Gizmo (79 GTS)

[Miniac]

As many of you know I bought a 1979 GTS that was advertised on the old forum from Ashley and Stacey not forum members but previous MOCKZN members instead. The car was said to have been in running condition and only needing a few minor jobs doing to get it back to 100% but as with most things mini, one job soon led to another and so the ball got rolling and then it hit a slope heading downhill very quickly. The car was parked off for a period of 4 years under the previous ownership, used with not to many hassles for around 3-4 months under my ownership by Jason(The_Minidude) while his GTS was having some work done to it and then parked off for a further 2 years until I finally managed to get it home where I can tinker on it to get it back on the road. Obviously with a ballpark of 7 years of standing a few items have deteriorated and have either already been replaced or the parts have been sourced and are awaiting replacement, one of these being a good condition second hand fuel tank as mine managed to kill 2 HS4 carbs in as many weeks by getting rust through the fuel line and into the carb, another item sourced off of Rui was a 
beautiful set of twin Dellortos mounted on a Cooper S intake manifold also waiting to be fitted to my 1293 motor.

As Gizmo currently stands, a bit dusty and needing some rust repairs 

Engine bay at present

My awesome Dellortos

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A few other bits waiting in the box of tricks to be fitted when I repaint the motor and such...

New set of uprated tierods and poly bushes

A few bling bits to both brighten up the exterior and engine bay...

Thanks CraigB for these wicked bits...

[GTSPhil]

HI

Nice car you got there. Interesting set of Dellorto Carbs.
Good luck with the build.

[Miniac]

Thanks Phil, I hummed and uhhd about them for a couple of months before I eventually decided "bugger it, a GTS is supposed to have twins on it" (be it SU or not) and took them off of Ruis hands. There's a bit of bodywork to do on the shell but once I've got that all sorted I'll also be fitting the original stripes back onto the shell in satin/matt black. I also need to source a decent condition grill badge for it again as mine got swiped off of the grill while it was being used up in Pmb by the previous owners younger brother.

[Dion]

Nice GTS, now you just need to get it back on the road....

[Miniac]

A quick shot taken this morning when I got in from work after a bit of the early morning rain rinsed over the back of the car, hoping to get that sort of gleaming shine back on her permanently soon.

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Nice GTS, now you just need to get it back on the road....

Man, tell me about it Dion. Not much work to get it back on the road, just hard to find the time to spend on it.

[Boyscout]

Like these carbs. I saw them at Rui's previously. Hope you can get jets for them. Are they 40mm?

[Miniac]

I can bring in complete rebuild kits from the UK for them which is quite cool but pricey, jets and all sundries are available individually as well so I can get an abundance of spares for them at the moment. They're sized as 32/28 better know as Dellorto FZD 32.28 which were commonly used on Fiat 500s back in the day and thanks to the large 500 following in Europe they still manufacture all the necessary parts needed to maintain them.

[Jared Mk3]

You finally have a build thread! Maybe this will give you the motivation to move along quickly now

My uncle's Clubby had twin Dellorto's on. I just need to check if it was like this.

[Miniac]

Time is of the essence Jay, the absolute essence. My working hours take a huge chunk out of my day and for the balance, I like spending as much time with my kids as possible as this is a crucial time in the development of their lives.

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As for the twin Dellortos I'm not the only Durbanite miniac with a set, but I might be the only one with a road going setup.

[Jared Mk3]

Time is of the essence Jay, the absolute essence. My working hours take a huge chunk out of my day and for the balance, I like spending as much time with my kids as possible as this is a crucial time in the development of their lives.

No definitely. The car will always be there - the children don't stay young forever.