The Alternative Italian Job - A Classic Mini Build
Discussion
Hello all,
It's time to start another build thread, I already have one thread on my BMW 325TI - "Project Mpact" which some of you may have seen, this involved taking the S54 Engine and running gear from a E46 M3 and putting it into a E46 BMW Compact, sounds simple right?..... But being rather particular how I approach things it turned out to be, well..... not so simple.
So, How to start this Thread.....I'll try not bore you all with my Mini history too much so I'll keep that short.
My first car at the age of 17 was a 998cc Mini. The car needed a bit of TLC, so in the garden with the guidance of my dad we tidied the Mini up, repaired and replaced panels to make it solid, presentable and useable. Six months later I was in a head-on collision, the Mini was written off to the point the foot peddles touched the seat and the drivers door was bent into a 'V' (the other driver lost their Licence).
No more Mini's for me..... and that's where the BMW's came into play.
Well, that didn't last long. 3-4 years later (2008) the Mini bug bites again and the search was on, and what do I find..... A Classic mini, With a Turbo, Straight cut gearbox and list of shiney bits for sale on PistonHeads, 12 years later I'm writing about the same car on the same Website I saw it advertised.
A lot happens in 12 years, so I cant possibly go into too much detail. But I do have quite a few photo's of how the Mini has evolved over the years, as have my skills and OCD for details. It's also evolved from the the parents garden, to the driveway, to the their garage and now where it sits in my own workshop/business,
I'm going to do a bit of a rewind to where it started, how it got to be in the above "condition" and why this thread is called "The Alternative Italian Job", its not an Italian Job Mini nor is it going to be an Italian Job replica.... far from it in fact.
So, back in 2008 my Dad and I take his Volvo 360, borrow a car trailer and go to view/collect the Mini, while viewing the Mini we notice it was a bit crusty in places as with most Minis, we done the deal and bring the Mini home to the garden.
As you can see the interior was ummm, different. It had half a dashboard, there was a valve to adjust the turbo boost pressure hanging out the headunit hole and a map light.... neither of these worked. The heater was held in with wood screws, and the electrics worked when the bulldog clips holding the twisted wires were wiggled.
If you read the above advertisement, you would have noticed that New Floor Pans were "fitted", which they were, badly with the odd tack weld and what looked like bathroom silicone probably because they couldn't weld to the sills,
While my friends would be out drinking and clubbing, I was always that one person who would rather be in the garden laying under a grotty Mini, with a halogen light, angle grinder and welder in the rain or snow. Every evening, weekend and even the majority of my annual holiday was used on the Mini.
With the sills replaced, sprayed and all tidied up,
I made a new dashboard using MDF, fiberglass, filler and sprayed with an aerosol. Also fitted a steering wheel of my Dads, he'd kept it from his Mini Marcos that he owned when he was younger (when ever that was).
Onto the Engine,
It never really ran as well as I'd liked, or started when I was supposed to. It went to Avonbar to be tuned or at least set up better, and I could actually drive it after, which was nice. Shortly after I found out what torque steer felt like.... not the best with a tiny steering wheel.
I'd made a stainless exhaust, which exited out the side, just in front of the drivers side rear wheel. After a "spirited" drive it needed fuel, but I soon learned not to switch the car off after a thrashing, the turbo was directly under the carb and this caused horrendous heatsoak... I remember trying to start the Mini after filling it up (probably £25 for a full tank), and it just turning over, and over....with the entire forecourt watching eventually it started after a huge backfire and a 3 foot flame hanging out the side of the car, which took a few seconds to go out. Luckily the exhaust exited the opposite side to the petrol pump.
After that, I used to put fuel in it first thing before the car got too warm.
The Ignition was changed to Megajolt, which came as a kit.. A friend, Steve (also a Turbo Mini nut) soldered it all together, I added a trigger wheel, made a stainless bracket to hold the sensor and used Ford EDIS module (if I remember correctly). Steve plugged his laptop into it and put a base map on, and to be fair it ran the best it ever did.
