"I will call him..Mini Me"
Our latest venture into the world of Vintage Motor Sporting - 1976 Mini 1000 LE.
This car is fresh out of New Zealand - so fresh, in fact, that upon taking some hard turns, 7 cents in New Zealand change spilled out of the dash tray onto the floor.
With only 32K miles on the clock, this car is the next best thing to new for its age. Basically, all we've had to do mechanically is clean and dial in the carb. Cosmetics have been made, though unnecessary; simply tailored to taste. Panels, seats, carpet, headliner all clean. Below are some before and after shots, and a shot with our Westy in there to draw perspective as to how small these cars actually are.
Vinyl Limited Edition graphics removed from car, wheels painted Old English White, top is to get respray in black.
Grille and mirrors stripped of their original matte black finish for more vintage stainless look. Bumpers replaced with like-new.
Boot carpet replaced with matching interior boot board, and trailer hitch removed - really, what where they thinking?!
Interior upholstery reskinned ala Chameleon Mace Studios. Nothing wrong with the original, besides being velour/vinyl tan. Chose to use a nylon salt and pepper weave on all vertical panels, trimmed in black. Complimentary red used on horizontal panels.
Seats reskinned with red and tan - may reskin with red and salt and pepper to remove tan altogether from scheme when top is reshot.
Before and after door panel shot.
Amazing thing about such a small car - these Recaros fit better than they did in our Datsun 260Z car. Something to be said about not having a transmission tunnel.