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Knowing When You're Defeated


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#16 sovenmini

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Posted 09 November 2019 - 10:55 PM

We all get like this from time to time with a project and it’s completely normal, best thing to do is cover it up and take a break, maybe wait till the warmer weather, just remember to write a big list of all the important stuff to do so you don’t forget to do it when you start it again. Just remember it’s a project and the deadline is set by you, nothing wrong with 6 months or 6 years. But just remember once you finish it you can drive it with pride knowing it’s your car you built and that is something money can not buy.

#17 Mini Manannán

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Posted 10 November 2019 - 06:24 AM

I agree with those who suggest making lists - while it may look daunting at first - every time you check something off you'll feel that you're making progress and soon the list will be smaller and smaller.

 

Another thing lists do is focus you on what you need to buy parts wise, then if you come across a deal you can snap it up and add to your pile. As you progress, that pile of parts gets smaller and smaller, again reinforcing that you're making progress.

 

So put down the tools and grab pencil and paper - start going over the car and make a realistic list of everything that needs to be done - right up to putting gas in and turning the key. If nothing else, you'll have a proper idea of what needs to be done to pass along with the car if you do sell it. If you find something you made a mistake on note it down so you can correct it and don't forget it and have to redo even more later o in the build. (Nothing more frustrating that having to drain and remove the fuel tank because you forgot to tighten the upper shock nuts for example)

 

The more detailed the list, the more things that will get checked off once you get into it again. 

 

I find when tackling a really big job breaking it down into very small bits allows me to work on it in spurts, and I don't forget something important - or I'm reassured that I did that part already and it's done right. I also keep a record of how may hours I work at a time and what I did each day - especially important if working on someone else's car but helpful to you too.

 

Brilliant advice there.  I have a list going all the time.  Mine's a daily so my list of things I'd like to improve rather than put back on the car.  As I tick one off the list I add the next 'pipe dream' to the bottom :-)



#18 pusb

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Posted 10 November 2019 - 08:28 PM

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone. I think I was having a mini breakdown yesterday!

 

The frustration I'm feeling really comes from two things. First of all I was hoping to get most of the interior in before the cold weather begins. Mine is a very cold/damp garage so I wasn't planning to do much over the winter.

 

Secondly its that I feel I am damaging a lovely restored bodyshell. On three occasions now I have damaged the new perfect paintwork. First time my exhaust which was leaning against the garage wall decided it was going to fall into the car and cause a scratch, second time I was adjusting my torque wrench and the socket come flying off and took a chunk out of the paintwork, then finally (where I am going with parts that don't fit properly) I fitted the check strap seals which were so thick they caused the door to sit further back so when I slammed the drivers door shut it caught on the C post and damaged the paintwork. I'm just hoping the paint can be repaired when its back on the road.

 

Then yesterday was the final straw when I was trying to fit the windows. Despite all the YouTube videos and instruction guides making it look easy, I just couldn't do it. I have since found a local windscreen installer to do it. I know it defeats the object of restoring it myself, but I was just getting annoyed every time I tried to fit them.



#19 cal844

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Posted 10 November 2019 - 09:01 PM

In general with paint damage, if you can catch your finger nail on the area it wont polish and will need painted, however if it is a non metallic colour, a skilled sprayer will be able to touch in a chip by building up the layers then cutting and polishing.

If you can post some pictures of the areas and a rough size someone more knowledgeable will help...

Kind regards and I hope this is of some help

Cal

#20 Magneto

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Posted 11 November 2019 - 12:59 AM

Nothing wrong with having a specialist do specfic jobs - I had my seats redone by the local upholsterer as I was suure I could do it, but I knew he would do it way better, and faster. The money spent was worth it. I always let the local glass guy do my window installs, they're quick and easy that way.



#21 cal844

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Posted 11 November 2019 - 10:08 AM

Nothing wrong with having a specialist do specfic jobs - I had my seats redone by the local upholsterer as I was suure I could do it, but I knew he would do it way better, and faster. The money spent was worth it. I always let the local glass guy do my window installs, they're quick and easy that way.


I agree, I do this too, I've used the same glass fitter for years

#22 InnoCooperExport

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Posted 11 November 2019 - 10:33 AM

Restorations can be overwhelming and there are times I have gone into the workshop to work on my Inno project only to look at what needs doing, being unable to see the woods for the trees, going home again and ending up feeling like I´ve achieved nothing. They´re definitely not the fun days, but like others have already said here making lists of what jobs you have left to do is the way to go. It can make it seem like there´s a seemingly endless number of tasks left, but then checking them off once you´ve done them is incredibly satisfying even if they´re only minor jobs. 

 

New parts not fitting is also incredibly frustrating and there´s little worse when you´ve searched high and low for a replacement, because your original is scrap, only to find the modern reproduction is worse than useless (or as I have had, simply wrong because Innocenti decided to do things differently...). This sadly is not limited to Minis and is a struggle across the classic community. 

