236 replies to this topic

[sherly]

Superb job :)

 

 

That looks really smart. Works really well with the orange paint and 10" wheels

Cheers guys, I may be changing the wheels over for next year - I'm currently refurbing a set of Revolites which will have a polished dish & black centres. Still 10" though!

 

I've put everything back on the car now after swapping out the old plastic fan for an export steel version so hoping to go for a long-ish drive at the weekend to try it out. Repainted the fan shroud and the fan pulley while I was there and gave the fan spacer a good clean/polish too.

 

A couple of small things - I found a NOS set of Lucas Hywire plug leads in my spares bins which I've fitted - I think the red looks great in the engine bay.

 

Fitted a new 3-clock bracket (£6 - ebay) and added a Voltmeter to compliment the oil pressure and Boost gauges. Also bought a few 1970's road maps of the UK from a bric-a-brac shop to sit on the dash shelf - nice bit of period clutter!

 

Also I'd previously fitted some repro A-panel Leyland badges because I didn't have the originals.  I wasn't overly happy with them to be honest - bit cheap and nasty - they're just a foiled sticker stuck to a plinth.

 

Anyway I took my dad to a motor museum in Bedfordshire last month (Stondon Transport museum - well worth a visit) and at the end they had a few bits and bobs for sale, including a big box of car badges. After a bit of rummaging I found a pair of original Leyland A-panel badges.  Asked the guy how much he wanted and after a slight pause he said.....(and I was expecting him to say £15 or something daft)....."errrrr....20p each OK?"

 

I nearly ripped his arm off...... 

Attached Files

•  gauges.jpg   140.11K   18 downloads
•  export fan.jpg   22.53K   7 downloads
•  hywire.jpg   157.83K   5 downloads
•  leyland original.jpg   145.6K   12 downloads
•  leyland repro.jpg   118.92K   16 downloads

Edited by sherly, 06 September 2013 - 12:52 PM.

[sherly]

A mixed weekend with the mini - spent a bit of Saturday bombing around the Southend/Rayleigh/Thundersley area picking up some spares and meeting a couple of other mini enthusiasts along the way.

 

Got hit from behind by a TOWIE wannabe driving an Audi Q7.....he was probably texting or something.  A really low speed shunt at the lights - Thankfully no damage done at all (have you seen the size of a Q7!)..........

 

Stuff I've got done this weekend: - horrifically scratched drivers door glass taken out and replaced with a nice scratch free example.

 

MINI clubman grille badge bought, cleaned up and repainted black/chrome and a '70s square AA badge, chrome added to the grille.  

 

Unpainted front arches are niggling me now though - little job for the winter!

 

 

Spent some time doing the "nice" jobs - added in vinyl rear arch covers, cut carefully to go round the roll cage mounts and spent an hour or so cleaning the crud out of the rear seat panels using some Zymol and a toothbrush.

 

 

 

Fun with the fisheye - thought I'd get the whole interior in the shot - didn't realise I'd get the whole car in the frame - she's so small!

 

 

Next up on the to-do list - dash tidy up and speedo/clocks overhaul - with new flexi PCB hopefully.

Edited by sherly, 23 September 2013 - 06:06 PM.

[sherly]

Slight issue driving to work this morning in the thick fog.....my headlights went out (yes - I was one of those annoying drivers driving along in fog with no lights on - not that I had a lot of choice).  Thankfully this has happened during the day - wouldn't fancy light failure whilst driving at night.

 

Turns out the on/off rocker switch has fallen to bits - I fished this lot out from behind the switch panel.......

 

 

Luckily I had a spare kicking around in one of the boxes of mini bits I have left over - hooray for the spares bin!  Fitted and fixed ready for the journey home..... :) :)

Edited by sherly, 24 September 2013 - 08:34 AM.

[Will16]

Look real smart. Love Clubmans.

[jamesmpi]

Surprised the Q7 didn't flatten you! Lol glad no harm done

[sherly]

Look real smart. Love Clubmans.

 

Cheers!

 

Surprised the Q7 didn't flatten you! Lol glad no harm done

 

Yeah, it did loom quite large in the mirrors.  Big like one of those monster trucks that you see crushing smaller cars.........

 

Job for the weekend - refurb and fit a new steering column.  Ever since I've owned the car it's had a Mk4 column with a Mk3 indicator stalk - which has meant I could never fit a shroud.

 

So an PM to a forum member later and I become the owner of a Mk3 column to refurb (cheers Josh!).....to go with the Mk3 stalk and the Mk3 shroud that I'd previously acquired.

 

 

 

 

I had a few issues to overcome - some mashed threads on the steering wheel end, which meant I had to use my Mk4 column inner, re-drilled and tapped for the indicator cancelling bracket.

 

The ignition switch wiring needed some TLC - a new plug spliced on to replace the mix of bare wires and spade connectors.....again salvaged from my Mk4 column......

 

Angle grinder & wire brush treatment on the outer column and a bit of scotchbrite & GT85 on the inner column to remove the corrosion and a coat of etch primer and a few coats of stove black paint on the outer column and she's as good as new!

