410 replies to this topic

[1984mini25]

It was this one. https://www.ebay.co....bwIAK:rk:1:pf:0

 

I think, (as I didn't measure) the hole I was left with in the bulkhead was 1/4", witch is 6.4mm, as there was a slight bit of wiggle room. With the cable end being 8mm and the nut being m6, 10mm spanner size. And I shortened mine by about 5 mm, witch i new I'd have to as the 25mm ones were the shortest I could find.

[Wiggy]

Your 25 is just lovely. They've always caught my eye. Understated, yet definitely a Special Edition. My favourite SE of them all.

[paulsv24]

It was this one. https://www.ebay.co....bwIAK:rk:1:pf:0

 

I think, (as I didn't measure) the hole I was left with in the bulkhead was 1/4", witch is 6.4mm, as there was a slight bit of wiggle room. With the cable end being 8mm and the nut being m6, 10mm spanner size. And I shortened mine by about 5 mm, witch i new I'd have to as the 25mm ones were the shortest I could find.

 

Many thanks Karl.

[mini 25 matt]

The other wheel arch has now been given the same treatment, and I’ve just noticed I’ve missed a bit on the rear subframe. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was just wondering what is the red paint base coat you have used here is?

[1984mini25]

 

The other wheel arch has now been given the same treatment, and I’ve just noticed I’ve missed a bit on the rear subframe. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was just wondering what is the red paint base coat you have used here is?

 

 

 

Screwfix red oxide metal primer, but only where top coated with oil/enamel based paint or stone chip.

[1984mini25]

Well it seems I haven't updated this for 6 or so years. Well the good news is I still have the mini25 and it's just as shiny as it was when painted, and is still being used. Not as much as I'd have liked thanks to covid a few years back (couldn't go anywhere or go out) and more recent health issues I'll get too, but it's also not my main car and the mini is garaged (not heated) over the winter and doesn't get used unless I have to over winter months.

 

I'll try and keep it brief as this will be lengthy as it is. But the covid lockdowns lead to plenty of free time and an excuse to work on the mini. One job I did was to do the tried and tested screwfix roof flashing sound insulation behind the dash, front bulkhead, floors, rear seat and boot floor. Followed by some closed cell foam in the form of £3.99 decathlon yoga mats, think I used about 5 in total. Why yoga mats? Well they were easily available, cheap (the main reason) are closed cell foam, impact resistant and spill/liquid proof, ideal for a mini.

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A job that turned into one of those 'I wish I'd never started' as it took hours was I decided to refurbished and replace the stitching on the steering wheel. Removing the leather cover, unpicking all the original stitching and recolouring the leather (used a pot of leather colour due/barn for about a tenner) was the easy bit. Replacing all the stitching and lacing it back onto the wheel afterwards took about 8 hours, all done by hand. But the waxed nylon thread, so it won't fade and rot like the original only cost a fiver, so not an expensive restoration, just lengthy time wise. And it can't have been that bad, as I also did the same to a second spare steering wheel I have hanging in the garage. It's in better condition than the one in the car, but the one in the car is original and is scuffed and marked from use.

 

I also had to pull apart and replace all the front suspension bushes due to a heavy pull to the left, to the point of having to put oppose lock on, that only showed itself under heavy braking. I'm assuming it was the near side bottom arm/tie bar brushes even though they didn't look past it and nothing was picked up during a recent mot, the brake imbalance was all about the same, so the violent pull wasn't brake or calliper related.

 

I had some replica 'show' plates made up replicating the original rear number plate and front to match (which had long since been replaced before my ownership) which weren't cheap, but I got rather too excited that I could have a pair of number plates made with an exact copy of the original font, dealership info and square plate corners. 

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And after 14 years the standard replacement exhaust was starting to get a little too rusty at the tailpipe end (were the rear clamp was) and the internals of the rear box had gone. So I found the same again on eurocarparts for £60 in a half-price sale with free delivery. I also then spent a further £20 sanding and painting it on the lawn, before fitting using a better quality cast clamp bought from a Morris minor spares specialist, as the mini ones available aren't fit for purpose.

 

I had started to attend shows and stuff, but sticking to more local ones as the unexplained tiredness and general fatigue I'd been suffering with (was before covid but nowhere near as bad and just put it down to trying to do too much at times) was getting to the point id be tired just doing simple things or even falling asleep and feeling worse afterwards.

I'd had a blood test done in January 24 that showed 75% saturation, anything over 45% being an issue. But because someone had marked it as 'normal' it was ignored and was then led down the path of other blood tests that obviously weren't the issue and came back normal. It took 9 months and me paying for a private lot of blood tests (which were exactly the same) to finally get a referral. Unfortunately that has had mixed results, in that the saturation being high is being ignored, as with my iron being with normal range I'm not loading and suffering any organ damage at present. And in trying to bring the saturation down myself by cutting out all foods fortified with iron and red meat etc. that has also had a negative effect on other blood related levels that weren't high to begin with, so in some ways have ended up feeling no better.

 

Although, finally after 13 years of complaining about non inflammatory lower back pain I did finally have an MRI scan (more to shut me up/prove there wasn't anything wrong) which showed I have a torn and herniated disk in my lower back (L5-S1) and the protruded disk is in contact with the right nerve.

