1844 replies to this topic

[MikaRaymond]

Hi guys.

This is my first post here so I'll try to keep things as interesting as possible.

My names Mika, I'm 20 years old and live in a small town called Blackburn. I currently drive an 05 plate Renault Clio 1.2 (due to the insane insurance pricing) but have always wanted an old Mini. The opportunity has never really risen until recently so after my old man (Petrol on here) finished his Nissan rebuild a couple of months ago, we both decided it would be a great idea for us to work on a project together.

2 weeks later, he suprised me with this:




She's a 1997 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3 MPI in Tahiti Blue with 61k on the clock. The plan is a complete overhaul of both shell and engine (with standard parts for now). This will be Mini #4 at the Raymond household so please do not hesitate to drop Pete a PM should you have any questions.

The good:

























And the not so good:















Still working on a list of things that need sorting but that, along with the first job of stripping the interior, is for tomorrow.

Cheers for looking,

M

Edited by myredmini, 11 January 2015 - 12:02 PM.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Lovely Mini mate. Good luck with the rebuild. It doesn't look bad at all for an unrestored 1997. Keep us updated. Tahiti blue is one of the best

Edited by Mini-Mad-Craig, 08 November 2012 - 11:17 PM.

[sonikk4]

A late model Mini with rust what a rarity but still looks good. Good luck with the rebuild and you will end up with a cracking wee car.

[iMurray]

I counted 5minis! Good luck bud... Welcome to the would of MPIs, where everyone complains about them but really their just jealous

[Teapot]

Good luck with this. Yours looks a bit more the worse for wear rust on the outside than Rocky when Mrs T got him.
I see the telltale water staining on the dash ...



... so will be interested to see what's underneath when you get it stripped out.
Twill be great when you';ve done.

PS More than 5 minis surely? 7 or 8?

[Petrol]

Mini Technique had loads of Minis for sale



They also had about 100 in bits at the back



Early Xmas pressie for Mika

[stretters]

I reckon when you pull the trigger on that beast, the rest of the street plunges into darkness.....

[MikaRaymond]

Cheers for the comments guys.

The idea was to completely strip the interior on the evening of day one. However when I arrived home from work Pete had already taken 90% of it out. Due to the state of the bulk head, water ingress has caused the sound dampening and carpet to become sopping wet through. As you say TMF, this probably explains the dash discolouration.

Bulk Head. Didn't manage to get a full shot while the windscreen was out. It's pretty much like that all the way along.



And the dash:







Front end







The rust on the edge of the top-dash is worrying but the chassis bracket seems fine thankfully. We looked at buying a new dashboard and trim set but most of it seems salvageable. The carpet, seats and walnut aren't going back in anyway so all the replacements are to be decided in the future..

We also decided to test the electric sunroof for water leaks. We weren't so keen on the idea when it arrived so agreed if there WERE any leaks, we'd get rid of it. Cut a long story short, it's going

I'll take more snaps of the rest of the interior tomorrow morning when there's some decent lighting.

Cheers,

M

Edited by MikaRaymond, 10 November 2012 - 12:24 AM.

[MikaRaymond]

As promised:





Sills and arches are knacked but the rest of the floorpan looks in better condition than expected:









We made the most of the weather today and started stripping the front end, engine and loom. As this is our first MPI it took slightly longer to disconnect the wiring & fuel lines but we're getting there.

The front end will be completely replaced. Pics say it all:











Grill & rad don't look too bad:





Until we saw the ******* inside:



You've probably all seen this before so we're getting things done ASAP while taking quick snaps of connectors for record. The interesting stuff of sorting the shell & engine will come soon but it can't come quick enough!

Tomorrow's work will include disconnecting the fuel lines, exhaust and rest of the loom to hopefully allow us to lift the engine out. It's slow & tedious work but that's all part of the fun.

Here's how things stand for now:



Cheers,

M.

[Petrol]

We need to dismantle the two cables from the end fuse in order to get the loom out.



Can't fathom out to do it. If anyone could help us out we would be very grateful

Pete

[munkey26]

Take the fuses out first and it just slides apart

[Petrol]

Take the fuses out first and it just slides apart

Sorted, thanks very much for your help.

[munkey26]

Pleasure! It confused me as we'll when I took mine apart.

If you're stuck on any other bits let me know.

[shough]

Looks like it will be a great car after some TLC. Keep the updates coming.

[Petrol]

Glad to see some dedication - even in the rain Too wet and cold out there for me