12 replies to this topic

[Mini Stripey]

I have a very sad 1976 mini and looking at 10k to re shell or 5k to repair properly. Love to hear your thoughts or if anyone has been down the new shell route

[beardylondon]

According to some estimates £5k to repair is on the cheap side these days, someone will be along with advise soon, but why don’t you post some pics?

[sonscar]

Repair and restore seem to have become interchangeable nowadays.Repair by doing it yourself could involve little costs.Restoration is open ended.An idea of what sort of end result that is expected will be needed.I can see a new shell costing twenty thousand or more,Just my slightly jaded opinion,Steve..

[Ben_O]

Steve is right, by the time you buy a new shell, have all the wrinkles ironed out, prime it, seal it up and paint it with all the prep etc it cam get very expensive.

 

Bare in mind that a new shell won't have the same features as your 76 does so if that matters to you, you need to factor in the modifications required to make it right.

 

I would always recommend repair of the existing shell where possible to retain as much of the original car as possible but it all depends on how bad it is.

 

I'm restoring a 1976 shell currently for a customer and it has needed an awful lot of repairs and panel replacement but it's shaping up really well and will certainly work out cheaper for the customer than a new shell would have and it has all of the original features retained and restored so it is authentic.

 

Best to weigh up all the costs and then make a decision

 

Cheers

Ben 

[sonikk4]

£10k just for a shell, factor in at least £5k to prep, seal, prime and paint the whole car (thats likely to be more rather than less) replacement of all parts needed and you will be pushing close to £20k.

 

Too much i'm sure some will say but why go to the expense of a new shell and just fit knackered and worn out parts to a pristine bodyshell!!

 

So a couple of things. Do the work bodywork yourself. So the question is, are you willing to learn to weld, if so you can save a ton of cash plus have the satisfaction of doing the work yourself. Loads have done it on the forum, plenty of build threads. Welders are not that expensive to buy.

 

Become a TMF+ member and save 7.5% with anything you buy from Minispares. Every little bit counts.

[Cooperman]

Add in the fact that the new Heritage shels are, at best, a bit low in the quality stakes.

Once you have paid £10k fot it, you need to address the quality aspects, then get it painted for c.£2k plus.

From the newly painted new shell, full assembly, with many new parts will be necessary. For example, one might assume that you will want to fit a new rear sub-frame with reconditioned suspenson parts, new rubber cone springs, new brake parts, etc.

A new wiring loom would be desirable, as would all new front suspension rubber parts, new cone springs, etc.

How about front & rear screen rubbers. would you really re-fit the old ones together with the door surround rubber seals?

It would be difficult to know where to stop and the quoted figure of £20k if you don't do all the actual work yourself, might be a bit conservative really.

And in the end, what might it be worth? Maybe £10k if you are lucky and there are some nice cars out there for that sort of figure. In fact, it would be cheaper to sell your rusty car as a project for restoration and buy a nice car for C.£9000 than to spend upwards of £20k on a new shell and lots of new parts.

In fact, with so many competent resto specialists out there, it is hard to see how any new Heritage shells ever get sold.

[Fred&Rex]

Maybe fix your 1976 shell, Ben is fixing my 1976 shell and is doing an amazing job, would highly recommend him.

As for the cost yes it’s costly no matter what way you look at it although it’s not about the money for me, I’m not looking at selling mine so will stay in my family, mine is my first car so I wanted it done by an expert fabricator, mechanically I can handle that. Also a new heritage shell will not retain the 76 features.

 

Best of luck in your decision.

[stuart bowes]

when you say '£5k to repair properly' what is that based on, have you had an actual quote from a body shop who have looked at it in detail?

 

what are the actual problem areas that you know of, as beardy said post up some pictures - then you'll get advice which is more specific to your personal issues

 

generally speaking I would agree with Cooperman, if you're talking about spending that sort of money why not just long off the existing car and buy something for under £10k, that will at the very least give you a much better starting point perhaps only requiring one or two minor repairs instead

Edited by stuart bowes, 31 October 2022 - 02:05 AM.

[Mini Stripey]

Thanks everyone for the comments.. Exactly what I was hoping for.. Not sure how I can add photos

[beardylondon]

Use this site, then post the links designed for forums

https://imgbb.com/

[whistler]

The reports on new shells are not encouraging. It seems that apart from dubious panel fit it's necessary take it back to bare metal to ensure a good start for new paint. Looking at £3000+ for a decent paint job.

[Cooperman]

I know that if I couldn't do virtually everything myself, I could no longer afford to be involved with classic cars at all.

As an example, my Grandson (with a bit of help from Grandad) did his first restoration when he was 15. He is now 28. I bought him a 1986 Mayfair needing restoration and he stripped it to bare metal. It needed very little welding, I did all the repainting and he did most of the reassembly, with some new parts.

Then, when he was 17 he decided that a classic Mini was far from ideal as a first car, sold it for just under £4000 and bought a 1.25 Fiesta.

