05/03/2014 03:22:12

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My Mini 30 Restoration

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Stage 1 - Lets Have a Look at what we've got! (Aug 2010) Click here

Stage 2 - Strip down (Aug 2010 - Apr 2011) Click here  or Latest Update

Stage 3 - The Body..( Apr 2011 - Present) Click here or Latest Update *new*

Stage 4 - Refurbishment (July 2011 - Present) Click here or  Latest Update

Stage 5 - Engine (January 2012 - Present) Click here or Latest Update

Stage 6 - New Bits! Click here or Latest Update

 

Stage 1 - The Car  - Aug - Sep 2010

Here she is. A little beauty, and all for £595 via a classified add website. A Cherry Red Mini 30 with half leather seats and deep red carpets. On the surface she doesn't look too bad. The odd rust patch here and there, but still. She's a Mini and she has an MOT! She cant be that bad. Can she?

 

As you can see in the pictures she has slight rust patches in the usual places but what more can you expect from a 20+ year old mini? She drives ok.. Well, she pulls to the side a bit when you brake but other than that everything seems ok. Oh and the suspension is knackered but I planned on changing that anyway. The reason the front door pocket is in the footwell is that we changed the locks as they were that worn you could open them with your little finger!

She has been christened "Cherry Cooper". "Cherry" for short.

 

Stage 2 - The Strip Down

I have owned Mini's before but never really done that much maintanence or work on them. Never had to, to be honest. I was surprised how easily the car was coming/falling apart.

Interior Out

Engine Out

The engine came out pretty well. We removed it by dropping the front subframe out with the engine and running gear still in it. This was easier as we could just lift the body, and roll the engine away. I made sure everything was boxed and labelled before it was removed. We did however forget to remove speedo cable and nearly snapped it.. Oops.

 

11/03/2012

Today I have been stripping a few other bits out of the car, Windscreen, pedals, handbreak, dash top rail/bottom rail etc. I also gave the car a good clean out.

I am impressed at how solid round the windscreen is and under the dashboard. I think a new scuttle is in order though..

12/03/2012

Today I cleaned out my storage outhouse that I am using to keep most of Cherrys 'Bits' in. I took a few photos of the oddment of wheels that came with the car.. I have 3 different types.. I have 1 steel, 1 (God awfull) Minator, 2 original wheels and 1 later type Rover Minilite... All tyres are knackered and wheels look pitted and scored. Hmm.. More money needed...

 

 

Stage 3 - The Body

With most of the Bits and Bobs stripped I could then concentrate on cleaning the body up and sorting out some of the rust issues and rectifying some of the horrendous repairs/bodges that have been done to the car in the past.

 

 

 

The car looks like it has been waxoyled before and undersealed. This has protected allot of the floor and underside from rust. I painstakingly stripped it all with a scraper and hot air gun. I plan on painting it all red when the time comes. That time is a long way off though.. I will update this section as we start to weld in the new panels. She is having new wings, new sills, A panels, door bottoms, back quarter wheel arch repairs (both sides) boot floor repairs and repairs under the rear seats. There is also some dodgy looking welding in the front footwells. Previous 'over sills' have been fitted and I can see what looks like wire wool filling them. I dread to think why..

01/02/2012.. Welding started... Oh dear..

 

 

We first tried to get the drivers side door off which needs a fair bit of refurbishment. We did this so we could take the drivers side sill off. The sills, at some point have had over-sills put on. This is a ridiculous thing to do as  you're not actually solving the problem, only covering it up. When we cut into the sill and pulled it back I couldn't believe it.. The old (original) sill had absolutely disintegrated. I ended up sweeping it into a dustpan it was what bad! Needless to say when the new panel is welded in it will be filled with waxoyl! We are sitting new sills and new door steps. The doorstep panel actually incorporates part of the lower wheel arch.

03/02/2012

Today we carried on cutting the old bodged welding away and most of it actually separated from the car, so it shows how bad it was. When stripping the wing and A panel off we uncovered some nasty holes at the top of the drivers side flitch panel just under the scuttle. The scuttle itself seems in really good condition.

Unfortunately when we took the wing off we noticed that the shock absorber bracket on the inner wing had a gaping hole in the middle.. More investigation is needed here.. :(

..Oh, And I have a new toy! Cherry claimed my old one.. It actually made a massive flash and burnt out.. I think it was because the wire was so cold and split and shorted together.

