Crispy

Has anyone managed to do this. I potentially have a work trip planned to Wellington soon and can get there reasonably easy again should it not work out . They're probably long gone, but would be nice to find some previous owners details if I could.

Here we go, back again. Having two long weekends in close succession has meant I can get 2 days worth of shed time and have a day to normal stuff. Unfortunately not many photos this time round. My pistons turned up from Minisport in Australia (in one week!). This was the missing piece to the short block puzzle. From that auction in Fielding last year I got a large bore Mini short block that had a melted piston and scored bore. A while back I stole the rods and crank out of it. I donated the block to a local guy who was working on a twin cam A series conversion and was going to dry deck the block and wanted one to practice on. It probably could've been re sleeved. But I also scored a few other 1275 blocks from that auction so had a few options. Weekend started off by me loading up all the engine bits I had acquired thus far and going over to see the guy who built the engine in the Mini to have a look and a measure up. We chose a block to get reconditioned out of my stash. The one we picked had a lip on the edge of the bore, so a prime candidate to bore out (cue evil laugh). He also had a measure up of the crank and it was perfectly in spec. So nothing nasty with the block or the crank. I was a little worried as these are 40+ year old engines. So now I know I'm not wasting my time. The block and crank (along with the new pistons) will go off to the engine reconditioners. Back to the body itself. In my brief encounter with the repair certifier a few months back. He mentioned he wanted these side box thingys off that go on the side of the windscreen. Because of the stupid roof thingy it had in there. Water had sat and rusted through and he wanted to see what was behind. Here is one halfway through getting removed. It was welded at the top and the bottom edge and spotwelded. I got pretty good at removing spotwelds and my accuracy with the cut off wheel on the grinder is getting better and better (from someone who has never really used one before). The old man is going to have a crack at fixing them. If he can't new ones are relatively inexpensive from Minisport. We also gently pulled apart the windscreen assembly. It's probably the first time its been apart in its life ever. So with 50 years of gunk, glue, bits of rubber and general dirt and shmuts, it was a bit precarious. But came out not too bad in the end. The frame needs a decent clean up and the glass itself probably a bit better than the h n f job I gave it. But that's another job for another day. Today it was time to get rid of the subframes and see what was lurking behind them. Hopes weren't exactly high with something that has had its fair share of surprises already, a shiteload of dodgy repairs and looks like it was spent a lot of time being driven on gravel and mud. Surprisingly both subframes actually came out without too many problems. We’ve been periodically spraying the subframe bolts with wd40. Honestly back when we did the Mini that was harder and its almost 30 years newer and about 300% less rusty and crusty. The front had a few problems with rusty bolts as the bottom back sub frame mounts are right in the thick of one of the worst patches. But I broke one bolt off and the other got a serve from the cutting wheel. I robbed the front subframe for a few brake line parts and cut off the bumper brackets. The front subframe will be donated to someone else's project if they can make use of it, or scrap. The rear came out even easier than the front thanks to my small, but mighty 12v Milwaukee impact. My eagerness came back to bite me as we had to undo the handbrake cables and rear brake line after the subframe bolts. It would've been wayyy easier before. The rear subframe itself is pretty kak. There is a massive twist in the back, heaps of rust, which ironically makes up for a lack of rust in the back on the car. I ran out of time to grab the rear radius arms and a few brake line parts from it, before it joins the scrap pile. So here is how it sits now. I have a heap of wire wheeling to do to clean up the surface rust underneath. Both for the repair cert man to be happy and the Raptor liner to stick when the time comes. I also have a few more small things to take off the shell. Plan is to continue to do body stuff (because its mostly just time) while still slowly collecting engine/gearbox bits on the side. Its just at the point now where almost everything needs to be new which means $$$. Because I either don't have it, or for reliabilities sake. One positive is I'm also finished this short course work has got me doing. With my last assignment due next weekend. So will try smash that out so I can get more shed time. Till next time.

