We do love a classic Mini. This little car had lived in a barn for about 10 years before we rescued her. She didn’t run and was in a bit of a poor state.
Most of the car is present and the majority of the body seemed solid. The blue velour interior was extremely dirty though and will be replaced. There were many rust spots on the body but few that seemed to penetrate deep. However we know through experience that many nasty surprises can hide beneath apparently good panels on a Mini! We noticed that the sills have the dreaded ‘oversills’ so no doubt they will be hiding something very flaky underneath.
As ever the first job is to get her running and assess the condition of the major mechanical parts. This involved replacing the points with electronic ignition, replacing the cylinder head and rocker cover, water pump, coil, plugs and some of the wiring and checking valve clearances and setting the timing.
The fuel pipes under the car were blocked so with a petrol tank sat on the wing she started first time and ran beautifully!
We then turned to the brakes and clutch replacing both brake and clutch master cylinders and all of the copper and rubber brake lines to all four wheels.
We also replaced all the fuel lines and gave the SU carburettor a service.
There were a few electrical gremlins but with some new wiring and a new fuse box everything worked as it should. We also replaced the wiper motor as the old one had rusted solid. She then took her first drive in a very long time!! Always a lovely moment.
With the mechanical and electric side of things looking good it was time to look at the bodywork. As expected the dastardly oversills hid a nasty secret – the outer sills were no more. See our scary video about Mini oversills:
Adding a new outer sill involved removing all traces of the old one together with much of the inner sill and floor. New inner and outer sills was used but the missing parts of the floor were fabricated from sheet steel.
The restoration continues….