15 replies to this topic

[Gnielsen]

In my youth( 1980’s) I had a mk1 cooper. This is the only photo I have it. I recently acquired a Mk 2 saloon deluxe with a 998 cooper engine and have been actively restoring it since. I hope to have it on the road for the summer 2026. The following is a sparsely annotated photo log of progress to date. My objective was to build a fun car to drive with a modicum of safety improvements, and since it is not a real cooper I chose a restomod rather than restoring to original.

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[Gnielsen]

First step was to measure the squareness of the shell as per the Haynes manual. It was within spec to within my ability to measure it (+- 1/8 inch). Next was to assess damage and rust. It contained all the usual damage for a mini of this vintage (eg dented floor pans from improper hoist use, rust holes behind the front shock mounts, etc). It was soon evident that a rotisserie would be needed to facilitate repairs so I scabbed together this one.

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[Gnielsen]

Typical rust damage.

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[Gnielsen]

Next step was to strip paint and remove rust. Removing the old seam sealer by chipping it out was a painstaking chore. ( next time I’ll try removing old sealer using dry ice to freeze it - evidently this works well).

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[Gnielsen]

When I owned my first mini I served a mechanics apprenticeship. After becoming a journeyman I went to university and graduated as a mechanical engineer. In my professional career I worked in the areas of vehicle dynamics and safety. I’m including my safety incidents and near misses in case someone can learn from my experience. First occurred while grinding some metal: a small metal shard flew off my grinder, went between the bridge of my nose and safety glasses, bounced off my nose and lodged in my eye. Not wanting the bother of going to doctors office I removed it myself. Just loaded up a rare earth magnet with antibacterial eye drops, and then lowered my eyeball into contact with the film of eye drop fluid, and presto, out came the metal flake.

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Edited by Gnielsen, 06 December 2025 - 03:33 AM.

[68Deluxe]

When I owned my first mini I served a mechanics apprenticeship. After becoming a journeyman I went to university and graduated as a mechanical engineer. In my professional career I worked in the areas of vehicle dynamics and safety. I’m including my safety incidents and near misses in case someone can learn from my experience. First occurred while grinding some metal: a small metal shard flew off my grinder, went between the bridge of my nose and safety glasses, bounced off my nose and lodged in my eye. Not wanting the bother of going to doctors office I removed it myself. Just loaded up a rare earth magnet with antibacterial eye drops, and then lowered my eyeball into contact with the film of eye drop fluid, and presto, out came the metal flake.

That is good going, I've tried that method and not been successful.

 

It took me 2 times to learn sealed goggles are the only way to go, use 2 pairs - switch them out when they fog up. 

 

Glasses and face shields don't offer the protection you really need grinding in tight spaces 

[Gnielsen]

Installing an aftermarket pedal box - a cautionary tale.

Not being happy with the OEM mini pedal box (too small for my shoe size) I opted for an aftermarket box, and I moved the heater several inches further away from throttle pedal. Getting the new box to fit in place was straightforward (I used the parcel shelf as a datum). Getting it so it could be installed and removed was more work. Bleeding the hydraulics continues to be a very frustrating challenge.

An undesirable feature of this style (top mounted) box is that it moves the pedal location rearward by about three inches - which for me (6’2” height) was a bigger deal than anticipated : the seat position had to be moved rearward, the rear storage bins had to go to make room for the new seat position, seat belt anchor points had to be relocated, the steering wheel needed to move rearward, and the gearshift also needed to be extended rearward. The worst feature, though, is the non existent access to the master cylinders: access is only possible by removing the pedal box assembly, which means all three hydraulic lines be purged for removal, and bled upon reinstall. There are better pedal box styles to use than the top mount used for this build.

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Edited by Gnielsen, 08 December 2025 - 11:46 AM.

[Gnielsen]

A big mistake was to buy and use a cheap brake flaring tool. I had 38 flares to make and the cheap tool had a 30 % failure rate. I bought a capri flaring tool ( I’m not affiliated with or sponsored by any company or product used in this build) - problem solved, but not until after I installed and removed pedal box several times. I’m now bench testing all flares contained in the pedal box assembly prior to installation. The pedal box mounting frame has been powder coated along with several other bits.

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[Gnielsen]

A (clever?) door striker repair.

The screws securing the striker plates/buffers for both doors were rusted through and broke when removing the striker assembly. The repair required the plate that receives these screws be drilled and tapped, which could not be done without the plate being removed. A little cutting with an angle grinder and the plate was free. After tapping new threads the plate was reinstalled and a metal repair patch welded in place.  IMG_0944.jpeg   89.53K   1 downloads  IMG_1640.jpeg   127.36K   0 downloads

Edited by Gnielsen, 08 December 2025 - 12:28 PM.

[Gnielsen]

I’ll be fitting a Weber dcoe 40 with an K&N filter and I wanted to keep the binnacle. The aftermarket pedal box moved the OEM clutch and brake master cylinders from the bulkhead, which provided the necessary space for the carb/air filter at the bulkhead. The binnacle needed to be moved rearward about 3 inches as well:

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[Gnielsen]

I built a spray booth in my shop
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Edited by Gnielsen, 10 December 2025 - 09:10 AM.

[Gnielsen]

More photos

I managed to fit KAD 7.9” vented discs while keeping my 4.5” X10” (alloy) steelies. It does require a 3/4 inch spacer for clearance.

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[Baldspeed Racing]

cracking work, shes looking good and fair play for the work involved so far

[coopertaz]

looking good. i want your workshop  

[Minuki]

That cage is...interesting?