Well folks figured I'd say Hi and introduce myself. I am currently stationed in Japan and picked up this little guy to terrorize the locals for the couple of years while I'm here.

It's a '96 1.3i SPi built for Japan. It's basically original except for some exterior pieces from what I can tell.

I'll be looking to put a little into it to make it more fun and take care of a few problems. Nothing too invasive seeing as I'll have to put the car back together like it was to sell it here with the crazy inspections and regulations they have. Plus it's an SPi so there isn't as much you can do to them without getting too involved from what I understand.

And now here are the obligatory photos.

 

nice ride

 

FNG Post. Hilarious

Nice Mini. What's the deal with the wipers? Is that stock? I've never seen the two wiper arms connected like that.

Cheers!
Jeff

 

Thanks for the welcome.

The wipers probably aren't original but I don't know. I've certainly never seen a set like them. There is a pair of plugged holes on the cowling so my guess is they were added.

They're actually kind of a pain. I mean don't get me wrong they look neat especially all chromed out and being as different as they are but they are rusting a little and I have no idea how to source new parts for them. Plus if I swap back to regular wipers it'd mean re-relocating the wiper motor from what I can tell.

The car has definitely seen a garage here in Japan as it's got Garage Ando etched into the rear glass. I looked it up and they appear to be a pretty serious mini shop. I'll have to call them sometime and see if they have any info on the car. Unfortunately this is Japan so I'm not super hopeful with the whole speaking English thing. They are on the main island so a visit is out at least for the time being.

Speaking of rust, can you save bumper that has a speckling of rust? I'll post some pictures later but it's kind of the beginnings of rust, cloudy with maybe a dot of rust in the center of each little white splatter. I'm not sure if it's fully penetrated but any ideas on how to tell if it'll shine back up or what to shine it with?

 

The Mini body was made symmetrical so that it could be equipped for LHD and RHD configurations. The wiper arms were drive-side specific, meaning two of the holes would be used for LHD cars with the other two holes plugged, or vice versa. My '73 MKIII has plugs in the cowl just as you describe.

I would think any chroming shop could save bumpers with a little rust. FWIW I used polishing compound on mine that were speckled with rust and most of the rust came off without problems. You might be as lucky!

Good luck,
Jeff

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffm5150

The wiper arms were drive-side specific, meaning two of the holes would be used for LHD cars with the other two holes plugged, or vice versa.

I forgot about the whole LHD vs RHD wiper thing and I just looked at the car and they appear to be symmetrical holes vs oddly placed ones. I'll have to look into possibly making the swap back to standard wipers if I can't find the right parts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffm5150

FWIW I used polishing compound on mine that were speckled with rust and most of the rust came off without problems.

Yeah I'm thinking that's all I'll need. Did your speckles stay gone? I'm assuming it's kind of a regular wash, wax, and polish kind of deal. I picked up some Never-Dull and a bottle of Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover that I'll test out this weekend.

I figure take care of the rust and replace the few broken/missing pieces then start working on the fun parts. I'm thinking intake, exhaust, shiny bits, maybe even new heads and rockers if I'm feeling saucy. I'm not sure I'm up for a carb conversion because I know it'll be one of those go big or go home kind of things. Maybe I should just start building an engine and call it a day.

 

as far as the wipers people in japan just do weird stuff. anything to be different not saying its bad. but my guess its just a one off idea or a mini trend out their.

 

Yeah they do.

You're probably right. It was most likely a "let's see if this looks cool" kind of ideas because even with the dozen or so classics I've seen around the island, I haven't seen anything else like them.

On a side note the bumpers are ok but it's the same old story of chrome rusts from the underside out. They look good from the outside though.

 

I have an 87 Japanese market Mini, but my mirrors are located on the front wings. Wonder when they changed the location. Mine is LHD and has A/C. Aren't cars RHD in Japan? I don't think mine was switched before I bought it. Just curious. Nice photos. Enjoy the car!

 

One of the books I have shows a picture of Ringo Starr (if I remember right) standing next to a Mini which has a an external linkage between the two wipers like what is pictured above.

 

The mirrors were, at one time, attached to the front fenders. I'm guessing Garage Ando was probably responsible for relocating them. In fact one the reasons for the sideways racing stripe is to cover the holes where the mirrors were.

Cars in Japan are RHD and have always been from what I know. Yours was probably switched when it got to the States. Either that or it was originally from a LHD country and imported to Japan to begin with.

That would be awesome if you could find that picture again. It might persuade me from changing back to a traditional wiper set up.

 

The japanise market for the mini was huge in the 70s and 80s and they took everything that was modern and threw in in a skip and put 60s replica parts on (see mini30 video or dvd) and you will see what they did..............