46 replies to this topic

[Richc69]

Hello There,  I thought I would start a restoration / build thread based upon my first car,  a1963 mk1 Austin Mini 850 Super Deluxe which has been off the road since 1988.  It has been in our family since 1973 and I have the original buff log book with all previous owners.
 
Potted History of 723 JOE:  It was originally almond green with green porcelain interior,  but that is long gone - I remember the stuffing coming out of the top of the back seat in 1973 when I was 4.  My mother used the mini for a while until one of the headlamps fell through the wing,  so it was laid up for 8 years until 1981/2 when my father and I started to restore / modernise it.  Mom wanted a heated rear window and Mk3 back lights to make it look like a then new mini,  so Dad cut and reshaped the back panel (sacrilege now we know,  but back then they were 10 a penny...)  It had a new front end, door skins and boot floor repairs,  and was re-spayed Ford signal yellow with black mini special arches and those horrid bolt on wheel spacers and a beige vinyl interior from a later mini,  we then added a set of 10" 1275GT rostyle wheels which looked a bit better but vibrated like mad.
 
I bought it of my parents in 1986 as my first car and set about Cooperising it with twin 1 1/4 SU carbs, LCB manifold and RC40 exhaust, a friend of mine was breaking a burned out Cooper S,  I missed out on the engine and box,  but bought the rest of the saveable running gear,  so the mini has Cooper S 7.5 discs and extended rear drums and remote servo,  all in preparation for fitting a 1275 engine and box.  I also fitted an internal SPQR remote gear linkage which my uncle had in his minivan,  unfortunately the original console was lost,  but I still have the shifter which fits on top of the tunnel.
 
I used and abused the mini for a few years,  battling tin worm and trying to keep it on the road on a students income.   I took it off the road in 1988 when the passenger door burst open on a roundabout and pulled the hinge out of the A panel just before the MOT was due.  I laid it up and started on rebuilding the inner and outer A post which then ran into the door step and inner and outer cill on the near side,  and the bottom corner of the rear quarter.  While I was at it,  I decided to fit some spax adjustable shocks and on investigating the front shock mounting,  found that the inner wing on the o/s was rotted out, as was the scuttle end and a panels leading to the door step and inner and outer cills.  At this point I got distracted with other things and needed a more reliable and usable car,  so the mini remained off the road.  
 
Fast forward 28 years (gulp) and a few lockup moves, home renovations, marriage and 3 kids etc,  and I have finally got around to picking up where I left off with the Mini.  The number plate has always been its saving grace and motivation for keeping the mini,  but now my two boys are interested in helping to restore it,  there is no chance of selling it.
 
The last time I tinkered with the mini and started it up,  the water pump and alternator had seized and shredded the fan belt,  and with standing so long,  the brake and clutch master cylinder seals had perished and dumped brake fluid down the inside of the bulk head, and the clutch lever / push rod had seized.
 
Over the last couple of weekends,  we have removed the brake and clutch master cylinders and replaced the clutch master and slave cylinder, freed off the clutch arm and replaced the water pump and alternator with a spare off a 1275 engine I acquired,  and with some fresh fuel, and a new battery the mini started up and runs a treat holding normal temperature and over 50psi oil pressure,  and moved under it's own power for the first time in a long while.  This may seem like a waste of time,  as it is going to be stripped down to a bare shell,  but I just wanted to get it running first.
 
Last weekend,  I removed the remainder of the front end and some old patch / plating in preparation for removing the engine and front subframe.  I had contemplated fitting a one piece steel flip front,  but have decided against it based on safety / IVA / Originality etc.
 
It is going to be a slow and steady restoration,  it's been 28 years in planning already!,  but I will add updates as and when.
 
I have just ordered some scaffold and key clamp fittings to make myself a roll over jig which is a job for this coming weekend.
 
Here are some pictures of the deconstruction:
 




 
And one from the late 80's when it was last on the road.

 
Sorry for the long opening,  but there is a lot of history with the car.  Future posts will be more concise - honest!
 
