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* If you are short of time just scroll to pic at the bottom, this is a long introductory post!!*
I know you all like a good build project so thought I’d share my current one.
Seeing as I turned 40 at the end of last year and the last year or so has been very tough* I decided to treat myself to a big project, something to remember when I’m older and that would be hard to repeat. I’d started planning what I wanted to get from roughly the end of 2018 (2017-18 had been tough with mental health issues and problems at work) and had started squirreling away funds when I could. I managed to get a decent amount within a year so started hunting for what to get, with a budget of around £3k it was time to start drawing up a list. This went:
3 months in New Zealand with the bike.
A European summer road trip.
A classic car.
Top-end custom bike build.
Get my BRDC license.
The idea of New Zealand really appealed so I had discussions with my work about taking a 3 month career break in 2020/1 to allow the trip options to be done and this was all agreed for January-March 2021. Everything was falling into place and I had plenty of time to save up more funds. So early 2019 I was deep into planning a 10 week trip going right around the country in a camper with 3 weeks afterwards to spend some time back here relaxing before going back to work. All good so far, deposits paid etc.
Then the health of my parents started to deteriorate, especially my dad. Focus shifted to looking after them which ate up time and money so the savings weren’t going up anywhere near the rate they should be. No matter, time is on my side.
Towards the end of 2019 things were looking better all-round so the planning resumed and the savings started to grow again, the trip was on.
You can guess what’s coming now can’t you? Well, there was a bit before that. February 2020 was when we had two 100-year storms hit in a week. That flooded my parent’s house. Cue emergency evacuation and all the resulting chaos that goes with it all. Some of the savings was spent on them for essentials and emergency stuff while the insurers dealt with it all. I had one eye on the small news story of Covid19 but genuinely thought it would be like the previous SARS and MERS ones, not come to anything and be controlled within the year. Come the beginning of March the insurers had taken over the flooding problem so I was back to working towards getting the money for the trip. I was behind schedule but at worst I’d have to take a small loan out of £1-2k to make up the shortfall.
Then the bombshell came of Covid19 being much worse than we all realised. All through the next few weeks I was watching the world shut down, this hit my plans in two ways. Work basically dried up so I no longer could add to the savings pot and it also was blatantly obvious that international travel may be an issue next winter. No matter, I’ll look into pushing things back a year. My boss at work agreed with the delay and the travel companies I had booked with were happy to defer things too. Just have to sit down, do the right things and wait for the pandemic to be controlled.
Fast forward to May 2020. Work takes the decision to furlough my site, no major issue though as I managed to find some short-term work delivering groceries to make up the difference in wages and continue putting money in the savings account. All was good until the news from my main job came through in late June that redundancies were in the air. I wasn’t particularly worried as I did multiple roles at work and two of the three were not in the scope of the notice. Then early July that changed, they were going to look at shrinking the business by nearly 25%. A group conference call was set up for 13th July where I would find out my fate.
The day came and it was announced that my site was being completely shut with immediate effect. Earnings gone. Career break gone. Plans in ruins. I phoned the companies I’d booked with and explained the situation to them. Thankfully I still had only paid deposits so after claiming on the travel insurance I only lost just under £500.
So, back to the list. I knew I would get a decent amount of redundancy pay and I still had the savings pot available so decided to ignore plans for trips or anything likely to be cancelled at short notice. That left a custom bike build or a classic car. The bike build idea didn’t overly enthuse me as the thought of standards changing or my riding evolving in a different direction meant I could end up with a bike that I wouldn’t use or couldn't get parts for. So by default it’s a classic car. But what?
Actually it didn’t take long to decide a shortlist! I had a few different knackered cars when I was young, back when you could pick up things with a few months MOT and Tax on them for £1-200 ie cheap fun. The list went as follows (in order I originally had one):
Mini
Rover SD1
Mk1 MR2
Mk1 MX5
Renault 5 GT Turbo
Volvo 240 estate
Out of that list 3 stood out. A Mini as it was my first car and I always regretted selling it, the MR2 as it was brilliant fun and the Volvo as I had one I’d paid £20 for as a festival car for a summer during Uni and had always hankered after one as a bike lugger/stealth camper.
MR2’s were quickly ruled out as they are expensive to buy in decent nick and the rough ones are a pain for parts and actually working on them, especially bodywork thanks to the mid-engine layout. Volvo’s are just crazy money for some reason, leaving nothing in the budget for mods or repairs plus I didn’t have anywhere to easily keep something that big so renting a lockup would have been needed. So that leaves a Mini. Prices of them have shot up too! I was expecting £1k for a rough one with a short MOT but that was more like £4k now. I’ll need to be patient and see if I could find a bargain somewhere.
The next few months involved daily searches each breakfast for any cars that were on my list. Very few came up in my range. I did go and look at a cheap MR2 in September at a dealer but it had rot all behind the bulkhead. A Mini turned up in Bristol too but that was hiding a catalogue of issues and was not worth even buying for parts! Then a tidy Mk2.5 MX5 popped up on facebook for just over a grand so went to look at that. Great mechanically, lovely interior and low miles. The body could do with a blow-over but nothing major. That was until I looked in the rear arch areas. It was very well disguised but the front of each was basically tissue paper and obviously rotten underneath. A quick sneaky prod with a key told me that it was way too much work and as I didn’t have any particular connection with MX5’s (the one I had before only stuck around for 3 weeks before I sold it for a profit) I passed up on it. Another few Mini’s were popping up but they all had either major rot or were just completely knackered.
Roll onto November and I still had no luck finding anything I wanted. While helping my parents move back home after the flood damage had been repaired I found my old scrap book I’d had when I was young showing my perfect Mini. What colour, wheels, interior trim and other little details. All the stuff I’d never done to my original one. That set my mind that it was either a Mini or nothing for me now, it was an itch I had to scratch if I could.
Then in the space of 2 days two Mini’s showed up on eBay. One was a 1974 850 that had been completely rebuilt and looked spotless. The guy selling it had other Mini’s but was selling this one due to space issues. I couldn’t go see it though due to Wales being open but England not and it was just over the border. Decided to watch it and see where the price went while I checked out the other one. This was only 25 miles away and the right side of the border so I arranged to see it and check it out despite the advert being a bit light on detail, not always a good sign. The viewing went well, apart from when it wouldn’t start as the battery was connected backwards when I first arrived (terminals both labelled +ve on the clamps and the battery having no clear marks on it either!) but after a quick diagnostic check of everything it fired up and ran sweetly straight away. I spotted a few things on it that the owner either didn’t mention in the advert or know about**, all of which added value to the car. The only obvious downside was that the car had been resprayed a few years ago cheaply and was really in need of being done again. There was also the usual bits of rust in the usual places but it was all minor surface stuff that flaked off if you brushed it. Basically a solid base to work from. It was obvious from talking to the owner that he had bought it for that summer as a toy and just used it then was offloading it as he was unwilling to do a bit of remedial work body-wise. Mechanically it was solid and drove really well** (ignoring the comedy-small steering wheel) with plenty of scope for me to build it into what was in my old scrapbook. The auction still had to run and the owner said he’d put a full 12 month MOT on it prior to payment for whoever won it, as stated in the eBay ad. He even took it to the garage he used straight after I viewed it. Something to think about definitely but there was still the 850 auction running.
That Tuesday the 850 auction was up to £4000 with a day to go and a lot of watchers and bidders. It looked like it would go for well above my total project budget plus I wasn’t overly keen on getting a small engined car in yellow. It would be a great car but I just know I’d want to take it away from original. For the right price I’d have it but I thought it would go for £6k or more judging by other similar cars. Decided to have a think about the one I’d seen instead and started to work the numbers. I knew what price I was willing to pay for it and vowed to not go a penny over that.
The next day I overslept and woke up 2 hours after the yellow 850 auction had finished. Checked my emails and it had sold for it’s reserve price, £4600. Someone got a proper bargain there and I would have bought it for that if I’d known! Would easily be able to use it for a year or two, keep it in top condition then sell it on for more. Oh well.
Thursday and the auction on the second Mini is ending. I had kept in touch with the seller about how the MOT had gone, it had failed for dodgy indicators, rust on the rear subframe (one small part was crusty but the rest was solid) and a wiper blade, all of which he was fixing.
20 mins to go and it had 27 watchers but no bids. The starting price was £150 under my limit so it was now a case of waiting and seeing what happened. As the listing stated that it was sold with a full MOT I knew I was protected to an extent from buying a full-on lemon so with 30 seconds to go I decided to bid my maximum and just see if I won. I did, the only bidder so got it for a good £1k less than any other MOT’d and running Mini I could find. Now just for the seller to get the MOT sorted.
It passed the MOT that Friday so it was arranged to collect the car Monday with the garage delivering it for me after I had done the final check it was all good and paid the money. That weekend I went to my parent’s house and cleared a space in the garage for it, that took a LOT of work as they’re both hoarders! But I got that done so was all ready for Monday.
