"fourvalleys" (fourvalleys)
05/17/2015 at 21:46 • Filed to: None
13
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"fourvalleys" (fourvalleys)
05/17/2015 at 21:46 • Filed to: None | 13
| 9 |
I headed to Road America this weekend for the SVRA Spring Vintage Weekend, and decided it was appropriate to take the Mini. I put on a few hundred miles (all at less than 50mph...) and somewhat surprisingly, had zero issues!
As a footnote, I saw three other classic Minis! One was on the track, one was carrying a family of four to the track, and one just happened to pass me along the way. That last one was just like mine, minus the bonnet stripes and flag. It was even RHD. I tried to turn around and chase him down, but he was too far gone.
Sorry for the lack of variety in the pictures, I was too busy enjoying the back-country Wisconsin roads to stop all that much. Enjoy!
(I know that one is blurry, I must have bumped the lens after I focused)
This is actually from last week, but in case you were curious what the interior looks like:
Grindintosecond
> fourvalleys
05/17/2015 at 21:53 |
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Jealous. Your’s is running and shiny and the bottom 6 inches of it isn’t constructed of Flintstone holed rust like mine is on jack-stands.
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fourvalleys
> Grindintosecond
05/17/2015 at 21:56 |
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Haha, thanks. It actually photographs really well, despite its flaws. It’s a definite 10-footer. Besides that, nothing on the car seems to be original, other than the engine!
Share pictures of yours! Rust can always be repaired, and I’m always amazed how cheap it can be for an old Mini.
Flavien Vidal
> fourvalleys
05/17/2015 at 21:58 |
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What engine do you have on yours? Mine is the 42hp 998cc :D
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fourvalleys
> Flavien Vidal
05/17/2015 at 22:00 |
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The same! Though I’ve always heard it started out with 38hp. Either way, I guarantee it’s nowhere near that these days!
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Grindintosecond
> fourvalleys
05/17/2015 at 22:02 |
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Well, I’m looking at probably $2,000 of metal (especially if i get the one-piece floor) plus my time of cutting it all out and migging everything in. It’s an all orig. ‘78 RHD. Center gauge pod. Runs fine, just needs that metal, a whole new rear subframe and almost all of the brake parts on the corners are siezed so i dunno how many of those can be rescued. It’s orig. color is vermillion Red so I’ll be doing an all over one color of that. It’s a regular 1000. Everyone has stripes and flags and all that. I think a single color would actually stand out with some yellow fogs and a National Trust sticker being the only addition.
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fourvalleys
> Grindintosecond
05/17/2015 at 22:05 |
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That sounds alright! It will be so worth it when it’s done.
Right now I’m looking at some clutch work, and I should probably overhaul the brakes too. Eventually the suspension will need a look, but for now it does the job. There are some small rust spots in odd places and filler in others, but I’m not going to address them until I consider a full re-spray, which is at least a few years out. Right now it’s got a single-stage coat that you can tell was done in the previous owner’s garage - and it’s got the overspray everywhere as proof.
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Grindintosecond
> fourvalleys
05/17/2015 at 22:14 |
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Yeah. An old mini can work just fine with quite a bit of surprising rust but this one is to the point of a total job. Potentially doing the DIY rotisserie but We’ll see how the tear down goes. I’ll need to spot weld in some cross bars in the door frames or itll taco itself when the floor is cut. I’m thinking of $4k to go on this. Not sure if that’s with paint or not. I can get a good deal on the paint. Perhaps a grand on that. It was driving around the neighborhood just to keep oil in it once in a while and that was a blast just doing 25mph. I can’t wait to get it done but I just need a month of vacation to devote to it. It would be interesting to trace it’s whole history for the hell of it sometime.
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Flavien Vidal
> fourvalleys
05/17/2015 at 22:46 |
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These engines are bullet proof and don’t really lose power over the years :)
Bringing my car to the nurburgring next month actually :)
http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/next-trip-to-t…
Svend
> Grindintosecond
05/18/2015 at 03:00 |
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You can get a Heritage Certificate (birth certificate) of your car from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust.
http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/store/heritage…
http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/archive-servic…