Mark 1 Austin Mini - newbie

[minimate]

Hello all!

New to posting.....but have been a closet forum reader for past 2 years!

The time has finally come to start the restoration of my Mk1 Austin Mini. It is an 1963 standard saloon and is an original Irish car registration GZE 896.

It has never been restored and has not been on the roads since 1993! Since then it has been in a shed soaking up all the moisture in the west of Ireland air!!

Even as kids, the handle bars of the bicycles good auld Santa Claus would bring us would start rusting by Paddy's Day....the weather seems to rot things quicker here?!

It has the usual rot in the usual places but is pretty good overall. I start her up every three month or so by jumping off my own car.

It's the usual story - I have a budget and won't be able to take on the bodywork myself due to lack of ability.

I attached a few pics. I would be grateful to hear your comments regarding what you think of her as a project.



Put new leads in last year. The wiper motor casing has a 66 stamped on it - so presume it was replaced at some time.



A couple of pictures of rot - don't know what is lurking under the caked on mud under the rear radius shroud.

[Billy]

Welcome to the forum.

What part of Galway are you from yourself? I'm from Galway myself but exiled in Co. Cork.

Billy

[dayoungfella]

Very jealous...would love a project like this!

Good luck with it

[minimate]

Hi Billy and fella,

Outside Headford....back at the lake. Live and work in Dublin so only see the Mini at weekends - absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say!

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Hi Minimate and welcome to the forum,

Best of luck with your project, I don't think it's too bad, it seems to be all there at least. Have you any time span on the restoration ?

[Billy]

You should tag along to one of the Western Region meetings (one held just last night).

I have a '60 Austin Seven in red WZA 676 but it's beyond my capabilities.

The 2 Minis I have on the road at the moment at PIM91 and PIM872, both 1967 Galway cars.

Billy

[PAUL D]

wellcome lovin the patina on your mini

[joebe1]

Very welcome to the forum minimate

Fantastic project, always nice to see the irish cars croppin up, I m in college in galway, often gone to headford for less. The forum is a good place to come accross parts for sale and a very active wanted section can sometimes get u out of bother. keep us posted on the progress

joe whyte
western rep
087 9061454

[DaveC]

Welcome along to the Forum.
Very nice Mini you have, it all seems to be there and in reasonably good shape

[minimate]

Thanks for the welcomes........it's a great aspect of the forum to have a group of enthusiasts who also happen to be very friendly! The "Mini Effect"!

- planning on six months for the project TMG - stripping and cataloging parts, engine removal and overhaul (trying to avoid a re-build), body/subframes and running gear going to have outsource and, finally, reassembly.

- the engine overhaul and body work can be done at the same time so feel this will save on time - what do you think - optimistic?

- have to mention that I am contemplating bringing the Mini to Navan in order to allow me do some work on week nights as I live in Dublin - promised a shed - but I will definitely head along to the next Western Region meeting Billy/Joe to say hello and get some advice

I would be grateful for any advice regarding my plan for the restoration - again, I know it's a cliche, but my budget is tight, but I want to do a first class job despite this.

[DOUGAL]

Welcome to the forum & western region . Good luck with your Mini .
Try and make it to our run on the 1st of november & meet the gang
Im shure we can slot u in with somebody for the day .
look forward to meeting u .
regards Joe.

[minimate]

The car is complete Dave, with the exception of the left handside moustache whisker, battery cover, indicator stalk green lens and original jack/tools - but there are some items that will need to be replaced such as head liner (painted with a white wash in 1980s) and brake lines amongst others - I plan to refurbish everything else to keep it original as well keep costs down.

I've added a few more pictures to demonstrate the the patina, as you put it Paul, or rot as I put it!





Won't be able to make the Western Run on November 1st Joe as out of the county on work - but will get along to meet up soon.

Any helpful comments or guidance would be appreciated - would like to avoid as many potholes as possible!

[joebe1]

Best advice i can give, budget for the restoration to take longer than u think cause they always do, and for it to cost more because it defo will do, but then its a mini.

[mustard]

welcome to the forum.

love the car, i love seeing original irish cars being put back on the road. its in great condition for its age and never welded. good luck and keep us updated....

