We see plenty of Austins in this workshop in an average year. Many of these are classic Minis but there are examples of A35s' and 1100/1300s' as well. Listed below are some of the projects that we undertake here. Work can vary from simple tidy-up work to a full blown restoration.Simply scroll down the page to see all the projects.

 Austin A35 project (the latest updates can be read at the bottom of the article).

This Austin arrived as a complete non-runner. The last time that it was used was in the 1980's as  was testified by the newspaper found in the back of the car. We stripped the car to a bare shell and have had the lower shell shot blasted.  We then paint stripped the rest of the car back to bare metal.

Having done this we then finely detailed the bare metalwork to ensure all paint and rust is gone. The next job was to repair the sills, lower wheel arch panels and a jacking point that have rusted out and then the car will be sent off to be resprayed.

In the mean time we have had various components shot blasted and powder coated, and have hand cleaned other mechanical components and painted them by hand, such as the rear axle, differential, drum brakes and steering column.

We have sourced some lovely hand made sills that are expertly produced and fit perfectly.  These have now been welded in to place, along with other hand made panels we've sourced.

The picture on the left shows the car with the rusted out lower wheel arch panel and the new panel on the floor below it.
The picture on the right shows the hand made replacement.  Here we are marking where to cut the rusted panel out so we can weld the new panel in precisely.

The shell of the car is now back from having the respray.  It is looking lovely.  It is a really rich cream colour.  From here we will now start to refit everthing.  All the powder coated parts will now start to go back on and the car will really start to take shape.

It's a really satisfying part of the project this as our hard work to date starts to
pay dividends.

                                                     A35 Update Saturday, 11 December 2010

 

                                                     New exhaust for Austin.

 

It's taken a while to come in but the new polished stainless steel exhaust is finally in for the Austin A35. This car is sheduled to leave us in the spring. At the moment we are re-fitting it in a fairly leisurely way in between other projects.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a wait of over a mount for the exhaust to arrive we thought that fitting the stainless steel system to the A series engine would be a piece of cake. However nothing is ever simple with classic cars.

 The first Job was to put the exhaust manifold back on the engine. The head had been sent away for fitting with harder valve seats so that the owner could switch to unleaded fuel whiteout the need for an additive. The first part of the job was to fit the manifold studs back into the head but something was wrong, The studs only seemed to wind in a few turns and then stopped.

 A quick check and the cause was obvious: this was a more modern A series head. Not a problem in itself, they're all the same- except that later engines take METRIC studs.

 Things got worse. New studs were bought locally, no problem there but now the imperial studs were shearing as they came out. The only solution was to remove the head, drill the studs out and re-tap the threads into the casting.

 This now done, the head is back on the car and the exhaust has been fitted. The actual fit of the exhaust isn't that good though. This seems to be a common fault with replacement stainless systems. The solution may be some slight modifications of our own to get it to run under the car without clouting the rear axle and bodywork.

 It's planned to start really pushing to complete this car from next week but it will depend on workload.

Mini Projects

For the last few months we have been doing more and more business with local Mini clubs. The result is that we have started to see all sorts of Mini related activity within the workshop.

Typically with Mini’s you tend to see the same sort of mechanical and body type problems again and again: on the bodywork front we see corrosion below the front headlamps, below the windscreen on the base of the door posts, sill sections, front bulkhead and rear wings on a regular basis. Luckily most panels are available and the full compliment of Heritage original pressings can be ordered in for repairs.

On the mechanical front the usual suspects are top and bottom ball joints on the front suspension and in fact general wear on the front end all together, plus neglected brakes and electrical faults. In the past few months we have had some fairly large scale work on two Mini Coopers, a van a limited edition Mini Studio to complete. I hope we will see many more in over the coming new year.

 

Mini Cooper front end restoration.

Sunday, 1 January 2012

 

As with many projects, the Mini Cooper photographed here looked quite the business when it arrived. However, a previous inspection had shown that the car required quite a fair amount of bodywork at the front- end .

The inital list of work included two new front wings, two A-post panels,font panel ( radiator grill panel) and a door skin replacement .For this the glass and much of the trim had to be removed before we started. The old panels were then cut out in the usual way.                                                                                                     

As is usual for older cars, the more panel work removed the more complicated things became.First problem was the discovery that the front inner wings had corroded and were also suffering from Stress cracking. Initially we had intended to replace these items with new panles but the sheer additional cost of doing this coupled with problems with availability for the late panel required meant that in the end we opted for  restoration of the existing panels.                                                                                                                                                                                                    

As can be seen, this car is now ready to move onto the painting stage.

Mini Studio.

 

This collectors edition Mini Studio has been in the same ownership for more than ten years. Previously the mechanical work was carried out by another garage and I have to say that the standard of repair was pretty high. This Mini goes exactly as they should.

 

Sadly, the years were catching up with the car and it was time to do something with the bodywork.

 

The initial intention was to treat the areas highlighted by the previous MOT as being corroded. One panel- the passenger side outer sill was much better that the tester had thought but sadly this proved to be the only time on this project that we got away with doing less work than planned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the problems was that someone had been working on the bodywork before us and removal of separate panels became quite hard when corrosion on one panel was fixed by welding on a bridging repair across two panels making it impossible to separate panels properly. The best solution was to unpick the mess at the front and fit new front wings, a posts and front panel.

 

 

This project has now been completed and as soon as I find my camera in the workshop I'll post some "after shots". The front end of the car now looks like new again.



 

 

Austin  1300GT

This  1300 GT is in generally good order but there are some welding projects and various repairs to be made before the car leaves us.

 

These cars are as simple to work on as the classic Minis but with the added advantage of more space. The example that we have in is a slightly modified example with a later engine but it’s a lively performer and otherwise completely standard.

 

There’s some corrosion around the engine bay- in particular on the bonnet hinge mounting points wher stress and corrosion have weakened the panel and so some careful repairs will be needed.