Charlie - Mini Mk3

[Jared Mk3]

Since I've been building this car for the last 8 years, I'll try and upload all the posts I've made on other forums of the progress and work.

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It's probably about time that I started a thread for the build of this car. She is a 1970 South African Mk3, essentially a Elf/Hornet body with the front end of normal round nose Mini. The doors are the same, with the internal locking mechanism being on the door handle, unlike the later Mini's which have a separate latch. All the chrome work like the bigger bumpers, window surrounds etc. are the same as the Elf/Hornet. Apart from the front end, the major difference between the Mk3 and the Elf/Hornet was definitely the interior. Where those cars were all about luxury, the Mk3 was more about the extra luggage space with the standard Mini interior that was available in SA at the time. The luxuries ending with the large door pockets and the triple centre gauges.

These cars had the 998cc engine, but the manufacturer of the cars at the time, Leykor, decided that due to the extra body weight, the gearbox required different ratios to aid in acceleration. So 1st was adjusted to 3.525:1 from 3.627:1, and 2nd was adjusted to 2.218:1 from 2.172:1.

And according to figures in a book about SA Minis. only about 3871 cars were sold. So not that rare, but uncommon.

Anyway, that's enough on the basics of the car. I've owned this vehicle since I was 14 or so, bought off an old man who had fixed up the engine to beyond perfect, his only requirement being that the car be loved and cared for. I lost the original photos I had of the car when I bought her, but there are one or two pictures in the February 2009 issue of MiniWorld.

After the strip down :







After the respray :





The chosen wheels :







As she stands now, a right sorry mess, and that's just the garage  :

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Right, a basic idea of what the interior will look like :



Notice the large door pocket and the door lock mechanism on the door opening handle.

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With the joys of South African weather [no rust and no moisture], most Mini's from the 1970's never had a heater fitted as standard. So I bought myself one on the cheap and fixed it up.

Before :



After :





Again, the facia sticker to match the doors etc. 

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Just a few things that I have done on the car in terms of cleaning, replacing, fixing up and general maintenance. 

Firstly, the rear subframe as it used to be, slightly bent and covered in 40 years of South African road :



And after a good clean and repaint :









The above is just something that I found on the front part of the subframe where it attaches to the body. There are 2 or 3 yellow painted stars on it, along with the ELF painted by brush. This could be due to the fact that these cars were originally destined to be called the Mini Elf - but due to another manufacturer having the name Elf in circulation on their vehicle, these cars were subsequently called the Mini Mk3.



The sheer uniqueness of the South African cars never seems to end. Above is a tappet cover that my brother got for me as a present.

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Well, since I put pictures of the rear subframe, I should do the same for the front subframe.

As it had come out the car, with 40 years of South African road, oil and over spray on it :



And as it stands now :







And the top arms just after they had come off the frame :



And now :

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I received this in the post today, a brand spanking new roof lining from Newton :



Some of the other items that I've cleaned and fixed up :





Before :



After :





The tail lights in this country are a little like hen's teeth, well the good ones. Due to the lovely South African climate our cars don't rust as easily, but the sun does take it's toll on the plastic of the lenses, often causing damage that cannot be undone. The ones above are the ones I found for the car and cleaned up and shall be using. The ones below are ones I managed to get early on, but as you can see, there's pretty obvious sun damage :

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Just a few bits and bobs that I have bought for the car over the last year or so - take note that with me living in SA, the import costs are quite excessive at the best of times, especially considering the exchange rate  .













The switch panel that I redid myself with brand new switches and cables etc :

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Right, well it seems that the plans have changed. I managed to acquire a 7.5 inch disc setup for the car, which will be refurbished and then placed onto the awaiting subframe. The idea of the car still sitting with its front end in the air isn't a great one, especially after the front subframe was taken out last year already

[Colin]

Wow! You've done a lot

[Jared Mk3]

Wow! You've done a lot

Thanks   Done a lot more than this in that time. These updates were from a few years back.

[Willy]

Wish I kept my build thread on two places.

Always nice to look at your car Jared.

[Jared Mk3]

Wish I kept my build thread on two places.

Always nice to look at your car Jared.

Thanks Wian   Still need to try and get all the posts up this forum.

[Leykor]

Great Work Jay,

Honestly for me (having a dead Mk3) your work is really inspirational! Keep up the great picture archive you have going.

[Jared Mk3]

Great Work Jay,

Honestly for me (having a dead Mk3) your work is really inspirational! Keep up the great picture archive you have going.

Thanks man  You'll soon see how far along I really am. How's your Mk3 doing?

[Vinay-RS]

You need to share the photo of the "car" key

[Jared Mk3]

You need to share the photo of the "car" key

I'll get there eventually.

