Bnicho's 87 Mini Mayfair - Was DVLA UK Rego Details

[bnicho]

This might be normal for the UK, but its one of the rustiest Minis I have ever seen.

The only photos I haven't included are the boot floor and passenger rear subframe mounts from the outside, as I can't get to them easily where the car is parked.

Front screen corner:


Drivers side door step:


Drivers side inner sill and floor:




Drivers side parcel pocket, over rear subframe mounts. My screwdriver went right through here and fell on the garage floor:


Passenger side rear inner wing. See signs of previous repairs lower down.


Passenger side parcel pocket is worse than the drivers side:


Bottom of passenger side parcel pocket:




Passenger side subframe mount ugliness:






Rust around the rear window seal. (Note the child restrain point near speaker and the inertia reel seatbelt bolted to parcel shelf. These are part of the requrements for Australian Design Rule compliance, similar to an SVA for used import cars.)


My head is telling me it's scrap and I should simply use the good bits for my Traveller. But my heart is telling me it should be saved.

The thing is, it wouldn't be expensive to save, just time consuming. Maybe $600 in materials and welding gas. Plus it would be good practice for the Traveller. I have a Mig I've hardly used. I've only used it with gasless wire with results that weren't brilliant. (I'm much more comfortable with my arc welder and did quite well repairing the Moke with that.) I also had a mate offer a loan of his spot-welder, so that would make some of the repairs easier....

Regardless, I have to do a few things to the Corona Coupe and make more of an effort to sell that before I can think about repairing this Mini.

[TerryG]

That is quite alot of rot but I have seen worse ones on the road. My brother bought a mini30 that was worse than that 4/5 years ago. After getting quotes to repair it we parted it out.
Don't you just LOVE english winters :S

[bnicho]

Don't you just LOVE english winters :S

Not if that's what they do to cars!

I went to see someone tonight who has a Rover Cooper Sportspack. I looked at it and thought, yes it's nice, but its not as cool as a Mark 1 Traveller. Especially one that looks stock but goes like an old-school Cooper S.

[spiderbloke]

Call that rust Brett?

Over here that's what they call Patina

[Grumpy Northener]

I have both seen and repaired far worse than this - looking at the big picture there is a lot to go at but just split it down in to sections and tackle an area at a time - take up your mates offer of the spot welder - but the best advice I can give you is purchase a decent MIG welder - do not even think of attemting this with arc / stick or gas less mig (most gas less mig's can be converted to run with a shielding gas). The beauty of the mini is that all the repair panels are available - it would make a great project.

[bnicho]

My MIG is an SIP SP150N (from memory) Gas/Gasless so no issues there.

It was given to me by a mate because he reckoned it wasn't working properly. I gave it to another mate to look at who put a new reel of gasless wire in it and replaced the tip. He said it seemed to be fine. Last time I tried to use it I had wire feed problems and buggered the torch liner. I bought a new liner but now I can't find it.

I know this shell could be fixed, but I don't know if I can be bothered putting the hours in. By Australian standards, it's terrible. If it was a rare or valuable model, then okay, but not for a humble Mayfair???

I promised my wife I was buying this Mayfair only for spares. But if I sold the MR2 (which my wife never liked anyway) I reckon I could get away with keeping this Mini though - reshelled or otherwise.

Speaking of shells, I found an old advert yesterday for a rustfree ex-Japan 87 Mayfair shell with import papers, in the same colour and only 8 hours drive away! I contacted the seller and the damn thing sold a month ago. Poo!!! :

I already have a big project (the Traveller) which I've owned for nine years and keep putting off. There is much less bodywork to do on that one, so I really should concentrate my efforts on it. It's been my dream since I was about five to have a Traveller.

Anyway, can't do much until after Moke Muster (over Easter). The Moke needs a service and some minor issues attended to before that event.

Cheers,

[Willy Eckerslyke]

My MIG is an SIP SP150N (from memory) Gas/Gasless so no issues there.
It was given to me by a mate because he reckoned it wasn't working properly. I gave it to another mate to look at who put a new reel of gasless wire in it and replaced the tip. He said it seemed to be fine. Last time I tried to use it I had wire feed problems ...

They all do that sir. Do a google for "SIP wire feed" and you'll find reams of discussions. Mine improved enormously when I switched from .8mm to .6mm wire on 2.5Kg reels instead of the tiny little ones. The larger reel gives a smoother feed either due to the damping effect of its weight or due to the wider diameter, dunno which but it makes a huge difference.

Back to the Mini, sounds like you have the right idea, you certainly don't want it to become a mill-stone. But, personally I'd be inclined to look for the very worst bit of it, buy a single, cheap repair section and have a go at welding it in. It'll be good practice and you'll either succeed and be encouraged to do the whole car, or bugger it up and write the car off to break for parts.

[bnicho]

Thanks Willy. The Google results were interesting to say the least.

The problem I had with the SIP welder was inconsistent wire feed speed. You'd get it just right and then it would speed up or slow down. That was on the lowest wire feed speed and with a decent amount of tension on the rollers.

My SIP had a roll of rusty wire in it when I got it. I now use that roll for hanging up things instead of welding. I suppose the damage to the liner was already done. Must find that new liner!

As far as welding this Mini, I thought the best way to start would be less-visible patches such as the boot floor and in the parcel pockets. Small repair plates for these areas could be made from offcuts I already have and hence cost me nothing. If I did a crappy looking job in these relatively hidden areas it would not ruin anything visible.

Cheers,

[SirTainleyBarking]

And now you know why Mini based kit cars were very popular in the UK. No shortage of Donors.

I've driven other peoples mini's in the past and yes they are a hoot, but the rot and access issues ensured I never became a convert.

That said I've seen worse, being driven