1961 Beach Car prototype restoration

[ronie]

I have been making a 1:43rd scale model of my car as a parallel project. I have used the models of an Elf, a Mini and a Fiat Jolly

It's nearly finished.

[ronie]

Big day today. I saw the car in colour. This is only the first coat which will be flattened before the 'real' paint. The boot, engine and interior are finished. I love it. It is a great colour, very 50's in my eyes, and it will look great with all the chrome bits and the light beige interior.

















I also polished the original 12 60 coil,





and painted the whitewall on the spare wheel. Looks pretty good for a 30 year old Yokohama cross-ply.

[minitravellerman]

My jaw just hit the ground!!! Looks AMAZING - going to look so much better once all the trim goes back on.

[ronie]

The engine was taken apart yesterday.



Two of the six springs were a little taller than the rest. Unfortunately they were placed on adjacent position and not opposite.



The bearing on the clutch cover was very wonky.







The clutch plate was oily on one side and dry on the other.





The flywheel had a small mark as if a small piece of metal shrapnel had been clamped on it.



The water pump was a disaster.





The gearbox looked all right from a first look...



... so did the head





Now there is a lot of cleaning and inspecting to do. My mechanic will make a list of all parts needed for the engine and gearbox.

[ronie]

Today we refitted the bonnet and boot. Its starting to look like a complete car now.

[InimiaD]

Making excellent progress Ronie.
Bet you can't wait to get it back on the road.

[ronie]

The car is finally painted. Soon it will be transported to my garage.





I can't wait to have the car at my place, and start fitting all the cleaned, painted and repaired parts.

[Catweazle]

Nice.

Best regards
Catweazle

[tedmcedd]

Just brilliant! what a fantastic car to own!

its a great colour, i look forward to seeing it all back together!

Ed

[ronie]

Did a trial fit of the repaired grille. Thankfully the straightened out surround is almost a perfect fit. The actual grille need some modification so it can sit deeper.



Today I also received the finished side carpet pieces. The trim-man made a pretty good job. He used the old pieces as templates.





I also received the C-pillar chrome decorations from the chrome-guy. Very shiny!!

[greyghost]

that's looking fantastic, your really doing this car justice.
i can't wait to see the side chrome's on that blue paint.

[JC T ONE]

that's looking fantastic, your really doing this car justice.
i can't wait to see the side chrome's on that blue paint.

cant really add anything - the car really ended in the best hands.

[ronie]

Big day today.

Received the stuff from my shopping trip to the UK from Last week.

Most important part, by a mile, was the rear bench. I was pretty worried it would not fit, as the wood frame was made off site and the wicker man has never been near the car so all sorts of measurements could be wrong. Thankfully it fitted like a glove. Huge sigh of relief!!!!







Another very important part was the rear bumper. I bought it unseen many months ago at Bingley Hall, and this was the first time I saw it. It needs a bit of work but its 1000 times better than the rotten one I have, and from what I understand, a very difficult part to find.



Finally I got a pair of woven baskets to go under the seat but I forgot that the wicker bench extends lower than the normal Mini seats.



Never Mind, I will use them in my other Mini, no problem.

[minitravellerman]

This is just unbelieveable - simply a superb rebuild.

(Also liking the steel wheeled Lotus Seven in the background of some of those photos!)

[Pandora]

I noticed the S2 Seven too. Yours?

[ronie]

1962 S2 super seven 109E. Teenage dream come true.

[1965MOKE]

A lovely restoration, my moke is nearly in paint and I am amazed by the work that you have put into this rare mini....Hope that you enjoy driving it.

[ronie]

Thank you all for the kind words. I am on a 2 week holiday now with my wife and the only thing I think of is to continue the assembly of the car.

[ronie]

I had a friend convert a black&white photo to colour, so I can have an idea of the finished car.

[ronie]

Today I covered the cross member in carpet and trial fitted all the seats.













It looks almost ready but that is so far away from the truth....