1960s Rally Spec Mini Cooper Restoration Project
- Thread starter yantorsen
- Start date
It seems so, it wouldn't surprise me if my Granddad tinkered with it since then though, or replaced it, since he had lot's of minis at one point he used for spare parts and stuff.
I'm not sure if it has a roll cage to be honest.
I've gotta be honest I can't remember, I think it has, but I'm not 100%.
I only opened the door about 25 degrees to get the key in. If it does have a cage it isn't obvious anyway.
Oh right, I assumed when you said the interior was immaculate you might have looked at it.
It is more or less, I was judging that based on a bit of muck I had rubbed of the window with my finger and looking in a while back.
I have an early '70's SAAB 96 works car and you can pick up almost any 'normal' 1960's -1970's rally cars for under £10K. I'm not talking about a Stratos here
But Mini's, Escorts, Cortinas, Chevettes and Mantas are pretty affordable. But they are road-legal racing cars, not runabouts - that's why the car was detuned for your Nan to run it.
Personally, I would not attempt to rebuild that bodyshell, but I would find out EVERYTHING about the car. If nothing else, it'll be a fabulous bonding session between you, your dad and your grandad.
If it does have genuine race-level tuned parts (engine, gearbox) then those parts may well be worth salvaging, either to sell and fund another vehicle or to transfer into a new donor shell.
As a first car, any 1960-1980's race-level tuned vehicle is going to be very difficult to drive on the road. Typically they have extreme camshaft profiles and they don't tend to come 'on cam' until late in the rev range. They also tend to have special gearboxes that will survive massive abuse, but won't do anything for your reputation as a smooth driver.
I can remember this phase in my own driving history - my dad had had tuned cars, so I wanted tuned cars. I pumped everything I had into polishing a turd. It was still a turd and it expired in a huge puddle of oil and smoke on the M8 one Saturday night. My girlfriend heaved a huge sigh of relief
When I could afford it, I bought a proper one
Do yourself a favour - get something modern. But standard! A small hatchback with a big diesel engine in it will generally get you where you want to go with a smile on your face without costing a fortune to run.
But Mini's, Escorts, Cortinas, Chevettes and Mantas are pretty affordable. But they are road-legal racing cars, not runabouts - that's why the car was detuned for your Nan to run it.Personally, I would not attempt to rebuild that bodyshell, but I would find out EVERYTHING about the car. If nothing else, it'll be a fabulous bonding session between you, your dad and your grandad.
If it does have genuine race-level tuned parts (engine, gearbox) then those parts may well be worth salvaging, either to sell and fund another vehicle or to transfer into a new donor shell.
As a first car, any 1960-1980's race-level tuned vehicle is going to be very difficult to drive on the road. Typically they have extreme camshaft profiles and they don't tend to come 'on cam' until late in the rev range. They also tend to have special gearboxes that will survive massive abuse, but won't do anything for your reputation as a smooth driver.
I can remember this phase in my own driving history - my dad had had tuned cars, so I wanted tuned cars. I pumped everything I had into polishing a turd. It was still a turd and it expired in a huge puddle of oil and smoke on the M8 one Saturday night. My girlfriend heaved a huge sigh of relief
When I could afford it, I bought a proper one
Do yourself a favour - get something modern. But standard! A small hatchback with a big diesel engine in it will generally get you where you want to go with a smile on your face without costing a fortune to run.
Thanks WJA96 for the advice 
The things is I don't really need a car to get me from A to B, it is just for fun really, so I don't really mind if it takes a bit more work etc.
I think this Mini will probably be too much for my funds, and I thought that from the start to be honest, but I just wanted to see.
The things is I don't really need a car to get me from A to B, it is just for fun really, so I don't really mind if it takes a bit more work etc.
I think this Mini will probably be too much for my funds, and I thought that from the start to be honest, but I just wanted to see.
That's the engine turning over. It's just not firing.
I was just going by the look of the seams, they take a bit to rot and are seriously structurally important; they hold the car together.
Sub zero? pah any car will start sub zero. Mini was running for a half hour today as we need to get the last of the fuel out of it before messing with the fuel sender. Started first time without trouble
let me guess, gauge not working right? I have the same issue lol.
Totally incorrect, the external seams are the most common rust point for minis, and it pretty obvious why if you stop and think about it.
I'd be willing to bet that the majority of minis on the road will have some rot in the seams, but they aren't a very good indicator for the state of the rest of the car.
Er, I wouldn't say they are the most common at all? I viewed a fair few cars before getting mine and I'd not seen one with rust anywhere near like that on the seams. The A panels, door skins, and the join between wing and scuttle have always proved much worse.
They are important though, which is why deseaming the car costs a bloody fortune to do properly.
They are important though, which is why deseaming the car costs a bloody fortune to do properly.
Pics if anyone is still interested:
You sure?
Restoring that Mini with no mechanical experience and a miniscule budget is not even remotely viable. You will end up spending thousands of pounds and still be without a car. It may be cheap to insure, but what does it matter when you're not going to be able to make it road legal?
To re-iterate what many have already said to you, go and buy something cheap and reliable for your first car, enjoy driving, and save up for your next car.
There is a reason why everyone's first car is mundane and rubbish, they (like you) have little to no budget and little to no mechanical experience.
That is wrong and what Hxc said is correct.
Yeah it was parked there and the wheels have been taken off and stored separately, as have the breaks, and it is sitting on some brick pillars so it's off the ground.
That looks ruined, theres rust up to the top of the c pillars which normally means the underside is trashed, and unless you want to be driving down the road sideways it isnt as simple as cutting out old pannels and spot welding new ones in.... Sell the cooper as a restoration project for good money (if it actually is a mk1 cooper) and buy a better mini to start with. I Have fully restored a mini and believe me, it costs a lot more and takes a lot longer than you think, and by the looks of things that is going to take a hell of a lot of work to put right. Also being a mk1 cooper so you say it is, it will be very costly. Dont get me wrong i absolutly love my mini (be it broken at the moment) and they are a great car to learn some basic mechanics and bodywork on, but with no prior experience or real knowledge of restoration that is an aweful car to learn on.