5/02/2012

Today I removed the dash clocks and heater unit from the car. I was surprised to see how easy it is to change the bulbs in the clocks! (most of mine didn't work). The clocks came out quite easily. I then took out the centre switches and labelled the cables so that I didn't forget which button they went to.

Yet again, I remove something and find more rust holes.... On that same subject. I looked at the Front Scuttle under the windscreen today and it feels very crunchy under the paint.. I will have a go at sanding it down tomorrow and assess how bad it is.

 

06/02/2012

I managed to cut the passenger side wing off today and also the A panel. I have also cleaned up the inner wings with the angle grinder. Luckily they aren't too bad. Just the holes on the hinge panels and where the air vents go in. Behind the shock absorber brackets is also bad as there is a hole behind each. When we have repaired the holes and replaced the brackets I will put seam sealer round the edges to try and stop water from getting behind the plates. I also realised the reason the front panel is in such good order is because it is a replacement panel. It cant have been on that long as the back of it isn't painted! Just covered in dirt!

07/02/2012

Started painting in red oxide primer.

 

08/02/2012

Today I had a go at cleaning up the rear wheel arches and the boot floor area. The pictures I have taken were part way through cleaning. I actually ground everything back and then degreased it all with Jizer and yes, found more holes/ridiculously bad welds in the wheel arches.. I then treated the wheel arches with rust killing agent. Tomorrow I plan on cutting the rear valance off as it is totally knackered, so I can finish cleaning the boot floor area properly with the grinder. Stay tuned.

09/02/2012

Today I haven't done that much as I have to go to work earlier than usual. I cut most of the drivers side sill off and the rear valance so that I could finish cleaning the boot floor up. I ended up sweeping most of the original sill into a dustpan!

11/02/2011

Today we have offered up the new flitch panel and temporarily bolted it in place so that we could offer up the new sill. Most of the old sill and inner sill has now been removed. Cherry is looking very sorry for herself but I am sure she will look better soon. My plans for this week are to get the drivers side foot well ground down  and cleaned up, get the remainder of the rear-underside of the car ground back and I am going to start the boot interior.

 

13/02/2012

Today I ground down the footwells to do a final check for rust.. THERE WASN'T ANY!! Yay! In the drivers side I found the number '64' etched into the floor pan. Limited endition number 64 perhaps? Who knows.. I then rubbed it all down with degreaser and it came up like new!

 

I then ground back the boot area and had a good poke about with a screwdriver. I uncovered some holes that I knew about and some I didn't. I expected this though... I found out that the drivers side outer body, round the light unit has a mass build up of filler.. I dont know why yet as the other side isn't rusty or dinted.. Maybe its been like it since new? I wouldn't be surprised, with Rover.. Either way, it probably needs sorting. The worst bit of rust is right in the corner of the drivers side rear valance. I think I have ground most of the rust out so we can cut it out and plate it. I degreased it all and treated the rust with rust killer. Tomorrow I will prime with red oxide etch primer just to protect the bare metal.

I also degreased the engine bay ready for priming.

14/02/2012

Not done a great deal today. Neither in the mood or could be bothered.. haha. I unscrewed the back plate from the engine bay so that the wiring could be pulled back into the cockpit easily. I also removed the blanking plate from the bulkhead and ground it back to metal, to be painted. I also removed all the rubber bungs and clips from the bulkhead and degreased the engine bay. I hope to paint tomorrow.

I have also taken a picture of my new vice which is proving to be a godsend when cleaning things!

Tomorrow I plan on painting the engine bay and front bulkhead, also the boot area.

15/02/2012

Today I painted the boot floor, inner rear wheel arches and the engine bay. It all needs doing again as I only put 1  coat on and I should have used a light especially in the boot area so that I could see into the corners a bit better.

Now that the boot floor is in primer it makes it allot easier to see the holes....

The wheel arches in primer

The engine bay in primer. I removed the vin plate to paint behind. I still need to remove the large resistor in the far right corner to paint behind it and clean it up.

Tomorrow I plan on grinding down the underside of the boot floor as I removed the rear valance to accommodate the grinder easier. I also still need to paint the rest of the boot area. Stay tuned!

