1971 mk1 replica sleeper with 180bhp

[gazwad]

Yep I stole the idea from here (it was probably from you), i didn't like the way it could drop out and didn't want to change my shocks for lowered ones as they are still in excellent condition

[rich@minispares.com]

Yep I stole the idea from here (it was probably from you), i didn't like the way it could drop out and didn't want to change my shocks for lowered ones as they are still in excellent condition

royalty cheque will be in the post then!

[gazwad]

I've been looking for some roof bars for a while as my roof rack is only a show rack and can't take much weight. I found these and have not seen a set like them before, I think they are 60's and french but apart from that I don't know much about them. I think they suit the mini perfectly and look fantastic, I have given them a sympathetic restoration as I didn't want to loose the patina:
IMAG0089 by garrywadey, on Flickr
IMAG0090 by garrywadey, on Flickr
It means I can now carry all my camping gear in my roof box and my old bike

[tedmcedd]

They look really smart! I like the knurled knobs...

[Minibitsbolton]

Well it's not a real mk1 but it's about as close as I could get to one - on the outside at least!
It's a 1971 mk3 that had a lot of mods including mk1 door hinges and handles (modified to work with mk3 latches), doors re-shaped, mk1 rear lights, mk1 front end (grill etc), cooper s genuine steel wheels and mk1 dash bits etc. I love the look of the basic mk1 850's so that's what I was aiming for.
The other main modification is the installation of a 180bhp 1.8 lotus elise (k series) vvc engine and 5 speed box with torsen diff!
hope you like it:
IMG_0182_zpsjyturkcr by garrywadey, on Flickr
IMG_0269_zpsnw6upwbe by garrywadey, on Flickr
IMG_0366_zpspsxkkrze by garrywadey, on Flickr
IMAG0106_zpszgw7r2id by garrywadey, on Flickr
IMAG0011_zpsllt2jmwu by garrywadey, on Flickr
IMAG0013_zpssshubs82 by garrywadey, on Flickr
the front end is removable but all fixings are hidden so it's almost impossible to tell

[Maddog]

Just have to say that, firstly I love this car even though it is not a Mk1 - brilliant execution!! And secondly, I love the information that is shared on this Forum! Thanks to Gazwad (and Rich) for the suggestion about using oil control springs to manage droop with Hi-Lo fitting on the rear. I have been considering this problem since recently fitting Hi-Los to. my car. I had wondered about using the springs as fitted in the hydro struts for the same purpose. However, I couldn't find any in my spares stash and I suspected they might be a bit flimsy for the task.

I do, however, have several oil pressure relief valve springs sitting on my workbench. So, looks like a quick fix to my rear Hi-Lo struts and should save me the cost of a pair of short dampers.

Cheers fellas, I owe you a beer!!

Maddog.

PS: this collected wisdom about how to fit Hi-Los safely should be in a How To article if anyone suitably qualified is so inclined. Makes me wonder why Minispares don't supply the struts already modified with suitable springs to be honest...?

[gazwad]

I've done a bit of work on the mini in the last couple of months, first was fitting a set of bargain second hand but unused kad alloy 4 pot calipers which are a nice improvement over the cooper s calipers. Next was a bit more serious, I noticed some bubbling of the paint on the bottom of the sills and after some poking what appeared solid turned out to be rotting through.

when I restored the bodywork 4 years ago I didn't touch the sills as they looked ok, they were oversills so i was never really happy with them anyway. I'm not sure why i didn't remove them when i did the bodywork and regret it now. chopped them off to find the inner sills are a patchwork! so it's getting new inner and outer sills, rear heelboard repair sections, crossmember and rear pockets (i wanted the proper seatbelt mounts).
DSC_0273 by garrywadey, on Flickr
I've also taken the opportunity to change some bits before paint so have got some mpi doors for the side impact bars and modified some aluminium skins to suit my mk1 hinges and handles as well as converting to mk1 sliding windows in lexan. the mk3 doors with winders and glass are so heavy they have worn the mk1 door hinges out already so hopefully the lighter doors will help. I've also got an aluminium bootlid skin to match and a carbon bonnet i've modified to fit the standard hinges.

so this was the main problem and reason for the work:
DSC_0263 by garrywadey, on Flickr
oversills. I didn't touch them when I rebuilt the car as they looked fine but they were secretly rotting from the inside out.
all chopped out, including the rear pocket as it wan't the best and was in the way anyway:
DSC_0273 by garrywadey, on Flickr
new inner and outer sill assembly from m-machine, these are very good and save loads of time and fit very well. new heelboard end piece as well so it's all solid new metal:
DSC_0277 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0281 by garrywadey, on Flickr
The outer sill to rear quarter/door step and inner sill to door step have only been tac welded for now as they will be properly spot welded at the whight brother's workshop.

