Ivan_B

What a story... You should've asked them for a free repair under warranty ?

Well, I've gathered the following points from this thread: 1) no garage 2) no paved surface to work on 3) no enclosure from elements 4) no jack stands, etc. 5) not much knowledge about working on cars, in general I do not mean to offend anyone, but let's be realistic here. Who is going to do the engine repair and everything else this car likely needs? I am all in favor of being safe and having fun, but this car is rather unlikely to be moving any time in the nearest future (if ever). Many of us have been in a situation like this, haven't we? This is why I asked what the general plan is, before offering any technical advice. We all wish the best to Cooper. It is better to learn from others' mistakes than make your own And Cooper will be able to do all this (and more), but without enduring the unnecessary extreme hardship, with a running and driving car ?

? For the jack-stands and most of everything else you need - Craigslist.

So, the problem was not resolved, yet? If the car does not rev/get to the proper speed (especially uphill), the ignition is the last thing I would check. Check how it works without the air filter - same? Check the throttle opening - all good? Does your carb have an accelerator pump? If it does, looking into the throttle, you should see a fuel squirt when someone presses the gas pedal good enough. For the exhaust - no idea how to check it properly, but you could probably take the plugs out, and connect a vacuum cleaner to the tailpipe to see if you get a good suction at any of the cylinders

I see. You do not need to use a pattern, unless you are mass-producing these. Did you left too much material on the back side? Or was the shape traced not close enough to the seat frame? I am just trying to understand where all these large wrinkles came from. Is there a way to, perhaps, manually fold them in a more appealing pattern, on both sides?

What's the point of getting the engine unstuck, in this case? If it got stuck from age/sitting, it will likely need to be rebuilt, anyway. There is visible rust inside. Trying to get it moving will likely only cause mode damage, if anything. Or am I wrong? ?

Huh, even simpler: I would first verify that the throttle opens all the way. Seen this one a few years ago. Idle reved fine, but in motion the car could not get up to speed. Turned out that the pedal linkage was not properly adjusted, and the pedal to the floor was only opening the throttle about 1/3 (forget about the accelerator pump). Good on gas mileage, I guess ?

Plenty of good advice here. I have another one: what do you plan to do with this car? Are you planning to fix it up, for fun, and maybe drive it someday? Or are you actually interested in driving an old car? If you are into this for the process - then go ahead, but keep in mind that most of those "will-it-run?" videos are nonsense. You can make a car run, it is not hard; but it will not last long and is certainly not safe to operate on public roads unless properly repaired to OEM specs. Those video guys are not in car-restoration business, they just make fascinating videos... So, take their advice only if you want to make a video, that's it. ? Now, if you are actually interested in driving an old car, here is what you need to do: get rid of this car immediately, and get another one, which runs and drives, and which you can reasonably maintain with the space/tools/skills you have. Since you are new to old cars, find a more knowledgeable buddy and look around. Do not set your mind to any particular year/make, just look for the best condition car you can find for your budget. Trust me on this, I've had those never-ever-done projects. Any car in good condition, which you can readily and constantly enjoy, and improve over time, will be much better than having a pile of immobilized metal in your garage, for years... And remember, it is never too late to quit. Do not fall into the gambler's fallacy, life is short. My first antique project was a 58 Cadillac 62. I was around 20, at that time, very much mechanically inclined with garage, tools, and experience. But I never worked with cars older than 20-30 years before. The car was a parts donor, at best, but I did not realize that until much later. Floors/rockers/frame - rusted through, no brakes. I was able to get the engine running, and that's it. Had to sell it for unrelated reasons, and I am now very glad that I did.

Did you actually resolve the issue buy adjusting the ignition? I was going to suggest checking the fuel\air supply, in this case

Just came back from an annual vacation and installed the new carpet and glove box lining. Hopefully, the interior should be completely assembled in a day or two and I'll finally be able to drive the car ?

Hmm, if you did it the proper way, actually stitching new upholstery, etc., why didn't you cut the vinyl at the bottom to shape? ?

If you have a 3D printer, you should probably be familiar with all the applicable CAD modeling as well These knobs are available on e-bay, the molded plastic quality should be much better than your 3D prints.

