Since the engine going in is Fuel Injection, I need an in-tank, or at least higher pressure, fuel pump, so I bought a unit and we cut open the tank to clean it and adapt it to the new pump. After cutting I conected it to a battery charger and filled it with caustic soda. After about 24 hours it was ready for a rinse with phosphoric acid. Now I will coat the inside of the tank with epoxy.
The body shop painted the engine compartment to put the engine in, and here you can see us loading it on my pickup at my house to take it there. Upon installation I found that the sub-frame they sent from Chile does not match the engine, so installation of the engine had to wait. I found another Mini (in Santa Cruz) with an Automatic transmission and took the necesary measurements to modify the manual subframe. It required cutting a couple of centimeters off the front edge and one cm off each side after a certain point, plus opening up the ovaled mounting holes. A trial fitting notes that the automatic is a slight bit longer than the manual, so I had to widen the subframe at the mounting holes by about 3/4 inch. Here are before and after pictures of the first sub-frame modificacion.
The body shop is caught up and back to work on it. Now it begins to take on its final form, finishing the stretching and shrinking of the panels, filling the old mirror holes and some rust in the new doors, straightening the cowl that was damaged and finishing the windshield frame. We have filled in the holes in the cab for a canopy.
