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S 6 : Ep 139

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The engine for our 1965 Mini Cooper S may be bored, but we’ve never been more engaged. This week Davin heads over to Thirlby’s Machine Shop to get this 1275cc British rocket cleaned up and (nearly) back to its original shape. We had some concerns about what we unearthed last week on the block, but it’s up to the boys at Thirlby’s to diagnose the severity of the damage. Happily, luck proves to be on Davin’s side.

This may be the first time in a while that Davin doesn’t need a hoist to drop pieces off at the machine shop. Both the cylinder head and engine block are easily carried in by hand for the first step: cleaning. Each piece has pressed-in brass plugs that must be knocked out before both components are baked to remove the old paint and built-up grime. Rather than open up the cylinder head, though, Davin decides to simply tumble it, fearing he may not be able to replace the brass plugs with pipe plugs after cleaning.

Once the head and block are looking spiffy, it’s time to check for cracks. No cracks found means it’s time to start cutting iron. The cylinder head gets its valve guides knurled and machined to size before new valve seats are pressed in and cut. That’s the easy stuff, though—the block is the main worry. With a larger arsenal of measuring tools than Davin, the Thirlby crew takes a look and devises a plan that they think will save this block with no extra work.

The bore is cut to 40 thousandths of an inch larger, which removes a sizable portion of the two eroded sections of the deck. Next, that deck surface is machined flat. Just 14 thousandths of an inch is removed here, which succeeds in cleaning up the mess Davin found. That 14 thousandths is just over half of the 25 we had to play with, so this block should happily live on and could likely even be machined again in the future should the need arise.

Right out of the machine shop, the parts go into the paint booth. Some taping off and a thorough wipe-down with wax and grease remover preps the lot for a quick spray of dark green that Davin has mixed up to match the color he spied under the grease and grime of the block. Once the paint has cured, it’s back to the Redline Garage to begin final cleaning and assembly. Of course, there are a lot of interesting pieces and processes to talk about there, but you will have to tune in to future Redline Updates to see those. Until then, be sure to keep working on your own projects, and subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to never miss an update.

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit RockAuto’s Help pages for further assistance.

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Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

The Redline Rebuild garage is no stranger to interesting discoveries during engine disassembly, but the 1965 Mini has some new ones for Davin. Remember, the car drove itself into the shop, but that doesn’t mean everything inside the tidy four-cylinder is just peachy. It’s proving to be quite the opposite.

This Mini put up a maxi fight when asked to give up its engine and transmission, but with that task finally completed, it’s time for Davin to tear into the engine and get a better look at exactly what he’s working with. Compared to a few of the previous projects—like the Buick Nailhead—this engine (once out of the car) was practically giving up its parts. Fasteners backed right out and things split apart easily. Too easily. Then Davin found the thermostat and got a hint of what may be hiding inside.

“The thermostat had been gutted in what I think was an attempt to help with an overheating problem,” Davin says, looking over the greasy parts on a workbench. “It’s a common thing I see, but it’s only a bandaid and often a bad one at that.” The thought is to improve coolant flow and thus dump more heat via the radiator. Sadly, the increase speed of coolant through the block often means it actually picks up less heat while flowing through coolant passages. That’s just the first sign of bad news.

Things get more interesting when the cylinder head and gasket are removed. Two fissures on the deck surface of the block appear to be from a leaking headgasket. Combustion heat and pressure can erode the aluminum or cast iron of a block. Is there enough material left that this block can be machined flat and still be used? Davin isn’t sure, but he has his fingers crossed. If you want to find out, you’ll have to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and watch a future episode of Redline Update.

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit RockAuto’s Help pages for further assistance.

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Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

For this week’s Redline Update, it might be best to get an appropriate snack of tea and crumpets. The newest Redline Rebuild project has arrived and God Save the Queen is playing on the shop stereo. It’s dimensionally small but big on character. If you haven’t guessed it already, Davin’s next engine rebuild will be pulled from a 1965 Austin Mini Cooper S. Currently it’s got a bit of a smoking problem, but if anyone can help it break that addiction it’s Davin. First, he has to get a good look at what he’s got though.

The Mini drove itself into the shop but has multiple signs that it has not lived a life of careful pampering. The tailpipe could be a fog machine while the engine is running, and more than a few parts and pieces are visibly tired. With a flurry of wrenches, Davin gets right to work taking parts off in prep to pull the engine and transmission. There are plenty of interesting finds, but the starter is one worth mentioning. At some point, a non-correct starter was made to fit by enlarging the holes in the mounting ears. It’s not stupid if it works, right?

The four-cylinder engine is a small package, but the Mini is also quite small. That means that getting the powerplant out is not as easy as, say, a 1937 Ford race car. At first lift Davin found that his plan was maybe not the best, but with a few more parts pulled off the engine finally left its cozy sheet metal home and gets bolted onto a nicely fabricated engine stand mount.

