My First Car - 1991 Rover Mini Neon [Image Heavy]

[phillmoore]

Some of you may know me from the Ace meets, I'm WiNgNuTz brother with the electric scooter thing

I've Finally managed to get steve off my computer so i can post on my own account I've copied this directly from theminiforum.co.uk, and i cant be bothered to edit it...its Thursday, i'm tired, and i've had too many tomatoes so some of the smileys might not work, and there might be forum specific content. You have been warned!

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Now i have never done a documented project thread before nor is my punctuation much good so bare with me as this could end up all over the place [] but i have helped out with projects mechanically an electrically ( being a jack of all trades master of none or handy man for short [] ) either for family or friends a few of which were documenting for there own project threads etc so hopefully this will go well :fingerscrossed:

My mini on the trailer about to make its way home:



I had great fun on the way back as the mini's horn kept going off all by itself randomly which turned out to be a sticky stalk ( which i found the missing spring for the stalk......under the carpet? well its fixed now )

In its rightful place [:proud:]



The engine bay







My temporary fuel cap



And the pile of blackness it left on my drive from running it for half hour or less ( it needs a good run been sat for too long )



The boot ( or glove boot as its been called by my brother due to its similar size to a glove box )





The lovely conditioned interior







My mate mitch stuck behind the wheel ( for a good 5 mins trying to get out )

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The rear under the bumper



The drivers side sill ( which need replacing )







The passanger side







The new tempory fuel cap and carefully stripped the carpet out to see the if there was any rust























so all in all i dont think i got a bad deal here yeah theres afew bits that need attention:

RUST any ideas of the best thing to do about the smaller bits an inside on the floor panel just cut and weld new bits like im gonna do with the sill's or ?

NO REAR LIGHTS WORKING i was told its probably a bad ground or simple fix as it was working fine before it was covered and left ( i dont mind having fun with the electrics or even having to redo the lot if needed )

SMALL LEAKS here an there but nothing too major

SLOW PUNCTURE or badly fitted tyre as the nearside rear keeps going down afer a week or so

MISFIRE it was misfiring still when i brought it home but it turned out to be a worn distributor cap and arm which ive cleaned for now and she runs so smoothly now

ENGINE HAS BEEN CHANGED i has discovered that my 998cc engine is actually a 1275cc engine tho i have no problem with this i just thought id say lol ( which i was told before i paid the money )

My plan of action so far is to fix ,buy and service as much as i can by myself on the driveway ( most parts coming from mini spares )and when money is available i'll replace the sill's and put her through her mot then tax and if i havent got my license by then temporay insure it for a day/week and have someone i trust drive her to clear out the soot etc

Thankyou for reading my thread and for any advice or info =^.^=

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This is only the first post from the thread, more has happened since, but im too wasted to upload it now. Tune in next time for more episodes!

[lolsteve]

ROVER FRIEND!!
Let talk headgaskets

[Curt]

Nice little project. Gotta love a real Mini will keep an eye on the progress.

[Matt]

Awesome stuff love a good mini project

[sam]

My mates got a o8cture of me in one of these im going to try and get it I havent laughed at myself like that in a long time

[WiNgNuTz]

I would just like to point out that I'm very jealous of phills mini, but also that he's about as good at updating his project thread as I am!

I have been badgering him since he got it to get a thread on here, as I figured a fair few of you would be interested, as soon as we can get both phill and his mini on the road, he'll probably be making guest appearances at a few meets with some luck!

[Aaron35]

Did I see a red bull can??

[ozonehostile]

Did I see a red bull can??

red bull can dizzy cover is almost standard equipment on a series engines thesedays haha

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oooh mini project, im currently in the process of selling all my mini project and spares. i was on the mini forums but got more into pugs so the projects been gathering dusts for 2 years

[phillmoore]

right i shall be on here later to start transferring the rest of my project photos an repling to comments as its been FAR TOO LONG since i was on here (nearly a year ) , just heading back from fcs on m25 atm and after having a epically brilliant time it reminded why i need to get a move on with my car an license

[DavidA]

Got to love a Mini !!!

[mikey b]

Nice to meet ya chap over the week end hope to see some updates on this soon

[bashbarnard]

Nice to see the mini just got back from our restoration job one. Ive got loads of spares if you need anything. Also probably got a spare 998 somewhere. Also ive got some black seats and door cards your welcome to for cheap. Came out of a cooper and I hate to see em go to waste rather them be put to good use . Any tips or.parts you need hit me up. if you cant find it I probably can

[DavidA]

Is that the Cooper half leather seat or the earlier fabric one ? I had the half leathers in my Mini and they're really comfy...

