Canadian Mini 30 First Ever Rebuild!

Situation report.

Ive tried taking the doors off by removing the bolts via the rear of the A frame. Some of those parts no longer look like themselves. I think ill line up my mechanic friend to come over with the torch and at the same time see if he cant bring the small crane so we can take the engine out.

Ill keep you posted.

30 mm

ps: Why do people give their minis names. It seems to be a part of the culture.

Situation report.

Ive tried taking the doors off by removing the bolts via the rear of the A frame. Some of those parts no longer look like themselves. I think ill line up my mechanic friend to come over with the torch and at the same time see if he cant bring the small crane so we can take the engine out.

Ill keep you posted.

30 mm

ps: Why do people give their minis names. It seems to be a part of the culture.

Hi mate..
Not sure if it's 'culture' rather than law! Haha. Minis must have names... It's not like owning a 'car' more like owning a pet.. Haha. It's just the law..

On a serious note.. All 8 of my door hinge bolts snapped when trying to remove them. Even though I soaked them in penetrating fluid, cleared all the crap from round them and used good quality tools. The hinges are not a cheap part to replace. I mean, they're not ridiculously priced but for what they are, I think they are expensive. If the worst happens and the bolt sheers you can drill out the broken stud, but it's difficult. We used some diamond tipped drill bits and removed the broken studs.
Prior to this we did bit the bullet and get news ones from Wood and Picket but there was that much play in them you could actually lift the doors up and down. So, they went back. This is when we decided to repair what we had as there was little, if any play in them.
Anyway, keep us posted on your progress.
Take it steady, Joe

A lot of people name their cars. We have 5 vehicles all with names. Murdoc my Mazda3, Kermee The Mini, Trixie my wifes JCW, Diva her Motorcycle and Halfbreed my motorcycle.

Edited by TA2DMAC, 15 July 2012 - 03:50 PM.

All of my cars have names too.. My Fiesta St is called 'Festa Steve' my mx5(miata) is called 'Red Christine' and my mini is called 'Cherry Cooper' lol

Previously my Ford Puma was called 'Cat' my MgZr was called 'Fub' my Mini Cooper was called 'Jack' my Mini City was called 'Picnic'

I think my insanity comes from my mother as she names her cars too..

Joe

Ok, Got it on the names.

Then I think its fitting that I want to create a beast. Since this is a 30 mini and the A-10 thunderbolt is as badass as I want this car to be and the aircraft is built around its 30mm gatlin gun Ive already been calling it the HAWG! Laugh if you want. Its personal to me.

So again no joy witht he doors today. Prep work done in the electrical and engine to get the engine out some time this week. More rust discovered. (what did I get myself into) In the pictures note a black circle on the front scuttle board I think its called. It does nothing. So something is made to go there. What could that be?

Until sometime this week fellas. Joe thanks for the comments and motivation. TA2DMAC. What are the exact size to your 13 x7 tires?

Peace.

30 mm

Edited by 30 mm, 15 July 2012 - 06:26 PM.

One question guys,

Ill be able to pick up brand new metal left over from some work projects. What size is best for the odd places I have to fix like the interior and the boot.

30 mm

Questions,

What size metal should I be applying to the car?

Last. Ill be cutting the front end off the car soon. When cutting the A panel from the front fender how do I undo those welds? Does anyone know of a detailed thread of how to do this.

Thanks

30 mm

The latest. Im still need help. please see above.

Disregard. I was able to take off the seam cover with my fingers. SIlly question.

NEXT! please I need an answer on this. When cutting away at a seam I will use and angle grinder to take off the front panel from the A-panel but how to do I clean up the weld between the two?

30 mm

Hi from Calgary. You from the Valley? Which line, eh?

Nice 30. My previous Mini was a 30 named Nigel. I now have a 91 Cooper (Alice, of course) and a 64 Countryman (Woody). They all have names because they all have unique personalities and character. That is a nice way of saying that each finds different ways to break down and have hissy fits.

The extra holes in the scuttle are for the different placement of wiper arms on Left hand drive/Right hand drive cars. If you are going to keep it right hand drive you can take the rubber bungs out and weld a plug into those holes to make the scuttle look cleaner.

Edited by 1964Woody, 17 July 2012 - 08:29 PM.

Woody,

Thanks a lot! And I like the idea. I will keep it right hand drive and I dont see why I cant seal up those holes. I will buy a brand new scuttle when the time comes.

30 mm

Gents,

Im about to order panels here in Canada. Some vendors are selling all within the same price range. Another business supported through Moss with the products arriving from California are offering the same product all for TWICE the cost as the other. This seems strange to me. Does anyone know if all panels are made in the same place? Are there some panels parts I should stay away from if they are made sub standard?

Thanks
30 mm

What vendor are you talking about that charges twice the price?

I forgot to tell you, I heard a name, Christian Hollum in Montreal, have a look at : http://www.christianhollumimports.ca/
I never bought from him but I heard really good things about him and he seems to keep a lot of parts in stock.

Another I know in the area is Mario Boies http://marioboies.ca/fr. They supply Moss parts but everytime I ordered with them i was loooooong to get parts cause they don't really keep Mini parts in stock.

An finally the other one is Robert http://www.robert-pi...o-anglaise.com/, just good things to say about him, and good prices, as he charges the price written in the Moss catalogue.

I also bought in the UK from Minispares, Minisport and Someford. I can be tempting to buy from the UK because of the prices but be aware of the shipping cost and the catastrophic custom fees you get by surprise when the package arrives.

dasupersprint,

Thanks for the links and the heads up.

Sorry about the delay in progress but I had to give some elbow grease to my wife and scrape and paint the well in our front yard. Then today I took the fenders off to find more rust.

Dasupersrint. Do you have the specs of your a frame set up that your mini stands on. Im interested to see how thick or thin the steel has to be to support the mini.

Enjoy

30mm

Gents.
Little work has been completed because of the amazing summer we are having and vacation. The next pics are a series of mysteries to me. Ive cut panels away but I cant understand how to get ride of the panel where it joins the other. Any ideas?