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New Member, old Mini, long road ahead
https://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=98896
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Author:  viperrwk [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 5:07 am ]
Post subject:  New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Hello Ausmini forum members!

I just posted in the Welcome All thread and have created this separate thread to detail my car and what is happening to it. My name is Bob (username viperrwk) and I am located in Connecticut in the USA. I recently joined the forum as I have a 1969 Australian Morris Mini Cooper S Mk II that I am in the process of restoring. Some background on the vehicle as I know it:

When the vehicle was first sold it was registered in Western Australia (see link to photos below). From what I am able to tell, the car was completely white when first sold. I don't have any history on the car during its time in Australia. All I know is that the car remained in Australia until some time around 1980 when it was then shipped to New Zealand. I believe during its time in New Zealand, the body was painted red and the wheels were replaced with Cheviot Jelly Beans and Dunlop Aquajet tyres. It was used in New Zealand until around 1989/1990 at which point it was then sold and shipped to England.

The original registration documents in England shows the car as being red but during its time in England it was resprayed to British Racing Green and the white turret remained. I purchased the car in the year 2000 (from a man who had two Sunbeam Tigers and the Mini and was told by his wife that one of them had to go!) I then shipped the car to the Bay Area in California where the car went into storage. The car was then stored in my garage because we were starting a family and I already had a fun weekend car (Dodge Viper). The car sat all these years and finally last year I shipped the car to Connecticut and in December began a complete restoration on the vehicle.

My plan is to restore the vehicle using as many original parts as possible as well as keeping some of the parts that I obtained with the car. When I purchased the car it came with an extra bonnet, boot lid, boot lid panel, doors, seats, gearbox, boot board, boot panel, and various other parts. I plan on keeping and restoring the Jelly Beans. Somewhere along the way the steering column was replaced with a locking one but the plan is to put an original one back in there.

The car has already been stripped down to the bare body, the gearbox has been rebuilt, the body is in the body shop getting blasted and repairs being made. The hydrolastic displacers were rebuilt by Kip Motor in TX here in the US, the subframes have been powdercoated, the motor is in the machine shop, a new interior is on order from Newton Commercial as well as various other things being worked on in parallel.

Here are a few pictures of the car before I started and a few along the way:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/q9fWz8iYDhMiQdPn9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PUVispNcqtrk2o8v9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gNQGP7Vq7ohXAcW76
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fXQUSB5sX3YCh3K78
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kHTpRnXAnoon4Zx48
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pn9ScGoFtBG6jAL36
https://photos.app.goo.gl/GtYhpSyHkNLyM2Dp9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/tkoG4yLdnAfetyEKA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8Df8vsWRzgzZSiF16
https://photos.app.goo.gl/TkRUBSW1F5Naoc367

I have already provided all the specific information to winabbey to include the car in the register. I am sure I will have a lot of questions given where I am in this process. I will try and post in the appropriate places but forgive me in advance if I make a mistake or two along the way. I at least wanted to introduce myself and make sure people had background on what I will be asking. Also any advice from those who have gone through this is very much appreciated!

Cheers!

viperrwk

Author:  JollyRgr [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 6:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Bob
From what I can see of the registration tag it was in Western Australia when the Road Traffic Authority (RTA) still existed so pre Feb 1982. If you know the registration number from that era I may be able to find out some history for you.
Best of luck driving a RHD over there when she’s on the road. :D
Roger

Author:  timmy201 [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

I think the Jellybean mag wheels were also sold under the Aunger brand - to match the sticker on the rear window. There is also an Aussie SAAS steering wheel which is another period modification

Good luck with the rest of the restoration!

Author:  viperrwk [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Thanks for the responses!

Roger - I have a file (somewhere) with the service history on the car. It might contain the reg number for when the vehicle was in Aus. If and when it surfaces I'll be sure to post it in this thread. However, it's been 20 years and three moves ago so its current location is a mystery...

Thanks Tim for the info on the jelly beans. I always wondered what that sticker was for, especially since the caps on the wheels say Cheviot. I was lucky - the car came with 5 Cheviots.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YtJpD9RPoJ1JfHxZ9

Of course now that I look at the font on the sticker and compare it to the font on the wheel hub, I can see the similarity. So perhaps its possible the car got the jelly beans in Aus? But then wouldn't the hubs also say "Aunger" on them instead of "Cheviot"?

I didn't realize the steering wheel was from Aus. I was going to either get a Mountney or go back to stock. You've now given me something else to think about!

