417 replies to this topic

[johnsn]

I am up here in Portland right now and almost ended up getting a new project once I figured out what it was. A friend had an early shell he was going to cut up and I was going to buy half of it untill I got poking at it. We determined it was an oct-dec 1959 shell and actually found part of the vin number stamped into the shell... however... we don't know if it is an Austin or Morris, we do however know it was a red. Smurf had the bright idea of going to BMH and having them look up both Austin and Morris and tell us which one was red! Brilliant! This rusty shell is now out of my price range but it was a fun find. :)

Chris

It was a fun find. I alwase wanted a 59 Mini. Turns out I had one for years and didn't know it. What with all that's been going on this last year... well let's just say something posative hapening is wonderfull.
Thanks Chris.
john

[CLM]

One you were in the process of figuring out how to cut up! Talk about a stay of execution :)

You mind if I post a pic of it?

Chris

[johnsn]

One you were in the process of figuring out how to cut up! Talk about a stay of execution :)

You mind if I post a pic of it?

Chris

Go ahead. Post them if ya got em.
john

[CLM]

I will just post your pictures!



Chris

Edited by CLM, 12 October 2012 - 01:52 AM.

[CLM]

We have a winner!


Further to your enquiry the Austin Mini would have a chassis prefix of A-A2S7/xxxx was built on 12th November 1959 and was Right hand drive and Speedwell blue in colour.
The Morris Mini would have chassis prefix M-A2S4/xxxx, was built on 2nd November 1959 was Left hand drive and painted Cherry Red

We have red, we have left hand drive, and now we have a birth date for it... and it was a Morris :)

Chris

[CLM]

Hey all

It has been a lazy while, but I finally finished my inner frame and can start pulling the body off the jig.



I also picked up a chinese rollbar/seatbelt mount to modify to fit the moke.



The main hood frame fits over it perfectly however the rear does not, the hood frame lines up almost exactly with the rear legs of it, that is going to require a bit of fitting to make it work.



The other issue with fitting it is that this moke is a top fill moke with the large filler, I don't see this as a major issue as I have decided I will make up a J tube that connects down to the main floor allowing me to trim off the third hole/interfering metal around it.

Next step is going to be to remove the body from the jig and likely add some legs so it isn't so dang low

Chris

[CLM]

Another update already?!?

Well yeah, I managed to pull the old shell off of the jig today with some help. 3 of my rear subframe bolts have the shank broken off in the subframe mounts though that wont be much issue as I have at least one good hole in each mount so I can still cinch things down.

With it off I was able to start assembling panels for a test fit of the floor, I sat the top jig off to the side as I wont need it untill I go to mount the seat mount. I did run into two issues though, one I duely corrected, and one that will require me chopping the center of the rear subframe out.





The floorpan was missing subframe mount holes.



Easily corrected.



I am ready for some weld through primer and a spot welder now :)

Chris

[johnsn]

Cool!
Will that jig work on your wagon too?
john

[CLM]

Not in it's current incarnation, it is a little more then 4 inches too short. Mokes are stubby little minis... even before you cut one in half and turn it into a shorty!

Chris

[CLM]

It has been a while, I have been building a shop wide workbench and going to pick up more items. I picked up an engine for either the Moke or the Pickup, it is a silver seal remanufactured 1275gt short block rebuilt and never ran. It had to come apart however as the lube turned to glue, I am having the block and the rods/pistons cleaned before I go about assembling it. I also acquired another treasure, I picked up the welder! A used Lenco l-4000 which ended up having a Hasuna 558 pneumatic gun attached to it... O.O This may change the plans of the welder accessory I plan to build.



Chris

[CLM]

Hey all,
Slow week here, I managed to cut the front of the subframe for spot welding clearance thankfully it didn't change anything measurement wise.



While waiting for panels I set to building a nice 26 foot long workbench for additional work space took a few lazy days, but it has helped clean up the shop a bit.



Soon the order from m-machine came in, it isn't just for the moke however as it includes part of the doorframe for the woody and the inner wing panels for the pup. Along with those meaningless panels there where most of the panels I needed for the moke center hull...







Unfortunately the rear pannier closing panels I odered turned into a single inner inner pannier divider... not good. So I need to order the panels directly from Leo and I need to get them before I I can try welding the heelboard to the floor.

Oh well, that will take some time, another task I had on the agenda was to add legs to the jig so I could get some distance above the dirt... and I think it turned out ok.



I have had the 1275 cleaned and oiled, only need to order parts and start assembly on it.

The welder is still waiting on tips before I can try it.

Slowly moving along...

Chris

[minimikej]

How I wish I had that much space to work in!

Great work, never seen a moke thread before

[hughJ]

He does have some space to work in and seems to be collecting a lot of impressive tools. That jig looks most impressive. Looking forward to seeing this come along, Chris.
Hugh

[minifcd]

I agree Hugh. I do envy how much space you have Chris. With properties in this country, your lucky if you get enough land for a drive way to park your car on, never mind enough land for a garage or workshop!

[CLM]

Well to be honest, this workshop used to be the back yard... Now we pretty much have no back yard :)

Chris