Hi everyone,
I'm a new member as of today, but I've owned this 1983 998 for 21years. For 9 years it was my first and only car, but a combination of a new job (with long commute around the M25) and decreasing reliability made me buy a 'normal' car and store the Mini for a few months until I figured out what to do with her. A few months turned into a year or two, then a few more and then life got in the way.....now 12 years later, after moving to a place with a usable garage, I finally have her back! My Mini passion has very much been re-ignited and I can't stop thinking about my first project!
With the warm/dry/sizeable garage I also have no excuses for not learning how to wield a spanner, so this will be a big learning experience for me! Since moving a year ago I've done a few oil changes, rad flush/ thermostat, balljoint boots, brake fluid flush etc. on my other cars (Mk1 Eunos mainly) so not competely green anymore (I'd rate myself 1.5 spanners on the Haynes scale).
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When I first got her in '99
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After spending all my burger flipping wages on shiny bits c.2003
Sadly she has some 2-tone to her finish now (i.e. a few extra brown bits) but nothing that looks too horrendous, not that I've had a chance to check properly yet. She was kept in my mum's dry garage (thanks mum!) but as I had even less mechanical knowledge of these things than I do now, and didn't expect she'd be hibernating for any length of time, I didn't do anything to prep her for her induced coma.
In the short term my plan is to get her up and running again, so at least I can get an idea of what needs to be done and what my budget can handle, then hopefully do a comprehensive DIY restoration and build her into something special. At the moment the only mods are the ones you see, but so far I'm thinking of 7.5in disc conversion, HILOs (probably with standard cones) for a sweeter ride height, Swiftune electronic distributer kit, stage 1 engine kit and possibly a 12G295 head - I really like the idea of keeping the original 998 engine. I also have a Weber 28/36 carb that I picked up for cheap in the early 2000s, it seems they're not the best option but it's kind of sentimental as I'd always wanted to put it on but was too scared to so it sat around my house as a nice dusty ornament (assuming it works). Hopefully with an uprated head and S1 kit it will do a decent job. Then lots of work on the look - I'd like to go back to archless (so new wheels, these are 6's) and love the look of the early cars so possibly Mk1 style front grill and rear lights/boot conversion, fresh interior (may keep the Corbeau classic seats) and possibly a colour change, if I can bring myself to changing the yellow (I think it will depend how it looks with new wheels and stance). Any comments or suggestions on my project much appreciated!
Anyway, enough waffle, I've got plenty of research to do and things to ask, so keep an eye out for the many silly questions coming your way in the other sections of the forums 
Cheers,
Tim