 

Using a pro to do a certain job is definitely fine and not something to beat yourself up over. Fitting glass isn't the easiest job and, as many on here can attest, it doesn't always fit all that well. Especially aftermarket replacements can be shocking and simply crack upon fitment because the shape is all wrong. Getting a pro to do it means not only does it means it gets done properly it also means if there's a problem it's often not your problem. This might sound harsh but one of the luxuries of having a professional do a job is that they will stand behind their work and will help you fix it if there does turn out to be some sort of problem. 

 

Good luck with finishing, and if it takes a little longer then so be it!



#23 smudger068

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Posted 11 November 2019 - 10:57 AM

I have been exactly where you have been when doing this Micra conversion.

My worst enemy was expectation! Expecting I was going to have this and that done and it was going to look like that! So I stopped expecting and concentrated on one job! Even if that job was spending an evening working out best place to store your exhaust! There will always be something to do to the car so I donot bring time into it.

In terms of cash drying up, I got fed up with spending it! So I'd say take a break from spending get all you can done before you buy anything else. And then only buy what you need.

#24 MiniMadRacer

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Posted 11 November 2019 - 11:46 AM

I have to agree with all that's been said, my only "two penneth worth", is to chill out and walk away (as has been mooted by all previously) and read a few of the Mini Mags, Mini World and Mini Machine spring to mind.

 

Realising and reading what others accomplish is a great inspiration for getting re fired up. I use a lot of "books" and online Vids to give me some inspiration

 

Nothing like reading through back copies with a cold beer in your hand :-)



#25 MiniMadRacer

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Posted 11 November 2019 - 11:54 AM

One other point I meant to mention on "cost" is the fun of hunting bargains out at Classic car shows. I attend as many as possible (in the summer), and not just Mini ones. You would be amazed how much Mini stuff kicks around auto jumbles in "non" mini shows. I tend to buy "bits" that are better than what I have, (if the price is right) then sell on my bit that I have upgraded. Rule is never ever throw anything away (someone will want it - worn shagged broken parts of course excluded)



#26 brownspeed

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Posted 12 November 2019 - 07:19 PM

Hang in there kid!. Winter isn't rhe best time to be in the garage. providing nothing is going to get rusty (or if it will-that's why god invented waxoyl), then leave it be and return when the weathers warmer



#27 MikeRotherham

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Posted 12 November 2019 - 09:26 PM

Can I suggest you get one of these for the interior if your garage is damp:

 

https://www.amazon.c...,aps,194&sr=8-3

 

I used to get mildew on parts of my interior but since I've used one it's been fine.

 

1 refill lasts the winter.


Edited by MikeRotherham, 12 November 2019 - 09:27 PM.


#28 bpirie1000

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Posted 13 November 2019 - 07:33 AM

Get on board with the local club and make some new friends.. share the knowledge.. and usually find some decent fitting parts as well..

#29 minirelatedname

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Posted 20 November 2019 - 01:32 PM

The best advice I received when tackling my mini was to get it on the road first, then start upgrading stuff and perfecting it.

 

You don't NEED a flashy interior, you just need A seat. I had a couple from a fiesta in mine for a while which I jammed shut so they wouldn't recline (they were broken and it needed an MOT and wouldn't pass otherwise). If I had more than one passenger they'd have to decide who's wriggling into the back, around a year after I got my hands on an acceptable interior that looks nice.

 

You don't NEED a fancy dash. I didn't even have one for around a year, I later upgraded to a plank of wood (20p from bnq - spare no expense) and around last christmas to an actual dash.

 

Point is start getting some joy out of it early on and you can make it concourse and completely your own along the way.

 

All you really need to make it look good are some badboi alloys.



#30 DeadSquare

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Posted 20 November 2019 - 03:03 PM

Some years back, a lad in the village bought a Mini and proudly brought it round for chat about what he wanted to do to it.

 

Although it was about 20 years old, the paintwork was in really good condition.

 

Throughout the following wet Summer, the tinworm started to bleed through, and give him his due, having helped him strip the shell, he was prepared spend cold winter evenings putting it right.

 

I went round it with a magnet, and there was different coloured filler everywhere, it must have been rotting from the day it was made

 

We were crying in our beer at the pub, where he felt defeated and was despondently considering cutting his losses and selling bits on Ebay, when there was a flaming row in the kitchen.  Jokingly I said "If you did 5 nights a week here instead of welding up your load of rust on the drive, you could buy a new bodyshell".

 

By the next Easter, £10-00 an hour slotting meals in the microwave and plates in the dishwasher had bought and sprayed a new shell, rear subframe, overhauled running gear and a regrind/rebore, all in the warm with a couple of pints thrown in.






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