16/02/2012

I ground down the underside of the rear end of the car today. I didn't find anymore holes but it looks very rusty. I will have a better look when the car is on it's side...

18/02/2012

Today we did some more work towards the sills and lower quarter panels. Poor Cherry...

 

21/02/2012

After the work done at the weekend I cleaned up various places on the car that were either rusty, covered in sealer or had bed welds attached. I also ground some 'test' patches into the floor to check for more rust. I will be covering the floor area with sound insulation so I wasn't worried about how it looked to be honest.. I also polished one of the rear panels

26/02/2012

Today I did some more grinding and covered the end of the centre re-enforcement beam in rust converter ready for priming.

 

08/03/2012

 

Today we did some more preparation for the new sill on the drivers side. We screwed the new sill panel into place to weld it.

 

9/03/2012

Today we made the drivers side subframe plate and welded a re-enforcing piece to the back of it. The new sill is 'test screwed' into place and it is looking good. We drilled holes all along the edges so we can plug weld the new sill into place.

10/03/2012

Today has been a big, momentous day. We have started welding. The drivers side sill is nearly all welded in. We have also welded the drivers side rear subframe mount in. The car is taking shape!

 

15/03/2012

Now that the sill is welded in I decided that I was going to give it all a good coating in etch primer. This is because the primer that came on the repair panel was scratched and flaking in places. I also painted inside the sill. I will paint the inside of the sill with  a generous coating of chassis paint and then fill the sills with wax oyl. Hopefully this will prolong the life of the sills considerably.

 

21/03/2012

Today I finished cutting the remainder of the wings from the front of the car. The previous set of wings had only been tacked on so it was a remarkably easy task....

I then ground down the welds etc.

 

I then started to grind some of the excess paint from the new sill panel. It comes off remarkably easily.

16/04/2012

Today we did a bit more welding of the sill on the drivers side. We test fitted the door with the new panels in place with the new hinges. They were rubbish! There was so much play in them it was unreal! Shame on Wood And Picket! They'll be getting them back!

 

21/04/2012

23/04/2012

After the weekends welding i painted the metal in etch primer to protect it.

30/04/2012

Today we cut out and fitted the new lower rear quarter repair panel. We used a air powered stepper to create a flush surface to weld to. Tomorrow we will weld into place.

1/05/2012

Today has been a big, milestone day! The drivers side door frame is welded into place and the sill has been closed up

first we made the sill strengthening inserts.

Then we clamped the new doorstep panel into place and welded it in. We will grind down the welds and fill the rear quarter to give a smooth finish.

2/05/2012

Today we cut the passenger side sill off. Wow was it bad!

 

8/05/2012

Today I cleaned up the passenger side end of the cross member and also ground down some welds on the lower rear quarter panel repair on the drivers side.

15/05/2012

The rear part of the floor has now been removed and the subframe mounts are cut away ready to be replaced

I couldn't resist trying one of the new arched on the back of the car. They still need some sorting and some new rubbers but I think they will look great. They are Wood and Picket ones.

11/06/2012

I cannot decide what to do about the colour of the car.. I 'want' to keep her original but I dont 'love' the colour and I know it will always bug me when I drive it. It was a nice sunny day so I decided to polish the bonnet to see what I thought of the colour. The sunlight really makes the paint stand out and it looked great.. But then the sun went back to it's usual place, behind the clouds. The bonnet then looked less 'great' Hmm I don't know what to do.. Keep her original and let it niggle me? or paint it a colour I like and make her non-original.. I'll never sell her so the value doesn't bother me.. Arrrghhh!

 

20/06/2012

I have used a spotweld cutter to break the spot welds round the windscreen

 

 

10/07/2012

I have removed the protection paint from the new panels and etch primed. I have also ground down alot of the welds that we had done.

14/07/2012

Today we fitted the new passenger side sill.

I have also etch primed the front panel to protect it from the elements. I also made a piece to fit the hole in the rear passenger wheel arch. I used the old front wing as the profile for the arch.

 

16/07/2012

Today I decided that I would attempt to fix the lower front panel mountings on the drivers side. There were a few patches that needed attention. It had obviously been welded before as there was already a repair patch in place.

 

I thought I would start with the outside.. I don't think its too bad as a first attempt..

