81 replies to this topic

[brandon7]

this took a while. chopped these arches up alot to make them fit my wheels right. they used to be migila arches. off to prep and paint next week once the kit is out so more to come soon.

[brandon7]

Bit of a set back yesterday. My shell and frame have no been separated again with holes all drilled, measurements taken for arches to fitting of the bulkhead etc so as soon as its sprayed up its ready for straight fitting.

Had message on answer machine saying I need to go down to speak with the guy who's doing my prep and paint.
Turns out under my primed paint, moisture has been collecting as some of the panels were replaced by the previous owner and he used un-origonal mini parts or the factory primer was removed at some point. The shell is solid but its now covered with what in the trade the call 'spiders'. Tiny surface rust spots which have small wiggly lines coming out of them where the rust is spreading. Im having to get up there and help him take the car all the way back to bare metal now.
On the upside there will not be a speck of rust on my car when its done and I know it will be a good job as this bloke is a top guy for the job.

So if on your project you suspect any rust under the paint remember its a mini and they love rusting, take no risks in painting over it. The true extent to this surface rust was not noticeable until we started sanding down primer. If you have a car in primer make sure its in a very dry environment or be prepared for extra work. Here are some pics of rust discovery and stripping and some bodywork
Cheers
Mark

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Edited by brandon7, 19 February 2009 - 11:02 PM.

[cptkirk]

bummer.....best of luck with getting it stripped back, bet thats labour intensive.....

[brandon7]

Whole car now back to bare metal and all sorted properly and very glad I did. Including the whole of the inside and outside and underneath. (Pics for all of it) Car in etched primer now just waiting for my sill to replace sort out he nasty hole you can see, test fit the doors, tidy my arch cuts and test fit arches. Speaking of doors got my street fighter aluminum doors in the week. They look awesome, seems a shame to paint them.

Removal of the kit has been 1 step back but will hopefully put us two steps forward. But I have really dug deep and sorted this shell out and am cutting no corners with the finish
Decided to prep it then 2 pac primer then paint the inside in (satin black), and spray the engine bay in its outside gloss black then refit the kit with etc.
This way if someone scratches it on refitting its not the end of the world then once its rolling again have it painted black before the bast*rd rusts again!

Here are some few pics off my phone of the fabrication and body prep. Pics cant explain how many hours over weeks me and the welder guy have spend on this. Choose yours shells wisely future buyers.

You can see the removable rear valance which looks great with exhaust cut all measured out. flush locks all fitted and most of the car ready for primer next week. also the transmission tunnel cut for the floor bar has been sorted. As well as a large cut where the steering column comes through as its hard to predict its position as it attached to the front frame rather than the car, and a plate will be fitted after. More to come soon
Cheers

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Edited by brandon7, 19 February 2009 - 11:11 PM.

[brandon7]

Working on car all weekend. While I was getting on with sorting the floor out on the inside the guy who does my welding was doing an engine swap on his OMS and the dimensions look very similar.

Cool pic I thought

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Edited by brandon7, 19 February 2009 - 11:07 PM.

[cptkirk]

Why not chop the floor out the mini and drop it onto the OMS, you should only need 2 foot wide arches to cover the wheels.....ha ha.....

[brandon7]

Last day of prep tomorrow few very minor bits left before primer next week. All the arches fitted now, wasnt as bad as I expected it to be. Tidied my original grinder cuts on wheel arch with large snips.
Fitted all door latches and adjust the seals so they close perfectly. Worth doing before its primed as you need to bash the frame a bit and but of door bending here and there.

The repair on quater panel and sill went ok but badly pressed panels don't make life any easier thats for sure!. This should be the last pics of my shell like this, time for some colour!

Shows brackets for miglia arches without having to screw through them. These arches needed alot of work before painting. Very cracked on the edges

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Time for primer now. Arches test fitted.... And the rest (EDIT: Also shows Minidoor company Streetfighter doors. V light!)

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Edited by brandon7, 26 February 2009 - 08:58 PM.

[cptkirk]

Looking good - cant wait to see what colour you decide to go with.

[brandon7]

Dropped it off today at spray shop for its 2 pac primer and satin black on inside. Picking it up Wed or Thursday for kit refitting this weekend if all goes to plan....

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[philly c]

LOOKING GOOD ITS WELL ABOUYT TIME I ADDED SOME MORE PICS OF MY PROGRESS!!!!HOW HAVE YOU ADDACHED YOUR REAR VALANCE?IS IT REMOVABLE AND DONT SUPPOSE YOU WOULD MIND GOIGN TO THE TRUBBLE OF TAKING A PIC??

[brandon7]

LOOKING GOOD ITS WELL ABOUYT TIME I ADDED SOME MORE PICS OF MY PROGRESS!!!!HOW HAVE YOU ADDACHED YOUR REAR VALANCE?IS IT REMOVABLE AND DONT SUPPOSE YOU WOULD MIND GOIGN TO THE TRUBBLE OF TAKING A PIC??

Hi phil hope these help ill get you some fresh pics when the kit is back in and once its painted, as at the moment its in pieces but you should be able to see from this. The best thing to do would be to reattach a lip to the outside on the shell and then bolt a normal valance up to that and just stick on a normal mini bumber to hide the join. For some reason i was tempted to do this and I think it looks cool. Looking forward to seeing how its looks when its painted.

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Car back from primer today and refitting the kit will get pics up Sunday night. so check it out

Cheers

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

looks good be great to see this one finished are you reallyjuts droppin the shell on a kit car lol good idea

[brandon7]

So had the car back from first paint job Friday. Inside is painted black and the outside just primer so we can get on with most work without worrying about scratching. Managed to get a full days work on it today.

Started out by sound insulating the roof with Dynamat extreme. Such easy stuff to work with and got it done in about an hour or so with a wooden roller i bought for £3.40 at small decorating shop. Better than Dynamat's £13 quid one with super rubber handle... load of boll*cks
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Once that was done I wanted to get the black roof lining in which we used spray adhesive to get on, starting at one end and working back leaving edges to tuck into the gutters. It looks amazing and it was important to get this done before the kit was refitted for obvious reasons.
I forgot to take a picture of this so ill get one up when I next go to my lockup.

Then got the front frame bolted back up, before I had a bunch of people arrive to help refit the rear frame. After it was in, got a few main bolts in and rolled it out into the sun for a few pics quick before it went down.
In the end got most of the bolts into pre-drilled holes from last time. Just need to sort it and get it properly lined up next week. As well as sorting the steering rack position, floor bar etc.

Happy its all back in now, I don't think these pictures do the car justice at all and it just looks incredible when its in front of you compared to the last time I had it in (even in mat grey). A good days work! Cheers

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Edited by brandon7, 10 March 2009 - 12:14 AM.

[philly c]

Those pics are great i take it that you are going for the smoothy boot look then??i dont no if i want to go for the smoothey boot look or keep the rear bumper with a chrome rail still??

i do like the smoothey boot though although there wont ever really be a smooth look at the joint line will always be there??

Phil

[brandon7]

Yeah Ive always liked the smoothy boot look so I thought id try something different. Basically to keep a bumper is ALOT less hassle just need to add a lip to the outside.

The join will always be there but I don't think you will really notice it once its all painted. Have a look at the pics above, gives you an idea of how it will look.

Get some more pictures of your build up. This forum has gone quiet!