bamnow

New Storage Home for the Mini and Spitfire

bamnow — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:04:27 GMT

New Storage Home for the Mini and Spitfire

Bought a commercial building with 2 other car nuts and now have climate controlled storage and work space for the Mini and the Spitfire.

Finally finished.

bamnow — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:31:08 GMT

Finally finished.

42 years after put in storage and 2.5 years after the restoration began, the Mini is finished.

Engine in Place

bamnow — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:27:08 GMT

Engine in Place

Car features a 1965 1275cc Cooper S engine. Modifications include: ported and polished AEG 163 cylinder head, balanced crank & rods, roller rockers, LCB header and a 286 fast road cam.

First Show Surprise

bamnow — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:42:56 GMT

First Show Surprise

Shortly after finishing the Mini, we were invited to show the car in the 2009 Geneva Concours d'Elegance, a multi-make event featuring nearly 200 cars. We were surprised to be selected as a award winner in the Mini's first show. Good to know that Minis are gaining well-deserved recognition on their 50th birthday!

Almost There

bamnow — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:20:09 GMT

Almost There

Most of the interior and exterior trim is finished. Just need to complete the engine.

Color coordinated?!?

bamnow — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:12:34 GMT

Color coordinated?!?

Fiesta Yellow exterior and Powder Blue interior were matched up together in early Coopers. Evidence that illegal substances from the early 60's can effect your brain. Note original Springall steering wheel as fitted to BMC factory team cars entered in the Monte Carlo Rally in the mid-60's.

2007 Geneva Concours d'Elegance Win

bamnow — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:45:38 GMT

2007 Geneva Concours d'Elegance Win

We were invited to show our Spitfire in the multi-make Geneva Concours d'Elegance. Honored to participate, but shocked to be announced a winner competing against Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins, etc. Hopefully we are growing appreciation for these underestimated cars!

It's a roller!

bamnow — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:02:04 GMT

It's a roller!

All new suspension and braking components, powdercoated subframes, NOS Bilstein shocks and a set of rare Cosmic RW10 10"x4" wheels has got things finally rolling. More to come over the next few months.

Back from paint.

bamnow — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:31:36 GMT

Back from paint.

Have the Heritage certificate and the car is being returned to it's original color: Fiesta Yellow. It was definitely not the most popular color, so I imagine I will not see many at shows [;-)] As with the Spitfire, we painted the bottom of the car, the rockers, and both the front and rear valences with truck bedliner prior to painting the whole car.

Work underway...

bamnow — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:23:36 GMT

Work underway...

Body was surprisingly pretty solid. Stripped to bare metal. Replaced front fenders, front panel, rear valence, battery box and one rocker. All other repairs done in lead.

The Next Project- 1963 Mini Cooper

bamnow — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 06:08:56 GMT

The Next Project- 1963 Mini Cooper

1963 Austin Cooper that was rallyed in the Midwest until 1967. Put in storage until 2006 (nearly 40 years!) and now undergoing a rotisserie restoration. More pictures to follow.....

Winter Hibernation

bamnow — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:52:13 GMT

Winter Hibernation

Purchased a red canvas top and tonneau. Although not original, I felt the color went well with the black finish.

Looks pretty good.....Goes pretty good.....

bamnow — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 03:45:59 GMT

Looks pretty good.....Goes pretty good.....

1296cc motor bored .040” over. All internal components were balanced. The cylinder head has larger intake and exhaust valves and it was ported and polished to match in size to the intake and exhaust manifolds. The compression ratio was raised to 10:1. A fast road cam was installed, as were the dual 40 DCOE Webers and a tubular exhaust header. Although the car has yet to be placed on a dyno, anticipate the engine will yield approximately 100 bhp.

It's a Winner

bamnow — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 05:18:31 GMT

It's a Winner

Car finished at 3:00am on Sept. 11, 2005. Driven for the first time in 32 years to the British Car Union show on the same day and wins the Spitfire class.

Back from the paint shop

bamnow — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 05:14:52 GMT

Back from the paint shop

View of the underside of the car. After returning from the paint shop, we painted the complete underside of the body with truckbed liner (thin coats, low grit and it looks like teflon!). It's chip and chemical resistant and makes for an easy clean-up when using the car between shows/events. If you look closely you'll see that the liner very slightly overlaps body seams on the rear valence, wheel wells and rockers to prevent any moisture/dirt from getting in the wrong places.

The Spit on the spit

bamnow — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:57:23 GMT

The Spit on the spit

Jigsaw puzzle of new panels coming together on the rotisserie. Interior of all panels painted with Hammerite. All welded surfaces sprayed with zinc based primer to prevent rusting.

Rust EVERYWHERE!

bamnow — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:53:54 GMT

Rust EVERYWHERE!

EVERY panel needed replacing except the firewall and rear bulkhead. Thanks to Moss and other suppliers, getting replacement panels was not a problem. Getting them all to fit together is another story, however.

Mechanical Components Coming Together

bamnow — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 05:02:30 GMT

Mechanical Components Coming Together

Built motor. 1296 instead of the standard 1147.

Transmission (note rare aluminum bellhousing) and rear end rebuilt stock.

Suspension features street grade poly bushings, Spax adjustable shocks and a larger front anti-roll bar.

Brakes stock with upgraded pad material.

Chassis sandblasted and painted with POR-15. All suspension parts also blasted to bare metal and painted with Hammerite.

Spitfire unearthed after 30 years in storage

bamnow — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 03:40:30 GMT

Spitfire unearthed after 30 years in storage

Purchased in 1973 for $60, I finally was getting around to fixing it up in 2003. To say my parents were tolerate in keeping this car in their garage the whole time is really an understatement. To say I've invested more in the car during the restoration than I originally paid for it is priceless- both literally and figuratively!