didn't fancy spending £25 per side for a simple seat belt breacket (for inertia reel belts in the back) so make my own:
DSC_0291 by garrywadey, on Flickr

with that all done i've started on the other side, the new door step panel profile wasn't too good so i reprofiled it, mainly the first step was too shallow so would leave a massive gap under the door. a blunt chisel and hammer did most of the work to move the fold upwards then various bits of box section etc to make it straight and adjust all the fold angles:
DSC_0284 by garrywadey, on Flickr
also re-shaped the front end as i have a rounded corner there to suit the mk1 style door:
DSC_0288 by garrywadey, on Flickr

the door step and new rear heelboard end section are now welded in on this side, nearly ready for the inner/outer sill assembly to go in.

the lightened inner door:
2018-11-28_04-37-19 by garrywadey, on Flickr
and finished doors with modified alloy skins in primer with the carbon bonnet:
2018-11-28_04-37-47 by garrywadey, on Flickr
a couple of small patches were needed on the floor under the crossmember so i formed the channel to match using various bits of box section and angle iron.
DSC_0297 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0298 by garrywadey, on Flickr
welded in and the rest of the crossmember removed and the floor cleaned up and prepped:
DSC_0299 by garrywadey, on Flickr
rear pockets were heritage and i must say i wasn't impressed, the fit was poor and they weren't even symmetrical! I trimmed the top down as my seat rubbed on the top corner of the pocket so this should give some clearance, then the swage was put back in using a joggling tool.
DSC_0300 by garrywadey, on Flickr
trimmed:
DSC_0302 by garrywadey, on Flickr
tunnel and pockets welding in, thats all the welding done bar the spot welds on the outer sill lips which will get done when it goes for paint.
DSC_0305 by garrywadey, on Flickr
Will hopefully going for paint very soon at the whight brother's workshop (I'm good friends with chris and tim and their work is outstanding quality - highly recommended!) then it should be a straight forward re-assemble with just a few different parts ready for blyton

[UHR850]

I've been looking for some roof bars for a while as my roof rack is only a show rack and can't take much weight. I found these and have not seen a set like them before, I think they are 60's and french but apart from that I don't know much about them. I think they suit the mini perfectly and look fantastic, I have given them a sympathetic restoration as I didn't want to loose the patina:
IMAG0089 by garrywadey, on Flickr
IMAG0090 by garrywadey, on Flickr
It means I can now carry all my camping gear in my roof box and my old bike

Question : if you turn the knurled knobs to tighten the rack then
you will pull the drip rail and bent it or am I wrong?

Kees.

[gazwad]

no the bracket is shaped so it goes around the driprail and clamps from underneath

[mini_surfari]

good work on the repairs!

who's sliding windows did you use?

[gazwad]

they were from plastics4performance, they make the sliding windows for the mini door company's streetfighter doors (mk3 lightweight doors with mk1 style sliding windows) so they should be the correct shape to fit converted mk3 doors. they seem pretty good quality and i opted for slightly thicker 5mm instead of 4mm so they hopefully wont flop around. Also got the matching rear 1/4 and rear screen (thermoformed to shape) all with a hard coating to resist scratches. We'll see how long they last..

[AndyPen]

Thanks for sharing so much on here - a great thread with lots to learn from

[gazwad]

It's home, the paintwork is fantastic thanks to chris and tim at whights for pulling out all the stops working in their spare time, evenings and weekends to get it done for me:
DSC_0453 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0454 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0456 by garrywadey, on Flickr
inside the sills etc have now been treated with bilthamber s50 so re-assembly can start

[gazwad]

Finished prepping the kad radius arms and superfin drums. the drums have had the fins removed but careful use of the grinder then spun up on my home made bench grinder lathe for finishing with emery paper and a light polish. The kad arms were smoothed and lightly polished in the hope it will prevent much sticking and with regular cleaning should slow corrosion. mostly pointless as no-one will see any of it, but it looks good anyway!
DSC_0427 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0431 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0433 by garrywadey, on Flickr

[gazwad]

subframe is in, as well as fuel tank and gear linkage:
DSC_0458 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0457 by garrywadey, on Flickr

[Old English White]

Fantastic! It'll look even better than before!
Well done for getting to this stage - it must have been dis-heartening to find all that rust but we all look back at times and wish we'd done things properly the first time around

[gazwad]

Doors, boot and bonnet fitted and gaps set. Front end all assembled, all the glass is fitted - the polycarbonate rear screen was too big so had to be ground down around the outside edge to fit. the sliding side windows are a bit stiff but hopefully will get better as the seals relax. Also fitted the battery and fired it up for the first time in nearly six months, started on the first turn of the key. Hoping to have it all back together and on the road by the end of the week
IMG-20190412-WA0001 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0470 by garrywadey, on Flickr

[gazwad]

finished putting it back together yesterday, setting up the rear suspension took a while as there wasn't enough adjustment in the new camber/toe bracket (due to my modified subframe and the KAD arms being slightly fatter in that area) so I had to cut a bit of the brackets away. Had a successful test drive with no issues:
DSC_0492 by garrywadey, on Flickr
DSC_0491 by garrywadey, on Flickr
just the wheel arch trim and roof trim to put back on

I forgot how fast this thing is (been six months since i last drove it), can't wait for blyton!

[coopertim]

Looked fantastic up close this morning!

Tim

[gazwad]

thanks, yes the boys did a great job on the paint