25 replies to this topic

[conrad]

just reading what you have both said makes me want to go and buy one now! aha! alas that would be silly and would cost me in the long run aha!

i just can't wait to get stuck in!

so when looking for the project car whats the best kind of thing to look for?

Conrad

[EngineerDaisy]

I learned by buying a lemon of a mini in the first place 3 weeks of having it the dif exploded so that was an engine out job. First time I'd ever had to work on a car. Got a Haynes and lots of encouragement from forums and local clubs to give it a go. Started and enjoyed working on her so carried on. Im lucky in that i have an ex British Leyland garage down the road who have all the experience and are increadibly willing to help me out for not much money if I get stuck aswell as places like here which have a huge wealth of knowledge on them.

As for what project is best it depends on what you can and cant do. If you cant weld or paint get one thats maybe an unfinished project that has all the welding work done. Mechanical bits generally cost less than welding and paint.

[sonikk4]

If its cheap its cheap for a reason so tread carefully. Try and buy a complete car preferably one with a working engine. Do not be afraid to have a poke around but do ask the seller first.

If you can weld then happy days as all panels are available. What's your budget like. Do you want a full on resto or a on the go type.

My boys car started as a £1000 ebay special that should really have been ignored as potentially it was dangerous. However one full resto later after nearly 2 years its fully painted and is now rolling but still have a very long way to go.

My car the blue Clubman is a rolling resto for the time being £2k to buy taxed and Mot'd but replacing non standard outer sills and doing some smaller repairs to keep it roadworthy until he gets a full blown resto.

Both cars will have cost over £6k when finished although Erm considerably an awful lot more in fact more than we care to think about.

[Mini_Magic]

As others have said, buy a Haynes manual and read it from cover to index.

Or do it the longer and more expensive way as I did, and go to college and do a BTEC course in Motor Vehicle Engineering.

[conrad]

As for what project is best it depends on what you can and cant do. If you cant weld or paint get one thats maybe an unfinished project that has all the welding work done. Mechanical bits generally cost less than welding and paint.

I'm looking to learn how to weld. I think for my first attempt perhaps like you say an unfinished project is a good plan!

If its cheap its cheap for a reason so tread carefully. Try and buy a complete car preferably one with a working engine. Do not be afraid to have a poke around but do ask the seller first.

If you can weld then happy days as all panels are available. What's your budget like. Do you want a full on resto or a on the go type.

This is the thing currently I don't know my budget. Saving through to around next May hopefully it will be a half decent amount to start with.

I think perhaps an on the go resto might be more sensible for a first time, but who knows. I guess time will tell really.

[Kam]

The best and only way to learn is to get your hands dirty, you can read what you want in the haynes and read what you want on here and watch what dvd's you want to get an idea but until you actually start swinging some spanners and hammers you aint gonna learn what you need to know

Not everyone has the space and time so if you got it then make use of it

My story? well I've had alot of cars but never worked on them, never had the confidence or knowledge to undertake anything apart from putting petrol in it! a car was just another car to me, then I bought a mini and bit the bullet and tried for the first time to do something myself which I wasn't paying someone else to do, I put in a stage 3 kit, I struggled but I did it, that gave me massive confidence and went from there, then I put in a honda engine in and now putting another honda in, whilst doing this I also learnt and used an angle grinder and welder for the first time amongst other things

All my learnings have come from putting into practise what I've learnt from forums like this and just doing it, no other better way to learn, good luck with it, its hugely rewarding

[ChrisG10]

I learn by taking it apart and putting it back together. and brushing the spare washers under the rug. :L nah i joke
I learn by taking it apart watching it and listing or writing or drawing or photos of it so i can put it back together
if all else fails i shout the 3 letter word DAD. and leave him to fix it :L

[conrad]

some awesome words of advice above i reckon!

Particularly:

if all else fails i shout the 3 letter word DAD. and leave him to fix it :L

[Seckomecko]

my story. we have had the mini 4 a good 20 years. i looked at it when i was knee high and said im going to drive that one day. ever since then ive had the same car a lot of knucle skin lost, some money gone. but when you get to the end of the day. its all running and you go 4 a spin the mini is the best car ever and so so so much FUN!! (for a wile then mine gets another problem and it starts all over again with the same end product and a few more skills )

But a mini is a mini and i wouldnt have it any other way.

Edited by Seckomecko, 29 August 2011 - 12:09 AM.

[MiniMonty]

Don't be scared of it - it's just big Meccanno plus grease, oil and dirt.

Once you get a Mini (and a manual) do some basic things like changing points and plugs, then move on to things like
setting the valve clearances, then do a cylinder head gasket. Before you know it (and after a few posts on here) you'll
have your head around it.


The beauty of a Mini is that although a lot is packed into a very small space it's actually pretty simple stuff.
I would suggest if you want to learn about it all then a carb engine is better (easier) than an injected one and if it won't start
it's only ever fuel or spark - if it runs like a dog it's fuel or spark - no complex stuff and no computers to deal with !

With a half decent set of tools (which it sounds like you have access to in the Uncle's workshop) anyone with an ounce of common
sense and a manual can tackle most jobs on a Mini. And if you ever get stuck there are thousands of people on this forum who've
done it all before and who are happy to sharer their experience and wisdom - without them, my car would have been long dead.

Single hardest job on a Mini is keeping it watertight

[spacekadett]

Well I learnt automotive engineering at college, but got 'hands on' experience running a succession ropey old Metros' as, well, they were dirt cheap First one failed it's MOT so badly my boss wouldn't let my Dad drive it home! (I was 16 at the time) He let me stash it at work and with help I worked thru the repairs. No2 needed a load of welding and having done some on the bench stuff at college and was again allowed to use work facilities and learnt the completely different art of welding rusty floors After this my first project was an Opel Kadett Coupe which I rebuilt other than paint and bodywork before I did my first engine swap changing the 1.2 for a 2.0 then 1.8 Manta running gear and finally 2.0 SRi130 power. I also have a '59 Ford 100E I've used to teach myself loads as I've done everything myself so far, shell resto, fitting a mix of Escort and Capri front suspension and body mods to fit RS2000 engine and a T9 'box. With help I'm currently learning panel and filler stuff so finally it is getting somewhere.

As the Mk1 shell was solid building that up was easy in comparison lol but it'll all come in handy when I get round to the pickup and the Coopers rolling resto