MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
No no filters normally.
You can put one on. Make sure all the hoses are good. It's the location to the exhaust that always worries me
No, but it's easy enough to retrofit one. Means replacing a bit of hard line with rubber and extending the run from the fuel pump. I thought just cleaning the tank out would be enough but I was obviously wrong!
Yes, the fuel lines right above the exhaust are a little worrying!
You didn't get far if that's the Red Indigo as you leave town 🙂
Tapping the float chamber with a wooden hammer handle was usually a good enough bodge to get you home again. From memory, with a fair bit of throttle.
In this case, I would suggest stripping and cleaning the carb and checking it’s built as it should be. I’ve seen 1.1/4 and 1.1/2” bits mixed up before. It looks not quite right but can be hard to spot.
I’m enjoying this! Please keep updating!
Tbf Andy I'd expect that on a waxstat carb and I'm pretty sure no hs2 was ever waxstat equipped.
Tbf a carb rebuild is a nice afternoon job. Just need a reamer to do the carb body if its baggy. Though most of the time a new spindle gets them near enough.
My carb cars are all on twins I do have a 28/36 down draught in a box somewhere too.
Got a lovely set of brass levered H4s as well.
The tapping technique didn't work sadly and yes a full carb rebuild is on the list for the winter. Would have done it earlier but I ran out of time with all the other jobs and as it was working it fell down to the bottom of the list.
You didn’t get far if that’s the Red Indigo as you leave town 🙂
Yep, although I still call it The Swan. Grand total of 1.2 miles. The potholed tarmac just past the primary school must have jiggled the crap around blocking the carb up!
I will keep the updates coming as things happen, didn't want to spam it with every little trip I take. The next worry is the MOT which I plan to do at the end of September, that will dictate whether it's just more fettling over the winter or time for the proper Man Tools 😁
Yep, although I still call it
The Swan.
Correcting myself here, The White Hart! Used to be the go-to place to watch the rugby as you got free sausages and chips at half time. The Swan was the pub with a pool table.
Well yesterday I fitted a new fuel line and filter. Took a while as I had to remove the carb so as to get access to the fuel line from the pump (everything is in the way of itself down there) but it's now done.
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It's temporarily cable tied to the bulkhead wiring prong, I'll make a proper bracket using a P clip when I get the chance. That position should mean that any further issues with crap being sucked from the tank should be easily resolved by swapping in a new filter that's now in the 'Running repairs' stache in the rear bin! I also had a look in the float chamber of the carb for any more crap in there but it was still clean from where the RAC guy had cleaned it out, hopefully I was just unlucky to suck through a bit of crap and everything should be fine now with the filter on there. I did have a look in the tank but there's no visible crap in it.
I thought it would be a bit of a mission getting a smal enough clear filter but as soon as I explained what I was doing and said it was for an old Mini the guy behind the counter knew exactly what I needed and had it for me in under a minute, so good to deal with people in the trade who know how older cars work.
While under the bonnet I also secured the hazard relay that has been rattling around under there since the engine went back in and I lost the clip for it!
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So to celebrate I took her out for a run to get a 99 (or two...) in the Beacons and she ran perfectly.
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If anything there's now a bit more poke at full throttle and she revs a bit better above 4k too so there must have been a small restriction in the old metal file pipe that's now replaced with the filter and new hose. Or it could be that I treated her to some Shell V Power unleaded. Either way it should all be good for the end of the summer.
Speaking of which, I've got to start looking at getting her through the MOT. It's due at the end of November but I'll do it at the end of September. The result of that will decide whether this coming winter is either a few small jobs ready for next year or that it's time to start planning for the next stage in the project. If it's the latter then I need to start keeping an eye on the Aldi Aisle of Dreams for power tools!
Well as mentioned above it's time to think about the impending MOT which is booked for the beginning of October. First thing to note is of you need an MOT anytime soon is to get it booked up early! I've had to commit a carnal sin and book her into a Kwik Fit 20 miles away as every garage within that radius is fully booked for the next 2 months! Blame that MOT extension during lockdown, it's heavily loaded the MOT demand to between September and March. My daily driver is due at the end of December so will have to look at getting that booked from around early November.
So time to draw up a list of niggles to sort. These are the bits I know need looking at as possible fails:
Wipers don't self-park due to a failed proximity switch. The part has been unavailable for over a year, don't know if it will be an issue.
Check the rear subframe for rust. It was welded for the last MOT so will have a quick look as I haven't done anything to it.
New battery. The current one has a cracked terminal that still clamps up fine but I can see how it could be flagged as not secure. As it's the negative terminal that I disconnect every time I put her in the garage I've been keeping an eye on it and it hasn't got any worse but as the battery is old I'll probably just chuck a new one on.
Passenger's seatbelt doesn't retract unless helped. Hopefully just down to complete lack of use and a bit of lube and working it in and out should sort it.
Fog light bracket has a habit of working loose. It never comes more than just wobbly so new bolts and a bit of locking compound should sort that easily.
Washer jets need aiming to hit the screen when stationary. They're currently aimed to just hit the bottom as otherwise when used at speed they just go over the roof, got to love 1950's aerodynamics!
Replace the locking wheel nuts with standard ones. I had one fail to hold torque a few weeks ago so put a spare standard one on in it's place so will just change them all for peace of mind.
Apart from that it's down to whether there is any structural issues. The only thing that has me worried is that there is still a knocking noise from the front left suspension that I've never fully found on big bumps. Nothing is loose and the mechanic who did the wheel bearing for me couldn't find it either so it's either a worn lower ball joint (which is only really diagnosed by replacing it thanks to the loading spring inside it) or a faulty shock. Neither have play or visible leaks so should pass fine. I'm not going to do any more than general prep for the MOT as if it fails on anything major then I have the whole winter to fix it and it may also trigger the next stage of the project: a full body rebuild, respray etc. Another year of adventures before that happens would be nice but is not a problem if it doesn't materialise.
Roll on judgement day!
Well I took her for the MOT yesterday, didn't fail! Or Pass.
I got through the list of jobs above easily enough: wipers park correctly now after a new switch on the motor, rear subframe still looks solid, borrowed a battery to fit temporarily (will replace mine in the spring, seems silly to fit a new battery only for it to sit all winter), seatbelt adjusted, fog light bracket fixed, washer jets adjusted and new wheel nuts fitted. Gave the inside a good hoovering and it was off into the rain to the MOT station.
The drive to Monmouth was fine but the horn stopped working about halfway there, most likely due to water getting inside but that's an easy fix so not worried. Got there and the guy on reception seemed rather happy to have an old Mini to test, turns out he used to have one. He asked if it was carb or injection then said it would be about an hour so I went off into town to get some food at the Punch House. Had a lovely fish and chips but just as I was finishing it I got a phone call. They had been in the middle of testing the lights when the engine died and they couldn't get it started again. They checked the obvious stuff but managed to trace it down to a loose earth cable. As it couldn't be started they abandoned the test and asked it if it was ok to push it out into the car park.
Finished my food then made my way back to the garage to see what was wrong.
First thing I did was try the key and it started first time. The guy was adamant it wouldn't start for them on the ramp so I popped the bonnet to have a look. Found this:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/YSXJZZ4s/20211002-153727-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/YSXJZZ4s/20211002-153727-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
You can see a small bit of bolt sticking out of the block, that is a snapped engine mount bolt. There is normally a bracket that also braces the mount (the silver rod with a rubber bushing) but that was dangling from the snapped end of the bolt and it's second bolt was missing. It seems like the first bolt has rattled out allowing all the stress to go through the main bolt which has given up while the car was being put on the ramp. The earth strap was attached to the engine mount bolt so when it snapped the earth was lost.