Then I decided to do the back piece.. I am shocked at how crap my welding is.. Although I think the metal that I was welding to was just a bit too thin.. Anyway, its a mess and needs pulling back off.. I am not impressed.. Haha.

 

19/07/2012

Done some more work on the lower front panel mount. It's not pretty and I', not proud but it will do.

 

Done some more work on the passanger side sill.

 

fixed a crack in the inner wing.

 

20/07/2012

Today I have welded a piece on the drivers side sill that needed welding

 

30/07/2012

Well, I've been on holiday so not much has been done.. Had the afternoon on her today though so here's the progress.

Drivers side shock mount.

 

Overall I am quite pleased with the result. You may notice there are only 3 bolts holding the shock mount. this is because I am a plank and drilled the hole out wrong. I will need to get a bigger bolt and put a nut on the other side.

31/07/2012

I have been busy....

My crap welding on drivers side inner wing gets covered up.

I had to make a repair piece to go on the passenger side inner wing.

I set myself on fire!!!!!

 

I am ok though..

Ginger watches over me..

I have repaired the passenger side shock mount.

I welded the inner flitch in the drivers footwell.

 

 

 

02/08/2012

Not much progress really.. I cant really do much on the boot floor as the mini is sitting too close to the fence and I need a hand to move it. Also I'm not sure what to do with it. There are various repair panels that would be of use but I am unsure what to get as I need to re-fit the subframe to test fitment etc.

I am fairly sure that I can patch these holes, but as I said I know I need to get some proper repair panels so I am unsure if it is worth patching when I will be eventually replacing..

So I moved onto the doors as they were lying about. haha. I am certain they need reskinning and the bottoms of the frames need repairing. I had a go at repairing them but I don't think they're any good.

 

 

6/8/2012

Today I started tackling the boot floor. Still needs allot of work.

My parents bought me another Mini!!!!!

 

07/08/2012

Today I have been busy. I have not fully ground down the welds that I have done especially underneath as it will be easier to do when the car is on its side. I have just etch primed them to protect them.

Some of the welds aren't pretty but They are in the boot area and wont be seen.

 

08/08/2012

Got a bit fed up of looking up Cherrys bum today. So I just put rust reverter over everything and moved on to something else.

Started to do a bit more towards the passanger side sill. Made some stiffners, Rust treated inside the sill and primed it.

 

09/08/2012

Not done too much today

took the paint off the passenger side rear quarter repair panel as it had gone rusty!!

Welded some of the floor bungs up as they were missing. Welds still need propper dressing.

11/08/2012

Today I got all of the bitumen CRAP off the floor. I can't believe how much there was.

One of the seat anchors has had its bolt sheered and badly bodged back into the floor. Some work needed there..

 

13/08/2012

Today I have tackled the rear drivers side seat and floor pan. Welding is not the most visually perfect but it's good and strong and will be covered up when the cars done.

I also painted the inside of the passenger side sill and the re-enforcing brackets. Oh, also painted the seat tie down brackets. I used Chassis paint.

I obviously masked the bits that need welding first..

 

 

18/08/2012

Today we welded the new flitch panel on also the sill stiffners.

 

20/08/2012

Today I ground down the plug welds we did the other day. I welded the inside of the new flitch panel and painted that also.. Although I have had a disaster!!

The disaster

I also welded the seam along companion box in the rear passenger side. It has welded allot better than the other side.

 

21/08/2012

So I got some more Gas..

 

I welded a piece into the rear bench on the passenger side

I then welded the drain holes up in the entire floor area

I am ALLOT happier with my welding now I have got the hang (well, almost) at setting it propperly.

22/08/2012

Right, thats it! i am officially fed up of finding RUST!

Had to put a big piece in the rear seat/ boot floor...

 

I will grind down the welds underneath when the car is on it's side. I am fed up of banging my head on the battery box. I mean, what a crap place to put something.. Cus thats, not gonna catch every speed bump going.. now is it!

 

01/09/2012

Today, Cherry has hit a milestone! She now has a complete passenger side door frame and rear quarter.

We also lowered the shell down onto a pallet. My camera didn't work though, so there is no picture today.

02/09/2012

Today I have been doing some investigating.... Guess what I found..... Yes, Rust! haha

Round the rear windows

Round the Windscreen (I am glad this isn't worse)

 

Took the windows out

Took the headlining out, rear seat belts, Sunvisors and Rearview mirror

 

Had a bit of a play about with the new wings.. haha..

