my mk1 997 cooper build

[devoys 997 cooper]

Hi everyone !! my name is mark and i am the proud owner of my 1962 mini cooper 997,which i bought of an auction site a couple of weeks ago for an absolute bargain price !! my intentions are to firstly get the engine running, get the car mot'ed drive it for the summer and then do full restoration over the winter.for a 50 year old car it is in amazing original condition with only a few parts missing; one brake caliper, grill, dissy cap, ht leads, exhaust , heater control valve, and lights. off to bingley at the end of the month to see if i can source myself any rare bits and bobs for the car.

[devoys 997 cooper]

Hi its been a while since i have been on this site ,my cooper 997 is coming on well,i stripped the whole car back to the shell took all of the under seal off,then i looked for a good paint shop to do the spraying in the original surf blue,the cooper only needed a small amount of welding where the rear subframe met the underside of rear seat,section of the boot floor ,and also needed a few panels two front wings heritage,both outer cills and rear valance,everthing else is original the floor has not been welded ever,all in all i think that is pretty amazing!!!!! So the mini went in to be blasted welded and sprayed in april ,while i set about refurbishing all the removed parts,i want to keep it as original as i can ,i removed all the seat covers washed them in the bath as they had over 30 years of dirt and grime ,the mini had been garaged and unused since 1980. The rear subframe was rusted and falling apart and was replaced with a used original,i cleaned wire wheeled and repainted all the parts removed a very satisfying job,restoring original parts rather than buying new,another great thing i have found doing this great restoration is going to all the shows and auto jumbles trying and successfully finding those hard to find original and rare parts a great buzz ,also seeing all the great cars on show the like minded people all in all a great bubble i am in. The mini has been back for about 6 weeks now ,and i am putting all the parts back on subframes have been built and are back on as are the wheels ,sand blasted and powdercoated old english white .the seats have been re webbed using all the correct parts and are looking great. I have taken loads of pictures and will put them on the forum as soon as i fix my computer.thanks for reading speak to you soon. ,regards mark

[devoys 997 cooper]

got the mini back from the spray shop starting to put it back together now also got lots of new parts and got my subframes powdercoated and also my wheels done.
http://i1026.photobucket.com/albums/y32 ... k1/151.jpg

[devoys 997 cooper]

[devoys 997 cooper]

[captain]

well done that is a cracking job your making,and well worth all the effort, to keep it as original as poss,very valueable we car when you are done keep the good work nice to see nice workmanship

[abri]

Looks fantastic. Everyone's dream find

About your carb float bowls...not sure if they are in the final place where you meant to put them, but they seem a bit angled.

[InimiaD]

Superb job.
You've achieved so much in a short time. Hats off to you.

[devoys 997 cooper]

thanks my aim is to keep the cars originality as thats what the old cars are all about also regarding the float bowls they sit like that on the carbs and are not manoverable so will sit like this when the car is finished

[GraemeC]

The float bowls certainly look wrong - if you look back at your own early pictures you'll see they were much more vertical originally.

Did you strip your carbs down? If so possibly you mixed up the stepped distance pieces that set the float bowl angle - from memory they are left and right handed and it looks like your bowls have been swung the wrong way.

[nunomauricio]

FANTASTIC RESTORATION!!!! FANTASTIC CAR!!!! EXCELLENT WORK!!!! MY SINCERE CONGRATULATIONS FROM PORTUGAL

[georgek]

Well done, it does look very nice.

[NotNormal]

Great work.

Best colour also....but then I am a bit biased on that one

[guru_1071]

The float bowls certainly look wrong - if you look back at your own early pictures you'll see they were much more vertical originally.

Did you strip your carbs down? If so possibly you mixed up the stepped distance pieces that set the float bowl angle - from memory they are left and right handed and it looks like your bowls have been swung the wrong way.

i agree, there is something wrong with them, as they are now they would just pour petrol out.

car looks great, your really cracking on with it!



it also looks as if you have put the front calipers on upside down? its difficult to see in the photos, but it looks as if the bleed nipples are at the bottom in you later pictures (or is it just my old man eyes????)

[devoys 997 cooper]

hi,yes both the comments about my parts that do not seem correctly fitted are right,thank you for pointing them out!!! i do feel a bit of a twat for putting the calipers on upside down. i am not worthy among such greatness!!!!! regards mark

[khyndart]

I also have a 1962 Mini Cooper here in California and it has been a fun car to have for the last 20 years.
I have attached the Heritage Certificate.
You are doing a great job on your restoration.

[KennethDK]

Very nice car. Great job

... and I as well owns a 1962 Austin Cooper




Regards

Kenneth

[miniminor]

Lovely cooper, superb looking restoration. Def best colour scheme, but alas I may also be biased

[Ronnie]

Delete or modify your certificates, otherwise there will be a chance that lots of them will be multiplying

[georgek]

Very nice, quality job!