Thread: Project 'Bob' (formerly Bobette)

After a break due to illness I have managed to strip and rebuild the other side of the axle, this side only took an hour from start to finish as opposed to the 2 days I spent on the previous side. It looks as though a previous owner had done this one already as the bearings and seals all looked barely used, and it did not appear to be drowning in grease, which helped a huge amount because I didn't have to spend forever cleaning it all out.

Also gave the brakes a once over without the pads on so I could persuade the cylinders to move a bit easier using some wd40 and a hammer, they now move freely and it appears to have improved the stopping distance greatly. work will likely cease over the festive period as I need parts now to get her to roadworthy standard, though there is one thing I can probably still do that won't cost much, it does however need some advice.

The windscreen wiper motor.
It works, sort of... I am not sure how to wire it up, the wiring diagram I have says it's supposed to have 4 wires coming from it, but I only have three, a red/green, a brown/green and a green.
if I connect power to the red/green wire the motor turns, the other two wires don't seem to do anything, if power goes to either of them they just get hot and the wire melts... I first thought one might be an earth but it works without either of them being connected, figured maybe they were speed controls perhaps, but again there is nothing I can seem to do with them that doesn't cause overheating, melting and smoke. Anyone got any ideas?

450Dan,

The wiper motor wires are:
Green (live for park) from the wiper motor to pole 4 on the switch
Red/light green from the motor to pole 2 on the switch
Brown/light green from the motor to pole 3 on the switch

The light green wires are not earths, they control the speed of the motor

I can't upload the PDF of the wiring diagram for some reason but if it helps pm me an email address and I'll send it to you.

Hope this helps

Phil

Well it has been months since I last posted, and I wish I could say they have been filled with Landrover repairs... But sadly I cannot.

In fact until 2 days ago I had barely touched the old girl since before Christmas, being busy with my new job as house-husband since the missus has been working herself and earning more money than I ever did. And, well actually getting paid it too. Whilst it has been good fun spending time with the kids and performing general household duties, every time I go outside I keep saying to myself "I really need to get the old girl finished" and finally I could take her sad lonely face no longer.

Having re-read my own thread I remembered what I was up to last I left off, the windscreen wiper motor. I got more wiring diagrams and whipped out the tester screwdriver and electrical fittings, determined to work out how to connect a non-standard switch so that I have two speeds. This did not go to plan however, as only one of the wires will accept power through it without blowing fuses or melting the wires, admitting a minor defeat, I have tied off the other two wires and now have a wiper with one speed... It will do I guess as I have my doubts as to the effectiveness of them anyways, now all I need for them is new blades.

With one success in the bag I moved onto the windscreen washer, which was a simple case of connecting up the wires I the right way and fitting a new switch to the dash. A little electrical wizardry and a slight directional adjustment and I now not only have working wipers but a working washer too!!

With all that excitement I figured why not move on to the non working brake lights, thankfully another easy fix as the switch was not screwed in far enough for the pedal to contact it when depressed.

After all that excitement I have crossed off another 3 things from the long to-do list, and decided that I should set aside a bit more time to the project again,cat least to do the inexpensive things. The next job on the liste is to take the alternator off and March back to the shop I bought it from and demand to know why it doesn't produce any electricity, even when I assault it with rude language and sighing. Let's hope I kept the receipt!

My IIA has a holden red motor, same as yours. It seems to be a pretty common conversion here in Aus.

Again, it has been a while since posting. Sadly life seems to get in the way of Landy time all too often since leaving work, nevertheless there has been some degree of progress whenever I have a spare couple of hours.

Most notably the alternator is now working properly, after removing it and taking it back to the shop it was test and 4 days later I recieved a phone call saying that there was nothing wrong with it! So I took it back home and wired her back up exactly as I had done before and hey presto it now works. Absolutely nothing changed from its previous installing yet then it did not work, and now it does, guy in the shop suggested that perhaps I had been testing it wrong. no matter, I shall admit it was probably my fault and carry on happily knowing that at least it now works.

The other job, which was done today was to clear out the accumulate crap which has been tossed in the back of her over the past year, and to clean off the inside of the roof and tray ready for sanding/painting. A few hours of toil with a scrubbing brush and vacuum whilst simultaneously trying to stop the kids arguing over who is going to play with the steering wheel and she is now fit for a royal visit inside. Well maybe not so much, but the wife said it looked nice, which is as good as it gets right now lol.

Incidentally, the steering wheel which I had been working on has also been finished, not exactly Land Rover original, but I think it looks awesome.

Slowly but surely! Always great to see progress being made

Again it has been an awful long time since I last posted so I figure an update is in order. Progress has been slow to non existent since my last update, I have removed the handbrake assembly, cleaned some parts and decided that it needs new brake shoes, for both the handbrake and the standard brakes. Also added to the growing list of bits is various steering rods, gearbox oil, rear axle seals and a new brain. Preferably one that doesn't attach a battery box somewhere it makes working on the steering impossible.

There is some good news though, with SWMBO deciding that we need a comfortable family car sooner rather than later (because fitting 3 adults and 2 toddlers into a mini doesn't work) funds were made accessible to me to find something that fits the bill. The emphasis was on comfortable so that sadly ruled out going on a shopping spree for parts...

So next week I take delivery of a Disco 2, sadly it puts bob back a few months before I can afford to get more parts, but it does mean that I no longer have to try and cram more seats in the back of her or worry about the roof too much, because I fully intend to have it off now. Which by my calculations has reduced my workload on her by a decent amount and turns her into my plaything rather than a family daily drive! Downside, less to spend on her now, upside I get a nice disco and free reign to do what I please.

Think it works in my favour..

Hmm, a Disco eh? You'll be spending all your restoration time keeping the brute working

Seriously, it sounds like a good option and much as I love Minis and would love one now, if you need the rear seats for people, you're probably going to find yourself growling about the boot space.