used a set of Channel Locks on the round, exterior end. Judging by the tooth marks on the round end, I was not the first person to employ this method.

Completed Subframe

Here it is, in all its glory.

Gaps

Based on the lack of parts left over, and exploded diagrams in my catalogs, I'm at a loss as to why there is so much gap here. It's possible that the coats of POR-15 Rust Paint and Hardnose Paint are so thick as to cause this, but I find it difficult to believe. I'm pretty sure I'll be tearing right back into this at some point in the near future.

Lifting Crew

I started out with three of five buddies that came to help out on getting the car off the rotisserie and onto the subframe and cart. Note that the cart and subframe are in position to minimize jockeying things around last-minute (and while carrying the entire shell!).

Final Crew

A fourth friend showed up and helped us get the Mini in place. It was a great success, and there is no way I could have done this without their help. Pictured, left to right, are Sean, Mark, Johnathan, and Tim. Thanks, guys!

Rotisserie Dimensions

Here is the shot I took of the rotisserie, with dimensions added.

New Cart

Once we got the car onto the new cart, it was at such an angle that I realized it wasn't going to work. So, Tim and I installed the front subframe, and built a new, two-wheeled cart. This brought the nose end down considerably!

Cart Close-up

Here you see the two wheels, attached to the boards, which are in turn screwed onto the subframe via holes already in place. The pieces that go left to right, in the picture, are to help prevent pivoting (and eventual collapse) of the caster wheels.

Sans Pole

Mark came over and helped me remove the rotisserie pole from the center. His help prevented me from damaging the paint, and from damaging my back (the pole weighed 80 awkward pounds).

3/4 View Sans Pole

It's starting to look like a real Mini. I can't wait to get this little car finished, and drive the snot out of it!

Offending Pole

I had to bash and cut parts of the pole that held it to the Mini's shell, but we finally got it out and onto the trailer. It will go back to the scrapyard from whence it came.