mk1-forum.net

When I joined this forum a few years ago, I'd just bought a dismantled 1962 997 Cooper project in need of a full restoration.
I was going to upgrade much of the car with things like KAD suspension parts and started a thread on here to that effect.

Although I restored a Cooper S body shell about 25 years ago, this time I wanted to leave it to others and just enjoy rebuilding the mechanical bits and the re-assembly.
So I sent it to a local body shop who also work on classics thinking that I could keep an eye on it.

But then the old Mini bug really took hold and I bought a 1966 historic rally car project, and a 1978 1275GT, oh, and a GTM Coupe for good measure.
Well the rally car was built (see thread elsewhere) and run at Blyton the last two years.
The 1275GT was also re-built into a new Heritage shell and all those lovely KAD bits, first intended for the 997, fitted along with a 1430 7 port.
The GTM has been handed over to my oldest son as a project for him.

As the months passed, I occasionally enquired about my first love the 1962 Cooper and was always told that that they were still too busy and would be putting together a panels list and working out an estimate. I wasn't too concerned as I was also busy and financially extended with the other cars.
I heard that they had moved premises but thought nothing of it until a fellow classic car enthusiast tipped me off that they were now storing the shell outside.
That would be bad enough but I knew they had had it blasted when they first picked it up.

I asked for the shell to be returned and they had it re-blasted before they 'kindly' dropped it off in a significantly worse state than it had been two years earlier.

So today I'm going to re-boot the story of the Lakeland 997.
The time that has passed has changed my view of how the car should be re-built in a manner much more sympathetic to it's age.
When I looked through the boxes of bits I realised that I had many of the original parts unique to the early cars such as the flat top Coventry radiator, cast iron water pump, early fuel tank, 100mph speedo etc... but more of that later.

Andy

Lakeland997 wrote: I heard that they had moved premises but thought nothing of it until a fellow classic car enthusiast tipped me off that they were now storing the shell outside.
That would be bad enough but I knew they had had it blasted when they first picked it up.

I asked for the shell to be returned and they had it re-blasted before they 'kindly' dropped it off in a significantly worse state than it had been two years earlier.

kind of at odds with your tag line at the bottom of your post!

Shell during initial blasting

So, four years later (where did that time go?) and not wanting to be bitten again, I entrusted the remains of the body to Minisport in Padiham.
My local Mini specialist (although still two hours drive away).
I was immediately re-assured by the fact that Basil their head bodyshop man recommenced that, because it had stood outside in bare metal, every external seam would need to be opened up to ensure the rust didn't re-appear.
Given the number of panels that needed replaced, that wouldn't be hard to achieve!
The panels list was prepared immediately and a total price agreed.
The shell was then blasted for the third time since I bought it...
This time Minisport immediately treated the bare metal with a protective coating (looks like brown rust on these images!).

Metalwork nearing completion

And here we are today!
Did I mention it was originally Fiesta Yellow?
They've even wrapped ribbons around it for me... how sweet.

now comes the easy bit!

How nice looking is that shell now the fun bit,mind and don't scratch it!!

That looks the biz Andy, I popped in to see my old navigator Ian Joice (ex Prodrive, ex Msport etc etc) he works down there now, they have some nice projects in at the mo !

Drooolll!

mowog 62 wrote:How nice looking is that shell now the fun bit,mind and don't scratch it!!

I dropped the engine crane on my new 1275GT shell so I'm hoping I've got that all over with now.

Beautiful.

Although I have had a change of heart and will be building the car back up in a manner more 'respectful' of it's heritage there are a few things that I need to change.
First is the gearbox.
Even if I could find all the necessary parts to rebuild the early cone synchro box I would still end up with a poor gearbox.
So I obtained an unused gold seal 1128 box from a fellow forum member.
I stripped it, had the case soda blasted then I rebuilt it with a close ratio gear set and a few strengthening mods.

That colour, wow!

I've posted elsewhere on here about the engine but for completeness I'll include it again.
Like the gearbox, the 997 engine presents problems for the modern restorer in three main areas:
1. Pistons - practically unavailable and not good for high performance anyway
2. Crank - oil fed primary gear needs to go!
3. Clutch/flywheel - coil spring type. Again, parts pretty much unavailable.

The answer to 1. was to bore out the block to suit 1098 pistons (1098 are better than 998 as the pin to crown height is closer to the 997 so less has to be machined off the block).
The risks of this are covered in Vizard's books but early convertors like Speedwell used to bore the 997 even bigger although apparently oil consumption was an issue due to bore wall flex.
I bought liners just in case but when it was bored all seemed to be well so they were not fitted. I'll keep them handy anyway!
High performance 1098 pistons are available. I used Russell Engineering parts from down under but I see CalverST sells some nice ones now.
To match the pistons I am using Saenz conrods with floating pins secured by circlips.
The conrods weigh 250g each (yes I said each) less than the standard parts and I think they will contribute greatly to the way the engine spins up and the longevity of the crank!
For No. 2 the oil feed hole needs blocking and the later deva primary gear used but to do this a spacer or thicker backing ring is needed because the oil fed gear is longer. Fortunately mine had been converted and the thicker backing ring was already fitted.
In addition, the crank was wedged, hardened and balanced.
No. 3 involves converting to a diaphragm clutch so all new flywheel assembly. But as I discovered recently, the taper on the 997 crank is shorter so I'll need to get the flywheel modified to suit otherwise it sits out too far towards the cover.

Instead of reworking the original head (a rare 12A185) casting I am using a 12g295.

Some engine assembly shots.
In the second image you can see how the flywheel sits too far out from the end of the crank. Modification required.
Camshaft is SW5-07 driven by MED vernier duplex gears.
Brass drain tap shown in the parts books interferes with the Cooper manifold.
Trial fit of original twin HS2 were beautifully restored by Burlen. Lead-time was 18 weeks!
Compare with original engine shot above!

Very nice! I'm impressed with all the work just to keep it some what stock most would have just gone to 998 or 1275

Lakeland997 wrote:.
Trial fit of original twin HS2 were beautifully restored by Burlen. Lead-time was 18 weeks!
Compare with original engine shot above!

Not picking flies, just a question. I thought the brace bar between the carb heat shields went on the other way around so the springs were angled correctly to the spindles. (i.e. holes are toward the driver not the engine)

Have I been doing it wrong?

You are indeed right sir! You may pick all the flies you wish, I have been pondering this very issue myself!

Actually, while the shields are correct, that spring bar is the wrong shape for a 997.
I have the original one and it is straight in shape. I'm busy painting it at the moment.
I'll post a picture when it's done.

I believe it fits to the engine side of the shields with the spring holes facing away from the engine.
The bolts are shown correctly fitted.

Oh, and the float chamber lid needs rotating.