If you are itching to see this tidy little package pulled apart, you are going to have to wait ’til next week. For now, you should subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and then go out and work on your projects.

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit RockAuto’s Help pages for further assistance.

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Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

If you watched our last two updates, you saw Davin swap a T5 transmission into our 1946 Ford pickup. Part of that process was getting a new driveshaft to fit the new length of the T5. So, we thought we’d take you behind the scenes with Dan at Valley Truck and see what it takes to make a custom-fit drive shaft.

The process seems so simple on the surface, but like any automotive project that appears simple, it rarely is. A tube with yokes welded on both ends will get the job done, but there are a couple fine points that separate the best from the rest. The first is the selection of the tube for the driveshaft. Wall thickness is dependent on the application, with heavier tubing used for high-torque builds. A person could build the same heavy-duty driveshaft for everything, but the rotational weight would actually make a lower-powered vehicle feel sluggish. The second critical factor is the phasing of the yokes on either end. If these are not clocked perfectly to each other, there will be a vibration that will cause any driver to go crazy.

It’s a simple process that requires serious accuracy, and Dan makes it look easy. It’s shops like this that make swaps possible in our old cars and trucks. Measure properly and give your local driveshaft shop a call for your project—or at least go out into your workshop and get your project done.

Check out the T5 Swap here:
Part 1 – T5 Transmission Swapped into 75-year old Ford Truck
Part 2 – We put a T5 transmission into our 1946 Ford pickup

— Kyle Smith

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit RockAuto’s Help pages for further assistance.

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Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Davin is a man of focus, striving to improve his surroundings and make objects more usable. In that spirit, this week kicks off a three-part series focusing on one of his favorite pickups in the Redline Garage fleet: the Swap to Street 1946 Ford. It’s a truck that is no stranger to highway miles, but the original-type three-speed transmission has left both Davin and the flathead under the hood wanting more. Now, it’s time to see about an upgrade.

This truck was assembled in just four days at the 2015 Hershey fall swap meet, from parts purchased on the grounds. It was a tough challenge, and since then Davin has been making metered improvements to the truck. The flathead got the Redline Rebuild treatment, wiring was cleaned up, and a small amount of insulation was placed inside the cab. It can run down the road at 65 mph without much issue, but the flathead is turning nearly 3200 rpm at that speed. Not ideal.

The plan is for Davin to give the truck two more gears by swapping that original three-speed for a T5 five-speed. It’s a common and durable transmission that has a better spread between the gears, not to mention an overdrive. Of course, nothing just bolts right in, so Davin has a few tasks to tackle before he can pilot the ’46 Ford again.

First up is disassembly and removing all the items in the way of test fitting the T5 while also getting the “new” transmission ready for installation. That means changing out the speedometer drive, cleaning the case, and inspecting the internals to ensure that it’ll function as expected once installed. Sounds simple, but this is just the first part of the three part series that will wrap up this swap. (To never miss an update or project, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel.)

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com. RockAuto.com is an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit our Help pages for further assistance!

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Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Nothing guarantees that something will break quite like declaring a project done. The 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that Davin has been working on is the most recent example. Following the celebration of reuniting the car with Grandma Sue, it promptly left a puddle of oil on the floor. Time to roll the sleeves back up.

With a little investigation, it comes to light that the power steering hoses are the culprit. A couple of clicks on RockAuto.com, and all the parts needed to refresh the system are on the workbench. This is a perfect example of “while I’m in there” syndrome, because while replacing only the lines might have solved the leak, replacing the whole system is a better use of Davin’s time. It eliminates the possibility that another tired piece in the system will fail tomorrow and bring the car right back to the shop. Just for good measure, a fresh set of shocks goes on as well.

Before Davin signs off, we get a couple of speed updates on the other projects. The Snowball race car’s headers are coming together, but more importantly the pistons are finally in for the Chrysler 440 that is destined to sit between the frame rails of the dirt track racer. That opens up a new path for progress, but you won’t see that for a few weeks. That time will be used to take be an in-depth look at what was required to update our Swap to Street 1946 For pickup with a T5 transmission. To see that process and so much more, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and never miss an update.

— Kyle Smith

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit the Help pages for further assistance.

Next episodes

Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

The Redline Rebuild team is in the midst of some “show and tell” right now, in case you haven’t been watching for a few weeks. Davin learned about a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that had been in storage for 30 years and determined that rest period was just too long. That’s when he decided to both show you the find and tell you exactly what it takes to bring a car like this back to life. So far, he’s dragged the car out of storage, inspected it, and convinced the engine to run. What more is there? Well, a good bit.

It’s one thing to get a car driving, and another to get it driving safely. Davin is pursuing the latter. That’s why the leak on the passenger rear wheel gets addressed as part of a thorough chassis inspection. When he first discovers it, Davin estimates the leak is due either to an axle seal or to a wheel cylinder. Luckily, the culprit is the axle seal—a far easier fix than the wheel cylinder, since opening up the hydraulic brake system often produces a can-of-worms situation.

