Getting on with it.
Discussion
Prompted by another thread, I've decided to pull my finger out.
My first 8 cars were Morris Minors, I eventually got into tuning and the inevitable David Vizard bible, I remember the continual references to the mini. I really couldn't understand the hype. They were small, would crush up in crashes, engine was in the wrong place and the wheels were too small.
My then girlfriend wanted a mini as her first car... NOOOOOOO! Don't do it, the engine is in the wrong place, they fold up, they are rubbish and horrid little things, I said. She defied me and got a City E, 998 with 10" wheels and a 3.2 final drive. I hated it, it was like being in a lumpy shoebox....
One day my whatever-it-was broke down and I had to borrow the mini to go to work. I actually didn't want to drive it. The road to work is a beauty and the mini changed me completely. I drove like a total spazz and the mini just did what I told the steering wheel.
Following my classic car history, I had to be a purist and get Mk1. Cue me buying a 1964 mini which had been "restored". I bunged S brakes on it and an MG Metro engine in and it was great. I made my own exhaust (as I was pretty poor at the time) and it sounded awesome.
It was MOT time and I decided that the front of one sill needed a patch. As I touched it with the grinder, a huge hole opened up. Newspaper and filler inside... It looked so good with it's respray, I just assumed it was done properly. Anyway, after finding a few more filler patches, I tragically had to write it off. The car got broken for bits and the rest of it went in the back of the shed.
That's where the blue one came in. One day, I think it was about 2003, I was browsing pistonheads and there it was. My "blue mini". £1500 and it had been done properly. I went to Wales, picked it up and drove it home. Nice people, nice garage full of minis, including a tasty works one. Matey had bought it to rally and decided he liked rallying more than minis. Hence I got it cheap.
I stuck my mates Compomotive wheels on it and here it is, as was.
It got the old MG metro engine which gradually grew tired and I bought a 1340 with a 286 cam. It was a bit strangled by the HIF 44 carb, but it was pretty impressive. It had other engines and in the meantime, I put the '64 dry suspension on it, along with adjustable everything and a rear anti-roll bar.
It was ace.
The LCB manifold came to bits and I just lost interest. I took the engine out and just left it there. I thought "I'll do a so and so conversion" and the mini just sat there whilst I romanticised about what I would do to it. It was looking to be a 1380 with a BMW head.
That was until I was perusing ebay and saw a 1430 Baldwin engine which had done 3 races. It was a proper beast and would have cost an utter fortune to build. I thought "This could be a standard 1300GT engine" but a combination of gut feeling and stupidity led me to stump up the £500. I thought that I could probably flog bits of the gearbox if the worst comes to worst. I went and picked it up.
Arriving at the shed in the back of the jeep, along with S brakes and shafts.
I took it to bits and was very pleased to note that everything inside was like new, including a Salisbury LSD. Nice
So, today I thought bugger it, I'm going to actually get on with it and first thing was to uncover it from the tarp (it got moved outside at the beginning of the summer) and whack it back in the shed.
The tax disc shows 0107 and it was off the road before then. A long time.
So, first thing was first to clean the shed out and whack the car in.
Done.
So. I imagine there are many of us in my predicament, who spend too much time on the internet dreaming when they have got something that could be truly epic down the shed.
Get a grip and get on with it
I figure starting a thread might actually shame me into making some progress.
My first 8 cars were Morris Minors, I eventually got into tuning and the inevitable David Vizard bible, I remember the continual references to the mini. I really couldn't understand the hype. They were small, would crush up in crashes, engine was in the wrong place and the wheels were too small.
My then girlfriend wanted a mini as her first car... NOOOOOOO! Don't do it, the engine is in the wrong place, they fold up, they are rubbish and horrid little things, I said. She defied me and got a City E, 998 with 10" wheels and a 3.2 final drive. I hated it, it was like being in a lumpy shoebox....
One day my whatever-it-was broke down and I had to borrow the mini to go to work. I actually didn't want to drive it. The road to work is a beauty and the mini changed me completely. I drove like a total spazz and the mini just did what I told the steering wheel.
Following my classic car history, I had to be a purist and get Mk1. Cue me buying a 1964 mini which had been "restored". I bunged S brakes on it and an MG Metro engine in and it was great. I made my own exhaust (as I was pretty poor at the time) and it sounded awesome.
It was MOT time and I decided that the front of one sill needed a patch. As I touched it with the grinder, a huge hole opened up. Newspaper and filler inside... It looked so good with it's respray, I just assumed it was done properly. Anyway, after finding a few more filler patches, I tragically had to write it off. The car got broken for bits and the rest of it went in the back of the shed.
