Project Shorty

Post by **spud1979** » Fri Mar 08, 2013 10:04 pm

today i purchased a 1978 leyland mini 1000 from longford. as many of ye know i have been on the look out for a pre 1980 car for the purpose of building a shorty. i spotted this on donedeal and rang the owner straight away and paid a deposit without even seeing the car, to be honest it was quite cheap. this morning i set off to collect the car. it was good to find out that this car only had one previous owner, the milage is 49999 on the clock and it was owned by older woman that didnt do much driving in it. the last time this car was on the road was 2000. putting it on the trailer was easy enough with a winch, taking it off was another story, the wheels were shot, i had to place some of my spare alloys on it to get it off the trailer. here are some of the photos of it

Silver or Black?? i prefer the original ones

and after getting this home, im afraid i cant cut it. i'm going to restore it to its original glory and hope the wife will drive it to shows for me.

Post by **minicac** » Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:30 pm

I do like MK4 Mini 1000's in this colour

Post by **DaveC** » Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:35 pm

Good stuff, it has a few rust issues but will make a good project.
The interior looks to be in good shape.
You have to keep that "Chapmans" badge!

Post by **spud1979** » Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:50 pm

I have the paperwork from that garage too. Worth keeping for that alone. Needs a new boot though so may stick it to the new one

Post by **maverick** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 12:09 am

Nice mini. Looks all original. Good luck!

Post by **D.M.G.T** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 11:22 am

Looked at this myself!! Great history with the car and the guy selling it was bang on !! Guna be one hell of a restoration !! Best best of luck !!

Post by **spud1979** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:56 am

Change of mind. This car is now going to be turn into a shorty. Just hope the days the runs are on that it is good weather and no rain

Post by **joeyfinneran** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 1:08 pm

Build the shorty with a roof they look funny

Post by **spud1979** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 6:14 pm

Engine up and running today after been sitting up for the last 13 years.

http://youtu.be/4bvnTVE-CdA

Post by **D.M.G.T** » Sat Mar 23, 2013 7:41 pm

Nice one spud !

Post by **spud1979** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 8:58 pm

Ok nearly stripped down completely. Just looking for advice on engine. What should I replaced when its out?? Thanks in advance

Post by **CB_Phil** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 5:26 am

Nice wheels anyway! LOL Best of luck w/the resto, look forward to seeing the progression
If you fancy a swap w/same wheels in silver I may be interested

Post by **Billy** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:56 am

spud1979 wrote:Ok nearly stripped down completely. Just looking for advice on engine. What should I replaced when its out?? Thanks in advance

JP, stick with the engine that's in it. With a short wheelbase, it's not going to handle that well at road speed so you don't need power. It should be lighter so again you won't need a big engine. Anyway, you won't have much protection without a roof either so you won't want to be driving that quick.

FWIW,

Billy

Post by **spud1979** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 10:07 am

Ah no the same engine is staying billy, this yoke won't be driving at speed, hoping to get roll bars out of a Mazda for protection. I mean seals and all that stuff in the engine, what is easy for me to replace when it's out. What should I replace really

Post by **joeyfinneran** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:44 am

An 850 would even be grand in it with the less weight.
Theres plenty of them lieing around since no one wants one

Post by **spud1979** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 2:52 pm

Joey did you ever try to keep up with eamonn Murphy's 850. Little bullet with twin carbs. Great little engine in that car, keep up with any 998.

Post by **kerryminigringo** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:43 pm

[quote="joeyfinneran"]An 850 would even be grand in it with the less weight.
Theres plenty of them lieing around since no one wants one[/quote]
Try finding one Joey,not as common as you would think as most people threw them out as they were unwanted.JP I would change the water pump,bypass hose,driveshaft seals,crank shaft oil seal,gear selector rod seal and rocker cover gasket so that when you paint up the engine it should stay dry from oil leaks.

Post by **spud1979** » Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:50 pm

Thanks Aidan

Post by **joeyfinneran** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 1:20 pm

Some insprieation for your build
http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/to ... try2783105

Post by **spud1979** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:30 pm

the strip down so far.

front floor coming out, back not too bad

some of the parts

engine out

off to the chop shop

more to follow shortly. both subframes have been stripped and waiting for the neighbour to sandblast them

Post by **spud1979** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:17 pm

Slow progress on this. Off to get sandblasted and covered in primer on Monday so hope to start the painting within the next few weeks. Might make the camping weekend yet, hopefully.

Post by **spud1979** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 3:38 pm

Post by **kerryminigringo** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:34 pm

Will your legs reach the pedals?

Post by **spud1979** » Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:37 pm

I'm afraid knees will be up high in the air.

Post by **CB_Phil** » Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:10 pm

Looking

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