Monday came so I met the seller at his house where he proceeded to give me a load of spares from his garage, some worth a few quid too like a full tailored car cover and extra bits of chromework. We went to the garage and I checked the car over, all was good and as it should be and all the documentation was correct. He had even fitted a new alternator for me as the garage had spotted it was not pumping out the full power but was still charging the battery fine. Happy with that as it saved me £60 or so! Paid the seller the money and then it was time to get it home. I had already arranged for the garage to flatbed it home for me, it was cheaper than paying for a month’s tax and a day’s insurance plus there was salt on the road and I didn’t want to have to deal with cleaning that off before the dreaded rot set (it is a Mini after all!).
Arrived at my parent’s house and seemingly everyone was outside for some reason, all the neighbours and even the postman. So much for keeping it hidden until the spring. Even had one offering to buy it off me for more than I paid.
Once everyone had poked and prodded it, told me all their stories about their old Mini’s and asked for first dibs on a ride when it comes out in the spring it was time to put it in the garage and start to make pans for preparing it for the release of lockdown and a few adventures.
It’s a 1989 1000, it was some sort of basic special in grey originally. I’ve been slowly working away on it since then, grabbing an hour or so every time I’m at my parent’s place while helping them with their care, running them to hospital appointments etc. I’ll detail that in further posts if there is any interest in the project on here, if not I’m not worried as it’s for me not something to show off etc.
The plan this winter is to sort out a few things to make it better and reliable for this summer. Either next winter or the one after that (depending on whether it stays reliable, passes the next MOT and a few other things) I will be doing some bodywork ready for a full respray. This is where the long-term project bit comes in. Now I’ve got a Mini I can work away on it when I can and when funds allow. It’s probably never going to be worth less than I paid for it and possibly go up in value so this is the last chance I’ll probably have to build that Mini I detailed in my old scrapbook. It’s not going to be anywhere near the level of a Binky build, I just want it to be mechanically sound, look tidy and be usable. If I had a concourse car I’d be afraid to use it and pick up a scratch, this is going to be a car that if it gets a scratch or a small dent a trip to the bodyshop won’t be the end of the world.
Hope you all like it, I certainly do!
*Tough doesn’t come close. I genuinely don’t know how I’ve carried on at points the last few years! This project is a big help in getting me through a lot of the fallout from all of this, add in the pandemic and I can genuinely say buying this and working on it these last few weeks has kept me alive.
**Back a few years before I had seen a similar Mini on a friend’s street that a student had used. They were regularly working on it and I’d even chatted to him about it a few times so knew what work he had done to it and how well it had been done. After viewing this one I’d gone back through photos and found that it was that exact car so I knew what bits it had fitted to it. When I went to pick the car up I had another cheeky look to see what was on it and all the bits were there, I could even tell on the test drive that the engine was still in the condition he had left it. All will be revealed in later posts.
Sounds like a nice bit of light at the end of the tunnel, I look forward to this thread developing. I had 2 minis (B508RDH and E337PFK - funny how I can remember those but not the reg of my last car) and they were great fun.
Well done chap,knowing what you have been through this last wee while I hope you enjoy every single minute of this project.
Oh and post a photo of the scrap book dream build 🙂
Still needs a like button...
Volvo 240 Estates are surprisingly expensive aren't they! If we ever get allowed out and I come down your way it would be good to have a poke round.
That's a long post even by my standards!
I once got the train to London to buy a Volvo 240 for £400. It survived the journey back to Newcastle and then the gearbox blew up.
That was me done with 240's. Now they're 10 times the price for some reason.
Great post!
So do I get this right - you had seen the exact car years earlier? How amazing is that!
I never had a Mini but always had a soft spot for them.
Looking forward to seeing the progress.
LIKE
funny how I can remember those but not the reg of my last car
When I was young my parents had three Mini Travellers (estates) - 891 BXN, KNU 40D, FRA 804H - but I can't remember my last car's plate either.
And OP - that may be an '89, but that isn't an '89 grille, is it?
(B508RDH and E337PFK – funny how I can remember those but not the reg of my last car)
I remember every single one of my reg plates for may main cars but not some of the cheap ones I had for a few weeks. Your B reg one is the same age as my original one, a Red City 1000 B132 BNY that is still alive somewhere.
Well done chap, knowing what you have been through this last wee while I hope you enjoy every single minute of this project.
Oh and post a photo of the scrap book dream build 🙂
The scrap book is staying hidden until it's finished, partly to not spoil the surprise but also so that I can change my plans if I feel like it! Working on it so far has been a massive boost to my mental health, even when things have gone wrong. 4 months of unemployment living alone in a 1-bed flat during lockdown has been incredibly tough, this has given me something to aim for.
Volvo 240 Estates are surprisingly expensive aren’t they! If we ever get allowed out and I come down your way it would be good to have a poke round.
Definitely. might even do a road trip up your way if it's allowed in the summer.
That was me done with 240’s. Now they’re 10 times the price for some reason.
Mine cost £20 out of a scrap yard with a second one free. One was a runner with 6 months MOT but no interior and the one it was on top of was rotten but had a mint interior. It was either £100 for the runner lifted down and the interior removed out of the other one or £20 for both if I could get them out the gate by 6pm. Cue a few hours dragging the pair out using my Clio and a few hours in the evening swapping the interior over. Left the spare car by the gate for them to cube. That car in that condition would now be worth well over £3-4k amazingly!
So do I get this right – you had seen the exact car years earlier? How amazing is that!
Yep, it lived opposite my friend's first house for about 3 years just after it was painted black. I wasn't sure initially but the stickers in the side and rear windows were pretty unique and a quick look on Streetview at the right time showed it there and you could make out the reg number through the blurring. I remember at the time it made me want a Mini again, didn't think it would be that exact one.
And OP – that may be an ’89, but that isn’t an ’89 grille, is it?
It's got a Mk1/2 'moustache' grille on it, minus the side trims that extend round the wings. I don't like it on a Mk3/4 shell so it'll be changed back at some point. It'll need a new bonnet though to do so as the later grille top trim screws onto a lip on the front of it and that's been removed. You can attach it without the lip but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
That’s a long post even by my standards!
I did warn everyone at the beginning!
Good to see others like it, will get the next update done after the weekend hopefully. Got quite a bit done already.
Seeing as there’s interest in this I’ll move onto the next bit!
Now it’s home safe it’s time to start having a deeper look at what I’ve got.
Starting with the obvious stuff, it’s clear that the rubber stuff had suffered a bit. The front and rear screen seals are showing signs of going hard and brittle but hadn’t started to split yet. The chrome inserts have gone a disgusting shade of yellow though so new rubbers and inserts are the first things to go on the list.
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There was also the matter of removing those stickers on the windows too, they just look cheap so a few minutes with a Stanley blade is in order at some point.
The wiper blade arms are also very baggy in the joints, usable but not great. I have some spare ones in the pile of bits the seller gave me so will swap over to those if they fit the blades, there are two sizes of arm and blade fitting on Mini’s so will see how that works out once I get to that stage. Either way they will be chrome as the black ones just look crap when the car has chrome bumpers and grille.
Next on the list is the surround round the fuel filler opening, that is completely perished and most likely the original so a new one of those and a foam pad that sits under it goes on the shopping list.
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It’s something a lot of people overlook and will lead to water in the boot and hidden rust behind the tank. This one looked fine when I viewed it and passed an MOT where the rear subframe mount is down there so not expecting anything more than surface rust when I do that job.
The other notable thing is the aforementioned cheap paint job causing issues. The job is obviously cheap as you can see that all they did was rub down the original paint, use it as a primer and put a few layers of black directly on top of it. This has held up ok on the big panels, the roof is actually glass-smooth, but where there are sharp creases it is starting to lift as the bond between it and the original coat has failed. The two major bits are the seam by the driver’s door mirror and the seam below the fuel cap. On both you can see that the original paint underneath has not been sanded correctly to give the black a chance to bond, as the seams do flex when driving (they’re actually push-on covers over the actual spot-welded seams for those of you that don’t know) so it’s flaked off.
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The correct way to paint a shell is to do it without the strips on, paint the strips separately then press them on using the clips. Preferably with some rust-preventative underneath as putting them on inevitably scratches the paint and water can run inside them. They obviously didn’t do that and just painted straight over them, the cheap plastic-like paint doesn’t help! I knew this before so it’s not a major issue as I plan to respray it at some point in a different colour in the future. With that in mind I’ll just apply some suitable black touch-up paint to stop rust setting in after I’ve done all the other work this winter as I can guarantee I’ll knock a few more chips in it along the way.
The interior is a mixed bag. Unfortunately this is an ‘89 car so it doesn’t get the traditional centre oval speedo my original ‘84 one had, instead it’s got the basic 2-dial dash above the steering wheel. Not a big issue as it’s period correct and not out of place.
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When I do a full interior for it I may do the conversion but that will depend upon funds at the time. A new pod, dials and the wiring harness conversion is about £250 so not exactly cheap! The decision will be made when I decide on a dash for it as you can get different versions for centre and 2 or 3 dial later models. When the dash is wood or alloy both look much better so it will come down to funds and personal choice at the time.
