Since I finished my final sixth form exams last week I decided it was time for me to make a thread showing my work on my Mini. I bought it (with the help of my parents who have since been paid back and after years of saving) in 2010 when I was 12 as a road worthy slightly tatty Mayfair which had started as an auto but had at some point been converted to manual. The plan was to keep the car road worthy for me learn in. First job though was to fit Italian Job Style lights! It failed the first MOT under my ownership with two pages so slowly we fixed everything, which included new front cones and HiLos, various gaiters and having the steering rack spline re cut. It eventually passed the MOT but soon after wouldn't start. After messing around for ages with new distributor parts it was discovered that the dizzy itself was worn so that solved the issue.
Bodywork wise I have rubbed down some areas of surface rust and painted them and as a temporary fix until I can weld used filler between the front panel and wing where it had dropped and rusted away to keep it looking okay. I hope to learn to weld in my apprenticeship I'm started this year and an engine builders and general engineering workshop.
In the last couple of years or so I have got to the point where I have gained enough understanding and confidence to work on the car myself which has helped speed up the rate at which jobs are done. I learnt to drive in the Mini mid way through last year and drove it school daily for a couple of months before facing issues. Whenever I stopped it cut out and then my headlight dim dip relay failed so I took it off the road for what I planned to be a short amount of time. Due to exams it ended up being 6 months! In that time I rebuilt the carb, did the head gasket and reconditioned the head, fitted a new clutch master cylinder and bypassed the head light relay. I then took it for an MOT and it failed on brakes so I decided since I wanted to do it eventually to do the cooper s conversion. This was 3 days before L2B. I did the conversion and got the MOT at 3pm on the Friday before L2B and the Mini made in to London, and then to Brighton and back without any issues.
As the Mini stands now
Mini by Max Dempsey, on Flickr
The new brakes - (I have fitted the split pin)
Mini by Max Dempsey, on Flickr
Tatty but functioning engine
Mini by Max Dempsey, on Flickr
My future plans are to have it rolling roaded (booking for end of next month), fit ten inch wheels and it really could do with one new sill, one wing, both A panels and a new front end quarter as well as various patches.
Edited by MaxDempsey, 27 August 2017 - 05:51 PM.