Classic Mini Restoration
Discussion
Hello you lot,
Thought i'd show you some photos of the Classic Mini my Dad and I are currently restoring.
To give you a bit of background, we bought the car complete in 2008 and used it for a year or so for the Mini 50 events. It looked like this:
Then at the start of 2010 we decided to restore it as the paintwork was a bit shabby and we wanted to make it a more classic 60s/70s replica. So we stripped it down and eventually got it to the body shop for some welding and a respray in July.
As with many restorations, due to rather a lot of tin worm, a bit of welding and a respray turned into numerous new panels and many hours of work (and £££!) including a whole new front end, door outers, sills and boot floor. Eventually we got the car back from the body shop the Tuesday before Xmas. Now the fun of bolting everything back on has begun. The paintwork is looking fantastic so the real challenge is to put it back together without damaging it. We've got a mountain of parts in the garage including all new interior and all the brightwork ready to go on.
I intend to try and update this as the car develops. Hopefully it will be ready for the summer so we can do a few shows and get some use out of it!
Here are some pics:
Hope you like, will update soon!
Mike.
Thought i'd show you some photos of the Classic Mini my Dad and I are currently restoring.
To give you a bit of background, we bought the car complete in 2008 and used it for a year or so for the Mini 50 events. It looked like this:
Then at the start of 2010 we decided to restore it as the paintwork was a bit shabby and we wanted to make it a more classic 60s/70s replica. So we stripped it down and eventually got it to the body shop for some welding and a respray in July.
As with many restorations, due to rather a lot of tin worm, a bit of welding and a respray turned into numerous new panels and many hours of work (and £££!) including a whole new front end, door outers, sills and boot floor. Eventually we got the car back from the body shop the Tuesday before Xmas. Now the fun of bolting everything back on has begun. The paintwork is looking fantastic so the real challenge is to put it back together without damaging it. We've got a mountain of parts in the garage including all new interior and all the brightwork ready to go on.
I intend to try and update this as the car develops. Hopefully it will be ready for the summer so we can do a few shows and get some use out of it!
Here are some pics:
Hope you like, will update soon!
Mike.
Hi guys,
Thanks for the comments. With regards to keeping it standard, its pretty far from standard as it is. The car was originally a Mini City 998 from 1986. It already has a 1275 engine which we intend to modify once everything else is done. It also has fully adjustable suspension (Hi-Los with adjustable shockers), Cooper S front brakes with minifins on the rear, and 10 inch minilites with group 2 arches.
Our intention is to turn it into a mk2 replica, it already has the mk2 rear lights fitted, so those combined with the more modern front grille and little 10 inch wheels should have the intended effect. We have loads more stuff ready to go on - all will be revealed as i update this thread!
Mike.
P.S. Thanks for the comment RE the number plate on the MINI, thats my mum's car. I'm also driving the MINI Convertible shown so my family is a bit Mini obsessed at the moment
Thanks for the comments. With regards to keeping it standard, its pretty far from standard as it is. The car was originally a Mini City 998 from 1986. It already has a 1275 engine which we intend to modify once everything else is done. It also has fully adjustable suspension (Hi-Los with adjustable shockers), Cooper S front brakes with minifins on the rear, and 10 inch minilites with group 2 arches.
Our intention is to turn it into a mk2 replica, it already has the mk2 rear lights fitted, so those combined with the more modern front grille and little 10 inch wheels should have the intended effect. We have loads more stuff ready to go on - all will be revealed as i update this thread!
Mike.
P.S. Thanks for the comment RE the number plate on the MINI, thats my mum's car. I'm also driving the MINI Convertible shown so my family is a bit Mini obsessed at the moment
Looking good Mike.
I've been doing mine for nearly 8 years and its still no where near being finished.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Stick at it.
I've been doing mine for nearly 8 years and its still no where near being finished.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Stick at it.
Haven't updated this in a while! Currently looking like this:
All the glass is now in, rear end totally built up, carpet is in, rear seats are in, headlining is finished - its really taking shape.
Main outstanding things are finishing the interior (dashboard wiring to convert to a centre clock is a nightmare!), fitting the grille, and a couple of other trim bits, and then finally starting her up. I'm aware of a few existing electrical gremlins from when the car ran before, so they will also need to be sorted before it can get an MOT. Also want to tidy up the engine bay a bit more as its got a bit dirty, shouldn't be a big job though.
Hope you like! More pics available on request
All the glass is now in, rear end totally built up, carpet is in, rear seats are in, headlining is finished - its really taking shape.
Main outstanding things are finishing the interior (dashboard wiring to convert to a centre clock is a nightmare!), fitting the grille, and a couple of other trim bits, and then finally starting her up. I'm aware of a few existing electrical gremlins from when the car ran before, so they will also need to be sorted before it can get an MOT. Also want to tidy up the engine bay a bit more as its got a bit dirty, shouldn't be a big job though.
Hope you like! More pics available on request
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