Dean's mk1

[monkeyjim]

I did look at rubber springs on Minisport site last week . they did not have genuine ones from what i remember , just pattern and Moulton smooth ride versions .
Smoothride are softer versions designed by the chap who was responsible for the Mini suspension at the beginning for those who do not know .

[Miniböttcher]

i kept it a standard type of set up just uprated, i did look at those spring and do away with the donut but the price did not warent it.

one of the mini world cars have the spring set up so give stephen a shout he tell you what they are like he has driven it for many miles

[Tight Git]

Yeah, ive heard nothing but bad reviews about the the spring setup instead of the cones. and also heard bad things about coil overs.

[monkeyjim]

I have heard the same about both .
From what calver says the red spot road Minispares rubber springs work like the originals but dont go off like they do . There are race yellow spot ones also available .

I went for a drive in Sheldon with Stephen just after the springs were fitted , you could feel it soaked bumps and gaps getween concrete road sections better . They were new then , dont know how they would be with 10,000miles behind them . Springs on modern cars break all the time thses days.

Personally i say the standard parts are very good and i think the same goes to the basic suspension componats fiited to the mini

[Tight Git]

i have to agree, the suspension on a mini is very good.

[monkeyjim]

Another example of how good the standard spec kit is on a mini is with the chrome .
I have a door handle on my mark1 , a 1960 part . Its in better condition than a so called top quality replacement mark3 onwards type chrome door handle set that has been fitted to a car that has sat in a garage for 3 years . The mark3 set is pitted

Anyway , enough of this , we are going away from the subject of this Diary . Deans MARK 1 ..

Dont tell him but nobody thinks he will get it finished till IMM Switzerland .... he's very slow .
Reckon I will have to go round and show him how to put a mark 1 together . ;D

[Miniböttcher]

new finish date mini 55, 2014, its a bit more realistic for me

you cant rush perfection!!!!!

[Tight Git]

hahaah excuses excuses

[monkeyjim]

Happy to help .
Sure it will be done by the summer

[Miniböttcher]

right i think i have found a really good body shop local to me who will do me a spray job that i want, for good money

old town Restorations. which is part of old town tyres in westham

www.oldtowntyres.co.uk/station_page.asp?session_ID=0&pid=568

he does alot of MGB's and has a a customrs car in at the moment,it a heritage shell which he is rebuiding for him so the bloke can use it as a every day car and keep his show car for show, which they also sprayed

its sitting there as a bare shell sprayed and it looks spot on, i talked to him on the process he preps and paints the car cars and he does not cut corner,

he and another bloke left Gentree which is across the car park from old town restorations, as they were made to cut corner and do a quick job, which he did not want to do, so he left and started up on his own with the other bloke

he quoted me a very good price to prep and paint, and i told him that i want a very good, spot on paint job which will last. and he said he can do it,

thanks for dave for telling me about tex, i would love him to paint it but i think i have found someone local who could do the same if not closer paint job that will last, but is round the corner. thank you

so just got to go out there today and get the sill on, out for blasting then front end on and the paint, going to be a push to get it done for mini 55, ha ha ha

[Miniböttcher]

got the drivers door skin on, and clamped it in place , got my door gap right and also lined up the door step and the gap is just right, now i have got that right i can start to welding in the inner sill, if i did not do the door and step first i may of found it would be out of line

[Miniböttcher]

went down the blasters and picked up my radius arms and back plates, they can up really good, very nice job, the back plates look really good even if the are 48 years old

[Miniböttcher]

some progress at long last, got the inner sill welded on door step and outer sill tomorrow, there much easier, less prep work and easier to line up and weld on

blasters are still happy to do the shell and prime it with the each primer i have, not a problem, they have updated it down there with new machines, as they now have a big contact with BP so everything has to be spot on

[Miniböttcher]

been off work for the last week, so been playing with the car

bit of a head ake to start with,

i started to do the front end, so i bolted in the front subframe in and then bolted the front panel to that.
cut in my new heritage scuttle ( thanks nicky) and clamped up my A panel and drivers wing, got it to fit right, bolted in the bonnet, the gap was ok,( but not perfect) then tried the passager side wing and it did not fit. damb

remember

door skins
inner and outer A panels
scuttle
front panel
wings

ARE ALL HERITAGE

and a good used genuine bonnet

so the fit should be right, so i thought it was the front panel. as it did to seem long enough and the fit was crap,
did a few calls, play mini, mini speed. moss europe, non had heritage front panels, so next was mini spares they had 5 in stock
so wednesday off we went up to potters bar ( lisa its a place not a pub HA HA)

to cut a long story short, traffic jam, crash, road works, 3.5 hours later got to mini spares, stop for food, head back, traffic jam, traffic jam, traffic jam, rush hour, dartford bridge, traffic jam,
get the point !!!!!
left home at 11:45 got back at 7:15. and 1 trip around the whole M25,

then to find out it was the passanger wing, aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

so a wasted day, £125, plus petrol all for nothing.

but lucky simon holland has a NOS wing in his lock up which fitted

so from there on it got better, i have spent the last 3 day getting the front end to fit PERFECT, and i mean perfect, my gaps are spot on, ( which i can be happy with) bonnet closed right and so is the gap.inner wings fitted, got all the A panel to the door shut right and tacked in,
its just a case of cleaning it all up and spot welding it on

so i am happy i has not wasted my whole week off, and for once its started to look like a mini again

[MiniGT5]

Sounds like your making good progress... how long do you think it will be until till you get it sprayed

N.