27 replies to this topic

[EatSleepJDM]

I have recently acquired another Mini to keep me busy and itch the scratch of using one on the road whilst my full Cooper restoration is coming along nicely.

It’s a non sunroof Mini Thirty finished in black. It came up for sale at what looked a reasonable price and local, so was worth going to have a quick look. What I was greeted with was (for once!) a nice surprise, with it being in fantastic condition for what it is.

It is absolutely covered in chrome tat inside and out. But, all easily fixable. My plan is to return it to a nice and standard Thirty with the odd small engine enhancement.

Anyway, pictures!





I have owned plenty of cars but i have never had one with so many gauges?!



First job is to get all the gauges and other misc electrics stripped out. The wiring was quite something..









Weighed a tonne! Next is to chase it into the engine bay and chop it all out leaving just the original looms in place and see what’s what

[Anthony30]

throw all that wiring in the bin!  

[roughneckin]

Wow! That’s an incredible amount of wiring. Almost worth stripping and taking to the scrap for cash!

[slidehammer]

Just out of curiosity, did all the gauges actually work?

I think the previous owner must have been a trainee auto electrician!

[EatSleepJDM]

I’ve got plenty of wiring/relay supplies now that’s for sure!

Yes all the gauges were wired up and working except one, which is quite impressive!

[Quinlan minor]

I've flown jets with fewer gauges!

What were they all?

[johnR]

As you say, under all the chrome tat lurks a nice looking car!

[EatSleepJDM]

oil and water temp and pressures, vacumn, volts, amps you name it! a couple of duplicates too just for added gauge glory

for sure, definitely worth the time to bring it back

[EatSleepJDM]

the engine bay was my next place to strip of all unecessary wiring left behind from the mountain of gauges. a real mess!





and this some of what was removed. de ja vu..



and it is now like this, looking a lot better. few little bits to tidy and refit but at least I can now see what is going on. engine will be coming out eventually to refurb but for now it will do



so after checking everything works, it was time to adress the quickshift fitted. I personally don’t like them i prefer the standard throw. had another gear linkage kicking about so fitted that.





just waiting for my new dash liner kit to arrive and can then finish off the dash. really pleased with how much neater it is looking already.

and a quick job which has made a world of difference was to replace the front clear lenses for the correct amber type





all in all very happy that all the wiring is now sorted. hard work and many head scratches at the wiring diagrams but learnt a lot! And saved buying a new loom..

next jobs on the list are to remove the exterior chrome accessories and get it looking original

[slidehammer]

Looks like this Mini is now in safe hands, and I always think it is nice if the rarer Minis are returned to a more standard look. Good luck

[EatSleepJDM]

Looks like this Mini is now in safe hands, and I always think it is nice if the rarer Minis are returned to a more standard look. Good luck

thank you! i agree, i love modifying minis as much as anybody but i think it’s nice to keep the limited editions as they’re intended

[EatSleepJDM]

decided to crack on with a bit of painting today whilst i’m waiting for my interior bits to arrive.

The bootlid had lacquer peel on the top, a dummy aerial fitted, reflectors and and a house door number. I will eventually be getting the whole back panel and boot resprayed properly so have just done a quick job to improve it a bit as a temporary measure.

First of all i needed to paint my replacement original door mirrors which I picked up for beer money (result!)



Also to replace the chrome boot hinges and number plate light housing I painted a spare pair of original hinges i had as well as a standard plate light housing



Then it was on to the bootlid



Took the tat off the boot



Started wet sanding the lacquer peel



Flatted back enough to get some paint on. Soft masked to make it easier to blend in when it’s dry. As I say this is just temporary before the rear is painted



Sprayed some black on which turned out ok for a rattle can!



Leaving it all to dry for a day or so then will blend it in and re assemble it all. Should look a lot more presentable!

[GraemeC]

Has Oz at OAP had anything to do with the engine, or is it just a sticker for the sake of it?

[EatSleepJDM]

Has Oz at OAP had anything to do with the engine, or is it just a sticker for the sake of it?

I have no idea. Not been told of any engine work and no invoices etc so presume just for show

[slidehammer]

 

Looks like this Mini is now in safe hands, and I always think it is nice if the rarer Minis are returned to a more standard look. Good luck

thank you! i agree, i love modifying minis as much as anybody but i think it’s nice to keep the limited editions as they’re intended

 

I agree, there are plenty of projects on Ebay that have long since lost there originality that make great projects for modding and one offs. Good luck with the project.