10 replies to this topic

[ADDvanced]

Hi all!

 

I am from Madison, Wisconsin in the USA, and I just bought a classic mini.  I have been googling and reading as much as I can for the past few days, and so far I have to say I hate that the new minis even exist, as it's hard to find information about old ones, the new ones clog up search results.  Ugh.  

 

About me?  I'm a car guy.  I own 3 cars other than the mini I just purchased.  I have a 95 Audi S6 Avant I finished restoring, a kind of worn out 1977 Porsche 911, and a daily driver Honda Insight 5spd.  Here's a pic of them in my garage:

 

 

Anyway, I picked up this 1973(?) Mini last week for about $2,000.  It runs and drives great.  I have put about 400 miles on it so far, without too many issues.  It started to overheat on the highway, so I had to add some coolant, but other than that I've been driving it every day.   

 

 

So I'm a bit confused as to what I actually have, I was told it was a 73 Mini, from Canada, as they quit importing them to the USA in 71?   Okay.  So the first thing I did was change the oil, as the PO said he couldn't get the drain plug out.   I don't know what the issue was, but it came out just like any other car I've done an oil change on.

 

 

 

 

While changing the oil, I ran into an issue.  I read that all minis after 1970 have a screw on type oil filter, but I have a cannister style filter.  Apart from not having the correct filter, I am now unsure if this engine is even correct for this car.  I also don't know how to change it, as there is a body support that runs left/right under the car that would prevent the cannister from being lowered; there is simply not enough clearance between the sump pan and this support to allow the cannister shell to be removed.  How would I tell what engine I actually have, if this is indeed a replacement?

 

Now onto the body.  I almost did not buy this car, because of the rot, but after seeing the prices for sheet metal on this car, I decided to pull the trigger.  My plan is to strip the chassis, have it media blasted, cut out the rust, and restore the car into a mild custom.  I do not see any value in staying factory correct, as 72/73/whatever this is has the ugly side reflectors, and is not desirable.  I think my best bet is to restore it more like a 1970 model, with minilites, flares, etc.  Here are some detailed photos with my thoughts:

 

 

So the good news is that it's complete, I guess.  All the electrics work, except the horn.  The floors are very new, and were welded in kind of poorly, but installed none the less.  Both front fenders are filled with mud, so I will replace them with some OEM ones without the fender reflector.  The hood does not line up very well, but isn't rusty so hopefully I will be able to reuse it.  The windshield surround looks solid, and the lower/grill area looks decent as well.  The mirrors are cool looking, but basically useless.  Should they be mounted up higher, on the flat part of the door?  

 

I believe this is called the A panel.  Given that new metal is about $20, I will probably be replacing these as well.  I am concerned about how deep this corrosion goes, if anybody has been down this path, do you think I will need the under A panel support replaced as well?

 

The interior is complete, and in great shape.  I do need a lower driver's seat vinyl, but so far I have not found any reproductions for the Mk3 cars.  Does anyone have a lead on them?  I am only finding seat covers for the Mk1/2, which is a different pattern.   I'll be replacing the carpet with black or grey carpet, refinishing the steering wheel, and putting in a new headliner.  The odometer is broken, but I'm not sure I will fix that as it will stay a low mileage car.  :)   The speedometer is very 'bouncy', could this indicate a dry cable?  The sills are fairly rotten, so I will be ordering new step panels.

 

Here is why I almost did not buy the car.  The rear end has been hit, and repaired poorly.  I am going to replace almost all of this metal, the boot lid, and possibly the entire rear section.  The trunk floor is in great shape.  You can also see corrosion around the rear wheels, I'm not sure how bad these panels are yet either.

 

Here is a detailed shot.  You can see the filler and bubbles around the rear window.  Not good.  The upper half seems solid, so I might just replace the bottom half.  There is also a gap around the fuel filler, and I'm not sure why.  It has a 9 gallon tank, so maybe when it was upgraded it was installed poorly?  

 

Here is a detail of the boot panel.  It is rotten and filled with mud.  I will probably just replace this piece instead of trying to save it.

 

And here is the worst panel, the A panel on the passenger side.  It is not even attached to the body anymore.  

 

So...   any help would be greatly appreciated.  Right now it leaks oil pretty badly, but when I strip the car I will mount the engine to my engine stand, clean it up, respray it, and replace as many seals as I can get to.  Does anybody have a photo of what my engine compartment is supposed to look like?  I question the location of some of my hoses.  Thank you so much in advance!

