767 replies to this topic

[Chris1992]

EDIT: 19/09/2017 .... The pictures DO appear but you have to wait 10 seconds or so, ever since Photobucket became tight-fisted arseholes

 

----------------------------------

 

hi guys. so ive been a member of this forum for quite a while now, so i think its about time i got a proper project thread going... i just wish id thought of that when i got the car though    . ah well better late than never. (sorry for MASSIVE photos by the way, ive got no idea how to make them smaller)

 

something i should also probably mention... this is not one for the purists!   

 

anyway, a bit about the car and its history with me. heres some pics of when i first brought it home.

(alongside my dads 59 sprite, and 2002 BMW. he restored both of them, along with other cars in the past, so he was a huge help. we had no help for this project except for some of the wiring)

 

 

 

random massive hole in the rear seat. a sub eventually ended up there.

when i got it the engine was lavished (well... plastered) with lovely (hideous) red paint from a tin (note, he even painted the plastic cap and rubber radiator hose) 

 

as you can see it was basically a rolling shell with an engine when i got it in the summer of 2010. it cost me £800 and is completely rust free due to all the welding being done by a previous owner. its a 998 manual and i have no idea how many miles its done as the binnacle has been replaced by an earlier centre one.

 

so... if youre all sitting comfortably? i shall begin 

 

i knew form the start i wanted it to be low and wide, so the first thing i did was fit the sportspack arches that came with the car

 

then a bit of flashy fibreglassing and filling

 

then carrying on with more bodywork... the bodywork and paint really did take the best part of a year and a half to two years. i was still in school then u see so not a lot of time (im a student now at Coventry uni studying Automotive Design)

 

fiberglass fixes all things!

 

(EDIT: looking back on this years later, from the pics it looks like i just filled over the rust.... dont worry! thats not what happened! it was cut out and cleaned up, then fiberglassed behind the hole.... still a bodge, but not quite as bad!)

 

one of this previous owners thought this roof was a good idea (it was sparkly too) ... i thought it was, putting it nicely, questionable... so yeah, that was sanded down, which wasnt an easy job due to a layer of clear coat that was about 2 feat thick.

Edited by Chris1992, 18 September 2017 - 11:10 PM.

[Chris1992]

anyway. then it was time for paint... my dad here checking everything is set    

 

aaaaaand... PRIMA!!

 

 

 a lot more bodywork followed this, followed by more primer, followed by... well, you get the idea. i dont have any photos of that though so we're going to have to jump forward a bit...

 

 

i know, terrible photo. but hey, its painted!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

so, first milestone reached, it was time to put humpty dumpty back together again  

 

starting with the headlining (this was a right ******* to get right)

 

....followed by glass and other stuff

 

 

 

 

i replaced the windscreen with one with a sun strip across the top. partly because i liked it, but mostly because i managed to crack the original one when putting it in because im a spanner.

Edited by Chris1992, 27 July 2013 - 01:28 PM.

[Chris1992]

anyway, it was around this time last year that a mate of mine begged me for the use of our garage and generator (and help) so he could respray his mk3 golf, and me being a lovely chap, i agree.

 

we pulled an all-nighter doing bodywork so we could get the car sprayed in a weekend, to be honest it was great fun   

 

 

thats me showing off my flawless bodywork skills 

 

 

of course, this meant moving all the cars out of the garage (my dad had sold the BMW by now just for anyone that was wondering), which meant dropping the mini on its wheels for the first time. it was then that i realized how high it sat (as you can see above), and it also had positive camber. that wheel gap was unacceptable, so i decided a lowing kit was in order, but ill get to that later. 

 

moving on, i decided it was time we cracked on with the interior a bit more.

notice the rear bins have been cut out... this was done by the guy before me so he could fit some seats out of a nissan. he made a right pigs ear of it too. the best i could do was neaten it up.

 

then this happened

1800w JBL sub found in a skip. i knew i wanted to do something different with it and this is what i came up with. probably not everyones cup of tea but i like it, and it sounds freakin epic. 

 

the rest of my setup includes 2 6x9s in the back shelf, and a couple of urban audio speakers in some homemade dash pods. the front speakers are run from the sony stereo, the rear 6x9s are run from one amp, and the sub is powered by another

 

the JBL 6x9s. not pretty but i plan on replacing them one day

 

the beginnings of the front speaker pods. i dont have a completed photo from the time but youll see them later on

Edited by Chris1992, 14 August 2013 - 05:08 PM.

