55 replies to this topic

[Eggers]

Hi all! A few months ago, I posted on the intro page about potential childhood dream fulfillment. Last week, that dream was fulfilled, and I am the new owner of a 1991 Rover Mini Mayfair.

Back in September 2021, a retired former colleague Joe stopped by my workshop in his mini to get it MOT'd and say hi. We got to talking about the car, and he told me to make an offer on it. At the time, it was a bad choice for me. I needed a reliable every day car, good for long drives, and I did NOT need a project car to go with my many uncompleted projects. However, I told him to keep me in mind if he ever wanted to sell it, and he agreed to give me first refusal should ghat day come.

Sadly, Joe passed away in February from a heart attack.

At his funeral, I got talking with his best friend, who was sorting out his affairs, and the conversation about the mini came up. It turned out that the family all live abroad, and were not fussed about an old, rusting mini when there was a large estate to sort out, no will, and a house full to the brim of Joe's hoardings.

After a couple of months of back and forth and slow progress, I managed to acquire the mini for a very good price- just under £500, including having a locksmith come and sort out all the keys.
I drove it home, put it on the drive, and that's where this thread begins.

I have NO experience with cars at all. However, I am an experienced welder, fabricator, and all round tinkered. So while this will be the biggest project I've ever taken on, I'm confident in a good outcome and looking forward to the challenge! On with the show!

Edited by Eggers, 27 April 2023 - 02:17 PM.

[Eggers]

Can't get pics to upload right now. Imgbb isn't putting them in the correct orientation, and I can't find bb codes from the Imgur app. Will upload pics later!

Edited by Eggers, 02 June 2022 - 12:02 PM.

[Viktor]

Hi Eggers,

 

Congrats on your recent purchase, well done mate! Give me a shout if you don't manage to get the pictures uploaded. It took me a while to learn, but once done for the first time it's quite simple. Good luck with the project and see you soon.

 

Victor

[Eggers]

This is the car as of yesterday morning:

 

 

 

Edited by Eggers, 03 June 2022 - 10:34 AM.

[Eggers]

Now that I have ?maybe? figured out how to get photos to work, have a few more.

 

This warning sign came with the car. Not sure if that's an original feature? Either way, it's retro, and I like it.

 

The rear light is smashed in. One for the shopping list!

 

Mmm, gray for days ....

 

It was filthy, and every rubber seal is barely doing it's job.

 

[Eggers]

First up, I hit it with a jet wash. I think I removed about half a forest from it. In some places, I swear there was more flora than car. I didn't want to go too overboard, because at one point I noticed water dripping down onto the inside Despite going over most panels TWICE, the dirt is deep. I didn't have any cleaning product, so I apologise for the dirt that is still visible, engrained into the panel.

 

This first wash revealed the first of the rust.

There is a lot of it on the passenger door. This is the base, and this is up near the (missing) wingmirror.

There's also a few spots around the back

 

Thankfully, no holes though!

[Eggers]

Onto the engine bay. It's pretty good, all things considered!

Both the scuttle and the fron panel stil have their VIN numbers. The front panel even has stickers! I have no reason to believe any panels have ever been replaced.

There's a little bit of rust on the front panel, but I think it should be easy enough to cut out and make a replacement section.

[Eggers]

Having got to grips with the outside, I turned my attention to the inside.

First up, I took out all the seats and carpets.

 

The back half is amazing! Nothing wrong here.

 

[Eggers]

I did notice two holes in the floor though. No idea what they're for. Drainage or something? It can be seen in the centre of this photo, and there is an identical one on the other side.

Edited by Eggers, 03 June 2022 - 11:17 AM.

[Ben_O]

Well this looks very good indeed.

 

Should make for a very nice project with hopefully just those minor repairs to do.

 

Good luck with it

 

Ben

[Eggers]

Inside the door bins is pretty good.

 

[Eggers]

The driver's floor/ toeboard has seen a few repairs, and there's still rust. I think I'll be cutting a section of this out and doing a better job.

 

 

The passenger side hasn't been repaired, but clearly has some rust present as well, so a similar job on that side I think.

 

[Eggers]

I had a quick look under the door seals and edge strips, and amazingly, found very little rust there. There is a patch on the drivers side with 3 layers of metal though

And the passenger side:

I'll cut these sections out and put in good repairs.

[Eggers]

3 of the 4 wheel arches are still riveted on. I took off the one that wasn't to have a peek:

Aside from some idiot drilling holes everywhere, I'm very happy with this.

[Eggers]

My biggest concern right now is the paint job. It looks great. The previous owner told me he had it resprayed a couple of years back. But there's a few places where this is happening.

It looks like they painted over old paint, and the new layer is peeling back to reveal what's underneath. I'm really hoping that there's not a load of rust underneath all those layers of paint.