Er, no it's not.
1960s Rally Spec Mini Cooper Restoration Project
- Thread starter yantorsen
- Start date
Er, no it's not.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Guys don't waste your time. There is nothing you cannot tell this guy which he doesn't think he already knows. He has never driven a car on a public road and does not have a driving license yet instantly knows that every car ever that isnt a Mini or a Land Rover is 'boring'. He even thinks hot hatches are boring even though its almost certain he doesnt even know what they are.
He's been banned on numerous occasions for posting random stuff and appears to be a complete fantasist.
He's been banned on numerous occasions for posting random stuff and appears to be a complete fantasist.
No mini (save the original GRP prototypes) left the factory with any fibreglass body panels. They were added by ralley teams, which there were many of.
Okay, I'll take your word for it. But the fact that it's modified isn't really that relevant to the point of this thread. I'm just wanting to find out a bit more about how much it would cost to restore, how I'd go about doing it etc. If I can do it and it's still insurable then great, if not then no worries, I still would like to restore for when I'm older.
Well I say go for it.
Engine rebuild = Haynes manual, set of rings and bearings and a full set of gaskets off eBay which will come to about £100. Get someone to hone the bores for you or buy a bore honing tool for £50 and do it yourself with the drill, you'll have it rebuilt in a weekend.
Car, well that's another story. I'd get a MIG welder if I were you and start learning. There's two ways to do it, the easy wan and the hard way. The hard way is cheapest and takes the most time but you make everything yourself out of sheet metal and weld it on. The easy way you buy repair panels and fit them straight on, it's quick but expensive. An old Mini I'm guessing is going to need a lot of work underneath, so get that welder and get practicing.
This welder will do you, same as mine.
This mask will do you, same as my first one.
These welding gloves, again same as mine.
Edit: You also want snips, side cutters, wire brush, angle grinder etc
Engine rebuild = Haynes manual, set of rings and bearings and a full set of gaskets off eBay which will come to about £100. Get someone to hone the bores for you or buy a bore honing tool for £50 and do it yourself with the drill, you'll have it rebuilt in a weekend.
Car, well that's another story. I'd get a MIG welder if I were you and start learning. There's two ways to do it, the easy wan and the hard way. The hard way is cheapest and takes the most time but you make everything yourself out of sheet metal and weld it on. The easy way you buy repair panels and fit them straight on, it's quick but expensive. An old Mini I'm guessing is going to need a lot of work underneath, so get that welder and get practicing.
This welder will do you, same as mine.
This mask will do you, same as my first one.
These welding gloves, again same as mine.
Edit: You also want snips, side cutters, wire brush, angle grinder etc
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Unless it's an absolutely festering pile of brown dust it will be worth restoring. A genuine Cooper in good condition fetches decent money, and their value will only increase. A competition history tends to make these more attractive as well, so see if you can find out more details.
If your purpose is also to learn the skills of restoration then there's no simpler or cheaper car to do than the mini, at the end you'll end up with a car that's hilarious to drive and corners like little else ,furthermore it, at that age, it will only appreciate in value, there are hundreds of aftermarket suppliers and panels are cheap, engine parts are readily available and there are few simpler engines than the old A series.
Just get stuck in, get it up on ramps, buy a Mini restoration book and one of the many Mini magazines and have a crack.
And remember, Mini's are cool in a way modern low ins group cars simply aren't.
A good 60's Cooper is worth up to 10K.
Don't expect it to rip your head off though, it'll feel fast but even John Coopers winning Mini only dyno'ed at 61hp an original cooper engine will struggle for 50hp at the wheels and the first 850 only got 18 of it's paltry 31hp down.
A granny in a 1.4 Peugeot 106 has got more power under her right foot LOL.
Just get stuck in, get it up on ramps, buy a Mini restoration book and one of the many Mini magazines and have a crack.
And remember, Mini's are cool in a way modern low ins group cars simply aren't.
A good 60's Cooper is worth up to 10K.
Don't expect it to rip your head off though, it'll feel fast but even John Coopers winning Mini only dyno'ed at 61hp an original cooper engine will struggle for 50hp at the wheels and the first 850 only got 18 of it's paltry 31hp down.
A granny in a 1.4 Peugeot 106 has got more power under her right foot LOL.
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Thanks Jonny, I'll have a look
How long will it take to learn to weld well enough do you think? What should I practice on?
Old car panels are ideal
You can get sheets of 1.2mm mild steel delivered from Parker steel for about £15. Make your replacement parts in card first, then transfer to the steel. Cut it out with a metal blade in the jigsaw with plenty of WD40 to lubricate the blade, or use snips.
Have a read of my restoration here as I do a few repair panels somewhere in there.
Read past the fluff and rebuilding an engine is as simple as I make it here. You literally just follow the steps in the Haynes manual if you haven't done one before.
Doesn't take long to learn, helps if you can find someone to show you the basics though.
I know, that's one reason why I wouldn't mind throwing a fair bit of money at it, since it's not really going to depreciate. It may not make a "profit" but I'm not going to lose much on it really. Even with the mods though it seems very cheap to insure.
i estimate £6450.74 to restore
He'll need to invest in a few more things, like a valve spring compressor, torque wrench, socket set - it all starts adding up. I don't think he has the budget to restore the car, it will need new radius arms, shocks, donuts, brake parts (most if not all), wheel bearings, clutch, tyres etc. etc. and thats without any bodywork, subframes, even little things like window rubbers and anything else that might be needed. I've spent enough on Minis in my life to know how much these things all add up.
A good car to learn on a Mini yes, but not all in one hit.
Just out of intreast has it got 2 fuel tanks ? 1960 car you dont have to pay road tax on, on the MOT there no problem with emissions testing, nothing difficult to maintain, usally found the older minis quite reliable, but they do suffer from corossion.
[TW]Fox;13393084 said:
They're not wasting there time, they're being very helpful.
I might not always post in a style to your liking, but this thread is a serious one, not just me being bored on the internet.
I may well change my mind, but this thread is to help me make a good and informed decision. So unless you are going to offer advice or help then I would kindly ask you to refrain from posting in this thread.