305 replies to this topic

[Chris C]

This is the ongoing story of my vehicle.


I bought the car last april as my first car. I had just gotten my liscense an I wanted to take on a project. After convincing my parents and finally finding a mini (not as easy to find in the U.S.) I picked up this little guy for $3000 US:








Then I began to strip the car down:






And recently, I ended up taking the shell out ot be sandblasted and primed. So as of yesterday it is looking like this:
















Also got a shipment in from minispares:







Plans for the future include me getting it on the road as this is my daily driver! I have been carless for far too long. I'll retain the stock engine since it runs until i get the rest of the car done, then probably go for a 1275 or maybe a FWD motorcycle engine... hehe. should be painted somewhat soon HOK tangelo orange. Lots and lots of pictures and updates on the way.

Edited by Chris C, 13 January 2008 - 06:08 AM.

[Simonpeters]

Looking good there!

Enjoy!

[Mephiston]

wow if you bought the shell and did no repairs before sand blasting - thats pretty impressive - not too much rust -- good luck with the project

[miniallsort]

looks brill mate

[MINIMON]

very good idea getting the shotblasting i think... it looks like a good project aswell good luck mate

[Chris C]

ok, I got a few more parts and started going at the body.


Yes the shell is in very good condition. It has its fair share of dents however, as almost every panel has at least a few dings. ah well, its better then rust!

One thing that i didnt get a picture of was all the rust that was along the back part of the boot, and it seems like some previous owner just tried to braze over all the rust holes. thus when I started cutting pieces out i kept finding things like this:

Its a good 1/4 inch thick right there.

So besides that I recieved my brakes thanks to minispares:



I am not sure if it will work better then these though...


That is it for now, waiting on some metal from a friend.

[blacktulip]

very impressed dude! thats a good way of going about things, you have stopped the rot dead then going from there, excellent idea!

[Chris C]

OK, its been a while. I have been working though...

Yesterday drove a couple hours to pick up the front end:


and my friend came over and we proceeded to remove the old front end that night:



Also started repairing the small rust holes in the doors:


By far the most work that I have done so far was on the boot, almost have it done now. Just need to grind some more of the welds, make the left closure plate and slap the valence on.


Also got my front hubs built up(new lines too):



the other hole i need to fix:



wheels/cage/few other thigns are ona boat that gets here tomorrow. should be at my door late next week assuming there is no problem with customs.

[mini_kel]

Looks like a great project, keep up the good work!

[Daveuk]

great work youve done there! think i need to sandblast and prime my car...... but got put off with the body work warping anyway looks good them front brakes look sweet what calipers are those tarox?

keep at her!

[Chris C]

The calipers are from minispares.

And actually the car wasn't so much "sandblasted" as it was "sodablasted". There is a place nearby that specializes in sandblasting except instead of sand they use baking soda, which doesn't heat up the panels and warp them. You can read up more on their website, there are places that do this sort of stuff all over.

http://anacapasodabl...ng.com/info.htm

[Tangoâ„¢]

wow,

looks a great project keep up the good work

and keep posting the pics!

cheers

Aaron

[Chris C]

AFTER 2 MONTHS OF WAITING:


my cage, wheels, tires, and a few other things arrived.


cage and poly bushings




deep dish superlights, A539 (original, isnt it)




started painting bits






i am also pretty much done with the back end, slapped the valence on:




and then just a thin layer of filler over the welds and it should look good as new:




i'll keep you all posted.

[Chris C]

oh and i am also having second thoughts about what color i want to paint it, at first i wanted to go for a really bright orange, but now i am leaning towards a darker red, something like a darker cherry with a white roof. I have been going through HOK color charts and the cherry they have in their pearls series looks really good. however, i cannot seem to find any pictures of said color applied to anything besides a paint chart...

[ludsonline]

That looks great mate, top work...