Edited by ADDvanced, 03 November 2014 - 10:43 PM.

[sonikk4]

Hi and welcome to TMF. Looking at the pictures of your car it is a MK3 as I can see drip rails on the roof. Now as to the engine If you use this website http://www.guess-wor...Tech/engine.htm you may get a better idea of what engine you have fitted.

Now for the rot, judging by your pictures both A panels are shot which is a standard thing on minis. Now until they are off it is difficult to judge what's going on behind. I think the l/h side it will probably only be the A panel / flitch mounting flange. Very easy to do your own there.

Now the R/h side has other issues as well as the A panel. The door step looks rotten as well. Now back to the A panel it's very likely the flitch panel will be rusty along with the A panel and possible the A post. Nothing serious and all parts readily available.

However the door step can be a real pain. Here in the UK there are two manufacturers at present who make these panels. Heritage and Magnum. forget Magnum as they are generally poor, the Heritage are far superior but at a price.

Now as to the side repeaters I have never seen them fitted in that position to a MK 3 or earlier unless of course it's law to have them in Canada or the states. if so they have been added and you cannot buy wings here with them fitted in that position. The only model of mini that has side repeaters in roughly that location was the Mini Special but a totally different shape.

Now as to the engine bay layout have a look through the Projects section and you will find what you need to see there.

Now if you intend to buy panels in the UK and have them shipped stateside I would recommend paying £5 to become a TMF+ member. This allows you access to various companies who offer discount.
For example Minispares 7.5% discount on all of their items. Minispeed 12.5% discount on all Heritage panels and I believe 10% on anything else but worth checking on that. M Machine a very popular stockist of panels who do make a lot of their own stuff especially full inner sills, outer sills etc. They offer 10% discount on all of their items but here's the crunch for yourself it's better to ring them as their email answering leaves a lot to be desired.

There are other companies who offer other parts as well. Good luck with the car and if you decide to do a build thread then that will help you get most of the answers you will need.

[Gadgets]

Enjoy

[MR J]

_{I think your wings and side repeaters/lights are correct for a Canadian spec Mini, although if you where wanting to replace the wings you would need to replicate the holes for them in the new ones.}

 

_{I reckon you will also be needing outer and inner sill repairs and possibly some floor pan repairs once you start to tackle the door step.}

 

_{All being well I'll be in Canada myself by this time next year (I know you're in the States) I'll be bringing my cars with me so there will be 2 more Minis on the highways of North America by then!}  

[ADDvanced]

Thanks guys!  I'm going to be ordering fenders/wings without any reflectors or lights on the side, I don't feel this model is in anyway desirable or collectable despite it being kind of rare, so I'll be restoring it to more like a 1970 without them.  The floor panel has been replaced already; the welds are ugly but it's solid.  

 

My question was I tried changing the oil, but I have a canister style filter.  What year did they start using spin on filters?   Anyway, the center bolt rocketed out of the oil filter mounting plate due to spring pressure, and took 3 threads with it.  Now it's stripped.  I've ordered a spin on filter conversion kit, but there is a support in the grill area right in front of this thing, so I can't even get the old one off.  Ideas?

[MR J]

What are you using to try and get the filter housing off with? It should be a relatively simple job to do, have you got any extension bars and universal joint for your socket set, so you can in behind the front panel support?

 

I think the filters changed from the cartridge to spin on filters in the early seventies.

 

As to your earlier question about the mirrors, yes they shoud in my opinion be mounted higher up on the flat part of the door skin.

[ADDvanced]

I am using sockets and ratchets, mechanically taking it off the block isn't the problem.  I've removed the two nuts holding it on.  There is a vertical piece of sheet metal behind the grill directly in front of this area, so I'm not sure how the heck I am supposed to pull the oil filter housing off since it runs right into this metal bar that runs vertically behind the grill.

[MR J]

Can you not remove the mounting studs and slide it out?

[ADDvanced]

Update:  Wound up welding a nut onto the studs, then they came right out  :)

[Rocket.]

Bit off topic but I like the black steels really suit the car !

[ADDvanced]

Thanks!  It came with hubcaps but they were too nerdy for me.  Removed them the first night I had it.