An oil cooler was fitted, a friend was a mobile hydraulic maintenance chap who made and fitted the lines for me... that was the last time I saw him as he died shortly after from leukaemia.
I was given a stock 200sx intercooler, which I ended up chopping the end tanks off and remade from Aluminium, also bought a cheap intercooler bend kit from Ebay which welded like crap, No idea what kind Aluminium that was. lesson learned.
I also made a plenum so I could use a intercooler, as Metro turbo's never had one.
After being in quite a bad collision in my first Mini, I was intent on having a full roll cage.
When I was 15/16 I started my apprenticeship at a Motorsport Roll Cage Company, which went bust one week after said collision (now under new owners). So I was confident that I could fit one.
A full weld-in cage was purchased (cant remember the make), and where I was currently working (an architectural fabrication company) they let me use the workshop and equipment one weekend.
Unfortunately the cage didn't fit well and I was never happy with it.
Ignore the 1275 GT, I was meant to peel the 'G' off and just leave the 'T' for Turbo, you no.
Back in the garden putting gussets etc in the cage and doing aerosol things,
And then another dashboard was made from scratch, again. This time I converted it to a center speedo and kept it minimal. I made a wooden buck, stretched some fabric over it and fibre glassed it all,
After some filler and lots of sanding,
The car was used quite a lot for another year or so, playing with how much boost it could hold was resulting in Steve replacing the head gasket on what felt like most weekends, and a few little niggles were starting to appear.
It was at a point where I was fixing it more than driving it. My daily car had switched to the BMW Compact or "Project Mpact" as what it's now become in the last couple of years.
I had also bought a VW MK1 Caddy unfinished project, which turned out to be quite a big project in the end as the majority of it was bodged. I ended up respraying it it the garage, made the one-off wheels etc,
The Mini sat on the driveway for quite a while, it was really starting to look neglected. Although I'd put a lot of work into the car, I'd also leaned a lot from it too. Driving a stripped out Mini, with the electric fuel pump groaning, the straight cut gearbox was unbearable after 40mins driving and I was never sure if it was going to start, which didn't give much confidence to use it. It had so many patches welded over the years prior to me owning it that it had looked like a patchwork quilt. So it was time.......
It was pulled into the garage,
and cut up,
To be continued..........
It's time to start another build thread, I already have one thread on my BMW 325TI - "Project Mpact" which some of you may have seen, this involved taking the S54 Engine and running gear from a E46 M3 and putting it into a E46 BMW Compact, sounds simple right?..... But being rather particular how I approach things it turned out to be, well..... not so simple.
So, How to start this Thread.....I'll try not bore you all with my Mini history too much so I'll keep that short.
My first car at the age of 17 was a 998cc Mini. The car needed a bit of TLC, so in the garden with the guidance of my dad we tidied the Mini up, repaired and replaced panels to make it solid, presentable and useable. Six months later I was in a head-on collision, the Mini was written off to the point the foot peddles touched the seat and the drivers door was bent into a 'V' (the other driver lost their Licence).
No more Mini's for me..... and that's where the BMW's came into play.
Well, that didn't last long. 3-4 years later (2008) the Mini bug bites again and the search was on, and what do I find..... A Classic mini, With a Turbo, Straight cut gearbox and list of shiney bits for sale on PistonHeads, 12 years later I'm writing about the same car on the same Website I saw it advertised.
A lot happens in 12 years, so I cant possibly go into too much detail. But I do have quite a few photo's of how the Mini has evolved over the years, as have my skills and OCD for details. It's also evolved from the the parents garden, to the driveway, to the their garage and now where it sits in my own workshop/business,
I'm going to do a bit of a rewind to where it started, how it got to be in the above "condition" and why this thread is called "The Alternative Italian Job", its not an Italian Job Mini nor is it going to be an Italian Job replica.... far from it in fact.
