BMC/BMH/BL Readers wives #End of year round up#

[Blake's Den]

Another Mini addict here. 97 Cooper and an 89 Designer special edition.

Also a 96 Defender 90 in its natural habitat 

[SiC]

10 minutes ago, Matty said:

I think ultimately I'm going to want a 1275. The 1098 that's in mine is a good rebuilt lump with a 295 spec head and a bigger inch and half SU. It goes well but percentage wise the power increase from a 1098 to a 1275 would be well worth it. Plus 1098s don't really like to rev much. First job is to sort the front suspension. No sense in making it quicker if it won't go round corners 🤪

As RBJ pointed out to me on TDW, the later the car is, the more weight they gained. Thus had to increase the power to suit. Additional weight, despite extra power, doesn't help cars.

I wouldn't mind an estate either. Originally I was put off by the extra length, however if you look at the weight distribution, it's much closer to 50:50 than a saloon body.

8 minutes ago, Matty said:

You really do have a thing for welding 😆

Know what you mean about the earlier styling though

Ironically I don't particularly enjoy welding! Problem is, you can get stuff a lot cheaper if it needs it. Of course you then end up paying with your time instead. I do keep saying I'll buy a nice example of something but then get too tempted by something cheap that inevitably needs work.

The MK1 to me is much purer to the original concept. Later they got, the more bits are stuck on them and more complex they got. 

[SiC]

This video convinced me that the Mk1 is the one to get. Its one of my all-time favourite YouTube videos too.

 

 

[Rusty_Rocket]

Mk1/2/3 Minis are lovely things but not overly usable in standard form.

My orange car is a (1975) Mk3.  It's in essence very similar to the earlier cars as it still has a solidly-mounted front subframe.  Mk4 cars (1976 onwards) were dubbed the 'new quiet Minis' which sounds ridiculous now, but the improvements did cut down on NVH a lot.  They had a rubber isolated subframe, anti-vibration panels on the floor and roof, better trim and controls, larger fuel tank, 2-speed wipers etc.

Last summer I drove the Mk3 to the Mini Cooper 60th celebration show at Beaulieu.  Four hours each way for me.  The journey was extrememly tiring.  Those tiny 10" wheels are spinning very quickly, even at 50mph and anything over that speed means the little A series is revving hard.  The all drum brakes fade after a couple of 50 to 20mph stops (like approaching a roundabout on a dual carriageway) and the bolt upright seats cripple you.

The later cars, say from 1984, had disc brakes, higher dif ratio and much better seats.  My point is, a Rover Mini is a very different car compared to the early ones.  Non-car people think they're all the same, but, speaking from experience, there's a massive difference to usability.

[Joey spud]

I had a day off today so had time to take my collection of scrap down to the local metal merchant.41 kilo's of brass and one old Granvia battery netted me £159.

So what has this got to do with old BMC tat I hear you mumble well Boris needs a bigger exhaust to go with his 1275 MG engine so with some of my free money I ordered up this little package of bits.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121500532030

[SiC]

This is why I bloody hate welding up old cars.

Got between my fire resistant boiler suit to my hoody and t-shirt underneath! It was a decent t-shirt too. 😒

[Joey spud]

All this talk of Mini's reminds me of one i had in the late 80's when i was 18.

CKM646K was a purple (black tulip) 850 with a black vinyl roof and gold/black Cosmic alloy wheels shod with 165/70x10 tyres.

When i first got it it was a bit down on power due to a burnt exhaust valve but with its original big steering wheel it was genuinely fun to drive and its lack of bhp meant good progress could be made by avoiding braking and carrying its momentum through the corners where as my mates in their mk1 Escorts and HB Vivas had to lift.

I also recall the rear radius arm bearings hadn't seen a grease gun in years and were very worn so before its Mot test i parked around the corner from the garage and pumped them full to bursting with grease to try to hide the wear and it sort of worked as unbeknown to me back then the Mot examination didn't include lifting the rear of the car up so my baggy radius arms weren't going to be tested anyway.

[Jikovron]

Current status here is heavily BL with a 73 marina 1.3 auto, 77 dolomite 1500HL and an 80 ital 1.7 , the dolomite needs the least work,,and its a sharp curve up for the marina and ital,,,eventually I'll get onto them!

