58 replies to this topic

[danotje21]

I've been lurking in the forum for quite sometime getting some inspiration and decided I need to start a rebuild thread. The car is an 81 HL with a 1275 and discs. It actually started off looking great, but after a few months in the States and a couple of potholes later, I found out the backend was hanging on by a thread--mainly brazed in metal plates slathered in filler to hide the rust. It broke my heart to tear into it, but the car was not safe to drive. So now it is in pieces and slowly coming back to life in the garage. I'm new to posting here, though, so this is also a test to see if I can get a pic in here. Anyway, here's the start:

Edited by danotje21, 05 May 2012 - 12:51 PM.

[danotje21]

Here it is in a local British car club show and shine:




The shop:

Edited by danotje21, 05 May 2012 - 12:52 PM.

[danotje21]

Now for a couple of revealing shots:








This has been fun to repair:













After looking at some of the cars on here, it really isn't too bad. I have a lot to do, and I've had to learn to weld, but it has been pretty exciting getting going. I really enjoy putting things right. It really makes me want to drive it again just to see the difference.

Edited by danotje21, 05 May 2012 - 12:55 PM.

[mini-luke]

It's got such nice paint, just a shame it was filler below!

I've never seen rust around the wheel arches that bad before.

[minifcd]

Looked really good at first until you discovered all the filler and rust! So, did you move to the states and take the car with you? Thats one nice looking workshop you've got to!

[danotje21]

A couple of pics showing more of the strip down:














I wanted to build a rotisserie, but in the end, the dolly (idea I found on here) plus the engine hoist work very well. I can also flip it up by myself which makes life easier, too.

minifcd--it really did look good before I found the rust. I hit a pothole and started hearing a clicking sound, like plastic makes when it cracks. I was afraid to look for a few days, but eventually found the boot floor had "cracked". Whoever did the work brazed in a metal plate over a book-sized hole (they didn't even cut it to fit). Then they slathered filler all over it to cover up the areas the "patch" didn't cover. It was a huge mess. Here's the "patch" after I pulled it out:




As for how the car got here, I lived in Ely for about 3 years and had this as my main mode of transport. I then shipped it back to the US where it stood in storage for another 3 years while I worked in Japan. When I picked up the car in Atlanta, it started straight away, but when I left the lot, it was misfiring and sputtering violently. I stopped a gas station and bought a pack of fingernail files to clean the distributor contacts and rotor. After that, it ran like a champ throughout the whole 3 hr trip. Although it was very hot and not the least bit comfortable, it was great fun as real Minis are extremely rare over here, and it was getting TONS of looks. People were even taking pictures of the car as we were driving. Something about these cars really makes people smile. I remember getting a lot of the same reception motoring through East Anglia, too.

Edited by danotje21, 05 May 2012 - 12:57 PM.

[BusheyTrader]

Amazing garage space you have there, but what's the parts availability like over there?

I have a small garage space but am only 20 minutes drive away from MiniSpares.............

Adam

[danotje21]

Yeah, that is a great thing about US sized garages--tons of space. It actually took me a couple of weeks just to build the garage with bench and air system. I remember our garage in the UK. I was the only one on our street that parked a car in it. Most everyone else used it for storage.

I usually just order my parts from the UK. There are distributors over here, but they mark up their products (same ones from the UK) to cover shipping and profit. Even with shipping from the UK, it usually comes out cheaper. The trick is to place big orders. The shipping starts high, but only goes up a little for each additional part.

A couple more pics:

Before



After



Before



After



Hated to do it, but needed a better view. Have a lovely Heritage panel to go back on though. Look at that wheel well!

Edited by danotje21, 23 May 2012 - 12:30 PM.

[minifcd]

That engine looks brand new! Great work.

[danotje21]

Thanks! I used POR15's Marine Clean and Metal Prep, followed by a coat of POR15 itself, and then finished it off with their engine enamel. It does look MUCH better now. I've been slowly reworking the accessories, too. If nothing else, I'll have a nice looking A series for display

Plans for the car have changed a bit since I started. Originally was going OE white with black roof (I totally dig retro). Then I thought it would look great with reverse rims, but needed some contrast, so I switched to red with a black roof. The wife likes orange, though, as it reminds her of our time in England. So now it is going back to Vermillion Red or maybe a shade lighter with a black roof and the OE white reverse rims and no arches. I haven't seen too many orange cars with those rims, and I think it would give it a vintage look. I'm also swapping over to a Mk I grill and tail lights along with round door mirrors (wing mirrors, actually). Interior wise, I'd love to do a full rally look, but I think I'm going to go with a 60's era sports car theme--black vinyl/leather with black gauges and chrome bezels. I want the car to be comfortable, but I'd like a vintage rally/sports look. The only part I'm not sure about are the go faster stripes. I liked it on the car originally, but I don't know if it will look right with the Mk I look. Maybe some number circles instead?

[danotje21]

Time for a bit of an update. I've been slowly (read: VERY slowly) getting the bodywork done as I keep finding little things to fix. One of the newest is the driver's side flitch panel flange where the wing mounts. I had to remove remnants of two wings as it looked like they just cut the old one off at the flange and left it in place. This caused the flange to rust a bit, so I thought I'd fix it since I have the means at the moment.

Here's the rusty, stripped flange:



New repair section:



Sectioned to allow better fittment:



Mostly welded/fitted:



And done:



I've also been reworking some of the components when I get a bit tired of bodywork. Just finished one radius arm. Here's what it looked like when it came off:



And cleaned with new backplate assemblies and shaft from Minisport:



Quite the difference!

Edited by danotje21, 23 May 2012 - 12:22 PM.

[1990studio2]

great build! loving the look of that engine!!!

[danotje21]

Update from today...been working to get the driver's rear quarter fitted, but have had to work some nagging little issues first. I bought a Heritage panel which has an exceptional fit, but still requires a little "massaging". Since the rear seam was pretty well gone, and the panel was not fitting in it very well, I decided to shave it off and make a new one. It started off as one long piece that fit ok, but I wound up cutting it into sections in order to match the curve of the corner. While it didn't start pretty, it turned out very well, and the quarter fits great now (plus I have something solid to weld to). Anyway, here goes:










Also stuck in the Mk I tail light plates while I was there



Needs a little more cleaning up and a bit of filler, but turned out great:



Front of the quarter needed a little re-positioning to fit right






Quick look at the rear before finish welding and grinding. Not sure how I want to tackle the number plate light yet. This looks ok. Mk I boot lids or skins are ridiculously expensive.



Overall, got a lot done today. Hopefully I can keep this pace over the weekend. Thanks for looking!

[GraemeC]

Minimail over here in UK do a conversion panel for the boot lids now, and at incredible value. Judging by your welding skills you'd have no problem fitting one......

Right at the bottom of this page:
http://www.minimail....ed_products.jsp

[Magnetagz]

Some great progress made, I'll be keeping an eye on your thread with anticipation. :)