14 replies to this topic

[Gar37]

Finally have my first mini. Pretty much a bare shell and lots of boxes bits so is going to be a bit of a project and a puzzle. Has been off the road over 35 years. No idea of what way to go with it yet.

[bpirie1000]

Get the bodywork looked and and make sure everything is solid clean and lined up.

I certainly would take a box at a time and work through things and write a list of bits you have and work out when you will need them.. interior last and subframes/suspension first kind of thing..


Sounds like you will have loads to clea up and inspect... small bits of work alot of the time make so much difference.

[stuart bowes]

diagrams on minispares can help when trying to identify parts and work out what bolts go where 

 

and the haynes / workshop manual obviously

Edited by stuart bowes, 05 March 2024 - 11:29 AM.

[Gar37]

A few pictures added . Seems a pretty decent base to start. Lots of spare panels.  IMG_6390.jpeg   79.14K   20 downloads  IMG_6391.jpeg   87.48K   19 downloads

[Gar37]

Actually looks worse in pictures than is. A lot of what looks like rust is just years of dust and dirt. Passenger side floor is rotten. Does have oversills fitted but inner sills solid from inside. Car came with new original sills, bonnet etc. Mostly what's needed to complete bodywork. Just need to find the time now.

[slidehammer]

Looks pretty sound from what you can see in the pictures. my advice would be major on the body work to start with whilst enthusiasm is high. Body work is usually the part of the project that stalls it. Good luck with it and let us see some pictures as you progress

[Aly-g]

Welcome to TMF, good luck with the project, looks to be a fairly sound car.

Allan

[Gar37]

Thanks for the welcome. Totally new to minis but have a bit of experience with older cars. Recently parted with a mk1 xr2 and currently working on a 205 gti which is hiding under the cover in front of the mini.
I have noticed the bulkhead looks to be modified. Any ideas why ?

[stuart bowes]

usually I believe the trick is to weld in a battery box to make space for bigger carbs like the weber dcoe, that may be what they've done there

 

any info on the spec of the engine?

Edited by stuart bowes, 08 March 2024 - 10:54 PM.

[Aly-g]

It's comparable to a technical lego and they are great fun to build, at the end of your build you will have a great car that will give you lots of pleasure and plenty of smiles per mile, enjoy !


Allan

[Gar37]

Cheers, can't wait to get stuck into it. Not looked much into engine yet. Was said to be a decent spec 1300 with fancy cam. Hasn't been run in 35 years so will likely need a full rebuild.
Gonna rip the over sills off first and see what's lurking underneath. Inner sills from inside the car seem solid and rust free. The cars been in storage since oversills were fitted so hoping it's not too bad.

[Gar37]

Just started looking at a few of the bits. Some in a bit of a state due to how they were stored. Engine free and turns over at least. Looks like it's had some work in the past. Looks to have liners and pistons are dished and machined on top. Is this normal.
 76306a1b-e29c-4abf-ada9-5f4b976ce912.jpeg   40.81K   6 downloads  e983d3b4-a490-41ce-8602-bb6a0d622847.jpeg   64.87K   3 downloads  eca25e80-dd53-466f-84f6-c76788abcfb1.jpeg   50.68K   3 downloads

Edited by Gar37, 08 April 2024 - 08:12 AM.

[KTS]

not normal at all - looks to me like the cylinder head has been massively skimmed which is why the pistons have been machined to allow room for the valves to extend into the bores when they open

 

I assume it's been done to reduce the combustion chamber volume, but does look pretty extreme

[Gar37]

Has a 649 race cam fitted. Don't know much more about it other than it's stood for 35-40 years. Possibly used for race/sprints.
Just trying to see what I have/ don't have. It's just a big jigsaw for now.

[KTS]

it appears there's been quite a lot of effort put in to the engine, so might be interesting to see whether the block and crank are anything special...