133 replies to this topic

[GraemeC]

It is about time I made a prject thread for this car now it is moving forward. I know it isn't a Mk1 but hopefully it will be of interest to some.

I bought the car a little over 2 years ago as a mostly complete 1275GT that needed some cosmetic touches and finishing off before being put back on the road. As it was intended to be a suprise wedding present for the other half it was stashed away in a friends garage.

On getting to grips with the car it was soon found that the shell was very, very good but the paint work let it down somewhat - definitely a 10 footer! The outer paint chipped easily and badly as it was so thick; whereas under the bonnet and boot was so thin it flaked off. What that did reveal was the factory applied e-coat that had kept the shell so good.

However with no time for paint work eveything was tidied up as best as possible, all the chrome work was replaced as it had been painted black, new budget carpets, cleaned seats and a few MoT niggles sorted. Some shiny Dunlop replica wheels (and the nightmare they are) and we soon had this:








Next step was to get it to the wedding reception without being seen (actually there were a few close calls along the way!). So into a van it was:



Of course being a Mini it decided it wouldn't start when needed!



So with a few ribbons, baloons and a refixed front plate...



...we had it ready (well I say we - I kept well out of the way whilst all this was going on!):

[GraemeC]

Then for the following two years the car was enjoyed, niggles sorted and a new engine built and dropped in. The plan was always to do something about the paint once funds (and time) allowed.

Some of the cars history also started to come to light. The shell was bought from a Rover dealership in the early 80s and an expensive re-shell excercise was undertaken. There is a bit of a 'Trigger's Broom' feel to the car's past and the shell isn't a true GT one - but that just gives us the excuse to make it what we want rather than a concours GT :twisted:

So two years on, a bit of cash saved and we are ready to start on the car properly. First off into the garage and strip down.








Then assess the metalwork. These were honeslty the worst bits I could find:









After long and hard deliberating, it was decided the car would be sent for dipping rather than soda blasting or manual paint stripping.

I know there are people in both camps for this type of stripping, but given the shell condition, and the poor adhesion of the paint that was on it, this seemed the best way to go.

So off it went:



And as if by magic......




A few close ups:












....and that brings us up to date. Next on the list is to repair that drive's side sill then seam seal and stone chip. 8)

[GreaseMonkey]

Wow that is solid!!

[GreaseMonkey]

Just one thing bugging me, if it is a later shell, how has the early non rubber mounted front subframe been put in?

Edited by GreaseMonkey, 08 June 2010 - 12:56 PM.

[GraemeC]

It has been modified to take an early subframe and remote change linkage - quite crude but seems to work OK.
To be honest I didn't really know what/how it had been done until I took the subframe out!

Edited by GraemeC, 08 June 2010 - 01:14 PM.

[leadly]

Looking good, dipping seemed to be the right choice eh!

[summs116]

where did you get it dipped and how much was it as i would rather have it done than blasted,

cheers sam

[panelbeaterpeter]

What a fantastic find! Looks solid as a rock. Were you not tempted to have it e-coated when it was being dipped?

[Stevee]

Did you have it Acid Dipped or something?

looks like a easy project to be honest

[GraemeC]

It was dipped at Ribble Technologies in Preston, Lancs for £520 including the doors, bonnet boot and a few other bits. Much cheaper than Surface Processing and only 1 weeks notice and 1 weeks work (as opposed to about a 9 month wait at Surface Processing).

Unfortunately they do not do e-coating (yet).

[Stevee]

ah kool not bad finsh

doing it same color as before?

[Deathrow]

Woah! This has transformed a fair bit since I last saw it!

Looking forward to how this progresses as I know you don't do anything by half measures Graeme!

[olds_kool_lews]

great project! would love to find a mini as solid as this! if i were you though, id find somewhere that does the e-coating, as there will be alot of unreachable areas that will remain bare metal, such as inside the sills, behind the dash rails, inside the cross member etc so good idea to get it dip coated to get all these areas protected as best as possible

should be a minter when done though! good luck with it!

[sonikk4]

That is a very nice and virtually rust free shell not jealous at all NOT!!!! > > What a cracking little car this will turn into.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Looks brill mate