The TLDR version of this post would be: Mildred is/is not finished, Miffi's block has new cam bearings and needs to get painted, Miffi's subframe is back in and new Rover V8 SD1 parts are slowly showing up. It has been a long evening. It was 5pm when I got to the workshop and I... Continue Reading →
More MGB Bodyshell stuff and Update on Miffi
Fitting the rear wing on a MGB GT and getting panel gaps right takes time. As off today 60 man hours went into Mildred this year (well - actually since Monday last week). And the work on the right rear wing has not even started. But the rear wing topic seems to spark some interest.... Continue Reading →
Getting started with Miffi’s front subframe
Although I spent a few hours in the garage yesterday, I did not really achieve as much as I wanted. Partly because I was still exhausted from a quick trip to Austria. Before leaving on Thursday to Friday night I picked up the freshly painted Mini front subframe. An irresistible opportunity to get two Mazda... Continue Reading →
Mini-Delta “Maintenance free” ball joints install
Sometimes you try new things and wonder if you decided wisely to divert from a proven path. The new ball-joints for Miffi certainly gave me an entire evening about this question. But let's start where I left yesterday evening. Quite a bit of dirt still had to be removed from the swivel hubs. Sand collected... Continue Reading →
Back at last – fixing Powdercoating F&@¢-up
A relaxing week a little east of Ierapetra on Crete turned into a wet weather catastrophe. As you can see in the picture below I made sure to stay hydrated and enjoyed the sea view. After some nice hiking trips in the beginning of the week, the rain started. I have never seen that much... Continue Reading →
Bits and Bobs
The first part of the title is quite literal as I spent a significant amount of spare time last week with development. A first peek (actually a prototype) is currently on my website - but this is just a small part of what I am working on and already not up-to-date anymore. 30 years ago... Continue Reading →
Let me see (it) stripped
As you might notice by the title of today's post an older Depeche Mode song was on my playlist this week while removing Miffi's suspension parts. Stripping the subframe and engine were on my list - but a number of other things popped up as well. Since my first Mini restoration in 2019 quite a... Continue Reading →
Mini subframe removal – easy way
When I left work late for the garage at 8pm tonight, I just wanted to finish cleaning up stuff that was left from last weekend's job. But with a completely empty workbench motivation to work on the Mini was back. There wasn't a lot left to do. In order to get to the right hand... Continue Reading →
Mini engine and subframe removal
After receiving a new head gasket on Saturday I started preparing the assembly of the Mini engine. Back during the restoration in 2019 I tried to keep the Mini as original as possible. This included sticking to the cast iron exhaust manifold and exhaust system. In 2023 the rear rusty and broken silencers got replaced with... Continue Reading →
Winter is coming…
It is the time of the year that is not the best for classic cars. While I try to avoid driving on salty roads as much as possible - the Mini is my primary car and (almost) daily-driver. And considering it got much less TLC compared to my other cars, it is very reliable with very... Continue Reading →