I have had a few messages asking what I have been up to lately. I guess I have been in lurk mode more than I thought.
Work. Work is busy, Work is great. The business is growing. Check us out at www.vintageunderground.us or follow our youtube channel
But to the car. Also known as the current distraction from the Fiat
When I got into auto restoration I figured I would be inundated with offers to buy cool cars. Nope, at least not within my means. But it finally happened. A car pulled up and the gentleman I recognized but couldn't place as it had been a few years asked if I had interest in his car. My daily had just been wrecked and sold and I had a lump of cash in my pocket
Before I knew what was happening I had agreed to a price and was scheduling a pickup time.
And that is how I got a car I had wanted for 30 plus years
A Canadian market 76 mini 1000. A rare beast in the USA. Filthy and gross and full of rodent nests
The engine had sat without a cylinder head in the Oregon rain forest for a few years and was rusted solid. So out it came for a rebuild
leaving an absolute mess in the bay
The good points were new floors, nicely installed. No significant rot, 7.5" discs, camber arms up front, hilos and decent enough paint for a daily driver
I sent the block off to the machine shop. The bores were so bad it had to be taken out to 0.060" over. I proceeded to rebuild the gear box and axles
I got a 1275 head and pocketed the block for valve clearance
And some months later (slow machine shop) ended up with a 10:1 1048cc motor
Interior was fully gutted and pressure washed. New carpet, headliner, some donor seats and various other bits made it livable and far less offensive to the nose
I went ahead and machined the crank damper to be a 36-1 trigger wheel in case I wanted to go distributorless down the line
An intake with HIF4 carb, LCB header, aluminium radiator, modern distributor, alternator and starter finished up the motor half
And I had a running driving mini! But those 12's were not working for me. Some trading netted me a set of cooper S reverse wheels which were a little lackluster under the arches so...
Banded out to 6"
And as it sits now
So yeah. The little time I have had has been devoted to this thing
Work. Work is busy, Work is great. The business is growing. Check us out at www.vintageunderground.us or follow our youtube channel
But to the car. Also known as the current distraction from the Fiat
When I got into auto restoration I figured I would be inundated with offers to buy cool cars. Nope, at least not within my means. But it finally happened. A car pulled up and the gentleman I recognized but couldn't place as it had been a few years asked if I had interest in his car. My daily had just been wrecked and sold and I had a lump of cash in my pocket
Before I knew what was happening I had agreed to a price and was scheduling a pickup time.
And that is how I got a car I had wanted for 30 plus years
A Canadian market 76 mini 1000. A rare beast in the USA. Filthy and gross and full of rodent nests
The engine had sat without a cylinder head in the Oregon rain forest for a few years and was rusted solid. So out it came for a rebuild
leaving an absolute mess in the bay
The good points were new floors, nicely installed. No significant rot, 7.5" discs, camber arms up front, hilos and decent enough paint for a daily driver
I sent the block off to the machine shop. The bores were so bad it had to be taken out to 0.060" over. I proceeded to rebuild the gear box and axles
I got a 1275 head and pocketed the block for valve clearance
And some months later (slow machine shop) ended up with a 10:1 1048cc motor
Interior was fully gutted and pressure washed. New carpet, headliner, some donor seats and various other bits made it livable and far less offensive to the nose
I went ahead and machined the crank damper to be a 36-1 trigger wheel in case I wanted to go distributorless down the line
An intake with HIF4 carb, LCB header, aluminium radiator, modern distributor, alternator and starter finished up the motor half
And I had a running driving mini! But those 12's were not working for me. Some trading netted me a set of cooper S reverse wheels which were a little lackluster under the arches so...
Banded out to 6"
And as it sits now
So yeah. The little time I have had has been devoted to this thing
