10 replies to this topic

[inim_repooc]

Hi all, I thought I would create a thread on the  work that I have been doing on my first mini (and car at that!) over the last month or so! 

 

The pics attached are the ones from the ad I found it from and as you can see, the car is pretty solid but is was beginning to get a little rough around the edges, so I took it on and got cracking on it once it arrived at its new home!

Attached Files

•  Mini front.JPG   79.88K   15 downloads
•  Mini Inside.JPG   40.7K   8 downloads
•  Mini side.JPG   76.73K   5 downloads
•  Mini Back.JPG   90.92K   7 downloads
•  Mini engine.JPG   90.67K   8 downloads

Edited by inim_repooc, 24 July 2015 - 07:44 PM.

[inim_repooc]

Me and my dad came up with a plan as to what we were going to do before I got it on the road... The plan was to strip the front end down and repair any rusting and suspect areas that had clearly been bodged up in the past! 

 

we spent a week or so cutting out rusted bits and fabricating new patches to weld in and then a few more days filling any imperfections in the patches etc...

 

the attached pictures show all of the bits that were removed and replaced, me after a rather tedious day underneath the car with a wire brush and also my dad posing with an angle grinder!  

 

 1.png   789.62K   10 downloads    2.png   804.6K   6 downloads    3.png   782.58K   5 downloads    4.png   785.65K   4 downloads    5.png   798.07K   7 downloads

 

 6.png   931.4K   8 downloads    dad.png   399.18K   17 downloads    me.jpg   28.33K   15 downloads

[inim_repooc]

between doing other things, I also restored and resprayed the grille and the spotlight brackets as well as the rocker cover - rather than fitting a shiny alloy one! 

[inim_repooc]

After sorting all of the rusty bits , the front end was sanded down and keyed with 180 grit sand paper for the most part and it was then ready to be primed!

 

 prime 1.jpg   57.24K   10 downloads    prime 2.jpg   78.48K   7 downloads    prime 3.jpg   55.68K   5 downloads    prime 4.jpg   60.25K   3 downloads

[inim_repooc]

up to this point, the project had been going well, but things took a turn for the worse when we started priming....

 

we sprayed it with a few coats of etch primer first, which went well, but the first coat of cellulose primer started to lift and peel off in places around 10 minuets after being sprayed on! we were certain that the previous layers where free from contamination, but coat after coat, the same thing happened! - so my dad went and got some 2k primer which can be nasty stuff if you breath it in due to it being based very much around cyanide - a friend of my dads found this the hard way once when he spayed the under side of his MGB without a face mask....

 

The 2k primer still lifted, but it was getting better, with fewer bits each coat, and after around 3 coats, it seemed to adhere as it should!  

 

We left the primer to harden for a few days and watched for cracks in anticipation, but to our relief, it was fine!  

 

 

 IMG_20150616_162932.jpg   36.23K   5 downloads        IMG_20150616_164012.jpg   31.7K   5 downloads

[inim_repooc]

The time had arrived for the base coat and lacquer! - see the pics for the aftermath, but I haven't been able to get any good pics just yet, but I will do once I have finished putting everything back together! 

 

After painting, I sprayed the under side of the mini and arches etc with hammerite wax oil under seal (I made sure the paintwork was covered up!)

 

 

 

 one.png   489.27K   12 downloads    two.png   521.57K   11 downloads    Untitled.png   494.51K   5 downloads  

[inim_repooc]

At this point, we are pretty much up to date as to where I am now! 

 

I stripped all of the brakes and serviced them -  the previous owner said he had recently done them, but I like to be sure! and luckly the front disks where perfect, bar lacking a bit of grease and the back 2 drums had a few issues... the drums and shoes are pretty much brand new, but both cylinders where knackered - one was seized and one had a leak!

 

oh, and there was one particular mistake that the person who stripped them before me made on both sides when putting them back together... can anyone guess what that was?   

 

My new windscreen rubber arrived from mini spares today, as well as my new cylinders, so I hope to get the car pretty much together tonight, and MAYBE get around to driving it for the first time - I can't tell you how much it hurt to see it sitting on axle stands in the garage for over a month since buying it having not even driven it any further than the distance from the low loader to the garage! 

[Gillybobs]

Cool Project! Is that a Bsa A7/10 I spy in the back ground ? Me and my Dad are into classic bikes too. 

[inim_repooc]

Cool Project! Is that a Bsa A7/10 I spy in the back ground ? Me and my Dad are into classic bikes too. 

thanks! - and that certainly is a BSA in the background; it is a 650cc A10 Golden flash - bet you didn't spot the C15 under the cover next to it!

 

- as it happens, we went on a run tonight with someone on an A7..

 

Do you / your dad have any bikes?

Edited by inim_repooc, 08 July 2015 - 10:06 PM.

[Gillybobs]

 

Cool Project! Is that a Bsa A7/10 I spy in the back ground ? Me and my Dad are into classic bikes too. 

thanks! - and that certainly is a BSA in the background; it is a 650cc A10 Golden flash - bet you didn't spot the C15 under the cover next to it!

 

- as it happens, we went on a run tonight with someone on an A7..

 

Do you / your dad have any bikes?

 

Yes we've got 8 at the moment! Heres my dads thunderbird that came second in classic bike of the year 2012. http://www.classicbi....php?f=6&t=5018

Edited by Gillybobs, 09 July 2015 - 10:59 AM.

[inim_repooc]

 

 

Cool Project! Is that a Bsa A7/10 I spy in the back ground ? Me and my Dad are into classic bikes too. 

thanks! - and that certainly is a BSA in the background; it is a 650cc A10 Golden flash - bet you didn't spot the C15 under the cover next to it!

 

- as it happens, we went on a run tonight with someone on an A7..

 

Do you / your dad have any bikes?

 

Yes we've got 8 at the moment! Heres my dads thunderbird that came second in classic bike of the year 2012. http://www.classicbi....php?f=6&t=5018

 

That Thunderbird is looking great after its restoration! Top job! :)