Thanks again!

viperrwk

Author:  Bill B [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 1:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Welcome to the site.
I know that there are always lots of little things to fix after all those years but from the photos, it is already a good starting point.
I have a 1970 Mk2 S in monotone Crystal White, which I guess is your original colour.
Good luck with the restoration. How do you keep working during Connecticut winters?

Author:  AEG163job [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 1:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Good looking unit and an interesting history as well. Thanks for posting.
My brother-in-law had a Viper. Bought it because he assumed he would be swamped by gorgeous women.
However at parties that idea backfired. Only the guys were drooling over it!

Author:  simon k [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 8:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

It's possible that the locking steering column is also a period accessory - I have one on my car - it's different to what was fitted to a later model mini and I think a cool bit of period bling. The key is WASO brand if that helps, or post a picture of it

Author:  viperrwk [ Tue Jul 30, 2019 11:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Great feedback thank you!

Simon - here's another shot of the interior and the steering column:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HkaoxZUiAGz7Q1n3A

The wiring harness was hacked pretty well to install this column. It is surprising this would be considered a period accessory, since you'd have to find an appropriate column and all the work necessary to install. I'm also getting a new harness as its too much to fix this one.

I just can't keep the column for the simple reason that the key is in the wrong place. I much prefer the key to be in the middle of the dash. ;)

You'll notice in this photo the seat upholstery as well. I believe somewhere along the way the seats were changed as these are reclining seats and not fixed seat backs. Also I doubt any Cooper S models came with this cloth covering. Newton Commercial has confirmed with me that these seat covers were an official pattern but they have no plans to reproduce them. My plan is to go back to the fixed seatback seats with the black upholstery. While I'd like to keep the recliners, Newton doesn't make the Australian covers that fit the recliners.

Bill - it's New England. We adapt, have lots of heated indoor space and my car is at a restoration shop. Unless we get more than 10-12 inches (25+cm) of snow at a time, we just plow the roads, engage four wheel drive and keep moving. And yes the Crystal White all white is the original color though my plan is to paint the car back to the original white but paint the roof black. I need to do more digging through the forum on colors...

Funny story about the Viper. About a year after I bought it (1994), I had parked on Union Street in San Francisco. No top on and when I came back to the car, I found a woman's phone number in the ash tray. I never called it as I was engaged to be married at the time (my then fiancee now wife picked out the color of the car when I ordered it) but kept the phone number in the ash try to show people when they would ask me the inevitable question how women react to the car.

So about 5 years ago I was showing the car to someone, they asked the "woman question" and I went to go get the number out of the ash tray to discover it was gone. When I asked my wife about it she said "Oh I threw it away when I was cleaning out the car. Besides, why would you want to keep the phone number of a woman you've never called, never met and never will meet - unless there's something you want to tell me..."

Today when I show the car I answer the woman question without props...

viperrwk

PS I love my wife very much - she still puts up with my car and pinball insanities after almost 24 years!

Author:  simon k [ Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

viperrwk wrote:
Great feedback thank you!

Simon - here's another shot of the interior and the steering column:



nope... not the same, that looks like it's out of a Rover, probably the same one the seats came from

Author:  viperrwk [ Wed Nov 13, 2019 5:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

It's been a while since I posted but I'm now ready to share pics of the body shell stripped down.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XHASHK7Zr7oR21rB7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9izHEsNEEGSizCSX8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Do3xekKLm8bpMbgAA
https://photos.app.goo.gl/NVqig4UmhxyEJwUm8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zvmNZUotoKZaQV2c8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZcCB7Xe22nsFo2Lk8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qkgDKHnusEJJ9kU39
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PGu85unjMmCyogpK7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2kWortpd6H6yYnsW8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nNyD8sD8XMfnXg7N7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JwWYHepGtqisAQwr7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dMZHjb8R9U5Xkpy5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zaZCs9EfZnJcExC59
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vpB5fCrC7GBZkg7e8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jhTdeXK3RbkwVTBz5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zNydcHyyJF16ZBXv5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YpnjZcnyftSu5uGx9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5Yce2CQxHm7edeGH6

Looking closely at the body it's evident it had been in an accident at some point in time. The photo of the inner fender wing shows the metal all wrinkled. From the photos you can see the driver's side front clip has been brazed on - I assume that was from the repair and that it should be spot welded.

One of the big questions I have is what is the best way to repair the sills - replace the entire floor assembly with the inner sills with new outer sills or cut the inner and outer sills off and just replace those? Are the ones on Mini Mania the correct sills for this car?

Another question is the plate below the driver's side hood hinge from the factory?

