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White '93 Sprite Mot Failure

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#1 DiscoDarren

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 11:10 AM

Well I think it's about time I started a thread in this section. I'm hoping a bit of moral support from a few followers might help me keep the momentum going and get this car back on the road as soon as possible.

First the back story. October 2013 my girlfriend spots a mini for sale in the local for sale pages on Facebook. Looks in pretty good shape and only up for £800. Turns out the guy selling it is our window cleaner, ironically he had just bought a second hand car off us. Anyway, I was panicking that I might miss the opportunity to get my hands on the mini so I got Lisa to text him straight away. The reply was promising, we could have first refusal of the car and according to a pre MOT report it only needs one rear brake pipe and a new rear subframe. Result!!

So next morning we popped round to have a look. O/S Wing looked pretty rough and plenty of rust around the front panel seams. But only 41k on the clock with 1 previous owner and a stack of paperwork. Had a quick look under the front carpets - all looked sound. If only I had realised that the sound deadening stuff they now cover the floor with hides everything. Door steps looked ok, O/S rear inner wheel arch had already been repaired. The rose tinted glasses were working well 😃. So with my heart (not my head) I bought the car.

#2 DiscoDarren

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 11:23 AM

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Here's one of the first pictures I took of my new purchase. Think my daughters gonna be a mini fan too

Edited by DiscoDarren, 01 June 2014 - 12:02 AM.


#3 rooney123

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 09:48 PM

try and get some pics of the problem areas are and everybody be able to point you in the right direction ..................andy :proud:



#4 DiscoDarren

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 11:15 PM

try and get some pics of the problem areas are and everybody be able to point you in the right direction ..................andy :proud:


I'm just in the process of setting up photo bucket so I can share all my pictures. I've really enjoyed looking at everybody else's work. Hoping I will be able to make an interesting read too.

#5 DiscoDarren

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 11:26 PM

Here's a few pictures from the day I got her home. Was October last year.
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The drivers side front wing has loads more rust than any other panels. Think it may have been replaced and poorly painted. That's certainly the case with both A panels

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#6 DiscoDarren

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 12:46 AM

Right finally got the hang of using photo bucket so I will try and bring this thread up to date. When I first bought her back in October I was suffering with a bad back and it was almost a month before I was fit enough to even bend down to have a proper look around my investment - not sure that's the right word, perhaps me trying to convince myself I did the right thing paying £800 for a rusty wreck. Anyway it must have been march 2014 before I really got time to do anything other than a quick blast with the pressure washer. Due largely to the fact that my garage was (still is) full of junk. However I made best use of a nice day and decided to start stripping the front end. Off with the bonnet, bumper, headlamps and indicators.

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One thing I was certain about was that she was gonna need wings, A panels and a front panel, so out came the spot weld drill.

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The end of the scuttle panel almost disintegrated when I took the wing off and the fitch panel turned out to be in a really bad state

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Anyway I'm going to leave it there for now and get some sleep (hopefully). Matilda, my 2 year old daughter has been ill and not sleeping, hence I'm on the ipad til two in the morning!

#7 rooney123

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 10:20 AM

look a fairly solid project you have there hope Matilda get well soon .......................................ps nice beetle looks clean................andy :proud:  :proud:      



#8 DiscoDarren

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 11:20 AM

look a fairly solid project you have there hope Matilda get well soon .......................................ps nice beetle looks clean................andy :proud:  :proud:


Thanks Andy, think she's on the road to recovery. The beetle belongs to my girlfriend, we're keen V dubers as well as mini fans. Lisa's dad was in the army and they grew up in Germany and she remembers them having a beetle as a family car. She's always wanted one so treated herself last year for her 40th. The VW Transporter T5 is ours too.

#9 DiscoDarren

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 11:35 AM

So in the weeks following removing the front wings, the mini sat on the drive at my house looking very sad for itself

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You can probably see in the background that my garage was absolutely full. In fact to the point where I could hardly walk in. What you can't really see in the picture is that there's a 1980 minivan nested in all that junk. Anyway it took me till the beginning of May to clean the garage to the point I could get the car in and be able to work on it. Unfortunately the van had to go outside. Here's a pic before I covered it up.