Since the axle seal requires him to remove the brake drum, Davin takes the opportunity to replace the brake shoes, even though all signs point to those components being healthy. Why? It’s cheap peace of mind to replace those parts now and also saves time compared to disassembling things twice, if a stopping problem were to emerge once this pony was back on the road.

With fresh brakes installed, it’s time for a test drive, a challenge which the Mustang passes with flying colors. Then, a little surprise: Davin has been working on the car in secret, behind the back of the car’s current owner. Cam was the one who brought Davin to the car and gave us some of the story behind it, but Cam’s grandmother has the most history with the ’69 Mach 1. She was the one who drove it into storage so many years ago, and she gets one heck of a surprise when she sees Davin and Cam rumble into her driveway.

Even when life gets in the way and delays projects for a long time, it is always worth the effort to get back to work and revive those long-stored machines. It only took Davin a couple days of focused effort to bring this Mustang back to life, so make sure to take his advice and get out in the shop and work on your projects. Of course, if you want to see what Davin is working on next, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to never miss an oil-soaked minute.

— Kyle Smith

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit the Help pages for further assistance.

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Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Finding a cool car that has been tucked away for decades is inspiring, but firing it up for the first time can be less so. Davin found that out last week with the 1969 Ford Mustang he attempted to bring back to life. Without spark, that V-8 was never going to roar to life—so, rather than abuse the tired parts, Davin put in a RockAuto order. Now, it’s time to get serious.

This Mustang is a prime example of an honest, “ran when parked” car. Everything under the hood is still there and connected, which makes the project seem hopeful. Simply being present is the minimum criterion for parts, however; they should also function. Something in the ignition system is not doing its job, and thus Davin is electing to replace the entire ignition system. This decision seems a bit extreme at first blush but, since the parts are available—and easy to remove and replace—he’s actually saving some troubleshooting time at just a few dollars’ cost.

Other to-dos include curing a few leaks and sussing out what the interior of this engine has to say about the car’s history. The valve-cover gaskets were leaking and Davin pulled and cleaned the covers and installed fresh gaskets. Before those last components went back on, Davin spun the engine over with the spark plugs removed. This allowed him to visually inspect the valvetrain and see whether the engine would build appropriate oil pressure quickly.

Put it all back together, cross fingers, and turn the key. Of course, the V-8 fires right up and idles along happily on the choke. There is still a bunch of work left before this Mustang hits the road again, and Davin’s only got one week to make that happen—so as happy as he might be about winning this particular battle, the war wages on. What issues may surface in the brakes and driveline to keep this car off the streets? We aren’t sure yet, but you’ll know next Monday. Be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to never miss an update.

— Kyle Smith

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit the Help pages for further assistance.

Next episodes

Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

There are project cars that require major time, effort, and finances, and then there are project cars that can be up and running in just a matter of weeks. In this latest Redline Update, Davin is thrilled to be laying his hands on one of the latter.

Davin’s coworker Cam is the caretaker of a “ran when parked” 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that has been sitting for 25–30 years … not in an open field and not under a tarp outside, but on a trailer in a warehouse. It had been Cam’s grandfather’s “we’ll get to it next” project car for years, but it never came to fruition. Cam’s grandpa passed away before the Mach 1 could get back on the road, but he’d love to get it running himself—and Davin just has to help.

“It’s gorgeous …” Davin says. “Since I’m not Tom Cotter [of Barn Find Hunter fame], I don’t like to just look at ’em. What would you think if we can this running?”

“That sounds awesome,” Cam says. “The thought of this being on the road is almost too much to comprehend.”

And we’re off.

After bringing the Mach 1 to the Redline Rebuild garage, Davin explains why working on the Mustang is so appealing to him and the video team.

“We want a real quick payback,” he says. “We’ve been working all summer long. We got the [Honda] Trail 70 running, and quite frankly, we’re hooked. We want to see something else done quickly. And the weather is beautiful this fall, so we’re going to take this and in two weeks turn it so it’s driving down the road.”

The plans include replacing all the ignition components first—fresh wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser, and coil. “That may be a little more than you want to do,” Davin says, “but it will completely eliminate all those ignition problems.”

Then, Davin will attempt to start it, check on a small oil leak, replace the hoses, and check the radiator. Once it runs, idles, and doesn’t overheat, then he’ll assess brakes and steering.

Before diving in with both feet, Davin can’t resist trying to start the car. No luck. “We’re not getting any spark,” he says. “Well, bummer.”

But not for you. Stay tuned for next week’s show, in which Davin promises, “You are going to hear this run.” To keep track of this and other projects in the Redline Garage, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel.

— Jeff Peek

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit the Help pages for further assistance.

Enjoy Redline Update stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

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