Project Mini 1000

Part six sees Lancaster Insurance’s partly rebuilt MkII Mini finally reunited with its freshly painted engine and transmission.

Final fitting out gets under way and the Mini runs again.

It doesn’t seem too long ago since Lancaster Insurance’s stripped out Mini 1000 made its first public appearance of the year back in March at the NEC during the Classic Restoration Show. This previously

one family owned Mini has undergone a bare metal respray, but so far the only work done to the engine has been to decoke the valves and fit a new head gasket.

We featured the work on the engine in part two of Project Mini and showed how the cylinder head had been removed and overhauled on Lancaster Insurance’s stand at the show in front of an audience. When the cylinder bores were inspected, the lack of any obvious wear confirmed this genuine 33,000-mile A-Series unit was still in its prime, so no further work was required other than a steam clean before re-painting it in the correct shade of BMC green.

The Mini’s restoration is being carried out at the MG Owners’ Club’s Swavesey workshop and the next stage in the project was to reinstall the Mini’s freshly painted engine. Before refitting the engine, MGOC technician Simon Denny explained how the adjustable lifting beam, attached to the engine crane, allowed the Mini’s engine to be tilted backwards slightly so the remote control on the gearbox wouldn’t foul against the bulkhead. Once the engine was almost in place, gently rocking the engine would then allow the oil filter housing on the front of the engine to clear the slam panel.

Anyone who’s ever worked on a Mini’s engine will know how difficult it is to get a spanner onto the bolts securing the bottom radiator bracket and nearside engine mount to the subframe. To cut down on the amount of swearing this job usually entails, Simon explained the best way to tackle this job is to bolt the lower engine mount onto the subframe first, while the engine is out, and tack weld the nuts to the subframe.

The engine mounts and radiator were fitted to the engine while it was on the bench and the complete assembly carefully lowered into the engine bay in one lump. With the engine finally positioned on the subframe, Simon wound the bolts securing the engine mounts directly into the captive nuts he’d previously tack welded onto the subframe – a top-tip he’d learned from the racing boys.

Before the Mini’s engine went back in, the guys in the bodyshop had been busy refitting the exterior lights along with the opening rear side windows after fitting new rubber seals. Fitting the front and rear bumpers after the back of the blades had been rust proofed with wax preservative, finished off the exterior trim and a start was then made on the interior by replacing the cleaned-up rear set. Here’s what was involved: