Paul Wiginton Classic Vehicles

31/10/2026

Mini 7 Repair.

A few hours overtime this morning got the 7 prepped ready for the new quarter panel, which needs modifying to suit the tubbed wheelarch.
It always amazes me how flimsy the sill & doorstep are, that a wheel can push it down and affect the gap along the bottom of the door so much, see pic 2.
I'll pull the gap back into place before I fit the new doorskin.

30/10/2026

1965 Cooper S Preservation Project.

I said yesterday that I was into repairing the bootfloor, I finished it today.
I cut away the rusted and holed metal, cleaned up the brackets, rust treated them, and sprayed them in weld through primer.
I made the new section for the floor in 2 halves to make things easier and welded it all in place.
There's a little bit of inner arch repair to do next week before moving forwards.
Last picture, I have a bit of overtime work for tomorrow morning. New quarter panel and door skin on this Mini 7.

Have a great Halloween weekend, will you be dressing up and partying?

29/10/2026

1965 Cooper S Preservation Project.

Now you'll see why it took a little while to locate the body correctly on the new floor and assembly jig yesterday.
It has had a bit of a bump in the back, distorting the parcel shelf and rear panel.
The shelf was an easy repair, sandwiching it between two chunks of wood to pull it back down flat. There were a few unwanted holes to fill in.
Below the bootlid was bad, and the original bootlid was badly twisted, so we have another lid for it.
A new section of rear panel is now fitted, a little bit of dent removal under the left hand tail lamp, and the bootlid fits perfect.
I'm into finishing off the boot floor repairs now, since I couldn't do all of it on the rollover jig because it bolts into the bits Im cutting off

28/10/2026

1965 Cooper S Preservation Project.

Back onto the Cooper S today. Not loads to show really, it was all about getting the body correctly located on the assembly jig, which proved tricky with the rear companion bins in place, but it is sitting perfect now and ready for spotwelding in the morning.
I started off with the rear seat overhang, cleaning up the repairs that I made last week before I put it onto the new floor. Fortunately, the rear bulkhead is perfect and needs no repairs.

27/10/2026

A couple.of jobs done today.

First, is this epic Mk3, a completely original and extremely low mileage car with a little dent in the front wing. Being so original, the owner wanted it knocked out and metal finished without the need for filler. He had roughed it out a little himself, then I finished roughing, stripped then paint, plannished it to shape, gently dressed out my hammer marks with a file, then sanded out the file marks.

Second, I needed to make some early welded construction rear radius arms into very early radius arms. We borrowed one to copy, and I replicated the brackets for the handbrake cable. You can see the difference in one of the pics. There is also a little lug behind the knuckle cup for the outer brake cable to locate, which I replicated by building the area up with mig weld, then shaping to suit and drilling then slotting it out. This is for the July '59 car that I previously restored.

Back onto the '65 Cooper S in the morning.

26/10/2026

I've been preparing panels for wigispares.co.uk to supply to a customer for his 1963 Cooper S.
All my usual corrections on the front panel including the indicator plinths, grille aperture, number plate brackets, full skirt valance, and deleting the cutouts on the bumper lip.
A little difference on this one, though, is the addition of an oil cooler modification.
A '63 car would have an optional vertical mounted oil cooler under the dynamo, but this is having the later style cooler.
Also, I filled in the cutouts in the front wings

26/10/2026

❤️🙏

Consistent support matters more than people realize. If someone keeps showing up for your work, appreciate them and never take it for granted. Keep going.

23/10/2026

Just a reminder that my diary is currently fully booked up and closed.

I'm getting multiple enquiries daily, and lots of people asking for advice. Please remember that I work alone and handle all my own admin, as well as all the restoration work.

I am trying to get the important emails answered, the estimates done for the project that are booked in, and keep up with the projects.

If you are still waiting for an estimate or reply, please bare with me, you haven't been forgotten, but with so many enquiries, some of the important stuff gets lost down the list in my inbox. I will get back to you.

Have a lovely weekend

22/10/2026

1965 Cooper S Preservation Project.

I finished off all the preparation underneath the Cooper S bodyshell today and fitted it onto the new floor on the jig.
It is just sitting on there currently. I'll carry on on Monday.
Tomorrow, I have a front panel and wings to do my usual preparation on to supply Wigispares.co.uk for a customer to fit himself.