42 replies to this topic

[PaddyShepherd]

There will be plenty to see on Tuesday I'm sure.... or rather lack of!!

[PaddyShepherd]

Update time!!

Yesterday (Day 7): We finally got the engine removed! After many hours, including a full hour to get a ball joint and one of the pot joints out (They were locked solid!), she finally came free. I then went home to bed.



One rusty engine...




Day 8: (Today) I took off the cylinder head to find that albeit rusty on the outside, and considering it's done 120000 miles, the pistons and cylinders were relatively clean.




Dan then cut off that 'new' sill fitted last year to find that we were able to recognise it as the sill that was there when I got the car. This was down to A: welds where it had been repaired, and B: A manufacturers stamp from November 2000!! It's no surprise then that I've got a receipt from the previous owner stating two outer sills were fitted in april 2001!



^ One hell of a mess!



Dated: 30.11.00 - this was certainly not new last summer!!

More to come as we get to it...

[PaddyShepherd]

But on the plus side, there weren't other old sills underneath!!

[Shifty]

Nice!!

[sonikk4]

New inner and outer sills as well then plus whatever else is toasty in there.

[PaddyShepherd]

New inner and outer sills as well then plus whatever else is toasty in there.

Yup, and possibly a trip to trading standards about the guy who did the work!!

[Midas Mk1]

Can't believe people fit sills without painting the insides first! Know the feeling, mine came with 'new' sills all those years ago, cut the oversills off to reveal the date stamp sticker, and the crusty original ones :/

Looks like a good project

[PaddyShepherd]

Thanks Midas! Aye it is a shame. Just hope we can get it done in the few months we have to do it. A major relief that the engine is okay and won't need a rebuild. Think I'll build a mild tuned 1275 for it so that if this does go I can drop a new one straight in.

[PaddyShepherd]

Day 10: I bought some MK1 MX-5 seats for the mini. These will go in as they are with some black back seats and at some point they may be retrimmed to match the open classic interior. :)

[PaddyShepherd]

Day 11: I haven't really done much today as the other minis were in the garage, I didn't have the key and therefore couldn't move them to get more space. So I removed the exhaust and began preparing to remove the rear subby. I then got bored and cleaned a few little engine bits. I stopped for some food, kicked the rusty sill to see even MORE rust fall out. Then I played with the shot blaster for a bit and then went home.



More rust below!! Thankfully the cross member itself doesn't look too bad, just the floor below it.





When I came home I had a look at the new inlet manifold I bought off eBay - only to find it isn't right and won't fit - despite being advertised for a mini it's apparently actually for a Sprite!

[PaddyShepherd]

Day 13: subframes removed. Car is gonna be rolled on its side for better access for cutting and welding the floors on tuesday! Nothing else got done as these took all day just about. Will be blasted and powder coated soon.



I then decided we'd have a bit of a laugh and shove the wheels under the arches to see how cool it looked whilst sat just above the floor on a rolled up carpet....

[PaddyShepherd]

Sorry for the lack of updates guys! Not much has been done - we're waiting on the arrival of sills. All that's been done is I've cleared out the parts from inside the car ready for it to be put on its side, and begun to strip subframes etc ready for blasting and powder coating. Should be up there tomorrow evening or saturday and will get some pics.

[PaddyShepherd]

Big update time. Although slightly less positive.

 

Taken from my blog:

 

Progress… but for how long?

Today we jacked the car up, started practically attacking it with a grinder and a wire wheel. We found tonnes of rust and even more filler and crap. It’s decision time. There’s a lot of major panels in need of replacement and a lot of time and money involved - neither of which we have. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So - up to now we have only looked at the passengers side of the car. We have found that the following panels are in need of repair or replacement: 

• Quarter Panels
• Door step
• rear floor
• outer sills
• inner sills
• door post
• flitch panel
• a-panel
• inner wings
• rear wheel arch
• boot hinge panel
• boot floor

IS THERE A PANEL THAT DOESN’T NEED REPLACING!?

At the moment we think I have 3 options:

1. Break for spares, cut my losses and learn from experience.
2. Reshell the car.
3. Push through, spend more money and hope it works out.

Just how much longer can I keep throwing money at this car?