Sorry to hear about your wife's grandmother. Saw the post on the other thread. Wanted to tell ya I LOVE your BFH handle!!! Looked up your info, and that brought me here...
I didn't know they made minis as late as 80. Cool car, and i like the stuff you're doing . Keep up the good posts, pictures and work. The suitcase speakers are fantastic.
I grew up in flatlands VA, but been vacationing in the mountains my entire life. Fist camping trip to the Blue Ridge was in early '64... I was born in late '63!!! I'm in the flatlands of L. A. now (Lower Alabama) but my family is all still in Chesterfield.
When I was learning wrenchin', there were a few exotic's with mechanical fuel injection, but WAY out of my income level, so carbs was it. Learned the most abut carbs on motorcycles, and although I do work on them modern electrical things in cars, I know very little about modding 'em.
Anyway, glad to "meet" ya, and offer my best to you and yours in your loss of family.
03Panther said:
I didn't know they made minis as late as 80.
They were actually made until 2000, when they were killed off either by EU emissions or crash regulation - can't remember which of the two finally did them in.
And they never figured out how to properly rust proof them during all that time either.
In reply to 03Panther :
Thanks! She was a sweet lady.
Shifter update: I did hear back from minisport and, after sending a video of me trying to thread things onto it, it was decided that I should try cleaning the threads before sending it back. I ended up sanding a taper onto the end of it (to match the stock one) and the nut and shifter threaded on like they should. I didn't like having to modify a new part, but all is good now. The shift throws are definitely shorter, but the 1-2 shift is more difficult (notchy?) than before. Hopefully I just need to adjust to it.
Interior fabric is ordered, but the company that I ordered it from is running a minimal crew right now, who knows when it will get processed.
I also got a black carpet kit, so that will be the next project... hopefully it will go smoothly.
Time to call the upholstery shop.
Either Toyota Camry trunks are big, or mini seats are small...
BFH_Garage said:
Either Toyota Camry trunks are big, or mini seats are small...
Or both
Love classic Minis, they're so cute!
Started my portion of the interior update, beginning with recovering the rear parcel shelf.
Those teenage years of building subwoofer boxes continues to pay off.
Picked up an inexpensive black carpet kit. Spending less equals more cutting to fit.
Carpet in.
I have the old brown carpet set and a set of orange and black sisal floor mats if anyone is interested.
Still waiting on the seats... upholstery shop moving very slow... But kind of understandable when the shop doesn’t have AC and temps are in the 90’s.
However, waiting is not my strong suit! So I am trying very hard to be nice and understanding... even if it has taken twice as long as estimated.
He did send me this teaser of the fabric/vinyl/thread combo yesterday, so he is finally working on them. I’m excited to see them done and back in the car!
In reply to BFH_Garage :
" . . . and, surprisingly, it fits."
SO very smart ! ! ! !
That's REALLY looking sharp and coming out swell ! !
Thanks. The next debate will be the tan door cards. I'm hoping there is enough tan in the fabric for them to look ok, as they are in good shape and I'd rather not have to replace them.
I keep staring at my phone, hoping it will ring...
The seats are in! They still have that retro look and way better than the old tan fabric.
I am probably going to leave the tan door cards for now. They still match the tan in the fabric.
In reply to BFH_Garage :
That looks fantastic. Good choice of fabric and the execution is spot on 
I’d say, that even though I personally don’t care for the seat fabric, it does have a good look for the car, and the door cards look fine in tan. And to say again, the rear speaker is awesome.
In reply to 03Panther :
The fabric was a gamble, it won’t be for everyone! My 15 year nephew isn’t a fan of it either.
I didn’t want to have a mini with yet another black interior, they all seem to be black inside.
It definitely isn’t black, LoL
Yep... Definitely not black! It does look good, and was worth the gamble. As you say, better than the common black. Looking at the pictures on a larger screen this am; maybe put a swath of the cloth on the bottom of the door cards, to set off the tan some more, and add some tan highlights in a few other places, to tie it together. Lookin' great!
Agree, the seats look great - it's a quirky car, why not have quirky seats as well.
I’m considering these door cards, black with a single thin band of blue.
But that probably won’t happen until Christmas.
After the wild seats, I’ll try to show some restraint with the door cards.
But then again, I’ve also found some blue seat belts...
Ok, who wants to buy some lightly used tan door cards? My Christmas/Birthday gift from my wife came in today.