So, back in 2008 my Dad and I take his Volvo 360, borrow a car trailer and go to view/collect the Mini, while viewing the Mini we notice it was a bit crusty in places as with most Minis, we done the deal and bring the Mini home to the garden.
As you can see the interior was ummm, different. It had half a dashboard, there was a valve to adjust the turbo boost pressure hanging out the headunit hole and a map light.... neither of these worked. The heater was held in with wood screws, and the electrics worked when the bulldog clips holding the twisted wires were wiggled.
If you read the above advertisement, you would have noticed that New Floor Pans were "fitted", which they were, badly with the odd tack weld and what looked like bathroom silicone probably because they couldn't weld to the sills,
While my friends would be out drinking and clubbing, I was always that one person who would rather be in the garden laying under a grotty Mini, with a halogen light, angle grinder and welder in the rain or snow. Every evening, weekend and even the majority of my annual holiday was used on the Mini.
With the sills replaced, sprayed and all tidied up,
I made a new dashboard using MDF, fiberglass, filler and sprayed with an aerosol. Also fitted a steering wheel of my Dads, he'd kept it from his Mini Marcos that he owned when he was younger (when ever that was).
Onto the Engine,
It never really ran as well as I'd liked, or started when I was supposed to. It went to Avonbar to be tuned or at least set up better, and I could actually drive it after, which was nice. Shortly after I found out what torque steer felt like.... not the best with a tiny steering wheel.
I'd made a stainless exhaust, which exited out the side, just in front of the drivers side rear wheel. After a "spirited" drive it needed fuel, but I soon learned not to switch the car off after a thrashing, the turbo was directly under the carb and this caused horrendous heatsoak... I remember trying to start the Mini after filling it up (probably £25 for a full tank), and it just turning over, and over....with the entire forecourt watching eventually it started after a huge backfire and a 3 foot flame hanging out the side of the car, which took a few seconds to go out. Luckily the exhaust exited the opposite side to the petrol pump.
After that, I used to put fuel in it first thing before the car got too warm.
The Ignition was changed to Megajolt, which came as a kit.. A friend, Steve (also a Turbo Mini nut) soldered it all together, I added a trigger wheel, made a stainless bracket to hold the sensor and used Ford EDIS module (if I remember correctly). Steve plugged his laptop into it and put a base map on, and to be fair it ran the best it ever did.
An oil cooler was fitted, a friend was a mobile hydraulic maintenance chap who made and fitted the lines for me... that was the last time I saw him as he died shortly after from leukaemia.
I was given a stock 200sx intercooler, which I ended up chopping the end tanks off and remade from Aluminium, also bought a cheap intercooler bend kit from Ebay which welded like crap, No idea what kind Aluminium that was. lesson learned.
I also made a plenum so I could use a intercooler, as Metro turbo's never had one.
After being in quite a bad collision in my first Mini, I was intent on having a full roll cage.
When I was 15/16 I started my apprenticeship at a Motorsport Roll Cage Company, which went bust one week after said collision (now under new owners). So I was confident that I could fit one.
A full weld-in cage was purchased (cant remember the make), and where I was currently working (an architectural fabrication company) they let me use the workshop and equipment one weekend.
Unfortunately the cage didn't fit well and I was never happy with it.
Ignore the 1275 GT, I was meant to peel the 'G' off and just leave the 'T' for Turbo, you no.
Back in the garden putting gussets etc in the cage and doing aerosol things,
And then another dashboard was made from scratch, again. This time I converted it to a center speedo and kept it minimal. I made a wooden buck, stretched some fabric over it and fibre glassed it all,
After some filler and lots of sanding,
The car was used quite a lot for another year or so, playing with how much boost it could hold was resulting in Steve replacing the head gasket on what felt like most weekends, and a few little niggles were starting to appear.
It was at a point where I was fixing it more than driving it. My daily car had switched to the BMW Compact or "Project Mpact" as what it's now become in the last couple of years.