So with that figured out I had to try and reattach the earth strap so I could at least drive home. They let me use some spanners and with a bit of manipulating of stuff I got the earth strap attached to a bolt on the gearbox housing, not great but enough to get home slowly. I've got breakdown cover but I don't know whether it would get me from a garage to home, if I could get a few miles down the road then that wouldn't be an issue. Before I left I checked how much of the test had been done and if they had found any issues. They said the left rear brake is not working on the pedal or the handbrake and the horn wasn't working, that's as far as they got. So set off for home and actually managed to get all the way by being gentle and with only a few stutters on more than half throttle, which meant going at 50mph on 20 miles of dual carriageway in rain, not fun in a car that small and with old filament lights!
So she's now parked back up in the garage drying out for a few days. I did do a quick check on the rear brakes when home, they work but the left is a bit weak. The issue I've got now is two things: they didn't do a full test so I still don't know if anything major is wrong and that snapped bolt. Getting it out is not the major issue, getting tools to it is. The space between it and the inner wing is too tight for a drill so it looks like to fix it I'll have to take the engine out. If I'm doing that then it seems a lot of effort to go through, put it back together then get it tested again only to fail on something else. It's a conundrum as I really wanted the test to tell me whether it's a winter of fixing little things or getting ready for a full body rebuild.
A bit of thinking time is called for I think.
There's a repair bracket for that.
Though a 90deg on a lh drill will normally spin it out.
I always use a top ultimate engine Steady any way.
Brakes will be a cylinder probably. Razz the drum off...
If you've booked a KF test, will they schedule a retest (or complete the original test) without going to the back of the queue? Quick fettle on the broken stud/weak brake/soggy horn and then back in for an updated list of doom? Gives you your prioritised work schedule then at least...
BTW, I never fix anything more complex than a bicycle so take the above with a couple of KG's of salt. That's what garages are for (for me)... 😉
There’s a repair bracket for that.
Is there? I'll want to get the broken bolt out anyway but might be handy if I decide to just get everything ready for another MOT for a better full picture.
Brakes will be a cylinder probably. Razz the drum off…
Both rears have pretty new cylinders, checked them when I did the rear wheel bearing. My hunch is on the bearing seal failing and grease has contaminated the shoes as the brake pedal is lovely and solid and it hasn't used any fluid since I rebled it after the front lines started leaking.
If you’ve booked a KF test, will they schedule a retest (or complete the original test) without going to the back of the queue?
No, it's classed the same as if you didn't turn up. You lose the fee and no free retest. If I do decide to get things fixed rather than start a rebuild I'll take her down to the local friendly garage for an inspection, probably more thorough than an MOT! He's usually quiet around November time so will see if he can fit me in. He's less than a mile from my parent's house and likes Minis so should be fine. I was going to get him to do the MOT but he is fully booked on them until December, blame the MOT extension moving everyone to the same dates rather than spread through the year.
Still might decide to just crack on with the rebuild/restoration, depends on a few things.
Had a bit of success, the broken bolt is out!
Managed to borrow a Dremel and cut a small groove in what was left if the bolt, enough to get a screwdriver but in it and slowly tease it out.
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The marks on the block are from using a small file to flatten the broken bit flat, it's not a sealing surface so purely cosmetic.
Was surprising how little of the bolt was actually in the block though!
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A huge relief to get it out though without talking the engine out.
Will get the replacement bolts ordered up with a few other bits and have now decided to have a go at getting her prepped for another MOT, a few things to work through but they're all things that will need doing regardless so got nothing to lose by doing them.
Time for an update. Haven't done much work over the winter as I've had other things taking up my time but the last few weeks I've made a start on attempting to get her through another MOT.
The known faults are as follows:
* Horn doesn't work.
* Main beam flash does not work.
* Left rear brake works but does not generate any power on foot or handbrake.
Seeing as I needed to investigate why the left rear brake was lacking power and that I hadn't done any work to the rear at all last time I decided to take the rear subframe off. It's known to be crusty so having a good look at it and maybe giving it some paint seemed like a good idea.
First task was to remove the fuel tank as it blocks access to the left damper mounting. That meant taking the battery out for safety reasons and despite the negative being disconnected the terminals had gone all furry!
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The positive terminal was so bad it was stuck on so I just hacked the cable, it's got a good 8" of excess so plenty to put a new terminal on it. Plus a new battery as it was reading 4.7v.
With that done the tank came out easily but did give up a little secret that explains why the boot smelled of petrol every time I hadn't used her for a week or more:
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That's the remains of the breather pipe that goes from the top of the tank through the boot floor. I'm guessing it didn't like having fuel with ethanol (I've been running her on a mix of E5 and E10) and had rotted. It was very brittle and snapped easily, it was still in reasonable nick last winter so has gone bad over the last 7 months.
The tank also gave up another secret that I'd missed when I gave it a quick flush last winter:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/9MfnM52q/20220129-172330-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/9MfnM52q/20220129-172330-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://thesawmillgrill.com/ ]local restaurants wilmington nc[/url]
The remains of an old filler cap. That would explain the rattle I got when it was low on fuel and when filling the tank. They're not from the current cap but it is a replacement one so it's been in there a while. I thought the rattle was the fuel sender float having a bit of play in it! It only dropped out after I inverted the tank to put it on a shelf for safe keeping after giving it another flush so the bits must have been hiding somehow.
So on to the main job: dropping the subframe. Easily removed the exhaust and brake lines as I'd done them previously last winter. The issue I hit was the damper top mounts. The original dampers are easy, just undo the top nut as they locate in notch. These though are Gaz units and you need to hold the shaft steady with a spanner while undoing the nut. The left hand side came off easily but the right one had a damaged shaft flat so I was unable to get a spanner on it. The god one:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/MZmmLrJC/20220305-181351-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/MZmmLrJC/20220305-181351-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
The bad one:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/tJqWypGL/20220305-181309-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/tJqWypGL/20220305-181309-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Doesn't look much but it was impossible to get it undone, even after a variety of techniques. So admitting defeat the subframe is staying on as I'd need to cut the damper shaft to remove it and they're pretty expensive. The plan now is to see what the fail list (guaranteed to be one, it's a 33 year old Mini...) says and take it from there.
So on to the next job, the left rear brake not biting.
Took the wheels off and removed the drum to be greeted by this:
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And this:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/Kz6cr5JQ/20220305-172053-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/Kz6cr5JQ/20220305-172053-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Obviously grease had escaped from the wheel bearing, which is what I suspected seeing as there was no obvious loss of brake fluid. You can see in the second picture where the brake shoes have swelled slightly and have polished up from no friction to roughen them up, they're actually slightly gooey to touch too.
Removed the hub to investigate and found a real mess inside:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/CLFpytBk/20220305-172655-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/CLFpytBk/20220305-172655-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
The inner bearing was covered in burnt grease and dirt with a deformed seal behind it. Serves me right for fitting a cheap bearing last summer! I couldn't get a decent Timpkin one so went with a Quinton Hazell one thinking it would last a few thousand miles at least. It's dead after 700 miles. Buy cheap, buy twice.
