1960 Austin 850 Project

[tsumini]

Had the head off which neede the throttle disconnected. While re-connecting the throttle cable I noticed one of the strands was loose so I snpped it back so it wouldn't stick me. After it was secured onto the throttle arm it seemed to be hanging up and wouldn't move back and forth as normal. I soon discovered that the strand had detached at the pedal and had ggotten wound around the cable fouling the pedal action. So I withdrew the cable from the sheth rdetached it from the pedal. I didn'tt have a spare cable so tried to make do with whaat I had.
So I unwound the single strand without disturbing the other strands and clipped it off at the pedal. 1st pic is the single strand. Didn't think to photo it twisted. Thinking it wasn't very stable and subject to unwinding I soldered the end at the throttle arm. I got it back together again but had to remove the sheath and poke the cable back thru. I used solder flux to solder the cable but it was not really easy to get enough solder in without leaving blobs. I was able to to that eventual by sanding off some blobs.
Video shows throtttle cable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOOqf7OHYvg&feature=youtu.be

I thought that the solder flux wasn't getting it so later I took a piece of cable and dipped the end in full strength muriatic acid for a second then with a soldering iron melted solder onto the caable end and it flowed right into the cable strands without leaving blobs.  I recall someone on a thread somewhere having difficuly finishing cable ends, FWIW

[tsumini]

So I got the gasket (ordered 6-3 received 6/22 due backorder)  installed head, Gasket compressed without any problems. Checked compression at 117 117 115 and 122 and was happy about that. Then  fired it up. It didn't start very well and idled with no accel. Had to adjust richness quite a bit and  timing a little and started running pretty well I thought. Ran it to test acceleration and was happy it came close to matching spec (time to 10 mph increments).  1st pic is screen shot of  excel sheet with accel data. Fell off a lttle at the top end but was a helluva lot better than B4Valve job.
Engine runs 100% better and sounds better too. Starts cold with a shade of choke; no stumnbling as before. It's seat of the pants tuned so maybe needs a little more tweaking but satisfied now.
Video where I got the accel data from (speedo).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUthVSBhVGo
Really the first time I've driven  the mini and it is a fun car to drive. Couldn't help but compare it with the 50 60's cars I learned on. The handling is so much better than the 60s tanks and boats.

[MiniDave]

Success!

Well done......

[tsumini]

Thanks Hopefully it will stay together.

[John Gervais]

It sounded good -

[tsumini]

It sounded good -

Yeah I like the engine tone.

[MiniDave]

Wow, that ran really well! Is straight up on the speedo 50 mph?

[tsumini]

No straight up is 45. 50 is the mark to the right. Video is little difficult to see. Yeah compression improvement and Pertronix was good medicine. Pertronix was definitely a better spark. It actually does 70 in 39 sec where the spec is 44. Not bad for a tractor engine.

[MiniDave]

Well, it looked like it drove really well, congrats on getting it on the road again - it's been a long haul for you but the results are terrific!

You'll have to join us on our next get together!

[tsumini]

Yeah I'm beginning to trust it now. Earlier I didn't trust it further than I could throw it. Longer trips may be a possibility.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, short trips are the order of the day for the first 500 miles. Once you get there, change the oil and filter, retorque the head and set the valve clearances and if you've had no issues - go for it!

[tsumini]

My '60 Austin Resto Recap
Posted the following to my FaceBook account and received a lot of positive response.

My 1960 Austin 850 Saloon
Body number 010xxx (slam panel)
Build date January 20,1960 One of the first Mini's imported and sold initially in California as a North America Import and badged as an Austin 850
History
Purchased in 2012 from my brother who had acquired from near Canon City Colorado Dry climate preserved the metal but wasn’t kind to the to sun expose areas, It had languished in a weed field since mid ‘70s. It was missing the engine and most of the interior. The drivers side front window was broken which allowed rain into floor causing localized rust damage. Minimal rust allowed soda blast paint removal. The rear window seal had also shrunk and allowed water into boot causing localized pitting in spare tire area. Both areas were repa ired during restoration. Original straight gearshaft was retained. Other than the rust noted it is pretty much rust free
Other missing parts: fuel tank, fuel pump, rear tail lights, seats, Drivers side front window broken and window catch missing.
Most of the interior was missing except rear seat which had original cloth covered in vinyl .
Reproduction cloth from 59 Register was used to upholster to Basic spec.
All brightwork is original except new headlamp rim ring. Both bumpers are the early "long" bumpers but are only fair condition.
Windows: new windscreen, all sliding windows are original single hole dated 4th qtr 1959 with single hole catch; except drivers side front is two hole. Rear quarter windows and rear window are date 1959.
Replacement fuel tank and SU fuel pump are period correct replacements. Fuel gage sending unit is period correct 6 hole type.
Engine is ca. 1962 850 with magic wand gearshaft. It was rebuilt for this project and runs excellent.
Speedometer was damaged after removal and replaced with a silver faced speedo.
No drip rail, early smooth door pull
Original Heater
Front axles are 18 spline as opposed to later 19 spline.
Single LE brakes

[tsumini]

more pics

[MiniDave]

The car looks fantastic, I hope you're driving it and putting some miles on it now! 

[BruceK]

Beautiful. So nice to see Mini like that.  The early cars were so simple and elegant

[cstudep]

Agreed, it looks great!

I think that is what I am going to try to shoot for with my 1960 now that I have another one that will be the "sportier" version. I still have the original 850 motor for mine, along with a lot of other original bits off the car.

[tsumini]

Beautiful. So nice to see Mini like that.  The early cars were so simple and elegant

Yep like just swapping battery cables to change polarity.

[tsumini]

Thanks for all the kind words. Not sure I would have completed it without this forum and forumites.
Dave I take it out about once a week. There's a nice curvy road behind our development that's fun. I'll get some video sometime.
I'll plan put it up for sale in the near future. Working on it is getting more difficult every day.

[Jimini II]

Nice work and it looks like you started with a good body which imo makes all the difference.
Well done.

[tsumini]

Thanks
Need a good body just like my younger dating days. The only reason i took this was it was rust free. I wouldn't touch anything with visible rust.

[94touring]

Looks fantastic