Forum Name: dalefreeburn

Unfortunately, as I didn't get my digital camera until well into the restoration, I don't have many pictures of the beginning of the build, but the pictures start from around the middle of July to present.

Back in February, I bought my first mini. It was a 1972 1000, in a very fetching shade of green which included the interior. Amazingly it was in very good shape and had obviously been stored inside; but that didn't mean it wasn't rusty.

My dad and I set about stripping what was left of her down to the bare shell. It was then attacked by the angle grinder, removing most of the boot floor, the whole front end except for the inner arches and we removed the inner and outer sills. A quick trip down to Woods Motors saw us returning with all the needed panels, plus more.

A few months later most of the welding was done. My dad and I took our time, one because there was lots to be done and two because we both wanted it done right.

	Here's the floor all welded up	One completed boot

This brings us up to about the end of May, the start of June. In that time I had purchased a further 2 mini's solely for spares. I got a 1979 1100 Special and a 1986 City HLE, for £50 and £20 respectively. During this time I also ordered the bodykit from ABS Motorsport. This came in 8 days and was a lot cheaper than some of its rivals!

Between the end of June and right into the start of August we prepped the shell for the spraying and fitting of the kit. There were many nights spend nursing a sore arm, I have to admit I would not like to be a bodywork specialist!

Once we had the 'donkey work' done on the shell we delivered her to Ryan Hamilton to fit the kit and spray her.

While he was putting on the kit I spent a lot of time considering paint. First off it was Mg Trophy Blue, then a purple number from Rover which I can't remember the name of, then Subaru Championship Blue, and then flip paint (until I discovered the price). Finally I picked a colour that Ryan got his hands on especially for me. It's called pearlscent blue, yet it is nearly a flip paint. At night it's purple, yet in the dull light it's dark blue but in bright sunshine it's bright blue. I have to say I'm very happy with the finished result.

Just after spraying	Just home!!

She arrived home about 2 weeks later to a very happy owner. When she arrived there was a present of a set of brand new 6x12 Deep Dish Minilites. The polished rim on these alloys really complements the chrome and the colour of the car.

While she was away we also re-built the engine from the 1100 special. It was the best engine of the lot.

Now that the car was back with us, the building really started. Since we were taking the 10" wheels off and fitting 12" we took the opportunity to fit all the brake hoses and wiring under the car.
This took longer than originally thought because the originals could not be found, and when they were found there were all badly corroded.

We also noticed how 'open' the kit was. The skirts and arches were left open to allow dirt to gather, and eventually cause rust!! (nnoooo!!!) So we got some black aluminium from the scrappy down the road and fixed it to the arches and skirts. To provide the kit with extra strength we filled the arches and skirts with expandable foam. This also helps the aluminium to stick to the kit.

Once the under car things had been done, we made a start on the interior. Firstly the headlining went in salvaged from the Quant. Next we built up the doors including windows, installed the opening back windows, the rear door cards, the pocket trim and the black carpet salvaged from the Quant.
The door cards are the original 1972 green ones, simply sprayed black. This worked out rather well, looks very good and saved us about £50 :o)

The MG Metro seats are held in by specially made subframes which dad has made to his own design. Even though these are Metro seats, the fit is surprisingly tight, but with some encouragement they slot nicely into place. Don't worry the rear seats are going to be recovered!

We also cut out the holes for the 6x9's in the rear shelf. But because of the size of the 6x9's we had to make a 20mm MDF shelf to lift the speaker magnet over the petrol tank. Even now there's less than 10mm of clearance.

We also have the dash in place with the clocks and steering column, (don't worry an Astrali steering wheel is going in after the MOT) I'm leaving the stainless steel dash, speakers and MP3 Head Unit until after the MOT to try and speed things up a little.

Next up was the petrol tank, the lights and of course the engine. At last the 1098 has found it's home. This was surprisingly very simple to do and took about 2 hours to lift over the car, push the car under it, lower it in and bolt it in place. With the lights and boot in place it almost looks like a mini! But to see the finished product your going to have to wait until the car is completely finished! Sorry!