January 1960 Austin Mini

[Costafortune]

Good call. I appreciate the advice.

Let me ask something as the new guy around here. Am I trampling on graves or stepping over the line by modifyng a 59 or 60? I don't want to be a nuisance by sharing sacrilege.

Thanks and sorry?

What do you think happened to these 40-50 years ago?

If it's not a low mileage original minter, do what you like - no 12/13 inch wheels though. I can recall the girl who lived next door to my Gran in Axminster having a very early Speedwell blue Austin in the mid 1970's. Within a month it was black metal flake with Wolfrace wheels and black tinted windows. I'd like to see more Minis modified in the seventies style - Cosmic wheels, the plastic Madadash (!), Benelite grilles, rear wipers. I see one like this and it takes me back to my youth when Minis were cheap cars to be used and enjoyed and nobody gave a shit about how much it was worth.

[billycooper]

I turned a 1960 into a Hillclimb car and a 1963 1071 Cooper S Radford back into a standard car !

so don't worry, do as you wish ... as Mark says its your car and we all want them and use them for different reasons !

[TRP]

Yesterday I finished cleaning up the used tank. I had been doing the white vinegar & stainless steel nut/washer 'shake and sit' routine. When I finally poured out the vinegar I was pretty amazed at how much rust came out of the tank. I was afraid to see what was left in the tank. Once I looked inside with a flashlight, I was really pleased with the results! Based on what I saw I went ahead and poured in a mixture of water and baking soda to neutralize the acid. I sloshed that around for a bit and then rinsed the tank out a few times. From there I poured a bunch of WD-40 in the tank and made sure I coated all the inside of the tank. From there I ran it down to the muffler shop to have them weld the neck back on. They did a great job! I put a quick coat of primer and paint on the tank to make it look good again. With all that work done, I woke up this morning took a crack at installing the right hand tank. All in all it was pretty straight forward. I took some photos along the way.

First thing I did was take a look at the left tank to try and get an idea of how things would shape up:

Step1.jpg

From there I loosened up the 1/2" nut that was securing the top and bottom straps. With that loose I removed the gas cap and slid the left tank to the right and into the trunk. I loosened the hose clamp on the fuel line and removed that. I quickly plugged the hole with my finger and slid everything out of the trunk. From there I took some masking paper made a template of the existing hole:

Step2.jpg

I took the template from the left side and flipped it over. I carefully aligned it on the right side with the mirror image of several reference points I marked from the left side. With the template in place I stepped back measured things again. I then marked a 2 3/4" hole I had transferred from the other side. I then sat down and drank a beer and took a deep breath. I then lined up a 2 1/8" hole saw right in the center of the 2 3/4" hole I had previously marked (this left room to move and adjust if necessary):

Step4.jpg

Once the hole was cut there was no turning back. I eyeballed the base bracket in place and tried to offer up the right tank. Things looked close so I did the enlarged hole a little bit at a time. Offering up the tank after every few minutes to make sure I was on the right path.:

Step5.jpg

I pulled the tank out one last time and installed the base bracket, the top strap and bracket, the bottom strap and bracket. With all of those in place I tightened everything down and made sure the neck had a good 1/8 gap evenly all around it. I marked where I needed to enlarge the hole. I removed the tank and then carefully enlarged the hole to keep everything even. Once done there... I took a step back and drank another beer:

Step6.jpg

The last step was to offer the right and left tanks back into the car one last time. I then installed two new filler neck grommets and then tighten everything down. I installed the new Y pipe, fuel lines, and the new stainless steel vented caps.

Oh, another thing I did today was install some dynamat underneath and behind the rear seat. This helped a bit with the drone from the exhaust / road noise.

All in all it looks great. Very pleased with the results. Next project are going to be installing new rear tapered wheel bearings, rear bearing races, and the rear sway bar.

Thanks for letting me share!

[UHR850]

That's my job too in the spring

Kees

[onetim]

Good call. I appreciate the advice.

Let me ask something as the new guy around here. Am I trampling on graves or stepping over the line by modifyng a 59 or 60? I don't want to be a nuisance by sharing sacrilege.

Thanks and sorry?

What do you think happened to these 40-50 years ago?

If it's not a low mileage original minter, do what you like - no 12/13 inch wheels though. I can recall the girl who lived next door to my Gran in Axminster having a very early Speedwell blue Austin in the mid 1970's. Within a month it was black metal flake with Wolfrace wheels and black tinted windows. I'd like to see more Minis modified in the seventies style - Cosmic wheels, the plastic Madadash (!), Benelite grilles, rear wipers. I see one like this and it takes me back to my youth when Minis were cheap cars to be used and enjoyed and nobody have a shit about how much it was worth.

