We invited The Pantagraph to a recent Motoring Monday meeting in advance of our Champagne British Car Festival Weekend.
Click Here for a link to their full article. Here are a few excerpts from that article:
Cheers! Paddy's Garage reinvented itself in 2023. What started as a way to document our Classic Mini adventure back in 2014, has now grown to include two 1959 Austin-Healey "Bugeye" Sprites. You'll now find a mixture of service tips, club and car show events, and a bunch of miscellaneous information that I find interesting . . .and hope you do too. Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook
We invited The Pantagraph to a recent Motoring Monday meeting in advance of our Champagne British Car Festival Weekend.
Click Here for a link to their full article. Here are a few excerpts from that article:
Posted at 12:19 PM in Shows, Events and Travel, This Week in Paddy's Garage | Permalink | Comments (0)
The long-awaited Classic Mini United (CMU) is finally upon us! CMU is sponsored by Mini Sport USA and held at various Southeast locations every 18 months. This year’s event (CMU66) takes advantage of the fantastic twisty roads near Gatlinburg, TN, and the Great Smoky Mountains.
Preparing for a week-long driving event differs from heading out for a one-day show. The checklist includes: Charging the battery, checking ALL fluids and grease fittings, adjusting brakes, and testing ALL electrical switches and components. This will be the first-of-the-season event for Paddy, so a shakedown road test was in order.
Gatlinburg is about a ten-hour trip from our home in Central Illinois by highway in a modern car. Paddy (our 1973 Mini Cooper S tribute) will be hitching a ride south behind our 2004 MINI Cooper S. The “Paddy Wagon” is an EZE-TOW disc brake tow dolly mated to a MINI FINI Sport Link hitch system.
Loaded up and strapped down, Paddy is ready for the open road! As most owners of classic British cars know, our LBCs draw lots of attention. Now, imagine a classic Mini being towed by a MINI! Waves, thumbs-ups, video being shot by passing vehicles, and of course, the 20-minute gas station “car shows”.
On this trip, one of our highlights was being practically blocked into a parking spot by an ex-Brit who was truly ecstatic about spotting Paddy. He pulled alongside us, rolled down his window, and in a lovely British accent said, “I used to race Minis back in Donington Park!” That was the start of a great walk down memory lane for Graham! After about 15 minutes, we exchanged contact info and promised to get in touch.
Arrival at our second home in Gatlinburg means locating a level spot to unload the Mini and get settled in for the upcoming week. Just for this week, our vacation home, The Bear’s Den, will be known as the “Paddy Shack”. It’s a cool and drizzly day, but lots of warm friends and scattered twisty roads are predicted for the rest of the week!
Registration at the Gatlinburg East KOA campground on Wednesday night was a blast as dozens and dozens of classic Minis began arriving and old friends got reacquainted. We
picked up our registration packets, containing instructions and maps for the daily drives, and then scanned the “Merch Table” for that much-coveted CMU logo stuff. We also made sure to drop off our Silent Auction donation of a center-binnacle Mini Speedometer. All proceeds of the Silent Auction go towards keeping the costs down for future CMU events.
CMU is a 90% “Driving” event, making it unique in the “Mini-Scene”. Thursday morning, Mini drivers are snapped awake by Mike Guido’s shouts of DRIVER’S MEETING!! We were given group driving instructions and our schedule for the day, which included the Group Photo on our way to the Tail of the Dragon in North Carolina. Later that evening, following the drives, we gathered back together for an Ice Cream Run and a good night’s rest.
After each daily Driver’s Meeting and before we’re released to get in our cars, Mike always asks, “Does anyone need a ride”? If, for any reason, a participant does not have a running classic Mini, they can still count on being part of every drive. The group won’t leave until EVERYONE has a ride. My first ride in a classic Mini was at a CMU event during The Mitty at Road Atlanta, so this offer has always be
en important to me.