The carpets are fine as are the dash pads, apart from the colour. They’ll be fine for the time being and will be changed when I do the respray to match whatever colour I go for (the scrap book has 2 options). The passenger’s door card has a slice in it but that will be patched using tape for now.
It’s also got a comedy 10” steering wheel which makes turning very hard and super-direct!
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That will be changed for a 13” one before it’s allowed out. I preferred a 12” one in my old Mini but that had standard 145/70R12 tyres and this has the larger 165/60R12’s on wider rims so the extra inch will be handy without going too big.
It’s also got a cheap Bluetooth stereo fitted in a bit of wood wedged in the dash with some 6x9’s in small boxes wedged under the rear seat, all of that will be removed immediately as I don’t plan to have a stereo in it. A Mini is just too tinny to hear one properly and if I do any long journeys in it I’ll just use some in-ear wireless headphones or a portable speaker. In all reality though I’ll just drive it without tunes, motorway and dual carriageway use will be very minimal. This is a car for lazy, wandering days or B-road buzzing, neither of which are in need of music except for the exhaust. I’ll most likely move the rev counter over to that space instead.
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Yes, those seats are going. They’re horrible and really don’t suit the car. New seats are on the order list, at this point I’m undecided between two different sets but I know I want it to have traditional style ones, no modern rally-spec bucket seats for me!
Now for the major job I intend to tackle this winter ready for the summer: the engine bay.
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This is the part that really lets the car down visually. It’s actually pretty normal for an A-Series to weep oil over time, especially if it’s running the older style cork gasket on the rocker cover which this one is. It’s a design originally from the 50’s when they didn’t know engines didn’t have to sweat all the fluids out slightly but this one has obviously not been cleaned in a long time. When the student owned it I know the engine bay was reasonably tidy so it probably hasn’t been cleaned since he owned it. The cooling system, while holding pressure and cooling fine, is obviously not in the best of health. The mix of alloy pump and fittings, cast iron block, copper radiator and the odd steel connector means you realistically only get 10 years out of it all before corrosion really takes hold. I would always fit an alloy radiator anyway as it really helps keep the temperatures down and that really helps the engine run smoothly. 10 Internet Points for anyone who can spot what’s wrong with the fan, it’s meant to be yellow but there’s a classic Mini mistake visible in the photo if you look closely.
So that’s the basic plan of attack laid out for the winter:
Clean the engine
Clean the engine bay
Refresh the cooling system
Replace window rubbers and trim inserts
Replace fuel filler rubber
Touch up flaking paint areas
Renew all fluids
There's nothing for it now but to get stuck in with the spanners! Time to see if I can remember my passwords for the Mini Spares and Mini Sport websites.
First thing to do is to strip the engine and the engine bay of the cooling system and ancillaries. This also gave me an opportunity to inspect the various upgrades the engine has or needs compared to stock.
Starting from the top it’s off with the air filter housing to get at the carb. The first thing that stands out is that the inlet manifold is an alloy heated one instead of the original combined inlet/exhaust cast iron one, except that it’s not plumbed in to be heated.
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That can be corrected when putting it back together, provided the connections are sound! It may sound strange having to heat the inlet gases but it does have a benefit of making the flow consistent across all air temperatures. The heat is fed via the cabin heater pipework so when you open the heater in cooler temperatures it automatically heats the inlet. The heat doesn’t actually heat the incoming air, more it stops the atomised fuel forming a small coating on the inlet walls, changing the air/fuel ratio. Not needed on an injected car but with carbs it helps to keep things stable.
Now the access to the bottom of the radiator is a little easier I can drain the cooling system. The colour of the water that comes out:
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Not unusual for an A-series but still disgusting! Why does it always smell of rotten fish?
The next few parts come off easily, namely the brake system, clutch circuit, alternator, fan, radiator, it’s housing and the starter motor. The distributor comes out and also gives up a little secret:
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That’s an electronic points conversion hiding in there, an expensive but good upgrade. Add in the uprated coil (pretty much every Mini will have one these days) and that means that the engine needs different plugs and plug gaps to work at it’s best. Basically a stronger spark that is more controlled means a better burn and better running.
Next it’s time to take the wheels off so that the driveshafts can be released from the gearbox. The wheels in question are a set of Revolutions, diamond-cut rim with black spokes. There is also a spare in the boot which is one of the original Minilite alloys:
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A set of Revolutions with black spokes was what I listed in the old scrap book but in 10", actually prefer the look of the 12" ones now though! Behind the wheels lurks this lot:
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That’s a machined billet 4-pot brake with vented and grooved discs. Above it is a Gaz adjustable damper and just in the background you can see what looks like a HiLo adjustable suspension trumpet. I knew the car was lowered but was unsure whether it was adjustable or not. I want to run it a bit higher than it is now so adjustable is a good thing!
Split the top ball joint and the steering arms off and I can swing the hubs outwards, pulling the inner driveshaft joints out of the gearbox. Then it’s just undo the two lower engine mounts followed by the two steady bars (one just below the head, the other down by the clutch) and the engine is ready to be lifted out.
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You can now see just how oily the engine is! The rear is covered in a thicker layer mixed up with dust, horrible stuff!
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You can also see the state of the firewall in the background. If you know your Mini engines you can also spot something about the inlets, they’ve been machined, presumably to match the alloy inlet. There is also the signs of an exhaust leak on the middle pipe but that is easily explained from what I found when unbolting the manifolds:
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That’s a Maniflow 3-2-1 manifold which needs to be shimmed to clamp together with the inlet manifold correctly. If you don’t the centre is either too tight and you get inlet leaks or too loose and you get outlet leaks. Easy to solve but if you don’t know about it you don’t do it.
So that’s the engine out and ready for a damn serious clean and degreasing!
I've a couple of classic minis
A 1293 spi cooper and a 89 checkmate.
I've had a 72 clubby before.
Good effort. You keeping the 998?
My first car was a 1969 Mini (NDW 652G) that I took over from my mum when I was 17.
Loved it and looked after it the best I could for a few years but I had very limited funds (Kwik Save didn't pay Saturday boys too well) and eventually the tin worm made a meal of it - driver side floor, boot lid and door bottoms all rotted.
I sold it to a guy who said he was going to restore it but saw it on the back of a flat bed being delivered to a scrap yard a couple of years later with the rot still evident.
Good luck with your project, @reluctantjumper. Sounds like your plans will result in a cracking car. 🙂
Yes, the 998 is staying. As long as it produces around 50 bhp (standard is 40) reliably it'll have enough to not be a snail but still be a Mini, if I wanted a faster car I'd have gone for one of the late Mpi cars but they really suffer with very poor quality metal and they are a pain to work on due to absolutely no space! Or a VTEC swap.
@dove1 - that's just normal rot! Pity it wasn't saved, never nice hearing about a car being sold on for someone to restore then it being scrapped. Was really worried my old Mini met that fate but it turned back up all taxed and tested over 10 years after I'd last seen it around. It's off the road now with a lapsed MOT, hopefully just due to lockdown but I still worry it'll be killed.
Mpis rot like you wouldn't believe.
And the have box issues as the idle shaft case hardening is sub par.
Believe it or not the scuttle on post 88s is thinner steel than pre.
You putting a 12g940 head on and pocketing the block? That n a 266 cam should see a genuine 50ish bhp for not so much cash.
Still got a few mates back from the minifinity days I'm in touch with.
Good effort OP,nice to see you getting stuck in to it.
It seems to be a 12g940 head on it as it's an A+ but there are a few different types with that stamping plus this one seems to have had a bit of work doing to it so it's hard to be sure exactly what I've got! I'll only really know by taking it off but I don't want to do that at this stage, run it as-is, see how it performs (was certainly above standard on the test drive) and look at options that I can do while the bodywork is being done in the next year or so. I'm not going for a particular spec of engine, as long as it's fast enough to keep up with general traffic and reliable I'll be happy.
My memory might be out but I thought the 240 was the 1275 head but it's been 10yrs since i did any real A series builds.
295 and 202 are cooper numbers. I remember that.
If you need parts shout I've a few bits stashed
I'm massively rusty (ahem...) on the numbers, used to know them really well too! I should be fine for mechanical parts right now, just done a final order for the odd bit and bob( that's cursed it!), the bodywork is the next target.
So with the engine out it’s time to remove the subframe. Easy enough to do so it comes out easily, well once I’d bought a suitable socket for the two main bolts for the suspension towers anyway!
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It doesn’t look too bad at all, just a bit of surface rust around the brake hose joint and a few scabby patches here and there. Nothing a bit of time with a wire wheel on the drill and some rust prevention paint won’t sort.
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Should be good for a while now, especially as the car won’t see any salt and very little in the way of rain too if I can help it!
While sorting out the surface rust I spotted that the passenger’s side CV boots were looking a bit sorry for themselves so I took the opportunity to replace them while they were easily accessible.
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The new outer boot is actually a genuine NOS MG Rover one! The other side ones look pretty new so they can wait until they need doing.
While doing all of this I was periodically soaking the engine and gearbox in degreaser, scrubbing and rinsing it down then repeating. Took 4 cycles of this to get it looking presentable and there was a mini oil slick in the water at each stage. Once it was clean it was time to remove the water pump and see what the internal passages are like. From the state of the water pump it’s obvious regular coolant swaps haven’t been done.