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#10 rooney123

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 11:49 AM

yeah bit like my house lol I had series 2a,lightweight landrover, and series3 109 had to make room keep the wife happy just have my daily mk4 golf and my mini now im doing but like  vw's as well



#11 DeanP

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 12:22 PM

Hope your daughter gets well soon soon mate. They are difficult when at full steam, let alone poorly.

 

My opinion is, the mini certainly needs some tlc.

 

Doing a decent job, could hit you with the boredom factor half way through and it gets left half done and worthless. But, if completed could be worth the investment.

 

A thirty minute makeover will probably render it an ongoing project, filling up the weekends but a usable one.

 

Your decision basically.

 

My only other piece of advice, having a garage myself is to clear it out.

It looks quite a big one, having the room to work under cover will keep the enthusiasm going longer.

Those wet winter days won't encourage you to work on a car outside, but with a heater in a garage with your favourite tunes going can make it a better experience. ;)

 

Whatever you decide, like the Vdub, a mini is for life, not just for the odd sunny day. :lol:



#12 DiscoDarren

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 05:31 PM

yeah bit like my house lol I had series 2a,lightweight landrover, and series3 109 had to make room keep the wife happy just have my daily mk4 golf and my mini now im doing but like  vw's as well


Yes the cars tend to take over. I've got my eye on a mk4 golf. We do a few of the VW festivals, last year we had 3 or 4 really good weekends away camping, the kids loved it. Hoping to do the same with the mini once it's done. A personal goal is to have the mini ready for next years London to Brighton, wanted it done before the end of this summer really. Think that's a bit unrealistic tho with all the work I've found.

#13 rooney123

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 05:42 PM

yeah they do take over sometime but with work and family there's never enough time for everything Don't get to many shows go to the local one near me cumvag just take your time with ya mini be right in no time pal

andy :proud:



#14 will_

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 05:48 PM

Wow another mini with flitches & scuttle like mine !!
Good luck, just get your teeth into it !!

#15 DiscoDarren

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Posted 01 June 2014 - 05:52 PM

Hope your daughter gets well soon soon mate. They are difficult when at full steam, let alone poorly.
 
My opinion is, the mini certainly needs some tlc.
 
Doing a decent job, could hit you with the boredom factor half way through and it gets left half done and worthless. But, if completed could be worth the investment.
 
A thirty minute makeover will probably render it an ongoing project, filling up the weekends but a usable one.
 
Your decision basically.
 
My only other piece of advice, having a garage myself is to clear it out.
It looks quite a big one, having the room to work under cover will keep the enthusiasm going longer.
Those wet winter days won't encourage you to work on a car outside, but with a heater in a garage with your favourite tunes going can make it a better experience. ;)
 
Whatever you decide, like the Vdub, a mini is for life, not just for the odd sunny day. :lol:


I've got the garage cleared out now and the car in there. I'm really keen at the minute. Been in there most nights, had some really late ones too. I know what you mean about loosing interest tho. I've had the van about 20years and it ground to a stand still years ago. I'm hoping doing the car (which even now needs loads less work) will get me spurred on to do the van.

I've only had my garage 4 or 5 years and trying to make do without played a big part in the van restore failing. The van was originally going to be a 30 minute make over as you put it. Because when I started it there were still quite a lot on the road and it wasn't really worthy of a full blown nut and bolt job. Once the cars done I want to start from scratch with it again, well that's the plan. Definitely don't want the car to end up half finished. Lisa has 2 teenage boys that are keen to help and learn a few skills. Both real petrol heads, don't think they will let me rest til it's back on the road.

I know what you mean about a mini being for life. My first car was a mini. Had the van since I was 21 and always loved them. Not driven once since I taught my cousin to drive in his C reg cooper look alike. That must be 18yrs ago but hopefully that will soon change :)





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