Hi all,

Been reading for a month or so, first time poster. It's great to see so much collective knowledge - it's already helped me get a better understanding of what I'm doing, and that is..... attempting to restore a 1972 Clubman. First time I've ever attempted a full restore of anything, so I'm expecting a pretty big learning curve - hopefully with some help from the fine people at the ausmini forums.

Anyway, I have a few initial questions that I'd like to ask.....

- What is the approx. cost of getting the shell resprayed (inside & out)? It would be cheaper to do all the prep work myself and have someone finish it off, right? But how hard is this? Also, can anyone recommend someone - I'm in Wodonga, but wouldn't be opposed to a trip to Melbourne..... Essentially I'm trying to get a cost/work estimate here.

- I'd like to get the front and rear bumper bars re-chromed, and possibly the grill. What can I expect to pay for this?

- Currently, from my minimal mechanical expertise, the engine seems to be fine (i.e. starts perfectly and runs without missing a beat). However, it drips oil. Is there some initial checks/replacements I can make before having to delve deeper?

- What is the approximate cost of having the work done so that I can use unleaded petrol?


It's probably pretty obvious that I'm a newbie at this from my questions, but I'd really appreciate any help that anyone can give me. As you can probably tell, I'm just trying to roughly estimate costs. What other big costs should I consider in the restoration process?


Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Linden

Sorry, I can't help with the bodywork questions..

re the oil leaks, to fix, first you need to find where they are coming from.

You need to degrease it first then have a look.

Common spots on a `72 Clubbie (with remote shift box) are:
diff side cover seals,
selector shaft seal (behind motor)
2 tappet cover gaskets (behind motor)
Crankshaft oil seal (drips on radiator end of motor)
Clutch oil seal (maybe) drips off bottom of clutch housing- split pin.

All the above can be fixed IN the car, if necessary.

To use unleaded petrol without an additive you really need hardened exhaust seats fitted into the head. The seats are only $15 each if you import from MiniSpares. Best time to do it is if the head is off for overhaul. No idea what the fitting cost would be- I got one of my heads done as a favour..

Alternative- use unleaded with Flashlube added. I do that with 2 of my cars. A 1L bottle costs $16 and does 1,000L of fuel, so it's only costing you 1.6c/L extra. It works and doesn't crap your plugs up with brown sh!te like some other additives do.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I live in QLD and I got my clubman painted about 3 years ago and it cost me $2500. It was a bright arse yellow colour and it is now a really dark metalic blue. To change the colour we had to totally strip the car and it was a very long job and a total bitch of a thing to do, not to mention the paint striper burns...ouch. The cost included some dent fixing and rust cutting out as well and there was a fair bit of that, plus to paint a metalic car you need it altogether so they put the bonnet, doors and boot all back on for me. So the price wasn't too bad in my oppinion. Only got the oustide painted and the engine bay, they painted the inside of the boot and car black for me though.

Chroming up here when I was looking at it, still am doing it, just haven't got to that part of the rebuild yet. Was $180 for each bumper and $100 for a clubman grill. That was totally re-striping the old chrome off, fixing any dints, puting on new brass or whatever it is that goes under the chrome, and then finally chroming it. Its a lot cheaper to chrome big things then it is to chrome small things.

As for the rest of your questions, I have no idea, we riped the engine out 3 years ago and haven't touched it since and don't plan on touching it either....new new new bits for me.

Bodywork is just one of those things where you get what you pay for.
a decent spray job with minor body work will cost in the vicinity of 5K.

You need to decide if you want 2-pak paint or acrylic - it will make a big difference in the final cost.

If you are prepared to do all the prep yourself it will save you big bucks !

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Ben

hey the company i work for has a depot in wodonga i'm down there every couple of days if ya need parts i have alot of clubby parts also know rob well at carcraft and if ya need stuff picked up i can meet you and del them for ya
makka
btw i work at green freight there is a young fella who has a butiful 74 green clubby

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Anonymous moderation means the agro that is built up towards the mods isn't aimed at an individual (fewer "Makk" attacks). Less stress for mods means less moderator "retirements".

lucky the company wasnt called baby crap brown freight could have been nasty lol

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lookin for another clubby

Are minor oil leeks really a problem? To me a coat of oil is a good anti corosive protection.

As long as the oil leak isn't too big - remember, if it is leaking oil then it means that there is still oil in there! Never trust a Mini that doesn't leak oil. Mine still leaks a couple of drops even after I replaced the gearbox and all of the gaskets. I'm more concerned with the burning oil

Anto.

HI all,

Thanks for the great response!

Makka - thanks for the great offer. The depot is about 2 mins from my place, so I may take you up on your offer. I gave Karcraft a call on Friday and am having a catalogue sent to me - then I can start pricing some parts.

The body will need some rust cutting/repairing aswell. I'm keen to do the prep work myself - does anyone know of good walkthroughs on the net? or a useful book(s)?

Haven't had a chance to get onto the oil leak yet.... but I will eventually and post back with which of your suggestions worked. cheers dr mini

Does anyone have any advice on restoring smaller pieces of trim (e.g. head light surround, grill, etc.)? Perhaps Brasso or something to that effect? Is there a clear spray that can then be put over it for future protection?

Cheers all,

Linden