So a decent few blasts with brake cleaner and the drum and backing plate are lovely and clean!
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[url= https://i.postimg.cc/wMj22hMy/20220305-180943-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/wMj22hMy/20220305-180943-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://thesawmillgrill.com/dinner ]chops diner castle hayne menu[/url]
All ready for new shoes and a new bearing. That's as far as I've got at the moment as I'll have to order parts plus I'm short of time to do any work as I'm back in full-time employment and having to juggle other hobbies and duties around too. It doesn't mean I'll be stalling on the project but it does mean getting her MOT'd at the end of March might fall back to the end of April depending on how quickly I get through the list. There is an upside to it though: I can now start to plan the second stage of the project as I now have a steady income. If I can get her MOT'd for this year I'll be taking her to a few different workshops to get her assessed ready for a full body refurb. Hopefully the cost won't be too horrific but the worst-case scenario is it costing more than a new shell which is roughly £11k. I would really like to keep things original but it does set a top end on what I need to commit to having a shell ready for paint. I said at the beginning (and in the title) that this is a long term project, the current stage is having some fun with her and getting the mechanicals, especially the engine, reliable and running smoothly. If it takes a decade to complete I'm fine with that (although I do wonder which will be completed first Georgie or Binky...) but hopefully I can get it all done in under that.
Right, I need to order a load of parts. Haven't had a Mini Spares delivery for a while!
* Turns out the forum doesn't like having more than 4 picture per post, hence the split halfway!
Got a little update for those who are still interested! Just words this time though as I seem to have deleted the photos I took.
Been chipping away at the little jobs over the last few weeks.
Got the new wheel bearing fitted easily enough but fitting the new shoes was a small mission! If anyone has ever done new brake shoes they'll know how much of a pain those little sprung retaining pins can be. Well I'll never complain about them again as without them it's nigh-on impossible to keep the shoes aligned while pushing the drum back on, Mini drums don't use them. The tension springs work from the rear of the shoes (see the picture in the post above) and work fine normally but if you pull the drum back slightly they have a habit of flinging one of the shoes out at a random angle. They're fine once they've been used a few times and settled in their homes but fresh shoes do not behave.
After a lot of electrical fault tracing I found out that all the electrical issues came down to a dodgy fuse box. Replaced that and suddenly everything worked again. Horn, headlight flasher, indicators stayed at a constant speed and the interior light suddenly made itself known for the first time too. Well, I say all but the number plate lights still refused to work. Plenty of volts getting to them (partly down to the new battery) but on taking it apart it turned out there were no bulbs in there and two of the connections were snapped and nowhere to be seen. I haven't touched it since I got the car so how it passed the MOT back then I don't know*. They're only cheap so just replaced with new ones and they came on first time.
While the tank was out I replaced all the fuel and breather lines, they're only a few quid so seemed silly not to.
So that rounded off the list. Time for another attempt at an MOT. Again I struggled to find a free slot anywhere so I ended up using Kwik Fit again but thins time in Merthyr Tydfil. Came to the day and it was glorious weather so the drive there was great. Saw plenty of other cars out too, mainly Caterhams (really want to build one of those one day!) but a few older things too. Everyone was happily waving to each other so I was in a good mood when I got to the test, although a new noise did appear a few miles before I got into Merthyr, a little clunk on big bumps but nothing I was overly worried about. Happy to find the tester was a Mini fan too, that's two Kwik Fit's with them, so was happy to just let the result be what it was. There have been a few horror stories on the Mini facebook groups recently of new testers failing cars for grease 'leaking' out of suspension bushes and balljoints, them not knowing that they're designed to do it hence why they have grease nipples! No issues for me on that front! Was sat there for what felt like ages for the tester to call me in and see what it had failed on but it was a good hour before he made an appearance. Had it passed? No. But only failed on one item! The rear subframe was showing signs of delaminating so was a failure. The clunk I could hear on the way in turned out to be the jacking plate flapping around! Not a huge surprise as it had needed two plates welded in last time and is a known rust trap. There was also a small advisory for one of the exhaust mountings being a bit worn.
So actually a pretty decent result as I only have one part (admittedly a big one) to replace! Does mean I may have to bite the bullet and cut that errant shock shaft to get it off but if that's the price of another summer or two of fun then so be it. Just got to track down a decent subframe now as only the expensive new ones are available at £500, the cheaper ones are all sold out and on long backorder times. The aim now is to gather up the parts I need and hopefully get it all fixed for the Jubilee weekend. What's scary is that if I fix the two items flagged up I could have a 33 year old Mini with a clean MOT sheet, that would be a bit of a rarity.
As an aside, the drive back home made me realise why I like this car so much, it's just able to put a massive grin on my face even at low speeds. I only took the most direct route there and back which is mostly dual carriageways but even just bouncing along at 60 made me grin. I definitely chose the right car for my long term project.
* I felt it was slightly iffy when I bought the car as the fix for the passenger wiper not sitting on the screen correctly was a new blade (that didn't fit the arm...) sitting in the passenger seat!
Not terrible result.
Fuse boxes are the main issue As I've said before. Though the bullet connectors in the slam panel are a close 2nd.
Can you get a vice grip and a spanner on the top of the gaz damper? Or sometimes an impact gun will get them off with out needing to lock the shaft.
My other thing to watch is that when you do the frame watch the bolts into the heal board. They snap like carrots and are a captive nut.
I've had them snap or even worse tear the nut out. Ended up having to cut the sill to get in to repair them.
Also be prepared for a bit of corrosion on the heal board.
It's maybe worth planning for re-bushing the radius arms along with subframe replacement.
Looking forward to the body restoration. I've been following paulwigintonclassicvehicles on instagram who does seem really lovely work on minis, providing an almost daily commentary on what he's up to.
The fuse box was meant to be changed a while back but they were always out of stock whenever I put an order in for stuff! Scary how much difference it made, almost like it gave the whole car a new lease of life.
Have tried a few things to get the shock off last time including vice grips etc, no bueno sadly. Haven't tried an impact wrench so that's an option.
Have heard about the bolts snapping so will replace them with new ones and hope the old ones come out without too much difficulty! The heel board is a worry but as the subframe will be off I'll be cleaning and coating it as a matter of course. That was the original plan last winter but the shock issue meant I didn't do it.
The radius arms will be renewed, seems silly not to when it's all apart. New bushes all round too. The plan is to take the car for evaluation with regards to the bodywork if I can get it road legal, otherwise it'll be a slower process of getting it around on a flatbed to wherever I need to. I want an honest opinion on what's required, the costs and whether it's viable. Then I can really start to make plans for funding etc.
I have seen people drill a little hole in the companion bin there's a flat legde that makes up the heal board box section and use it to keep spraying oil in on the bolts
Getting to the back of the nuts somehow had crossed my mind. I'm hoping that everything should be relatively free though as they would have had to remove it to weld the patches on just before I bought the car, the patches are in the front and have been welded from the inside and outside so could only have been done off the car. Hopefully it won't put up too much of a fight!
@reluctantjumper what a great thread. Just read the whole lot, thanks for posting with all the updates. Not sure how I'd previously missed this thread. Anyway keep up the good work 👍👍
This thread makes me wish I'd never sold my mini. I also had a G reg, it was a limited edition Racing Green. Think I sold it for about £150 about 20 years ago, it needed a little work to get it back on road. I had it was parked up and not in use and I kept getting people knock on door and ask if I'd sell it and kept saying no, but stupidly one day just said yes. And regretted ever since. No way I could afford one now looking at the prices.
