May have bitten off more than I can chew with this one, but it'll be fun to see how it turns out. As some of you know, I've been on the lookout for a classic for a long time now, but a fixer upper. Mad Mike had this in his shed guarded by cows gathering dust, and an exchange was made. It's a 1984 Austin Mini Tripper. Ger tells me that the Tripper thing was an Irish level of specification, but Google tells me nothing about what that might have been. Mad curious to find out if anyone knows. There's also an E badge on the back, which Ger told me means it had a differently geared differential to save petrol.
Haven't done much with it since I got it back to Cork on Sunday, but looking at it, it'll need 2 doors, probably 2 outer sills, a lot of rust treatment, and potentially a new roof. There's an original centre speedometer, brown half leather interior, and original keys with original keyring. A bit of research on the registration tells me that it's a late May 1984 998cc car, registered in Cork City. It's got no engine or geabox, but that can be easily sorted.
So the plan is to get cracking on the bodywork over the coming months, sort out the rust, and respray it entirely. Colour I don't know, that'll be the toughest decision, go standard, go mental, go modern, retro, but I'll have plenty of time to think it through. Engine wise, I'd like to put another 998 back in there I think, maybe with some performance accessories to give it some oomph. Anyway - Photos! But beforehand, huge thanks to Mad Mike, and to Ger so far on the project. I'll take better photos soon!