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It actually still spins ok but the hose clamp area is quite badly pitted and as they’re only a few quid it’s churlish to not replace it for a high capacity one so it’s put aside and a new one ordered. All of the hoses are in poor shape too, the heater take-off is rusty and the reducer between the heater return and the main hose is not much longer for this world!
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The engine block produces a lot of crud and rusty water for a surprisingly long time while I flush it through multiple times, something tells me the cooling system was on it’s last legs so it’s a good thing I planned to upgrade it! That’s silicone hoses, new fittings and a new radiator added to the list. The original radiator is leak-free but a standard one that is battered and cosmetically challenged so I’ll switch it for an alloy, high-capacity one instead. With the tuning the engine has it’ll run a bit hotter than standard anyway so it’s a sensible choice for reliability if anything.
With the engine block cleaned it’s time to take all the tinwork off. It all has surface rust but there is nothing that needs replacing apart from the two engine subframe mounts. An evening or three back home with a wire wheel on the drill, some sandpaper and Edd China’s old favourite, the satin black spray paint (although I used etch primer too) turns it all from crusty to shiny:
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To this:
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That’s going to look a lot better when the bonnet is lifted!
At this point I'm waiting for the engine and cooling system parts to turn up so the next job on the list is to paint the engine bay. That’s for the next update.
To get the engine bay looking better I need to take everything off the bits to be painted. I could do it all in one go but it’s easier just to work one section at a time, means I can keep track of the various nuts and bolts far easier.
First thing was to drop the steering rack as I want to paint behind it. This revealed some very tired rubber boots. The ball joints got damaged separating them from the hubs anyway so may as well do a minor reconditioning of it! Joints off, boots, off, degrease and dry out the rack itself, fill with fresh grease new boots and joints and voila.
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The windscreen wiper mechanism got a similar treatment but I forgot to take any pictures of that, nothing much changed visually anyway so no big deal. I do know that the ‘park’ sensor is broken though and that there aren’t any currently available so that’s a job for the future. Manually parking them in the correct position isn’t exactly a hardship though as I don’t plan on taking the car out in the rain if I can help it!
Now on to the engine bay itself. No real issues here, just methodical work front to back. Start with the easy side panels that just needed a solid degrease to expose the original paintwork, a few minor rust patches to treat before roughing it all up and putting the paint on. The same for the firewall except it was a bit more involved round the clutch and brake master cylinder areas due to spillage over the years. I also came across two seized nuts, one on the brake master cylinder and one on the clutch master cylinder. These both proved to be right buggers to remove so seeing as they were both in good working order I left them, easy to remove with a grinder but doing so would mean replacing both, not cheap! It does mean that the bracket they both mount on to can’t be refurbished so that’s a bit annoying but it’s a simple job to do when everything else is in place so that can wait until either one of them fails or it annoys me enough to just do it anyway!
Took a good fortnight to paint everything as plenty of time had to be left between rust treatment and the two coats of paint. The paint is a black semi-solid one used in boat engine bays applied by brush or roller. It’s similar to Hammerite but a lot tougher with a bit of flex to it. If I was going for concourse standard with this car I’d get the bay sprayed at the same time as the car but I have always preferred a tough coat of something to keep rust completely away and that can stand up to knocks and nasty fluids well. I also prefer a black engine bay for some reason. I’ve seen it’s a ‘thing’ in the US and Japan, mainly to make the engine and ancillaries stand out when you open the bonnet. Others may not like it but it’s my car so my rules.
The finished result:
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Time to bolt the steering rack back in, making sure it’s centred using the drill bit in the inspection hole technique, and the engine bay is looking a lot better.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/Y0YhJNWT/20210225-152604-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/Y0YhJNWT/20210225-152604-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
The pictures really don’t do the change justice, it’s gone from a greasy, horrible mess to a clean, practical area to work in and around. The effect on my motivation for the project has also taken a big boost from seeing a marked, visible change for the better, it's a visual reminder that solid progress is being made. Anyone who has done any project will know the feeling of getting to a certain point, looking at the chaos and thinking 'How the hell am I going to sort that lot out in time!'!
So that’s the engine bay all done and ready to wait for the reintroduction of the engine. It’s a little way off but a decent milestone to get to.
Time to get the engine done.
While I’ve been doing the work on the engine bay I have applied lots of degreaser to the block, agitated and rinsed then gone again until all the grimy much was removed. It didn’t look pretty afterwards with very little of the original mustard yellow paint left. It’s not a colour I like anyway so might as well change it for something a bit more pleasing to the eye. I considered dark blue, plain black or that olive green that they used on early cars but none really suited what I have planned in the future. Blue clashes with the external colour I plan to use, black will just look crap in a dark engine bay and the olive green only really works on cars that are kept standard or are high-end. Part of me wants to have a few things on this car that hint back to other cars I’ve owned over the years and as I used to own a Nova and a Corsa where the engine of choice was always the ‘Red Top’ that’s what I’ve decided on:
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It looks even brighter in real life than it does in the pictures but enamel usually darkens when repeatedly heated so over a few runs it should calm down slightly, not a problem if it doesn’t though!
All of the mounting surfaces have been scraped of excess paint and I’ve taken the chance to renew a lot of the parts that were tired while reassembling it so there’s now new sensors, plugs, thermostat, heater take-off, water pump, studs and gaskets. It has completely transformed the look of it, so much better to spot issues and, more importantly, to work on.
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Then it’s a case of popping it all back onto the subframe ready to be installed back into it’s home again! I also fitted the radiator which caused a small headache. The original bolts are AF thread and without thinking to check (I’d even ordered new, shiny ones) I put the first one in, tightened it up and without noticing it slowly bind up it snapped the brazed on alloy captive nut inside! The only way to get that bit out is to destroy the radiator end plate so I epoxied it back in roughly where it should be but couldn’t wind the bolt back out so had to hacksaw it flush so that the radiator could still fit in the cowling. I didn’t make the same mistake on the other 3 but it was a tough time finding bolts short enough to fit correctly so ended up having to cut some M6x10 bolts down a few extra mm and tidying up the threads. The fit in the cowling is perfectly tight even with just those so it should be fine as-is, if not there is an extra thread on the radiator about an inch above the broken one (for Clubman cars)but it would need a hole drilling in the cowling. If it does cause issues I can always do that but it’s in there completely solid so I’ve left it.
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Now comes the fun bit: lining up the subframe, engine and body without damaging anything!
Getting the car up high enough was a little bit of a struggle as the front of the shell isn’t really designed to take that kind of load and my trolley jack and axle stands can’t go that high either so some creative use of old bits of wood and some luck finally got the front up high enough to wriggle the whole lot underneath.
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It took a solid hour of playing with the angle of the subframe, the alignment of the mounts and lowering it all back down relatively safely to get the body halfway down over the engine. This gave me just enough slack in the speedo cable and just enough access to connect it to the gearbox. Normally you’d disconnect the cable from the dash but I have the brittle two pod one that is notorious for snapping when you do so this is the better option. This picture is taken through a hole just over 2 inches in diameter with another a similar size to the right. I had to battle with a pair of long nose pliers and a part grabber to get it all reconnected!
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Then it’s a case of the final lowering, doing all the mounts up loosely, letting it all take the weight then tightening it all up.
Then undoing it all, lifting the body back up and starting again as while fitting the speedo cable I forgot to fit the exhaust manifold! No way of getting it on with the engine fully in. The whole lot took just over 4 hours to do but now it’s done it shouldn’t need to be done again for a long time!
The end result is worth it though.
Before:
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After:
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With all the new parts and everything being fitted back together correctly it should make maintenance a hell of a lot easier! Now it's just getting it back up and running...
Nice Mini project.
Now the engine’s in it’s time to put in the fluids and connect all the electrical stuff up. First thing is the engine oil, which has to be a specific high Zinc content one otherwise it can lead to very rapid gearbox wear (the gearbox is in the sump).
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If I didn’t know this was the right oil for the car I would genuinely think it’s something out of a ‘Cars’ movie! I may have had Lightning McQueen’s voice in my head as I poured it in. Also did the coolant while checking for leaks then it was on to the brakes and clutch. The clutch immediately sprung a leak at the pipe going into the master cylinder, down to the pipe metal going hard and brittle so it now has a hairline crack on it. It’s now replaced with a braided line instead for reliability, plus it was cheaper, free upgrade! With that working now it’s on to the brakes.
Took the rear wheels off and found that they both had 5mm spacers on them.
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That would explain why they stuck out of the arches right up to the limit of cheeky then. They won’t be refitted now but I’ll keep them aside as I may fit the larger Sport Pack arches at a later date. Good news is both wheel wells are completely solid and have recently had a new coat of protection applied, one less job to do for me.
Had a real struggle with getting the fluid to come out of the rear brakes which turned out to be blocked nipples, nothing a clean and poke with a paperclip couldn’t sort. It was all going so well, clean fluid coming out and plenty of pressure at the pedal. All the way up to tightening up the last nipple on the front brake. Didn’t even get to tighten it one last time as I accidentally leant on the spanner while removing the bleed hose and it sheared off the nipple!
