The Restoration of AYW709

[mikeyr]

And more goodies

Gas tank is rustier than I think it should be but it is just surface rust

[mikeyr]

There's a butt load of cash.

Yeah but if I want a driver when done. I want good brakes.

Besides my butt fits in my jeans better now.

Pretty happy with my toy haul today.

[mikeyr]

so a note on the gas tank. Hardwick sells a galvanized tank that does not have the X in the ends, this is what I purchased about 12 years ago, it has no bungs for filler and fuel supply and is quite heavy. But the big deal with it for me was the lack of the X in the ends, it is a really minor cosmetic issue, but it always bugged me and it was not even on the car yet. Hardwick now sells a tank with the X's on the ends and the bungs already put in for everything. After much deliberation and discussion with my wife, I decided to get a new tank to replace the new tank

The new tank (I believe Hardwick still has galvanized tanks as well) is much nicer. It is lighter making me think smaller gauge metal (thinner) but not sure of that. The welds are far better, on the galvanized tank the welds on the ends were going to need cleanup, this tank except for surface rust is ready to go on the ends. The big difference is the curves at the corners. In the galvanized tank, they look like every 1/4" they bent the metal a little and after enough bends they got the curve pretty close to original, but I was going to have to do lots of body lead (I hate Bondo and still use lead) to smooth everything out. On the new tank, the curves are smooth and nearly exactly like the originals. Only place there is any cleanup to do, is the spot welds where the internal baffles are welded, too small to worry about with lead so ok, i will use Bondo. The new tank is not galvanized so of course it has surface rust, inside the tank has a few minor areas. I will clean that up and use a gas tank sealer on it, that would not be needed for the galvanized.

Of course my side grills that fit on the side of the gas tank, did not fit either of the new tanks, so there is work to do there, still not sure how I will make them fit, if I oblong the holes then the nuts that hold them off will not be symmetrical. I might cut the bottom piece and shorten them about 1/8" to make them fit. Not sure if the grills are one piece or soldered/welded together, i will find out when i strip the chrome.

I now have a spare tank and there are no other LM's around.

Next on my list is my windshield frame, its rusty and the bottom piece may be too rusty to do anything with but the rest is good, even the glass is not broken. But it is missing ALL the parts on the side for the pivot fold down...they had some large wood screws jammed in there, so there will be cleanup, maybe some machining to get back to original threads, I am worried I might to drill out the holes and press in solid plug, re-drill and tap, that won't be fun. I got all the little parts from Hardwick but its going to be work. There will be pictures coming when I actually work on the car instead of parts.

[mikeyr]

She is home. Well she never left but was relegated to a dark corner of the garage. I have 2 weeks with nothing better to do than work on the car.

Not even sure what I will start on first but many MANY parts to put on the chassis and also final assembly location of the body tub. This is exciting, there will be progress lots of painting and powder coating of parts to do

[Oz singer]

I am eager to see the way you will tackle the bronze fuel cap, I bought one as well but I don't know where to start.

[Peter McKercher]

You haven't released the Mini into the wild yet?

Looking forward to massive progress on the Le Mans over the next two weeks.

[jeans_old_man]

The best way to tackle the windscreen surround is to drill out the rivets that hold the inner strip to the 'U' section and replace the entire inner with new metal with correctly tapped holes - 1/4" Whitworth if I remember correctly - or you could go for stainless countersunk screws but these are usually metric in the UK. The bottom rail is relatively easy to make as the metal curves naturally as you form the U. I think the instructions for this are in the Dave Hardwick catalogue.

I will be interested to see how you deal with the Bonora filler cap. I cannot see how to separate the parts. I have one on the 1.5L that needs rechroming but was considering buying a ready chromed one from Vintage Supplies (£123 plus VAT).

Progress on the 1.5L has slowed as I don't have heating in my garage. Also, still waiting for the new camshaft from Newman Cams.

[mikeyr]

If I had known I could get a chromed ready to go fuel cap I would have. It I only found them after I got this one so I will work with this one. Going to be a lot of work but I think it’s doable. I have been soaking the screws on the windshield frame for a few weeks now I hope they come out and I don’t have to drill them out

Mini has some issues. We did something wrong when we converted it from left to right hand drive. It has alignment issues so it’s back here to figure it out. I think son-in-law missed a part we needed to buy for the conversion. But I am not working on it I want to work on my car for a change

[mikeyr]

Why is it that brackets I took off the car no longer fit ?

I am trying to put them back into the same holes and several are not fitting. Out by just a 1/16” or so on 2 of them so far. But brakes are moving on

New wheel cylinders:) and master going in. Next is brake lines

[mikeyr]

Looking good

I had to use that wood to support the frame on the lift since the lift supports hit the master cylinder. Will have to weld up something when it’s time for the motor to drop in

And bad. Some idiot (who shall remain nameless so as to not identify myself) welded up the wrong holes, on the front wing supports. Now I have to redrill them and weld up the really wrong holes.
No wonder nothing fit on the front end

[jeans_old_man]

Forget the Le Mans. Sell the Mini!

mini.jpg (107.18 KiB) Viewed 99970 times

[Peter McKercher]

What brand is your lift, Mike

[mikeyr]

The scissor lift that the LM is on is a Bendpak MD-6XP. I paid $1,100 for it about 15 years ago when I was working on a 66 Mustang and tired of sitting on the floor. One. of the best purchases I have made when it comes to playing with car, I no longer have the sore back from being bent over a chassis all day as I move the car up and down to allow me to stand up. It does not give you good access under the car to remove a gearbox or clutch from under the car though, it does give you great access to all 4 wheels off the ground and on a LM really good access to just about everything you want to work on. I don't know if I would pay today's prices for one though, although my back loves it, its a bit of a luxury and seems really expensive at todays prices. You can find them used when shops close or update their equipment.

The 4-post lift that the Mini is under right now, is a long out of business unknown brand, I got it close to 30 years ago really cheap when a car shop closed in town. I needed more room in my old garage at the old house and so I used it to stack 2 cars and gain some space. Now its used more as a storage shelf then a car lift. Its awfully handy when you need to swap out a gearbox or do clutch work. I make sure everything on it is easily moved when I need to do a oil change also.

Oh and Brian, I agree about the Mini but its not mine, its my Son-in-Laws so I can't sell it, he seems to have lost interest in it along with money issues to do the final details on it. So it sits temporarily in my garage taking up precious space.

[ringtrev2]

Hi Mike good to see steady progress on the LM,I have been unable to offer advice as my 35 model differs everywhere! Love the aluminium brake drums can I ask are they still available? Are there any parts I may be able to help with? Trev

[mikeyr]

Hi Mike good to see steady progress on the LM,I have been unable to offer advice as my 35 model differs everywhere! Love the aluminium brake drums can I ask are they still available? Are there any parts I may be able to help with? Trev

Hi, sorry, I was on vacation in France and missed this message. Yes, its good to make progress. The aluminum brakes were made in Canada, not sure he still makes them. I really need door handles, both inside and outside. I have some outside that Hardwick sent me but they are wrong and I need to cut the square shaft to fit. And I need the inside hardware and handles. Working on door cards right now...some new pics coming soon.