1962 4-Door FINISHED Plus Great British Car Rally
Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2013 11:52 pm
I say finished, but of course this sort of project is never finished!
So after 3 years 9 months of having this thing completely dismantled in my shed, it's back on the road!
Here's a before Pic:
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It was going to be a quick job, but of course that rust was worse than it looked! So I ended up completely stripping it and learning to weld. I had to replace the front chassis legs and cross member, rebuild the bottoms of the doors (sandbag and hammer to make up new curved bits) and also do many other 'superficial' patches. Fortunately the floor, mid cross member and sills were sound.
Mechanically I replaced many bits and pieces (e.g. clutch linkages), almost the whole brake system, and swapped the gearbox for a better one (and a new clutch). The engine was running well so I didn't touch it other than changing the oil and checking the valve clearances.
The paint job came up much better than I expected, and I didn't even die (I only learned how dangerous two-part paint is when half-way through the painting - DON'T try it without the right equipment). I won't be doing that again I don't think.
The interior vinyl is original but I had to buy new carpets. I added sound deadening and underlay while I was at it. I've also had modern inertia-reel seat belts fitted to the front. This was a very expensive exercise as they had to be engineered and certified. However, I do feel a lot safer.
To give myself a goal, I entered in the Great British Car Rally which was held last month. Of course I ended up in a rush, because I had to wait for a few things to be done on the car and it took ages. So I only got the Warrant Of Fitness (=MOT safety inspection) three days before the event. The courier lost two of my new alloy wheels, so they only arrived two days before the start. Nonetheless, we made it!
So here she is, cleaned and shined and fitted with new Mini-lite style alloys. It's not entirely authentic - note the lack of chrome bits on the bumpers (mine were too rusty and re-chroming is pretty expensive). The white grille-panel surround is for similar reasons (quick spray paint job rather than a re-chrome). Everyone assumes it's hotted up due to the racy wheels, but it's a completely standard 948 engine under there!
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The Great British Car Rally was organised as a fun event to promote British trade here and celebrate the long standing relationship between New Zealand and Great Britain - along with our love of classic British cars. We traveled from Auckland down to Christchurch over 6 days, with public events at towns along the way. The route passed through some fantastic scenery and great roads. There were only three Minors (and we were the only one who did the entire thing), but an amazing turnout of other classic cars. It was pleasing to see a Princess and a Marina (worth keeping one or two even if they were a bit awful. :p ) along with many quite rare and exotic classics. We had a fantastic time. The car ran really well with only a couple of very small niggles and adjustments needed.
I love driving it!!! Who needs more than 36 BHP. :p
The other thing I enjoyed was the public reaction - we always had lots of people looking at the car and telling us about their fond memories of owning one. I guess it was a lot more approachable than the $100,000 Bently convertable.
We cruised at 55 mph, climbed almost all the hills in 3rd gear, and averaged around 39 MPG over a distance of 1600 miles (there and back). The brakes even worked pretty well!
Here's the car (towards the back) parked with a rare Austin A35 ute (and some other junk...)
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Here we are parked by Lake Rotoiti near Nelson.
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So after 3 years 9 months of having this thing completely dismantled in my shed, it's back on the road!
Here's a before Pic:
[frame]
It was going to be a quick job, but of course that rust was worse than it looked! So I ended up completely stripping it and learning to weld. I had to replace the front chassis legs and cross member, rebuild the bottoms of the doors (sandbag and hammer to make up new curved bits) and also do many other 'superficial' patches. Fortunately the floor, mid cross member and sills were sound.
Mechanically I replaced many bits and pieces (e.g. clutch linkages), almost the whole brake system, and swapped the gearbox for a better one (and a new clutch). The engine was running well so I didn't touch it other than changing the oil and checking the valve clearances.
The paint job came up much better than I expected, and I didn't even die (I only learned how dangerous two-part paint is when half-way through the painting - DON'T try it without the right equipment). I won't be doing that again I don't think.
The interior vinyl is original but I had to buy new carpets. I added sound deadening and underlay while I was at it. I've also had modern inertia-reel seat belts fitted to the front. This was a very expensive exercise as they had to be engineered and certified. However, I do feel a lot safer.
To give myself a goal, I entered in the Great British Car Rally which was held last month. Of course I ended up in a rush, because I had to wait for a few things to be done on the car and it took ages. So I only got the Warrant Of Fitness (=MOT safety inspection) three days before the event. The courier lost two of my new alloy wheels, so they only arrived two days before the start. Nonetheless, we made it!
So here she is, cleaned and shined and fitted with new Mini-lite style alloys. It's not entirely authentic - note the lack of chrome bits on the bumpers (mine were too rusty and re-chroming is pretty expensive). The white grille-panel surround is for similar reasons (quick spray paint job rather than a re-chrome). Everyone assumes it's hotted up due to the racy wheels, but it's a completely standard 948 engine under there!
[frame]
[frame]
[frame]
The Great British Car Rally was organised as a fun event to promote British trade here and celebrate the long standing relationship between New Zealand and Great Britain - along with our love of classic British cars. We traveled from Auckland down to Christchurch over 6 days, with public events at towns along the way. The route passed through some fantastic scenery and great roads. There were only three Minors (and we were the only one who did the entire thing), but an amazing turnout of other classic cars. It was pleasing to see a Princess and a Marina (worth keeping one or two even if they were a bit awful. :p ) along with many quite rare and exotic classics. We had a fantastic time. The car ran really well with only a couple of very small niggles and adjustments needed.
I love driving it!!! Who needs more than 36 BHP. :p
The other thing I enjoyed was the public reaction - we always had lots of people looking at the car and telling us about their fond memories of owning one. I guess it was a lot more approachable than the $100,000 Bently convertable.
We cruised at 55 mph, climbed almost all the hills in 3rd gear, and averaged around 39 MPG over a distance of 1600 miles (there and back). The brakes even worked pretty well!
Here's the car (towards the back) parked with a rare Austin A35 ute (and some other junk...)
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Here we are parked by Lake Rotoiti near Nelson.
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