13 replies to this topic

[Steve McMaster]

Hi All..

Looking for a little advice please.

I am starting a light refurb on my 98 sportspack (A panels, some sill welding, a general spruce up etc.) and at the same time would like to convert the car to a MK1 look. List of tasks as follows:

1) Mk1 Bonnet / Grille with moustache
2) External door hinges / mock external door hinges
3) Mk1 Rear lights (probably Weld in Panels as I dont fance doing a complete rear Panel)
4) Overrider and conerbars
5) Centre Binical (sp?) dash
6) Front seats (not sure which ones, but change the standard SPack leather items to more period jobs).
7) Sliding Windows

So - my questions are as follows

1) Is there anywhere that will do a Glassfibre door for a SP shell which can be converted, comes with external hinges? If it is sliding window ready then even better!!!
2) Anywhere that does a Centre Binical conversion and any recomendations on Binicals?
3) Any recomendations on seats?
4) Any other observations / comments etc gratefuly recieved!!!!!

Once I have started (Dec / Jan hopefully) I will start posting some pics og progress...

Thanks ever so much in advance
Steve

[1984mini25]

1) Is there anywhere that will do a Glassfibre door for a SP shell which can be converted, comes with external hinges? If it is sliding window ready then even better!!!

Personally I would bother with fibreglass doors, if you are after light doors and your budget allows i would go with these....http://www.minidoor....eetfighter.html

If not it’s perfectly possible to convert the original doors if in good condition or have been repaired to a high standard, whitch is what i have done with a pair of replacment 2nd hand doors as my originals were past saving.

As for how I’ve converted mine to external hinges and the addition of sliding windows I’ll get back to it a short while, as I scan in the mini mag issue with the hinge conversation in.

[Steve McMaster]

Karl,

Many Thanks - much appreciated...

Regards

Steve

[1984mini25]

This is the mini mag article…
How 2 fit Mk1 door hinges to a Mk3 mini

To do this conversion to mine has cost me in about £100 in parts, £35 for the Hadrian non-genuine mk1 inner a panels with the reinforcing brackets attached, £6 for a pair of non-gen mk3 a panels and £60+ on a set of second hand refurbished hinges. New ones are quite expensive, but I would advise against the nasty brass hinges, as I have found out personally there not very good and have since bought some steel ones, which are much better and look like they will last.

For the window conversion (about the same amount again) but some of the parts are harder to find as you need the mk1 sliding window runners, I was lucky enough to find a decent pair at a show for £15. Some W -shaped felt window channel, the bottom rigid part wasn’t available when I was looking so used this instead but seams to have worked, again I picked up a roll of 5 meters which is enough to do both doors and have some left over from a show for £20 (I can’t remember the stand although I know pheonixminitrim.com do it)
A selection of mk1 window catches (all 4 are different) I was lucky again on this one as I found a box full of catches and bought a mix of about 10 good/not so good ones that just needed a clean up for £6, normally there about £5 each new.
And lastly the replacement glass/plastic windows, which I’m making from a 4mm sheet of polycarbonate for £50.

As for modifying the doors, first you need to strip out the glass and old winder regulator the carefully cut a slot at each end of the inner door panel which the inner chrome strip clipped onto with a dermal or similar. This is to allow the upper lip to be beaten and flattened over with the help of a block of wood up inside the door and a hammer to give something for the metal runners to sit and be screwed to. This took quite a bit of skill to get right as to not to damage the top of inner skin and to get the runner to fit, some careful filing of the ends and corners of the door was needed for a snug fit and then temporarily fixing it in place with some double sided tape.

Then it’s just a case of trimming and fitting the w-shaped felt channel to fit the channel in the doorframe and metal runner and some careful measuring/using the old glass a guide for making up some templates for the windows before making them out of Perspex/polycarbonate.

And for the real fun, getting the windows and bottom channel fixed in place, like so…
Rest the bottom felt channel on the slider channel then rest both pieces of glass on that. Remember that the front glass goes in the outer channel, rear glass in the inner as viewed from inside the car.
Guide the glass into the channel fitted to the top of the door and slide the assembly into place.
Use a centre punch to make marks through the felt channels into the slider channel. You want to make these punch marks on the "inside" channel for the front of the chrome strip and on the "outside" channel towards the rear of the chrome strip. (Why will become apparent later).

