We took the plunge and purchased a Classic on Sunday, and are beginning what looks to be a long journey.

The pros:
The rust is minimal, only a few years ago the car was down to plain metal and then he painted it with primer only. There are rust spots but they don't look like they have penetrated through the metal. The floor pan was replaced already. Though the seams do look like areas have been rewelded in, and there may be a little Bondo here and there.

The brakes have already been replaced, with rotor in front and drum in back, and a new master cylinder. It WAS going to be a track car, after all.

The suspension was replaced, so that it has adjustable camber, etc. I know very little about suspension, but it is very, very stiff. At some point we will probably want something more road oriented rather than track oriented. However, for now it will do.

The wiring harness was removed, cleaned, and reattached. He said that it was in good shape so he didn't feel that it needed replacing. When we strip the car down for painting, if it needs replacing, we will do that. But for now, it's good.

It has the original back seat (or at least AN original back seat)

It is RHD, manual, but geared low for the track. Although hubby says that it might be easier for me to learn to shift on a low geared car! We can change that later.

It has the 1098 cc engine, and the engine gets good compression. It runs well.

The cons:
It has replaced front seats, racing seats, and we would want something that looks less sporty and more like stock. A compromise is probably in the works here.

The main con is, of course, that the body needs to be worked on and painted. Which means saving up for it, of course. But on the upside, it also means that we can choose the color and we can supervise the process and know for sure that it isn't done sloppily. We have a good British specialist in town that we will be using for the work, aside from what we can do ourselves.

So here we go. His name is Bumblebee. You can guess from that what color he will probably end up being.

 

The boot is full of a fuel cell with switches and stuff. So the battery is currently behind the passenger seat. Which makes me crazy, so today I dropped the stock tank off to be cleaned, resealed, and painted. We'll be repairing or replacing that little doohickey inside, and replacing the gaskets, when we reinstall it.

My first question is whether it should be black, or red. This one is red, but my understanding is that they were commonly black. Which is correct? We are going for a late 1960's look overall. This car will not be an S, of course. :-)

My other question right now, is whether to hit the car with more primer. There are bare areas of metal, and we live right by the ocean. While we save up for the paint job, is there a reason NOT to hit with primer? (sanding first of course) It will take five months or so to save up for the paint job, and five months of sitting here rusting can't possibly be good for it.

Thank you for any help that anyone is willing to give!

 

if you have spots of bare metal then for sure cover them with primer


clean the rust off then hit the area with primer - even something a simple at rust-o-leum is ok at this time ... you'll want to re-sand and re-prime b4 you paint so for now controlling rust is the issue


alto I'd use POR . . .


QUESTION: is this going to be stored inside ...... in a garage .... ?????


it IS rusting right now .. I've had mine for 10 years and with good paint, it rusts in the garage . . .


btw my gas tank is BLACK and if you look at parts sources, I think you'll see they always show as BLACK

 

Thank you, Captain!
What is POS? Never heard of that. (well, aside from the internet contraction )

Yes, it will be in a garage, most definitely. Next to my Dad's Model A Roadster, snug as a bug in a rug. It's only outside now because I keep walking out to look at it every hour or so.

Thank you for the info on the tank, that is what I suspected. Black suits us better anyway. Black it is.

 

PO R



as in POR-15 ..... this is THE rust control coating
http://www.por15.com/


EASTWOOD sells a good product too, but curiously has also begun selling POR ....
http://www.eastwood.com/paints/rust-...Brand-Eastwood


If you are beginning a restoration of a Mini, you might want to read the series at Classic Motorsports who's doing one currently.


http://classicmotorsports.net/projec...mini-cooper-s/


CMS mentions POR in many projects . . .


*****
suggestion ... if you have not done it yet, now is the time to subscribe to MiniWorld . . . great tech articles every month.
http://www.miniworld.co.uk/


go to MOSS and order a free Mini parts catalog
https://www.mossmotors.com/CatalogRe...questForm.aspx
the part numbers apply no matter where you get the part and the diagrams are straight out of the factory parts catalog (which I have in pdf . . .)


and go to Seven and get on their mailing list for specials flyers ... these guys come up with parts I don't see anywhere else
7ent.com

 

Thank you SO much for the advice!! POR, got it!!

I've already been looking at Seven Ent catalog and drooling... will order the others and read about the project on Classic Motorsport.
Research, research, research. So much to learn! When my Dad was restoring his Model A, I was a young mother and Navy wife, and was not paying attention except to the final, gorgeous product. Wish I had him now to help me.

I've been offered a set of wheels that are made for GEM cars, 10", bolt pattern 4 x 4, but the tires on them are 205/50/10. Time to learn about wheels and tires.

 

looks like a great project.......are you going to repainr it yellow and black like bumble in transformere.....

 

Have a look at this full episode of a Classic Mini restoration, you may find it of interest

 

I've been offered a set of wheels that are made for GEM cars, 10", bolt pattern 4 x 4, but the tires on them are 205/50/10. Time to learn about wheels and tires.


Here's a visual of the profile difference based off 165/70/10 being the most commonly found 10" size used on sport 10" wheels like MiniLite and clones there of .... (what brand are the 205's?)






Visual copied from http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/vis...ize-calculator


******


GEM car ..... is the bolt pattern the same???? I dunno . . .


are these wheels even SAFE for road use?


or am I wrong about what GEM means?


IMO these are a white elephant . . . I don't see any Mini parts supplier offering 205/50/10 so something does not add up . . .

 

GEM is a golf cart, or neighborhood type vehicle, those tires may not be DOT legal, and they sure aren't highway speeds rated, I would stay away from them. You 'll also have offset issues and clearance issues. Best bet is to buy a set of wheels from a Mini parts supplier, and the correct tires. I run 165/70-10's on 6"X 10" wheels on my '80 Clubman Estate.