I have a 2 post lift just round the corner from your folks (I think they are in Crick??) if you want to get a good look from below. Drop me a PM if you think it would be worth lifting it up for a look. Is the rear subframe beyond economic repair or could a tidy job be made if it was removed?
If you want I can ask my mate who works in the local motor factors and who has recently rebuild a mini himself if he can get hold of a cheaper rear subframe if you want to go replacement route.
No idea if you have the special socket for the front ball joints, but I have one here (somewhere) that you're welcome to. I'm near Trellech. PM me if you want it.
Good news! I have sourced a subframe.
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There's also a pair of freshly refurbished arms in there too. The subframe is brand new but bought privately, it has been painted in etch primer so just needs me to put a protective coating on it before I fit it.
@welshfarmer - don't think I'll need use of one at the moment as I've got plenty of room underneath using jacks and axle stands but if I do I'll give you a shout. Would have made getting the engine out last winter a hell of a lot easier! Yes, the current subframe is beyond repair, it's rusting from the inside outwards so I'm expecting it to turn into dust when I remove it.
@Marko - what special socket? I've got one of the Draper ones that's like a clamp where you tighten a bolt to separate the joint which is bloody scary when the taper let's go. If you've got something better I'm interested.
No way I could afford one now looking at the prices.
They're only going one way! Starting prices for a runner with a MOT seem to have jumped £2k in the last year.
Still loving this thread, thanks for the updates.
Ball joint sockets a really deep single hex socket to go over the pin.
Duncan knows his Minis!
Most mechanics in their late 50s and older would have had this socket in their tool box. Very common MOT failure, fixed by either a new ball joint or removing shims.
Re the failed wheel bearing, QH aren’t known as Quinton Hassle for nothing!
Should do had enough of them. Still got 2 in bits. #speedsmith engineering lol.
Used to frequent alot of the mini forums and used to be one of the resident ask an expert one of them.
Basically I'm shit hot on anything pre 2002 then I backed away from spannering and went aftersales.
Ah, that would be very handy whe it comes to that job which is inevitable at some point. Don't think I can make it up your way for a while though so I'll send you a PM when I'm going to be that way if that's ok?
Re the failed wheel bearing, QH aren’t known as Quinton Hassle for nothing!
They were all I could get at the time, wasn't expecting anything special for £11! If it lasted only 2-4 thousand miles I'd be happy but to destroy itself in under 1000 miles is abysmal. Sticking with my usual mantra of buying the best quality I can from now on.
When I was running my Spitfire on a shoestring, I got a couple of QH UJs due to the price vs alternatives. The dust on the box should have been a give away to its shelf life. Quick learning experience of the cheap/twice buying ethos!
Qh used to be good kit now its just a boxing brand.
Managed to have a solid day on the spanners last weekend so plenty of progress has been made!
The sticking point last time was getting the near side shock undone. Thanks to a lightbulb moment by a neighbour it came off by using my stud extractor to hold the shaft still allowing me to undo the nut. Worked instantly and really annoyed with myself I didn't think of it earlier. So with that done it was a matter of just disconnecting everything, supporting the shell on lots of wood on axle stands and the subframe came off really easily. My suspicion of the mounting bolts having come off for the last MOT seemed to be right as they all spun out without any binding issues or worrying noises. What was revealed wasn't pretty though:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/66YsvqCs/20220521-141931-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/66YsvqCs/20220521-141931-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
One very secondhand subframe! That's the side that was against the floor, the side facing the road looked a lot better but was obviously not great. The worst bit was where it had rusted through right by where the cone sits:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/VkFZ3Hgx/20220521-142001-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/VkFZ3Hgx/20220521-142001-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
It had started to delaminate where the yellow line is too so definitely not repairable.
The good news was the actual floor behind everything is absolutely fine, just one or two small bits of surface rust that I'll treat before adding underseal:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/x8yLcBXY/20220521-162307-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/x8yLcBXY/20220521-162307-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/GmNThbXG/20220521-162425-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/GmNThbXG/20220521-162425-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
So that's all good news. I have made a start on stripping the subframe down and have found that the bolts through the rear mounts are rusted solid so I've just ordered new ones, saves wasting time getting the old ones off. Next stage is to swap everything over from the radius arms then start assembling everything on the new subframe, which has had a few coats of stonechip shield for protection. I'd ideally like to get it galvanised and powdercoated but I don't have time to do it and as I got it cheap I'm not worried about it lasting forever.
I do have one question for @duncancallum though. When I took the cones out they had a circular black alloy plate behind them that is stuck to the subframe with glue. I can't find any reference to them in documentation, either for the standard suspension or for the AdjustaRide setup I have. Are they necessary or can I not worry about transferring them over? They don't seem to do anything, maybe help locate the cones a bit but other than that they seem pointless. You can just see it peeking through the gap in the picture above.
Good work fella,nice to see the floor's in such good condition.
Odd
I don't recall anything. They normally fit over a sort of lump. I certainly don't remember anything glued on ln the ones I've done.
Any numbers on the cone? Wondering if it's got a comfort ride or uprated cones?
The adjustable suspension kits are normally just the trumpet and knuckle.
More I look at that pic the more I can't see why it's there or what it does.
Cone looks like it's sitting to far out of its mount.
That was my thought, seems completely pointless. Will get a proper picture of it just in case though next time. Oh and the arm is drooped so there's no compression in the trumpet or cone in that shot, the cone sits in there fine otherwise.
Had a look at a frame in my garage n that's not got them.
The only thing I thought was maybe it was a wet subframe converted to dry....
I've never had a wet suspension car though so couldn't say if that was it
Don't mention the wet/dry thing! I asked the sellers of the subframe and the arms whether they were dry ones and they both said yes so I really hope I haven't inadvertently bought hydrolastic versions of both! The subframe can be converted but the arms can't, really want to drive the 40 miles to check now! The plates could well be to replicate the lump in a converted frame, my mind is playing tricks with me on whether the new frame has them or not. Annoyingly I don't have any pictures of either parts at the correct angle to see. I can see that the subframe doesn't have the little tabs pressed into the cone holder that wet ones have so may just have to swap those alloy rings over.
That's going to bug me all week now!
Tbf 99% of kits dry
It was just a random thought that's all.
Oh if your going low as in LOW get braided hoses n move the union on the steel pipe as they can crush
Only really a big issue on very low stuff
Won't be going low so no issue there plus I already have braided hoses fitted all round. Although the rear hoses were so filthy I didn't think they were until I removed them!
Right, disaster averted. Both the arms and the subframe are 'Dry' items so that's all good.
That meant putting it all together. Which threw up an issue. The shock bushings are completely corroded onto the original arms! Too late now to get new ones so it's a quick check of the brass bushings and bearing, which are thankfully fine but obviously not new, and the fresh arms are put to one side as spares. Bolt everything together and you end up with this:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/mgjmN4h9/20220602-152357-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/mgjmN4h9/20220602-152357-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Which then meant putting it back under the car. That was a mission and a half. Line up one bolt only for another to be out of whack, repeat for a solid hour! Doesn't help that each bracket can move on the rubber mounts too so it's like controlling a toddler on a bouncy castle. Got it in eventually though, thanks to pure luck more than anything. Time to reconnect the exhaust, handbrake, battery main cable, fuel lines, brake lines and bleed everything. A quick run up and down the lane later and it all looks good for the MOT. Which was 4 days ago.
