1960s Rally Spec Mini Cooper Restoration Project

commited said:
Please please please don't do a cheap resto on this car.

If what you say is true, a proper resto will cost in the region of £10000 and the car will be worth somewhere in the region of that.
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No where near my buddy. I own the car with the two pics that Vigoro has posted. Doesnt get much more resto then that.

Yes if you really do with on buying a new shell. Spending 2000 pounds on a sub frame. A full Newton commercial interior. The list goes on.

You will be hard pushed. I mean I’ve got a car that’s had 42 modifications. With only three of them being cosmetic bar the inside. Engine is next on the list. 7000 pounds total spent by my brother.

Picture001.jpg


Then purchased after an accident (rear end shunt). Re did the brakes and the body it was back to where it was.

Right to add a list of rust points on minis, most common. In no order.

Rear hinge panel
Rear Valence
Rear ¼ at the bottom of the window aperture.
Rear ¼ by the seam that joins the arch.
Rear window aperture
Boot floor
Sills
Inner sills
Floor pan
Wings
Scuttle
A-panels
Door skins.

Another of my family’s minis:
Picture042.jpg


My daily rat look mini, ill take a pic one day. 650kg 118bhp.
 
That cabrio is the bees knees. :o

Only rust on mine is the beginnings of bubbling on a door skin and a inch or so bubble on the right wing... not too bad.
 
flyingears2002 said:
Right to add a list of rust points on minis, most common. In no order.

Rear hinge panel
Rear Valence
Rear ¼ at the bottom of the window aperture.
Rear ¼ by the seam that joins the arch.
Rear window aperture
Boot floor
Sills
Inner sills
Floor pan
Wings
Scuttle
A-panels
Door skins.
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I have replaced all of these and the list can go on... Door frames are often a problem as is the front pannel, also behind the front wheel at the side of the footwell. Anything on the pillars or roof is quite rare.
 
If you want to restore a mini, get a normal boring car and do the mini on the side. There good fun to restore though, and drive. Since there quite simple.

You will learn a lot.
 
At a guess i would say you would need about 1000 hours and £5000 to resto that wreck.

it would be worth it to a enthusiast with the time to work on it after normal work but not as a first car a job like that you should prepare for a few years of work.

Will be pulling the engine out of mine again soon, got a swiftune sw5-07mpi camshaft to go in and the gear box has a mashed 2nd gear baulk ring. should keep me busy for a little while.
 
dalin80 said:
At a guess i would say you would need about 1000 hours and £5000 to resto that wreck.

it would be worth it to a enthusiast with the time to work on it after normal work but not as a first car a job like that you should prepare for a few years of work.

Will be pulling the engine out of mine again soon, got a swiftune sw5-07mpi camshaft to go in and the gear box has a mashed 2nd gear baulk ring. should keep me busy for a little while.
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Dont put a sw5 in. seriously get a better cam. get a 276 at least! i run a 296sp in a daily and i can get that to pull from 2300 revs. then really pull from just over 3000 although vigoro is convinced its 4500. but then again i cant hear him at that point. Just man up :o
 
?

the sw5-07 creates more power then a 280 below 6000rpm.

a 296 is far too peaky designed for a top end and running in the 6500 region not to mention the emissions problems at that creates.

I want pull in the full driving range 1500-5500.
 
Peaky? not at all.

I find it quite tame honestly, it would be really easy to drive in trafic if i dident have a paddle cluch.

Mine passed emissions on split webers, next mot will be with a hif44.

I can get it to pull from 1600 if i need to, will keep level with a 1.4 corsa off the light level till the power comes in. its not exactally what i would call stuttering off the lights.

My suggestions are:

Decent condition mg metro, if you insist it being new get a kc500 from kent cams.

a kent cams 266.

a piper BP270MPi

Id suggest ditching the mpi. get a carb.
 
Jonny69 said:
Lol, £10K to restore a Mini :D
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You could easily hit 10k restoring a Mini actually, it just depends to what level you wanted to do it.

Obviously replacing a few panels/parts to get it roadworthy wouldn't cost that much but that's not a restoration is it.
 
flyingears2002 said:
Dont put a sw5 in. seriously get a better cam. get a 276 at least!
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The 276 is rubbish, I wimped out of putting a 286 in one of my mini's and decided to go for a 276 which I always regretted. Idle quality was little better than my brothers mini with a 286 scatter cam, yet the 276 made nothing like as much power.

The SW5 is fine for a daily driver, and you can't put anything much hotter than that in an MPI anyway.
 
Dogbreath said:
Yes, if you paid someone else to do all the work. Even with a brand new shell, 10k is excessive if you do your own work.
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Oh agreed, but I thought this was Yantorsen we were talking about. :)

Also I'm guessing a mk1 (or mk2) Mini shell will cost quite a bit yes.
 
Dogbreath said:
The 276 is rubbish, I wimped out of putting a 286 in one of my mini's and decided to go for a 276 which I always regretted. Idle quality was little better than my brothers mini with a 286 scatter cam, yet the 276 made nothing like as much power.

The SW5 is fine for a daily driver, and you can't put anything much hotter than that in an MPI anyway.
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Yup my friend at uni has a 286 in his 1430cc. It is really drivable with that cam, running a Hif44 carb. Makes decent power really and keeps up with the mx5 under 60mph.

Other friend at mini has a similar cam in an 1187cc engine, now that seems a lot more peaky, but doesn't surprise me when its making much more than the 1430.
 
flyingears2002 said:
Peaky? not at all.

I find it quite tame honestly, it would be really easy to drive in trafic if i dident have a paddle cluch.

Mine passed emissions on split webers, next mot will be with a hif44.

I can get it to pull from 1600 if i need to, will keep level with a 1.4 corsa off the light level till the power comes in. its not exactally what i would call stuttering off the lights.

My suggestions are:

Decent condition mg metro, if you insist it being new get a kc500 from kent cams.

a kent cams 266.

a piper BP270MPi

Id suggest ditching the mpi. get a carb.
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and fail the emissions every year as it has to do a full CAT test?

no.
 
Ever looked at the specs of the sw5? its has less duration then an mg metro cam and has pretty much the same lift.

id be aiming for 265/270 with around 8.9mm lift.

closest i can find to thaqt for off the shelf cams is the kent cams 266.

A similer spec 1293 with a 276 made 108bhp. For a tame as anything cam i think that pretty good.

Ive seen a 1330cc 286sp only make 85 at the wheels.

Its all about how much time you put into it and attention to detail, clearly if you think the 286sp had "loads" more power then your 276 you clearly dident put enough effort or time in.

For instance for my 118 bhp at the flywheel on a 1293 296sp i managed to murder 4 940 castings before i got it right.

But it beat a MED 38x31 head on a flow bench with valve sizes of: 36x30.

ive sent my head off once again to raise the compression, ive got a bp320 on the way and some r1 carbs. more power please.
 
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