Checkmate

[firebirds_rock]

Hi all ,

I just recently became the happy owner of a 1991 Rover Mini It is quite rusty, but it's mine.



Here is a picture of when we were towing it home. It came from England.



And here's where it is now. It hopefully won't be outside for long, just waiting for there to be room in our workshop which hasn't been tidied for along time



It's documented as a Mini Checkmate, even if it doesn't look like one. Makes me wonder where the side strips disappeared to, but oh well. I think I'll restore it back to an original Checkmate, not sure yet.



A replacement engine that the last owner fitted. He striped it down for some reason and once it was back together it gained an oil leak. He says he has no idea where it's coming from, so it looks like i may to strip it down again. It also looks like there maybe little bits thats he's lost, nuts and bolts and that kind of stuff. All part of the fun

I hope to have made progress soon and will post more photos when the interesting stuff starts happening

[irlmin]

Hi and welcome to the site , the checkmate was one of a number of limited editions built in 1990 / 91 and included the flame , racing green , models etc , I notice it has aftermarket wheels and bonnet stripes , do you have any interior pics the stripes / badges are available and We actually fitted a set recently . well worth restoring and keep it original , no problem with some mods performance wise but I would keep body original .
G

[MiniMpi]

Welcome to the site!!!
Nice to see these '90's specials being restored ;-)
Best of luck with the work.

[firebirds_rock]

Yes the last owner "fitted" the bonnet with the strips(I say "fitted" because when i went to pick it up the bonnet was just resting in place and was not bolted on, further more i couldn't find the nuts to fix it so had to cable tie the bonnet to the bonnet hinges), i know he replaced the bonnet because i have 2 spare ones that he gave me. I thought the Racing, Flame and Check all came standard with Minilite wheels? The GB wheel centres seem to be after market though.






Above pictures are of the pile of bits of Mini inside car from different angles. The whole lots does seem to smell of cats, lucky Me


Door panel

The interior is a bit of a mess. From looking at pictures on the net, i think i have all the original Checkmate pieces seats, dash board, door panels, as well as a few different bits such as a Walnut dash (which i don't really like) and the steering wheel has been changed. Half the stuff isn't fitted. I would be very interested in getting hold of a set of strips/badges.

James

[Derfinn]

Hello James, welcome to the site!

Congratulations on your Mini, and best of luck with the restoration!

Where in Nth Co Dub are you????

[irlmin]

The Checkmate did come with 'minilight' type wheels but they were 4 1/2 x 12 , the ones you have are 5 x 12 and are in fact 'GB alloys' , give them a good tidy or refurb and they will be brilliant .
G

[firebirds_rock]

Hi Derfinn

I live near Donabate

James

[firebirds_rock]

I see, thats good to know

Thanks

[firebirds_rock]

Today i finally got started taking off some on the panels that need tidying (or possibly replacement) and it turns out my Mini had a very bad last owner who couldn't do body work to save his live!!! The panels, for example, the passenger side Wing, where i started was very badly welded on(Has been recently replaced, I think) Large bits of the seam have been melted away where the Wing meets the body under the bonnet and the seam on the back edge of the Wing has rusted quite alot(Come to think of it, nearly all the seams are abit rusty, not sure how bad yet. Me thinks alot of badly done work has been carried out on my car in the past) Then again what was i expecting....

On another note, My Dad saw a picture of an A series engine with a different head. When he told me about it, I said it was probably the BMW bike engine head conversion and ever since has been trawling the Web looking at how it's done. I think he wants to do it to my Mini..... Poor car

[Derfinn]

Good to get the work started!

And that will mean that the car is a no-chicken zone!

[firebirds_rock]

LOL

[firebirds_rock]

I just received my copy of David Vizard's "How to modify your Mini"

It's full of fun things

[inny1300]

Hi James welcome to the site and enjoy the read,it is a great book to read and I am looking forward to your restoration,regard's jon

[firebirds_rock]

Rust, rust, rust........

[firebirds_rock]

Hi all,

It's been a summer full of unexpected events and as such i've had no free time but now i've started college and things should settle down enough for me to get to work. One good bit of news is i finally got Checkmate inside out of all the rain late last night, so there will still be a car when i get to work, not a pile of rust