1966 Mk1 Austin Mini Cooper 998

[Nick W]

With originality like that , its going to be a very special car when finished!

[SMOKE GREY]

Just noticed in that first pic, an SP3s on the front

[mk1]

I just love this little car.

[Hipwell]

With originality like that , its going to be a very special car when finished!

Thanks Nick, yes everything that came off will go back on. I got loads of reference pics, so will be as was. The only exception being the engine, preview pics coming soon...

Just noticed in that first pic, an SP3s on the front

SP's all around on banded steels, pretty rad. Although even the purist wouldnt reuse those tyres as they have multiple amateur repairs and tread on par with a slick.

I just love this little car.

Cheers Mark, just about keeping up with you and your joint S project.

[Costafortune]

One of the best Minis I have ever driven was an early 998 Cooper, properly set up on the dyno - not 'fast' but very lively.A dry car, even the brakes were half decent and they were about the same as twin leading shoe drums.

I'm not sure I would have acid dipped that though..........

[Hipwell]

One of the best Minis I have ever driven was an early 998 Cooper, properly set up on the dyno - not 'fast' but very lively.A dry car, even the brakes were half decent and they were about the same as twin leading shoe drums.

I'm not sure I would have acid dipped that though..........

Yes hopefully it will be a nippy 998 when its completed. Mine should have a few more BHP's than standard. Funny how most people comment how bad the 7" discs are, now most run the 7.5" S set up?

I would guess mine had done some off-roading in the past, given the amount of mud which covered the underneath. Probably 5kg's came off the sills and out the subframes alone. Along with the front shocks (on hydro) and rear anti-roll bar it had. Also there is a long extension on the speedo cable shown on the first page which I haven't worked out yet.

Its not dipped, only lightly blasted. I think the pre photos show it much better than it is, I have hidden the worst parts. I'm glad I have had it done and very happy with the result. I couldn't have removed by hand the bedded in rust spots/bad areas conclusively any other way.

[Costafortune]

Fairynuff.

One of my first Minis was a 1961 850 that I rebuilt into a Mark 1 Cooper look-a-like, using 998 discs and a 1300GT servo. Can't recall what pads I used, possibly some Ferodo ones. Fade was the main problem as the pads were too small to absorb much heat. But as l;one as you didn't go mad they were alright - I suspect a rapid stop from 70-80 might be an issue.

[timmy201]

Remember when the 7" discs came out they were being compared to the single cylinder drums, so they seemed pretty good. Once the 7.5" ones came along they were in a different class again. It's more difficult and more expensive to buy 7" stuff too but it will keep the track width the same as the standard Cooper.

[Hipwell]

As said the 7" stuff is mega $$$ in comparison. Trouble is the only new 7" discs are unbranded which gives you faith.

[Hipwell]

So here is the boat anchor.... well I mean 998cc engine.

All pretty standard, doubt it had ever seen much service work and given the crud and general condition, I doubt it would have done any more miles. Which probably sealed its fate in 1970 something.

9FD-SA-H Engine Number/12G295 Head/12A497 Block/1000 Tag/Std D Top Pistons/Std Rods/2A596 Crank/22G68 9F Gearbox/1004 12A991P Manifold/AUC1341&2 Carb Bodies.

Finally a nice Dulux off-white top coat.

Part I

Removal




Strip down




Dipped


Cylinder head work & rebuild

[mk1]

Excellent work!

Who sorted the head for you?

I always love to see a nice clean workshop. Something that is all to rare for me, sharing with Rich

[rich@minispares.com]

Excellent work!

Who sorted the head for you?

I always love to see a nice clean workshop. Something that is all to rare for me, sharing with Rich

I'm like a dragon, I like to spread the mess around to see whats occuring

[Hipwell]

Excellent work!

Who sorted the head for you?

I always love to see a nice clean workshop. Something that is all to rare for me, sharing with Rich

John Middleton flowed the head, previously Williams F1, CES etc, impressive figures from his flow bench. REC Valves & assembly by my brother at Warren Heath Motorsport.

[Hipwell]

Engine Build Part II

Lucky to find a new old stock set of STD Hepolite D top pistons!



Vapour blasted aluminium parts and rebuild remote change.


40955F 666 devil distributor






Welded rockers


This was the remote shifter before, seller advised it wouldn't change gears, which probably put the car off the road in the 1970's. The front seal had failed and the shaft had jammed solid up with all the debris and presumably water ingress.

[Aginley]

What ever happened to this build? Lovely job

[Hipwell]

What ever happened to this build? Lovely job

Ha.. its on going.

Completing 90% the work myself over weekends and the odd day off takes its time. Only really outsourcing the rebuild of the 1 litre screamer.

I'll sort out some more updated progress pics asap.

[Hipwell]

So some time back the front end received the initial attention. I shaped some small repair panels for the front corner.




Next we made up a basic rotisserie jig and mounted it up to give access to the underside.



The new inner A-panels were aligned via keeping the remains of the outer A's in momentarily. These were then plug welded back into position.

[Hipwell]

There was no point messing with the door frame aperture as that was factory, so the outer A-panels were trimmed down and butt welded close to the shut line. Before final welding, in between the 2 A-panels I layered up with some cavity wax.




All the heritage panels were a nightmare to properly align to the the original panels especially the wings. But after many hours clamping and fettling they fitted without any resorting to major surgery. I reused all the factory weld points to make sure nothing looked out of place and stripped off the E-coat before etch priming. I opted to Tigerseal the wing to the scuttle joint as the fit ended up being very tight.



The result.

[Tex1965]

Very, very nice work!

Thank you for sharing with us. I wonder, do you have a Picture how you welded outer A-panel to the A-post. I am about to carry the same work (need to find better way than I did in the past) and wonder how should I do it.

[mk1]

Thanks for the update Matt.