Lifelong Mini fan Keith Miller runs YouTube channel Classic Mini Workshop as a hobby. In 2019 he set himself a challenge to restore a Rover Mini on a budget and document it for his viewers. He started his career as a mechanic and had welded patch repairs before but had never replaced panels. “I’ve owned lots and lots of Minis but I’d never done a full restoration. They’ve always been rolling restorations and I’ve done bits as I went along. I wanted the challenge of buying a cheap project car in need of restoration, do it up and sell it on.”
He came up with a plan. “The main aim of doing the restoration was to save a Mini that was pretty much destined for the scrapyard.” He also wanted a Mini that was in original specification. “One that literally looked like it had just driven out of a Rover dealership so it had to be as original as it could be, with an original radio and all original components. So many Minis are modified and it’s nice to see a completely standard car.”
He started searching for a suitable project on eBay and found a non-Sport-Pack 1997 Rover Mini Cooper in 2019. “I made a bid at the last moment but lost out so I messaged the person selling it