Lastly for now, while the body prefix and number and chassis prefix and number are in the correct locations (chassis prefix radiator shroud, body prefix passenger-side scuttle panel) it turns out that the two numbers are off by only 469 and not 500 +/- 10. I'm assuming this is not a big deal as I see a number of cars in the registry that are off between those two numbers by more than +/-10.

As always, all insights are welcome!

viperrwk

Author:  9YaTaH [ Wed Nov 13, 2019 6:18 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

viperrwk wrote:
Hello Ausmini forum members!

I just posted in the Welcome All thread and have created this separate thread to detail my car and what is happening to it. My name is Bob (username viperrwk) and I am located in Connecticut in the USA. I recently joined the forum as I have a 1969 Australian Morris Mini Cooper S Mk II that I am in the process of restoring. Some background on the vehicle as I know it:

When the vehicle was first sold it was registered in Western Australia (see link to photos below). From what I am able to tell, the car was completely white when first sold. I don't have any history on the car during its time in Australia. All I know is that the car remained in Australia until some time around 1980 when it was then shipped to New Zealand. I believe during its time in New Zealand, the body was painted red and the wheels were replaced with Cheviot Jelly Beans and Dunlop Aquajet tyres. It was used in New Zealand until around 1989/1990 at which point it was then sold and shipped to England.

The original registration documents in England shows the car as being red but during its time in England it was resprayed to British Racing Green and the white turret remained. I purchased the car in the year 2000 (from a man who had two Sunbeam Tigers and the Mini and was told by his wife that one of them had to go!) I then shipped the car to the Bay Area in California where the car went into storage. The car was then stored in my garage because we were starting a family and I already had a fun weekend car (Dodge Viper). The car sat all these years and finally last year I shipped the car to Connecticut and in December began a complete restoration on the vehicle.

My plan is to restore the vehicle using as many original parts as possible as well as keeping some of the parts that I obtained with the car. When I purchased the car it came with an extra bonnet, boot lid, boot lid panel, doors, seats, gearbox, boot board, boot panel, and various other parts. I plan on keeping and restoring the Jelly Beans. Somewhere along the way the steering column was replaced with a locking one but the plan is to put an original one back in there.

The car has already been stripped down to the bare body, the gearbox has been rebuilt, the body is in the body shop getting blasted and repairs being made. The hydrolastic displacers were rebuilt by Kip Motor in TX here in the US, the subframes have been powdercoated, the motor is in the machine shop, a new interior is on order from Newton Commercial as well as various other things being worked on in parallel.

I have already provided all the specific information to winabbey to include the car in the register. I am sure I will have a lot of questions given where I am in this process. I will try and post in the appropriate places but forgive me in advance if I make a mistake or two along the way. I at least wanted to introduce myself and make sure people had background on what I will be asking. Also any advice from those who have gone through this is very much appreciated!

Cheers!

viperrwk


Welcome Bob...some of these cars were delivered with a Passport (to service) - your car has had its passport stamped a few more times than others! Enjoy the resto! Plenty of good tech advice, knowledge and opinions (lots of those!) here...Cheers, Mick

Author:  Bill B [ Wed Nov 13, 2019 10:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

The 4 inch round plate in front of the driver on the dash panel is not factory.
Lots of brazing was factory standard: where the bonnet close panel meets the gutters of the front guards; top & bottom of the 4 cover moulds over the side seams; inner guards meets front panel; corners of the floor panels/sills; battery box to boot floor; etc.
Interesting that the is a small angle strip below the speedo aperture that looks like an anchor point for the carburettor return springs - usually that strip is on the heat shield.
Generally not in bad shape given its history.
Good luck with the rebuild.

Author:  gtogreen1969 [ Wed Nov 13, 2019 10:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

The notional 500 numbers apart between body and chassis numbers is a guide only. You have to remember that the bodies were not kept in order and any finished body could have been selected before the chassis number was stamped. Yours being off by 31 is fine. Thanks for the progress pics. Good luck with the resto.

Author:  winabbey [ Wed Nov 13, 2019 11:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Bob - I suggest you use the Ausmini server to store your photos rather than providing a link to Google photos as you have done. In your post above I see a list of 18 links. Those wanting to view the images need to click on each in turn, one at a time.

Here's a guide that will allow you to upload images and then have them displayed in posts - viewtopic.php?f=25&t=96873

Author:  winabbey [ Wed Nov 13, 2019 12:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New Member, old Mini, long road ahead

Bob,

What is the exact distance between these two holes, in mm?

Attachment:
Bob Kane 1969 MK II S.jpg


Are you familiar with the purpose of all the holes in the flitch panel? If not we can help identify them for you. I can see some as original factory while some have been added.

Attachment:
Bob Kane 1969 MK II S flitch.jpg

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