*Moved to correct thread* Hello, I want to add in some strengthening to the Mokes lower firewall/steering rack area. Either with a plate like this from Urchfab in the UK It looks like this and looks like this when welded in Or try make something similar up myself. Obviously I'm going to run it past my repair certifier. But has anyone tried to do anything similar to this before and it been fine? Would go a long way to strengthening the part where the bottom of the front subframe bolts up and the steering rack area, which is a common weak point and I have hear of cars cracking in this area due to fatigue.

Finally had some time to spend on this over the long weekend. Wanted to crack into taking what's left of it apart and wire wheeling back some of the problem spots. Before the proper initial inspection with the repair certifier. Something I wasn't looking forward to, but had to be done. The goal with this isn't a concourse restoration, but something as rust free as possible, structurally sound and good enough to get back on the road. This is the Motorkhana/Autocross hack, so the Mini can stay nice.... First the dash had to come out. We needed to see what was behind it, and I didn't want grinding sparks going on the glass of the speedo. Pretty sure someone painted this black at some stage in its life. I kinda like it, so I'll repaint it black before it goes back in. We gently pulled the wiring loom for the engine through the firewall and kept it all together for now. There is only one sub harness that runs through the left hand compartments for the rear lights and stuff for the fuel tank, so it is most of the wiring gone. Its future me's problem to worry about as it will have to get converted to an alternator type fuse box and a few other things before it goes back in. Wiring is probably one of the best condition parts of the car and if you believe the odo its only done 12,000 miles. So while they sell new ones. I'm keen to persist with this one for now. So out it came. You'll also notice the brake and clutch pedal assembly on the ground also. They had to come out as they were stuck after 40 years of sitting. We had to cut the master cylinders off and the old man managed to work his magic to free up the pedals enough to slacken off the spring and disassemble the whole unit. He's going to chip away at sandblasting them at his work and I'll give it a lick of paint. Next this marvel of engineering had to come out as well. It is a left hand engine steady bracket. From what I can gather, OEM in most Australian Mokes and a common upgrade for Minis. However this one has been attacked (badly) with a stick welder to try and strengthen? it. and as a result they blew some holes in the bulkhead/firewall. After another session with the angle grinder it was out A few holes were left behind by old mates welding, but should clean up not too bad. The bracket itself is actually salvageable so we will make something of it. Next was to get started with the wire wheel. I ended up digging out more bog and filler than I thought. And a few interesting repairs that were hiding. But I guess this most probably was a cheap farm or yard hack in the 70s and they just patched it up to get it back on the road. Like this panel in the left hand arch. The colour was originally red, so that's why there is so much red. Someone did also paint it a slightly darker yellow at some stage. The old man reckons its "ministry of works" colours. So it may have been a site vehicle for them. Then there is the lighter yellow that most of the outside is. The orange that pops up in places was primer for the darker yellow. Kept digging bog out of this panel here too. Doesn't appear to be too rusty. just a bit dented. I guess the biggest surprise is this part here. It shouldn't be too much of a shock really as they are shaped like a bathtub, and photos I've seen with rusted out floors make sense as they fill up with water. Also someone had put a patch in before.... But with the wire wheel I kept digging more and more sealant out of this floorpan on the drivers side until light was coming in. Its going to take a bit of creative metalwork to reinstate this piece. They sell new floors. But it the whole floor or nothing. Which is pretty expensive. So will probably diy something. I'd rather not have a flat panel there.... There are a few little bits and pieces that are rusty in the edges of the floor behind the seats. But almost every Moke I've seen has had repairs in those areas. So where to next, Unfortunately back on the grind of working full time, working part time and studying part time for a few more weeks. But hopefully with the Matariki holiday coming up I can make some more progress. Dropping the subframes will be the next fun part, trying to get more rusty 60 year old bolts out.... We know where most of the rust is underneath as we've already had it up on the hoist a few times. Last night I also ordered some pistons, so hopefully they will be here soon. I've already dissembled the blown short block, I scored from the auction in fielding last year. So have rods and crank ready to go. So will get one of the other blocks I got machined to suit the new pistons and start slowly piecing together a power unit.

