1985 mini

[oldspanner]

Hi all I'm new to retro rides but wow what a site.
I have always been into retro cars since I was a wee nipper,
but 4 months ago i got the retro bug.
Thats not to say I have never had retro cars
my late father and I just loved them, not so much our neighbors.
any who I did the proper thing and got my self a Renault Laguna to shift the wife and kids about but it lacks soul
so I bought a mini off flea bay as a rolling resto..

some pics of what made me buy it
i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/82f6_1.jpg
i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/6d47_1.jpg


some pics of what I found and a solution or 2

i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00050.jpg
i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00045.jpg
i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00052.jpg

as it is now

i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00058.jpg
i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00057.jpg
i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00062.jpg

engine shot then

i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00070.jpg

engine shot now

i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk210/oldspanner/DSC00084.jpg

it has metro 4 pots on and of course will get a few more bits over time
it is only a 998 but thats where the problems start,it has a clutch or gearbox problem.
when bought it was popping out of 2nd
so I fitted a metro turbo gearbox in the hope in time I could find a nice 1275 motor.
but for some odd reason I cant move down the gears on the move it just grinds them it will go up them nice like the clutch is not coming off 100% which as far as I can see it is
so I'm stuck at the mo do I waste more cash of this 998 or just get a newish 1275 .... just finding a cheap one is not easy

[dollywobbler]

That's gonna be quite sweet. 1275s are always going to be pricey as everyone wants one. Maybe the 1275 g/box isn't right for the 998cc engine? I'd find another gearbox and breath on the engine a bit. Minis are fun, whatever is under the bonnet.

[oldspanner]

thanks for the kind word's dollywobbler.
not been able to reply sooner or post more rusty mini pics due to pc being ill.

so here it is a bit of a update.
I have given up with the 1275 motor no joy finding a good one that my wife will left me buy ...
so I bought a 998 and went silly its now sporting big rim-flow valve flowed head and the camber pot has been worked on.
I had to skim 4mm off to get the cp back up
new sporty cam which I then had to offset the woodruff key to get the dam thing timed up right ( I'm too cheap to get funky vernier gear)
went all hi tech too and moved up to a hif carb

new motor


new motor getting some faffing and yes i am working on it in a wheel barrow.....




it might get a good clean and paint before it goes in )
I will try and get some head shots before I bolt it up.

rear sub frame seems to have been shot with a shotgun.
and is well past bodge.. err I mean fixing
was tempted into making a beam axle but the price of coil overs scared me off I might yet go for it if I can get some cheap coil overs.




floor has been cleaned of the nasty tar and to my horror the floor was ok the hand brake did just come off in my hand though so that got refitted I added some old box section to mount seats in
and in a vain hope to stiffen up the car





plan's so far got myself a nice set of old super slots (12") I did want 10" but what with getting a good set and the brake conversion and me being a cheap ass....
but plan to get them on with low profile's then sit the old girl low with skinny if any arch's.
and I think I have decided to go gloss black with white roof but this may yet change.

sorry if this bored ya

[miniallsort]

great work

[Padz]

Loving the colour coded wheels, makes me wish i'd kept hold of my pickup, keep it up.

[oldspanner]

the story Continues...

so after trying to clean up the mini where the subframe come from i found this....

and this


so i did this

the got blasted with good old tar


and had no choice but to stave the kids cancel hols and buy this


there was more holes


which ofc got filled i wont bore ya with pic's
and some random shots of stuff



old motor coming out

and new one going in


i also thought i would chop down old grill as i liked the Mk1 ones but I'm too cheap to buy one



and if your still awake after this
what ya think wheel wise ...


or

[Speedle]

cool beans! as for wheels option one with the blue centres! cracking looking mini i do love those little things!

[Earth Rocker]

Same thing happened to my mini, rear subframe shot, took it off and rear heel board came off as well. curse word.

[Torquesport]

I am liking this thread.

[slater]

Carbon pushrods in that motor?

[oldspanner]

;D ermm i wish thats 2 1/4 drive extensions .. when i was timming the cam pff dial gauges are for wimps

[dave21478]

Looks very nice.

Mind if I ask what size "width-wise" the revolutions are and what tyres you are running? Thats just the sort of thing Id like on mine.

[oldspanner]

To Dave21478 i believe its a 5inch rim but no markings on the wheel that i can see.
( might have been painted over at some point ).
The tyre is a 145.70 12
also i found
www.mini-mayfair.net/12.html
on the inter web there are some cool wheels there if ya can find them.
hope this helps ;D

[dave21478]

Thanks. I suspected it as a 5" but wasnt certain. Looks like that wheel and tyre combination could just about get away without using plastic arches, which is the look I want.
I would prefer to run a 6" rim for the deeper dish, but revolutions have a fairly gash offset, so a 6 would need fairly substantial arches.

[oldspanner]

I'm not liking these rain showers or the lack of sun

but on a lighter note i found a pair of these in a skip !!!!!!



10 min's later bye bye metro seats


i know they are a tad mucky.... but so's the car it will all clean up .......one day

bad door


i did the best i could with some new steal but i bent the door skin
but fear not i bought some filler and will keep my eye open for a newer door
the newer drivers door was mint apart from


some thin steal n tacks and



i suck at painting/sanding.com


anywho to cap off both doors fitted had to faff with hinges as the captive bolts snapped off ....
bit o filling and new seats ;D

[oldspanner]

Hiya all
bit boring i know but a small update.
i now have at last worked out a colour
it was going to be all black but imo i though a little to lifeless
then it was going to be duck egg gray but that was more down to me getting giddy about the bits painted in primer.
as much as i hate to steal other peoples ideas saw this on flea bay and thought thats the colour I'm after.


but sadly it still looks like this



on the good news both seats are fitted now and i think look rather cool


and the mini is about as rust free as it can be ;D

And for the ungodly sum of 120 quid i have bought
2k paint inc all thinner hardener etc etc and a huge tub of smooth 7 filler ( just for the door honest) which I'm rather chuffed at.
now just need to get my paint mate off his and paint it

lastly a small question ( not sure if i should ask here )
I'm after a matching set of clip on wing mirrors but alas can
only find drivers side ones any of you fine chaps know of anything ?

[jizzy gillespie]

bloody good work there, and the white and black scheme always works well.

ps, stick with the revo,s they rawk!

[oldspanner]

a major step forward has happened this weekend ;D
no not the wife leaving .. but the mini has been treated to a fresh paint job ;D
but due to the lack of a spray booth i bought the wife a nice party tent for the coming holidays....just needed to have a quick borrow of it to test it ofcouse....
but one last piece of rust to sort out before the real prep work





tent going up a nice 10 by 20

the stripping of bits and yes i now need new window seals dam my club fisted hands

cant believe how many dents this thing has...

no its not been snowing... and yay last bye bye blue

primer coat

the wind started to make a mockery of the tent but hey black roof ;D

the first coat of old English white

and a few hours later




To sum up it went rather well to say it was windy raining and we were all hung over its got a nice shine and only a small run or two but as we have 5 coast of white and 4 of black on her it will all buff out and a big thanks to my mate bob for his skills at back yard painting .....think i might need to paint the wheels mind

P.s sorry about all the pic's

[minipete]

Looks good mate,i`m thinking black for the wheel centres!

[nathan76]

nice project pal
it,ll all be worth it when she,s finished, off white and black is just right imho