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1961 Austin Mini: Take Two


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#1 buddylove

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 05:28 PM

At the beginning of May, I spotted a Mini on ebay with a nice patina. I have always wanted a Mk1 Mini with patina, and couldn't pass it up. I put my max bid on it and hoped for the best. The seller had posted over 160+ photos of it on the ad, so I wasn't too worried about the condition of the car. I ended up winning the auction and now have my 2nd 1961 Austin Mini, however, this one is actually streetable.

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The seller arranged shipping and had great communication, in the sense, that he always responded, but didn't always do what I asked him to do. I.E. send me certain documents, or give me some sort of update. The shipper he went through dropped the ball big time and the car didn't even ship until Memorial Day. I spoke to the driver and he seemed cool. The driver wanted me to pick the car up from him down at the Manheim Auto Auction in Kent off the 212th exit. He had the car already running when I got there, but to my unhappy surprise, the grill had been smashed, sometime between the car sitting waiting to be picked up and the driver picking it up. I had been assured by the seller and the driver, that I would have no issues getting it home other then spongy brakes.

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Upon leaving the auction house, the car was running hot and the engine wasn't too happy, on top of that, the hood didn't want to stay latched. I pulled over into a gas station and double checked the oil and decided to top off the oil. Then, I attempted to get on the freeway. It made it about a mile down the freeway after the exit before it decided to lose power and then sputter to a stop. Called AAA and they said that the soonest a tow truck could get out there was 2-3 hours. Of course, I didn't want to leave it there so I tried to get it going a couple more times, but with no tools, I didn't have a chance. I had a neighbor friend come pick me up and take me back home, and the car was finally picked up at 10:30 pm. The tow truck driver didn't want to pull it up onto his flatbed the way that I requested, so we did a risky move, after a few failed attempts at getting it up onto his bed. The risky move is that we both pushed it up onto the flatbed, and then I pulled the ebrake and stomped hard on the mushy brakes. He then raised the flatbed and put it into position for towing, with me in the car standing on the brakes. Thankfully it didn't roll back, as when we first got it onto the flatbed, it slid back to less then a foot off the end of the deck.

Once I got it home, I unloaded it and left it for the night and called it a night.

Today, I had a chance to poke around it and I am glad that only the grill got damaged and not the front body work. The car itself is way more solid then I hoped and I am hoping that the motor is decently healthy, so I can get it tuned up and have it be a runner sooner instead of later. I am super happy with the car, and the seller said that he would work with me to get the grill reimbursed.

Stay tuned.

#2 MaxAndPaddy

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 05:30 PM

Nice one, looking forward to seeing the updates.



#3 myredmini

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 05:30 PM

My lord that is stunning!!  :wub:



#4 megamini_jb

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 05:31 PM

Love it! Enjoy

#5 JacckKirk

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 05:57 PM

Beaaauttifull

#6 Devo

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 05:59 PM

Woah nice one dude you hit the jackpot there!! Bad luck coming back from the auction house though but hey it happens  :thumbsup:



#7 buddylove

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Posted 02 June 2014 - 06:16 PM

Thanks everyone! It has been in Arizona for the last 30 years. Arizona is mostly desert like with very little rain, so I got the patina with very little rust. All of the trouble areas seem very solid, so far, which I am very happy about as I didn't want to do anything to the body.


The plan for this one:

Keep the body the way it is for now
Change the flares out for something more period correct
Put new comfortable interior in it that still goes with the vintage
Refresh parts of the suspension
It is in dire need of tires, as the current ones are cracking, and get new wheels as I hate Revos on Mini's
Other miscellaneous maintenance items
Get the motor checked out and see if it needs a rebuild (most likely), in the next year it will most likely get a new motor

This one is going to be my cruiser, the Clubman is going to be the pretty show car.

#8 buddylove

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Posted 04 June 2014 - 03:50 AM

Gave it a wash yesterday and replaced the battery with a Optima Red Top from the Clubman.

Today, I checked the voltage at the battery and it peaked at 14.3 with the car running, so I don't need an alternator for now. Adjusted the choke cable and idle, so the car isn't fighting to stay running / dying constantly. It is idling a bit high, but I'll deal with that later.

#9 wingnut

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Posted 04 June 2014 - 04:12 PM

Don't touch that body!!!!Its fantastic.You must be over the moon!! 



#10 buddylove

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Posted 05 June 2014 - 04:53 AM

Messed with the idle and the fast idle today, seems to be running a bit better, as I drove it around the neighborhood a bit.  The brake master definitely seems to be going out as you need to pump it a few times before you get pressure.  I made the mistake of not pumping the brakes at my first stop sign, thankfully no one else was there...

 

Been checking over the electrics the past couple of days.

 

Headlights work (haven't checked high beam)

All blinkers work, including the speedometer flashing on both sides, however the end of the turn signal stock isn't flashing.

Turn signal stock is auto cancelling.

Horn works

Rear lights work, haven't been able to have someone help me to check the brake lights.

License plate light works

Dash lights work.

Tach has power, but is just bouncing.  I don't think it's wired right.

Speedo appears to be working fine.

Temp gauge seems to be working, but I would like to have that checked with a laser gauge.

Fuel gauge is working, but not reporting the correct amount of fuel, I think it has to do with the stabilizer, or lack there of.

Heater fan works, unsure if it actually puts out heat.  I should probably pull it and replace the heater core, though.



#11 alex-95

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Posted 07 June 2014 - 03:31 PM

Look's great, I've always fancied somwthimg like yours with patina. I agree with you on the wheel and archs choice, what wheels are you planning on? I think the roof looks a little bit to white and needs some patina on it :lol:



#12 buddylove

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Posted 08 June 2014 - 12:47 AM

Thanks! Found a set of new in box vintage 70's Mk2 Cosmics 10x5 that I am going to pick up. For the arches, they are currently riveted on, but I am going to drill them out and paint them black. Then I'll pick up the black sill strip they sell to tie them together.

Last night, tested the brake lights and high beams, both work. Tested the heater today, it's pushing warm air out nicely, but I still want to pull it and check it over.

#13 megamini_jb

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Posted 08 June 2014 - 07:25 AM

Ahhh I can't stop looking at it! :P love it

#14 buddylove

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Posted 09 June 2014 - 03:31 AM

ha ha, thank you!  Definitely looking forward to getting it out and getting some good pictures of it.

 

 

Borrowed Chuck's compression tester today, and tested the compression.  Thanks, Chuck!
 
Cylinder 1: 160
 
Cylinder 2: 155
 
Cylinder 3: 155
 
Cylinder 4: 155
 
Pretty happy with the numbers, definitely seems to be pretty healthy.


#15 Shukran

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Posted 10 June 2014 - 04:05 AM

Looks to me like the damage to the grille was caused by someone helping themselves to your AA badge. Good luck with it.






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