I have a 1982 Mini that's been converted to a B18C1 engine from a '93 Acura Integra GSR. This was not done by me, but rather someone down in Maryland about 6 years ago. Originally it looked awesome and everything worked, then it changed hands about 3 times before getting to me and things aren't as awesome.

Currently all the wiring is just a rats nest behind the dash so I want to get a painless harness (I've heard good things) to replace this and setup a proper fuse block. Never done something like that before so I'm sure I'll have some questions on that. Currently the main things I'm trying to resolve are:

1. The right front blinker things it's a parking light. All other lights seem to work fine though... not sure why it wont blink! - note the other front blinker is not a parking light and has never been wired to be one. ---This has been fixed.
2. Windsheild wipers are so crappy! - they don't move at all unless wet and even when wet are super slow. Haven't done a lot of troubleshooting yet as I just got them to move this weekend. --- Still working this one out.
3. Reverse lights don't work - honestly not sure if they ever did/should. -- Just got different lights w/o the reverse lights.

There are also a bunch of body work that needs to be done. The hood doesn't fit properly, it's a bit crooked, so the right fender flare is way too far above the wheel and just looks crummy. There is also a few cracks and some just plain crap body work done during the de-seeming process (which bums me out. I love the seems). There is also some rot in the floor, which was never disclosed. Gotta love buying a car from the other side of the country.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something that was in my previously lost post, but I'll think of it and update later.

Here are a few shots of how the car looked fresh from it's first conversion:







And here is how it looked coming off the truck from Cali to Mass:




you can see the poor hood fitment here:






Drivers side is on point though:




I've also been playing around with different steering wheels. This is what it came with:



I think I like my 14":



13":



It also has racing seats in it currently, but I'm working on getting the hardware to swap these into it:




So it's definitely a work in progress, but it's super fun. The exhaust is currently super loud, I think it's just a glass pack muffler which doesn't do much. Will be trying to figure out a good exhaust to use on it so it sounds good, but doesn't **** off my neighbors at 6am when I want to drive it to work.

 

On the wipers, the culprit is usually the little gearboxes right up under the cowl, the grease in them gets dry and sticky.


to sort the lights out you need a wiring schematic, I find most lighting problems are due to bad grounds. You have a flip front, make sure there's a good ground between the front fender assy and the chassis.


As for reverse lights, make sure you have a reverse light switch on the transmission, then you just need to wire it up properly.

 

thanks man, I'll check that out! I should have more pics this weekend. Hoping to go for paint soon actually. the project is much further along at this point then in these pictures, just need to put an update together.

 

So it's been a while since I've been around and I wanted to provide a huge update to my build. It's now an actual serious build due to all the hidden problems I found as we started to rip away the paint and sound deadening. Holes every where.

The gutter removal was done so poorly the roof could have been more easily removed than fixed. It's been a long winter, but it's coming together and nearing completion now.

Here's some of the fun!

so here she is at the shop ready to get torn down for a full inspection:





little interior love as well:




I knew the floor was already bad as I noticed it while cleaning the car. The previous owner never mentioned it, but man... it was so much worse than I thought originally:










Right where the engine mounts to the car it was completely caved in. I'm guessing someone thought it was a good jacking point. Spot on gents.

Only one course of action. new floor pan:




made sure to reinforce the mounts as well.

so once the floor was done I figured that was going to be the end of the tough stuff. I knew some spots on the doors and roof might need some work, but it was again just so much worse than I was expecting.

I received this screen shot from my buddy who's shop the car was at. Our friend Scott was taking off some paint when suddenly...





yeah... he wasn't fooling around.





some spots were worse than others but damn...















at this point in time it's much further along, but I'll post more later

 

Hi Phobic! What an ambitious and admirable build, bringing a Classic Mini into the 21st century. Can't wait to see the finished product. That bondo in the body panel seams is crazy. If you need any help with panels there are plenty available here:

http://www.minimania.com/ss/panels

Wiring looms:

http://www.minimania.com/catPage/10-...0/Wiring-Looms

Classic Mini wiper motors and parts:

http://www.minimania.com/Search_Resu...wipers/default

 

Very interested to see the progress. Keep up the good work,should be very satisfying .

 

thanks everyone!

sitting in the shop:




I am pretty sure I got my floor pan from Mini Mania actually!

we started welding shortly after grinding down all the paint and bondo.

little vw action in the background:


















and some grinding:


I didn't get a ton of picture of this part as I wasn't really around for like a month.

and some metal filler to get things smooth again:

 

and by now we've smoothed that crap out












I plan on going with wing mirrors so we filled the holes that the door mirrors had left:



bit more roof:


and that's my buddy Shane on the side there who's the shop owner. Dude had no idea what he was getting into when he bought this shop! so much custom work these days.


and looking at all these photos I almost wish I had filled the tank and just done a trunk tank but too late for that now:

 

so this is basically where we're at right now. it's close, but not entirely done. I think it looks pretty damn good.





I really do love the gutters on these old Minis, but this looks really cool.


it's almost ready to eat souls




don't worry, engine spiffing up will come next.

little Caddy action in the background:


side shot with misted roof to check the lines:


booty:


passenger side:




and we are so close to done, but still finding small issues:





we fixed that up quick though:


but then the door seem cracked...


so we fixed that:



And that's where we are as of this week. still a bit of finish work to do before going in for paint. Once that paint is on I'm going to get the engine sorted. The steer column has a bit of play in it so I want to get that sorted quickly. I also need to install a column drop and a tilt wheel to make it easier to get in and out of.

 

That's great if you got your floor pan from us. Please let us know if we can be of any further help, and thanks for the great photos!

 

might be going into the paint booth soon! hoping we don't find anymore problems before tomorrow afternoon!

 

Thanks for the progress report, Phobic. Did we miss what color you are going for, or sticking with the red & white?

 

going all white for the time being, then going to dip it a few different colors until I find something I want to stick with.

 

might want to contact chasebays for your harness needs.

 

thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

 

out of the paint booth and into the shot for some more work. It's dirty as hell right now, so sorry for the filth.