 

 

04/09/2012

Today I ground down the welding that we did at the weekend. I removed all the paint and then etch primed. I also welded up the holes where we had braced the doors. I think this welding is great, Minimal filler needed I think. Panel looks dead straight too.

 

I took the Scuttle off. The passenger side has been bodged before. There is a repair piece BONDED to the top and then about 2mm of filler slapped over the top.. Nice.. I also believe there has been a scuttle change before as I had to grind off another lip from the passenger side. The drivers side inner wing and top of the flitch is a mess.. The passenger side will repair I think.

18/09/2012

I have repaired the roof gutter at the front of the car

I ground down some surface rust around the wheel arches, treated and etch primed.

I cut out and replaced a piece round the passenger side rear window. Its not too bad. Some filler needed though.

 

 

I also finished welding round the passenger side sill crossmember

 

 

01/10/2012

I have ground down and painted the interior floor and bulkhead. Allot of prep work was done. I am going to paint over this with an Epoxy Mastic from www.rust.co.uk.

 

06/10/2012

today we reconstructed the drivers side inner wings. New Scuttle panel also arived.

 

08/10/2012

Today I lightly ground down the welds from the other day and welded the inside of the upper flitch on the drivers side. I must say I think my welding is excellent here, although I am probably wrong.. haha. I also etch primed the new welds. Also treated the pitted area again before priming.

09/10/2012

Today I reconstructed the passenger side upper flitch.

Its not come out too bad. I have painted it but the picture hasn't saved to my memory card as my camera is packing up.

 

10/11/2012

I have mended the passenger side door frame.

I fixed the top of the passenger side flitch

We got the new scuttle on

 

 

28/11/2012

I have test fitted the wings.. I dont think they are very good..

29/01/2013

 

I have started preparing the wings for welding to the car.

I welded the arial hole up as I don't like the aerial on the wing. I am going to opt for an internal solution.

18/05/2013

Today we have got the wings and a panels ready for fitting! All I ned to do is clean up the edges and weld them on!

 

20/05/2013

I decided that the lip on the drivers side of the front panel was past it. So I made another.

 

I have now decided that I am not going to bother with this. I will fully seam weld the whole front panel from the inside.

21/05/2013

I have cleaned the edges up that need welding on the wing, front panel and a panel.

I made the wing fit better

The car has previously had new a panels.. They were previously bodged. It will take some careful welding and intricate filler work to sort out the mess that I uncovered.

 

 

22/05/2013

Wing and a panel on. Took ages. Looks ok..

 

 

Was a bit tricky where the wing joins the front panel as the lip has about had it.. its come out ok though.

 

09/06/2013

I am not happy with how this has turned out. The A panel gap with the door is a right mess. It's massive. I think the A panel was too small as I had a nightmare clamping it to the wing. I feel the only way I can rectify it is to remove the A panel and start again. To get it to clamp to the wing I had to clamp the wing a bit lower than it should be and now the gap between the wing and the scuttle is slightly stepped.. I had it all clamped nicely and because the wing and A panel were so far apart it put too much stress on the clamps and the bottom one flew off. I didn't realise it had all dropped until I had put the first couple of welds on. Its totally my fault as I shouldn't have bothered with the A panel as I thought all along it was too small..

 

The mini also has a new resident. I have called it Harry.

 

10/06/2013

I took all the paint off the drivers side wing and A panel. I then Etch primed it.

12/06/2013

I decided to work on the rear bins as they were getting a bit rusty. I welded the seam at the bottom of each.

drivers side

should this be welded?

Passenger side

I paint primed the drivers side wing and A panel

I think I need a new passenger side wheel arch.

 

 

16/09/2013

An update!

Front end coming on. I changed the passenger side apanel as I wasnt happy with the fit. It looks better now.

 

I prepared a new door skin.

I sorted out the rusty roof gutters

 

We made a spit

 

I started welding/cleaning up the rust issues. I am happy to say the rust isn't too bad!

 

 

 

 

21/09/2013

Ive been cleaning up the floor and rear area

 

To clean the surface up I am wire brushing everything, rust treating if necessary, wiping over with thinners and priming any bare metal.

