Ok...the reassembly is going well. Have to reinstall the interior, the bumpers, rear fog light and obtain and install a new windscreen and I'm done.
I was trying to start the car today (gotta face it at the garage door to align the headlights) and it wouldn't turn over. Rather than jump it for the 2nd time today, I decided to clutch start it. That's where my problem hit.
I was going backwards down my driveway when I heard a thunk noise and the clutch pedal refused to come off the floor. I turn the key and get NOTHING (possibly unrelated).
When it happened, I had my foot harder on the clutch than I usually have it, but I wouldn't have thought I'd break it. There is no new fluids under the car, can't see any obvious problems. The master cylinder has fluid, slave cylinder still has its coating of dust with no visible liquids. The Haynes manual is good for fixing a problem, less so for troubleshooting one.
Anyone with any ideas as to what I might have broken?
I can't budge the pedal off the floor, even pulling on it by hand.

 

That's an odd one. Get a flashlight and look up under the dash where the MC pushrod attaches to the brake pedal. There is a pin and cotter pin connection. Maybe that got jammed up somehow on the body? Since you were pushing extremely hard maybe something broke in the pedal assembly?

I'm assuming the clutch issue is unrelated to the battery issue? Does the engine turn over with a jump?

 

I can't see anything up in the pedal assembly. There's a bunch of hoses in the way. Can't feel anything odd, but I can't really get my hands in there easily either.

I'm assuming the power issue is unrelated to the clutch too, but it's odd that they both happened at the exact same time. When I was trying to start the car immediately prior to the problem, the starter was trying to turn the engine over. As soon as I did whatever I did to the clutch, not even the horn would work. No power anywhere. It's almost like something broke and took out a power lead. And if something broke, I would think that the pedal would be loose, not jammed to the floor. The clutch is definitely engaged because the car now rolls in gear.

 

Well, I got the clutch pedal unstuck. I guess with the extra travel due to no carpet, something got caught. I had tried tapping it with a hammer on Sunday to no effect, last night I hit it harder with a 2lb mallet and after a couple of hits, it popped free. Whew! That made me happy!
The power problem is either the battery or I have a wicked short somewhere that's draining the battery. I jump started the car last night, drove it around the block, pulled into the garage (no more pushing it up the driveway for THIS little black duck!) and left it running for about 20 mins after I finished aligning the headlights. Turned it off and tried to restart, nothing. Not even a solenoid click. So it's off to buy a new battery at lunchtime I guess. Any recommendations?

 

You need to ask yourself, “What have I done or changed in the MINI over the last two weeks?” Usually, I find this is where the problem really starts or contributed to it’s demise.

About the Battery:

Take the battery to an Autozone and have them check it before replacing it with a new one. This may save you time and money. Also check to see if your battery have enough COLD CRANKING AMPS for the climate you live in? Now if the battery is good then move on to insuring the Negative on the battery is properly grounded to the MINI body. If that is cool, move on to inspecting the Battery Cable for shorts and cracks. To do this you will need to jack the MINI and follow the cable from the boot to the Starter Solenoid. The best way to inspect is with a rag. Wipe off all the dirt and oil from the cable. Sometimes the cable shorts out right against the Rod-Change Control Assemble or the Exhaust pipe (underside of MINI). Just look for melted plastic or feel for abnormalities in the shape.

Try these few things first.

Ash

 

If it is anything like an old Lucas 1960's Land Rover clutch master cylinder (and I've seen the same part in several other British Cars), the seals in the cylinder may have burst, causing fluid to get in behind the seals and lock the pedal in place.

 

When I took the battery out, it looked like it was the old one from England. Tiny, filthy, a brand I'd never heard of, 265CCA. I bought a new one at Walmart for $47 and the car started 1st go. The battery use book at Walmart actually had an Austin Mini (62-69) in it, though the battery it said to use was HUGE and would not fit in the battery box. It had sat out of the car for a good 8 months or more while I was replacing the rear suspension, in addition to being drained a couple of other times. I think the $50 is worthwhile.

Yucca, I managed to get the clutch fixed. Apparently, I wasn't using a big enough hammer.