Friday is the busiest day of the weekend. It started with a drive dubbed “The Roller Coaster” and is only a few miles from the KOA. It’s a dead-end road, which we can control “one-way traffic”, ensuring maximum safety and FUN! As with all of our drives, the participants are divided into Spirited and Touring groups. After running The Roller Coaster both ways, we continue on scenic roads to Newport, TN, for a lunch break and the start of the CMU Scavenger Hunt. Folks new to CMU events will be treated to a scavenger hunt unlike any event worldwide! The winner will win $50 off their next event registration and the glory of being the 2025 champions
We begin preparing for the Friday Night Party at the KOA pavilion. The Beer Tasting area, Silent Auction, and Boot Sale areas are now open for business. The majority of people bring something for the Silent Auction. It can be Mini-related or anything that you think someone would like. At the same time, those of us with new and used items for the Swap Meet were hawking our wares. I managed to sell a new set of Mini front hub assemblies, which helped fund my Silent Auction purchases. Win-Win!!
Participants are encouraged to come dressed to Friday night’s party in "fancy dress". That is a UK term that pretty much means anything goes. It's kind of like Halloween without the scary part. Judging for the Best Costume, with a $150 Gift Certificate from Mini Sport, followed the evening’s buffet dinner.
Those who wanted to compete in the Hot Wheels “Fun” class races picked out a racer during Registration and cheered it on Friday night. Hot Wheel racing awards were presented to the winners of the Pro and Fun classes following dinner.
The final drive of the weekend was a 159-mile trek including The Rattler 209. The Rattler 209, located just outside Hot Springs, NC, features over 234 twists, turns, and curves from Lake Junaluska to Hot Springs. Traveling through the Pisgah National Forest and over the Great Smoky Mountains, Hwy 209 "The Rattler", offers some of the most attention-demanding but beautiful driving we experienced. To catch our breath and stretch our legs, a long stop for lunch at Dave’s 209 was a welcome respite.
The weekend concluded Saturday night with a Goodbye Bonfire, s'mores, and stories at the KOA pavilion.
Posted at 06:10 PM in Classic Mini, CMU - Classic Minis United, MINIs On The Dragon, Photos | Permalink | Comments (0)
Renovation “Scope Creep” or While I’m there . . .
By Brian Davis
It’s been about a year and a half since I bought a second Austin-Healey “Bugeye” Sprite on a whim. Another Club member had arranged to look at the Sprite and I went along as a Technical Advisor. After putting a deposit down, he had second thoughts and wondered if I’d be interested. It was a “non-runner”, but from my cursory inspection, I felt like the previously agreed price was reasonable and that it would be a good candidate for restoration.
Fast forward, Scarlet, my 1959 Austin-Healey “Bugeye” Sprite Mk1 spent the next twelve months undergoing extensive mechanical restoration, including: suspension, brakes, carburetors and more. By June of this year, she was running and driving for the first time in 4-years! I was overjoyed. We had spent almost every day together and a bond had been created. Over the next few weeks, we took increasingly longer local “shake-down” trips around town.
It was at this point I discovered two MORE issues! Chronic low oil pressure and a noisy transmission. My original dream of inexpensively turning this “Barn Find” into a reliable British sports car was quickly coming into question. I had fallen in love with this lovable Bugeye Sprite . . . but at what cost?
In my enthusiasm, had I fallen prey to the very common mistake of underestimating the potential problem areas and what it would take to correct them? Had my original restoration “Scope of Work” just expanded beyond my budget and technical know-how?
My overriding “Scope of Work” goals were to respect the originality of Scarlet, to ensure that she was safe, reliable and as much as possible, do all of the work myself. This was to be a budget-friendly learning project.
My friends all know that I’m a List Maker. My garage door has been lined with erasable white-board material. At each stage of my project, I list what I’m trying to achieve and check off items as they’re completed. This helps me stay focused and on-task. Hopefully this process will serve me well as I move into this next stage of restoration.