Yea for sure. I don’t like the look of the Moke rubber extensions either. I think they look cheap. But it is always an option if I need it. My Rover mini has fairly big offset wheels and it does tend to wander a bit.

Wowsers, last update was in January. Where did the time go? Well a lot of it was spent waiting on various people to get back to me. For starters, I collated the paperwork I thought I needed to get it back on the road. And waited for a reply from NZTA That took a month, only get pushed back saying I need to get a Testing inspector to verify whatever plates/tags etc are there (CA12 Form) and an inspection from the VCC Barrys. A trip into VTNZ and the GC Brad from VTNZ Pukekohe had the CA12 Form sorted straight away. The following day the guy from VCC came out and verified the car. Then the wait for the VCC paper work to come in. With those sent in, I got approved to get a Vin tag. Then one afternoon a few weeks back in the pissing rain I loaded the car on the trailer. (Loading a car with no engine by yourself in the pouring rain is heaps of fun....) Off to VTNZ we go And we finally secured the 17 Digit NZTA Vin tag. This is great news as it means we can start the Repair Cert process, the LVV Cert process and eventually get it back on the road I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a small alloy tag lol. Over the last few months, while I've been tooing and froing with paperwork. I have slowly been collecting parts to start the rebuild. Most notably I secured some patch panels from Minisport in Australia as they were running a sale. Also in the parts from Minisport were Moke windscreen rubbers and a radius arm rebuild kit as Aussie Moke ones are slightly different to Mini. My amazing fiancé bought me some wheels for my 30th. 13x5.5 Revolution Minitors from Palmside. They have a pretty weak offset, which is what I wanted as running discs pushes the wheels out and I'd rather not run rubber flares. The plan is to pair these up with some Yokohama A359s. They've been great on the grass and all round in the Mini, but I'll step up to the 175/60/13 size as I can (Oz Mokes are 175/70/13 OEM). To hopefully get slightly deeper grooves for better traction. The other load of parts I grabbed last week. My mate Dan in Christchurch was having a massive clean out. So shipped me up a heap of stuff for a really sharp price. In his bits was a whole heap of suspension parts, replacement better condition front and rear subframes, rod change gearbox and a cam for the eventual motor build. Massive thanks to Dan for his help. Definitely gave me a head start. The other thing I did was cut the front bumper off the mounts as it was bent af and had a lug on there from where a towbar had been cut off. The old man had some old water pipe the same OD, so I tidied both bracket and pipe up and he's going to weld it on. Good practice with the grinder as I'm going to need it for the body lol. So, where to from here? I actually ran into the repair certifier at VTNZ when I was getting the VIN tag. He gave the car a quick once over and has given the all clear to start picking some scabs and once he is back from Holiday in June he can take a look at things closer. I’ve also put in the first of many massive orders with Minispares Uk. (Have to keep it under $1000nz to avoid gst….) Time is even more limited with me picking up extra work on Saturday mornings to try grab some more cash for bits and studying part time for a few months. But with a few long weekends coming up hopefully can make some progress. Thanks for reading!

Currently playing the waiting game with the CA03 form (sent a heap of stuff attached with it to try and overkill my case). Is there anyone I can contact or anything I can do to speed up the process. Been over the "20 working days" Can't say I'm surprised tbh....

Yup. Open 410.25mm Closed 271.25mm I’ll do a bit more research

Kia Ora, I’m currently in the throws of ordering parts to keep moving ahead with the build of my Mini Moke while I wait to get the Ok to get it registered. Mechanically underneath all that flat panel steel it is exactly the same as a traditional Classic Mini. With one major exception. In Australian Mokes (which mine is) the rear swing arms are slightly longer than standard mini ones to accommodate for the factory 13 inch wheels and 70 profile tyres. Which poses a problem for shocks as I have to run longer Van/Estate shocks. Otherwise I will run into clearance problems. The only damper adjustable ones I can find are Spax. (And yes I want damper adjustment). Which apparently used to be a great company back in the day. But got bought out and now quality control isn’t great. Protech in the Uk do mini shocks and custom ones (for kit cars and single seaters etc.) but I’d like to look into a custom option here in Nz first. Is there a custom option or something I’ve overlooked? I know Autolign in Mt Wellington used to do this sort of thing. A family friend was in the workshop. But I remember going there to get my daily aligned and the workshop was about to close down and they were just doing retail/wholesale/distribution. Mini shocks aren’t anything too complicated.

