Time for a Clutch
Dec 5, 2012 update to the Austin Mini Cooper S project car
With our engine coming together, it was time to find a clutch.
Our car came with a new, stock clutch and pressure plate. Though they were 30 years old, we decided this OE British Leyland equipment would work fine for our nearly-stock Mini. We bead-blasted and painted the bellhousing, then painted it silver before assembling everything.
| It was an itsy bitsy, teeny-weeny rally-winning project Mini. Subscribe to Classic Motorsports and get them in your mailbox. |
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All 1967 Austin Mini Cooper S updates
Grabbing Gold
Our Mini Cooper S wins gold at its first concours event.
Prepping Our Mini for the Winter Park Concours
Preparation for a concours event only takes a few materials, but requires a lot of time and effort.
Changing the Break-In Oil
The oil used to break in an engine is important, especially for our Mini Cooper S.
Test Driving Our Mini Cooper S
After finishing our restoration, our Mini experience is down to sorting.
Our Car is Done
Our Mini Cooper S restoration is finally complete.
Finishing Up the Grille
Our project Mini Cooper S gets a fresh, shiny grille.
Check Twice, Paint Once
A small oversight meant we had to replace and repaint much of our Mini Cooper's rear bodywork.
Shut the Front Door
Our Mini Cooper S gets some new door seals.
Pumping Up the Suspension
Our Mini Cooper S project car gets its Hydrolastic suspension pumped full.
Quarter Window Installation
Our Mini Cooper S gets one step closer to completion with the installation of the side windows.
Somewhere to Sit
Our project Mini Cooper S gets seats installed.
Good Rug, Bad Rug
We install carpet in our project Mini Cooper S.
Raising the Roof
We fit our Project Mini Cooper S with its rather strange headliner system.
Finishing the Mini Dash
Our project Mini Cooper S
Installing Glass
Our project Mini Cooper S gets a windshield.
Installing the Gas Tanks
Our Mini Cooper S gets twin fuel tanks.
Assembling the Decklid and Doors
Our Mini Cooper S needs doors.
Fitting the Exhaust System
Our Mini Cooper S gets a new exhaust system.
Installing the Glass
It's time to install our Mini's front and rear windshields.
We Take Another Trip to DJ Minis
Once we got started reassembling our Mini, it wasn’t long before we needed a few little parts and some advice.
Continuing the Assembly
With the subframes installed, we start reassembling the interior.
Installing the Subframes
We have a Mini with four corners, engine and drivetrain all installed almost instantly.
Starting The Reassembly
With our Mini's shell all painted we can start our reassembly process.
A Look at the Final Paint Job
Take a look at our Mini Cooper's new paint.
We Paint Our Cooper S
When it finally came time to paint our car, master painter, Ramon Quiles, of The Body Werks laid the color on.
Picking a Color
Choosing the right color is sometimes more complicated than it seems.
Bodywork Continues to Move Quickly
Bodywork starts to take off on our Project Mini Cooper S.
Getting Started on the Bodywork
Bodywork on our Mini is finally underway.
We Learn a Bunch at the Mini Mania Party
We were asked to attend the 40th anniversary party for Mini Mania as the master of ceremonies.
Nisonger Does a Fantastic Job Rebuilding Our Gauges
We get our gauge cluster back from Nisonger.
Searching for Parts at Carlisle
We sourced a few parts we needed from Carlisle Import and Kit Nationals.
Restoring More Parts: Lots of Cleaning and Polishing.
The headlights and window glass were next on our to-do list.
Working on the Wiring Harness
We had to start from scratch to restore the Mini Cooper S wiring harness.
We Build the Bumpers
We got some fresh chrome for the front and rear of the Mini.
Organizing Parts
It's critical to find every part that needs to be painted body color.
Finishing Touches On Our Metal Work
These last bits let us finally get the Mini to the body shop for paint.
Repairing the Trunk Floor
This was the final major metalworking task left on the Cooper.
Get Your Rust Out of the [Rain] Gutters
Fixing the rusty rain gutters on our Mini Cooper S was a more challenging task than we’d thought.
Welding The Front End
Putting a car back together requires a lot of careful shimming and careful measuring.
Finishing the Floors
We finished repairing the floor pans on our Mini.
Flooring It
Moving rearward to replace and repair our floor pans.
Rusty Fenders
We take on welding and patchwork on our Mini Cooper S.
The Right Break-In Oil
Choosing the oil for our Mini Cooper S was a no-brainer.
Aligning the Front End
We aligned and welded our Mini Cooper S body.
Making Our Mini Vroom
We started our car outside our car.
Competition Bump Stops for the Mini
You can't modify a wet suspension much, but you can add bump stops.
On to the Rear Suspension
We kept the aftermarket alloy drums on our Mini restoration project.
Front Suspension Assembly
Assembling our front subframe was an involved process.
Turning Up the Heat
We sent our Mini’s heater to Ron Jernigan from Sussex Screen Printing.
Carb Rebuild
We rebuilt our carbs and made them colorful.
Rebuilding Our Ancillaries
Rebuilding a generator is pretty straight forward.
Preparing Our Mini Cooper S for Its Unveiling at the Mitty
We now have the driveline completely finished and running. Now, on to welding.
Fixing the Mini's Cowl and Inner Fender Well
A new machine in the shop helps us with the sheet metal work.
Metalwork Resumes in Earnest
Our next step was to get back to the metalwork.
A Trip to DJ’s Mini
We sourced an air cleaner and some original hose clamps.
Finding Good Mini Books
We couldn’t imagine restoring one of these cars without these resources.
Visiting Heritage Garage
Stopping by this established Mini shop taught us a lot about the car we're restoring.
Body Welding
The next step in our Mini's restoration is to attack it with new sheet metal.
Powder Coating the Suspension
The Cooper's suspension linkages needed rehabbing. We opted for durable powder coat.
Rebuilding Hydrolastic Displacers
This Mini Cooper S came with "wet" suspension, but it wasn't working. We set about fixing that.
Priming the Whole Car
After fully stripping the Mini's chassis, we can start restoring.
Assessing the Remains
We figure out what's left after media blasting the Cooper.
Blasted Media!
We prep the Mini's chassis for paint.
Disassembling the Mini's Subframes
The chassis is away, so with the undercarriage we play.
Rehabbing Subframes and Suspension
We strip down the bits underneath our Mini.
Pressure-washing the tub
We prep the shell for a trip to the sandblaster.
Stripping down the tiny body
After finishing the drivetrain, we took the chassis apart.
Rebuilding the Shifter Mechanism
We take apart our alloy-housing shifter.
Tiny Wheels and Tires
We choose from the myriad options and find the right rolling stock for our Mini.
Changing Our Mini’s Ring and Pinion Gears
We find out how to compromise and optimize our final drive ratio for our Mini.
Putting Our Mini’s Transmission Back Together
Putting the transmission back together was easier than we thought with Mini Mania’s help.
Time for a Clutch
We find a clutch and pressure plate for our Mini Cooper S.
Head Work
We get our Mini Cooper S's head checked.
Building The Lower End
A trip to the machine shop made sure our Mini's engine was A-OK.
Starting Our Mini's Engine Rebuild
Developing an engine rebuild plan for our Mini Cooper S.
Picking Through the Parts
We sift our way through boxes and boxes of parts that came with our 1967 Mini Cooper S.
Project Introduction: 1967 Mini Cooper S
We introduce our newest project, a Tartan Red 1967 Mini Cooper S
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