It has come up surprisingly well

I have uncovered a couple of extra holes in the boot area but its nothing too serious.

03/10/2013

front floors fully welded

 

painted

Started preparing the back end.... urrrrghhh...

 

 

This is what nearly £150 gets you these days from Somerford Mini well, the genuine bits anyway... :(

 

09/10/2013

been busy

09/11/2013

I Stripped and painted the new rear end panels

I sorted out the boot floor

 

I sorted the surface rust out on the roof

I took the seam finishers off.. Rover didn't bother to paint the seams. God knows how these cars didn't fall apart.

I have realised that I need to re-make one of the genuine heritage valance finishers as it has been spot-welded in the wrong place! If I remember correctly it was the one that had surface rust too! Shoddy! Very Shoddy!

 

We welded the new boot floor in place

We rotated the shell on the spit

18/11/2013

I split the inside seam of the boot floor and filled it with primer. It looked messy but I cleaned the edges up afterwards etc. I also left it 48 hours to dry properly

I sanded down and painted the rear seams on the outside of the body. I also removed the clips that hold the seam finishers on.

I welded the front footwells

I welded the boot floor

The passenger side valance closing plate was poorly made so I fixed it.

When I cut the boot floor off I managed to cut through the petrol tank bracket. I stopped as i reaslised what i had done. I have sorted it now though.

 

30/11/2013

Hellooooo! finally an update! (So you can stop your whinging now DAD!!) haha.

I re-seamsealed the new passenger side valance closure plate. I am happy with how it looks.

 

I ground down some welds in the  floors and boot floors. I repainted the ground down bits also.

 

We did lots of welding

I refitted the petrol tank so that I could re-fit the bracket that holds the tank in place

We took out the shit repair that some bloody moron had done in the past and put a lovely new bit in...

 

 

 

13/01/2014

the boot lid still fits.

we welded the valance closures to the floor

I cleaned the floor back up and ground the plug welds down

I cleaned up the passenger side rear wheel arch.

I started cleaning up the drivers side rear wheel arch and welded a bit in. I also rust reverted the surface.

 

 

 

01/02/2014

Test fitted the valance

Fitted the valance

 

Made a repair bit for the drivers side rear wheel arch

Prepped and primed the front underside ready for seam sealer and stonechip

 

 

 

 

05/03/2014

Started Seam sealing

 

 

 

 

Stage 4 - Refurbishment -

This section is going to be big so I will update it as and when any progress is made. I want to ensure everything is top notch when it goes back on the car. I am painstakingly stripping everything ie, dirt, waxoyl and grease from everything. I am then priming and paining everything with top quality paints. I cant see the point in having a great looking body when underneath is as rough as The Titanic.

 

 

28/02/2012

I have started to refurbish some of the various bits from the engine bay and the body work. Today I cleaned up some of the chrome bits from the body. Simply because it was the first boxes I came accross. I was fairly impressed how things came up. I used Autosol Metal Polish. I plan on changing the grille so will probably get new finishers anyway. They are fairly scratched though to be fair.

29/02/2012

Today I have been cleaning up the fan for the engine bay. The fan was fairly dirty so I used Jizer on it to clean all of the grease away. I then scrubbed it with an abrasive scouring pad to finish off. I then rinsed it under the tap. I dried the fan off with paper towel and sanded the rough edges. I then used wet and dry paper over the entire surface to give the surface a good 'key' prior to priming. I then used Halfords Surface Cleaner to remove any residual grease etc. I then gave the surface of the fan a light dusting of plastic primer. I repeated the coats every few minutes (as per instruction on the tin) to gradually build the primer level up. When I have painted both sides of the fan I will give the surfaces a light sand to give the surface a good key for the paint layer. I will also use surface cleaner to remove grease etc.

 

07/03/2012

Just a small update. I have painted the fan in Cherry red. I still need to lacquer the paint. The reason for slow progress is because I have been on holiday. :)

10/03/2012.

Today I ground, sanded and etch-primed the two metal plates from the bulkhead in the engine bay. I will be painting them silver soon.

21/03/2012

Today I have painted the front tie bars, lower engine mount and bottom suspension arms. I have used Hammerite Hammered Red Paint. I got "hammered" as I thought it was a bit less normal and more interesting.