Move on just over 7 years and he found his old Mini, still owned by the guy who bought it. It was sadly neglected and he bought it back for £950. I had to drive 361 miles each way with my trailer to collect it. It needed a lot of body repairs.

I did all the bodywork and it needed:

One new front wing, new inner & outer sills both sides, new door steps both sides, new apex panels, partial front panel repairs, rear valence, boot floor repair, one door skin and a few odds and ends.

We removed the engine, which was in great condition, but I put new mains, big-ends, thrusts, a timing chain, a new oil pump, new water pump, gaskets and a new clutch. The head was already a 12G295 and the cam a 510. We fitted a pair of HS2 carbs. The ex. manifold was already a 'freeflow' one, so that was OK. We fitted a 10" wheel conversion with Exacton wheels (from ebay) and Yoko 008 tyres.

Whilst doing it we made it into a MK.1 lookalike which my Grandson calls a  'Cooper Tribute'. It has a Mk.1 bootlid and rear lights, sliding windows and a Mk.1 grille.

So, what did it all cost? Body panels came in at c.£400. Mk.1 replica parts were another £250. Paint was around £450 (Ford Radiant red and black roof). 10" brake conversion, with wheels,was about £250 and tyres were another £240. Engine parts were £215.

There were various sundries which totalled £500 inc. new tacho, centre console (although we had the basics already), front trim, screen rubbers, etc.

Thus the total cost was around £3250, plus or minus a few quid. The value now is probably £10,000 as it is totally rust-free, runs very well and looks like a Mk.1. It is 1060 cc, drives very smoothly and is quite quick in a -60's sort of way.

I hate to think what it would have cost if we had paid for all this to be done, but I would think around a further £8000+ for all that work. I know I spend over 50 hours just on the rusty body renovation, plus the hours to do the pre-paint prep and painting, then the modifications to make it like a Mk.1,the engine rebuild and check/inspection on the gearbox, a pair of HS2 carbs/manifold, new engine mounts, suspension bushes, all-new rear brakes, etc.

My point it that if you can't do it all, or at least most of it,yourself, it really is an expensive hobby. But then, that is why this site exists. It helps those who may lack the skill and/or knowledge to rebuild their Minis without spending a fortune. And when you have 'done it yourself' it is very satisfying. Never be afraid of asking questions.

[Jarvis_SPI]

I know that if I couldn't do virtually everything myself, I could no longer afford to be involved with classic cars at all.

As an example, my Grandson (with a bit of help from Grandad) did his first restoration when he was 15. He is now 28. I bought him a 1986 Mayfair needing restoration and he stripped it to bare metal. It needed very little welding, I did all the repainting and he did most of the reassembly, with some new parts.

Then, when he was 17 he decided that a classic Mini was far from ideal as a first car, sold it for just under £4000 and bought a 1.25 Fiesta.

Move on just over 7 years and he found his old Mini, still owned by the guy who bought it. It was sadly neglected and he bought it back for £950. I had to drive 361 miles each way with my trailer to collect it. It needed a lot of body repairs.

I did all the bodywork and it needed:

One new front wing, new inner & outer sills both sides, new door steps both sides, new apex panels, partial front panel repairs, rear valence, boot floor repair, one door skin and a few odds and ends.

We removed the engine, which was in great condition, but I put new mains, big-ends, thrusts, a timing chain, a new oil pump, new water pump, gaskets and a new clutch. The head was already a 12G295 and the cam a 510. We fitted a pair of HS2 carbs. The ex. manifold was already a 'freeflow' one, so that was OK. We fitted a 10" wheel conversion with Exacton wheels (from ebay) and Yoko 008 tyres.

Whilst doing it we made it into a MK.1 lookalike which my Grandson calls a  'Cooper Tribute'. It has a Mk.1 bootlid and rear lights, sliding windows and a Mk.1 grille.

So, what did it all cost? Body panels came in at c.£400. Mk.1 replica parts were another £250. Paint was around £450 (Ford Radiant red and black roof). 10" brake conversion, with wheels,was about £250 and tyres were another £240. Engine parts were £215.

There were various sundries which totalled £500 inc. new tacho, centre console (although we had the basics already), front trim, screen rubbers, etc.

Thus the total cost was around £3250, plus or minus a few quid. The value now is probably £10,000 as it is totally rust-free, runs very well and looks like a Mk.1. It is 1060 cc, drives very smoothly and is quite quick in a -60's sort of way.

I hate to think what it would have cost if we had paid for all this to be done, but I would think around a further £8000+ for all that work. I know I spend over 50 hours just on the rusty body renovation, plus the hours to do the pre-paint prep and painting, then the modifications to make it like a Mk.1,the engine rebuild and check/inspection on the gearbox, a pair of HS2 carbs/manifold, new engine mounts, suspension bushes, all-new rear brakes, etc.

My point it that if you can't do it all, or at least most of it,yourself, it really is an expensive hobby. But then, that is why this site exists. It helps those who may lack the skill and/or knowledge to rebuild their Minis without spending a fortune. And when you have 'done it yourself' it is very satisfying. Never be afraid of asking questions.

A post containing much wisdom.....