Mini van rescue mission. Update 12/01/2026

[sutty2006]

Not mine. But an ex work colleague that I keep in touch with required my assistance today. He’s bought this mini van that’s not seen the road since late 90s. Last tax disk in window 99. It’s been sat under trees at the top of a steep drive ever since,  wedged between a double garage and a wall.

its borked. But my mate is going to restore it. 

the exhaust had to be cable tied up. 

 

the floor isn’t there anymore

 

Ive braced across the dash support to the b pillar, as jacking the front up left the back bit where it sat. 
 

once the nackered wheels and tyres were replaced for good ones, and the front drums smashed off it rolled. Diff was seized but that freed off with a bar. 

 

it now sits awaiting a trailer tomorrow. How much of it will fall off during transit. Place your bets. It’s a 1971 by the way. 

[stuboy]

[Dan the van]

He's a brave man.😬

[wuvvum]

'Kinell.  I hope it was cheap.

[High Jetter]

Why isn't he on here?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Wow! Whilst it looks rogered, all of the parts which need replacement are normal Mini resto stuff I'd have thought. At least there'll be no question of whether certain parts require patching/repairing - it'll be swathes of new panels regardless. Interestingly, the roof seams and rear quarters look pretty good. 

[sierraman]

Where do you start welding that?

[stuboy]

13 hours ago, sierraman said:

Where do you start welding that?

ya ass to the parts and panels web page  online ordering

[Fumbler]

10 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Where do you start welding that?

 

4 minutes ago, stuboy said:

ya ass

[SiC]

One advantage of Mini's being expensive is scrap like this is worth repairing. It's so far gone, it can't be bodged to get back on the road and has to be done properly! Probably end up better than many shiny others for sale. 

[sutty2006]

2 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Interestingly, the roof seams and rear quarters look pretty good. 

Pretty much the only panels that will be reused. Everything else has either fallen off or will inevitably fall off once the hammer comes out. 
 

Today has been productive. My welder was giving me grief, to the point where I sacked it off and drove half a mile up the road to borrow one off a good friend who has the same welder but with 0.8 wire instead of my 0.6 and what a difference that made. 
 

and yes. It looks like every panel apart from the roof is buyable, new. So I recon a lot will be made from new panels, but you have to have a reference to put them together, so he has a base to go off. Cost? Less than a grand. 

[Dobloseven]

Wonder how much it'd go for at Mathewsons? Weekends work! 

[sutty2006]

Cheapest van on evilbay is 12k restored. Probably gonna take close to 7/8k to restore? I’ll keep this post updated as and when I can. 

[sutty2006]

17 minutes ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

How the actual fuck do you even begin to weld that back together?

By buying shares in mig wire and gas 🤣

 

in all honest. I think he will start at the bottom, and work his way up. 

[sutty2006]

2 minutes ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

Given the values of them I suppose even if he replaces every panel bar the roof he still could make a solid profit.  

I’d say so yes. It’ll be a van of pretty much new panels. Bonnet, doors, front end all shot to pieces. We left the front wings there in the scrap pile as there wasn’t a non rusty edge on them. It has literally fallen in half. 
 

this was the photo he sent me a few days ago. Before work started. He took the doors off by pulling the a pillars off. 

[cort16]

It's hard not to like a Mini van even when half of it has dissolved .

[High Jetter]

45 minutes ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

What state is the engine/box in?

Not really that relevant, can be sorted. Body is the rare thing and the rear especially.

 

 

[sutty2006]

7 hours ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

What state is the engine/box in?

Seized and rusty. Like everything else. We had to free something off inside the diff as after smashing the front drums off the wheels still wouldn’t turn!

[mk2_craig]

Fair play to the lad for wanting to have a crack at that, it looks absolutely CATTLED. If he takes his time then the market will probably have risen enough to result in a tasty profit margin.

Is the plan to go back to original condition, or modify/upgrade?

[JMotor]

Following this. 

Do like a good resto thread.

But I do envy Mini owners.

Because of the available panels, ok some are crap quality. But nowt as bad as some of the shite I've been forced to use. Sills on the Vectra were a phoned in job for sure!

[Rusty_Rocket]

I've never seen one that bad ever come back together again.

Kudos to your pal if he manages to get it back to the point it'll support its own weight, but realistically, that one is done, regardless of panel availability!

[FiatPhil]

Excellent project. I'd love to have the dedication to do this type of thing.

I looked at the British Motor Heritage website; it looks like the body shell for the car is available complete, but only selected panels for the van, it seems quite a bit of the rear of this car will have to be re-used!

https://www.bmh-ltd.com/vehicle-parts/mini-parts/traveller-van-pick-up-specific-panels/

[SiC]

I believe its the M Machine panels are regarded as some of the best.

@Ben_O is our resident Mini restoring professional.

[Dobloseven]

Really looking forward to seeing how this progresses. One good thing, there's not much trim to replace! Friend bought one new in 1972.Don't think it even had floor mats. Think paint was an option, with vans supplied in grey primer if required so as buyers could finish them in their own livery. Would love to see it end up as it was on the day it left the factory. Appreciate other opinions are available, though! Interesting to see the care you're taking moving it. In contrast to the£18k Mathewsons Cooper S, which they knew would be reshelled anyway. 

[tooSavvy]

Utoob 'UPbuild' mini nutter.....

Every panel gap + hidden spot-weld.

Exhausting just to watch [and build a garage too!]

👍

[Ben_O]

The more knackered they are, the more joy you get from restoring them.

Top buyage, I would 😉 

Good luck to your pal

 

Ben

[sutty2006]

The van “Labby” is now home. According to Steve they swept a lot of it off the trailer. But that’s part n parcel of it. 
 

it has foldable rear seats. Apparently a dealer option back in the day. He’s ordering a custom made load bed for it but he’s unsure if he’s keeping the rear seats or not. I said keep them. He’s not so sure and wants it original. 
 

 

It’s amazing what does still work. The door latches and locks still work. All the switches inside still work. 
 

a view from the back. The rear doors still open and the latch works perfect 

 

it sits next to a J plate mini that Steve has beautifully kept on the road. 
 

 

the original 850 engine felt seized. We pulled the plugs, threw some maintenance spray down there and put it in gear. Rocked it forward and backward and the engine freed off pretty quickly. He’s considering keeping the 850 in it. 
 

More rear rustiness.

[sierraman]

Looking forward to seeing the welding on this. I’m guessing it’ll start with a pair of sills? 

[sutty2006]

His plan is to tuck the blue one up close to the edge of his car port and put the van in the middle. He will then get a rear subframe and bolt the new floor to it. Then the sills and floors after and weld them in. Any parts that can be reused off the original will be. But mostly used as reference. 

[High Jetter]

Keep those seats in. I think it was a rarely taken option, might set it apart from others.