A classic mini clubman, and time on my hands.

[OomD]

Now, when I say "time on my hands" I mean it's actually going to take a LOT of time to get through this build. I'm no mechanic, I've redone a bike engine or two but mechanical work is strictly a hobby for me... albeit one that I enjoy.

So, why embark on this? I did not come across a barnfind which I simply "had to have" or anything, I specifically went out and looked for this car. It's all @woody1's fault. You see, his thread on restoring a Deek (https://wilddog.net.za/threads/giving-a-1956-deek-a-new-life.268536/) and me helping him build an electronic ignition for it somehow lit a fire in me. Having worked in automotive electronics for a few decades now, and building woody's ignition made me want to explore the building of my own complete ECU system. Fuel injection, drive by wire, the works. And for this I needed a base to start on. That's why I looked for an already-running car that is as basic as they come.

Enter the mini.

I've already grown fond of this little thing on the drive home, hell it was fun. So now I'm already considering a complete strip-down and rebuild. This means it's going to take lots of time and money before I even get to the ECU part.

But it'll be worth it. I'm looking forward to this project. Fair warning, though, updates will be as fast as the rate of incoming funds... slow!

Some "before" pics.


This is Iris, doing what I should be doing while on leave, instead of messing around with old cars.


So this is AmaPoertjie. My bakkie is called AmaPoerPoer, I thought AmaPoertjie will be the most suitable for this one.


It's not much to look at... yet. But at least there's no oil leaks. And yes I checked, there's oil in the engine.

Of course, any advice from those more knowledgeable than me (i.e., most of you) will be most appreciated... except advice that says "don't do it"

Ok, here we go.

 

[Tom van Brits]

Memories....I had a similar white one as a first car.
It did let me down a couple of times but I somehow enjoyed it.
Eventually just gave it away and the girl I handed it to rode it for years trouble free
Cute little vehicles - enjoy!!

 

[ROAD HOG]

Subscribe

 

[roxenz]

Looking forward to this OomD! I have no technical skills, although growing up on a farm, we serviced everything ourselves, so I know the diffs between a flat and a phillips...
Why am I looking forward to this? Simply, if I ever wanted to put myself through the wringer of a project car, it would have to be a "Mr Bean". Also, when a laaitie, did a long trip in a Mini that my uncle scrounged from somewhere. And yes, we had to fix it along the way with bloudraad, but more than 40 years later, the exhilaration of thrashing that 1275E still remains with me.
So, have a ball with it!!!

 

[woody1]

Eish nou is ek bly ek kon jou ook beinvloed.
Lekker bou aan jou nuwe projek.
Hoop net ons gaan nog tyd he vir fase 2 van my ontsteking ook

 

[ROAD HOG]

Eish nou is ek bly ek kon jou ook beinvloed.
Lekker bou aan jou nuwe projek.
Hoop net ons gaan nog tyd he vir fase 2 van my ontsteking ook

Sulke projekte raak later voltydse poste

 

[Chrisl]

My first vehicle I wanted to have was a Mini bakkie belonging to the neighbor. My dad played deaf and I have never seen one again in the flesh ever.

Looking forward to this build.

 

[Manic]

Los hom netso, en steek n 2.0 16V engine daar in, en gaan speel eers n bietjie

 

[Oubones]

Ry hom! Ek kon dit nie regkry om myne om te gooi nie en deur die woonbuurt se draaie vang niemand jou nie!
Lekker bou aan hom en as hy nie olie lek nie moet jy mooi kyk, want hy moet bloed sweet!
Ek volg om te sien hoe mooi kom hy uit!
Geniet!

 

[Jughead]

The ex had one years ago. It was eventually named "The dammit car" as it broke down every single time it was driven. I took it for a quick run to the shop one morning with my 2yr old son in the back. The car stalled at the first traffic light, and there was an immediate "Dammit!" from the back seat. I then realized what the ex said every time it broke down.

Gear shift linkage, brakes, engine mounts, lights, missfire. It was one of those for every single excursion. I eventually discovered the cause of the shift linkage and engine mounts breaking. It was the attempted wheelspin with every pull away. I eventually added a brace from the sump to the chassis to prevent the engine moving forward and backward.

 

[VaalBaas]

Sub...

 

[sidetrack]

Lekker, taking things apart is the easy and cheap part

 

[TheBear]

Lekker! Enjoy. Lovely little cars. My sister had one and I always took it for a spin when the opportunity presented. Loved it.

 

[NoRush]

Amazing klein motors die. Ek volg die rooi blits se bou.

 

[Chrisl]

Ek dink so n tjoen en restoration sal darem great wees.

 

[OomD]

Wow, lekker vid. This little amapoertjie sure has a lot of potential.

 

[OomD]

So, first things first. I'm not sure when last this car was serviced, so I did a quick service this morning. Draining out the old sludge and pouring fresh new oil in, followed by replacing the oil and air filter. The air filter looked exactly like the oil I drained... pretty black.


I noticed the water leakage around the radiator cap, found the cause when I removed it. Gasket is history. Not having any gasket rubber available I cut a new one out of cork gasket and fitted it. I'm not sure if cork will hold the pressure, but I'll replace it in due course anyway when it comes time to redo the engine.


Then I adjusted the valve clearances, most of them were around 0.4, while the spec calls for 0.3mm. The engine sounded decidedly better and smoother, after I also adjusted the idling properly. Of course it could be my imagination too, a newly serviced engine always seems to run better.

Fitted a new light switch too, sorry no photos of this but while doing this I realised the wiring is absolutely atrocious. The wires insulation had become quite brittle, I guess due to the age. The only way to do this properly is by rewiring the car completely, but seeing that I'm planning on modifying the electrics substantially a rewire is on the cards anyway.

I'm also going to have to remove the head and have the outlet valves' seats replaced, to make it workable with unleaded fuel. I guess that means replacing the valves too. Oh well, engine rebuild also on the cards then.

There's still a shit-ton of work ahead, but if I sit in the car and imagine the new electrics/electronics, instrumentation, dash, etc, I feel really excited.

 

[EtienneNXR]

Following with interest, been keeping an eye out for a bullnose mini for a while. Keen to see your project develop and how accessible parts and resources will be!

 

[petri oosthuizen]

As daai Clubman nie olie lek nie het jy BAIE kak...

 

[Chrisl]

As daai Clubman nie olie lek nie het jy BAIE kak...

Dis baie duidelik dat als wat Brits was met n enjin van n sekere era baie vrot gaskets gehad het, perkins,leyland,truimph,land rover!!!