Hi, A few weeks back I submitted a request for and OIA around if there is any police interest in my lapsed rego Car I'm trying to get back on the road (eventually). I know they don't always ask for a police check, but I wanted to prepared and not hold up the process should it arise. Anywho. I got a reply today which states the following. Your request has been considered in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. Unfortunately, your request has been declined in accordance with the following reasons:  S18(e) - That the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist or, despite reasonable efforts to locate it, cannot be found. Unable to locate the registration number given in the request. Had a quick chat to my boss about it as he had a bit of experience with OIA's previously in his Air Force days. Basically the way we both take it is if they can't find anything, no news is good news. Will that info suffice? Do I need to go to the cop shop and get a letter from them too? Or are they basically looking for a letterhead with NZ Police on top? Anyone with actual experience able to chime in? Thanks!

Right. After a stint overseas on Holiday it was time to crack into it again this weekend. It was the job I was dreading. But one that was necessary to move forward. Instead of fixing rust in the lower edges (Not sure if you'd call them sills or not?) They just slapped some angle iron on and sandwiched their repair panels over the top of the rusty bits of floor. So there was nothing left to it, but to get the grinder out. Dad and I had a bit of a cutting session. Soon enough my suspicions were confirmed. Starting with the worst part being the battery compartment. As opposed to Mini Saloons where the battery is in the boot next to the spare wheel, In a Moke they are in the right rear compartment. Of course a battery leaking. Plus an area for water to enter, not only through the side. But through the inspection cover on the top was never going to fear well.... Yum. There is more where that came from though.... Here is the rest of the drivers side The Passengers side is a little better. But no by much. So there was this massive patch panel that Barry had just sandwiched under the angle iron sills and braised and riveted to the underside. I ground all the rivets out last year when it was up on the lift so it came out too. Next was removing the nasty roll bar. Have a look at the gangster lean its on in relation to the cross beam on the shed which should be straight enough It was probably good thing I got it gone. Check out that weld penetration. It was also super lol we found a socket underneath the passengers side roll bar foot plate. Barry and his mate Murray had probably lost it when under there when installing the cage, they'd just sent the bolts anyway and there is a bit of a crease in the floor where it had been jammed for all those years lol. The last order of business was removing the fuel tank. Given it lives in pretty much the same location as the battery. But on the passengers side. I wanted to see if there were any nasties hidden behind it and I'm picking when has its date with the repair certifier they will want to know too. Surprisingly still a bit of gas in there and it hasn't solidified. So about 20 minutes of wrestling with dad pushing from the top, me wiggling from underneath and trying not to spill 40 year old leaded fuel all over me. We had the tank out and thankfully its all in good behind there. Its probably a bit of a sign of things to come as we further strip this thing and deal with bolts that are super old and crusty. We were lucky with my Mini its only 30 years old. Not almost 60. I've shot off an email to a repair certifier to see what's what. Hopefully he replies soon and we can get it down to him to advise on where to go to from here. I'll also give it a big clean out as the inside just collects shite (swarf, grinding dust etc.). I've also got a mate hopefully sending some parts up from Christchurch soon which should get things moving a bit too. Till next time.

Have a search in the projects thread for Matt's Chev Pickup. I can't remember exactly the process he used, but IMO it turned out pretty well (having never seen it in person), and it looks like its lasted a few years too.

