Mini. Rust and rear subframe removal

Work removing the bulkhead ‘furniture’ is nearly complete. This took more time than anticipated due to rusty and butchered fixings. Some bolts were so mauled that they had to be cut off and the ones that were rusty snapped. Approximately a 50% attrition rate. IMG_20180325_170640~2.jpg

Moving on to the back of the car, a quick assessment showed (expected) rust. The rust was more than you would see on a ‘modern’ 1996 car but the Mini was designed in the 50’s.

The designers were too busy jiving and smoking pipes to worry about rust traps.

Luckily replacement panels are available for every part of the Mini. Such luxury…

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How I love repairing wheel arches (honest).

I have just assembled a car rotisserie so over head welding should be kept to a minimum. Hooray!

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After a bit of  chat we decided not to restore the Mini but simply torch it and drink beer instead…

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Ok, Joe is heating up the subframe mounts to make them easier to undo. The subframe was then lowered to the floor. It needs work as it is pretty corroded. As these are so inexpensive it is more cost effective to write this subframe off and buy new.

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There is a big hole were the subframe used to be.

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Next week we will hopefully have the car mounted on the rotisserie.

 

Mini Project (Major Project!)

I’ve been looking forward to working on this ’96 MINI for a while. The car , unbelievably, came with an MOT.fe4785d5-752b-4b32-b3ef-57f32321cac6_zpsdkc4yjem

By the time I got my hands on it the owner had started the strip down. The fibre glass front had been removed along with the dash and most of the interior.

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The Mini was loaded onto a trailer…

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…and into the workshop.

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My son Joe will be helping with the build as well as taking (the better) photos.

I started the strip down by disconnecting everything from the engine and gearbox. Because the Mini is front wheel drive and fuel injection this was a time consuming job.DSC_0190.JPG

Wires everywhere.

Photos were taken as we went along to help with reassembly

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After everything was disconnected the engine and gearbox unit was removed.

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The next day was spent removing the front subframe. This will be stripped down, checked over and sent to powder coating.

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I am happy with the progress made so far. next will be removing the wiring harness, clearing the bulkhead and removing the rear subframe.