I've had this car for many years but with school and life I was never able to really have at it. I've dragged it around with me from rental house to rental house but always held on to it.
Now I've finally have a place and some money to restore it.
The Vin was missing when I got the car but it's titled and I was told it was a 63'. It's a remote shift and it came with an 1100cc and I found a 997cc which I think it would have had originally. The crossmemmber was cut out of it years ago and replaced with wood. As a result the floor is pushed in all over the place. It's a new mexico car so there is very minimal rust so I would like to save the floor. Other wise it need outter sills and one A panel.
I want to make it a good driver. Not trying to make a show car just want to drive the wheels of it. I'm not a body guy so that's going to be the hardest part of this for me.
Thanks,
Steve
Welcome to Restoration Mini! Looks like a fun project - none of the usual rust issues! You mentioned the car might have originally had a 997 engine, so it was a Cooper? (The VIN on the title might help show that). Assuming the blue color on the interior is original, it looks like it was Surf Blue?
Welcome!
No disc brakes, so would it have been a Cooper?
Disc kits are pretty reasonable, BTW so since you're not going for original one of those would be a good investment....with the Dollar/pound ratio being so favorable right now, it's a perfect time to start one of these restorations!
Welcome! I wasn't a body guy either until I started mine. Looks like you've got a pretty good shell to start with and won't have to do a ton of welding.
Welcome to the forum! Looks like you have a solid shell to start with.
Hey all. Unfortunately the original Vin plate is gone and it's titled with the chassis number stamper on the bonnet support. I suspect it's a cooper because it has remote shift and I believe the trim on the door frames is cooper but I could be wrong. If anyone knows how to tell that would be awesome.
It didn't have it's original engine or front hubs when I got it. It had single leading drum but i was able to find some double leading aswell as drive shafts and metal cross joints.
Bruce, yes it was surf blue with a bad white respray. I would like to go grey with a white roof.
Welcome. So weird the shell pics didn't show up for me the first time I read this. Just the first picture, so I thought you were joking about a solid shell. But after reading the responses I scrolled back up and there they were. Looks like a great starting point. Look forward to the progress
Quote from: Abq_mini on October 12, 2022, 06:14:43 AM
Hey all. Unfortunately the original Vin plate is gone and it's titled with the chassis number stamper on the bonnet support. I suspect it's a cooper because it has remote shift and I believe the trim on the door frames is cooper but I could be wrong. If anyone knows how to tell that would be awesome.
It didn't have it's original engine or front hubs when I got it. It had single leading drum but i was able to find some double leading aswell as drive shafts and metal cross joints.
The Cooper model was not the only one that had the chrome trim around the front doors, bumpers with overriders, key start and other so-called exclusive Cooper features. The Mini Super model and the Mini de Luxe model (which later merged into a single model called the Mini Super de Luxe) had those features, and both of those models were upmarket fancier Mini 850s that had front drum brakes.
So your car could have been a Super or de Luxe.
Quote from: BruceK on October 12, 2022, 11:50:05 PM
Quote from: Abq_mini on October 12, 2022, 06:14:43 AM
Hey all. Unfortunately the original Vin plate is gone and it's titled with the chassis number stamper on the bonnet support. I suspect it's a cooper because it has remote shift and I believe the trim on the door frames is cooper but I could be wrong. If anyone knows how to tell that would be awesome.
It didn't have it's original engine or front hubs when I got it. It had single leading drum but i was able to find some double leading aswell as drive shafts and metal cross joints.
The Cooper model was not the only one that had the chrome trim around the front doors, bumpers with overriders, key start and other so-called exclusive Cooper features. The Mini Super model and the Mini de Luxe model (which later merged into a single model called the Mini Super de Luxe) had those features, and both of those models were upmarket fancier Mini 850s that had front drum brakes.
So your car could have been a Super or de Luxe.
Good to know! I contacted british heritage and they told me they could probably look the car up based on the chassis plate. They were a little reluctant to do so with the photos I provided. They would like to see more of the car together was my impression.
Yea that's the problem with the Mr Potato head cars we love. I'm still trying to verify what exactly I have. History says it's a Morris since it was built in Australia but the vin says it's an Austin. Problem is I just have a stamped metal vin plate. Well it was held on by 2 rivets so who knows exactly where it came from or if it's even original. Dan nor I could find any body stamping either. About all I have is the wiper motor. Unfortunately as soon as I was getting good communication from a restoration shop in Australia they went on vacation for 4 weeks.