I had also bought a VW MK1 Caddy unfinished project, which turned out to be quite a big project in the end as the majority of it was bodged. I ended up respraying it it the garage, made the one-off wheels etc,
The Mini sat on the driveway for quite a while, it was really starting to look neglected. Although I'd put a lot of work into the car, I'd also leaned a lot from it too. Driving a stripped out Mini, with the electric fuel pump groaning, the straight cut gearbox was unbearable after 40mins driving and I was never sure if it was going to start, which didn't give much confidence to use it. It had so many patches welded over the years prior to me owning it that it had looked like a patchwork quilt. So it was time.......
It was pulled into the garage,
and cut up,
To be continued..........
With the shell now chopped up, the front end (because it had the engine in it) and roof skin were the only bits kept.
At the same time as I'd stripped my Mini, a friend (Danny) had just stripped his Mini. I bought his shell as a donor vehicle as it seemed relatively original and straight, and from this I had datum to set new panels etc.
So with the shell already stripped I cut the inner wings off, scuttle panel and the outer sills. It was then taken to the blasted, I asked for the centres of the larger panels not to be blasted and to just concentrate on the edges and near the seams,
And this is why I'd always say "get a project blasted before any work goes ahead", there were a few surprises!
So, if you're thinking of buying a Classic Mini these are some of the main areas to look out for
I then braced the inside of the Mini with 20x20 box section, creating a frame inside the car and tack welding it into place.
After this I made a rotisserie, with some 50x50 box section and a scaffold pole. This meant cutting a hole in the back seat, but in the grand scale of things this was minor. Some mounts were made that bolted to the car, which the scaffold pole then passed through.
After a little while a shopping list was written, and then a trip to DSN Classics to collect the new replacement panels,
The majority of the panels are Heritage items, the panels appear to be made from a better quality and slightly thicker material (but doesn't mean they will fit any better) and the other panels are a good quality pattern item.
The next update I'll be chopping this shell up .
At the same time as I'd stripped my Mini, a friend (Danny) had just stripped his Mini. I bought his shell as a donor vehicle as it seemed relatively original and straight, and from this I had datum to set new panels etc.
So with the shell already stripped I cut the inner wings off, scuttle panel and the outer sills. It was then taken to the blasted, I asked for the centres of the larger panels not to be blasted and to just concentrate on the edges and near the seams,
And this is why I'd always say "get a project blasted before any work goes ahead", there were a few surprises!
So, if you're thinking of buying a Classic Mini these are some of the main areas to look out for
I then braced the inside of the Mini with 20x20 box section, creating a frame inside the car and tack welding it into place.
After this I made a rotisserie, with some 50x50 box section and a scaffold pole. This meant cutting a hole in the back seat, but in the grand scale of things this was minor. Some mounts were made that bolted to the car, which the scaffold pole then passed through.
After a little while a shopping list was written, and then a trip to DSN Classics to collect the new replacement panels,
The majority of the panels are Heritage items, the panels appear to be made from a better quality and slightly thicker material (but doesn't mean they will fit any better) and the other panels are a good quality pattern item.
The next update I'll be chopping this shell up .
Jonmx said:
Awesome!
I remember as a kid my dad buying a mini that had sat in someone's hedge for 10 years and we spent a good month getting it up and running (circa 1990). Everyone should have a Mini story in their lives.
Its surprising how many Mini's ended up being garden features, I remember a few local to me being in hedges etc. Probably all scrapped now! I remember as a kid my dad buying a mini that had sat in someone's hedge for 10 years and we spent a good month getting it up and running (circa 1990). Everyone should have a Mini story in their lives.
B'stard Child said:
I'm gonna bookmark this just for the journey...............
