59 replies to this topic

[adampat84]

This landed after an eight hour trip to Cornwall...

 

 

The shell is a 1986 Mini City and is actually in pretty good condition!!

[MrElliott]

nice one :) so what are your plans with it?

[adampat84]

Many ideas.. mostly wild flights of fantasy; TDI mini, Honda Mini, Vauxhall Mini..... amongst others!

 

Though in the real world!

 

1. finish the welding the previous owner started...
2. Subframe
3. Brakes
4. Engine
5. MOT
6. Done

It is as simple as that!

 

[Fast Ivan]

Looks good from here. Where you going with it?

[GTIAlex06]

How did it take you eight hours to get to Cornwall!

[Affer]

How did it take you eight hours to get to Cornwall!

He was carrying it! haha sorry had to do it. Good luck and look forward to seeing the rebuild.

[adampat84]

How did it take you eight hours to get to Cornwall!

He was carrying it! haha sorry had to do it. Good luck and look forward to seeing the rebuild.

Yep spot on.. did my very best impression of a snail.. though i insisted mhy shell was mini shaped! No in all it was 4 hours there 4 hours back...

[adampat84]

Looks good from here. Where you going with it?

Not sure on the plans for it yet, going to weld the shell to get it ready.. depends on buget really; will probably be a basic build then a rebuild in the future...

Any suggestions welcome

[adampat84]

Not much of an update..

 

Have sourced a welder (Thanks to "patricksouth" who also happens to be my brother)

 

Have acquired a snap on 130 turbo (which i've been told are made by cebora).

[adampat84]

Another Small Update:

 

Went over the car to find the worst of the rust, ohh the excitement!

 

Found the shell is actually in good shape.. the worst is below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Underneath: (Yes, my next purchase will be some axle stands I'm not going under it like that   )

 

 

 

Now the Repair Work Begins Door step was gone (literally):

 

Before

 

 

and after!!

 

 

 

Now it's the waiting game really; my welder should be arriving at the end of the month managed to snag my brothers Snap on Mig 

 

Ohh, in the meantime a small purchase that i am picking up at the weekend.. maybe i can fiddle with this until my welder arrives! Good 'ole eBay!!

 

 

 

[adampat84]

Right, where do I begin...

 

The story starts as always with a phone call... not to dissimilar to the last time i got a "Phone Call", it's funny really because conversations with my brother (patricksouth) are always interesting, this time it was:

 

"A guy around the corner is getting evicted and has put a for sale sign in his mini that has been sat on the drive for two years", i want the rollcage then we can part it and make some money! (Abridged version).

 

On recieveing of some piccys i decide this little black lump of Mini is a better suited candidate for my affections than the current "Shell" that although is a solid little gem this full car (rust and all) will kickstart my Mini aspirations..

 

Now it is not without its faults mainly being a 1966 Mk1 in a Mk3 suit.. it does have it's charms its swinging numberplate and the fact that it's numberplate started with "JPN" which has lead to it being christened "Japan" which by itself has given me a direction to go with my plans!

 

Anyway enough of the distractions, i shall get straight down to why you are all here, the photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now i have spent the day today doing a bit of work (while the cats away on a hen do, none-the-less), the front end was as rotten as a pear (why is it always pears that get accused of being rotten?? Beats me?!) so today's first task way to do away with the moth-eaten behemoth to be replaced with some more delicate! That would be a fibreglass 2 piece front end (of which at this point in time i only have one piece of! 

 

Sad Mini!!

 

TahDahh!! (Winter wear)

 

Helpful Nephew (every good garage should have one)

 

Winter Wear and Summer Wear

 

Mini Dressed in Summer Wear

 

After much work with the angle grinder and many annoyed neighbours!

 

 

Much much later after the tour de force that was a Branston Pickle Sandwich..

 

Now as much as i would like to say "piece of cake" it was not.. trying to get this piece of silica to fit around a mini is like trying to get Howard Wolowitz's mum into a dress (for all of you who don't watch "The Big Bang Theory" your missing out!) in the end i had two choices leave a gap between the offside A-Panel and the fibreglass front or being able to turn the steering!? I went with the latter now i need to think of how to solve the gap issue!??

 

Mind the Gap..

 

After this came the rust spots which look like they came into contact with Slimer (the green ghost from Ghostbusters), we will see if this rust stuff works tomorrow (if i'm allowed out to play that is)!

 

 

Gloop!

 

Close up of Gloop!

 

So all in all that account for 9:00 am till 7pm on Saturday the 20th of July!

 

No doubt more updates soon..

 

P.S. If anyone wants to buy a shell or subframe look in the for sale section. My parents obviously don't appreciate having my mini adorning their drive! I also need it in my garage to keep an eye on!! 

Edited by adampat84, 20 July 2013 - 10:38 PM.

[adampat84]

What has Sunday and Monday brought?

 

A little more time on the mini that's what it has brought! I was allowed out to play by the missus who has agreed i can work on it to get it moving as quickly as possible! (I suspect it may cost me in the end.)

 

Well Sunday started at 9am with the sole purpose of filling the holes at the back of the roof.

 

 

This took much time! First the rusty spots were rubbed back with a wire brush to remove the worst the some Hammerite Anti-Rust stuff put on (can see pic in previous post), this was then washed off, i was pleasantly surprised how effective it was. After this came a coat of fibreglass over the holes and then rubbed back with a futher layer of filler which was rubbed back! The plan is to fit a vinal roof eventually (cop out i know) because the rest of the roof has so many rust spots (which have also been treated, rubbed back and filled) it  will never look good painted! After the filling prep came a coat of grey primer followed by a coat of matt black:

 

 

 

 

Still have a few bits to paint as i ran out of black but all in all seems pretty sound now. An hour was spent in the evening taking the driver side window mechanism apart as the window refused to go up! I found the winder was knackered the window supports were rusted through and the glass had jumped the guides! Damn! With a bit off Jiggerypokery and many expletives later the window is now secured with masking tape but i need new window supports!

 

Monday was a back to work day but i already had a task lined up for the evening! During the previous day i had noticed (While doing the window) that the clutch was stuck fast! On further investigation the throw out arm\plunger was rusted solid! So at 7pm on Monday out came the Halfords Shock spray and a nylon hammer! This did not even make a blind bit of difference so off with the engine mounts bolts, remove the slave cylinder (which also is a bit knackered) the engine was then jacked up so i could access the clutch cover bolts! Arghhh those bolts a a frigging nightmare to undo if it wasn't for the fact i have a removable front end i would have thrown a spanner at something (mainly my parents fluffy white cat who insisted on trying to help) after much time the wok was off and yes the plunger was well an truly wedged in there! some shock spray and a big hammer later it was  apart! Hazaa!

 

This was the only pic i managed to get after the cover??

(This was only possible after cleaning my hands as they were filthy)

 

Tomorrow nights task re-assemblage!

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

That fiberglass really won't last long, you should just do it right the first time and not have to worry about it for a good few years.

[adampat84]

That fiberglass really won't last long, you should just do it right the first time and not have to worry about it for a good few years.

Yeah I agree. I only fitted it as i already happend to have it as it came with my other shell and the metal front was falling apart. The aim is to get it moving so it is off my parents drive i may have taken more time if i had the space in my own garage but currently i have a mini shell in there that i need to sell first! This is a long term rebuild plan i am in no rush to get it perfect off the bat!

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

The front is fine provided you have modified the subframe accordingly (Solid mounting the Subframe)... it will probably outlive the car, when I was talking about the fiberglass I meant the repairs you have made to the roof.