Driving up to it was fine except that about a mile before I got there I had to drive over those yellow bumps you see on dual carriageways. As soon as I crossed them there was a loud banging from the rear on each one! I genuinely thought the rear was about to fall off! Pulled over and had a cursory look underneath but couldn't find anything loose or obvious so drove gently to the MOT station and awaited the result.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/vTRmPpD7/20220607-184822-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/vTRmPpD7/20220607-184822-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
A clean sheet! On a 33 year old Mini that has never been restored. Doesn't mean she's perfect but I'm still proud of it. So it's buy the Tax online in the car park and off for a celebratory drive. First stop was the petrol station which made that bang noise happen again as I went in. While I was fuelling up I realised what it was: I hadn't checked the ride height with the new subframe! The gap between the rear wheels and the arches is a good 2 inches more than it was previously, as I have short stroke shocks it's topping out if the rear gets airborne ever so slightly. Easy to solve with the AdjustaRide trumpets I've got so no biggie, just means I'll be taking it easy for the time being. Still, time for a celebratory ice cream at the Usk Reservoir while letting Georgie take in the view and fresh air.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/Y0YqWbrX/20220604-135354-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/Y0YqWbrX/20220604-135354-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
So that's all ready for another summer of adventures. Well, once I've lowered the rear a few inches anyway.
Top result mate
Still no idea what those things where on the old frame!
My guess is that one of the previous owners tried to make the rear suspension more linear as the metal cones add progression. Don't know why as you can get a similar result by softening up the adjustable shocks! Probably done at the same time as it was adjusted to be running on the bump stops like it was when I bought it.
Still trying to find that “Like” button!
Not a bad result! Looking forward to further "adventures".
Managed to find a bit of time to adjust the rear suspension back down to a sensible ride height today, half an inch higher at the rear than the front when measured from the sill seams.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/SKjQ0jTk/20220622-194534.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/SKjQ0jTk/20220622-194534.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Not the most scenic of shots but then I only went for a 5 mile run just to check things were good. Was more than long enough to put a giant grin on my face though so all is good!
On to the first adventure of the year, hopefully in the next few days.
That looks great!!
Yes it does, like lots.
I've had a small unofficial list of little trips I want to do with Georgie before the full bodywork adventure starts, managed to tick two of them off in one go on Sunday! One intentionally, the other completely by accident.
The intentional one was to take her to a car show and as there was a small one happening at Chepstow Racecourse and the weather was good I went to it. It was just a general meet with a small autojumble and a few catering vans, nothing pretentious or large. Got close to there and ended up following another Mini to the entrance where we were greeted by a sign saying Cars straight ahead and Classics in through a gate, which we went through and were directed to behind the main building. It was at this point that we realised we were in the main show area so asked for directions to get out to the main car park as we thought we were just going to a separate car park for non-showing classics like a lot of shows do. The guy said it was fine and sent us into the main show where we were lined up with all the main cars!
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/rssqS5jG/20220717-104305.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/rssqS5jG/20220717-104305.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://postimages.org/ ]picture to url[/url]
The row in front was full of people with big displays of their restoration work or the history of the car, we were just there with fly splatters all over the front and in my case a bit of dust all over for good measure. Didn't matter though as we were quickly greeted by the other car owners and stories were shared readily. A really good atmosphere and ticked off another thing off the unofficial list: Get her in a show. I might revisit this though as a little display of her story so far with me would be fun and would save me telling it to everyone who asked over and over again 🤣
Had a good look round the other cars in the show too. Saw an original Jensen CV8, a car that I've never knowingly seen until Retropower started building one so it was good to see what their starting point was.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/JhCJPz9H/20220717-112115.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/JhCJPz9H/20220717-112115.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
There was also plenty of the usual MGB's, Austin 7's etc but there was a very tidy MK1 Golf GTi that had been owned by the same family all its life and only down 37k miles. Lovely thing.
There was also this:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/hGKvXzks/20220717-115040.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/hGKvXzks/20220717-115040.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
a Mustang Mach 1. It's one of the few American cars that I would love to own, the other being a Corvette Stingray and maybe an original Challenger. Was in great condition and sounded properly epic when it started up! Never going to own one but still great to see one out and about.
The only hiccup all day was that the indicator relay stopped working after hitting a big bump on the way there, this will be the third one to fail so far! A little bit annoying but not the end of the world. I did solve a little concern I've had though, the temperature gauge works but once up to temp it seems to just stay at just under halfway regardless of how hard I drive etc. Well as it was a properly hot day on Sunday I managed to get the needle to move up to the halfway mark! Just proves to me it does actually work, which I was a little worried about! Always good to learn something new each trip. Oh and a small black car that's been in the sun all day is hotter than the surface of the moon when you go to leave!
Right, on to the next trip soon.
Be glad its not black vinyl trim.
As a kid our mk3 used to burn the back of my legs.
Can still smell the burning flesh
good to see you're having fun with the new toy
Quick question, as I'm not that familiar with minis and restoration projects (I never got much further than home spannering and swapping around the suspension bits on my fiesta, although I did have an RS2K for a few months before stupidly, very stupidly, selling it).
Is it possible to buy every part these days? Like, right up to a new shell?
A fortnight ago I did a bit of exploring, driving round the newly rebuilt Forest Drive at Cwmcarn. It was way too hot to go riding for a second day in a row so by car it was! Felt really weird going past very familiar bits of trail without a bike!
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/8k662M2J/20220807-133302.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/8k662M2J/20220807-133302.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Although judging by the amount of sweat on the riders I saw it was the correct choice 🤣
They've actually done a good job of the rebuild, plenty for families to do in addition to riding bikes. Even found some of the new Enduro trails that have popped up since the first lockdown, some look doable for me so a bike explore will be done soon.
Completely forgot that some of the views up above the treeline are spectacular, not bad for a pretty crappy bit of Wales:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/Ls3yBGTS/20220807-131504.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/Ls3yBGTS/20220807-131504.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
More adventures planned for this bank holiday if the weather holds!
@mrmonkfinger - completely forgot to reply to this, sorry!:
Is it possible to buy every part these days? Like, right up to a new shell?
Yes, every part including a shell is available. Some are reconditioned like engines and gearboxes but the likes of Mini Spares and MiniSport have found the old tooling for the most random bits and even made improved tooling for some parts, the steering column shroud is one example. Helps that there are so many Minis still around and that a lot of the parts were used on other BMC/Austin/Rover products too.
Oh and I have a little update to do at some point this week, been out and about on the Bank Holiday.
Oh and I have a little update to do at some point this week, been out and about on the Bank Holiday.
Anticip....
🙂
Crap, forgot I hadn't updated this!
Have just declared her SORN for the winter so will do a proper update ASAP, when I have the time to upload pictures etc.
Nice write up. My first car back in the 80s was built up from a non runner by me and my dad. Could only lock it from the passenger side and when it rained you got a wet arm from trying to keep the wipers moving
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Daughter must have it in her blood as she has just finished restoring a 92 Eunos
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Not content with that she bought a 98 Evo 5 at auction in Japan and had it shipped here for her next project. Keeping my dad happy in his 80s
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Nice, good to see younger people getting the bug for mechanical mucking about. Guessing your dad played with stuff to from the old grilles on the wall? Although it does remind me that, despite being into photography for ages (mostly landscapes) that I very rarely took photos of any of my old cars and projects! It just never occurred to me to take pictures as I went along for some obscure reason and the ones I did take got lost when an old computer died.
