50 replies to this topic

[Mk2Brett]

Waiting for the carpet underlay to arrive, so started work on the rear suspension/radius arms.

 

Somewhere down the line the car had an underbody protection paint applied, problem was it was applied directly on the radius arms as well so they are caked in a thick rubber layer.

 

I've removed them for now, as I have replacements to go in. I will get around one day to refurbing these ones to keep as a spare.

Removing all the rust and underbody coating from the suspension areas

Treating with rust converter + epoxy primer + CRC Black zinc. I'll then apply a gloss black and clear coat.

 

Now waiting to do a few more coats before re-assembling the rear.

 

I also have new handbrake cables, so need to figure out how to run those next.

[Mk2Brett]

Lots of waiting for paint to dry today, so we tackled a few small jobs.

 

Addressed some rust under the bonnet, then hit it with 2K primer, 2K gloss black, then 2K clear.

Once this is dry we will add some under bonnet sound insulation.

 

Then applied the stripes, Not perfect for a first try.

 

 

 

Next up was adding the chrome GB badge, previously we just had a vinyl sticker

 

Then using vinyl dye, we dyed the rear seats red to match the front seats. This turned out really nice.

 

There was a small rust buble in the rear quarter, so I sanded that back, preped and primed it and then hit it with some paint matched spray I had made. Looks ok in the light, will hit this with with a 2K clear and see about blending it.

 

 

[Mk2Brett]

Got a new pair of "Group 2" arches, they are a bit wider than usual group 2 arches however.

 

Primed them with epoxy primer

First coat of the paint matched spray can

2K Clear coat

 

Turned out pretty well for a backyard spray can job I think.

 

Next up was re-wiring the new custom dash. The car was originally wired with quite a few gauges, so I've kept the 6 gauges

 

[Mk2Brett]

Today we fit the guards to the car, they needed a bit of forming and after applying the rubber seal between the guard/car they fit pretty decent.

Pretty wide stance for 10" wheels, but we'll see how it goes 

 

Next on to finishing up the rear suspension. Its all been rust treated and re-painted

New radius arms with new drum back plates fitted

new hubs on

then all re-assembled

 

I also took the time while it was all apart to run new hand brake cables, so those are now brand new. This uncovered the issue of very rusty brake lines running front to back, and the rear brake pressure regulator looked to be leaking, so I have ripped all of that out.

Now need to wait for new brake lines for the rear to arrive.

 

 

[Mk2Brett]

Worked on a few other bits and pieces today

 

Installed the new handbrake

 

Then started a basic restoration on the RHS door by sanding it back to remove most of the rust, then primed and painted it

 

 

[Mk2Brett]

Since I removed the hydraulic brake light switch, mainly because it failed, and its a pain to replace them, I created a custom bracket to mount an electric brake switch to the brake pedal.

 

Pretty simple upgrade and now have working brake lights again.

 

[Mk2Brett]

We did a bit more work on the interior today.
 

I was lucky enough to pick up a good condition lower dash piece, so we gave it a touch up and it looks good.

 

Then some cleaning up on the door cards

 

rear seatbelts installed

rear seats back in.

 

 

[Mk2Brett]

More interior work today, we added the rear carpet underlay and then the front seatbelts.

We have a non-moulded carpet set so it does not fit perfect but once we get the front carpet in we will do some fine tuning.

 

[Mk2Brett]

Mounted the rear carpets properly today with the seatbelt mounts

Then started to fit the dash, interior is finally starting to come together

 

Now test fitting the front carpets

[timmy850]

I remember fitting the same carpet kit to my mini. It’s marginally better than bare metal but not very good. There’s some nice moulded ones available on eBay Australia from TST which I found fit a lot nicer

Eg
https://www.ebay.com...tm/112432822894

Edited by timmy850, 22 July 2025 - 09:50 PM.

[Mk2Brett]

I remember fitting the same carpet kit to my mini. It’s marginally better than bare metal but not very good. There’s some nice moulded ones available on eBay Australia from TST which I found fit a lot nicer

Eg
https://www.ebay.com...tm/112432822894

 

Thanks! That looks great, from Minisport this was the only option, otherwise it was nearly $1k for a set of moulded carpet. I think we might need to make the switch.

[Mk2Brett]

This weeks updates:

 

Added the new grille badge

 

Started having some issues with the crank case pressure, but turns out since replacing the valve cover with a non-breather version, I kept having oil pump out the timing cover breather.
Even added a catch can but it just filled the catch can up.

 

So I cleaned up the old valve cover 

And then wired up the breather hoses back to the carb and it seems to have resolved the excessive crank case pressure.

 

Is a shame since I have two nice rocker covers to choose from, so I might get a fitting and get it welded to the valve cover, or get a bolt in breather.

 

 

Next up we got the seats back in and added some small trim pieces as well as new door seals

(sorry for the dirty floor mats!)

 

Also have a boot lining kit, but we need to spend some time fitting it

 

Lastly, I wired back in the driving/fog lamps

 

Have it booked in for new tyres and a wheel alignment tomorrow, and then getting it tuned on Wednesday.

 

[sonscar]

Looking very nice.Steve..

[68+86auto]

If you intend to use the lights at all, you'll probably find them vibrating like crazy making them useless.

[Mk2Brett]

If you intend to use the lights at all, you'll probably find them vibrating like crazy making them useless.

Thanks for the tip, they probably wont be used often as I added LED headlights that should be sufficient.

I just like the aesthetic of the 2 up 2 down lights, I had them on my Ford Escort so I used the same mounting bracket from a Ford Escort so looks to be solid enough.