 

24/03/2012

Today I have painted a few bits and pieces for the mini. I have used Hammerite Hammered finish paint.

 

27/03/2011

Today I packed up some of the freshly painted new bits and wrapped them in bubble wrap.. If I do say so myself, they look ace! Oh, and there is also a picture of my little 'helper'..

 

I took out the clutch reservoir which I was originally going to clean up and paint but....

Firstly I de-greased it and gave it a good scrub. I could see that it wouldn't take much to get it back to being shiny so I coated it in autosol metal polish and went at it with a wire brush on the end of the drill. I am quite impressed! I will have another go at it when I have got a polishing attachment for the drill. I painted the flange with Hammerite Hammered Silver.

I also gave some other bits another coat of paint. I will finish them tomorrow.

29/03/2012

Today I decided that I was going to paint the clutch reservoir so I cleaned it up with sandpaper and then used Halfords Surface cleaner all over it. I then Zinc etch primed it. It doesn't look too bad. I also thoroughly cleaned out the inside to remove excess fluids etc.

 

I also cleaned up a few more subframe bits. Most of the bits had been sandblasted (Thankyou Maurice!) so it was not a big task for get them read for paint. I masked areas that I didn't want paint on and sprayed them with Zinc Etch primer.

30/03/2012

I painted the bits that I prepared yesterday in Hammerite Hammered Finish paint. They don't look too bad!

They just need the other side painting and another coat over the top and they're ready for the new bushes etc!

I also boxed some of the finished bits up and stored them away ready for refitting!

 

02/04/2012

Today I dismantled and cleaned up the fan housing from the engine bay. It was VERY grotty and flaky. The paint came off no problem. It was back to bare metal in no time. I started to prime it with Zinc Etch Primer once cleaned.

 

03/04/2012

I have run out of spray primer so I decided to move onto something else. I picked out the gear selector assembly. It was filthy! I degreased, scraped, wiped etc. I then started to strip it once i had the majority of the crap off it.

This part is in no way cleaned up etc but I have made a start. I am undecided as to if I am going to strip it all out totally. I have had a look and it looks fairly clean inside and it worked ok so I may just paint it back up.

10/04/2012

Today I painted the radiator/fan housing, the gear selector and the clutch resevoir.

None of these bits are finished. The other side of the radiator housing etc still needs painting and then lacquering etc. The underside of the gear linkage still needs a coat of paint also. I put away a few other bits and mocked up how the brake back plates will look with their brackets on the back

11/04/2012

Today I completed painting the gear selector by turning it over to do the other side. I also started to clean up some bits that are waiting to be sorted.

The Gear lever:

The Ignition Coil:

The dome that the fan bolts to.

 

The upper engine steady:

The hooter:

As you can see, I have been busy.. Tomorrow I will put the gear selector back together, put the gear lever back together, finish painting the hooter, finish the engine steady and hopefully clean something else up.. Not sure what yet.

12/04/2012

Today I put the gear selector (mostly) back together. I want to let the paint harden a bit more before I put the rest of it together. I cleaned up and painted the pedals, brake light sensor, and also cleaned the Brake slave cylinder bracket. I haven't gone any further with this as I want to sandblast it to make sure the rust isn't too bad on it..

The Hooter and Hooter Bracket. I'm not entirely happy with this but..... It will do..

The pedals and brake light sensor. Just need lacquering

 

The gear selector. Nearly completed

The The Brake Servo Bracket. Needs attention..

 

 

17/04/2012

I ground back the rust on the Brake Servo Bracket and treated it with rust converter. Once it had dried I sprayed it with Zinc Etch Primer. I then painted with black paint.

18/04/2012

Brake Servo

Brake Resevoir

 

 

 

21/04/2012

Brake Servo

Brake Actuator

 

Wiper Motor

 

10/05/2012

Rear Hub Bearing - Still needs new bearings fitting

 

First Disk Brake refurb

 

15/05/2012

Calipers, Brake Shield and Front Hubs - Needs Work..

 

22/05/2012

This is not in order as I have not updated the site in a while although I have still been working on the mini.

 

20/07/2012

Today I cleaned up the front shock absorber mounts. one needed welding so I put a plate in.