Time for an end of Summer update then.
Haven't done many trips with Georgie since the Bank Holiday for various reasons but the ones I did do were full days out. The first one was a car meet that had been advertised at the Chepstow one and as that weekend was gloriously sunny I decided on a whim to go along as the roads nearby are great for a bit of 'spirited driving' if you can avoid the traffic! It went very similarly to the Chepstow one actually, arrived behind another classic car and got invited to park in the main show, this time for free entry! So somehow I ended up slap in the middle of the show surrounded by lots of vastly superior cars feeling like I was a proper interloper, again.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/zXrbmHVp/20220821-143248-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/zXrbmHVp/20220821-143248-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://treetop100babynames.com/exotic-baby-names-boys ]girl names that mean white[/url]
A nice little venue, at a cricket club near Trelleck. Which was bugging me all day for some reason. Star of the show though was this:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/02RtLnY3/20220821-141936-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/02RtLnY3/20220821-141936-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://treetop100babynames.com/1000-popular-baby-names-1970-1979 ]popular boy names 1970[/url]
A genuine racecar car that had been made road legal, An Alta. It was looking at this car that I realised what had been bugging me all morning: @marko has offered me a special socket and he lives nearby! Sod's law I had no data signal so couldn't send him a message. Oh well, kicking myself slightly on that one.
Left the show and went home via the Wye Valley, chasing a few other cars that were out too. Perfect weather for a bit of fun and the odd ice cream.
The next outing was a trip to a car show at a place called M4 Karting north of Chippenham where I did the same trick as the last two shows, this time ending up sort of gate-crashing the local Mini club's stand! They were absolutely fine about it though and I saw a 'Mini' that I never knew existed, a fibreglass Estate called a Phoenix.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/ZY2gJ33k/20220828-141406-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/ZY2gJ33k/20220828-141406-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
This one has had the Rat look treatment by a previous owner but also has an engine fitted from a Suzuki Swift Sport. Never knew such a thing existed and that's down to there being so few ever made, roughly 70 of which only a few survive.
My 'show' luck did come to an end though when I went to the Frome County Show, had to pay to get in to that one and park in the regular car park. That was more a general show though and I only went along to peruse the autojumble and to see the RC car show that was attached to it in a barn. Still took the long route home though via Caen Hill locks near Devises, somewhere I've wanted to look around since the first lockdown and someone on here recommended the Paul and Rebecca Whitewick YouTube channel. I drive past the locks pretty regularly with work but sadly an 18t truck doesn't fit in the car park so I've never timed a lunch break to explore.
The final trip of the summer was up to Aberystwyth. I had bought a second-hand RC car via eBay and the weather was decent so I took Georgie for a blast instead of the daily driver. I completely forgot that it was the weekend that all the uni students were arriving so when I parked up on the seafront I got a bit of attention, especially from the girls who thought it was incredibly cute. It did look tiny though, parked between an Audi Q7 and a BMW 4x4 (one of the really ugly ones), forgot to take a picture of that!
On the way back I took all the scenic roads with a final run along Llangattock and Laangynidr Mountains just above my parent's house. It's regularly used by TV shows and YouTubers for filming (it's the South Wales equivalent of the EVO Triangle up north) so there's usually a load of interesting metal blasting around but that day there was hardly anyone, saw one Porsche and a VW camper in the two hours I was up there (half of that taken up by eating another ice cream...). It includes one corner where a certain Chris Harris got into a little spot of trouble with Harry Metcalfe quite a few years ago, something even I didn't know until a friend pointed it out to me on facebook! Internet points for anyone who can recognise the corner and know what Harris did on it:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/Y0g297CQ/20220924-175641-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/Y0g297CQ/20220924-175641-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
So that was the last trip out for Georgie this year, she's now tucked away back in her garage and has been put on SORN. Despite the delay to the beginning of the year due to having to replace the rear subframe to get an MOT and no big trip this year I've done a lot of miles in her, just over 1400 miles! Amazingly the only thing to go wrong in all of that was the indicator relay blowing on the way to the show at Chepstow, really pleased with that. Considering all the little issues I had last year when I did just over 1600 miles I'm very happy that mechanically I'm well on the way to getting her to a standard where it's just wear-and-tear items to take care of.
Which brings me on to the List for the winter.
Three things I need to do before next spring:
* Investigate a clicking sound from the front left when pulling away or feathering the throttle. It doesn't happen every time but is enough to check out. I suspect a wearing CV joint as the suspension is all tight and it's also the side I had to clean out and fit a new CV boot due to it being basically perished. It may also be the cause of the noise I get from that side when going over really rough ground which I've never found!
* Actually get round to doing a full carburettor rebuild! The idle is erratic, varying between 800 and 1100 rpm plus there is the odd time where she stutters under partial throttle for a split second. Having had the carb full of crap from the tank last summer and having to change the fuel filter once so far I'm presuming some dirt got in there and had either got stuck or a seal is in need of replacement.
* The heater has started to make a really annoying rattle at anything over 30 mph, the selector lever is also stiff. Most likely I put it back together wrong when I fitted the new heater matrix last year, easy enough to take it back apart and can be done when I change the coolant as it's due anyway.
So that's everything fully up to date. I probably won't do any of the work for a while though, maybe around Christmas time and the New Year. I am trying to get a trip organised for next year that I was meant to do with my original Mini but it decided to no longer stay cool 3 weeks before I was due to go and was when it got parked up for over 5 years before I sold it. It's the last thing I have on my 'Must Do' list that I want to do while she's still road legal, hopefully to do it again when I've rebuilt the shell and she's as I want her. Time to start saving up the pennies again!
I don’t know what happened there but I thought I recognised the corner, I’ve got a similar photo of my own.
(Car now sadly sold to fund more sensible needs)
I've never stopped on the corner, been too busy leaving my own lines around it in the rwd stuff we've had 😂.
On the way back down its getting ready for no brakes until the last corner before the junction 😈
Reluctant,thanks for a great end of summer post,sounds like you and Georgie had a lot of fun.
Went to a few car shows myself over the summer and had some excellent 'old blokes reminiscing ' moments 😆
Happy hibernation 😆
That's the corner @appltn, has become a favourite for pictures with a lot of visitors.
@timber - a girl I went to school with used to live in the house by that corner at the bottom, many cars have ended up in her driveway when they misjudged it! Another lived in the house on the outside of the first left-hander on your way down, plenty of cars would smear themselves along the garden wall too. The likes of you leaving marks around it is one of the reasons it'll never be resurfaces properly, give it a few days and it's covered in black lines before the council cover it in tar and chippings to stop it happening.
Went to a few car shows myself over the summer and had some excellent ‘old blokes reminiscing ‘ moments 😆
Been plenty of those, at shows and at petrol stations! Usually over the most mundane cars too, who would have thought an ex-BSM Metro at a show would get more interest than the Camaro that was parked nest to it 😂
I must be bottling it, not had any close moments, certainly not by those places but can see why.
You're right, don't think that corner has been resurfaced since we got rid of the Porsche, so about 6 years? There's plenty more like it about.
