Austin7 MK1 Mini, BMC, Longbridge Production line Documentary 1959

[@SidewaysStew]

My minis rust was always in good condition.. ;)

[@ToddDunning]

Splendid little vid and quite informative

[@nygelmiller5293]

Fascinating!

[@ef7480]

'...and a quick upward leverage force with a piece of scaffold bar under the doors to bend the A- pillar enough to make the doors shut correctly...'

[@ruskiryan2398]

My first Mini was a Mini !

[@nygelmiller5293]

Ruski Ryan : clever!

[@ravinperera4255]

Everyone one had a job and pride in what they did, a time where the car makers had identity, proud of their product and it wasn’t just about total profits

[@googlepixel9pro]

7 coats of paint and my mini still rusts!. Never mind, they tried

[@tuisitala9068]

My first car was a 14 year old 1959 Austin 7. I bought it for £25 and sold it for £10 a year later. No repairs apart from a scrap dealer door as the hinges just rusted away and a new hand brake cable which also succumbed.

[@padrejohnruffle]

Curious: They are all Mk1s Morris and Austin Minis, and all before the cut-away lower front scuttle. Yet there appears to be a Morris 1100 in one shot, so that didn't hit production until 1964.

[@alangowdy7558]

I think those are A40 Farinas which went on sale in 1958. They do look like 1100s from a distance.

[@saab9000black]

Just amazing!

[@paulrobinson3528]

2:38 This can't be 1959 as when they fit the floor to the front end, they fit it on top of the heel board. The early ones were not, they let a lot of water in!!

[@nygelmiller5293]

Really observant! I did know that, but didn't spot that in the film

[@paulrobinson3528]

@@nygelmiller5293 Thanks Nygel, i have a 62 Mini that i restoring so i pay more attention lol. I think this might be around 61ish due to the light coloured Speedo been fitted at 7:00

[@paulrobinson3528]

@@nygelmiller5293 10:05 also still fitting steel Suspension trumpets!

[@nygelmiller5293]

@@paulrobinson3528 still fitting steel suspension trumpets? What have they been made of subsequently?

[@paulrobinson3528]

@@nygelmiller5293 Up to about the Spring of 62 they were metal but were then made from alloy up to when production finished.

[@craig131076]

does anyone know the name of this film I am trying to get hold of it for my father

[@steven-vn9ui]

You can download youtube video's buddy. Google it, quit a few different ways, all easy enough

[@letsdiscussitoversometea8479]

It's not _quite_ the same tactile experience having a video on a digital format - through a download. Maybe his father likes to have footage from a more "established" format: DVD VHS Videodisc Reel to reel Maybe even - _official_ digits release. Something with a recognisable "paper trail" of production.

[@letsdiscussitoversometea8479]

_Digital_ release I meant to say 😠 Poxy auto correct.

[@kenh3344]

Get two phones. Play video. And film with the other? Close up

[@bobeden5027]

The rust proofing was not very effective hey? lost count of the number of rear sub frame mounting panels I replaced!

[@geofo60]

Bob Eden Me too, but they were a good little earner. I used to buy up Minis that failed their MOT on rusted rear panels for as little as £25, spend Sunday cutting out rot, welding in new metalwork. Clean them up, give them a polish & stick them in the local rag for £135.00, sell them all day. I remember having punters arguing with each other who was going to pay the most in order to drive the car home. Those were the days followed by 1100’s & 1300’s. Looking back they were fun cars but they were rust buckets as well.

[@nigelclark7360]

Same as me back panels and subframes,they rotted badly in the winter due to the salt laden roads and worse if you live in a coastal town, you got, salt in the air from the sea also.

[@bobeden5027]

@@geofo60 I really liked the Wolseley and Riley vanden plas variants, hey?

[@nygelmiller5293]

@@nigelclark7360 my friend, you really have very nearly mentioned EVERYTHING! There is one more thing though, that used to cause rust, as well as salt on the roads, and salt in the air, along the coast! Yes - that's right! I expect you've got it! (Can you guess what it is, yet?) MOUNTAINS! I explained to a friend when I lived in WALES, why people there should always buy second hand cars in ENGLAND. There are almost no mountains in ENGLAND, and we did learn in geography at school, that mountains "attract" damp and rain! This because they hold back , e.g. warm air, and if a gust of COLD air blows against this, it causes "condensation", which causes rain. I DID see more rusty cars, in WALES! So never buy cars at the coast, or in WALES!

[@markellis4229]

My mate has a 1275 gt mini and it’s still on its original body shell it was Ziebarted from the factory and it still like new and has done 6000 Miles

[@nygelmiller5293]

Are you SURE you mean 6000 miles? That's not very much. Come to think of it, I bought a 9 year old Allegro that wad had ziebart, and sold it almost rust- free, when it was 21 years old!

[@markellis4229]

@@nygelmiller5293 Definitely that milage 👍

[@KlunkerRider]

And the whole British auto industry all went so horribly wrong under BL.