[TONY R]

Welcome along that car is a gem well worth doing, but been there done that you need focus
resolve ass loads of time and even more money . So dont give up at the low points . Best of luck

[DaveC]

There is a lot to be said for Patina as well

[kerryminigringo]

Welcome along to the forum.I have just finished restoring a 61 van and it is better to do the body and engine in the one go but if you are starting on a regular basis then it should not need a rebuild,replace water pump,seals,maybe the clutch and a couple of the easy to get to gaskets,clean it all down and paint it.From the pictures you have put up the body does not look too bad given the age of it but be expected to find more when you go poking about.I found that if you concentrated one one job at the time i.e.refurb the rear subframe,refurb the front subframe,painted the engine,sort out front body,boot area,floor area,clean and paint ancillarys(pedal box,handbrake,gear lever etc.etc)that the job is less daunting.As you strip the car tag and label everything,make a diagram of the way things are assembled and take plenty of pictures as you strip it.And a great source of early mini stuff is Somerford Mini in the UK.And when things get tough and they will,go have a cup of tea,it always helps.And Headford is where a John Deere tried to climb up the back of a GT I once owned but thats another story.

[minimate]

Thanks again for the welcomes and the confirmation that it's a worthy project.

While the car has never been welded, there has been some work done to the front passenger side wing in the past. The patina (see......I'm converted now DaveC!) of the paint is different on this panel and the same side A-panel compared with the rest of the car.

Overall, I didn't know if it was in poor/fair/good or better condition for it's age - so thanks for the confirmation mustard and all else for the comments.

As mentioned, I have a budget, which is modest compared to some projects I have followed on the forum, but that's my situation. I want the car to be as original as possible but have decided to replace panels rather than repair or refurbish if costs are significant. That's a big decision to make in the pursuit of originality - but realistic I think.

My budget has as small bit left aside for things that crop up.....but as Joe and Tony both mentioned that's something that will probably be not enough - so have decided to keep saving a bit each month during the project for this - thought all the saving was over!!

Thanks for all the advice KMG - Somerford Mini is a great resource not only for buying parts but also to identify parts using their catalogues. The Haynes manual is a great resource also but it doesn't have the exploded diagrams like those on the Somerford website to quickly identify a part. The other resource that I plan to use is a software database called Restoration Manager (http://www.restoration-manager.com) which you might be familiar with already. I have an old laptop and digital camera which will make it easier to label and photograph those parts I am stripping myself. Does anyone have experience of Restoration Manager and was it useful? The hint of drawing small diagrams of the assembly of parts is a great one!

Here's a few more pictures, including a picture of the bootlid lock and the wiper motor casing showing the date discrepancy (bootlid not repainted as far as I know) -




Seat covers hiding original grey seats -



Thanks again for the advice so far - grateful to everyone who has any advice that might help the project.

[kerryminigringo]

You will find that alot of stuff has date stamps,anything produced by Lucas i.e.starter,dynamo,wiper motor,floor dip switch,fuse box,wiper and light switch,indicator stalk and some early brake drums were dated.Be careful taking out any of the original interior as it is unique to Irish cars and no matter how bad it looks there are ways of renewing it.

[briain]

Seat covers hiding original grey seats -

Please change the seat covers if the budget allows!

[neasha]

Cool MK1

Photos are nice too. Really nice quality.
My brother owns a Nikon D50 too. The camera produces such nice quality images.

[minimate]

Hi all,

Does anybody know if a Blanking Plate or Blanking Grommet set is available for the 850cc engine?

I plan to keep the engine in my shed over the winter when it's out of the car and am worried about the effect of the Irish climate.

Did a search of most major part suppliers but came across nothing.

I have an uncle who says he could manufacture crude plates if nothing else available.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Progress is slow but steady - work and upcoming exams!

Thanks.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

Is the engine working ?

[minimate]

Yes - the car drives perfectly well. I have removed the engine to start work on the body.

The coil is original and date stamped and the dynamo is original too. The starter motor is being refurbished using the original housing. The carb is also being refurbished.

The engine is essentially stripped of it's ancillaries and I would like to block off moisture entering the engine.

[The Marcos Graveyard]

You could always make a plywood template to bolt onto the head in place of the manifolds, place a little oil in the bores and turn the engine over by hand every so often.