The motorbike magazines use the corners near the Llangattock turn on that road for knee down shots.
Edit to add some show appreciation for Three Cocks Vintage Show.
Far better to be sensible and smiling than sending it and smearing it! It was mainly the boy racers that smashed it, they didn't understand the not braking all the way down wasn't the same as burying the throttle all the way down. Especially on a Friday and Saturday night.
The answer to the Harris/Metcalfe/Corner question:
What Harris did:
Why he got into trouble: (at 36.30)
Ironically someone binned it on that very corner last night trying to do the same thing, one bent M3 was taken away this morning apparently!
Well, she's back out of hibernation so time to do a post-storage update.
Sadly I haven't got that much work done over the winter, other pressures with work and family have had to take priority so progress has been glacial at times. So much so that from when I parked her away in September to March all I had done was put the battery on a quick charge on Christmas Day!
Fast forward to March then and it was time to sort out the regular maintenance. This year that meant a new cap and rotor arm, new plugs, oil and filter. While checking what plugs I spotted two issues that had cropped up: one of the plug leads had small cracks appearing at a bend and that there was yet again a small amount of brake fluid on the cardboard underneath the engine. New leads were added to the parts order and upon checking the source of the leak, which originally looked like the split joint on the front circuit again, I noticed the clutch slave cylinder looked decidedly poor and had a small amount of fluid at it's lowest point. Sure enough a quick press of the clutch pedal sent more drips down to the cardboard. A new cylinder is added to the order.
A week later and this lot have arrived:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/FH7rtgpv/PXL-20230225-171342474-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/FH7rtgpv/PXL-20230225-171342474-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Lots of shiny stuff! The plugs are a step cooler than I had fitted before as I have noticed that the engine runs pretty cool compared to others, presumably as the cooling system is all new. Add in that I run her on mostly E5 fuel when I can and that runs a bit cooler than standard stuff and it's worth trying. The clutch cylinder I went with one that's made using the original tooling, they are reported to last a lot longer than the later ones so for the sake of a few extra quid it seemed silly not to.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/prRjk1DR/PXL-20230225-191032145-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/prRjk1DR/PXL-20230225-191032145-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/j23jN8c8/PXL-20230225-193637020-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/j23jN8c8/PXL-20230225-193637020-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Brand new is a lot shinier than 33 years old stuff, the camera struggled to get the white balance good enough to see it!
The rest of it all was easy enough and went fine. I checked the plugs coming out and they looked healthy enough, a little hotter on No1 cylinder but still well within range of normal.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/3JMGLNFn/PXL-20230225-174935502-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/3JMGLNFn/PXL-20230225-174935502-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
Final job was to change the coolant as it's two years old. I was not looking forward to this one bit. Normally you'd just pull the bottom hose off but on a Mini it's buried between the gearbox, inner wing and subframe. Some aftermarket radiators have a drain plug fitted to help with this but, of course, mine doesn't. Looking at alternative methods I went for the all-in one: remove the whole radiator.
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The stuff that came out was in really good condition so I'm happy that the copious amounts of flushing of the block I did with the engine out certainly helped. I was expecting some crap to come out as I removed what seemed like half the block in sediment the first time but seeing only a few tiny speckles made me very happy.
One bonus job was something I'd forgotten about. The gearknob has always been a bit loose and I'd bought a replacement one last summer but never fitted it. While doing the clutch bleed and checking it was disengaging the old one came off in my hand one time too many so I fitted the replacement:
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It's a little larger in diameter than I thought but in use it's fine. It might stay, it might not when the full rebuild occurs but for now it suits the whole aura of the car ie every journey could throw up nothing but good times or an issue could make itself known. The original ideas I had back in 1998 had an 8 ball on the dipstick so this isn't deviating from the end goal.
This led up to the first weekend of April and time to get the first run of the year underway. Only a short one to drop off a dress for my niece that she had left behind at my parent's but any excuse to go for a drive! On arrival my niece saw her dress in my arms, said "Thank You!" then legged it out the door screaming "Georgie!!". Pretty impressive recall for a 4 year old! Of course she had to sit in it and declare it her car now, at least I know who to leave it to in my will when the time comes.
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The drive went without a hitch so that's a successful release of Georgie back into the wild. The engine was pulling really, really well and definitely the best it ever has under my ownership. The slightly erratic idle speed is still there but it sounds fine, it's only looking at the rev counter you notice it. A friend of the family has offered to have a look at it if I can pop it by his workshop sometime, he restores vintage cars for a living so knows a lot of little trick and common issues.
Over the Easter weekend I did take her out to the Elan Valley as I was going to a small RC crawler meet at Cwmystwyth Lead Mine, somewhere I'd been meaning to explore for a while. Didn't take any photos though as the place was heaving so no opportunity to get a shot of the car by the water or anywhere pretty really! The only issue all trip was when I left to come back home. She needed a bit of choke as the engine was cold and I was straight into single track roads, pulling over constantly to let gormless camper drivers and the like get around. That meant I forgot to put the choke fully in so when I got to a bit of open road I was met with a load of stuttering and the odd backfire. Thinking something was wrong like a loose lead I did a few stops and checks before I spotted that the choke was on at the carburettor. I initially put it down to a sticky choke cable but on getting back in the car I saw the choke still out an inch, whoops! It took a good 20-30 mins of driving to get the plugs clear again and running smoothly, no damage done as I was happily chasing a Porsche 914 between Builth Wells and Talgarth.
There is one other bit of news though. Late last year a distant cousin of mine who lived in Mexico passed away. Via a convoluted series of events the family decided to pass the inheritance down through the generations as the main beneficiaries are all well into their 70's and above. This means I unexpectedly had £9k come my way with instructions to use it for something to make my life better. Add this to the small fund I already have built up and I seem to now have enough to start making moves to get the body restored! I'm hoping it will be enough to get all the bodywork and a repaint completed but even if it's just enough for the bodywork only I'll be happy, I don't mind getting a small loan if required. I haven't started looking further into this just yet as I envisaged it being a good 2-3 years in the future at minimum but it does help push the project along quite a bit! Although it does introduce a problem: finding a reputable place to do the restoration work to a standard I'll be happy with for my budget. A nice problem to have though.
Got an adventure or two planned for this year first though.
Mixed emotions on the windfall!
Id ask on the mini forum ref bodywork
Paints no good if its just over bad prep work. What do you think needs doing to it?
Must sort mine out
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Great to see Georgie back out on the road 😃
Instructions to use it for something to make my life better.
Excellent. 👍
Has your car never had an MOT, doesn't show up on the database as ever had one? Seems a shame if it's been tucked away for all that time but at least it's in the dry and warm.
Paints no good if its just over bad prep work. What do you think needs doing to it?
Exactly, I want to get the metal all done correctly to avoid having to redo it in a few years. One or two places I've already visited after recommendations locally have had cars there 'ready' for paint with obvious rust still visible in a few spots, one even had a bare shell standing outside in a drizzly day!
As for what needs doing? Current list is:
New whole front end, both wings are bad underneath and all the seams are a bit crusty. Easiest to just replace the lot and probably cheaper.
Driver's footwell has been jacked up on and pushed back down then had a small bodged patch done. Replacement panel there but possibly a new floor.
New sills each side as it has over sills on it currently. Inner sills are most likely crusty o depending upon how far into the floor it goes it may mean a new floorpan, which will be annoying as 90% of it is near-perfect.
