405 Mi16

[OwenR]

Hey fellas,
I'm new to aussiefrogs and Im intersted in an '91 Mi16. I'm gonna do a engine rebuild on it for my HSC major work as my current project car got stolen from me by some numnuts. Is there anything that i should be wary off in the Mi16's, like common rust spots or defects? Your help is most appreciated..
Cheers

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[DejaVu]

mine has been pretty good to me... nothing too serious has gone wrong. high kms isnt the best, but since your rebuilding thats no problem

interior rattles is common... also a common problem is the driver will have a big grin on his face after driving.

[bowie]

not to mention a fierce loyaly that is installed after about 2 weeks of ownership..

prepare to never be the same again

[Demannu]

Mi16s don't rust. Unless they have been involed in an accident and been poorly repaired, rust simply isn't an issue. Key areas of the car are galvanised at the factory.

[James504]

Doh Scott beat me to it. Like he said Mi16's don't rust. If you have an Mi16 that’s rusting your in big trouble. Again, prepare to grin like an idiot ever time you drive it.

[Alan S]

A word to the wise on engine rebuilds on these; "near enough" is never good enough, so if you're used to working on say a Holden or Ford and even many of the Jap stuff which almost come into "Tractor technology" by comparison, you won't get away with the things on these that you will on the lesser engineered varieties. By the same token, the end result justifies the extra time and care taken.

Internally, I've heard these described as a 'work of art' and a friend with a professional engine development business has flow tested the heads and claims they show better figures stock standard than most V8 Supercars after they've been worked and claims them to be as close to perfect in that regard as any he's ever seen.

Good luck with it.


Alan S

[OwenR]

A mate of mine testdrove the Mi16 for me and he said that the steering column seemed loose and that the brakes were spongy...
I know that the spongy brakes can be mended by bleeding the system but how bout the steering column?
Any suggestions? thanks

[enthused!]

A mate of mine testdrove the Mi16 for me and he said that the steering column seemed loose and that the brakes were spongy...
I know that the spongy brakes can be mended by bleeding the system but how bout the steering column?
Any suggestions? thanks

that's an odd complaint - never heard of it before... steering wheel is height adjustable, maybe it wasn't locked into place?

brakes have a different feel to most jap and oz cars, may be just something to get used to (they certainly work well enough). However if you don't know the history of the car then replacing the brake fluid and bleeding the system is a good idea.

also check tyres... if the car in question had poor quality tyres (or even underinflated tyres) they could have made both of these problems seem worse than they were.

Whereabouts in sydney are you Owen? if you're close to the city i could take you for a whip around the block in mine and give a quick run-over the whole car just so you know what you're looking at/what to expect?

[Jason20]

electrical problems, coolant leaks, oil leaks.

405's dont seem prone rust. quite good in that regard.