Window Frames Installed

The window frames i made earlier went in very nicely. The pop-rivets were easy, i just had one that didnt pop off properly and scratched the frame a little. I think i should have made the frames out of aluminum for weight savings, but ive never welded aluminum before and took the easy way out.

Switches / Interior

Ill get some pictures of the seats also. The switch panel is supposed to have a choke cable on the far right, and a knob for the heater on the left. This car doesnt have a push/pull control for the cable, like ive seen on most minis, but only a knob to turn on the heater fan.

Paint is Done

Wheels

After discovering that i didnt have a complete set of 10x4.5 in cooper steel rims, I started looking around for a reasonably affordable set. I found a nice set of Dunlop 10x5 rims, made in england in 1976 if i read the stamping right. they were a bit corroded, but no cracks or deep scratches.

before and after sandblasting. Next, they will be powdercoated and should last many years.

Window Frames Fabricated

Here are the window frames I had to make since I was never able to find a complete set for any reasonable amount of money. I copied the one i was able to find, but made it out of flat steel bar 1 1/4" x 3/16. 23 feet in all. Getting the angles was a little tricky and needed precise measuring. Then I welded it all together and drilled holes for the mounting bolts. I also welded on mounting tabs on the ends, but only did one on each side instead of 3 like the original. The heavier steel i used doesnt flex like the ornamental sheet metal from the factory.
Maybe someday I'll swap them out if I ever find the other side that I need.

Roof Painted

After all the prep of sanding, taping, and cleaning i sprayed the roof with MINI Cooper white (i think its called apen white). the first coat had orange peel from a bad paint gun that was sputtering and cutting out intermittently making a heavy coat, but after sanding and spraying a second coat, it looks pretty good.
The rotisserie worked great, now i have to start the bigger job of painting the rest of the body and interior.

Lizardskin

Here are the pictures i forgot to post last week from spraying the undercoating inside and out.

Before:
Mixing the material:
After:

The entire bottom of the car, floorpan, firewall, roof underside, door panels, wheel wells and engine compartment are coated.

Undercoating

The undercoating on the bottom of the car and the entire engine bay has been applied. Now just to do some on the interior. I chose the Lizardskin brand because it should insulate against heat and noise, but time will tell if it really does. As soon as the interior is done, ill post some more photos. then on to the final paint (although more prep work is needed and could take a month or two).

Rotisserie Built

Andi and I built a rolling rotisserie to carry the mini and make it rotate into various positions for painting.

The base is made of two massive T s with rolling casters. An 1 1/2" pipe holds the mini up, spinnning inside 2" pipe welded to the firewall, shockmount bracket and the T bases.

Fuel Tank Trouble

The tank has seen better days, but after having it sandblasted it looked repairable. I just had to chip off the bondo (previous owner used bondo to stop the leaks) and seal the holes with proper epoxy tank repair, then finally hammer out the worst of the dents.
The trouble came with the small access holes, which made hammering out the dents difficult. Trying to remove the old internal filter has been even harder. It is just out of reach and i seem to only be bending it around instead of knocking it off the pickup. If anyone has ideas, please post.

Grill

I finally got around to putting the grill back together. Most of the individual aluminum fins had been broken off of the backing plates and the vertical support.
After drilling out the old rivets, I riveted the parts all back together.
Some of the aluminum gills needed straightening as well.

Subframe Painted

The rear subframe was sandblasted by a friend, then sent to be powdercoated. Now im assembling the suspension components on the frame

Headlight Buckets

Before and after removing the mud and rust then repainting.

Paint Color

Lydia and I finally decided on a color we think will suit the mini well. It wasnt actually a factory paint color until the 70's, but it should still look cool on our 62 mini.

It is on this card : Inca Yellow

Here is a mini with factory Inca Yellow paint. Should go well with red/grey interior and some white and chrome trim.

more parts finished

Im not sure if the multiple layers of paint were meant to protect the chrome or to hide the blemishes.
After a good scrubbing, I attached the heater motor to a battery and it actually worked well. Again, I had to take off multiple layers of paint. The housing underneath actually cleaned up well.

Slow Progress

We finally have sold the Vespa. Now we have enough money to pay for some body work and buy many of the parts that are missing/broken. I took the car to the body shop today. I also still have a few more parts in the garage that need renovating before they are ready to install on the car.

Restoring Parts

I have to strip the parts down to bare metal, then prime, paint and reassemble.

Next Step... Body Work

Im trying my hand at the bodywork, since I cant yet afford to have it done professionaly (the quotes I recieved for having it done was a little more than I expected). I will try and do the major dents, the floors, and some of the welding. Then hopefully Ill have a little cash to pay for the finishing touches.

Sandblasting Completed

The shell and doors are back from being sandblasted and primered at PSC powdercoating in Chino. Under all that paint and body filler were a few holes and a few dents, but it should all be repairable.
The holes...

Subframe and Suspension

Finally got around to stripping down the front subframe and checking the suspension components.
The subframe looks good. Not too rusty and no major dents.

The upper suspension arms were thickly coated with mud and grime. It took me a while to clean them up.

The cleaned suspension arms. Now they just need some paint, new joints, and some fresh grease. The bearings looked okay.
The rubber cone (suspension spring) was impossible to separate from the trumpet. I tried prying the pieces apart for an hour before the rubber finally ripped apart.

Stiching touch up

Lydia did some reinforcing on the seats by stiching some of the seams with heavy thread.

Seats Finally Done

Using rubber webbing, I made a new seat diaphram spring. It was much cheaper than buying a new one from minimania and functions nearly as well.

Some fresh foam and the new covers.

I reused some of the original wool padding streched thinly around the frame to cushion the metal. I didnt reuse the horse hair cushion though...

The finished product. I tried to keep an original look, while only doing minimal sewing.

Off to the Blasters

Here is the car loaded on the trailer. Andreas and I managed to back the truck up far enough to get the trailer right next to the mini. Then he lifted the front half of the car and I carried the back half onto the trailer. Good thing the mini is lightweight. It will be nearly 2 weeks before the car, doors, and hood will be back from the blasters. I will now have some time to work on the subframes and other parts.

Here is the mess in the garage that the mini left behind.

Hitchhiker Found

Stripped the suspension off of the rear subframe last night and found a dead mouse half rotten away.

The car shell will be taken to the sandblasters tomorrow now that everything has been removed.

Seats

Here is a pic of the new back seat. Thanks to Lydia for the help.

Here is the rear subframe after being removed. Thanks to Andreas(my brother) for the help. Those subframe bolts were not easy to get out.

Closer Inspection

The car is nearly ready for sandblasting. Most of the parts have been removed from the car's shell. Some rust have been uncovered, but hopefully repairable. It looked as though the majority of the parts had never been removed since the car was produced back in 1962, the screws and bolts were heavily corroded. I am also missing the headliner frame, which will be hard to find. Good news is that i found the bottom of a rear seat, and Lydia (my wife) helped me reupholster it yesterday. It looks great. Now just the front seats to go.

Inspection

The car is all original, a MK1 Austin Mini Countryman with factory left hand drive and all steel body (non woody).

the Seats front and back are missing, as well as the rear sliding windows left and right. The suspension is shot, and the interior carpet and vinyl is missing. It looks like it will be a lot of work tracking down the missing bits and repairing whats there.

I just found a set of front seats that are close to original, now just need the back seats.

the purchase

Here is the image from the car's for sale ad on minimania.com