Fino's 1970 Mini Build Thread

So that's why there is a coolant puddle under the jeep.....


Looks like a brake line clip may have been the culprit....


At least it appears to just be a lower tank repair and not damage to the core.....

 

After loosing the D18 parking drum last fall on HITR, I decided to start on upgrading the rear OEM 10" drum to Bendix style 11" drums with parking brake....It may be a bit before these are actually installed on the jeep, and even longer before I retrofit some sort of aftermarket parking brake pull cable etc....but its a start. A guy who parts jeeps on OWF supplied me with the backing plates - they were definitely 'east coast':


really they needed sandblasting, but various wire wheels etc got them looking a little better.


The shoe pads were pretty rough, so I ground them down and tried welding in and grinding new ones...sorta worked...still need a bit of work to look pretty, but hopefully functional? I have set of used but not trashed front plates that I am using to estimate the pad height....


Some paint and some money at NAPA and you end up with this:


I forgot about the little diamond shaped 'shoe retention plate' or whatever you want to call it...I started to try and make my own from some thick washers and realized I didn't care that much and could get these Dorman shoe 'guides' after the holiday at FLAPS for a couple bucks....still need to find the parking brake bar and lever thingy....but it seems my welded shoe pads will work just fine....okay, back to pulling an engine...

 

Got all the parking brake pieces I needed from Sam at Parts dude:


Completed putting the brakes together:


So ready to go as soon as I figure out a mechanical pull system...probably do some sort of universal cable system with floor mounted pull handle between the seats....the typical OEM style straight pull handle probably doesn't give enough leverage/MA (at least on the 58 it doesn't seem to).

 

A second little project....I converted to the AA windshield latches....I haven't driven it at all with these, but the main goal was just to stop all the rattling of the passenger OEM latch that never stayed closed. 90% of the time I have either the full top or the bimini top on, so it was never at risk of falling forward, but the rattling is kind of obnoxious. I tried all sort of tweaks and adjustments on the OEM latch, but never could really get it to stay latched. I had heard some of the AA aluminum castings might be loosing some precision and alignment with fit etc, but these seem spot on. And while I never run with the windshield down, its pretty simple to turn the knob by hand to release the windshield. My biggest concern will be if the hardware doesn't want to stay tight - some loc-tite might be needed and/or a star lock washer on the big knob. FWIW - it was helpful to lay the windshield down to install the upper bracket.