24 replies to this topic

[rowli76]

I've been a member for a while now and spent plenty of time looking at other projects whilst slowly progressing mine but now it's nearing the end I thought I ought to put some details on here & see what people think. She started off as a 1976 1000 auto in what I think is sand glow? Believe it or not I was tempted to keep the colour but the usual story came up, she was due an mot and I was pretty sure that the tin rot would fail her. So as with most projects, off the road she came so that I might make a few repairs to see her carry on. By the way she was never getting anything but a new lease of life, she is exactly the same age as me. The only thing up for debate was the extent of her new lease of life!

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[rowli76]

I should explain that this thread might be a bit of a catch up for me, I always meant to post as I went but other things (including the mini) seemed to get in the way!
These photos were of the day I stripped her down to see just how bad she was (or not) but I've certainly seen worse!

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[rowli76]

I'm quite happy getting my hands dirty with the mechanics having spent years in the RAF working on Harriers etc, but I've never learnt to weld so after seeing the job a local guy did with a friends bodywork I organised for him to pick her up and get started. What with work and everything else I knew I was in no real rush to get her back, plus it gave me time to start the all important shopping for new bits. It was about this time that the decision was made to do a proper job and create my dream mini. The intention was never to create a concours mini, more give her a relatively good restoration. It was with a certain sense of trepidation that I waved her off, not really knowing when she would be back but knowing that I would be able to visit and would get regular updates.

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[rowli76]

After a few weeks Paul (my bodywork guy) gave me a bell with his shopping list of bits so after a quick visit, with a pocket of cash, work was properly started. At this point I still couldn't decide on the final colour. I knew I wanted a solid single colour but toyed with greys and blues and god knows what else but inspiration was lacking. Then one morning on the school run my daughter and I were talking about what colour the mini should be and looking out the window she had a flash of brilliant inspiration, combining another interest of mine...

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[rowli76]

Well that did it, a call to Paul and some solid John Deere green tractor paint was ordered (and there was so going to be some yellow detailing). Initially Paul wasn't sure about painting the mini in this colour but I'll let you decide whether it worked or not whe we get there (and whether or not he changed his mind).
Here are a few photos over the next 12 months or so...

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[rowli76]

After about 10 months at Paul's she was rust free and ready for paint. These were the first few coats...

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[cossiemark]

Cool can't wait see it in its final colour

[rowli76]

Right, paint was applied and the first photos of her in the chosen colour were taken. I love the green. I'm really pleased with the results, Paul did a great job. Time to get her home & start on putting her back together.

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[rowli76]

It was only once I saw the engine bay in the flesh that I realised I had a lot more work on my hands than I had initially envisaged. It's only once I saw the comparison of the old subframe with the fresh paint of the bay that I knew the restoration was going to be a bit more in depth. Here she is in December 2011 arriving home ready to be tucked in her garage for the rest of the work. I had amassed quite a bit of new parts for her along with some decent parts salvaged from my last mini, a 1992 black Spi Cooper. The best salvaged part would be the heart of this mini, the Bill Richards prepared 1293cc engine built to GT spec just a couple of years previously, before the Cooper passed away due to uneconomic rust.

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[rowli76]

Here's the engine, after a bit of a clean and a lick of paint, ready to go into the mini and a comparison photo of the old asthmatic 998cc auto which came out. Cleaning and painting at this point were quite a novelty so I enjoyed this result a lot more than when I got onto the subframe cleaning, wire brushing and painting!

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[rowli76]

As I didn't have an unlimited budget to spend on this build I decided to paint the subframes rather than go the route of powder coating or similar, which ultimately I would have preferred. I soon realised that once you've done one bit it shows the bits around it or fitted to it to need cleaning/wire-brushing/painting/polishing or if funds allowed, replacing. I should also mention that this is my first restoration/build, I've tackled jobs on cars before but nothing near this extent. Anyhow, I ploughed into the subframes, one at a time, with the car on axle stands in the garage. I lost track of the number of wire brushes I got through but once painted up, fitted with the polished brake pipes and any other new shiny bits and then refitted to the car, the results were extremely satisfying. Anyone else found themselves with photo's of random parts of their minis as screen savers on their phones rather than living loved ones? Just me? Oh well!

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[rowli76]

Next was the engine fitting, a job I'd never tackled before (I'd taken the old engine out but this would be an eye-opener). In the end it all went ok, plenty of towels and an audience (the family coming out to check I wasn't scratching the new paint etc).

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[rowli76]

Work progressed quite well whilst the weather was warm or warming and I couldn't resist pushing her outside for a few photo's in the sun, just to get an idea how she would look... then it was time to push her safely back inside.

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[rowli76]

Over the next few months I did all the usual things (which were all new for me) like glass, lights etc. I decided I wanted a few slightly different options so I went for things like P7000 headlights, 488 front indicators, black grill instead of the more usual chrome and I couldn't resist a few of the parts from DSN, like their door furniture and bulkhead blanks. It made it seem a bit closer once the face was fitted!

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[Smiler258]

WOW   Awesome work! Loveing the colour choice