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Stage 1 - Lets Have a Look at what we've got! (Aug 2010)
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Stage 2 - Strip down (Aug 2010 - Apr 2011)
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Stage 3 - The Body..( Apr 2011 - Present)
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Update *new*
Stage 4 - Refurbishment (July 2011 - Present)
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Stage 5 - Engine (January
2012 - Present) Click here or
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Stage 6 - New Bits! Click
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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 repair that some 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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
Unfortunately due to a poorly Fiesta, I didn't get much done
today..
Today I started degreasing the engine. It was coming up well.
I have now finished cleaning up the brackets that go on the
engine.
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.
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..
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.
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..
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.
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!
I ordered a complete bush kit for the mini. They look awsome.