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Car Forum / MINI / June 2006Reputable Restorers
I am looking to restore my Mini and have been looking at a number of companys. I've looked at MBM Bristol who have a decent website and from the pics the work looks good. This is, unfortunately, not matched by some of the comments I've seen posted in this group which are now making me think twice. Another firm I've looked at is Somerford. In terms of Engine / box I'm considering MED I've not noticed anything posted too recently about MBM and I'm still searching for comments about Somerford and MED. Would anyone be able to comment about these companys. If you would prefer not to post in public feel free to email me direct cwhellamsATyahoo.co.uk - replace AT with @. Cheers Chris Somerford have a good reputation but are very expensive, I got a quote off them for a restoration a few years ago & the price was about twice the price of a new body shell! Steve. >I am looking to restore my Mini and have been looking at a number of > companys. I've looked at MBM Bristol who have a decent website and from [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Cheers > Chris MBM Bristol closing down and selling the site for property development I believe > Somerford have a good reputation but are very expensive, I got a quote off > them for a restoration a few years ago & the price was about twice the [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >> Cheers >> Chris Well yes I've heard all kinds of horror stories about MBM of Bristol and I know their cowboys as they tried to rip off my niece a few years back, thank god she had sense to walk away. But yes Somerford have a great reputation (bit of a waiting list mind) as do MiniMachine:- http://www.m-machine.co.uk/ But I've also heard lots of nice things being said about "The Mini Hospital" of Northampton? I think, anyway I know a woman who takes her collection of rare Mini's there (she's had her 2 rare early 1960's Supers restored and their doing another one for her right now) and she absolutely swears by them. Taffy You could do it yourself... more of a challenge. Then you have only yourself to blame if it goes wrong :-) P Ha ha ! Yeah - I've been 'doing it myself' for the last 7yrs. When I was a student I was time rich, cash poor and spent every weekend under the bonnet. I'm now time poor and cash rich (we'll not by the time I finish paying for this thing) so if I wan't to actually use my car before I reach retirement age I have to admit defeat and farm most of the work out :( Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. MBM have a decent web site which drew me in - but I luckily decided to dig around in the news groups and found some horror stories. Somerford are currently taking bookings for March 2008 ! So, as many people have said, that speaks for itself I guess. rgds Chris > You could do it yourself... more of a challenge. Then you have only > yourself to blame if it goes wrong :-) > > P Cannot recommend MED enough. I gave them a box to recon as my 1380 had snapped the input gear shaft and munched it's input bearings etc. The box I received back from them was surgically clean and came back clingfilm wrapped to make sure it stayed that way. They also fitted me a twin-pin diff and 3.9CWP while the box was apart too for a good price. Centre oil pickup is included in the price. They stamp the casings so they know exactly whats been done if you ever have to take it back. After an initial rebuild, further rebuilds are much cheaper as they can be sure exactly whats works been done on it. If you are building a relatively std engine/box then an MED lump would probably last 75,000 easily - if serviced etc etc. As for bodywork I have heard somerfield are very good. Mini machine, darlington, are also quite good and supply many rare panels for estate's etc which are excellent quality/fit etc. hth Chris >I am looking to restore my Mini and have been looking at a number of > companys. I've looked at MBM Bristol who have a decent website and from [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Cheers > Chris Never be impressed by a flashy website alone, you need recommendations from people who have had work done for a real guide on where to spend your hard earned cash. I've seen so many programmes on the TV where people have used companies, because the website looked impressive and one was a specialist car engine repairer called "Engines Direct" if my memory serves me correct and yes nice website, but they totally xxxxed up everyones engines, or just stripped them down and then did nothing else! So be afraid, be very afraid. But yes all the Mini specialists mentioned here "except MBM of Bristol" of course, are top class outfits and i'd trust them. Taffy > Never be impressed by a flashy website alone, you need recommendations > from people who have had work done for a real guide on where to spend [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > everyones engines, or just stripped them down and then did nothing > else! Did they used to be called Heathrow Engine Centre ? If so they were the biggest cowboys on the planet ! Years back in my Grease Monkey days, we had a 'recon' 2.8 V6 Essex engine off them,(a tad off topic here but I'm sure some people have fitted them to minis)it looked really nice ! Unfortunately for us and the Capri owner they neglected to nitride the crankshaft after giving it a regrind ! Less than 5000 miles later the big ends and mains were completely shot. The car came back in obviously so I stripped it down to see the horrors within. A quick call to Heathrow Engine Centre and after telling the guy on the phone "it looks like the crank wasn't hardened after the regrind" the answer from him was "Who gave you permission to strip MY engine !" "OK I'll put YOUR engine back together, then can I have MY money back" resulted in threats from him of court action. He managed to shut up after telling him I'd very much like him to take us to court as it would save our garage a fortune in court costs :-) Jim > > Never be impressed by a flashy website alone, you need recommendations > > from people who have had work done for a real guide on where to spend [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Jim Hi, Also somewhat off topic, but illustrates a point. Some years ago I applied for a job in a gearbox "specialist" compny here in Southampton. I got the job and then discovered that all they did to the customer's gearbox, was to strip it down and replace any worn parts with used parts from the pile of old gearboxes they kept. Needless to say I did not actually start the job. keith > Hi, Also somewhat off topic, but illustrates a point. > Some years ago I applied for a job in a gearbox "specialist" compny here in [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > keith Thats because you were under qualified. Go back to your toys. Don't know if they were called "Heathrow Engine Centre" before, but I believe they had changed names previously, which is something these dodgy companies do and then rip-off the unsuspecting public. Taffy I thought MBM had gone under? according to an article in Miniworld or Mini Magazine, I could be wrong..... >I am looking to restore my Mini and have been looking at a number of > companys. I've looked at MBM Bristol who have a decent website and from [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Cheers > Chris Yeah I heard that too and the owner claimed he was going into the building trade, so god knows what state the houses he builds will be in! So yes don't buy a house from him for god sake! Taffy I spoke to them (MBM) last week and they were still open for business. The website thing is right - hence the fact I posted here to ask some questions. I just had a feeling when I phoned up that something wasn't right. Ironically Somerford's site is awful - but they seem to come top of the list for many people where it counts - quality of work, albeit at a price and a long wait. The MED site is very nice - although a bit light on real content. ...and thanks for the comments about MED, I will def. be using them for engine / box after speaking to them on the phone and getting a good feeling and also based on numerous comments here and on a few other sites. thanks to all of you who have posted. Rgds Chris |
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