49 replies to this topic

[ThePastRecedes]

I bought this car in August 2011 from a scrapyard in Stock, Essex. It was in an accident of some sort I think it was class b; I can't quite remember. It had been hit from behind and and knocked the passenger side wing slightly. The car was covered in rust like any other mini so there was lots of cutting and welding.

I bought the car as a 998 auto but once I got looking at the engine we realized it was a 1275 with a sports manifold of some sort. It somehow passed the DVLA inspection where they checked the VIN and the engine number.. ect to make sure the car wasn't made of stolen/chopped cars. I guess I was lucky :)

I spent the whole summer of 2011 working 54 hour weeks. I worked from June till September saving as much money as I could for this car.
Minimum wage for under 18's is terrible - £3.64. Probably my most boring summer but I wanted this car pretty badly. I worked on the car most days after work until dark.

I did all the work in the garage, I learnt how to weald and cut/bend metal and to do some filler work. My uncle un Uxbridge done the paint.

The plan was for this car to be m daily driver once I passed my driving test. But I never ended up taking the test because I've moved to Canada and I would have had to re-take the test even if I had passed. But I did drive the car as a provisional.

the pics;



It's 10 o'clock in Canada. So I'll post the rest in the morning ;)

[ThePastRecedes]

[ThePastRecedes]

[ThePastRecedes]

[ThePastRecedes]

All sold now :'( I'm no longer a mini owner but I have seen one for sale locally in ottawa, ON, Canada. I just need to find a workspace I can rent and I would buy it strait away.

[myredmini]

wow nice transformation, another mini saved.

[ThePastRecedes]

wow nice transformation, another mini saved.

thanks for the compliment!

[Sisco]

I am a regular reader of this forum and I have owned 3 minis now. I was looking through this the other day thinking that the seats of this look like my mini's old ones. Then I realised this is the previous owner's post!! and I was reading and looking at photos of my own car.

I was going to start a post for the work I have done since I have owned this but I figure I may as well carry on here to keep it together.. so here it goes!!

First of I am pleased with the work carried out as this mini and compliments to 'ThePastRecedes' as it is a very tidy base with plenty of new panels and hardly any rust. Floor panels, boot floor, rear valance. I also found out from the MOT history that it had a new rear subframe. I am not looking for originality so I am happy with the repair work as it shouldn't need any rust work for a while. The only advise for 'ThePastRecedes' is that if you get another mini it is much better to fit the narrow original sills than the wide sills i.e. oversills. As the oversills collect moisture and rust quickly whereas the narrow ones have vents. After fitting new inner sills and floors it would be a shame to cause rust through oversills. I plan to change these over next year once i can get my hands on a welder.. Otherwise good work!

Edited by msisask1, 10 August 2012 - 07:05 PM.

[Sisco]

Shortly after buying this mini the fan belt snapped so first job was to replace this.
When doing this I decided that the engine bay seriously let down the rest of the car so I decided to get busy. First Job was to remove radiatior and surround and clean these up with some fresh black paint.

Then I decided that I would clean the whole engine with Gunk, and after a few goes and some scrubbing it started looking very clean indeed removing most of the dust and grime. I stripped the head and carbs off and covered the engine. I then prepared and sprayed the bulkhead and inner wings to match the rest of the car. I then refurbished the cylinder head over night whilst the paint dried including a nice lick of red engine paint. The next day I fitted a new head gasket (although it had only just had one) and then started to rebuild the engine, cleaning up any parts when fitting them back on the engine. I.e. spraying exhaust manifold silver, cleaning carb. This cleaned up the engine bay loads. I also added new orange vacuum pipe, some cable conduit etc

The enginebay clean up was done in 2 whole days.. I was very pleased with the result as although not a show car it looked great. (before and after shots attached). It doesn't even look like the same car.

Oh plus not forgetting the new shiny rocker cover to finish it off!

Edited by msisask1, 10 August 2012 - 07:08 PM.

[Sisco]

I then decided with all these new panels and lack of rust they needed protection and also colour matching so I cleaned up, prepared, red oxided the floors, boot and underneath and then gave a nice thick coat or matching orange paint. I also prepared and gave the petrol tank a nice coat of black.

I spent alot of time underneath cleaning and rubbing down before painting and was very pleased with the condition of the shell and subframe.

Here are some photos of during and after the paintwork:

I also gave subframe a thick coat of waxoil to keep it like new hopefully and the underneath a thin coat (as I only had black). I will add another layer once I buy a big tin of clear stuff.

Edited by msisask1, 10 August 2012 - 06:53 PM.

[Sisco]

After completing the engine bay and paintwork my next job was to get the interior to my liking.



I also sourced a chrome front grille for £1 from ebay and collected from near me. Bargain!



After having 2 previous minis with 3 clock and 2 clock dials I wanted to go for a mk1 centre clock style.

So I set to work.. (sorry PastRecedes but the dashboard was removed).

I then added steering wheel and mk1 seats.

BEFORE




AFTER









If anyone has a matching rear seat (Black houndstooth design) they want to sell please PM me as I currently only have a plain black one and am looking for a matching one

Edited by msisask1, 10 August 2012 - 07:18 PM.

[Sisco]

And here are a couple of it being shown at its first show.

I have also added chrome wiper blanks, clear indicator lenses, chrome vent surrounds, cigarette lighter and extra clocks inside, new exhaust mounting rubbers, changed side sill trim and new wheel centre caps.

Edited by msisask1, 10 August 2012 - 07:22 PM.

[Sisco]

Still to do:

Soundproofing on floors, rear bench and boot consisting of:

Silent Coat Soundproofing
Flooring Underlay above
Carpet underlay set
Mat Set
Bonnet sound proofing
Boot Board
Remove parcel shelf speakers and new parcel shelf board
Find a matching rear seat

Then wire in some front component speakers or 2 ways and maybe a 8" sub under the rear seat if I can make an enclosure to suit. (does anybody have any pictures of a 8" sub under rear seat?)

Then just need to wire up the extra gauges I have and fix the gear selector oil leak as now the engine is spotless the only place covered in oil is there. Hopefully once I finish these it will be just how I want it.

Edited by msisask1, 10 August 2012 - 07:10 PM.

[new_zealand _minis]

only thing i see wrong is .. that you have a 998 head gasket on a 1275 motor !!!


other than that looks great

[cliche]

Great to see the new owner taking another's Mini on and leaving their mark