I actually hate minis after I spend 5 years welding up one for a nephew to see it sold when it was finished!!! The are awful things to work on and rust everywhere (I like Opels and I thought they were bad)
It's probably gonna trigger bad memories
Well, I bet that was a kick in the balls!. When the bodyshells are un-blasted they are quite grotty to work on, once they are blasted and you can actually see what your looking at they are relatively simple things. I actually hate minis after I spend 5 years welding up one for a nephew to see it sold when it was finished!!! The are awful things to work on and rust everywhere (I like Opels and I thought they were bad)
It's probably gonna trigger bad memories
Fast Bug said:
I sold Rovers in 98-00ish, so sold a fair few Mini's as the other sales guys hated them. Quite often they were delivered with rust starting to appear in the gutters, so the state of that doesn't surprise me
Brilliant , I remember being told that in the last few years of production the steel was sourced elsewhere and was more likely to suffer with corrosion. ayedubya said:
a definite bookmark worthy thread! dream since i was a kid to do up a classic mini. alas i am cack-handed with no mechanical skills whatsoever and living in an apartment with no garage also contributes to this remaining a pipe dream! i will live vicariously through you in this build. thanks for sharing! a true craftsman!
Thank you, I shall try my best to keep everything well documented! i will live vicariously through you in this build. thanks for sharing! a true craftsman!B'stard Child said:
Superhoop said:
Fast Bug said:
Superhoop said:
andy43 said:
Spotted the english wheel in one of the pics. This could be interesting!
From this, I can only assume you haven't read through the OP's M Compact thread.. ?? If you haven't, it's worth a read - Be prepared to lose a few hours of your life though.. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
So with the Mini blasted, braced and on the rotisserie it was time to start cutting it up and fitting some of the new panels.
The first items to replace were the Inner/Outer Sills and Heel Boards, these were either rusted away, showing signs of corrosion or had some past "iffy" repairs (not my work).
The "iffy" repairs (welding looks like bird poo)
After marking a centre line in the middle of the car, measurements were taken from this to the centres the bolt holes where the rear subframe mounts to the heel board panel. Once the Inner Sills and Heel Board had been very carefully marked out, all the spot welds were drilled and the rest was cut using a grinder,
The new panels were prepared, butted up (no overlapping) and tacked into place using a MIG welder as it's easier to align them like this.
All the MIG tacks were flatted off lightly with the grinder, and then the Inner Sill was fully TIG welded into place, as was the Heel board. Where the spot welds would have been originally, the panels were puddle welded.
The welds were hammer and dolly'd smooth to remove any heat distortion, then ground smooth.
The Inside of the Outer Sill panel was painted (with something, I can't remember what) to help future proof them, as was the outside of the Inner Sill (basically the cavity inbetween the two Sills). Any where that was going to be exposed to heat from welding a zinc weld through primer was used.
The new Outer Sill was then Puddle Welded into place and then the welds were ground smooth,
This process was also repeated on the other side.
A Jig/fixture was then made that went inside the boot area, it was bolted to the parcel shelf and picked up on the rear arch tubs where the shocks are mounted, the car was then moved onto some hefty tressels where the car was levelled.
I then carefully chopped the rear quarter off and removed the arch tub,
That's all for now!
The first items to replace were the Inner/Outer Sills and Heel Boards, these were either rusted away, showing signs of corrosion or had some past "iffy" repairs (not my work).
The "iffy" repairs (welding looks like bird poo)
After marking a centre line in the middle of the car, measurements were taken from this to the centres the bolt holes where the rear subframe mounts to the heel board panel. Once the Inner Sills and Heel Board had been very carefully marked out, all the spot welds were drilled and the rest was cut using a grinder,
The new panels were prepared, butted up (no overlapping) and tacked into place using a MIG welder as it's easier to align them like this.
All the MIG tacks were flatted off lightly with the grinder, and then the Inner Sill was fully TIG welded into place, as was the Heel board. Where the spot welds would have been originally, the panels were puddle welded.
The welds were hammer and dolly'd smooth to remove any heat distortion, then ground smooth.