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Thankfully the caliper has a second sleeve nut that the nipple bolts into so a quick call to Mini Sport and a new set were on their way to me. Of course by the time it had arrived enough fluid had drained out through it that I needed to do the whole bleeding procedure again as the master cylinder reservoir was empty despite me clamping off the hose.
With the stopping sorted it’s back up to the ‘go’ bits. Have fitted a basic pancake air filter instead of the giant original thing as it looks better and the induction noise is addictive. It may not be a fast car but it can still sound good! I’ve also replaced the throttle and choke cables as they were not returning to their rest positions smoothly. The vacuum advance hose has also perished so that’s added to the final order list.
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Then it’s just working from the top down reconnecting everything and tidying up the odd crusty connector. Doing this bit of cable tie work was immensely satisfying:
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Moving to the boot I have to sort out an issue that reared it’s head back when I viewed the car originally: the earth strap.
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So much wrong in this picture: frayed cable at each end, loose screws and a +ve stamp on the clamp!
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That’s so much better!
While doing that little job I drained the fuel tank so I could fit the new neck gasket and foam ring. I was really hoping not to find too much of a horror story behind the tank as the old gasket was so cracked there was no way it was preventing water getting into the boot.
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Very surprised to find it near-mint! The small rust marks are just dust which wiped off, a real result. The tank itself is a bit crusty inside but perfectly usable so that’s one less thing to worry about.
At this point I had to leave the car for a fortnight as other things took over my time. I’m at the final stages now though, just the exhaust to do before getting the engine started again. The rest should be cosmetic stuff ready for it’s first drive!!
That's more than I've done in 10yrs on mine😛
Is it on the road? If not then you've wasted the opportunity of the lockdowns in my book 🤣
Get some pictures up of them, always good to see what others have. Actually saw a suffix T blue pickup out and about while on a bike ride earlier in the week. Spoke to the owner and he's owned it for decades, was his work van but he's now restored it and was just getting it loosened up ready for the summer. Would love a pickup or a van but I'd be far too tempted to convert them to RWD with a Rover V8 in the back on an Ultima subframe and suspension 😁
Eurgh, Sportspack arches. Horrid things, plus they only look 'right' with 13" wheels and no-one in their right mind runs a mini on 13s. Each to their own though.
Lots of progress, love the tiny pancake filter. I had one on mine and the induction sound is epic. I expect it'll slow down once you're allowed on the bike again?
Undecided on the sportpack arches, the issue is the front brake upgrade pushes the wheels out just a tiny bit too far for standard ones. I can get the offset changed on the rims as there's plenty of clearance for it inside but I'll see what options there are at a later date.
I'm actually quite far ahead of the posting, aiming to catch up smack on time for the first drive. Kind of not too bothered about the riding for a while though as it'll be crazy busy everywhere once restrictions ease (I don't like busy that much) and will most likely focus on specific days with mates at bike parks rather than smashing out miles every week. Still aiming for doing the SDW in under 12 hours but I've got Zwift to help with that!
My dad was an ace on doing up Mini's. He loved them. My sister had two as her first cars. They are go-carts on wheels... good fun, if not that fast....
We had loads as a family as second cars.
No both in bits....
Still building a garage at the new place so looking good for 2035....
I'd check n clean the fuse box they corrode for fun.
I'd be on grp2 arches btw😀
Fuse box! Forgot to order one, thanks for the reminder. Mine's missing the cover and is a bit crusty, will get that done today.
Next on the job list is a load of little, easier jobs.
Undersealing is one job I strangely find therapeutic so that’s the first one. The priority is to protect the bits that are still completely sound. That’s basically the floor, inner arches and lower firewall. The rear of the car has recently been done so I don’t need to do anything with the rear arches or boot floor thankfully as that would mean removing the rear subframe, that’s known to be pretty crusty and will be replaced soon anyway so it’s just a case of monitoring that over the summer. So the front inner arches get a fresh coat of sealant as does the floor. The floor is incredibly well preserved but the factory coating is flaking off so it’s out with the scraper then coat it in fresh stuff
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While working under there it’s time to sort out the exhaust. While it’s a full 1.5” stainless one the joints had been badly out together so it was blowing at both joints.
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The person who had fitted it had basically tried to stretch the length of it to get the maximum amount of tailpile showing out the back. Reseating it correctly with new clamps and assembly paste means it’s now leak-free and the tailpipe looks correct.
Moving inside the car it’s a case of doing a bit on housekeeping ready for the carpets and seats to go back in. Except I found a problem.
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Looks like the heater matrix has blown. I was sort of expecting it (hence the bowl underneath) as when flushing it a ridiculous amount of rusty water and a few big lumps came out of it. For the time being I’ll just bypass it and replace at a later date, running out of time now and I want to get the car running ready for Easter!
While reconnecting all the switches and controls I noticed that certain things weren’t working correctly, at all or intermittently:
Hazards very slow
Indicators not at all
Headlights very dim
No screenwash pump
Thinking it was just a low battery I switched it for the good one in my daily driver, still the same and the Mini’s battery was fine in that car. Time to dig the multimeter out! Cue a solid hour of chasing voltages, tracing wires, continuity checking and basically frustrating diagnosis. What made it worse was that every time I moved and made the car rock the results would change. 12v, 3v, no volts etc, I had visions of having to replace whole parts of the wiring loom. I had to leave things at that point and restart it all another day.
Then I spotted something that @duncancallum said: fuse box corrosion.
For some reason in my mind I’d ordered a new one and replaced it when doing the engine bay. Except it was out of stock at the time and I hadn’t. The next time I got to the car it was the first thing I checked:
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That doesn’t look good. How the hell I didn’t spot it when chasing voltages and continuity I don’t know. Actually I do, I was measuring at the connectors and as I put my weight on them they would work, move to another part of the wiring and they would work for a bit then disconnect as the car moved about. 30 mins with a bit of grit paper and a small file to clean the contacts up and it looks 10x better:
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Suddenly everything is working perfectly! The two electrical issues I noticed on the test drive before buying, namely slow indicators and very dim headlights, have both gone too. When I order some more stuff for the car I’ll get a new fuse box and also replace the connectors, something easy to replace on a wet day and I don’t fancy taking the car out.
With that sorted I can now get the engine running! Which goes completely hiccup-free. It was just a case of:
Adjust the tappets - two are loose, one tight
Top off the engine oil
Check the spark plug gaps - all at 0.5mm instead of 0.8mm
Fit distributor roughly in place
Turn engine over without plugs to get the fuel pumping to the carb
Put plugs in
It fired up on the fourth revolution! A quick tweak of the distributor to get it running smooth and it’s settled down and idling nicely. Let it get up to temperature then it’s time to check the timing. Was 2 degrees out of spec. I’ll play with the timing at a later date but for now it’s set at the standard 8 degrees at idle with the vacuum advance disconnected, once I know everything is happy I can take it out and adjust that forward a bit. With the spec I have on it I should be able to go forward to as much as 12 or 14 with the full advance up around the 30 degree mark ( if you’re interested there’s a good video on the process here from Steveston Motor Co )
So that’s the car capable of running under it’s own power! All that’s left to do is refit the interior trim, install some new seats, fit the new steering wheel, put the front and rear glass back in and give it a damn good valet.
Very near the finish line and just about on target for my first run in April.
Random reposting glitch, ignore!
if that's your idea of a long term project..... took me 8 years to restore my Spitfire. Brilliant effort.
My headlights used to turn off due the fuse box corrosion😂
I fit 2 one on the other side symmetrical and use it for spotlights, alarms and non standard wiring.
Means everything can be loom taped up nicely and no shonky inline shite needs to be fitted.
I wish one of the previous owners had done that, instead they'd botched the stereo, spotlight and a 12v socket wiring into random bits of it all. The first job was ripping it all out!
The long term bit will be getting it ready for a colour change in a year or two, that will involve new body panels and a few repairs. The aim for this year is purely to sort out the mechanical and electrical stuff and have a few adventures in it first. I fully expect the next stage to take a decent amount of time due to various constraints!
Oh and when you undersea get to doing panel work unbolt the front shock mounts from.the wing.
They never painted behind them. Genius or what
I've spotted a few places the factory never painted so far!
That's why they had leaky engines- inbuilt anti-rust measure!
Time for the job I’ve been dreading: putting the front and rear screens back in. So much scope to crack the glass and so expensive to replace, this is going to be stressful!
