Hi all,
I have uploaded a lot of videos and pictures into Flickr showing the progress so far, which I'd like to share. Link below.
https://www.flickr.c...4443@N05/C79HgS
A bit of history of the Mini. It has had 6 owners including myself. I bought it in 2003 for £750, used it for a while and then I got married, kids etc so I gifted it to my brother. He resprayed it blue and used it for a couple of more years. After that he then stored it at a friend's farm and left it there for years. My brother then migrated to the States in the hope that one day he would ship the Mini to the States and restore it there. Obviously this was wishful thinking as it would have been way too expensive.
So a month ago I gave him a ring and ask him to buy it back. He very kindly just gave it back to me for free. This was great!! So in the link above, you will see pictures and videos of the mini being rescued from the farm, giving it a wash, and lots and lots of pictures as well as videos the mini being dismantled to its bare shell.
The Mini is currently in Birmingham at a company called https://www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk/ for a chemical bath. My plan is as follows:
While the Mini is undergoing the chemical bath (waiting list is 3 weeks) I have removed the engine as I want to chemically clean the engine block as the water circuit is so unbelievably rusty.
Once the mini comes back I will assess what to do with the rust, some welding/new panels/sils will be needed most likely. I need to decide whether to do the job myself or send it to an specialised garage. If you know of someone in north Essex specialised in Minis or a welding expert I would be delighted to hear from you. I know there is a garage in Cambridge specialised in Minis but it seems way too expensive.
After that i will send the Mini for an e-coate and primer batch with the same company to finally send it to paint. Again if you could recommend someone in North Essex area it would be appreciated.
While this is done, I will reassemble the engine, the cylinders and pistons are in good condition, all I will do is give the valves a good clean as well as the pistons, buy new piston rings and assemble. I will of course change a few other bits and pieces along the way, new water pump, new gaskets throughout, etc etc. Carburator has already been cleaned.
I am very excited about this project and my intention is to finish it in one year. Advice and corrections of any type are very welcome in this thread of mine 
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Thank you
