Austin Morris Mini Van 1972

1972 Morris Mini Van

Bought this van as a run around, but decided it needed some upgrades. This has now been sat in my garage with the engine in pieces for 17 years.

I removed the engine and swapped the cam shaft for a fast road camshaft from mini spares, the timing chain to a duplex double chain, but never got round to putting it back together again, until now.

Over the last year, on and off i have re-assembled the engine with some new gaskets and seals along the way. 

Engine turns over and will turn over on the starter motor if i connect 12 volts direct to the starter motor, but it will not turn over from the key. Ignition barrel is brand new as that was suspected, now i think its the solenoid that's bad. Have given up on it and just need it gone and my garage back.

Speedo was replaced with a Cooper S version. Original speedo reads 72K, replacement is showing 490.

The bad bits...

Engine is not running...

Lots of chips in the paint, bubble rust under the paint in places. Paint is Ford Imperial blue but you can see the original white underneath, the yellow and in some places green, but the inside is still white.

Front end has been replaced at some point in its life before i bought it and the inner wings are not brilliantly welded.

In my ownership its had a small piece of welding done, 10cm by 10cm, under the drivers seat floor pan. Looks like it has had new outer sills in the past.

Rear Load bed has been painted with anti rust primer to stop any surface rust from forming

No battery.

I have lost the locking wheel bolt nut, so they need to be forcibly removed somehow.

Front tyres were low mileage when i took it off the road, whoever they have been sat for 17 years so suspect that all 4 tyres will need replacing

Chrome bumpers are rusty

Front floor pans, were your feet go, have surface rust, but not rotten.

Large bore, single silencer exhaust not fitted, but is included, loose in back of van.

Has had a new pedal box fitted, but needs new Clevis pins fitting to attach to the Clutch and Brake master cylinder.

Clutch and Brake master cylinders have no fluid and both will require bleeding.

I have added some oil i had, but have noticed a small leak from somewhere, might be coming from gearbox rod change seal, even though that is new.

There is fuel in the tank, but have not been able to get the engine cranking over to pump it through to the carb.

Good bits

Tax and MOT exempt

Metro 1275 engine with verto clutch and 3.44 diff, purchased to not long after i bought the van to replace the 850 (still down as 850 on the log book)

Shell is pretty solid, doesn't appear to have any nasty rot, just surface rust, it may have been re-shelled at some point, but I don't know how to tell.

Road cam, duplex timing chain, centre oil pickup all fitted.

2 average condition recaro seats

13 inch alloy wheels

Lots of spares as pictured, including rusty spare doors and repair panels for them.

Wooden Dash with Cooper S speedo

Is fitted with heavy duty adjustable tie rods

Adjustable shocks on the front, rears are included in the spares, never got round to fitting them, was going to fit them when i did the rear 1.5 degree negative camber brackets, also included in the spares.

New door hinge pins included in sale along with the fitting and removal tools, never got round to doing it.

Some of the spares included, Ford Imperial Blue paint, 2 alternators, 2 coils, rocker shaft assembly, distributors bodies and caps, brake master cylinder, negative camber brackets, mini spares inlet manifold, speedo, rev counter, bits of twin 1.5 su setup, su carb bodies, starter motor (non solenoid).

None of the spare parts have been tested to see if they are functional.

Any questions please feel free to ask, im sure i have forgotten loads

Car is a Non Runner and will need to be trailered away.

Mini is located in Paignton, Devon, TQ3

On 01-Sep-21 at 12:02:24 BST, seller added the following information:

You are bidding to purchase this van and not to come and look and then make an offer.Final payment by bank transfer on collection.

On 01-Sep-21 at 19:21:42 BST, seller added the following information:

More pictures here, including some from underneath, bear in mind i dont have a pit or a ramp.Pictures hereor copy and paste this link into your browserhttps://homefront2battlefront.com/mini-van-pictures/

Want to buy this car?