well, it starts today....
Today I picked up the mini van shell and dropped it off at the farm. Yeah, its rotten, but its certainly not the worst ive seen! The main problem is bodged work by a previous owner. They have partly de-seamed the a-pillars and wings, but it looks pretty rough. They have started replacing the floor, buts its a complete hatchet job and needs to come out again. Also, to remove the doors, they have just hacked big holes in the wings to get at the bolts :mad: The front end is only really surface rust so I will see if I can save it instead of just replacing it. it needs complete floors and sills, inner and outer a-panels, complete rear valence and some patching here and there. Nothing too serious, but it will be time-consuming as funds are limited and mini parts are chuffing dear here so I will have to order from uk.
It came with a pair of front doors which arent too bad, but will probably need re-skinned.
The rear subframe looks to be in great condition though...dunno if its original, i doubt it. Its missing the suspension rubber and strut on the l/h rear, hence the lowrider look.
Plans are to rebuild the shell to a decent standard, paint it a period colour, then find a donor mini to give up all the mechanicals I will need to build this one up. Engine-wise, I reckon i will stick with the a-series for now. Engine swaps are not allowed here, so anything "interesting" is out of the question if I decide to keep the car in france for the long term. I will be making it uo as a LHD car, bt minis are dead easy to swap should I decide to return to UK.
Anyway, have a dose of pictures....
wish me luck!
Today I picked up the mini van shell and dropped it off at the farm. Yeah, its rotten, but its certainly not the worst ive seen! The main problem is bodged work by a previous owner. They have partly de-seamed the a-pillars and wings, but it looks pretty rough. They have started replacing the floor, buts its a complete hatchet job and needs to come out again. Also, to remove the doors, they have just hacked big holes in the wings to get at the bolts :mad: The front end is only really surface rust so I will see if I can save it instead of just replacing it. it needs complete floors and sills, inner and outer a-panels, complete rear valence and some patching here and there. Nothing too serious, but it will be time-consuming as funds are limited and mini parts are chuffing dear here so I will have to order from uk.
It came with a pair of front doors which arent too bad, but will probably need re-skinned.
The rear subframe looks to be in great condition though...dunno if its original, i doubt it. Its missing the suspension rubber and strut on the l/h rear, hence the lowrider look.
Plans are to rebuild the shell to a decent standard, paint it a period colour, then find a donor mini to give up all the mechanicals I will need to build this one up. Engine-wise, I reckon i will stick with the a-series for now. Engine swaps are not allowed here, so anything "interesting" is out of the question if I decide to keep the car in france for the long term. I will be making it uo as a LHD car, bt minis are dead easy to swap should I decide to return to UK.
Anyway, have a dose of pictures....
wish me luck!