Thanks for reading!

Edited by Richc69, 17 May 2016 - 06:24 AM.

[minimissions]

Wow welcome to tmf what a great story, and nice bit of history of the car its nice that it has been in the family for so long and that plate is defo worth a few quid. Looking forward to seeing the progress of this, What your plans for colour etc spec at the end please say the mk1 rear lights are going back in?

[SecretSugar]

As above, fantastic story. Will look forward to hearing updates on this and what you plan to do.

[FlyingScot]

Welcome to TMF. Thanks for the backstory, looks like a reasonable basis to start rebuilding.

FS

[Richc69]

Thanks for your comments and interest.  The shell is reasonably solid,  but some of the welding I did in my youth on a limited budget I'm not happy with aesthetically (its strong,  just looks a mess underneath),  so I the plan is:

 

• New half inner wings
• Reinforced shock mountings
• New Wings and mk1 front panel (if the valance will clear my 6x10's,  as they used to rub of the lower front edge of the Mk2 front panel)
• New front wings and headlamp bowls
• Original bonnet is in good shape
• Mk1 moustache grill with Cooper S 7 slat grill (never liked the mk1 wavy grill)
• s/s bumpers - may leave the overriders and corner bars off,  never really liked them
• Scuttle repair ends and closures
• Half floors both sides with inner and outer cills (door steps and A posts are done)
• Lower rear quarter repairs
• Repair storage compartment lower edges and reinforcing plates
• Healboard or end repairs
• Rear subframe just needs a clean and paint,  it was replaced not long before it came of the road and was thoroughly hammered (green and yellow for some reason that now escapes me!)
• I have acquired a pair of good Mk2 doors with minimal rust,  but they have dents in the door bins and need cosmetic work.  They don't fit as well as my old rusty mk1 doors,  so I may repair the frames and re-skin the originals
• New boot floor and rear inner arches
• New rear valance
• Toying with the idea of replacing the lower back panel with the Mk1 version,  alternatively it will need the lower edge and a pair of mk1 light conversion panels welding back in (need to source a pair of mk1 lights).
• When the boot floor was repaired originally,  the hinge panel was never quite right,  and the boot used to rain in,  so a lower back panel may help to sort this.
• I picked up a good s/h Mk1 boot lid,  looks like it came of a Cooper S by the badge pin holes,  or was made to look like one.  It has no rot in the skin or frame,  but will need work to close up all of the 'accessory' holes that have been drilled over time (after market reversing lights / rally spot lamp etc.
• The upper quarter panels and roof are in great condition,  apart from a slight bit of rust above the n/s rear drain slit in the gutter,  and the drip rails have gone thick with rust in places,  but the actual gutters seem ok.

 

As for the spec of the car,  I originally wanted to build a Cooper S replica of the '60s Britax touring cars,  but here we have some differences of opinion with my two boys over colours and specs.

 

I acquired a 'good' 1275 Allegro engine and rebuilt rod change gearbox out of my cousins car which has been in storage for years,  I also have the original 3 synchro magic wand box and a selection of early remote diff housings which I am thinking of getting rebuilt as a 4 synchro hybrid with Cooper remote change (Guessworks) to fit in with a mildly tuned 1275 or 1293 fast road engine,  but thats way off.  

 

That said the original 850 with twin SU's and the LCB still runs a treat,  and used to be a little screamer,  so may just get it back on the road and MOT'd with the existing set up and tinker with the engine later on.  Both engines will need head work to fit hardened valve seats as a minimum.

 

So there is much to do and parts to find.  I haven't set a budget or timescale,  but at least work has started.

Edited by Richc69, 11 May 2016 - 10:26 AM.

[slidehammer]

Great looking project and with a mini that old a flip front would be sacrilege, it needs to look period from the outside with a few sublet mods underneath. 

M-Machine are the place for the body panels as they have a good reputation for their own pressings and recreate the features of the older floor pressings. Mechanical parts I always use Mini Spares, as I find them really good. Good luck with the mini brilliant reg number.

