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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.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/gJrHzhC2/20211017-130502.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/gJrHzhC2/20211017-130502.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
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!
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/htyJSYcV/20211017-130551.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/htyJSYcV/20211017-130551.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
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!
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/rwcgsXCF/20220129-174610-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/rwcgsXCF/20220129-174610-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
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:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/prfzMrSQ/20220129-174858-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/prfzMrSQ/20220129-174858-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://thesawmillgrill.com/specials ]early bird special bbq[/url]
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:
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/GmK2wGmh/20220305-172037-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/GmK2wGmh/20220305-172037-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
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!
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/Xv9sYjtJ/20220305-175709-1.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/Xv9sYjtJ/20220305-175709-1.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[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.
[url= https://i.postimg.cc/mry48mMg/20220515-144856.jp g" target="_blank">https://i.postimg.cc/mry48mMg/20220515-144856.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
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!
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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.
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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:
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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!
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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:
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More adventures planned for this bank holiday if the weather holds!