'96 Cooper SPi

[davejh]

Hi, I'm Dave from Newport. About three weeks ago I decided to buy a new car, my 1.7 TD astra was killing me on insurance as a young driver so I wanted a small engined car, but one I was still proud to drive. I immediately settled on getting a mini and looked for about two weeks before a friend showed me this picture:



For sale, near enough to view and within budget (ish). Oh, and a cooper too

I saw him on a Monday and by Wednesday was driving him home. He almost immediately got driven to west wales in some of the worst weather I've seen while driving but he didn't miss a beat. However, he did welcome in the rain with open arms (or arches as it turned out, but more on that later). Here are a few snaps of him in my first happy week of ownership.











At west Wales.


My brother seems to like him.


Needless to say, the rustmites had been working hard and out of sight on him. More on that later when I get home from work.

[Custard]

Looking good mate, welcome to the mini mad

[jackdaw]

The Cooper looks very nice Dave.
Hope you managed to peel your brother off there OK !
Enjoy!

[dai9fxey]

Nice looking motor.
Looks as if you have joined the dark side now and your bruv isn't far behind.
Mini ownership is addictive.

[Danny California]

Welcome aboard dude

[davejh]

Well, I've been quiet on this forum for a while, I think you are due an update. I've named him Barney too btw

As I said, the wet trip to West Wales made Barney wet himself so when we got home, I started to strip things back and have a look at the damage.







Lots of surface rust, but most of it is saveable.



So out with the wire wheel and red oxide for some temporary coverage.



Then Barney needed a little place to stay out of the worst of the rain so I got this out for him:



Then it was time to work out how the water was all getting into the boot so fast. I already knew the boot lid was very rusty and it was likely that water was getting in that way but there was so much in there when we got back that I wanted a poke around. So out came the fuel tank to reveal:



Should I be able to see the wheel from there? Surely not...

A poke with a screwdriver around the fuel tank bracket made this happen:



And my butter fingers let the tank slip and make a little hole of its own. Well, they do say three times for a welshman, I guess two wasn't enough



Anyway, having found that I put everything back with some gaffer tape to keep it as dry as possible until it could be properly fixed. (This is my daily driver).

Next job was to change the fuel filter. Turned out to be a harder job than I had expected as the old one was stuck on the metal pipe and wouldn't budge. I decided to get a new pipe and just snap the old one off but they don't make them anymore! So I changed tack and made a system up that uses only fuel hose and a filter from a clio (as it takes 8mm fuel pipe on each end.



Old system with the pipe on:



New system with piping and modified metal pipe:



When I bought Barney he came with a new boot panel to replace the really bad old one. I got that to the sprayers. They took ages but finally it came back:



That was coupled with a big order from minispares for all the grommets and rubber parts that keep water out of the boot. When the holes are welded up I want no excuses for the water to get in!



That brings us nicely up to today. Since then a few things went wrong. Firstly the fuel pump won't come on with the ignition and is currently set up to come on with a switch that I wired in next to the driver's seat. It's not very safe or good for fuel consumption, but until I can work out what is wrong it'll have to do.

Also, the exhaust blows so I decided while I had some time off work to try and change the exhaust manifold gasket in the hope that it was blowing from there. Managed to snap a vacuum pipe in the process and he stands today under a collapsed gazebo with no manifolds.

Then the tax ran out and I called off the insurance. On Tuesday I go back to university away from home and obviously will have no progress until at least Christmas. However, I spent nearly £160 the other day for something not directly for Barney, but something he will greatly benifit him. I will update you when that turns up.

In the mean time, I am looking to buy a welder and all the equipment. No big welding fees for me, if they can do it, so can I!

[davejh]

Wow, I've not updated this for a long time, but to be fair I've been at uni all year! Here is a progress report for the little bits I have done since the above happened.

Barney has been off the road a year now with the engine in pieces. I tried putting a new exhaust manifold gasket on in an effort to stop the exhaust from leaking but couldn't get the thing back on! Got a mate around to help but between us we just couldn't squeeze it back onto the block. A year later I got a mobile mechanic to rebuild it for me and to also replace the exhaust manifold and downpipe (the actual source of the leak). I then paid a welder to get enough done to pass an MOT. However, that welder did an awful job, he plated over the rust without cutting it out and made a right mess of it! He also melted plastic trim parts that he couldn't be bothered to remove and deformed the shell in places by welding to quickly. Then I took the car for an MOT and it failed... on the welding. The welder won't give me any money back and had threatened me and my car if I didn't pay up when I showed initial disappointment upon the delivery of my mini! Unfortunately I have lost out financially and my enthusiasm dropped.

Now I am looking for a proper welder to sort my car out for me. I have a Clarke welder of my own but no garage and no experience so I think I'd better cough up and get the job done properly! Hoping to have the necessary welding done by christmas, at which time I hope to sort the other smaller issues and get him back on the road for the new year.

In the mean time I have fully cleaned and washed the seats and carpet and bought a new fibreglass bonnet with a subtle MINI scoop in it. That won't be fitted for a while though!

I'll leave you with a picture of my bonnet, a plea for any decent welders in South Wales to get in touch and a promise of update pictures of the welding work that's going to be carried out.

[danielc]

Name and shame that welder - at least the rest of us can avoid him then!

[davejh]

Of course! Here are his details:

Ben Jones
Ashfield Bungalow
Magor
NP26

Don't go near the guy! Any advice on local welders I can trust?

[davejh]

Small update: Barney is now in Shropshire having his welding done properly. Hoping to have him back at christmas and then I'll try and get him on the road asap.

[danielc]

Nice to hear some good news for a change, let's hope your luck changes for the better from here on in.

[dai9fxey]

A tale of woe regarding the welder.
I do hope your new guy does a far better job on the welding and Barney gets back on the road being enjoyed soon.