Glad to hear these mods are OK, Feeling a bit of a looser here for having 13's on my MK1 62 997 Cooper, This modification was done 2 repaints ago, and probably has been this way for more than 30 years. Purchased for $4500 with a running 1071, but with end float issues. Now running well with a A+ 1275 rod change, 8.4 metro brakes, and sorted suspension at about $10,000. The body is presentable as is, so now working on the interior. Looks like the 13's will be around for awhile, sorry

Here's a pic for your viewing pleasure

[TRP]

Good Morning!

I received my Heritage Certificate last night!I. 1960 Austin Seven (Mini) DeLux. Speedwell Blue with Grey interior. Optional equipment: Heater. The car was started January 12, 1960. Dispatched on the 28th of that same month. Destination was USA. First registered in the US in 1961.

There we have it. Run of the mill early early eaaaarly 1960.

Kind of bummed it's not a 59.

[Costafortune]

Good call. I appreciate the advice.

Let me ask something as the new guy around here. Am I trampling on graves or stepping over the line by modifyng a 59 or 60? I don't want to be a nuisance by sharing sacrilege.

Thanks and sorry?

What do you think happened to these 40-50 years ago?

If it's not a low mileage original minter, do what you like - no 12/13 inch wheels though. I can recall the girl who lived next door to my Gran in Axminster having a very early Speedwell blue Austin in the mid 1970's. Within a month it was black metal flake with Wolfrace wheels and black tinted windows. I'd like to see more Minis modified in the seventies style - Cosmic wheels, the plastic Madadash (!), Benelite grilles, rear wipers. I see one like this and it takes me back to my youth when Minis were cheap cars to be used and enjoyed and nobody have a shit about how much it was worth.

Glad to hear these mods are OK, Feeling a bit of a looser here for having 13's on my MK1 62 997 Cooper, This modification was done 2 repaints ago, and probably has been this way for more than 30 years. Purchased for $4500 with a running 1071, but with end float issues. Now running well with a A+ 1275 rod change, 8.4 metro brakes, and sorted suspension at about $10,000. The body is presentable as is, so now working on the interior. Looks like the 13's will be around for awhile, sorry

Here's a pic for your viewing pleasure

Hmm. I'm liking the 1955 Chevrolet Nomad.

[TRP]

Last time I shared, I left you all with this photo.

The tanks are in and everything is working as it should. I did find that both of my brand new gas caps leak. I called up the good folks at minispares to figure out why and I was told "yeah, mini's do that..." Is this something mini owners just accept as the truth? Our cars leak fuel out of the fuel caps? If the neck opening is true and flat and the tank still leaks in corners, what's the fix?

Aside from that, I begin disassembly of the car next week. I'm going to tear it all down for paint and body work. I've arranged for a bare metal strip and complete respray of the car to start around the second week of February. I will send the bumpers, door handles, and other chrome bits out for work at the same time. The only thing really keeping me up at night is the paint selection. I think I want the roof to be white. What's the proper color white to use? I've seen a few posts about the proper / improper way to paint the top white. Where should the white end? Does it end at the start of the rain gutter? or does it lap clear over to the outside? Is there an example of the 'proper' way to paint your roof white?

The other thing is body color. Does the body color continue on to the entire interior? Is the dash body color? Any special secrets I should know about the proper way to paint the interior of a mini?

The last thing is color choice. I won't be going back to Speedwell Blue. I'm leaning toward a darker blue or one of the many green colors. I get that it's personal preference. This is the first car I've had painted where I've done a complete color change. It's nerve racking to pick a color! Any sage words of advice would be appreciated.

As always, thanks for letting me share.

[Dr S]

As far as I am aware the interior is all body colour. I’m a bit of a fan of the greys (farina / tweed) with a white roof

[Peter Laidler]

Roof painting. Everything INSIDE the upward curve of the guttering.
Colour, well, it's entirely a matter for you but Mk1 cars look very nice in Tweed Grey with Old English White (OEW) roofs. If it's a complete inside and out full paint then what the heck. It's not a standard car now in any case so it really is a personal thing
Leaking fuel tanks. Just new cap seals seem to do the trick. But the trouble with them is that they seem to pucker-up when you tighten the filler cap down. So I put a bit of spit on the filler neck as I replace the caps and it ensures that the rubber seal slides round and doesn't pucker up.