[bashbarnard]

I've got both but I'm keeping the leather

[procta]

well I am not surprised that its got a 1275 cc engine dropped in, as its a common thing to do, as they drop the engines out of the mg metros of these!
I wont go down the route. both own a mighty M.
I have the mighty metro and you have the mighty mini!
Plus your my H reg brother too! and we both own proper rovers, none of that posh rover thing! MG badged up stuff!

ROVER FRIEND!!
Let talk headgaskets

Rover friend?? he has a proper rover man like me! sadly yours isn't mighty as the mini or the metro, as yours weighs about these two put together! plus we own proper go karts!

[phillmoore]

Nice to meet ya chap over the week end hope to see some updates on this soon

it was nice to meet you too an i shall have the rest of my photos up soon as its missing loads on here an hope to have my car on the road asap

Nice to see the mini just got back from our restoration job one. Ive got loads of spares if you need anything. Also probably got a spare 998 somewhere. Also ive got some black seats and door cards your welcome to for cheap. Came out of a cooper and I hate to see em go to waste rather them be put to good use . Any tips or.parts you need hit me up. if you cant find it I probably can

wonderful I'll probably be in touch about my sills etc once I've finished transferring the rest of my project an have some spare cash

well I am not surprised that its got a 1275 cc engine dropped in, as its a common thing to do, as they drop the engines out of the mg metros of these!
I wont go down the route. both own a mighty M.
I have the mighty metro and you have the mighty mini!
Plus your my H reg brother too! and we both own proper rovers, none of that posh rover thing! MG badged up stuff!

ROVER FRIEND!!
Let talk headgaskets

Rover friend?? he has a proper rover man like me! sadly yours isn't mighty as the mini or the metro, as yours weighs about these two put together! plus we own proper go karts!

epic quotes from lolsteve an procta an yeah i was quite happy with having the 1275 in before i got hold of the mini shame the previous owner never updated the dvla so ill have to get my mates bro (who owns a garage an is also my nearest mini specialist ) to print me a letter that states its been fitted correctly etc as i know how awkward the dvla can be about these things

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well ive got it covered under this :









so its protected quite well but it not in a garage (which id prefer as itll be easier to work on an far more protective vs the weather)

Ive decided that i'll use >this< to cover the inside floor after ive pulled up all the bitumen and got any welding done etc as its got the usual waxoyl treatment and provides some dampening qualities from road noise etc and doesn't set hard so shouldn't crack hopefully

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As said a few photos of the rear companion bins















and a few of the rear arches











i thought i d only show the one shot of the shocks as both are as the same condition (plus i forgot to take a photo of it )

[DavidA]

I had G-Max shocks on my Mini and it handled pretty well. What do you have planned ? It looks like that one needs replacing...

[phillmoore]

I had G-Max shocks on my Mini and it handled pretty well. What do you have planned ? It looks like that one needs replacing...

ah well that may be the case for mine then thanks for recommendation and yeah Ive got a lot of things to replace as I'm pretty sure that shes been a few peoples projects an they've given up on her then passed along etc so my rough plan is to restore to running ( doesn't need to be heritage panels etc ) as id like to use her as a daily driver

[mr_fish]

Ahh here's the mini project...i did like the story of you connecting the battery and the thing trying to start itself haha.

Good little project though!

*shame its not a diesel though

[phillmoore]

well i got a portable compressor for my birthday (last year) and had great fun inflating my tires quickly and blowing some dirt from my mini



this is the 'glove boot' before :









most of the dirt was from the mat that was in the glove boot tho after a quick clean :





now it look's a little more presentable

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Ahh here's the mini project...i did like the story of you connecting the battery and the thing trying to start itself haha.

Good little project though!

*shame its not a diesel though

yeah im slowly adding the rest from the mini forum ( im about half way now ) including the wiring problems tho i gotta manually change each photo as i used the html from photobucket instead of the img code but im getting there

[DavidA]

That's pretty tidy for a 15 year old Mini boot...mine at the same age was a little rustier and in need of a few patches.

[WiNgNuTz]

Nice to see this thread is a bit more active now!

Love the comments from Procta about having a proper rover, Steve can go a swing with his MG rubbish! And Mark, i'll continue trying to persuade Phill to XUD the mini, but i don't think he's likely to go for it.