That's where the blue one came in. One day, I think it was about 2003, I was browsing pistonheads and there it was. My "blue mini". £1500 and it had been done properly. I went to Wales, picked it up and drove it home. Nice people, nice garage full of minis, including a tasty works one. Matey had bought it to rally and decided he liked rallying more than minis. Hence I got it cheap.
I stuck my mates Compomotive wheels on it and here it is, as was.
It got the old MG metro engine which gradually grew tired and I bought a 1340 with a 286 cam. It was a bit strangled by the HIF 44 carb, but it was pretty impressive. It had other engines and in the meantime, I put the '64 dry suspension on it, along with adjustable everything and a rear anti-roll bar.
It was ace.
The LCB manifold came to bits and I just lost interest. I took the engine out and just left it there. I thought "I'll do a so and so conversion" and the mini just sat there whilst I romanticised about what I would do to it. It was looking to be a 1380 with a BMW head.
That was until I was perusing ebay and saw a 1430 Baldwin engine which had done 3 races. It was a proper beast and would have cost an utter fortune to build. I thought "This could be a standard 1300GT engine" but a combination of gut feeling and stupidity led me to stump up the £500. I thought that I could probably flog bits of the gearbox if the worst comes to worst. I went and picked it up.
Arriving at the shed in the back of the jeep, along with S brakes and shafts.
I took it to bits and was very pleased to note that everything inside was like new, including a Salisbury LSD. Nice
So, today I thought bugger it, I'm going to actually get on with it and first thing was to uncover it from the tarp (it got moved outside at the beginning of the summer) and whack it back in the shed.
The tax disc shows 0107 and it was off the road before then. A long time.
So, first thing was first to clean the shed out and whack the car in.
Done.
So. I imagine there are many of us in my predicament, who spend too much time on the internet dreaming when they have got something that could be truly epic down the shed.
Get a grip and get on with it
I figure starting a thread might actually shame me into making some progress.
Good post. Had the same idea a few months back, although mine needs a bit more work. It's currently at the Lincoln mini centre..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96616365@N00/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96616365@N00/
What a great read. Sorry to hear about the '64 Mk1, was it too far gone to save? You say the sills were shot; I noticed on one of the other mini related forums that a whole floor panel can be bought from M-Machine, this also happened to be for a Mk1 restoration.
I still haven't managed to get hold of a vizard bible, is it really worth the read, or do you have to be a mechanical engineer to to be able to put the modifications into practise?
I'll be keeping an eye on this topic; I've just rebuilt an MG 1293 engine for my mini. Best of luck with the 1400, it should be a hoot.
ETA; I've never seen quadruple shock absorbers before
Tom
I still haven't managed to get hold of a vizard bible, is it really worth the read, or do you have to be a mechanical engineer to to be able to put the modifications into practise?
I'll be keeping an eye on this topic; I've just rebuilt an MG 1293 engine for my mini. Best of luck with the 1400, it should be a hoot.
ETA; I've never seen quadruple shock absorbers before
Tom
Edited by Mini_Lund on Monday 4th January 17:09
Mini_Lund said:
What a great read. Sorry to hear about the '64 Mk1, was it too far gone to save? You say the sills were shot; I noticed on one of the other mini related forums that a whole floor panel can be bought from M-Machine, this also happened to be for a Mk1 restoration.
I still haven't managed to get hold of a vizard bible, is it really worth the read, or do you have to be a mechanical engineer to to be able to put the modifications into practise?
I'll be keeping an eye on this topic; I've just rebuilt an MG 1293 engine for my mini. Best of luck with the 1400, it should be a hoot.
ETA; I've never seen quadruple shock absorbers before
Tom
Vizard Bible is totally and utterly essential reading for anyone with a mini who enjoys it. The not-so-thick Vizard Mini book is worthwhile too. I still haven't managed to get hold of a vizard bible, is it really worth the read, or do you have to be a mechanical engineer to to be able to put the modifications into practise?
I'll be keeping an eye on this topic; I've just rebuilt an MG 1293 engine for my mini. Best of luck with the 1400, it should be a hoot.
ETA; I've never seen quadruple shock absorbers before
Tom
Edited by Mini_Lund on Monday 4th January 17:09
The 64 was very very very shagged indeed. It really wasn't saving, however someone bought it and I expect it's somewhere kicking around on a "reshell".
YCV103B it was. Bloody shame.
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