The rear is in good condition, like the rest of it back there, but the front aperture is a different story. The cheap paint job had left a lot of transitions between the original paint and had gone all brittle so a lot of it flaked off while removing the old, perished rubber. There is also the start of rot around the bottom that has spread from underneath the scuttle where the factory paint didn’t reach. I’ve treated both sides but have had to grind down the lip in two places as it was too thick for the new rubber to sit on correctly. I’ve also painted the flaked and poorly painted areas, had the flaked paint matched by a local bodyshop and it’s a BMW colour simply called BMW Black! You can see the areas below: along the top for the poor paint, the rust is between the two screen vents and the driver’s side has flaked paint, all before fixing:
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Cue a solid afternoon with soapy water, various plastic implements and a lot of swearing while recovering with tea and cake (thanks mum!) and the rear screen was in nicely. It was easy to get it all in but getting it to sit correctly so I could insert the sealing bead meant it came back out twice! Eventually it sat nicely for me though, was very relieved when it was finished and it all sat square and flush with the body. The rear is always the easier one so I really wasn’t looking forward to the front! I had figured out a few things though technique-wise and on the tools front, so that would come in handy.
A few days later and it’s time for the front screen. Completely different experience. Where the rear went in initially easily the front was a proper sod, all down to the curvature making it really difficult to keep one side in the rubber while manipulating the other. It took a few watches of youtube videos and some creative use of some bungees (forgot to take a picture of it, sorry) for it to behave and then suddenly all slide into place with a soapy fart and lots of bubbles! I really didn’t want to do the whole in/out/in routine I had with the rear to get the bead in. Thankfully it went in first time although it was incredibly stiff all the way round, a proper upper body workout that I felt for two days afterwards! Took nearly two hours of wiggling the bead tool, re-lubing it, more wiggling etc, making very slow but steady progress. As in mm’s each time but it got there.
The glass now in it’s time to get the interior done, which means getting the car outside for the first time in 3 months due to the narrowness of the garage. The poor thing is covered in dust, soap marks and fingerprints despite being under a cover most of the time!
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So it’s fit the carpets, mats and seatbelt clips to the centre then it’s the job of the seats. After a bit of indecision I eventually went for some classic-style buckets. I was undecided about whether to get ones with headrests or not but decided against them as they always look too big inside a Mini, mainly because my old one and the ones my friends had back then didn’t have them either so I’m just used to it that way.
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I’m reusing the runners off the old seats so had to remove them, which was a proper mission. Whoever had installed them had used the wrong bolts, normal ones instead of Allen Key ones, so I couldn’t get a socket on them. How they got them tight in the first place I don’t know. Cue drilling all 8 out which took an age. Eventually got there and fitted them to the new seats using the correct bolts. I did have to shorten the front mountings though as the new seats are a bit slacker than the old ones that were adjustable. A quick 5 minutes with a hacksaw and file and they’re in. Fitting the new steering wheel took 5 minutes and with all of that I could move on to the final job on the list: cleaning it!
Two washes, some paint renovator, two coats of polish and some metal polish later and it was time to wait for the 1st April so I can tax it and go for it’s first journey! That’s all the jobs on the list done.
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Which was yesterday and the weather Gods played ball. So off to the local hills I drove!
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Sadly the sun wasn’t very bright so it doesn’t look overly shiny in the pictures but in real life it is so much better than I thought it would be. It may be a cheap paint job but with a decent polish it does look good from 10 feet away! It still needs a respray but it doesn't look unloved so I’m very happy.
As for the first drive? It went without any hiccups. The engine got better and better as the miles rolled by, it’s got a decent amount of poke to it actually. I do need to raise the idle as it’s dropped ever so slightly so as to be lumpy at times, easy to do on the next run. There’s also a very slight knock from the left front suspension on very rough surfaces so will look into that too. I do need to fit the steering column drop link though as the steering wheel is just slightly too high for my liking and does restrict my view of the dials slightly. But then I was never expecting it to be trouble-free immediately so I’ll take those as niggles! I also need to raise the ride height a bit more as it’s low enough to have arch rub at full lock still and on big bumps it’s just touching the bump stops on the front. The important bit is it holds temperature very well, there’s no leaks and I can just jump in it and drive somewhere without worrying it’s going to let me down. Did just under 60 miles with three stops to check things and to have some lunch and yes, I had a massive grin on my face from the second mile onwards! Even saw a few other classics out and about, including one green Mini who’s driver did the usual wave at me but looked a bit confused while doing so (guessing he knows all the local cars and didn’t recognise me or the car!). The combination of good weather, the Easter break and it being April 1st (6 months tax takes you to the end of September, perfect for the time to pack them back away for the winter) presumably meant everyone was out for a run to blow the cobwebs away.
What I had forgotten though is how physical driving an older car is, especially a little one. The unassisted steering, while light at speed, means you steer more from your shoulders than just moving your arms. The constant jiggling from the suspension gives the old moobs a workout too, like being on a wobble plate! Great fun bouncing along though, especially as the handling is so direct and immediate. Brought back a wealth of memories from my old one, all the good ones and very few of the old ones. Stepping back into my Fabia was very different, even went to pull the choke out...
I’m going to enjoy this summer with it even if I only get to do lots of local trips with it. It makes even a 20 minute drive an adventure!
Absolutely top work fella and what a great Friday update.
I’m going to look at my ‘long term projects’ this weekend in a whole new light.😉😊👍
Just reading your last post had brought a smile to my face thinking about my old Minis. Had a Clubman estate bought at 15 to learn in, and an '84 998, which broke me so many times.
The Clubman is the only car I really regret not keeping.
Lovely job. Enjoy.
If you are thinking of switching to 10" wheels, I have a set of 4 original Cooper S reverse rims you can have. I think you'd need to change your discs and calipers though.
I’m going to look at my ‘long term projects’ this weekend in a whole new light.
This is towards the end of part 1, getting it mechanically good. Part 2 is major bodywork restoration, part 3 is a full respray with refreshed brightwork and part 4 is getting the interior to a similar standard. It could take a decade!
Underhill, that brings a smile to my face too. Seeing other people's reactions to it makes me happy, from the older generation reminiscing about their old ones to the younger kids shock at the size of it. Sort of weird getting that kind of attention actually.
Midlifecrashes, those wheels will be worth a solid chunk of money to the right person, especially if they are the same age as a particular car! I don't plan to go to 10" as that would mean new brakes and going away from my choice of wheels but thanks for the kind offer. Mine was born with 12" wheels so that's how it will stay I think, even the Mk1 grille annoys me slightly but is growing on me.
Weather's going to be good tomorrow and I have to go to see my sister so it'll get another run out, more than likely via the scenic route. Would be rude not to I suppose!
The scuttle panel is thinner post 85ish and such rusts.
Looking good. I've not driven a mini in 8yrs...
Must sort that out
Just been out to the garage to check on my wheels. They are LP918 10x4.5J. I think that makes them "reverse rims" made to fit bigger tyres over drums, therefore not "S" since S had disks and took a wheel with different offset. Original "S" would be LP882 (3.5) and LP883 (4.5), those are the rarer expensive ones. Mine are certainly period, but not worth much. I bought mine around 1991 while gathering parts to soup up my R reg Mini 1000. I also had a LCB exhaust, original minifins, big SU carb and the heated MG Metro turbo inlet manifold all ready to fit when the mini got pranged while parked, which brought a couple of structural issues to light as well as the damage and I had to get rid, to be replaced by an MG Metro.
I like the grille on yours, goes with the mild restomod look with bucket seats and Tickford style handles. I hope you've upgraded all your bulbs too, my bike lights in the 90s were brighter than my mini!
Looks a great mini. I do follow prices of them in the hopes I'll see a reasonably priced one to buy. Sold my 81 mini in 2009, Looking at current prices I would have been better off leaving it in the garage to rust and selling it 12 years later...
Those rims would still be worth £100+ for the older cars, early period-correct mods are the current trend with a lot of people.
Prices have definitely jumped the last few years, even more since the pandemic hit! I was lucky to find this one badly listed and poorly presented. I regretted selling my old Mini shortly after it went back then, looking back now with hindsight I really should have kept it somewhere safe waiting for the right time.
with hindsight I really should have kept it
Perfect science is hindsight! My Dad was offered an XK150 in the early 70s when fuel prices shot up. It was something like £250, about 2 or 3 months pay and he’d just started the mortgage. He turned it down as it wasn’t practical with a family of 4!
Plenty of stories of cars going cheap to most people that are now worth a ridiculous amount now!
Came back from my sister's place via the scenic route, stopped of at Hay Bluff as the ice cream van was still there. I've really missed the views in the countryside!!
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Saw plenty of other cars out too, everything from a McLaren to an Austin 7.
Love this. Thank you so much for sharing. My dad had a mini when i was a kid, so my first car was a G reg 1989 mini 30. Great cars, they genuinely make me smile when I see them.
What a fabulous write up. I've only just found this, sat & read the lot with avid interest. I've a similar project hiding in the garage under some sheets for years now.
Had to move her out recently to have a garage door fitted & found some enthusiasm - your tales have increased that, so thank you.
Your mini helped your head & your write up just helped mine.... top job.
Good to hear people are enjoying me enjoying it! If it helps people get back into their projects or even to find a new one then even better. Feel free to post up pictures, this thread can be about everyone's projects, not just mine.
Found out what the slight knock on the left front is: the wheel bearing has a tiny amount of play in it at one point of rotation. Move it left or right and it goes away though so presumably it has one spot that is looser than the rest. Changing it isn't hard but does require some properly beefy tools due to the torque for the driveshaft bearing, 250+Nm! That's out of my league for tooling and safety so will find a local garage to do that job. It's not in desperate need of doing but best to get it done now ready for the summer and before it gets any worse.
