93 Rover Mini Cooper SPi recommission.

First thing to be sorted was the roof! I found a cut on the bay of flees for £28, while I was waiting for the roof corner repair to arrive it was time to remove the front end after finding a little bit too much cardboard inside the wings! I spent around £850 with Minispares on new Heritage panels and some bits to cure the oil leak which was being worked on around the same time.

At this point I was about a week into it. I work offshore so I get 2 weeks to work on things then away for 2 weeks. Ample time for Minispares to organise my delivery of panels.



Once the corner piece arrived I unpicked the A pillar piece as I had ordered a new heritage door frame anyway. Not 100% happy with my repair as it has rippled. This will get redone later but for now it’s ok.

An hour in the bucket removed any rust and everything got a coat of Kurust then etch primer before being painted either silver or satin black. This won’t be a big bucks resto with fancy powder and paint, it’ll just be a refresh and maybe a lick of paint once complete. Either way it’ll keep the little mini trucking on for a few years yet.
















Next I ordered a new front plate, water pump and gasket, I spoke to Keith Calver and after a chat on pros and cons I ordered one of his IWIS big pin timing chains which he assured me would take abuse on any engine right up to race spec so I didn’t bother with a duplex setup. Then it was back to work for two weeks.

When I arrived home all my stuff was waiting but I had a caravan break planned with the wife for a couple of long weekends so I wasn’t expecting huge strides forward.

First job was to refit my timing chain setup with all my new bits, I ordered the improved timing cover gasket which is supposed to make a big difference but hedged my bets with a thin smear of blue Hermetite. I struggled to time the engine for some reason as everytime I wound the engine around it always lined up with number 4 not 1 even though I’d made sure to mark the number of links between the teeth when the timing marks were aligned until I found out that Turns out it was right and the Haynes manual had printed it incorrectly. With the 2 dots on the timing wheels facing each other The rotor arm should be pointing to no4! With that sorted it started on the button and it seems like my oil leak is cured. With that sorted I stripped down the rad cowl, more Kurust and etch primer before more satin black and reassembled the rad after polishing the alternator and radiator header tank.
I have some silicone hoses to go on yet but that can wait.

I wanted to retain the vin number on the scuttle so set about removing the section of trough In the old one and transplanting into the new. I will make sure this repair is seamless as I don’t want question marks over the origin of my shell! The last thing I need is a do-gooder inferring that my car is a ringer! I suppose I have all my pics as evidence but I can do without the hassle.






Next I removed all interior and glass before repairing the windscreen corners which was the only rot under the scuttle. Small mercies I suppose!








Next was to cut back any panels to the edge then unpick the welds with a spot weld drill. I found a great product along the same lines as Kurust called Fertan but this stuff will give protection on treated panels for up to six months before the need to paint them. It works out about £25/Litre where Kurust is about £8 for about 70ml!!! This stuff is brilliant. I saw it on Upbuild Garage Mk3 to Mk1 conversion mini build on YouTube.










Next I cut this section from the driver side Flitch panel!






First a small repair was effected around the check strap as the Flitch repair was to be spot welded through this. Then the Flitch repair itself.





Then the hole was drilled through for the vent before the closing panel was attached. I couldn’t source a genuine one so an equivalent was fitted. The scuttle is just sat in there in the pic.

I have just completed the purchase of a roof panel and panoramic glass cassette including the trims and head liner which should be there when I get home.

The details of this conversion are out there on the net and there is a pic below of one fitted to a classic mini. Watch this space!

I've had Minis for over 45 years and love the little cars to bits, but really annoyed that Austin Rover never did a better job of protecting them from rust,,,they had enough time over the years.
I have a friend who has a Mini the same age as yours and has had similar rust problems.. he said there was no paint at all inside the sills or panels !!! madness.
Keep up the great work you doing and so glad another one has been saved...

You get it with cheap cars no matter what. Because the margins are so slim, you can't afford to shill out that extra £5 for some more body sealant. And the margins on minis were slimmer than most!

Still a curse word for us lot down the line though, mind.

Yes they went for wide wheels, wood dashes and fancy trim but not a splash of paint and sealer, Madness.
I found the early minis were better...but not a lot.
Will watch the build with great interest, keep it up.

Not sure mate. I’ll have a look tomorrow and report back. I just assumed it was 12H as in high Compresson 1275?