We drilled out the rivets and peeled back the outer layer. Also took out the random screws that Barry only put in one side. (because rivets, and silicone isn't enough). Chisled out the random bracket of which there is only one, that was to hold those side bars on. Cut the box section and peeled everything back and here we are. If you look closely at the pictures you will see a few areas of surface rust that will need some attention. You'll also see the rust hole at the bottom of top of the guard that will need fixing too. It was inevitable with the roof set up the way it was water was going to be trapped somewhere and fester away. But overall, wayyy better than I thought it would be as the rivets didn't make it through to the windscreen frame. From there we turned it into a speedster, as Mokes only have a couple of bolts holding the windscreen on. Means I can sort sandblasting the frame and pulling the window out to shout it a new seal as the old one is pretty cooked (It may even be the original). From there, we got it up on the hoist and had a crack at some of the rust underneath, but that is another story for another day and a whole lot more work. I'm also looking to engage a repair certifier in the South Auckland or Waikato area. As plans have changed a little and I'd like to get this road legal if I could. If anyone has any recommendations of guys that actually answer emails and phones and don't spread themselves thin with too much work and are reasonable when it comes to old cars (not asking for much hey...) Let me know. I can go to them or I have the hoist at the old mans place just out of Pukekohe to get it in the air and have a look etc.

Alright, so another update. Again longer than we thought inbetween updates. Anywho, where I left off last time was at the start of October. I was on the hunt for a shifter and slowly plodding away getting the Mini ready for Mini Nationals in Cambridge over Labour weekend. I managed to pick up a shifter from a guy locally. I also had the guy who built my last engine and gearbox (in the Mini) have a look at my bottom end and gearbox. He said the gearbox is sweet. But the block is junk as a heat mark where the piston melted has gone through to the next bore. Good thing I picked up some spares. But I'll use the crank and rods out of the melted one. So Mini Nationals went well. I think my car was well received. Its my 2nd time entering with me doing the one in Auckland a few years back. Left 6am from Auckland and trundled down. Parked up for the morning for the show. The theme was display from the period of your vehicle. Since most Mini owners are stuck in the 70s, maybe they didn't quite appreciate the 90s decor lol (See also my finished rocker cover racer, which needs a bit more development...) And did the Motorkhana in the afternoon. Managed to muster up a 2nd after some pretty average and rusty driving. It's always slightly intimidating doing a Motorkhana where the only cars are Minis, as its all on the driver and no advantage from having a small, agile car. Time to head back home The next day Mini nationals carried on. But I skipped it and went to the annual Pukekohe Car Club Motorkhana and Autocross at Limestone downs in Port Waikato. I forgot to grab any photos. Managed a 4th overall in the Motorkhana with a pretty soft, peat/sand surface under the grass that cut up super quickly. I also competed in one of the Sports Car Club of Nz Motorkhanas on Tarmac a few weeks back, held over in Glenfield. Where I managed to snag a 3rd overall with the top 6 or so places being Minis both new and old. The reason why I bring up these results, is not to brag. But hopefully once the Moke is done I'll be hunting 1sts. Anyways Back to our scheduled programming.... I met a guy at Mini Nationals who was selling some bits after his build. One of these items was a lightly used Alloy Rad from MED in the UK. They make super nice bits (I have some on the Mini) and the price was right so I took a trip down to Hamilton and grabbed it with some other stuff. The eventual plan is to run this with an e fan on the other side to pull some air through. And last weekend we cracked on with some rust work. I wanted to get rid of the stupid barry spec side window panels that were riveted to the windscreen. I was slightly worried what was underneath as this car has had a few surprises so far.

I’ve been following Adooms build. It looks great! Slight change of plans since I got the Moke. I am going to try put it on the road. I yarning to my mechanic (Shane at Platinum in East Tamaki, I’m sure some people on here will know him) when I was in there for a wof. He made a good point that if I can get it on the road. It’s the difference between a 40k car and a 10k car should I need to sell it. And the effort required isn’t much more. Given I need to fix the rust anyway. So that and the fact that I scored a whole bunch of A series blocks and a Straight cut box for a pretty good price has sealed the deal. I know I could get it to go faster and probably be more reliable if I stick something Japanese, fuel injected and 5 speed in there. Would be cheaper too. But the path of least resistance getting it on the road and not having it drag on for too long is sticking A series. It will also make things like running in the engine easier and going to things close by because I can actually drive it in the road.