459 replies to this topic

[brum,brum,mike]

has it got an engine?

[stevem4323]

no engine no nothing really just two seats a rear subframe and the two radius arms....so a long way to go

[ryan22_lgm]

This is great news! i saw this ages ago on 28days later and thought the tunnels had all been filled in! Good luck restoring her! Buy an old shell and weld the roof from that onto this. My mate sold a shell for £40 not long back so wont be that expensive!

[stevem4323]

well i popped a few more dents out today and its coming on it will soon be in the hands of the professionals

[ryan22_lgm]

well i popped a few more dents out today and its coming on it will soon be in the hands of the professionals

So your not going to restore it yourself then? got any more pictures of it?

[stevem4323]

i have got lots but they are to big to post on here i will take some new ones and post soon

[stevem4323]

i would love to restore it myself but the bodywork needs a bit of a professional touch but i will do the rebuild myself

[Archived2]

I would love this car

[stevem4323]

Yes same here ...i have wanted it for a couple of years...just to good to let go

[J666ERA]

Good luck with it, for me, I would do just enough to make it road worthy, straighten everything as far as possible and as little paint as possible, anything missing do perfect, retain as much as its tunnel mini appeal, clearcoat anything that needs it to seal it, it needs to always be the tunnel mini, not a perfect restored GT.

[CraigieB]

Yeah what he said ^

Be awesome if you could keep it with the original panels and just straighten them as best you can.

Personally Im really glad you saved it - I always wanted to Urbex Longbridge and go see this in the tunnel

I would love to hear the full story about how you got it out and how you persuaded the company to let you have it etc

Please tell us the full story :)

[Tanya]

Will there be a build/restoration thread thing for this, good on you for getting it out.

well i hope to restore it to the beauty it is ...it will take a long time and it will be well documented and its starting a new journey hopefully one thats a bit longer than 11 miles ...i would like to take it on a trailer to the pride of longbridge before the restoration so everyone can see it

Ha ha maybe you could scrape it around the yard to 12 or 13 with a bit of help .
Forgive my ignorance but what is the pride of longbridge ? (a show possible?) if so taking it now then when its restored would be somthing for the book .

I feel the Pride of Longbridge is a must for any Mini owner (or owners of Longbridge built vehicles or those with an Austin connection), if they are close enough to make it. The event is held on the nearest ish Saturday to the date of the mass redundancies in 2005. I say nearest ish as sometimes for practical reasons, it may not be the closest Saturday. The Austin and Longbridge Federation (ALF) - http://www.austinlon...deration.co.uk/ organise it in conjunction with RCAT (Rover Community Action Trust). Next year's PoL is on Saturday 13th April 2013 and all vehicles with an Austin or Longbridge connection are welcome, so that includes BMC, BL, Austin Rover, Rover Group etc. I am involved in organising the Cowley Convoy from MINI Plant Oxford to PoL and would welcome anyone who wants to join us - please message me or contact us through the Facebook page - https://www.facebook...8401660618757/. For more info on PoL, here is the link to the Austin Memories website (the best website in the world ) - http://www.austinmem...e58/page58.html and here is the Facebook page - https://www.facebook...ref=ts&fref=ts.

stevem4323 - We would love to have this Mini at PoL and who knows, possibly some former employees may be able to tell you more of its story. I am sure it would attract at lot of interest, which is just what we want . Please can you let John Baker know what you are doing with this Mini as he will be very intestered. He is the ALF's Chairman and the man behind the Austin Memories website. You can contact him through the website.

[Steely]

I think a project thread is in order!

[Globule]

I think you was always going to get controversy with this, but assuming it is all legitimate and legal then I see no problem with this. Granted, it is a piece of history, but only to those who knew it was there, and with it being essentially bricked in, few people would care in a few years.

It would be good to see a build thread, even if you aren't doing it yourself. I'd still say good luck with it, no doubt it will cost a fortune but it's your money and it clearly has meaning to you! I imagine you will at do a decent job of it which cannot be said about all "restorations" etc.

[kami]

I rescued a Karmann beetle from a similar fate and restored it, it almost met the crusher until I came along. It makes no sense to leave something like that to rot or to go to scrap.
Haters will hate!
Well done, I take my hat off to you sir!