My 1991 Mini Special
Discussion
roadie said:
Wonderful little car and great to see that it is going to be used properly! Do you find it comfortable for long journeys?
I will let you know when I do one. I usually only go 20-25km at a time. I bought it and drove it back 65km away but that was just once.It does have the "Smooth-a-ride" suspension from Moulton and a set of hi-los, so it's about as comfy as a Mini can get; i.e. not very.
Edited by Sebastian Tombs on Sunday 19th May 10:14
I bought these stainless steel doorframe trims a while ago. I've always disliked the mismatch between the stainless rear side window and the plain painted door frames on most Minis. It's much better when both are shiny.
Mk1/2 Coopers had stainless trims, but they have different shaped doors.
They are repros of the trims fitted to the Mk3 Wolsey Hornet & Riley Elf, which fit any Mk3 - Mk7 Mini.
They come with a bunch of rivets. You are supposed to drill your door and somehow slide/pop the trim onto rivets.
Nuts to that. We have Tiger Seal these days. Not going to rattle, rust or pop off.
Mk1/2 Coopers had stainless trims, but they have different shaped doors.
They are repros of the trims fitted to the Mk3 Wolsey Hornet & Riley Elf, which fit any Mk3 - Mk7 Mini.
They come with a bunch of rivets. You are supposed to drill your door and somehow slide/pop the trim onto rivets.
Nuts to that. We have Tiger Seal these days. Not going to rattle, rust or pop off.
Sebastian Tombs said:
fttm said:
Nicely done OP , got me searching the classifieds now .Such a simple car to work on too
Apart from the lack of space to do *anything*, it is fairly straightforward, yes.Fitting an LCB was pain in the arse, but at least once it was on, it didn't bloody blow anymore.
Nice looking motor
One little mystery I had to solve with the Mini was that there was the auxiliary panel with a switch for the rear foglight, but there was no light. Looking under the bumper at the back I saw the wires just poking out, and the screws coving the mounting plate holes (and slathered in stonechip and paint) so there once had been one and it was removed. I wondered when.
This photo was posted on Facebook in 2015, by its then-owner. Notice the lack of a rear foglight.
So it was at least 9 years and 3 owners ago.
Anyway, I have a rule. If it is on the car it has to work. Thus, if there is a factory switch then there must be a functioning foglight.
I bought a Tex stainless steel one, which is far nicer looking than the Rover plastic tat, and fitted it using one of the existing holes in the rear bumper flange (after buying some more bolts to lower it below the bumper line). It didn't work. So I found the inline fuse and popped in a new one. Hey presto a working rear fog light!
I bet 10 years ago the fuse blew and the owner just removed the light to pass the CT rather than replace the fuse. Or it got lost during its 2007 restoration, given the paint over the old bracket bolts, and it's never been there since.
When sorting out the stereo I noticed that the fuel tank breather pipe in the boot had basically disintegrated, so I replaced that with a new one, and the passenger side demister hose had degraded and split in several places, and was basically only demisting the passenger's shins, so I replaced that with a new one (which came in MG Rover packaging). I also gave it an oil and filter change, and a new air filter.
This photo was posted on Facebook in 2015, by its then-owner. Notice the lack of a rear foglight.
So it was at least 9 years and 3 owners ago.
Anyway, I have a rule. If it is on the car it has to work. Thus, if there is a factory switch then there must be a functioning foglight.
I bought a Tex stainless steel one, which is far nicer looking than the Rover plastic tat, and fitted it using one of the existing holes in the rear bumper flange (after buying some more bolts to lower it below the bumper line). It didn't work. So I found the inline fuse and popped in a new one. Hey presto a working rear fog light!
I bet 10 years ago the fuse blew and the owner just removed the light to pass the CT rather than replace the fuse. Or it got lost during its 2007 restoration, given the paint over the old bracket bolts, and it's never been there since.
When sorting out the stereo I noticed that the fuel tank breather pipe in the boot had basically disintegrated, so I replaced that with a new one, and the passenger side demister hose had degraded and split in several places, and was basically only demisting the passenger's shins, so I replaced that with a new one (which came in MG Rover packaging). I also gave it an oil and filter change, and a new air filter.
Some time ago, when I ordered the carpet set, and the leather for the dashboard I also ordered a boot lining set from an excellent company called Optimise Automotive. I had timed it so that I would be in London with my Citroën C5 and I could drive it home. Unfortunately the time I'd chosen was also the time when Optimise were moving their operations somewhere new and thus there was a delay, I went back to France and I had them send it to my wife's work in Staffordshire. She then brought it all back on work trips a few bits at a time, until eventually I had the complete set. So I fitted it. It not only gives you a decent looking boot, it makes it much more usable because all the things like jacks, warning triangles, foot pumps and spare bulbs can all be hidden away, and nothing you put in the boot is going to bash into the rear lights, or the fuel tank sender.
This weekend we took part in a 120km rally, and I can finally answer this question:
The rally was part of the Sport et Collection '500 Ferraris against Cancer' event which they do every year at the Circuit de Val de Vienne. This was the 30th year, and it was just fantastic. Being rally entrants we got paddock passes for the whole weekend, and got to park in the middle of the circuit.
After that we parked it up in the middle of the racetrack along with the cars of the other rally entrants, where many people admired it. Spot the new driving lamps, which made a huge difference in the dark.
The last thing rally entrants got to do on the Sunday was to take a couple of laps round the circuit. Didn't need to be asked twice! I terrified my wife, and drove the living tits out if it, simply to keep up with some of the other cars. The Mini went round corners better than any of them though. I managed not to crash it, and it was absolutely awesome fun.
This weekend we took part in a 120km rally, and I can finally answer this question:
roadie said:
Do you find it comfortable for long journeys?
Not really. It bounces around like an excited kangaroo, although actually the old flat seats aren't bad and we didn't have any discomfort when we had finished the rally. The rally was part of the Sport et Collection '500 Ferraris against Cancer' event which they do every year at the Circuit de Val de Vienne. This was the 30th year, and it was just fantastic. Being rally entrants we got paddock passes for the whole weekend, and got to park in the middle of the circuit.
After that we parked it up in the middle of the racetrack along with the cars of the other rally entrants, where many people admired it. Spot the new driving lamps, which made a huge difference in the dark.
The last thing rally entrants got to do on the Sunday was to take a couple of laps round the circuit. Didn't need to be asked twice! I terrified my wife, and drove the living tits out if it, simply to keep up with some of the other cars. The Mini went round corners better than any of them though. I managed not to crash it, and it was absolutely awesome fun.
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