1991 Rover Mini Cooper Restoration - Picture Heavy

[hogfisch]

Hi all,

Although the car now resides in Canada with my brother, I thought the Readers' Cars forum is lacking in Britain's finest marque!

Although some of the picture chronology is missing (mostly images of the Mini before any restoration began - not too much to see, only a sad, rusty BRG Cooper), I hope you appreciate the finished product. The Mini has been in the family for a few years and was a join restoration by me and my father. It is pretty much the last retoration carried out in his body workshop in Oxford before he retired in July this year.

The restoration included:

Mechanical

1. Gearbox stripdown. Baulk rings / synchro rings replaced, shaft inspected for wear and new needle bearings installed
2. New Valeo clutch
3. New disks and pads (front) and shoes (rear)
4. New shock absorbers front and rear
5. New plugs, leads, starter motor, coil, distributor cap and rotor arm
6. New radiator
7. New thermostat
8. New driveshaft seals
9. New gear selector seal
10. Replacement of loom main inline fuses to spade fuses
11. New front wheel bearings (nearside and offside)
12. Recent brakepipe replacement
13. Reconditioned HIF44 carb

Bodywork

1. New front floorpan (front nearside and offside)
2. Full Heritage scuttlel pane and closing panels
3. New flitch panels (nearside and offside)
4. New front wings (nearside and offside)
5. New A panels (nearside and offside)
6. New front panel
7. New outer sills (nearside and offside)
8. New inner sill repair panel (nearside)
9. New doorstep panel (offside)
10. New bootfloor panel from wheel well to rear valance
11. New rear valance
12. New door skin (nearside and offside)
13. Repair to door frame bottom (old metal removed, new metal welded)
14. Recently replaced rear subframe
15. Brittax folding vinyl roof
16. New glass allround
17. New brightwork
18. 13"x6 Ultralights with Bridgestone Potenzas

Paintwork

1. 2k ICI high build primer
2. 2k ICI acrylic Porsche Guards Red

Interior

1. New Minispares carpet
2. New Minispares wooden dash
3. Mountney steering wheel
4. Half leather interior from 1992 Cooper

As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words

[Dr G]

Very nice

I take it the rear got lowered a little afterwards

[scotty_d]

Very nice well done on a nice build

[Hairspray]

That is stunning

I really can't express how much I want one.

[Hitler Hadrump]

That is lovely. Really nice work.

Edited by Hitler Hadrump on Wednesday 9th December 04:28

[danyeates]

Hi,

Great project. Looks fantastic. Get some hi-lo's or coilovers on the back though!

The interior just like my 1991 Cooper I restored after it was fire damaged. I put the wooden dash in, although I had the magnolia faces for the 3 large clocks and put in 3 Smiths dials for the middle.

[danyeates]

Oh, also, is this the RSP Cooper? Looks like it's on a carb, they were about 1991.

[Maty]

danyeates said:

Oh, also, is this the RSP Cooper? Looks like it's on a carb, they were about 1991.

My RSP Cooper (also H-reg) had twin SU's so I suspect it isn't.

Well done for restoring one, looks like a really good job. Incidentally why is the back so high, I only ask because mine was exactly the same?? Great cars to drive, I don't see the big deal with MX5's, but then again I've never driven one, the same applies with the Mini, unless you've driven one you just don't know!

I should never have sold mine!

[Altrezia]

Faaantastic! What a transformation.

[hogfisch]

Hi all,

Thanks for the positive comments so far. The car isn't an RSP but one of the first of the mainstream Cooper run.

Re. the back end so high up, the pictures had been taken immediately after the car had been on a ramp for a number of weeks. Although things settled down a bit after using it for a few days, according to my brother who now has the car, the back end still rides a little high. However, of the Coopers I have owned (I think this one is number 13!), the back ends always do seem, on appearance to ride too high. It is nothing a set of hi-low adjustables doesn't fix mind!

All the best

H

[pgilc1]

hogfisch said:

Hi all,

Thanks for the positive comments so far. The car isn't an RSP but one of the first of the mainstream Cooper run.

Re. the back end so high up, the pictures had been taken immediately after the car had been on a ramp for a number of weeks. Although things settled down a bit after using it for a few days, according to my brother who now has the car, the back end still rides a little high. However, of the Coopers I have owned (I think this one is number 13!), the back ends always do seem, on appearance to ride too high. It is nothing a set of hi-low adjustables doesn't fix mind!

All the best

H

You can cut the ends of the rear cones to drop the rear end. Theres a ratio for doing it - something like 1/3 of an inch = 1 inch drop. I'm sure its on google somewhere.


I restored a 92 one some years ago. The only thing i'd say is i spent as much on it as would have bought a good original late model cooper... but that wouldnt have been any fun?

Before picture (note the rot at all the usual places)



After pic...

[Mini1275]

Well done!

[Robatr0n]

That looks fantastic. I've got a very neglected Mini Thirty sat on a relatives drive way that I often dream about sorting out.

How much would a project like this cost?

[hogfisch]

pgilc1 said:

I restored a 92 one some years ago. The only thing i'd say is i spent as much on it as would have bought a good original late model cooper... but that wouldnt have been any fun?

Oh, isn't that the whole truth! We have priced the total job, not including the car itself around £2,500. That of course doesn't include either mine or my father's labour of which I dread to think how many hundreds of hours went into the restoration.

Edited by hogfisch on Wednesday 9th December 15:21

[rufusruffcutt]

Good work there guys, lovely looking mini

Robatr0n said:

How much would a project like this cost?

That really depends on how much of the work you want to do yourself.

A good respray will cost roughly £1000 to £1500 but depending on what state the body shell is in and how much prep is required.

The great thing about mini's though is the amount of spares available for them, you could in theory, build a brand new car with everything thats currently available. Not bad for a car thats been out of production for nearly 10 years now.

[danyeates]

When I was younger and living with my parents, we lived down the road from a really good Mini centre in Cranborne, Dorset. I had to stop myself going in there too often as I would spend a fortune. I used to love the way everything you could ever want was there on the shelf for you to view and touch. There wasn't much they didn't have, it wasn't too expensive either

[danyeates]

danyeates said:

When I was younger and living with my parents, we lived down the road from a really good Mini centre in Cranborne, Dorset. I had to stop myself going in there too often as I would spend a fortune. I used to love the way everything you could ever want was there on the shelf for you to view and touch. There wasn't much they didn't have, it wasn't too expensive either

This place http://www.bjautobits.co.uk/