Hi, these are photos of my 1970 Mk3 Morris Mini that my daughter and I are rebuilding.

Anyway, the story so far; we've already rebuilt the fully adjustable suspension and overhauled and uprated the brakes, fitted new subframes and fitted brand new outer sills, step panels, front wings, front panel, doors and bootlid.

Update June 20 2005 - Went along to the Two Counties Motor Show at Newmarket's Rowley Mile Racecourse yesterday. Had a great day, got VERY sunburnt and saw a lot of nice cars. We parked alongside the Saffron Walden and Cambridge Mini Club and immediately felt right at home - what a fantastic bunch of Mini people! We ate lots and soaked up the atmosphere all day. We had a lot of favourable comments, and lots of visitors took lots of photographs and asked lots of questions. But by 4pm I decided I'd had enough of the 32 degree heat, so I packed my gear, and my daughter and I loaded up the Mini. Much to my surprise, a show official approached and asked me if I'd had a good day. Then he said it's just got better and handed me a trophy. I couldn't believe it when I read the inscription;
TWO COUNTIES MOTOR SHOW - CAR OF THE SHOW - 2ND PLACE - 2005 There were some incredible cars there, and I'm honoured that judges decided mine was worthy of a prize.

Update June 10 2005 - The Mini's on the road! I've clocked up 500 miles now, and today I've changed the oil, reset the valve clearances and fixed a small exhaust leak. Next stop is to set the car up on a rolling road. I have a bit too much ignition advance to suit the amount of compression I built into the 1380 engine, so I need to further modify the Aldon distributor to give no more than 30 degrees advance at 3000rpm. The mixture setting given by the BDK needle in the SU carburettor seems to be pretty close, but will probably need to be changed once the engine's fully run in and the timing has been set. I also hope to get a good estimate of the power output at the end of this setup session. I'll keep you posted on progress!

Update May 20 2005 - The engine's running! I've had a few problems since the last update. It's sorted now though, and the little Mini pulls like a train. The full engine balance and lightweight flywheel and clutch, along with the hi lift cam really make a difference! It feels like it will pull right round to the red line. I've just got to try and keep the revs to a sensible limit while the engine's running in.
Just a few details now, and I can look forward to using it for the summer!

Update May 10 2005 - The engine's built, painted and back in the engine bay. I'm hoping that by the end of this week it should be running again! I really can't wait for this - it's been a long journey. By the way, the green is an age correct shade of BMC engine green; It looks a little more subtle in the flesh. Honest! After this, it's just finishing off and detail work. More photos soon.

Update April 29 2005 - The block, crank, cylinder head and other parts have returned from the machine shop, and the engine rebuild has begun! While the engine components were away, I rebuilt the gearbox and fitted the centre oil pickup, and prepared the engine bay. The engine machining work looks to be of an excellent standard, having been bored, balanced, skimmed, decked, reground, and chemically cleaned (complete with replacement core plugs and oil gallery plugs.) The engine will be built over the next few days paying careful attention to close tolerances and utmost cleanliness. Hopefully the next update will include shots of the fully assembled and painted engine and gearbox ready to go in!

Update April 01 2005 - I've found a suitable A+ turbo block, and it's away being overbored to 73.5mm to give a capacity of 1380cc. It's also being fully dynamically balanced, drilled for an eleven stud head, being machined for a steel centre main strap (to support the crank at high revs) and the big valve head is being crack tested and freshened up. Everything is being chemically dipped too. With the stage 3 head, a fast road camshaft and about 10:1 compression - a bit more than standard - we should be looking at around 120hp at the flywheel, and 90bhp at the wheels. Not bad for a car that weighs 600kgs! It should be pretty lively!

Update March 27 2005 - The glass, lighting and new chrome have been fitted, and the Newton Commercial interior parts have been installed. This began with a new headlining using 60's style material, and was completed with the fitting of new seats, door panels and deep carpet.

Update March 20 2005 - The Mini is now out of the spray shop, having recently received it's final coats of Opel blue, with an Old English White roof. Thanks to Nev, Nick, Mark and all the guys at Fiveways Garage, It's better than factory finish!*****

*****Thanks also go to my wife Deb for letting me spend the family fortune on my toys, my daughter Charlie for all her help, a big thanks to Paul for blasting and spraying the wheels, the guys at work for their enthusiasm and support, and not forgetting my good friend Ted for dragging all those far-flung, sorry-looking Minis I find home for me!*****

Here is a list of uprated components used in the chassis rebuild;

Heavy duty adjustable tie bars.
Adjustable front and rear suspension cones.
Adjustable Spax shocks.
Nylon front suspension bushes (tie rod and lower arm).
Nylon rear subframe bushes.
Adjustable rear camber brackets.
Cooper S disc assemblies.
Braided brake hoses.
All bearings, bushes and ball joints renewed.
GB 6x10 'Minilite style' Alloys.
Falken 165/70x10 tyres.
Tilton remote reservoir brake and clutch master cylinders.
Adjustable TAS brake bias valve mounted under dash.
Remote Lockheed servo.
Minisport 2" Exhaust system and LCB manifold.
Adjustable top engine steady.

Other items fitted...

Halogen headlamps with 100/140w bulbs and relays.
Leather Momo steering wheel.
Cobra Classic black vinyl bucket seats and subframes.
Newton Commercial rear seat covers, carpet set, door panel and liner set, rear shelf, dash liner set and Mk1-style headliner and sun visor kit.
Late model heater (cos the old one's cr*p!)
Clear glass front indicator lenses and new lamp units.
New rubbers and seals throughout.
New black number plates.
New Chrome Mk3 Cooper grille.
Stainless bumpers.
Stainless Tex mirrors.
Stainless wiper arms and blades.
Stainless headlamp rims.
New chrome door and boot handles and lock set.
Cooper S Mk3 badges (cos I can't afford the real thing!)

And then there's the engine...

Turbo 1275 block bored 73.5mm oversize to 1380cc, new Powermax 7cc dish pistons and rings.
Balanced Turbo conrods.
Turbo crank reground with new bearings, high capacity oil pump and chemical clean.
Full dynamic balance.
Steel centre main strap.
'731' profile fast road cam and followers.
Aldon competition distributor.
Duplex timing gears and chain .
Stage 3 ported cylinder head (37/30).
10.5:1 compression ratio.
Gas flowed HIF44 on polished alloy inlet.
Performance clutch.
Orange competition diaphragm.
Lightened flywheel and Cooper S pressure plate.
Central oil pickup pipe (for those roundabouts!)

More parts added as they're found,
More photos as they're taken!

Thanks for reading.

Page 1 - Opel Blue Mk3 Morris
Page 2 - Old English White Mk1 Morris