[@ryanthompson2893]

You can thank the liberals for that… it’s amazing what they can screw up.

[@BNCA70]

Hang on a minute! 4'30": they rust-proofed it? Didn't think they bothered.

[@profmartin1967]

And not a robot in sight.

[@nygelmiller5293]

Although there's not a robot in sight, it,'s impressive that another of these films "BUILDING CARS.SECRETS OF THE ASSEMBLY LINE , EPISODE 1 BBC2 " claims that a new Mini wad completed EVERY 68 SECONDS Impressive, until you hear there was a meter at the Motor Show counting seconds.there wad a sign saying "Every 6 seconds a new Volkswagen rolls off the production line!". THAT must have been ALL robots!

[@ruskiryan2398]

That rust preventing bath didn't work!

[@Bunce1949]

I loved my mini, but so many design faults! Putting the distributor at the front of the engine, so it got soaked the first big puddle you went through. Those early sliding windows, so all you needed to break in to the car was a 12" ruler to slide between the panes of glass, to put your hand in and open the doors. Lost a camera and stuff in London due to that stupid idea.. Rust proofing that didn't. Seats you couldn't adjust other than forward or backwards, and I'm sure there were other issues as well. Having said all that, a remarkable design for its time that is still in production (in spirit) by BMW to this day.

[@nigelclark7360]

A cheap little car .

[@nygelmiller5293]

I had the ESTATE car. This of course needed some of lock on the sliding windows, but apart from that, was the BEST VENTILATED car I ever had.I t was possible to slightly open the window right at the front, and the also sliding window right at the back of the luggage compartment. "Through -flow" ventilation!

[@kenh3344]

Well we got wd40 now?? Just spray distributor? And plug leads?

[@bigvinny333]

I put a marigold type yellow washing up glove over the distributor at the front of the engine. One lead through each finger with a tie. Worked at treat on the Mini and Early Metro. I learned the hard way after coonking out after going through modest food!

[@mabisfab77paintball]

wish the mini had followed like landrover body panels /wings was made of ally yeah wish more land rovers parts was but least never look rusty wish i could rebuild mini in ally or titanium ally just something lighter stronger that dont rust be nice

[@nygelmiller5293]

It would not be necessary today, when manufacturers use galvanised steel anyway. BUT often only on outer panels, so they could be seriously rusty in hidden places! BUT since the mid 80's AUDI & PORSCHE have used galvanised metal THROUGHOUT. So if you buy a second hand car make sure it is one of these, for safety!

[@doodemog]

Then again most cars in them days rusted, Vauxhall Viva was a rust bucket as well

[@nigelclark7360]

Ford's were Dagenham dustbins.

[@nygelmiller5293]

@@nigelclark7360 apparently Ford's DIDN'T dip their cars, and where the spraying didn't reach got no protection at all!

[@bebobism]

Ah . . . the British rust proofing , hilarious . . . if you didn't buy one ! 😏

[@doodemog]

My mini was mostly rust 😆

[@firstnamesecondname5341]

Epic video, they looked so smart but what a dreary depressing looking production line, so dark, noisy and just yuck 😬 Hats off to the men and women whom worked these lines, albeit if the cars where sadly less than great

[@matekochkoch]

In the 60th and 70th the steel on the international market was of such a bad quality and impurity that it rusted by it self under its rust prevention.

[@nygelmiller5293]

Wouldn't surprise me.

[@ryanthompson2893]

@@nygelmiller5293 back then Chrysler and Ford had horrendous rust issues due to a bad batch of carbon steel. Our 58 New Yorker was badly rusted in just 5 years! And our neighbors LTD was similarly rusted. Our trans am however lasted 15 years before if was off to the scrap heap. Not bad GM. A family friend of ours had a mini and he joked that “When is isn’t broken, it’s broken”. The thing was always a pos compared to American cars at the time. But I guess that’s like comparing apples to oranges.

[@nygelmiller5293]

I bought a chromed chain and fixing plate, to attach to my house door, so I could open the door partially without anyone being able to come in till I was sure who it was. From new, I could see the surface wasn't smooth.It must have been chromed over already rusty metal. And those metal grids you see on building sites, to re-inforce concrete, are left around to rust even before they ever go into the concrete!

[@matekochkoch]

@@nygelmiller5293Light rust on concrete reinforcement is no problem, since the chemistry of cement prevents further corrosion unless water comes in through cracks in the concrete. This works fine and there is a reason why coated reinforcement is banned by code.

[@nygelmiller5293]

@@matekochkoch okay, so the concrete should protect the metal inside unless there are cracks in the concrete, letting water enter. But WHAT THEN? SO why is there a rule to forbid the use of coated steel? Please explain.

[@secpac58chichi]

NASA should have such good camera quality - LOL MY Cataracts

[@nygelmiller5293]

Sarcasm is the BEST form of wit!