 

Unfortunately that hasn't been the end of my health issues, as during February I had a bad cold that lasted a few weeks with an added symptom of increasing blurred vision in my left eye. Which according to my local health centre was 'just a cold/migraine' and later turned out two weeks later during an eye test (which I was due anyway) was in fact the retina in my left eye detaching and I was in fact going blind/losing sight in that eye and needed urgent treatment. So one referral and consultation (with dilating eye drops) later to then find out that Milton Keynes hospital would be unable to do surgery for a couple of weeks and that because of the urgency I'd have to have another consultation (more drops ) and surgery at Saint Thomas's in central London.

 

I'll let you work out how expensive the taxi fares were getting to and from Milton Keynes to central London during peak hours several times in a week were. And even though the detachment was successfully reattached (lasered and gas) my retina wasn't done and detached again, but not in the same place, but because the gas that was floating around in my eye blocked out what vision I had, I couldn't tell it had detached and this time more seriously. So I had to go through it all over again with the trips back and forth to London daily, more laser, gas and a silicone band stitched to hold the retina in place and stop it detaching. This is my eye 2 days after the second surgery, I can't see anything out of it and am having to forcefully hold it open just to take the picture. You'll also be able to notice a bubble of the gas my eye was filled with.

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It's been two months now and my eye looks relatively normal, although if anyone has ever tried removing a sticker and tried re-sticking it and finding it doesn't and ends up wrinkled, well that's is what's happened to my retina. So although my retina (and macular that's responsible for central vision was off both times) is back where it should be, while it was detached it was starved of any blood supply and as it's impossible for it to go back exactly as it was before, it has left me with distorted vision in that eye which over time should sort itself out (already seen big improvements) and be blocked out by the still normal vision in my other eye.

The eye issues aren't over though, as because of the gas that was used during both surgeries to hold the retina in place as it heals, also has the effect of irritating the lens of the eye, so in the coming months I have the formation of a cataract to come in the same eye to look forward to. It's also probable that I'm to get further detachment's again and also in my other, at the moment good eye.

All of this has also meant the mini for the last 5 months has done zero miles, and I've also been unable to drive and haven't been out much with all the rest I've needed.

 

But onto the recent mini stuff. During a sort out I came across my old original front seat covers that I replaced with a pair in better condition a few years back and re-coloured piping (mine were starting to rip and go thread bare in a few places) Now I didn't want to just throw them out and I was never going to reuse them due to the rips that had been previously repaired, but the back sections of both front seats were still in relatively good condition for the age of the fabric and there might be enough piping from both covers to do something with. So I came up with the mad (and slightly expensive) idea to sit and spend 2 hours on each unpicking, 2 seat covers for the two back sections and piping. Which I then had the logo from an original mini25 carrier bag digitized and embroidered onto one of the sections, then the two pieces of fabric and piping turned into a one off matching scatter cushion made from the cars original seat fabric.

 

It wasn't cheap or easy, I had the embroidery done back in September/October and was then messed around with it being turned into a cushion (wanted the full amount upfront in cash, to which I only paid for the embroidery by card with the rest on completion and then they lost interest in progress) which I've only recently found someone else with an industrial sowing machine who was willing to take it on and finish.

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I've also finally managed to find a correct pair of mini25 parcel shelf speakers, which despite the seller claiming the speakers were in working condition, they weren't. But that did mean I got to trash the old speakers getting them out, (the two half's weren't coming unglued) having adapter rings 3d printed and 3" base drivers glued in from the front. The only differences are the mounting brackets and slightly different grill mesh, but nothing any normal person would notice. But I was able to sell on the ones I'd changed the speakers in and fitted 7 years ago to someone who's recently restored a mini 30 for a good price, which made up for slightly overpaying for these ones.

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But the big one. The 28th of April marked the 20th anniversary of a 20ish year old buying a rusty 20 year old mini to use as a daily runaround and still own it 20 years later (even if I can't currently drive it) and hear it is, the 'same' mini parked on the same driveway on the same date exactly 20 years apart. I can't take credit for taking the pictures (I was in the house resting) but they were taken using the same camera as 20 years ago (managed to get some life out of it) but with the better settings using modern rechargeable batteries, that still depleted within about 10 minutes.

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I had hoped on driving back to the original address of the previous owner I bought it from (long since sold/moved and only have a maiden name on the v5) which is only 32 miles away, but something that wasn't going to happen. Maybe later in the year, but I'll need someone to share the driving with just to be safe. Still if it's only worth what I paid for it (my first year’s insurance was £300 more than the car) adjusting for inflation would mean it's currently worth £1,586 today.

 

I had also been digging into the previous history I have, I've had limited success as any car checks (even the paid ones I tried) just brings up the same info from the last 20 years that I already know of and is available for free. I also refuse to pay for yearly membership to a Saint Albans mini club just for the use of a Facebook page to ask a question in the hope I get a usable response.

I had also hoped on attending two shows in areas that I know the car would have originally been both from new and later in its life. Unfortunately the cut-off date for entry is fast approaching, so nether of those shows are likely to happen. Well the shows will, just not with me attending.