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Hi folks, starting to think about commencing the (long-awaited) resto of my autumn '64 Austin SDL, which (rather annoyingly) got re-shelled into a spring '63 shell by a previous owner. Now I've ummed and ahhed about what to do, and decided to rebuild the current shell to autumn '64 specs (and yes, the plan is to go back to Hydro), rather than search for a 64-65 era shell as looking for shells these days seems to be a bit of a minefield in my book (the current shell is also reasonably sound, which is another factor). Now I've researched me taters off going over the differences between the shells, courtesy of the Parnell book, those handy guides on Somerford Minis site, and various other online sources, and these seem to be the ones I'm pretty sure about:

* Front end (which needs replacing anyway)
* Courtesy light holes next to the A panels
* Floor starter button hole needs filling
* Holes for the swivel sun visors/clips need drilling/old ones need filling
* New B post seat belt holes 4.5 inches lower than current ones
* Stiffeners in the boot/rear bulkhead
* Plates x 4 for the rear radius arms underneath the rear bulkhead
* Larger holes in the engine bay cross member for the Hydro pipes
* Clips for the Hydro pipes underneath
* Door seal rubber holes

The thing is, have I missed anything? For instance, is the rear valance slightly different on the Hydro shells? This is where I'm hoping the collective Mk1 forum brains trust can help, as I want to be 100% sure about what's required before I start consulting bodyshops - so the floor is yours chaps…

It's not original, so how about you create an exciting period racer instead?

It'd help if you could be more specific on both build dates, lots of changes in Autumn '64 and ditto Spring '63 but I take it it's a post August '64 converting to pre May '63 ? The list looks right, a few other minor changes like washer bottle brackets and other bits I'm sure you've sussed. I'd be tempted to leave the shell as is though as it still won't be a '64 when it's all done if you know what I mean, especially if it's been in that shell a long time?

Funnily enough I know someone doing the exact opposite of that! You should swap shells!

In the shed wrote:It's not original, so how about you create an exciting period racer instead?

Well I have a good reason to rebuild it to an original-ish spec, as the car in it's original form belonged to my neighbours when I was a nipper, so I knew the original car well - found it by sheer chance on eBay 4 years ago, but only discovered that it had been re-shelled afterwards. Also there's still a good chunk of the original car left, and I want to show the plonker who bought a well-looked after Mini from my old neighbour 20 years ago and then proceeded to drive it into the ground in less than a decade how to properly restore a car. And in any case, I'm not really into period racing either

Pete wrote:It'd help if you could be more specific on both build dates, lots of changes in Autumn '64 and ditto Spring '63!

Yes, don't I bloody well know it; researching all this has driven me mad at times! Car built 14th October '64, current shell is late April/early May '63. My old neighbours are still alive and well, and they've helped me with all the internal stuff, plus they've donated some bits and pieces too, so I've got all those changes sussed, it's just the metalwork changes I'm trying to work out. It sounds a bit of a mad project, but it's not just a Mini, it's a little piece of my childhood which gave me the Mk1 Mini love all those years ago…