Remove the slider channel, bottom channel and windows again and offer up slider channel back to the door and drill through where you made the centre punch marks. Punch larger holes through the bottom felt channel at these points for screw clearance.
Now you can re-fit the windows to the felt/ slider channel and then offer up to the door like before and then secure in place with some screws, preferably countersunk ones so the windows can slide over the heads.
And then it’s just a case of offering up were the catches go on the slider and making/drilling the holes need in the windows before repeating the hole process on the other side.

Edited by 1984mini25, 09 June 2009 - 03:48 PM.

[who_loves_the_mini?]

Are you going to be selling your sportspack bits, wheels etc, as I would be interested in them.

[Steve McMaster]

Karl,

That is fantastic - I cant thank you enough....

Going back to your previous post, I am VERY taken with the aluminium doors!!! Just need to sell my granny to pay for them.

As I said, once I have started, I will start posting some pics...

Many Thanks again
Steve

[Steve McMaster]

Hi Who_Loves..

Will probably be getting rid of the Arches, Grille, front seats, Dash etc. It is currently on 13/7 Silver ultralites and I think I will be putting it back onto 10"s, so a set of wheels and a front drive set-up will be available at some point..

Will keep you posted on progress.

Cheers
Steve

[ferrit]

Have a look at Minispares they do a conversion set for the 8.4" disk brakes that allows you to retain the drive assembly. It basically consists of a conversion plate, 7.5" disks, new calipers, pads etc. Everything thats needed to get running on 10"s baring the wheels saving no end of agro.

[Steve McMaster]

Ferrit,

Genius - thanks a lot...

Do you know if the Sportspack front wings are factory modified to accept the larger 13" wheels?

On all of the 10"/12" to 13" conversion guides, I have seen that the arches require modification to avoid fouling the wider wheels, so was wondering if I needed to replace the wings as well to regain the original arch size and avoid the 10" wheels looking lost in the arch?

Thanks again...
Steve

[ferrit]

If its a kosher Sportspack conversion the wings will have been trimmed to accomodate the 13" wheels. Stick your hand up inside the wheel arch and if the wings are still the originals you will feel a stiffening plate running around the radius of the arch. If thats there the arches will definatley have been trimmed to suit. I dont know what they look like with the arches removed as I have never needed to take mine off. I cannot recall if you intended on running archless or not. If not just go for an arch that will follow the original Sportpack arch line. If you want the archless look you may have to stick some new wings on to retain the proper wheel arch profile.

Hope that makes sense, it does to me but then I did write it

[ferrit]

With regard to the centre binacle set up I know that Minispare, Moss and W&P all do conversion kits to centre speedo set ups. You can buy the kit or put it together yourself.

You will need a conversion loom that fixes to your exisiting insturmentaion loom and adapts it to proves the necesrry connections for the centre binacle.

You will also need a new speedo cable as the 3 clock set up infront of the steering wheel is different to the Smiths 100mm speedo.

The clocks and binacles can be bought "new to you" off fleabay relativley cheaply. Or if your after something a bit more swish new ones can be bought from all the aformentioned supplies (and countless others). I went for all new magnolia ones with no mileage on the odometer

[Steve McMaster]

Ferrit..

Top man RE the minispares 10" conversion kit...

As for the Arches - I am thinking of going for the Black "works" arches that are on Minispares. The car is a 98 sportspack so cam from the factory with the Sportspack arches, so I am assuming that the bracing et all is all there. Will have to see what the arches look like on with some 10" wheels and take it from there.....

Thanks again all for all your advice..

Steve

[gav]

The wings will definately be modified if you have those wheels fitted, not sure what you mean by conversion plate, there is no conversion plate in the 12 to 10 conversion.

[ferrit]

The wings will definately be modified if you have those wheels fitted, not sure what you mean by conversion plate, there is no conversion plate in the 12 to 10 conversion.

My bad , they aren't a conversion plate they are drive flanges.

Minispares conversion kit

Still its the easiest way to get on 10"s and to my mind I would rather have new parts than run the risk of buying some duckeggs second hand.

Edited by ferrit, 03 December 2008 - 04:04 PM.