Let's see the progress later and don't forget to make a full photographic record of the progress too.

[coopertim]

Body colour wise, you definitely can’t go wrong with either Tweed Grey (my car colour) or the earlier Smoke Grey with Old English White. My personal preference would be the creamier the better. The entire interior of the car would be painted in body colour. It’s going to make a fantastic car!

Tim

[timmy201]

The Aussie Cooper S on page 1 that you like is Marine Blue. We had a couple of nice colours that weren’t available in the UK

https://classicregister.com/id-pages/ho ... oper-s-mk1

[TRP]

Love the color of that Aussie build. It's that or Almond Green.

The mini is in full tear down mode for paint and body. How do I get the headliner out without destroying it?

Im not sold on the W&P wheel arches. Second thoughts I suppose.

Ted

[timmy201]

The Aussie Cooper S arches are my favourite, you can still but then new too

https://classicregister.com/id-guides/h ... oper-s-mk2

[Costafortune]

Good call. I appreciate the advice.

Let me ask something as the new guy around here. Am I trampling on graves or stepping over the line by modifyng a 59 or 60? I don't want to be a nuisance by sharing sacrilege.

Thanks and sorry?

What do you think happened to these 40-50 years ago?

If it's not a low mileage original minter, do what you like - no 12/13 inch wheels though. I can recall the girl who lived next door to my Gran in Axminster having a very early Speedwell blue Austin in the mid 1970's. Within a month it was black metal flake with Wolfrace wheels and black tinted windows. I'd like to see more Minis modified in the seventies style - Cosmic wheels, the plastic Madadash (!), Benelite grilles, rear wipers. I see one like this and it takes me back to my youth when Minis were cheap cars to be used and enjoyed and nobody have a shit about how much it was worth.

Glad to hear these mods are OK, Feeling a bit of a looser here for having 13's on my MK1 62 997 Cooper, This modification was done 2 repaints ago, and probably has been this way for more than 30 years. Purchased for $4500 with a running 1071, but with end float issues. Now running well with a A+ 1275 rod change, 8.4 metro brakes, and sorted suspension at about $10,000. The body is presentable as is, so now working on the interior. Looks like the 13's will be around for awhile, sorry

Here's a pic for your viewing pleasure

It's fine. The car still exists, and someone else can restore it back to standard another time.

[TRP]

My comments about the wheel arches are less about maintaining originality and more about wondering if I need them. I mean, if I don't need to muddy up the side profile with arches, then I'm okay with that.

Here is how far the current wheels extend out past the body. This is due to the wheel offset and the bigger brakes. I think the arches are necessary to keep excessive grime from slinging all over the paint.

exterior_right.jpg

and

exterior_left_rear.jpg

Speaking of paint, the car is all taken down to the shell and shipped off to paint and body:

exterior_front.jpg

exterior_boot.jpg

exterior_full.jpg

I'm not sure how long the project will take at the body shop. I'm guessing... a few months? No rush on this end.

[TRP]

While I was in the process of tearing the car down I did finally manage to get some shots of the interior and the floors.

I found this odd hole in the boot floor. It's cracking and has a bit of surface rust. This hole used to have a bolt through it with a rubber bushing on the top and bottom. I'm not sure if this was originally a drain or if someone had drilled the whole and hung an exhaust off of it. I'm going to have the cracks fixed, but should I also have the hole welded up?:

interior_boot.jpg

The interior floors are pretty solid without any ruar holes. Both foot wells appear to be pushed up a bit. There is also evidence of a roll bar once being installed in the car. Don't mind the moisture in the right footwell. That was caused when I removed the heater core. I didn't have a catch basin handy and I dumped half the contents into the floor board.

Left:

left_floor_fr.jpg

left_floor_rear.jpg

Right

right_floor_fr.jpg

right_floor_rear.jpg

I removed the artichoke dip lid patch panel. I will order the correct plug for that space and secure it before I put the carpet back in.

[TRP]

A few more photos of the interior. Once I get it back it will be body color. At the current time I'm leaning towards Almond Green. If I go Almond Green, what's a good interior choice? Grey brocade? or ??

Found another FE tag on the right hand floor:

right_floor_FE.jpg

interior_top.jpg

interior2.jpg

interior3.jpg

interior4.jpg

Thanks for letting me share my progress.
Ted

[java gt]

I really like Willow green on MKI Minis.The Swiftune Minis look great with a nice cream roof IMO.

[Costafortune]

Oh those bloody floor plugs. I have a story about those.......



....I may have told it before.