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, Matty said:

Whodve thought. Reliable Triumph rescues stricken Volvo 😁

Trondha. What would be better? I got wheelspin in 2nd from one.

[SiC]

Apart from attempting to set fire to myself yesterday, I plug welded the arch lip on the Dolomite. Not the best of jobs but it appears to be ok. Didn't help the inner arch was set too far in. Yesterday didn't really go to plan!
Could seam weld but quite difficult to get in there.
Will need to clean up the arch a fair bit. Don't really want to trim it down, so I'll probably get the copper spoon out, reconstruct the edge and then grind flat.

Apologies for the blurred picture, I appear to have cracked the wide angle camera lens on my phone.



Clamped up the sill. Always never have enough mole grips!
The lip isn't quite big enough to plug weld properly. To be honest, I prefer seam welding anyway. Just will be on the inside and won't be the most pleasant of jobs.

[rob88h]

12 hours ago, SiC said:

 

This is pretty much my budget and what I'd want. Of course prefer in better condition but this is saveable. Plenty of panels about and not that expensive. Which helps their value too.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austin-Morris-mini-1960-barn-find-/304402744413

 

Not to call shenanigans, but in the pictures this thing is wearing different number plates front and rear. TPM 553 and XKP 790(obscured suffix) both look like they’ve physically sat on it a while. Makes me wonder if it really is a 1960 one. But then there’s a picture of the heritage certificate. 🤔

Nevermind, it’s sold anyway and it’s a mystery I’ll probably never hear resolved. Life’s to short. 

A bit of thinking aloud there… To get back on track, here is my Mini doing Mini at the garden centre things. 

[LoftyvRS]

Had some building materials delivered so had to get my Mini out of the garage to get the gear through, then promptly put it away again. 

 

[SiC]

58 minutes ago, rob88h said:

Not to call shenanigans, but in the pictures this thing is wearing different number plates front and rear. TPM 553 and XKP 790(obscured suffix) both look like they’ve physically sat on it a while. Makes me wonder if it really is a 1960 one. But then there’s a picture of the heritage certificate. 🤔

Yeah the listing does mention this:

PLEASE NOTE THE NUMBER PLATE ON THE FRONT OF THE CAR WAS THE ORIGINAL ,BUT WAS REMOVED AND PUT ON ANOTHER VEHICLE SOME YEARS AGO, THE NUMBER ON THE REAR IS THE ONE ALLOCATED BY THE DVLA AND THIS IS ON THE V5C

So looks like someone ringed/transferred it and then it had to have new plates after being re-registered by DVLA.

As you said, doesn't really matter as it's sold now! Unless it ends back up with a non paying bidder. 

[Matty]

13 hours ago, SiC said:

This is why I bloody hate welding up old cars.

Got between my fire resistant boiler suit to my hoody and t-shirt underneath! It was a decent t-shirt too. 😒

Quick photo just now but I wear bib and brace overalls at work with an old nylon running top underneath. You can just make out all the little holes from sparks/cutting/weld spatter. I'm a fucking idiot really

[Matty]

1 hour ago, LoftyvRS said:

Had some building materials delivered so had to get my Mini out of the garage to get the gear through, then promptly put it away again. 

 

Oh now that. That's quite a thing. Just right

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, rob88h said:

Not to call shenanigans, but in the pictures this thing is wearing different number plates front and rear. TPM 553 and XKP 790(obscured suffix) both look like they’ve physically sat on it a while. Makes me wonder if it really is a 1960 one. But then there’s a picture of the heritage certificate. 🤔

 

I love the half arsed attempt at the attempt of trying to hide XKP790A....

or maybe I just know way too much about the DVLA can now easily tell you what the rest of the plate was without having to look anything up LOL

I mean its 1961 car robbed of it number plate in the 1980's of course its going to be on a non age related replacement "1963" A suffix plate, so hiding the suffix mark does you sweet FA LOL

(back in the 1980's for whatever reason, the DVLA did not issue age related plates for a good chunk of 1962 and older vehicles when they where robbed of their plate, they just freely issued them A or B suffix plates, regardless of their actual age, and I even saw a G suffix series be issued like that as well once LOL)

[lesapandre]

On 3/27/2022 at 10:30 PM, artdjones said:

BMC Minis are an example of the patrician, top down,  you-poor- people-will-like-what-I-like, attitude to design that's similar to that which modern architects have. The French, when designing their people's cars managed to build cars that were comfortable, with four doors, and enough space to accommodate back seat passengers that were over the age of 12. They also realized that even poor people may want to take luggage around with them.