My first step was to consult with friends, experts, forums and manuals in search of what was causing my chronic low oil pressure. After eliminating all of the “least invasive” causes, I resigned myself to the fact that most likely the crankshaft and rod bearings were failing. The engine and transmission had to come out.
Ask for help!
One of the BEST parts of belonging to a Car Club is the ability to draw on local member expertise and their willingness to share equipment. Keeping in mind, this is a “Budget-Friendly” build.
If you go on Facebook Marketplace, you can always find a half-dozen engine hoists and stands. The reason is most only pull and rebuild an engine once and then no longer need them. By borrowing specialized tools and equipment, I easily saved $200+ on buying “used” equipment.
I saw on YouTube …
Over the years I’ve tackled many minor and major mechanical jobs on a variety of British cars but I’ve never tackled pulling an engine and then completely tearing it down to it’s bare bones. It was time to become a “YouTube Certified Mechanic”!
In this and most of life, knowledge is one’s greatest asset. I own a variety of factory and 3rd party repair manuals, but there is really no substitute for having a hands-on tutorial.
One word of caution. YouTube expert’s opinions vary just as much as we find in online forums. I needed to watch as many tutorials on my specific task as I could find. THEN I would be knowledgeable enough to choose the best-practice for my skill-level and project.
While I’m there . . .
I’m BIG on taking pictures and recording my step-by-step progress as I tear into new projects. This habit can save me costly mistakes by reinforcing what I’ve learned.
At this stage I also take time to set up a “clean area” table for my bagged & tagged parts, accessories, and large parts. I don’t want to misplace parts and then needlessly have to purchase replacements.
While on this topic . . .This is also a good point to take inventory of parts that I ALREADY have. One of my biggest savings is to use existing parts (gaskets, hardware, chemicals) and components.
When I bought my first Bugeye, the previous owner passed on all of the associated parts. Things like a completely reconditioned head, head and engine gasket sets and other associated bits & bobs. Combined, these will save me $100’s of dollars in machining, parts, and shipping costs.
I should order XYZ, just in case …
Curb that urge to start ordering parts! It’s easy to waste money on unneeded parts that will never be installed or were purchased in excess. It’s OK to open a “Shopping Cart” with your parts supplier, just resist clicking the Order button.
In my build I decided to have a professional machine shop do the final stages of removing the crankshaft and pistons from the short-block. There’s no sense in ordering rings, bearings, etc. until I KNOW what the final clearances will be.
The machine shop’s backlog means that I have plenty of time to use my “Shopping Cart” to add known replacement parts for worn components. This will include items like a worn timing chain and cogs, bushings and lock tabs. “Shop twice . . order once” and you’ll save $100+ in shipping alone.
“I might just as well” OR I should “Upgrade”
This can be one of the biggest pitfalls in any project! Remember my original “Scope of Work”?
“ . . .respect the originality of Scarlet, to ensure that she was safe, reliable and as much as possible, do all of the work myself. This was to be a budget-friendly learning project.”
There are so many “Budget-Busting” latest-technology, performance parts and tools available today. Are those REALLY better? Are they needed?
For my project there have been many examples where significant savings can be had. For example, the simple throw out bearing. Today we have the option of replacing the much disparaged “carbon” disc release bearing in favor of the more modern roller or ball bearing design. Is the modern bearing a better and longer lasting design? Probably. Is it significantly more expensive? For sure. For Scarlet the modern bearing is approximately 10x more expensive! ($170 vs $17).
Dual timing chains, modern rear main seal kits, roller rocker kits, front crank pulley vibration damper, and the list of “Upgrades” goes on and on.
Here’s my personal “Should I Upgrade?” question. Within my Scope of Work am I building a performance car or am I restoring a limited use “week-end” driver? Will adding a $1000 worth of upgrades ever be realized in performance or longevity during it’s 500-1000 miles per year lifetime?
My Conclusion
I don’t want to skimp on quality parts or expert opinions, but I believe I can steer my project car towards success without breaking the bank by avoiding these common mistakes:
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