I'd double check that, I've never known a bearing have play at 1 point
If plays with hands at 3 and 9 its track rod and 12 n 6 ball joints.
Grease the front joints up n see if it goes away
What a great piece of info, so simply explained.
+1 for double checking, a bearing can't wear in 1 place. It can fail in one place, but you know about that!
Looks fantastic, well done. A huge difference from when you started.
Lovely.
The position of the play moves when I rotate the wheel, roughly at half the wheel speed. The ball joints are fine as is the track rod, I suspected a ball joint at first. If the movement is at 12-6 with the tyre valve at 12 and I then move the valve round to 6 then the play moves to 9-3. Move the valve to 3 and the play is halfway between 1-7 and 2-8. It's consistently like that and with the wheel off you can see the disc moving about 1mm while the hub and everything else is solid. It occasionally goes away for a few rotations too, almost like one of the balls in one of the bearings has a chip in it and it only allows play when everything lines up in a certain way. I'll get the garage to diagnose it too and see if they tally up but I'm assuming the excessive lowering the car had when I bought it has stressed the bearing out. There's no grumbling noise from it though, even under cornering, so a second opinion will be handy.
It's all part of the fun anyway, if I wanted constant reliability I'd have leased something!
OP Did you use waterless coolant in the rebuilt engine? IT would help the replacement bits live a good bit longer.
I've seen the bearings spin in the hub.
I'd check drive flanges too see if its spun.
Have you pulled the split pin out n give it a try with a bar see if you get anymore on it?
Bearings wise it might be on ballls instead of taper as well.
No to the waterless coolant, prefer to just change it annually and keep the concentration level correct. I know of three people who did use it and two of them had issues with there being no warning that the engine was overheating due to no expansion of the coolant triggering relief valves. Seeing as I have no expansion tank and it's all essentially 50's cooling technology I'll stick to regular coolant. My old Mini was taken off the road due to constant overheating and the tell-tale was always steam from the vent before the warning light came on so I'm very careful on that front. At least this one has a temperature gauge that I glance at every minute or so!
Have checked the nut as good as I can (breaker bar with extension and me fully on the end of it) and it didn't move at all, split pin was fine too so I doubt it's loosened off. I'm thinking the same on the bearing, a cheap one has been used or poor installation. If it is definitely the bearing then I'll get them to fit either the Timken one or the Mini Spares one that is well liked in the clubs and forums.
Well Georgie's back from the garage and the bearing was indeed faulty.
One of the rollers was cracked in half and not rotating, probably not for very long though as the surface of the race was still smooth but it needed doing. The grease was also pretty manky so the person who installed it either didn't do a very good job or used a cheap one, most likely both. The top ball joint also was replaced as it didn't take very kindly to being removed from the suspension arm, deciding to destroy the threads on the nut as it came off! All done for the gigantic sum of £113 so not a big deal at all. I would have got the lower ball joint replaced at the same time but neither I or the garage could source one in time so it'll have to wait until I do another order, I can fit that myself anyway. Took her for a quick spin and the nasty rattle has completely gone so the bearing was the culprit.
So seeing as she's back and the weather was good yesterday, plus I'd had a really tough few days for a few reasons, I took her out up to the Elan Valley for her first proper day out. Spent a good few hours driving through Mid Wales, enjoying the twisty bits and generally having a good dose of much-needed fun. I wasn't the only one out either, plenty of motorbikes with a few older cars in the mix too. Thankfully it wasn't busy so lots of space to just enjoy the views and have a proper reset of the old grey matter.
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That's one of the few times I managed to take a photo of her without someone checking her out, the other people with their classics were all having the same problem! Hopefully that will get less as more cars come out over the summer, it's getting to be a bit of a pain at fuel stops and cafe's. Not complaining, more than happy for people to have a nose around. The main comment is about how small it is compared to modern stuff but then there was a Mk4 Cortina beside a new Discovery at one car park and even that looked small.
Did have another, different knocking sound appear on the drive back home though, need to investigate that before the next adventure. Had a quick look at a cafe but it's nothing obvious and all the bits replaced are still tight, if it's not one thing it's another with projects!
Already hoping to have another adventure before the end of the month, got two I want to do this summer so will see if the weather and restrictions play ball so I can tick them off the list.
Enjoying the updates 🙂
Nice. I've never done one & have not got the space or tools to do it, but I'd love to buy an old car (not necessarily a Mini) & refurb it.
Are they Yokohama tyres on it? A mate at uni had an Astra with a few mods & he always insisted on Yokohama tyres. They look familiar.
Great story to read. I've always loved Mini's, ever since my parents (i was five or six) hired one for a holiday to the north of Scotland. Two adults and two kids in a mini, with everything for a two week holiday, driving from the Midlands 😂 we still talk about it fondly.
I would love an old mini but don't have the time or knowledge. They have so much character.
Yep, they're Yokohama's. The A539 is pretty much the only tyre you can get in 12" for them these days, they're a good tyre but definitely aimed at handling with a very stiff sidewall. They were the tuner's tyre of choice back in the late 90's, had them on my Nova. You can occasionally get a Nankang that's much more comfort-orientated and is actually very good (and would be my preference) but stock is sporadic so pretty much every Mini on 12 or 13's is running Yokohama's.
doom_mountain - 4-up from the Midlands to Scotland, bet that was intimate!
Yeah, this was the late 90s. I remember him being pretty miffed because Yokohama used to do a more aggressive tyre that was his preferred option. This was the replacement when they discontinued it.
Have you looked on camskill.co.uk for the Nangkangs? Dunno what profile your 12s are, but they have a few 12" tyres on there and generally have a decent selection of tyres in general.
He may be on about the old A520, was directional and very sticky for the time.
Camskill do indeed have stock of the Nankangs, pity that I don't need tyres though! The ones I have are 7 years old but still have plenty of tread and have scrubbed back in nicely with a bit of use. Will remember though as if she passes her MOT for next year I may put new rubber on as I don't like using tyres over 7-8 years old.
I had dunlop Sp on my cooper...
Touch hard really
Aoo8s on the 10inch rims
Had a bit of time available so decided to look into a few jobs that are pending on my ‘Snags List’.
The first one was to raise the suspension up a bit, partly to stop the front right wheel rubbing the arch on compression but also to add a bit of compliance to the ride! Easy enough to do so that was quickly fixed, she now is just half an inch lower on the front from standard and a quarter lower on the rear. The ride is still firm at this point so it’s on to step 2: softening the adjustable shocks.
Except the adjusters don’t move on three of them. They have obviously never been turned after being installed judging by the crap on them, this is the cleanest one!
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A quick phone call to Mini Spares and I find out how the adjusters work and that a liberal soaking in some penetrating oil with gentle wiggling should free them up. A few solid soaks over the next few hours frees them up nicely enough to find out they were all set on the hardest setting. I’ve wound them all to 2 clicks off the softest and the suspension now actually moves! The ride is much, much better now so that’s another job sorted.
Next job is to reset the ignition timing as the distributor is at an odd angle to what it should be. The rotor arm should be pointing at roughly 10 past 2 when at TDC but it’s more like 20 past. Not a major issue but it does mean I can’t advance the timing past 10 degrees without the vacuum hose hitting the oil feed pipe to the filter. I whip it off and find this:
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For those of you who don’t know this is how it’s pictured in the Haynes manual, with the slots pointing towards the hole on the right (it’s the bolt hole for the distributor clamp). If you read the manual properly though it should be in this orientation before you insert it and as the drive gear mates with the crank it turns a quarter turn anti-clockwise to end up pointing towards the bottom of the core plug. It doesn’t affect the running of the engine but does make timing hard to do! Easy to solve as all you do is thread a bolt into the centre of it, pull it out then insert it correctly. Retimed the engine so it now has 12 degrees of advance at idle and it now pulls better above 4k than it did before plus it’s running smoother on full-throttle.
Ran out of time for any more spannering so had to pack her away at this point.
Then an opportunity arose to do a trip I’ve wanted to do with her: The Isle Of Wight. A window of 3 days of good weather presented itself this weekend and I found some relatively cheap self-contained accommodation available. I ummed and ahhed about it for a few hours but my mum told me to just go as the whole of the last few months have been horrid on the whole and there was no telling when I would next get a chance to have a break.
So 24 hours later and Georgie is on a ferry heading into Cowes!
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The next 2 ½ days were spent driving all around the island, somewhere I’ve visited a few times now in various ways so know it well. I’ve even done a day’s riding where I parked up in Portsmouth, caught the ferry to Fishbourne, rode round the whole island and then back to the car in one! As every tourist attraction is closed still I spent the time going to lots of the coves and walks I’ve not done, stuff that I wouldn’t have done otherwise.