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Right, so I haven't really done much of late. I've managed to remove some of the old stone chip that had started to flake off in the wheel wells. I cleaned up the lower section of the firewall as well. The stone chip wasn't flaking off everywhere, so I didn't need to remove all of it. Here are some pictures :
 

 
The beauty of living in South Africa where rust isn't a big problem - behind the shock mounts, still fresh metal :
 

 
These areas were then painted in red oxide, before they will be coated with the following :
 

 
The plates that go on either side in the boot also received the treatment. This first picture shows how they were upon coming out of the car, with glue stains, light blue overspray and surface rust all over it :
 

 

 
And as they are now, ready to be sanded and resprayed in black :
 

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I managed to get a 7.5inch disc setup from a guy here in SA, needing a refurb. As below :
 

 
The calipers are going to be fully rebuilt. Pistons out :
 

 
The pistons aren't in bad condition, just need a good clean up. They'll be perfect as a spare set :
 

 
The other caliper, as you can see, still has the pistons in it. The one is stuck, while the other came out fairly easily. Also, the mounting "bracket" on this caliper has been broken at some stage. This will also be repaired by a local engineer.
 

 
As the hubs look now - fully cleaned up and repainted, new balljoints fitted all round, ready and waiting for new bearings :
 

 

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Right, well, I managed to get the calipers cleaned up from all of the grease and dirt and gumph that was on. They still need the soft wire brush on them to get the last bit off, but here they are :
 

 

 
As you can see, the one mounting "ear" on the above caliper was broken off at some stage. I got that repaired :
 

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I finally managed to get the calipers painted up. I was originally considering black or red, but since those colours weren't available at the time, I got the silver paint on kit. I must say, the colour does look good in hand and I was able to put about 4 or 5 coats on, giving them good coverage and protection. Here they are :
 

 
I also did the master cylinders. The finish is also just as good, just one or two areas that need touching up and I'm good to go. Still need to fit the kits to them, but they do look a LOT better. Again, here they are :
 

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After quite a while (thanks to studying and work), I finally managed to complete the calipers with new pistons, seal kits, bleed nipples, pipes and washers. They just need a touch up here and there with silver and then are ready to go. I realise they're silver and not black, but I don't think they look too bad. Here's a picture :
 

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The master cylinders are now finally done, after a little difficulty, with new seals etc. and ready to be fitted when ready.
 

 
Only the back brakes to rebuild and the system to bled at some stage and she has brakes again.

[Jared Mk3]

Just realised, the only pictures I have of the car before it was taken apart are these from the MiniWorld :
 

 
I had so many others that got lost after a corrupted flash drive . . .

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I finally got the engine sprayed in some primer, much needed after not being done at the panelbeaters :
 

 
Now to get some body colour and some black in there, then the subframe can go back on.

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Some of the bits polished up, ready to be fitted at some stage :
 

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Finally received the much needed wheel bearings, at a bargain price too, now to get them fitted : 
 

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Bought myself a Christmas that arrived the other day :
 

 
NOS headlight covers. Not sure how legal they are, but I doubt there's many in this country.

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Finally, a little progress on this. After a long wait (a longer than necessary wait), my bearings arrived and I had them fitted up :
 

 
One less thing to do.
 
I also got pictures from the previous owner of the car. He bought it way back in the early '80s in this condition :
 

 
Then fixed her up and used her, before I bought her looking like this :
 

 
And I finally have decent pictures of the interior of how it used to look :
 

 

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Finally, some progress, both shafts completed :
 

 
All new boots, CV grease and paint and the disc CVs.

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Had these dropped off today, set of inertia reel belts and some new rear shoes, along with a couple odds and ends :
 

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At long last, the engine bay has some paint in it, all blue, no more primer etc. Only need to spray the wheel wells and the lower section of the firewall and the majority of spraying is over with.
 
Before :
 

 
After :
 

 
And the underside of the boot lid now matches in blue too, even if it looks black in the picture here :
 

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She's finally back on four wheels!!   I'll get pictures up tomorrow in the light and after a wash.
 
The lower half of the firewall and in the wheel wells were painted black today, no more light blue or primer or red showing through :
 

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After a good clean and the fitment of front shocks, she has taken a big step forward.
 
Fitted with new discs :
 

 
After a wash and fitment of the mags :
 

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Some more glamour shots, look at that sexy rear :
 

 

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Fitted up some mirrors today, quite retro I must say  (Sorry, the car is filthy  ) :
 

 
And with my brother's one :
 

 
Definitely need to get mine lowered a bit, looks a bit 4x4ish.

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Made a start on the wiper motor. I didn't finish it, needs some paint, but at least it's ready for when I spray a few more parts in one go :
 
Before :
 

 

 
After :
 

 

 
Might slow down a bit with the car now as exams start soon and need to study in amongst time spent at work.

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So, just to get an idea, I fitted up the grille and bonnet to the car - still some work to do to get it right, might need a new bonnet though. Here we go (excuse the dirt, had some gale force winds and very bad farm fires in this past week) :