13 replies to this topic

[Phil998]

A couple of weeks ago I bought myself a new project car. My first car was an X reg 998 so when this popped up on eBay for £2000 I had to have it. This is what arrived on the 19th -



It looked quite nice. Unfortunately it didn't run, the clutch was stuck and the brakes didn't work well either. Putting a battery on revealed about 50% of the lights worked.

The more I dug into the car the more I realised it's quite the project. Here are a few of the things I found. Missing seams on the front wings -



Holes in the front floors/sills under a lot of Duct tape and sound deadening.



A compression test revealed very little on one cylinder so the head is now off too. Found a cracked in half exhaust manifold too.



So the strip down began, I've started with the trim and getting the engine stripped ready to remove. I've also started ordering the rather long list of parts.

This is how the car sits at the moment-



Plans...lots! Colour change, 7.5" brakes, a few cheeky mods etc. I'd like to get it solid first!

Edited by Phil998, 25 March 2021 - 07:13 PM.

[george_hill]

Definitely looks like a project, hopefully not too many surprise's lurking further under the surface. Good luck

[Maccmike8]

Im looking forward to seeing this progress.

[johnR]

What style are you going for?

[Chris1275gt]

The 1st thing to do is become a tmf member for £5 and get 7.5% discount from Minispares

[Phil998]

What style are you going for?

I don't really know if it's got a name. Low, no arches, 10" wheels, minimal exterior trim, and as light as possible for now. Nothing crazy on the suspension just a few poly bushes/solid mounts etc and discs on the front.  

The 1st thing to do is become a tmf member for £5 and get 7.5% discount from Minispares

How'd I go about that?

[Chris1275gt]

Phil998 being of a certain age I can't quite remember exactly so follow this below. When you've paid your fiver message [email protected] who will then set your discount up. When you first order the conformation email doesn't show the discount but when you get the next email with the dispatch details that should have the discount applied.

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Edited by Chris1275gt, 26 March 2021 - 01:16 PM.

[Phil998]

Phil998 being of a certain age I can't quite remember exactly so follow this below. When you've paid your fiver message [email protected] who will then set your discount up. When you first order the conformation email doesn't show the discount but when you get the next email with the dispatch details that should have the discount applied.

 

Done and done! Cheers for that.

[Phil998]

Had an hour this morning so started to strip the engine bay down. I've got new wings, A panels and front panel coming for the car so want to get it ready. Weirdly enough the scuttle seems very sound. This afternoon I'll get the brake and clutch master cylinders out. I'm going to take the engine out to crack on with that but leave the subframe in for now until the welding is complete.

[Phil998]

This is how today ended, engine bay fully stripped, I forgot how much of a pain it is to get the split pins out of the pedal pivot pins. I had hoped to get the engine out this weekend but I'm busy tomorrow.



I also got all the lights stripped out and the front seam trims off. It's good progress so far.

[MiniMadRacer]

That all looks good, I assume you labelled and  / or photographed everything as you strippped it... Any tips for labeliing and storing these items ready for reassembly?

[Phil998]

Bolts all get bagged in sealable freezer bags, marked with a sharpie what they are and then put in a box. All the big recognisable parts get stored in those recycling boxes until I get around to cleaning painting or replacing each part. Plenty of photos taken, although most stuff is self explanatory once you get going.

Bad weather today so inside the garage working on my motorbike rather than outside on the mini!

[Phil998]

It's been a while since I updated this, life gets in the way sometimes! I have been working on the car though, bit by bit. Shortly after my last update I got the engine out, and over the last month have stripped cleaned and refreshed it. New clutch, distributor, all gaskets, stem seals, Head gasket etc. It's looking like this - 

 

 

Much better. Still a few bits to finish, oil and temp sensors, tappet chest covers, thermostat housing, alternator and starter motor but overall I'm pretty happy. Next is chop the front off the car and replace the panels, after that I can get the subframe out, rebuild that start getting things back together.

[Maccmike8]

Pretty happy? You should be really happy! That looks fantastic!