Didn’t take many pictures of her apart from these two:
Georgie taking in the view near Freshwater Bay
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And her on Ryde pier trying out one of the Large Vehicle bays for size
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Had loads of fun blasting along the island’s smooth, twisty roads. The locals obviously noticed me though as while I was filling up with fuel at Asda a guy came over and asked if I was local. When I said I was on holiday he looked relieved! He then went on to explain that there were only a few known Mini’s on the island, he owned one, and they had been messaging each other trying to find out who’s this one was. He did offer that if I had any mechanicals to just let them know in the kiosk and they’d help if they could, which was nice! I’ve always had a great welcome on the island and it’s somewhere I’d love to live if I could afford to and still get onto the mainland regularly.
On the subject of issues, I only had one the whole trip: the steering wheel cowling, which is famous for being brittle, decided to fall off on the last day! I was turning around in a junction when there was a clunk and the left portion of it flew into the passenger seat. Upon checking it over it looks like one of the screws in the steering wheel boss decided to work loose (the other 3 are still tight) and basically lever it off once it had got bored of making a few grooves in it.
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I removed the rest of it, checked the steering wheel wasn’t about to fall off (always carry a toolkit!) and put all the bits in a bag to be fixed at a later time. The rest of the journey back home went without incident thankfully, although there are plenty of new rattles and noises to investigate now!
So that’s the first big multi-day adventure with her under my ownership done. 480 miles, two ferry crossings and a lot of memories. I wish I could have had a few more days away as it was really helping to clear my head and recharge the old energy levels but I couldn’t afford any longer and the weather was forecast to turn the next day. I thought I’d got away with missing rain completely but I got caught out by a small rain shower near Winchester on the drive home. Not an issue, except there hasn’t been any rain for weeks so the salt from March hasn’t washed away. The rain just pulled it up and her backside is now a bit crusty from the spray. It’s not bad, nothing a good wash won’t sort when I go down Thursday, but still slightly annoying.
As an aside, I had to park my daily driver in my parent’s garage where Georgie normally lives due to lack of parking. It only just fitted but I had to get out of the boot! Normally I can park the Mini in there, get out of it and easily put the cover on her all the way round!
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Felt really odd driving it home after a few days in the Mini. All the controls felt over-assisted, the steering was much less direct, the ride was wallowy and I was the same size as the rest of the traffic! Very weird...
Sounds like a great little trip & good to hear that you had no real issues while over there - it must help to build confidence in the cars overall reliability.
Although from the sound of it, you can sort out most issues yourself anyway, or when on the Isle of Wight have a task-force of like minded people ready to give you a hand!
I've only been to the Isle of Wight once but would like to go back at some point.
I can do most jobs in a workshop with the correct tools but I only take a basic socket set, some screwdrivers, a pair of pliers and spare fuses. Enough to fix a leaky hose, a loose bolt or something similar but any more than that will end in me calling the breakdown truck! I don't even have a spare tyre as the spare wheel I have for her is a different size with different wheel nuts required and a perished tyre, plus if I do get a flat that can't be repaired no-one will have a new tyre in stock anyway. All I've done is get her all caught up on regular maintenance and fixed lots of niggles so far, more will show themselves every time I take her out. At some point something will strand me somewhere, but then that's all part of the fun!
The IOW is great for a getaway from mainland life, you can feel the change of pace the second you get off the ferry. Everyone says hello to each other, chats to strangers and generally just want to help each other out. If you can get a few days there, no point rushing round on a short day trip.
After the IOW trip I had a small list of things to do and as the weather has been so crap for a while I've had time to do them!
First on the list was to finally fit the heater matrix, not for heating the cabin but so that I have a working demister for the windscreen! Pulled the old one out and it looked decidedly worse for wear.
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Leaks in a few places and definitely dead. The new one looks so good in comparison it almost seems a shame to hide it inside the heater/blower casing!
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Plumb it back in and top up the coolant and it all works again without any leaks.
Second on the lost is to investigate a slight rumbling from the left rear wheel, presumably the bearing. I removed the drum to find a nice surprise: new brake shoes, backing plate and wheel cylinder! I also found the cause of the rumbling, whoever had put it back together hadn't fitted the bearing seal correctly. It had worked loose and let all the grease weep out and the brake dust in. Cue one cleaning session hoping to find the bearing surfaces in good condition.
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Looks like I got away with it! Reassembling it correctly and repacking it with grease has made it much smoother to spin so will find out over the course of the next journey or two.
Then it was on to the seemingly never-ending chase of rattles from the front suspension. I've chased down most of it now but there's still the odd new one making their appearance known still. So it was the now regular routine of taking the wheels off and checking everything over.
I did spot one thing immediately though. The lashing eye that blots the subframe to the front panel has been touching, causing a small amount of paint to chip off.
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A quick turn of it to gain clearance and that's one potential noise source removed.
The tie bar bushings at the front are the next thing as I'd noticed the car weaved slightly under braking, a classic sign they're worn out. I've gone for the uprated ones with a harder outer bush, that's the one that takes the braking loads. It's a very noticeable shade of purple!
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The final stage now was to check all the nuts for tightness, where I found that the shock mount on the front left wasn't holding torque and able to move in the hole it went through the hub. Took it off and found the thread had given up.
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So that's been replaced with an uprated version too that has the spacer built-in and can be torqued on each side separately. This should help as the torque figures for the hub side and the shock side are different, it's also stainless so shouldn't rust like the old one did!
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All of that work has lead to a lot of parts on the front suspension being replaced chasing noises! The front left is the most with new upper ball joint, bearing tie bar bushings and bolts, shock hardware and track rod end. Annoyingly the shiny bolts make it all look rather grubby!
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So that was all done last week but due to the crap weather I couldn't take her out for a run until Wednesday. The noise from the left rear is gone so looks like it was just a dry bearing. There's definitely far fewer rattles and she brakes straight now but the brake pedal is a bit soft so that's the next thing on the list. It's seemingly never-ending but I am making her better every time so it's all good.
Now all we need is a run of decent weather so I can get out on a day trip or two.
Adjust the rears up 1st...
Back handbrake off make sure quads and links move
Wind adjusters on till it binds then back a flat.
That's the plan. I already readjusted the rears after doing the bearing but I'm going to do it all again just to make sure it's correct. Before that though I'll do an inspection for leaks and a quick bleed too, make sure there's nothing obvious.
Well I had a chance to take a look at what the brake issue was over the last few days. Thankfully I didn't have too long to spend on diagnosis as there was a pretty good clue staring at me when I pulled the cover back:
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Definitely brake fluid and looking directly above the puddles I saw this:
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Trace that back and the wet trail leads to the distribution block for the front calipers:
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A quick press on the brake pedal shows a small leak from around the lower copper crush washer. At least it's an easy fix! I take it apart and spot something odd about the lower washer: it's only crushed on one side. A quick check on the Mini Spares website's schematics shows that the lower one should be smaller in inner and outer diameter than the top one, mine are both the same size. A quick trip into the local motor factors doesn't get me anywhere as they're imperial size but they point me towards a garage on the same industrial estate that specialise in old Land Rovers and I manage to get a pair the correct size there. You can see the difference in size and where the bottom right one has been too big to seal properly if you look closely:
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Getting it back together though was a nightmare. The clutch slave cylinder mechanism and clutch cover are directly above the nut so it's really hard to get a decent amount of torque onto it without risking slippage. Took a solid hour to get it done correctly! Re-bleeding the brakes and even nipping back out for more brake fluid took less time!
It all seems leak-free now but I haven't driven anywhere to fully test it, all I've done is start the engine and stood on the pedal a few times to pressurise it. No sign of any leaks so I've left it with a drip tray underneath and with the fluid reservoir topped up to the max mark for a few days. Hopefully it's all fine now as it looks like the weather is going to be great for a week or so, should get some local trips in before I resume my work search.
I am making her better every time so it’s all good.
A rare picture of ReluctantJumper...
So it finally happened, something broke. Serves me right for going for a quick run while the weather was good I suppose!
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The engine died and I coasted to a halt after only going a mile! It would fire up again but die after a few seconds, thought I'd run out of fuel but no. Looks like a fuel leak as every time I crank the engine over some drips out from the driver's side. Strangely all the fuel system is on the passenger side of the car so there must be a random path it's taking. Not taking any risks with fuel though so a call to the breakdown people was in order. Annoyingly while waiting loads of other people drove past in their classics, modified cars or motorbikes so it felt like everyone was rubbing salt in the wound 😅
I got lucky with the RAC guy though, he knew older cars and quickly figured out what was wrong: the carb was pissing all the fuel out of the float chamber through the overflow. I'd completely forgot that it routed over that side of the car! Luckily I fitted a new one when the engine was out as there wasn't one fitted previously so it would have dumped fuel all over the exhaust 😲
A quick inspection of the float chamber found it full of crap from the tank, which is surprising as I flushed the tank out when replacing the body gasket.
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The mechanic gave it a good clean out for me and it fired up after a few seconds cranking. Runs fine again now but I'm not taking the risk so will do a flush and filter before taking her out again. Probably my fault for running the tank pretty low last time out and then not using her for 3 weeks, won't do that again!
Still, not bad having only one breakdown in 1300 miles on a 31 year old classic after having the engine out.
Good that it was an easy fix.
Is there no inline fuel filter between the tank/carb on the old Minis then?