1976 Austin Mini Van

Here for sale is my beautiful 1976 mini van.

It has just been through a very comprehensive 12 Month restoration, leaving no nut, bolt or screw unturned. This has been done at great expense for the enjoyment of reviving a vehicle otherwise destined for the scrapheap. I found the van in an industrial unit near me, it had been off the road since 1984! After its restoration, it made its reappearance in the public eye after it's 40 year rest at the British Mini Club's 2024 Bingley Hall show where it was displayed on the BMC's red carpet stand and it won second in class for 1970's vehicles, a testament to the quality of work carried out.

I bought the van in 2022, after I had found a suitably solid starting point for the restoration. Despite being more solid than others, the van still received plenty of new Heritage, Genuine Rover and M-Machine panels. This included but is not limited to: full rear valance, a pair of inner and outer a panels, a pair of front wings, rear door skins, front door skins, door step inner and outer sills the list goes on. One nice touch is the bed floor is original to the van and required no welding at all! I didnt want to over-restore the van, I feel its important to retain some of the character the vehicle has built up over the last 5 decades, each load bed dent has a reason for being there, given that they're purely cosmetic and all very small, I kept them as they belong to the van.

The van bodyshell was also acid dipped to remove any rust in the box sections, it was also E-Coated to give the van a level of protection seen on modern vehicles, this is a unique feature of this van. E-Coating is similar to acid dipping in that the whole shell gets submerged in the solution, it is then electrically applied to the fresh steel to ensure a good bond. One of the biggest benefits of having the bodyshell E-Coated after the acid dip is that it will drive out any remaining acid near the seams so that they wont split apart down the line. The company I trusted this job with is Envirostrip GB, the same folks that CAR SOS use for their TV show, they use a much less aggressive acid which wont continue to eat at the steel now it's been neutralised. The shell should therefore remain rust free for years to come!

The engine is a 1098cc unit which has a bit more get up and go than it's 850cc counterpart, however visually they look nearly identical as they are both small bore units, this retains a very standard look. It has been fully rebuilt with new: piston rings, main bearings, big end bearings, duplex timing gear, clutch assembly, resurfaced crankshaft, alternator, water pump, radiator, thermostat, the bores have been honed and the pistons cleaned and like new. The cylinder head has also been worked on with a light skim, new valve springs and a full set of valve stem oil seals. I also fitted a full Accuspark Electronic ignition kit to the engine, I've used these kits on all the cars I've worked on or owned in the past as I have been very impressed with their reliability, the unit on this van then is no exception. The carburettor has also been vapour blasted and fully rebuilt using a genuine SU kit (another large expense!). Once I had the engine running for the first time, I took the van to Alan Jefferies at the Enginetuner, Plymouth to set the engine up correctly, it is without question one of the smoothest running A series engines I've ever heard. It also goes without saying that both the engine and gearbox have been reassembled with all new seals and gaskets. The gearbox is as smooth as the engine which pulls strongly through all the gears. Exactly what you'd expect from a new engine.

The suspension is nice and tight with no knocks or noises, with all new bushings and bearings and refurbished swinging arms, the van grips the road very well. The steering is also direct and theres no play in anything. Both the subframes were blasted and powder-coated in gloss black, along with the top arms, bottom arms, tie bars and rear radius arms. Everything underneath as as nicely presented as the outside.

The interior is also all brand new, the seat frames were blasted and powder-coated, I then fitted new diaphragms, new seat foams, new seat covers, new door cards, dash cards, headliner and carpets. The van also has the correct non-adjustable passenger seat as fitted to all Mini commercials, a little detail that took a while to find.

Essentially what I have here is a brand new 1976 Mini Van, hence the asking price. There isn’t a single spot of rust on this vehicle, which is a big claim for any classic car, especially a mini! I have just done 500 miles to 'run the engine in' properly as to ensure its longevity. I can confidently say those miles were absolutely faultless.

I am more than happy to send through any of the nearly 1200 photos of the restoration, videos of the engine running etc.