Mk1Mad - Austin Mini Mk1

[Mk1Mad]

Had some wheels down in welly with me to get stripped and painted. Sand blaster was $20 a wheel to blast and 2K prime which I thought was reasonable (same guy that did my subframe). I got some Old English White paint mixed up a while back so am slowly painting them. Looking really good, cant wait to fit the tyres up and put them on the car.

Mini has also had a new exhaust fitted, which I havent seen yet, but I had to get rid of the big bore centre exit pipe which sounded crap on the 850cc.

Original Wheels

Two on right have 1 coat of paint so far, three on left are still in primer.

Painted one closeup

Getting some proper work done on Low'n'Slow's escort so will send him the photos to update his post. One more uni exam to go ever, then im off to the states on November 26th for 5 months... Mean.

[Mk1Mad]

Ok. So my mini resides at home where my Dad drives it weekly. Ive been in the States for the last 4 months and during that time hes had the front panels of the front seats retrimmed (Tidy Trim, New Plymouth did a great job) and he fitted the white wheels. Really coming together as I wanted it now. Still a few more jobs to do when I get back but he took it to the Inglewood Car Show in Feb. Anyway, pics:

[Mk1Mad]

Dragged this up. Had the mini in Wellington for about 9 months now in storage but have decided that its not worth just keeping it in the shed, its there to be used. So, its now my daily...

So, got a new Rego and WOF.

Also two new tyres.

Then I looked at our exchange rate and throught, sweet, time to get some detail bits.

So, in the mail from the UK (or already here) are:

Voltage Stabilzer (for fuel guage)

Rocker Cover Tag

Key Barrel Set

New Horn Centre

New Boot Handle

New Bonnet Badge Surround

New Bonnet Badge

+ a bunch of rubber parts and little bits and pieces..

And still to be ordered and on the wish list:

New Indicator Switch

New Column Cowl

New Draught Excluders

New Door Stays

Refurb for the Steering Wheel

Rebuilt Head

Smith Temp Gauge

Will slowly spend a little bit each month while getting a few bits for the Escort too... Wedding season coming up so an expensive March for me travelling all over the place.

[Mk1Mad]

Almost a year without an update. Has been my daily for the past year, reliable and cheap on gas. Almost warrent time so bought some bits to add to it including:

Bulkhead Sound Blanket

Door Hinge Bush and Pin Kit

Tool for Above

Badge Clips

3 x Window Catches

2 x Door Stay Straps

Spare Bypass Hose

Boring update but hey...

Will fit this weekend. Also have listed Escort for sale as may have to move house in a month or so and it may be a bit of a hinderance.. Get in touch if interested @ n.axten@gmail.

Nick

[Mk1Mad]

So. Been a long time since an update but as the exchange rate gets better and better, as I am about to start a new job, and as summer approaches I have decided to get the Mini all on tune ready for some summer running. So, que order of parts. Sorry about the bulk pictures but this thread is also a diary of my build. It was useful when I sold my Escort to be able to pass on the URL to its build.

First plan is to rebuild the head. Well actually rebuild another head I have that already has hardened seats fitted. Head is at Headmaster, has been crack tested and came up fine so I will drop new valves and guides in tomorrow. I have just kept standard valve sizes as being an 850, if chasing performance then its cheaper and easier to just fit a complete 998cc engine instead. I like the 850 and pudding stirer gearbox so its staying.

New Inlet Valves (Forgot a Picture of the Exhaust Valves)

New Cast Iron Valve Guides

All new studs, nuts and washers etc for the head. Excuse the pictures, this is just for my record too.

Heater, Exhaust, Thermostat Nuts and Bolts Etc (All Stainless Steel Studs)

New Thermostat Housing

Also got a bunch of seals and gaskets

And hoses

And a new sump plug and oil filler cap

Along with rebuilding the head, I have also decided to rebuild the carb as well so added a rebuild kit to the list

And last but not least, I ordered a brand new electronic dizzy. At $140 shipped to NZ the was no real point in refurbishing the existing one. Time will tell how good the electronic gismos are!

\

So all in all, the coming weeks should hopefully see the engine back together. I am also probably replacing the waterpump while I am at it and maybe having the original rad recored just for the sake of putting the original back in there.

I also added a few bits like a new indicator switch, new indicator cowling, drum brake shoe springs. hinge pin repair kit and SS hinge bolt replacement kit to the mix. Will keep me busy thats for sure.

[Mk1Mad]

OK

So head has been cleaned, crack tested, valve seats cut, new valve guides put in, new waterpump bypass tapped in and skimmed. After getting this back I have put in new SS studs etc.

Pic before I painted it:

Ive also had the carb alloy bits blasted to clean them up, then rebuilt the carb with new jets, gaskets etc:

And had the rocker cover blasted before painting (shown with new breather cap too):

Once I took the old water pump off to I realised that that was a bit hairy so I have replaced that too. Note to self, use antifreeze this time....

I have also removed the drivers door to replace the hinge bushes and pins. A very easy job with good results. I will need to buy some more paint to sort these out.

Ive cleaned up the engine bay with degreaser and soapy water. Ive also painted patches on the block, painted the head and painted the rocker cover. Close to putting it all back together but I think most of the spending on this refresh is over!

Can't wait to fit the new dizzy, change the oil and get this going again for the summer!

[Mk1Mad]

So... Bit of a boring update but I will get some more photos at some point. My mini is now running after a lot of head scratching... Turns out that when I swapped over the plug leads to another cap I switched two of them around so as labelled they were wrong. Stupid mistake but good to sort it....

Next on the list, I've ordered a can of paint to touch up the hinges once I have re-bushed and re-pinned them. I'm also half way through going over the brakes and cleaning/fitting new return springs. Lots of other bits and pieces are ready to fit so I'll get a few good sessions on it to sort the final bits hopefully and then WOF and valuation time.

One question, I looking for the centre parts of the horn. They are the same as a Morris Minor so hoping someone out there has one spare. Its both the internal insulator and the spring to go with it. See below:

Let me know if you have one going spare!

[Mk1Mad]

Been a long time but time for an update. Over the last couple of months I have got the mini running well, got a WOF, got a reg, had a valuation and organised agreed value insurance. Perfect. I've been hooning around Wellington in it now for the last month.

Things to do:

Buy/ have repaired choke cable as the ends frayed pretty bad. New one is expensive and I think this one is savable. Just have to start it from under the bonnet when its dead cold.

Check timing, tighten head bolts and check valve clearances.

Clean up minor rust surface rust on passengers footwell.

Check brakes and adjust up.

I have also bought a new clutch for it (cheers Ben at Repco for hooking us up). Will do the rear crank oil seal at the same time so must order one. May also buy a Mini specific flywheel puller as they have a rep of being very very had to pull off.

So, pics.

Clutch kit.

I also bought some wide wheels. They are 'Reverse' rims, not Cooper S rims. 4.5 inches wide as opposed to 3.5 inches standard. These were an option from the dealer back in the day. Two are Dunlop brand from the 60's, two are BMC produced from the 70's. Ive had them sandblasted and 2-pack primered ($30 a rim) and am now deciding on the colour to paint them. Will either be Old English White or Silver (see example pics). Also added example of existing wheels for comparison at right.

After blasting,

Dunlop Markings,

Options,

Also from a few years living outside the paint is starting to wear in a few places. Kinda tempted to get the body touched up and then get a white vinyl roof and white circular numbers on the doors for a bit of a 60's weekend racer look.