 

 

[sherly]

Just to revive a plan from 2008 - I've had the set of 10" Revolite wheels that I bought back then fully paint stripped inside and out and have started polishing the lip & dish.  My original plan was to paint the centres Anthracite, but the rest of the car now has a black and orange theme I think black will suit the car better.

 

I'm planning to rattle-can them, using a 1k Etch primer and some good quality gloss black - but I'm a bit concerned how durable this will be.  Can't really afford to powdercoat and I'm confident in getting a good finish with cans (through prior experience) - just concerned that it'll all get trashed when the tyres are fitted.  I guess if I let it fully harden off before fitting the tyres then it should be OK right?

 

Also I'm gonna leave the polished bit un-lacquered and wax them so that I can keep polishing them if they get corroded.  I'd hate to lacquer them only to get chips and then corrosion spreading under the lacquer that I then can't get to.

 

Also - would it be a really bad thing to fit Revolution centre caps (bearing in mind they are cheaper Revolites)? I much prefer the crossed flag Revolution logo to the spun ally caps I currently have....

 

Opinions?

 

 

[Fozz]

hello, i guess these are GB alloys??? where did you find/bought the wheelcaps???

 

ive also got a set of GB alloys, but no wheelcaps.

 

friendly regards, Fozz

 

 

by the way: your clubman is (y). Wow!

[sherly]

hello, i guess these are GB alloys??? where did you find/bought the wheelcaps???

 

ive also got a set of GB alloys, but no wheelcaps.

 

friendly regards, Fozz

 

 

by the way: your clubman is (y). Wow!

Cheers!

 

Yep - GB alloys. I'm currently looking for a GB centre cap myself as I only have 3

 

Mine are black plastic - but I did find these if you don't mind a spun aluminium version? I guess they fit......

 

http://www.midlandwh...Centre-Cap.html

Edited by sherly, 09 October 2013 - 12:23 PM.

[Fozz]

 

hello, i guess these are GB alloys??? where did you find/bought the wheelcaps???

 

ive also got a set of GB alloys, but no wheelcaps.

 

friendly regards, Fozz

 

 

by the way: your clubman is (y). Wow!

Cheers!

 

Yep - GB alloys. I'm currently looking for a GB centre cap myself as I only have 3

 

Mine are black plastic - but I did find these if you don't mind a spun aluminium version? I guess they fit......

 

http://www.midlandwh...Centre-Cap.html

 

 

 

But are these complete wheelcaps( i mean the cap and the logo)??? or is it just the logo that they are selling???

i'm not sure....

 

but

[sherly]

Yeah - thats the complete cap, in aluminium - the photo makes it look like just the logo.

 

Here's the type I need:

 

http://www.theminifo...p-plastic-type/

 

[sherly]

Received a GB wheel centre cap this week, courtesy of GraemeC via TMF (I love this place) so my car is now sporting a full set of centre caps - something that has been bugging me for a while now.

 

Also, via eBay, a nice piece of period parcel-shelf tat - 1970's Castrol GTX flask.  Not sure on the exact date but it's pre the "liquid-engineering" slogan days.  Not sure if it'll stay in the Mini....I'm planning a garage build and would love to kit it out with period motoring memorabilia.  Already have a Castrol oil pourer and currently arranging to collect a BP Motor Spirit Enamel sign (that def. won't fit in the mini!)

 

Just need to build a garage now.......

 

 

[72clubman]

Stunning looking little car, although I am a tad GT bias. I'm also a stickler for period trinkets and mods, and you've done a stunning job. I don't think anything beats the early vinyl GT interior, I've even retro fitted it to my 79 GT, the velour stuff is horrible! 

[sherly]

Stunning looking little car, although I am a tad GT bias. I'm also a stickler for period trinkets and mods, and you've done a stunning job. I don't think anything beats the early vinyl GT interior, I've even retro fitted it to my 79 GT, the velour stuff is horrible! 

Cheers!  

 

I agree - the early interiors are very cool.  I really don't want to change my front seats but I think they're gonna give me backache on long journeys (based on the few trips I've done since getting it on the road). I'll be hanging on to them though.....I like what you've done with yours - something period to match.

 

It's all getting hard to get hold of now though it seems - I got lucky a few years back and pieced a whole interior together - including some really knackered tired door cards which I renovated.  I'm stunned to see how much the GT steering wheel and badge are fetching on eBay.  There's a steering centre badge on there at the mo (the gold version) which is currently sat on £70....I passed up the opportunity to buy on on ebay a few years ago for £15!

 

As for period trinklets I think an 8 track player is on the cards at some point.........

[72clubman]

Mine came with the cobra classics, which I love, and I've just put GT stuff around them and it kind of fits. Finding a rear bench was a hassle and cost a small fortune! The door cards are newton, and are amazing.

 

It's getting ridiculous! But supply and demand I suppose, I managed to source a complete Navy Interior a few years ago for my next project, along with all the hard to find GT trinkets, and a good job I did! The steering wheel price I can understand, but the center badge is ridiculous.

 

I've always gone on the principal a sound-system is pointless in a mini, and as no-one has yet to cut holes in my parcel shelf it'll stay that way!