[Richc69]

Great looking project and with a mini that old a flip front would be sacrilege, it needs to look period from the outside with a few sublet mods underneath. 
M-Machine are the place for the body panels as they have a good reputation for their own pressings and recreate the features of the older floor pressings. Mechanical parts I always use Mini Spares, as I find them really good. Good luck with the mini brilliant reg number.

Thanks for the advice, I live near to Old Skool Mini's in Birmingham and their place is a mini treasure trove! Thanks for the tip regarding M-Machine. It will look fairly stock from the outside, I will be keeping the 6x10's so will need to run with some arch extensions, but more period GR2 60's style.

[mk3 Cooper S]

You and your mini look very familiar to me - Having grown up in Birmingham and hammered mini's around town at a similar time I wonder if we met?

In fact I ended up with an S engine out of a scrapped S in 87?

[Richc69]

You and your mini look very familiar to me - Having grown up in Birmingham and hammered mini's around town at a similar time I wonder if we met?
In fact I ended up with an S engine out of a scrapped S in 87?

Could well have done, the scrapped S I was referring to belonged to one of the Mead brothers, some scallies he'd had a run in with torched the interior, it was a crying shame as the car was mint.

Edited by Richc69, 11 May 2016 - 04:01 PM.

[mk3 Cooper S]

Ah yes, they were from the northside?

 

strangely I have a 65 mk1 that is painted in the same colour as yours that has been I the family since 81

[Richc69]

Yes North Birmingham, cool what shape is your '65 in?

[Daz1968]

If you are in no rush then looking at pictures I would fit full inner wings, full scuttle and also full rear quarters, I used magnum rear quarters on my mk2 fitted fine and much easier than the lower repair panel, also makes it much easier to repair inside rear bins.
You need to look at a few projects on here and decide best course of action. I have basically changed everything on my mk2 below window level and don't regret it at all as I now know it will last and nothing is hidden to bite me in the future, but before going out buying panels you need to survey the amount of rust on the body, but remember a lot of full panels are not as expensive as you may think and it makes the job far easier and neater. Also consider tools required, I bought a spot welder and find it superb, although many people prefer plug welding.
Oh and another vote for m machine from me, I have bought many panels off them and they are brilliant quality and fit well. They also take time to get parts year correct.

Edited by Daz1968, 11 May 2016 - 06:25 PM.

[Richc69]

If you are in no rush then looking at pictures I would fit full inner wings, full scuttle and also full rear quarters, I used magnum rear quarters on my mk2 fitted fine and much easier than the lower repair panel, also makes it much easier to repair inside rear bins.
You need to look at a few projects on here and decide best course of action. I have basically changed everything on my mk2 below window level and don't regret it at all as I now know it will last and nothing is hidden to bite me in the future, but before going out buying panels you need to survey the amount of rust on the body, but remember a lot of full panels are not as expensive as you may think and it makes the job far easier and neater. Also consider tools required, I bought a spot welder and find it superb, although many people prefer plug welding.
Oh and another vote for m machine from me, I have bought many panels off them and they are brilliant quality and fit well. They also take time to get parts year correct.

Thanks for your suggestions Daz, I am in two minds about doing the full inner wings. I had put slot of time and effort into the door posts and inner a panels and have got the doors lined up nicely, so feel a bit reluctant to chop all of that out again, or to buy full inner wings and cut them off to meet the inner A panels. The rear quarters are in great shape apart from the bottom corners, so again reluctant to chop out too much of the original. The plan is to get the engine and us frames off and the shell up on a spit I am making and then have a good prod and poke at shell.

[Richc69]

This is rich69s eldest son, I need some back up. My dad wants to fit an Austin allegro engine in the mini which I think would be sacrelidge as it is one of the few original parts of the car. Back up appreciated

Edited by Richc69, 11 May 2016 - 10:08 PM.

[Richc69]

What do you guys think of a Monte Carlo style roof rack on the mini