You are absolutely right. Most decisions on new product were taken a company board level - in other words a bunch of well-paid late middle-aged men, generally engineers, deciding what every body else should drive. It worked ok when there was significant demand for new cars but as the 1960's went on and foreign competitors got a foot-hold - that all fell apart.

[artdjones]

Yes, the only thing I don't understand is how Issigonis got such an ascendancy over the management. 

[lesapandre]

Probably charm and sheer force of personality as well as some great if flawed designs. He was undoubtedly a genius but not at times an entirely practical one...

AROnline has this interesting contemporary report on him:

https://www.aronline.co.uk/people/archive-issigonis-–-the-giant-who-thought-small/

[Joey spud]

3 hours ago, LoftyvRS said:

Had some building materials delivered so had to get my Mini out of the garage to get the gear through, then promptly put it away again. 

 

Wowser for me that is exactly how a mini should look.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, LoftyvRS said:

Had some building materials delivered so had to get my Mini out of the garage to get the gear through, then promptly put it away again. 

Wow, that looks clean! I could spend some time drooling over that at a show. Not sure about the fit of the bonnet though.

[Matty]

16 minutes ago, Joey spud said:

Wowser for me that is exactly how a mini should look.

Yep

[camryv6]

7 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Wow, that looks clean! I could spend some time drooling over that at a show. Not sure about the fit of the bonnet though.

I had a Mini 32 years ago and can still remember to this day trying to get the bonnet to line up with the wings and the front panel

[SiC]

This is the Dolomite alignment on the factory production line!

[SiC]

21 hours ago, Matty said:

Yo @SiC what do you reckon to this? 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Mini-City-E-998cc-27600-miles-from-new-a-rust-free-car-drives-perfect-/185352588274?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

This is something I'd much rather have for the money. Especially given it's been a regular driver, so should have most troubles ironed out.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1974-AUSTIN-MINI-CLUBMAN-ESTATE-A-RARE-MODEL-NOW-PRETTY-A-REGULAR-DRIVER-/275240255626

Quite tempted but bloody miles away and probably sell before I get a chance to see it. Plus I need to get the Moggie sold and out the way before getting anything else. 😬

[SiC]

6 hours ago, Matty said:

Quick photo just now but I wear bib and brace overalls at work with an old nylon running top underneath. You can just make out all the little holes from sparks/cutting/weld spatter. I'm a fucking idiot really

I wear loads of PPE. Apart from being clumsy, I don't want to be explaining to work that I'm off because I've got arc eye/burnt myself/cut my arm off. Ain't worth risking my day job that I need to fund for me to have all these toys!

[schonker]

[schonker]

Sorry posted the pic without any words.Owned for around 10 years, huge 850cc under the bonnet but I love it

[Matty]

52 minutes ago, SiC said:

This is something I'd much rather have for the money. Especially given it's been a regular driver, so should have most troubles ironed out.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1974-AUSTIN-MINI-CLUBMAN-ESTATE-A-RARE-MODEL-NOW-PRETTY-A-REGULAR-DRIVER-/275240255626

Quite tempted but bloody miles away and probably sell before I get a chance to see it. Plus I need to get the Moggie sold and out the way before getting anything else. 😬

I drove up over Xmas to look at an A40 he had. I know one swallow doesn't make a summer and all that but I found his attitude a bit septic 

[Matty]

44 minutes ago, SiC said:

I wear loads of PPE. Apart from being clumsy, I don't want to be explaining to work that I'm off because I've got arc eye/burnt myself/cut my arm off. Ain't worth risking my day job that I need to fund for me to have all these toys!

You do right! As above I'm an idiot 😁