The Inside of the Outer Sill panel was painted (with something, I can't remember what) to help future proof them, as was the outside of the Inner Sill (basically the cavity inbetween the two Sills). Any where that was going to be exposed to heat from welding a zinc weld through primer was used.
The new Outer Sill was then Puddle Welded into place and then the welds were ground smooth,
This process was also repeated on the other side.
A Jig/fixture was then made that went inside the boot area, it was bolted to the parcel shelf and picked up on the rear arch tubs where the shocks are mounted, the car was then moved onto some hefty tressels where the car was levelled.
I then carefully chopped the rear quarter off and removed the arch tub,
That's all for now!
ATM said:
amc_adam said:
I had also bought a VW MK1 Caddy unfinished project, which turned out to be quite a big project in the end as the majority of it was bodged. I ended up respraying it it the garage, made the one-off wheels etc,
Whoah there cowboyWe need a lot more details on this or another thread in its own right surely
So it's a mk1 Caddy 1.6 non-turbo Diesel (the slowest and noisiest turd of a engine) although I have an ABF to go in it eventually,
all the iffy bits to do with the bodywork I could find were cut out, repaired or replaced, it already had pattern front wings which in hindsight I should have binned and replaced (shut lines aren't the best), the bed was already pretty straight it just needed a few little repairs, straightened the original tailgate and reinforced it, I resprayed it in ford frozen white, Coilovers on the front, flipped and blocked rear beam, the wheels were 13" golf CL steel wheels stepped up to 15" with Image dishes/barrels and the rear beam was shortened to fit the deep dishes inside the arches. The interior has a full width bench seat (for two people) retrimmed by RetroRetrims in brown and cream to match the door cards, the gearstick was modified and the hand brake was relocated so it came out the dashboard ashtray. The roof rack and luggage rack are all polished stainless steel with Ash slats.... I'm sure there is more, but I cant think of anything else at the moment
R56Cooper said:
Awesome thread, loving the back story and your skills are immense. Defo here for the journey.
Always loved Minis, biggest regret is when I was 18 not buying a couple when they could be had for a few hundred quid.
I know the BINI doesn't really count but I love hooning around in my R56
Thank you, I remember when they could be picked up for next to nothing too... I have some old Mini magazines and often look at the adverts to see how little money they were worth then.Always loved Minis, biggest regret is when I was 18 not buying a couple when they could be had for a few hundred quid.
I know the BINI doesn't really count but I love hooning around in my R56
I have a BINI too, it's an R53 which I use as my daily runabout. Although it's not overly quick, it's one of the best and most fun cars I've owned!
Hashtaggggg said:
amc_adam said:
ATM said:
amc_adam said:
I had also bought a VW MK1 Caddy unfinished project, which turned out to be quite a big project in the end as the majority of it was bodged. I ended up respraying it it the garage, made the one-off wheels etc,
Whoah there cowboyWe need a lot more details on this or another thread in its own right surely
So it's a mk1 Caddy 1.6 non-turbo Diesel (the slowest and noisiest turd of a engine) although I have an ABF to go in it eventually,
all the iffy bits to do with the bodywork I could find were cut out, repaired or replaced, it already had pattern front wings which in hindsight I should have binned and replaced (shut lines aren't the best), the bed was already pretty straight it just needed a few little repairs, straightened the original tailgate and reinforced it, I resprayed it in ford frozen white, Coilovers on the front, flipped and blocked rear beam, the wheels were 13" golf CL steel wheels stepped up to 15" with Image dishes/barrels and the rear beam was shortened to fit the deep dishes inside the arches. The interior has a full width bench seat (for two people) retrimmed by RetroRetrims in brown and cream to match the door cards, the gearstick was modified and the hand brake was relocated so it came out the dashboard ashtray. The roof rack and luggage rack are all polished stainless steel with Ash slats.... I'm sure there is more, but I cant think of anything else at the moment
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