38 replies to this topic

[andyt]

Been on the forum for a few years and never had time for a project thread, well i'm going to try and catch up with my 7 year project.

1991 Mayfair 998.

 2008_0613MAR08-JUNE080217.JPG   80.87K   29 downloads

 

As it was when I bought it from a friend of my wife, didn't look to bad, no mot and a couple of holes in the boot, £275 Bargain I thought...... 

[minimissions]

Looks like an ace car for £275 :)

[mr cooke]

how much £275 , why can i never find a bargin

[andyt]

I bought the car in 2007 and i think they were a bit cheaper then!

 

Andy.

[andyt]

A couple more  pictures from when I purchased the car

 

 

A taste of things to come, hidden rust and bodge jobs!

 

 

 

 

Yes that is fibre glassed up over the screen rubber!

Andy

​

Edited by andyt, 01 November 2015 - 10:05 PM.

[joshw]

Looks like a good project Andy and a bargain for £275 even for 7 years ago, wonder how much it would be worth now,
looking forward for more updates.
Josh

[andyt]

Ok so I started on the back end by removing the rear valance which exposed a whole can of worms, boot floor, valance closers, various arch repairs and a strip under both rear lights and along the boot hinge panel.

 

 

 

 

 

​I first cut all the rot out and set about welding in fresh metal, at first I was using an old sealey mig that I borrowed off my father in law which needed constant attention and was very frustrating! Eventually I bought a second hand Clarke en130 turbo which does both gas and gasless which proved to be very good as i'm working outside and means I can still weld when its windy.

 

The overall look i'm aiming for is 10" wheels, central speedo, low back bucket seats a few other retro bits and pieces all of which I've collected over the last 10 years or so. something like I used to have in the mid eighties when I was a lad! The last mini that my wife and I had before we had our children was very different to what I think is the perfect mini now but my wife loved driving it so it kept her sweet!

 

 

I'll see if I can fish out the next lot of resto pics.

 

Cheers Andy. 

 

​

​

 

​

 

​

[andyt]

Next I set about removing the rear sub frame so I could start repairing the rot, the subframe was toast so it went in the bin along with various bits of the rear end.

 

 

I started off by repairing the boot floor and the wheel arch.

 

 

 

​

 

​

 

​

[andyt]

New rear valance fitted along with new closing panels but I couldn't find the picture of this operation. I also fitted two repair panels to the rear section of the quarter panel.

 

 

Young assistant condemns rear subframe!! 

​

[James_eaton_thewholething]

Looking good. I need to get my self an assistant

[andyt]

I know they come in handy for passing tools! though I showed her the picture today and she wasn't to impressed at nearly 10 years old, doesn't help anymore either.

 

Andy.

[andyt]

Passenger side much the same, I can't believe how rusty the back end was I've had a few different minis and this is definatly the worse including 70's British Leyland built models. 

 

 

​I also fitted a boot hinge repair panel and 2 panels that replace the rot below the rear lights on both sides, I can't find the pictures of fitting these but here is the back end finished.

 

 

 

 

​

[andyt]

Started work on the offside by removing the outer sill which was the original and then set about cutting out the rust in the inner sill and replacing with fresh metal.

 

 

​Weather was warmer then!

 

 

I bought the older style inner sill by mistake but it really doesn't matter as i'm not going for a concourse restoration. I had also built up a new rear subframe with reconditioned radius arms new brakes, dampers, rubber cones, hi low's and adjustable brackets and bushes.

 

Andy.

 

​

Edited by andyt, 15 November 2015 - 10:26 PM.

[andyt]

Bit of an update, inner sill all patched up and zinc primed.

 

 

 

Next door step repair, I used a magnum panel which was a completely different profile but I managed to keep a fair bit of the original so I could cut the new panel and extend it so it matched the original step. I also had to extend the end which goes up the A post.

 

 

 

 

 

​

 

​

[andyt]

%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i570.photobucket.com/albums/ss146/andyturnnidge/20151118_195254.jpg

Edited by andyt, 02 August 2016 - 09:24 PM.