It has been a little while since I've posted much. So for those that remember... I bought a 69 mkII mini a while back

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndenahan/5366763505/
Then I had to make it run. because I bought through Ebay non-running. The owner stated that it had been sitting and the thought the battery was dead... Well yes the battery was dead among other things. After about 120$ and a week+ waiting on parts I replaced the coil, wires, plugs, points, condenser, cap, and rotor. Also purchased some other minor bits. Slapped them on the car and vroom!
So I took it on a maiden voyage around the block.
Lots of fluffy clouds coming right out of the tail pipe. Here I convince myself that perhaps water collected in the muffler while it was sitting and it is just boiling out.
So I came to my senses after driving it a couple days and finding that the smoke was being made by the water I put in the radiator, and I was living in lala land. So I buy some more parts.

One of these

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndenahan/5388516571/
Damn I need one of these now too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndenahan/5388519121/

Then I give this a good cleaning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndenahan/5388524753/

But does it help????
Not so much.
So I put on best best thinking cap and ponder. Oh yeah The water has to be in the crankcase to come out the exhaust, dummy.
So I pull the head
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndenahan/5459396362/http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndenahan/5458799687/

Three of the cylinders are cracked so bad I can see them without trying. Ok a bad head. I a local forum I find a used one for a good price. A two hour ride later I have a used head. Slap it on and ... no Vroom! what the what.
Ok slow it up think... Adjust the valves and Vroom!
Great! I change the oil. Then drive it for a month or so. Then the oil light pops on. I'm getting to pull the engine and see what is what and my wife says why don't you just fix it like you want to. Uhhh... okay. So the car is off the road. Ready to be rebuilt, by me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndenahan/6967462549/

So here it is just wonder if anyone has any insight for taking on a rebuild solo. I'm ready to strip the car down to metal but not sure if I want to try it or pay for someone else to do it. Or how to do it stripper? sand blaster? Any help or thoughts welcome.

 

taking it to the limit, I'd find a media blast shop (there are gentler compounds then sand but the same principle) followed by replacing any questionable metal, followed by a chemical dip,

MINIWORLD had a feature on this a few months ago . . .

I've seen ads for some shops in the greater Orlando area

and you may want to talk to 'big norm' over on SSM

 

Thanks Capt. I know I wrote sand but yes I meant media blasting. I might try just getting some plastic beads and going after it just to see how much trouble it is. I've got undercoating body filler and rust to remove. I've read that sand will mostly like be needed for the rust but most the other stuff can be removed with something gentler. I'll try to keep posting as I go along. so everyone can see the progress but it will be SLOW.

 

Good luck!

 

sadly, I found that when the rust was so severe as to need sand, by the time I was done blasting all I had left was swiss cheese so I'd have saved money by just cutting it away and welding in new . . . altho I did experiment with fiberglass resin over the swiss cheese in a non structural area and it has been good for 5 years now . . .

 

Bit of a sad state that head.........scrap it and get another also get block walls crack tested..................

 

Can you say shipwrights disease? Looks like you are in for a world of fun!

There is nothing quite like the feeling of being able to show off the finished product and tell people, "Yep, I did the work myself."

The answer to your questions are numerous and long. The short version is to be careful where you take it to get it blasted. Some mediums can be too coarse for the thin metal of the car and warp the metal. Soda blasting is usually the preferred method.

But you are going to have many more questions along the way. I have a 71 Triumph TR6 that will get the body off treatment in the not too distant future but I have been driving it for 9 years while I accumulated parts, knowledge, tools and the space to complete the work. There is an online club, 6-pack.org that is dedicated to the car and a wealth of information. While NAM provides a lot of help you might also look for other web based clubs as well as a local club that might be Mini or British Car related to gain an extra hand or an extra set of eyes at various times.

But I love following the progress so please keep up with the progress. In fact, I would encourage you to start a new thread that is titled something like "My 69 MK II Restoration". Then people can subscribe and live vicariously through you!