Definitely get in touch with Spank. He's been doing Minis for many years and knows the local scene! Everyone I met from San Diego was super nice when I flew through there many moons ago.

Great video. These guys are skilled fabricators. It would be very rare to find like minded friends to do this kind of work. It takes years to restore a mini.

It'll be one day at a time, for sure.

https://youtu.be/k4Jz5qnj5sU

I imagine it'll be something akin to this, and it's daunting for a goof ball like me.  I'll be leaning on friends and colleagues accomplished at this sort of stuff to guide me through the process.

If you are willing to learn and spend the time working on the car, I would suggest (as others suggested) getting a couple of manuals so that you get acquainted with the car and watch restorations videos from other people. There is plenty you can learn from (other people's mistakes).

Most of all, be patient as there will be a lot of frustrating moments in the restoration process. As a good friend of mine advised me, do something on the car each day to keep you motivated. From cleaning parts to welding.....that will give you a sense of progress and you will not be overwhelmed.

Anyway, show us your car as I am sure others here will be able to offer advise on areas of concern,
cheers,
Abel

YES Brand on eBay is pretty cheap $75 and works well. Proper name is hood not helmet. 

"auto darkening hood"

I'm assuming that's some sort of welding mask?

Do what you like to get started. Don't worry about the mechanicals for now. Keep the mini as a roller for as long as possible. Look at a couple of car restoration books to learn and get inspired. Start shopping for a mig and auto darkening hood and paddle style angle grinder.

The mechanicals are relatively easy to deal with, even compared to other classic cars. If you're not concerned about originality then it's even easier, since you can use the plentiful components from later Minis and even upgrade performance.

Minis are mechanically simple. Compared to restoring a badly decayed shell, child's play. And any work you can't do, there are plenty of professionals readily available to do the work, unlike Mini body shell repairs.

I have a few friends that could probably hand-hold me through the body repair/metal working.  That part I'm not intimidated by.  All the mechanical stuff and repairs that'll be necessary freaks me out a little.

I know a guy who learned how to do car body repairs from scratch without any formal training, so its probably doable for you too, especially if you have lots of time. You could also probably learn how to do mechanical repairs, as well, by trial and error . That's the way most of us here have done it.

Well...everything?  ;-)  If you assume it's a mini in about as bad shape as you've ever seen, but actually able to still roll on it's wheels, this one is basically that.

Thanks for the lead.

You really haven't told us what the problems are but you might want to contact "Spank" as he lives down there.

I live in SoCal (San Diego County) if that helps.

Through a weird twist of fate, the 1960 Morris Minor Mini 850 that I bought as a 15 year old in 1985 has come back into my possession.  Over 35 years later and I get to look fondly at the very first car I ever owned!

I get to look fondly at it for another reason... I'm not gonna be driving it.  The thing was a piece of junk when I was a kid and the decades since then haven't done it any favors.  It's currently not running and also has body rust issues.

So, easy question, what advice would you give to a mechanically incompetent idiot like me that would like to initiate a refurbishment?  I don't have the ability to bring it back to an honest stock restoration, but I am willing to make this a hobby for the next handful of years.

Kind of an open ended question, I'm sure there's a TON of information to consider that I'm wholly ignorant about, but what do y'all think in broad terms in order to put someone like me on the right path?