[phillmoore]

Nice to see this thread is a bit more active now!

Love the comments from Procta about having a proper rover, Steve can go a swing with his MG rubbish! And Mark, i'll continue trying to persuade Phill to XUD the mini, but i don't think he's likely to go for it.

yeah i thought you would .... an i know right i was actually from them .... an yeah i gotta feeling that an xud might be a bit heavy for my mini

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That's pretty tidy for a 15 year old Mini boot...mine at the same age was a little rustier and in need of a few patches.

why thanks wait til i upload the rest an see how much rust there is inside on the floor an the holes in the sills

[WiNgNuTz]

That's pretty tidy for a 15 year old Mini boot...mine at the same age was a little rustier and in need of a few patches.

why thanks wait til i upload the rest an see how much rust there is inside on the floor an the holes in the sills

Yeah this! I've seen first hand just how much the floor of this mini resembles a colander!

[phillmoore]

i decide to look into why my side lights and dip beam didn't work so got some access to the electrics behind the dash after connecting my stereo so it worked

this is my brilliant iso connector ( or what i seem to have in place instead of a simple iso connector )



finally connected after a lot of guess work an luckily no blown fuses



the hole i found after fitting the stereo ( definitely need new metal for that )



what was left of the dash after i made a bit more access room





i noticed that this switch is newer than the rest and added to which it appears to have two wires joined onto one pin so i followed the wires







the black wire joins onto a blue an red wire on the main wiring loom to the engine bay so i checked the engine bay



which goes to one of the fuses in this pic which had very bad contacts so i cleaned what i could and flipped the fuse round (just test til i replace it ) which fixed my side lights and dip beams not working



unfortunately i also found this small leak from my carb ( tho its just perished so new hoses an clamps will be orderd with the rest when i have money )



i still have a load more to transfer so more to come from the past

[DavidA]

Yeah this! I've seen first hand just how much the floor of this mini resembles a colander!

I bought a Mini a few years back that looked like it could have been driven by Fred Flintstone...the floor was non existent. Plus the brake pads were under the passenger seat which wasn't helpful.

Sills are reasonably easy to replace compared to the boot floor though. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

[phillmoore]

Yeah this! I've seen first hand just how much the floor of this mini resembles a colander!

I bought a Mini a few years back that looked like it could have been driven by Fred Flintstone...the floor was non existent. Plus the brake pads were under the passenger seat which wasn't helpful.

Sills are reasonably easy to replace compared to the boot floor though. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

oh dear ... yeah that's sounds worse than mine , ive just got a few bits on the floor to cut an weld the rest may only need a good scrubbing in places but the sills are shot an have rusted both side's of the cross member an thanks i look forward to getting it done

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well another quick update i got all my parts delivered....can you guess from where?





among the many many parts i ordered ( including a Haynes manual above ) i finally have my fuel cap





my new fuel filter in place and looking clear



and the lovely condition of the old fuel filter



and the old rotary arm in bad condition ( the shiny-er bits are were i scratched it with a screwdriver for better conductivity )



and i swear there's meant to be a bit of metal inside this to hold it on ?



and whilst i was at it i cleaned and stopped the fuel leak from the carb



and my new rotary arm, distributor cap and leads already fitted



oh and whilst i was changing the fuel filter i accidentally knocked a connector off the brake fluid cap but its temporary fixed



with the old parts ( R arm and F filter ) i was seriously surprised that it even ran before i replaced them , i have seen worse before in photos but just not in person


i also have a few other parts ready to replace :

new air filter

new discs and pads for the front

new shoes and springs for the rear

plus a lovely chrome number plate housing


and i need to order some new spark plugs as shes still running a little ruff ( tho she still needs a good run too but that's a while away yet )

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shortly after these photos were taken my electrics unfortunately have gone completely up the creak so if i try to connect the battery the car tries to start with no keys in the ignition

so that'll be my main goal to fix the electrics due to perished grommets and broken/shorting cables etc along with chipping the floor up to see what state it's in and marking where all the rust is

[WiNgNuTz]

Well, this must be almost up to date now...does that mean you're gonna start doing more to the car to keep the threads updated?

[DavidA]

Got to love Mini Spares... Where in the country are you based ? I used to visit Mini Mail in Kilcot (between Gloucester and Ross on Wye) which was like heaven on earth. And Tim used to race Mighty Minis...

[WiNgNuTz]

We're in Bexhill/Hastings, on the south-east coast. A fair mission from you.