16 replies to this topic

[RoDDDimuS]

Hi All,

I was just wondering what the advice would be for some of you who have done restorations before. Ive recently bought a mini that while not roadworthy currently is in overall decent condition. The car is partially stripped and i have two options as i see it;

 

1) put all the bits missing back on the car MOT it see where it fails complete those jobs to make it road worthy and the fine tune the car while driving it too

 

2) car on stripping the car down to make sure all the jobs are done correctly and 100% right 

 

i can see the benefits to both - space and time are not an issue as i have a double garage with the mini being the only occupant.

 

Im leaning towards trying to get it on the road but i feel niggly jobs will never get done if i take this approach

[sonikk4]

If you want to enjoy the car for this year then build it up and see what happens. If you are in no rush then strip it fully down and do it properly now.

[alex-95]

Depends, what you want with the car, if you want the everything including the bodywork to be perfect then a full strip down, if you don't mind about the bodywork I would just give everything a good check replace whats needed and drive it.

[RoDDDimuS]

In  my head i imagine it to be a gleaming concourse example, but i know deep down i probably dont have the drive to take it to that level which why i feel the more realistic get it on the road and work from there could work for me. The other thing is ive no plans to sell it, i cant imagine a situation in which i would need to so i could always do the full monty later in its life once ive had a bit of fun 

[JCP]

Personally I would carry on stripping and do a full restoration. Like you say if you were to get it on the road asap, the little niggly jobs won't get done, even with the best intentions to do them.
Also you may find that when you take it to MoT it would of been more beneficial to strip and restore in the first place.
If you do go for a full resto be aware that a fully stripped car takes up 3 times the space, having a double garage really works in your favour, but don't forget you'll also need to store tools and a workbench and have space to get around the car.
Just my opinion though, am sure others will be along to give advice either way to help you decide.
Welcome by the way.

[RoDDDimuS]

Personally I would carry on stripping and do a full restoration. Like you say if you were to get it on the road asap, the little niggly jobs won't get done, even with the best intentions to do them.
Also you may find that when you take it to MoT it would of been more beneficial to strip and restore in the first place.
If you do go for a full resto be aware that a fully stripped car takes up 3 times the space, having a double garage really works in your favour, but don't forget you'll also need to store tools and a workbench and have space to get around the car.
Just my opinion though, am sure others will be along to give advice either way to help you decide.
Welcome by the way.

luckily the garage is 100% my zone and ive already got the workbench and the tools stored fairly well, there are a few things i need to clear out from the old owner of the house to give even more room but the only things allowed in the garage are tools and car stuff lol

[JCP]

Nice! sounds like you're ready to go whichever route you choose.

[RoDDDimuS]

attached a couple of pics

Attached Files

•  20161009_120610524_iOS.gif   243.05K   40 downloads
•  20161009_120555392_iOS.gif   260.71K   48 downloads

[lawrence]

If I was you I would rebuild it and run it as it is.
Purely judging by the front end it doesn't look that rusty (of course the sills I cannot judge or the rear etc)

My rationale is that if it's mostly solid bodywork wise (if a bit crusty) then you driving it will iron out the majority of the issues like rusty bolts bad brakes etc.

Then say a year down the line you can take it off the road knowing the cars issues with bodywork but also safe in the know that the mechanicals are all good.

And say you did a resto now you may get disheartened if it needs mechanical as well as bodywork fixing.
A year of driving and the mechanical bits will be fine then you know even if the resto is dragging out that she was fun to drive :) and that hopefully will spur you on!

Just my 2p
Lawrence

[Piglet]

I'm with Lawrence. Enjoy it for what it is for now. The challenge of doing up a mini is great but it's the actual feel of driving it that we all really want at the end of it. There's every chance you could strip it and lose interest before it ever seeing the road.

Get it back together, enjoy it upto about September then spend next autumn and winter spending all your spare cash and pouring all your time into making exactly what sort of mini you want at the end.

Again just my 2p also 👍🏻

[Black.Ghost]

Get it on the road. That's not even that strippped down. You could have it back on the road in a day, maybe a weekend. Enjoy it, see what's wrong with it. Then you know what you need to fix. If nothing else, you can choose how you want it to look / feel in the future by working out what you don't like about it.

If you look around and the body work is knackered, that's a different story. If it's solid enough use it.

[THE ANORAK]

had mine nearly a year now and it came with 12 months MOT. before that it sat doing nothing for a few years and everything has gone old and saggy. so once the MOT runs out its going to have a minor rebuild with all new suspension, ball joints etc and a clean up of the previous MOT standard wielding. 

 

ive had a good year of driving to figure what needs doing so i suggest you try to get an MOT and see what happens before you decide.

[pusb]

If you get it back on the road for now, you will probably have that much fun in it that it will spur you on to get it perfect. 

[RoDDDimuS]

Thanks for the replies guys

I think I'm going to go for it and get it on the road I'll keep progress posted no doubt I'll be popping up with questions as I go along

:)

[Piglet]

Good luck 👍🏻