After being on this forum for almost a year, some of my friends on the forum suggested I should start a build thread/log book for my Leyland Mini 1275E. The suggestion was to log any changes and repairs that I would make the car as I go along.
Firstly I might have a degree in mechanical engineering, but I have zero actual experience with mechanics and tools, so I bought an old car with the intention to fix as much as I could myself with the advice of friends and forums.
When I bought the car, I made the mistake of not using forums like this one and bought it more with my heart, rather than my head (big mistake). This was actually the first picture I saw of the car at the dealership:
I think I already had it in my mind that I wanted the car when I saw these first pictures
Some history of the car (specifications and past ownership):
It is a 1983, Leyland Mini 1275E. (South African model)
When the car came out of the factory it was red with two black stripes down the side. Additionally it had 10" steel wheels and a typical '80s brown cloth interior. The car came with a 1275cc engine and a single HS4 SU carb (both of which are still on the car). Additionally it came with a fresh air heater and a radio.
The car was owned by the same person from new until I bought it in January 2014. During that time it spent most of its life up in Johannesburg, where it is dry so the car is mostly rust free. The previous owner used it as his daily car to take his kids to and from school.
In 2012, it underwent a rebuild. The documentation suggests that a full engine rebuild was done. Additionally the suspension was replaced. The car also got a full respray (not very good IMO) in the original red factory spec colour and the steel wheels were replaced with 10" PEG Mistral wheels that were painted gold. Additionally the two black stripes down the side were not reinstated and rather gold pinstriping was used. The interior was reupholstered with black vinyl. At this time it also had electronic ignition fitted and a banana branch exhaust system installed.
It still has its original engine and when I bought it, it had ~154000 km on the clock.
The interior actually looks quite nice with the black vinyl (though it gets rather hot during the summer):
You'll notice that there is no Leyland square steering wheel badge and this is something I have been looking for since I bought the car, but haven't had any luck in my search. Apparently the heater and radio broke at some point and were binned by the previous owner. These are additional things that need to be fixed back at some point in the future.
The engine was actually relatively clean and tidy:
The only problems were the washer bottle, which had faded and browned, the rusty wiper motor and the weird box fitted on the left side on the firewall.
After a while of looking at it, I discovered that it was connected to nothing and there were random wires just running alongside the loom. When speaking to the previous owner I found out it was an old alarm system that had been fitted in the early '80s that he had decided not to remove, so I grabbed a screwdriver and removed it.
Edited by Vinay-RS, 14 July 2017 - 03:28 PM.