| Model: |
1990 Racing Green
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| Name: |
Project TFK
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| Owner: |
David Goodfield
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| Web Page: |
My Facebook
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| Member Of: |
Six-Ex Mini Owners Club
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| Spec: |
Engine: A+ 998 with a DIY Port Matched Head, Cooper Freeflow Manifold, Torquemaster Inlet Manifold, K&N Filter in a drilled Airbox and Britpart Electonic Ignition.
Brakes: Standard 8.4\" AP Calipers with EBC Black Stuff Pads.
Exhaust: Side Exit RC40, Single Box.
Wheels & Tyres: KN Minator 12x5 Alloys with 165/60 12 Monza Tyres.
Interior: Early Style seats finished in Red and Black Vinyl, Custom Consoles Dash & Union Jack Door Cards.
Exterior: 11 Slat grille, Wipac Spotlights, H4 Halogen Conversion and a Union Jack Roof.
Anything not listed is standard.
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| Comments: |
WARNING: This is a long, badly written, in depth story about the car from purchase to now. Maybe I will make it shorter one day but for now, here it is.
I brought this Mini off eBay for £461 from a person in Cricklade. It had no Tax or MOT and was advertised as being solid underneath, new sills and good floor but needed new engine mounts and new wings.
Being that this was my first Mini (and my first car, I was 15 at the time), I didn\'t know much about Mini\'s and took the blokes word for it. My father hasn\'t had a Mini in years so he\'s about as clueless as me. On bringing it home it ran like a dog, although just a minor fuelling issue could be sorted with some common sense.
We started work on the car shortly after buying it in July 08, setting a deadline on L2B 09 to have it completed. Because of the lack of money, experience and knowledge we decided that the project would not be a complete strip down but a piece by piece tidy up. To start with we did all the cheap jobs, like under sealing the floor and servicing the rear subframe items. I also started on the electrics, making sure that I did it all properly, to save electrical problems in the future.
During this time we made full use of the facilities we had, utilizing a small workbench that was sat in the garden and zip tying a florescent light to the roof. Much better that working out of a tool box, with nowhere to store things and a torch.
Of course, we were plodding along nice and easy but then winter came. The temperatures fell into the minus centigrade, no good for working in. The project was forgotten about for several months. The garage not opened and the one creature comfort on the floor, a small piece of carpet, getting wet.
February arrived and I decided that enough with the messing about, if we’re going to meet our deadline I have to start buying parts and getting them on. About £1k later and the car was looking much more like it, most components back on and a full service done along with some creature comforts fitted like a nice dash (rather that looking at the bulkhead) and a decent stereo.
Around March time due to everything taking 4 times as long as originally anticipated we decided to abandon getting the paintwork done for the time being due to being over budget and falling behind schedule.
May arrived and a week or so before L2B it was put in for it MOT, it failed. Not just on a bad headlight either, there was rust around the rear subframe mounting, passenger side floor/sill rotten, emissions too high, rear driver side suspension had no movement and badly worn rear front subframe mountings. Not something you want to see a week before taking it to L2B.
The race was on, a mobile welder was able to do the welding, a mobile tuning man was able to set the fuelling up properly and the old man fixed everything else. The car was booked in again for an MOT on the Friday. The only problem, it only had one seat in it. No carpets, no nothing else. The carpets still needed cutting and seats bolting in. I was up until half past 2 Saturday morning (the day we had to be leaving) fitting it all. But it was finally ready. But would the car make the 270 mile round trip after not being taxed for 4 years and a month.
It did it, not a hitch. Most of the south east was littered with broken down Mini’s thanks to the long queues, and we were not one of them. The project was deemed a success, although still not technically finished thanks to the outstanding bodywork, but at least it’s roadworthy eh? |
| Parked: |
This car is parked in Parking Lot 137 |
This car joined the Park on Tue, August 4, 2009
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