 

Stage 5 - Engine

 

Here is the Engine. She drove well. The gears all went in ok and there were no crunches so fingers crossed it's ok. According to the ODO in the car it's done 103k. I believe its the original engine as I cant see any signs of it ever having been out of the car. The history I have with the car doesn't suggest any change either.

The wiring harness was all fused to the alternator and I cant begin to imagine how there was a connection still being made! So I need a new wiring harness :/

There is a chip in the water pipe going into the head. I cant see it being an issue but I'm still deciding weather or not to change the head.

 

 

Change Of plan!!

We have purchased a new engine! It's slightly bigger. It is from a Mini Clubman 1100. I'm not quite sure on the age of it but from what I have researched it was made between 1973-1981 and possibly made in either Australia or South Africa.

New 1100 engine

The new engine we have purchased did not come with a gearbox so we are planning to use the gearbox from the original 998 engine we have. I have done research on this and it has been done. The 1100 engine (1098cc engine) uses the same bore as the 998cc, but with a slightly longer stroke. I will keep this updated as it progresses. Another thing would be to use the 1100 head on the 998 which would apparently be a straight forward upgrade and decent power gain.

10/03/2012...

Today I de-greased and cleaned up the distributor cap etc. I took a look at the points and they looked ok. To be honest it looked like the day it was made inside! Result! I will try and polish  the distributor with the Dremmel. It should come up ok hopefully!

 

17/04/2012

I have removed the head from the new 1100 engine. The valves were a bit stuck but they freed up a little when introduced to my 'adjustment' tool. I soaked them in penetrating fluid also . I think the head will need totally stripping and flushing as it is full of gunk and debris. As you can see from the pictures the exhaust gasket has seen better days!

 

18/04/2012

New Paint for engine

Starter Motor

 

21/04/2012

Engine Strip Down

23/04/2012

Wiper Motor

 

After stripping the engine over the weekend I was left with a mankey box full of rusty, oily bits. I have started cleaning them up.

 

24/04/2012

25/04/2012

Unfortunately due to a poorly Fiesta, I didn't get much done today..

30/04/2012

Today I started degreasing the engine. It was coming up well.

8/05/2012

I have now finished cleaning up the brackets that go on the engine.

22/05/2012

I have started to clean the 12g202 cylinder head that I am planning to use. I stripped it of all the valves, degreased it, blew it out with the hosepipe, dried it off with the heat gun, ground inside the channels and bores with a wire brush, blew it out with the airline and then soaked it in wd40 to prevent rust. It still needs allot of work but it's getting there. Slowly.

11/06/2012

Finally an update! I have been busy with the car, just not updated the website. I have removed the clutch, flywheel and flywheel housing. I then split the block and gearbox. Why did they use so many different sized bolts to fasten the block and gearbox together?! Seriously! My Dad examined the gearbox and declared it a work of art.. Does that mean its ok? haha. The clutch is pretty knackered though.. When examining the Crank there is a gouge in it.. No idea what it could have been caught on though..

 

13/06/2012

I have now totally stripped the engine. I removed the crank, cam, pistons, oil pump and anything else that was still inside. I have thouraghly degreased the engine. inside and out. I used a jet wash to clean the waterways etc.

I am pleased with the result. Nothing seems worn at all, although I am no expert.

I gave the gearbox a total going over with the jet wash too to remove any dirt. It looks New!

 

My plan is to turn the engine into a 1098cc engine as I have the cam, crank and head. I also have the pistons although their status is unknown as they are still stuck inside the 1098's block.

20/06/2012

The engine block is painted. I am fairly happy with the outcome. I have left the coreplugs in red primer as I think it looks good..

The clutch housing has been painted silver

10/07/2012

I have started to re-assemble the engine. I have put in the crank and the cam shafts. I have decided to use the cam shaft from the 1098 engine as it will work better with the uprated head I am using from the 1098 engine. The dimensions are very close to that of the 1275 cam shaft. However I need to get a new oil pump as it has a different drive gear on the end.

 

Stage 6 -New Bits

This is the section where I will list all new parts I buy. Stay Tuned!

 

27/03/2012

The OLD subframe we got for £25 from the scrappy complete minus hubs! The subframe is pretty much knackered but the radius arms look good!

 

 

10/04/2012

I ordered a complete bush kit for the mini. They look awsome.

 

 

20/07/2012

New Welder!