Attached is a picture of our mini taken last year. She was taken off the road due to the dreaded tin worm affecting her front wings, A panel, windscreen scuttle and bonnet shut panel. This discovery was made just before we got married, which, was a bit of a blow as we had seriously wanted to take her with us, on Honeymoon!! ( Andy fails to mention that the window wipers didn't work either, and, we were travelling to the wettest place in the British Isles - alledgedly! )

Never mind. Just over a week later we returned (shattered as one should be!). Due to having moved into our new home, priorities were set which meant that the poor min. had to take a back seat. During the following months she felt a bit neglected, so I went in on the odd occasion to give her a bit of attention. ( Should I be jealous?) It was during this time that my mind started wandering - a plan was being hatched - Mk1 Cooper - Rally replica - the golden age of Mini motoring. (Eh ?) I'm sure you're all following this......Helen isn't quite the enthusiast, but I am trying very hard to convert her. (I'm sure I would be better off, if I had four wheels and an engine !....brmmm, brmmm)

After studying various publications...Mini World, Mini Magazine, Classic motoring mags, etc. things were becoming clearer! The final impetus ( can he use that word in a family magazine?) was on a Holiday in Cornwall, when, what should be seen outside a chip shop? - that's right - almost exactly what we (?) were trying to achieve! There she was - a Mk 3 mini! ( Oh, I thought we were just getting rid of the rust! The truth will out)

However, she had Group 2 wheel arches, Mk1 Morris Cooper Bonnet and grille. Classic Rally seats and stripped out as a Rally replica with Roll cage ( sounds more like it - I always wanted to have a go at rallying - on my last attempt - I ended up wrapped around a tree with a Rover 214 cabriolet! ) If Helen thinks she is going to try that in this.......

Ah yes, she also had a tripmeter, 12 inch Minilite alloy wheels ( here we go again - see later comments !! - he's obsessed with wheels) and looked very purposeful in Red with a Black roof!!

"Whoa!! Hold on a minute, Helen, I need to have a good look at this mini........."
"But, the fish and chips are getting cold !"
She's no fun...
BUT, this was just what I needed - some inspiration!!!
(At long last, he may start to get the mini back ONTO the road)

Back home.... the magazines came out yet again ( plus a whole host of new editions.) Now I was scouring the adverts - lists were made and then the order came.
"How MUCH We can't do all that! we have other things we need to do, as well"
"Like what?"
"Like EAT!!" (.....Men!!)

Ok! Ok!
List 1, list 2 and list 3 were drawn up.
List 1 is essentials
like get rid of the rust and repaint her
like new wheel arches - the old ones had seen much better days ..
plus a new grille - the old one was bent and falling off anyway - (does this sound familiar?)
and new wheels and tyres - I managed to sneak those in, shhhh, don't tell Helen. (Andy, you can't disguise them as a coffee table, even with their very own tablecloth - When asked - his response was, it is too cold outside and I can't possibly have them scratched !**??!!)

As the old girl was White ( is this me or the mini, Andy is talking about ?) and I like her white, it made sense not to change the colour. However, a Cooper Isn't a Cooper without a black or white roof, is it?? After much discussion and debate, it was decided that she should have a full body respray and as I didn't want a bodge job ( don't we know it ) AND I wanted to do all the work myself - this was going to be a steep learning curve!

( Girls....Have you ever noticed that paint smells can travel right through the house - even when the doors are closed and the garage door open ! You'll be pleased to hear I put my foot down about the mini living in the lounge with the tyres !)

As you can see from the enclosed Photo there is still much to do. I just got the paint today - the period old english white and BMC black - I hope to be ready to try my hand at spraying very soon. ( HELLLLP - my freezer may become an interesting mix of black and white - doesn't that mean grey? ) ( Seriously, anyone out there with any tips for Andy ? You haven't seen him spray !) ( Explanation....He has already put 4 coats of grey primer onto the roof, followed by 6 coats of black - he has since started to remove most of the said "black" spray to start again ! - Perfectionsist, or what !)

The enclosed picture was taken before Christmas and there has been some progress since it was taken. This could be a possible explanation of why the roof needed re-doing come to think about it; most of the black paint was put on over the Christmas Break ! ( hic)

The target, ambitious as it may seem, is to have her completed by Easter ( which one Andy?), as I want to attend a number of shows this year - being the 45th anniversary. ( A clue, me thinks? this one. gulp) Hopefully I will be able to send updates, as time goes on ......(Alternatively, if you want a giggle, you could always come along to one of Andy's re-spray, re-spray jobs - it makes you smile...20 coats later..)

I'm determined not to have her riddled with tin worm this time ! Paint should do the trick - and lots of it, Waxoyl will follow in due course. List 2 and 3 are still in the process of being drawn up and edited - not to mention, financed. Perhaps they'll follow in another edition of "Mork and Mini" ( which one is Mork?)

Nanoo, Nanoo