Scuttle need replacing as part of the front end, depending upon cost I may just get a new front panel fitted as the windscreen aperture is a bit rough in places. I'll discuss that with the body shop when the time comes.
Both doors need reskinning, can get exchange ones for £250 each if that's more cost-effective.
Sounds a lot but most of it is just normal Mini areas. Worst case scenario is a reshell at £15k plus paint but I know of cars that were much worse than mine not having to go that route so I'm pretty positive my budget is realistic for the work required.
As for the windfall, I had never met my aunt but from what I can tell she had lived a full and happy life. She moved to Mexico decades ago and never hinted at leaving so I'm happy the money has come from a good place.
Er 2006 mine was last taxed and the one behind 2005....
Been busy but new workshop just need to get it tidy and crack on
The cooper needs a chunk but it's odd it's solid in od places etc.
Hers is all welded up n needs painting. I rebuilt all the suspension etc but bet it needs new rubbers by now.
Need to knob work off and just do my hobbies
That would be why then, just before the switch to digital records was finished. A bit jealous you have two Minis to play with and a lot more room for activities than I have! Although paint and the reassembly part is usually what takes the most time from past experience, always harder when you want things done right and to avoid scratching anything 🤣
Well a fortnight ago this happened:
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Parked in a field in Cheam with nealy 1000 other Minis (including a few modern ones):
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Then drove down to Brighton seafront:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/6qbLkR7r/PXL-20230521-135818625.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/6qbLkR7r/PXL-20230521-135818625.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://banks-nearme.com/td-bank-near-me ]show me the closest[/url]
The trip I wanted to do with my original Mini 24 years ago but couldn't as it came over all BL and went on strike: the annual London and Surrey Mini Owners Club London to Brighton Run.
I wasn't going to do it until I had made Georgie a lot better but there is a very strong threat that the ULEZ expansion later this year could stop the event happening again, especially in it's current format. I had the time off available so it was an easy decision to just do it. A lot of the participants there said the same thing hence why it was quickly a sell-out!
The actual drive itself is pretty boring but what makes the event is the camping the night before and the atmosphere at the end when all the Minis take over Madeira Drive on Brighton seafront. Such a chilled atmosphere and was just as good as I hoped it would be. Sadly the amount of cars needing to be parked on Madeira Drive and the cordoning off of the metal trellis meant there wasn't room for the usual show stands and entertainment (has been the case for a few events I think) so it was just the main stands and the cars but still great seeing the vast variety of modded and standard cars in all shapes and sizes.
I even found two cars that combined would make my original Mini!
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The base exterior trim and that red with the rather rare base interior was the cheapest combination you could get and as everyone would always spec up a bit it's very rare to find it on one car, I've never seen another! Mine also had the older 15" steering wheel but I'm unsure whether that was added to help my aunt turn the steering at a later date.
The experience was every bit as good as I thought it would be, literally nothing went wrong at all. Weather was perfect, no breakdowns (for me!), loads of people out waving along the route and just a happy few days. A really good way to sign off this part of the project.
Time for an end of summer update:
The MOT ran out a few days after the London To Brighton Run and I haven't put her through another. That's because I didn't have any more plans for this summer (other parts of life are a priority currently) and I feel it's time to focus on the next stage of the project: The Rebuild.
Over the last few months I have taken her, via low loader, to a few restoration places to be fully inspected. The main focus being on the bodyshell as I want to have that part done professionally as that is something that is not in my skillset and is very expensive to rectify if I do make a mistake! On the whole every inspection has brought up the same amount of work which also tallies up with my expectations so no surprises there. They have also all been in the same rough ballpark, which again is encouraging. A few places have been pleasantly surprised at how much of the shell is original too, it definitely hasn't had a rebuild in it's life just repairs as they've been needed. One or two of those have been bodged a bit, namely the oversills and a rear arch repair that is good but makes things tricky as it's a whole repair panel rather than a patch, but other than those it's just the usual bits that go rusty. It does have most of them though! The front is by far the worst with all but one place recommending just replacing everything forward of the bulkhead but then I knew that already. Basically if you draw a line from the front scuttle down to just above the rear bumper everything below it needs work.
So, the big question. How much will it cost to get the shell from it's current state to rust-free, painted and ready for reassembly?
£13-16,000.
A little bit spicier than I was expecting. But then that is for a shell that will be much better than new and should easily last a decade or more without needing any work, especially as the car won't see any salt and minimal amounts of rain. I can't see any areas where I could reduce costs as the estimates are based on me stripping the car down myself, that saves £2-3k on it's own, and the paint scheme and colours I want aren't expensive so no real way to save money there (plus not getting what I really want will always annoy me!). The one option I did explore was a reshell but that would be easily into the £18-20k area once you have prepped and painted, plus I want to keep as much of the original car as is practicable so that's a no-go.
The mechanical side doesn't throw up any surprises, all stuff that I knew and was planned to do while the shell is away and the car in bits. The cost shouldn't be any more than £500 plus any upgrades I make along the way as a lot of the mechanicals I have fixed already. That doesn't include new tyres though as that's just running costs, plus I haven't fully decided whether to stick with the 165/60R12 size I have now or change to the narrower 145's, that will depend on my choice of arch width but that is a long way down the line.
So that's the current situation. I don't have the funds to commit to the work as of now, currently just under the £10k mark (was more but I'm currently between jobs so some of it is being used for day-to-day stuff) and I would like to have a bit of a buffer too so realistically I need to be in the £16-17k mark before starting the work. I do have a preference for where I want the work done too, they have a roughly 6-9 month wait on work and were estimating in the middle of the prices. What makes them my top choice though is the work they turn out and having spoken to the guys who actually do the work they 'get' that I'm looking for a solid useable car rather than a show car, something that one place in particular had trouble grasping (they estimated at just under £19k!).
I do still have the option of getting her through another MOT as the work required isn't hard (rear brake work thanks to a weeping joint, a local rust patch in the rear and a new CV boot) and running her for another summer but I have the whole winter to consider that. If I do though it'll eat into the budget slightly and also run the risk of breaking something! Provided I can find a new job in the next month or two I should be able to get the funds together in a year or so, not a long timescale by any means but I always knew this would be the frustrating part!
I did put Long Term in the title for a reason.
At this rate, Binky will be putting out more frequent updates than you! 😀
Just kidding, it's great to have an update and an insight into what's next.
I'm well ahead of the BOM boys this year for updates , they promised a load of updates in the coming months back in April and they've only done 1 since 🤣
Plus back at the beginning I was paying catch-up, now I'm into real-time reports and anyone who's done any kind of project knows how things have a habit of taking longer than they ever thought. To be fair though, if I hadn't had to give up my job last month I would have been ready to get the shell done early next year and this winter would have been the strip down ready for that. Sodding real life getting in the way of play time.
The thread about the Moke has relit a bit of fire in me.
With family events taking over a lot of my life poor Georgie has sat under her cover in the garage untouched for over a year. I had a sort-of plan running in my mind earlier in the year to get her roadworthy ready for a car meet called Rustival, organized by a few YouTubers who celebrate the non-concours cars and their owners. I have booked a place at the show already, with the idea that I can either take the Mini or my daily driver if things don't work out (the show doesn't discriminate, any car is welcome). So this weekend I plan to give her a good looking over and see what's required.
So there might possibly be an update to follow in the next few weeks.
I think you're still ahead of BOM 😀