Since you already have an "aftermarket" seat covers, you can probably just cover the entire interior with generic store fabric you like. $139 per yard? I paid that much for cloth for the entire car The easiest way to attach the cloth to the panel, I found, is with a light-duty crafts stapler. Just remember to cut the staples (because the shortest ones available are too long) so that they do not go through the panel.

Oh yes, I forgot all about the door-hinge-mounted ones. Saw those on old Fords, so it must be an accessory

Would it still rotate the correct direction, though? ?

I'd advise getting a clamp-on, and modifying it if necessary. Nothing is worse for your classic car than having holes where there aren't supposed to be any (well, almost) ?

Good job. You could've just used blind rivets for a more secure connection (if you did not want to mess around with the traditional solid ones). After all, the parking brake is also your emergency brake.

Well, the place where coolant could leak into the oil system is usually the head/block junction. So, you would likely at least have to remove the head for inspection, as already suggested. It is generally a bad idea to run a used "rebuilt" engine without complete inspection. Unless it was done by a reputable shop, with valid warranty, there could be literally anything inside. I've had a very bad experience with a motorcycle engine "rebuilder", once. The guy never finished the work so I took it to a different shop, which ended-up redoing everything because things inside were badly screwed-up. ?

I use a standard aftermarket 4' clamp-on, with a somewhat longer pole (there are different types available). In terms of visibility, if you are looking for a wide panoramic view and redundant coverage you find with modern cars/trucks, you'll never get it, unless you mount one of those truck mirrors ? A while back, many cars only had the left and center mirrors, and even more while back, only the center mirror was available. The way I see it, when the car is using small mirrors, the right one is mainly for the blind spot. You position it in the way allowing you to see the curb from the second-to-the-right lane. This way, you are mainly driving with the left and center mirrors, and only use the right one for a quick reference peek before turning your head while merging right. The right mirror will show if there is a car in your blind spot. It gets a little practice to get used to, but seems to work well. Also, it is generally useful to drive in the right lane so that you do not have to merge right too often. ?

Well, it appears that synthetic lubricants, in general, offer superior properties (protection) in comparison to the traditional mineral ones. So, unless the cost-benefit analysis dictates differently, for some reason, I tend to use everything synthetic when it comes to automotive fluids (and grease).

Slowly but steadily, I am making some progress. Old things: And new things: All the interior pieces, except the headliner, were removed and cleaned. I must've used some very mild detergent because virtually none of the stains, etc., came out. Anyway, the fabric was refreshed, so this is good. I just carefully dry-vacuumed the headliner and will leave it like that, for now. The floor, doors, trunk, and all other corrosion-prone places were oiled for protection from the inside. I am currently putting the new fabric in place, took me the whole day to do the rear seat and panels. This is a really quick DIY work, I am not even sewing anything thus far. Nevertheless, it looks alright and expected to work okay. The new fabric is not even close to stock, but I got it at a memorial day sale for around ~130 for the whole car ? Should work well for a temporary solution.

I am sorry, I did not mean to start another oil debate with my earlier reply ? You are perfectly fine with GL1 since, as it was correctly mentioned by others, this appears to be what is actually recommended by the factory. I just probably would not choose a lower grade oil on purpose, if a better quality oil is available, that's it. As it was also correctly pointed-out above, some higher grade oils might not work well with the brass synchros and other alloy components, since these are primarily designed for hypoid rear axle gears, etc. So, when choosing the correct gear oil, make sure that the jug says it is fully compatible with brass synchros! I've also heard good information about, and myself used RedLine and AMSOIL products before. These are expensive, though. Also used the 85-140 GL-5 from Walmart. Once the weather got cold, the car would stall as soon as I let go of the clutch in gear... Very thick stuff ?

Sounds like your transmission was in good condition. Last time I took out one of these, every single part (including the housing) except the 3rd gear turned out to be out of specs ?

I would also suspect that it should be okay, assuming you did not pack it full of assembly lube ? I disagree about the GL1, though. Sounds a bit like using beef tallow oil, for extra authenticity ?

Thank you all for the comments. vintage6t I've noticed that your lock mechanism and guide are not painted. Is this an indicator that the paint in my door jamb might not be original, or were some of them painted at the factory and some not? Question 4: was there a factory tool set included with these cars? My owner's manual does not have any information to this effect.