[Wise Old Elf]

I thought that was a pic of you! Your dad is young!

 

Well done; keep the pics coming.

 

Where are you in Essex?

 

Jason

[Chris1992]

pushing on with the interior... these were the seats from a nissan i mentioned that came with the car.

 

obviously they wouldnt just bolt straight in, so my dad set about making some brackets.

 

 

it was halfway through making the brackets that something amazing happened... i came to my senses.... i suddenly realized that the seats were completely hideous, so i canned the idea (that was a close one). i managed to find some proper mini seats on the interweb which also came with new carpets.

 

something else i knew i wanted was a centre console, so instead of buying one, i downloaded a template and made one. heres how the mock-up looked. 

 

and the final console 

 

then some homemade c pillar covers 

 

 

then while at a mini show in Birmingham, i managed to pick up a complete exhaust system for £100. this included a fletcher LCB manifold, and straight through link pipe, and a centre DTM style back box. 

 

 

 

i know i know, the fog lights on the wrong side    dont worry i fixed that

 

my sort-of-custom steering wheel

 

 

then i cleaned up my shocks, brakes, and drums

 

 

they were spax shocks but they were looking a bit rusty

Edited by Chris1992, 27 July 2013 - 01:33 PM.

[Chris1992]

I thought that was a pic of you! Your dad is young!

 

Well done; keep the pics coming.

 

Where are you in Essex?

 

Jason

 

haha he'll be chuffed to know that,    i live in Radwinter, about 10 mins from Saffron Walden, which is about half an hour from cambridge

Edited by Chris1992, 27 July 2013 - 12:24 PM.

[Chris1992]

moving on, i decided that the 13x7 ultrlites that i got with the car could use a bit of TLC. the centres were fine, but the lips were a mess, so i sanded them down, masked them off, and sprayed them black. turned out quite nice i think, and its something a bit different 

 

 

 

you might also notice that its sitting pretty low now, well thats thanks to the lowing kit i finally fitted. it included hi-los all round, camber brackets on the back, and adjustable lower arms and tie rods for the front. 

 

 

wasnt an easy job to fit though, and before fitting the rear brackets, i took the rear suspension to bits to give it a tidy up.

 

 

 

so, i knew i wanted spots, but i figured everyones got the 4 in a row  so again, i went for something a little different... italian job replica spots.

also added a bit of subtle stickerbombing to the front valance 

[Chris1992]

and now, ladies and gentlechaps, the moment youve all been waiting for...

 

just a few days ago it moved under its own power for the first time, so here it is as it stands today, only lacking an MOT and tax, which will be sorted soon. 

 

i honestly felt like a proud parent watching their child take its first steps 

 

 

[Chris1992]

more pics...

 

loooooooooowsss

[Chris1992]

and just a few more......

 

 

the engine still needs a tidy, but its better than it was. i had endless problems getting it running, it needed a new starter motor as the one that was fitted was not only broken  but also wrong. when i finally got it going, i found it also needed a new water pump (among other things).

 

ive also had problems with the brakes. after bleeding them they were still spongey so i figure there must be air in the system. anyway, while bleeding them again i managed to over tighten the right rear bleed nipple (steady on) so a new set of slave cylinders were in order.

 

 

so, thats the story so far    my 3 year project. i know this car will probably divide opinions but each to their own   . of course itll never be truly finished, there will always be something i want to do to it. ive got a set of sprite steelies which i want banded and powder coated black, i want to tint the rear lights black, fit a black grille, the list goes on   

 

anyway, i hope people like it and ill try to keep this updated as much as possible

Edited by Chris1992, 13 October 2013 - 12:05 AM.

[jenbachertech]

A smart looking tastefully executed motor - I like very much!

[Wise Old Elf]

We looked at houses in Saffron Walden. We liked the thought of living in Ugley and its Ugley Church. LOL

 

We are in a village outside Colchester.

 

I am always amazed at dads my age with teenage kids. My kids are 6 and 4 and I only just manage; I am hoping to be senile by the time they are old enough to drive.   

[Chris1992]

 

I am always amazed at dads my age with teenage kids. My kids are 6 and 4 and I only just manage; I am hoping to be senile by the time they are old enough to drive.   

 

haha, funny you should say that.. my dads acctually 50 in that pic believe it or not 

[Wise Old Elf]

He is doing well. I need to get back to the gym. LOL

[Chris1992]

A smart looking tastefully executed motor - I like very much

 

thanks a lot mate