255 replies to this topic

[joakwin]

any updates mate??.... when you deseamed the roof gutter did you have to hammer the panels to match up together??

a few small parts i had to use a hammer and dully on, but about 90-95% i didn't have to
the biggest problem is the water channel, theirs like a little "C" looking shape right before the seam

i spot welded the seam, and then i went back and filled the "C" channel with weld until it was above where i needed it to be
and then grind it back down to it was flush with the body shape,

i didn't want to just fill it with body filler,

i did about 2 weld lines just for the seam area, one on the seam and one below the seam,
and then about 6-8 weld lines(spot beads) for the "C" channel area
grind it down, and then spot weld the areas that looked like it needed alittle more filling
and grind somemore and do that over until it looked like it was good

my goal is to try and use as little body filler (bondo) to make the lines flow right

the "C" channel areas around the front and back windows where alot bigger then the channel area on the side of the vehicle's rain gutter

the side area didn't seem to need as much weld filling for that "C" channel,

if u look very close, you'll see the channel im going on about, i don't know what else to call it, so im calling it that,
its right where the base of the roof connectors to the rain gutters

since i used to work as a full time welder at the vehicle maints shop i work at, i love welding and metal work,
it wasn't to bad of a job for me to pull it off, alot of grinding wheels and cut off wheels to de-seam the car

but ive done everybit of metal fab rebuilding this car myself

you have her looking sweet now mate, i was gonna deseam my roof gutter too but i knew about the c-channel and was unsure of if it needed hammering or not but your idea sounds good..... i done metal fab for a while but not great with the hammer/dolly so was hoping the roof seam wouldn't need it but should be fun lol.

keep up the good work...

for the most part you don't need to do any hammering on the roof to get the panel to line up, i had to do alittle bit mostly due to me cutting to much off of the roof seam at one time, theirs was a few cuts where i cut off like 5-6inches and not 3in like u should, and the roof starts to push out, the parts that i couldn't just push with the butt of a hamer into shape, i had to beat on them alittle bit and push on them to put some pressure get it lined up as i tec it into place, after that it was good to go

[joakwin]

i removed the front subframe from the car today

the only small problem i had was with the clamps for the battery cable,
i couldn't for the life of me get those small screw to un-do,
so i cut the heads off and after that i could remove the rest of it from the subframe

tomorrow im gonna start the work of cleaning it
i got some simple green soap and im gonna pressure wash it

i got a quart of rust paint to cover it in, so i should have it painted by the 1st of the month

next on the list is the firewall
and then install the engine into the car
i hope to have it installed by 1dec at the latest

[miniallsort]

looks great mate

[joakwin]

ive changed my mind on painting the subframe, im just gonna get its powder coated gloss black
i was told 65-70gbp to blast it and pc it
with a 3 day turn around
so this weekend im gonna do some welding on the subframe and
i hope by monday its ready to go

[joakwin]

still havn't got the front subframe over to get powder coated but i got the last of what i needed done to it tonight
so now its really ready to go this time

i built my brace bars tonight out of some 1.25 sq stock, i think i used .120wall thick metal but im not sure
i don't think it was .180wall but i know its alittle over kill vs the metal that was used on the one my buddy let me use
as a mock up one,
i don't want to say the brand new of the company that made it but i will say that i didn't care for the way they bent the metal

but it was good enuff for me to use as a mock up
i want to get the brace bars powder coated also but not right now

i mounted the starter tonight on the engine, i gotta order a filter housing gasket
the motor is slowly coming back together

[joakwin]

[joakwin]

i ended up not getting the subframe powdered coated,
i ended up painting it and then bed lining the subframe and then a coat of satin black high heat paint over that
so the frame is nice and sealed up and its layed out their pretty thick, so it won't chip away
so it should be good

i don't have much of a update on the car, just a few more bits got painted for the engine
i found my fuel pump finally, i have to go with a 1806 pump and not a 1818, because
the engine came stock with a 1806 pump and its alot smaller then the 1275 1818 pump
and this way i won't have to bend up the kick down rod to fit around the much larger mini 1275 1818 pump
and so i painted it satin black also

and so today after work, i did alittle hand sanding on the car, i got out a few space heaters and sanded for a good 45mins

so tonight i took some pictures of the car, just a few mins ago, about 9pm i think







the car is covered in sanding dust and ice

[joakwin]

minitastic fast road coil kit just came in last night


i went and picked up my stage 1 needle and filter from coopers last night
just waiting on a the black billet fan spacers to come in, should be later this week
and i need to order a plug for my intake still

come dec 1's tho im gonna order the 10in S style rims from minispeed that fit over 8.4brakes
im gonna wait on tyres because im not sure witch ones i want to go with yet

[_mini1000_]

[quote name='joakwin' date='Nov 3 2010, 09:09 PM' post='1967841']


good colour for finding oil leaks against lol

looking good though

[joakwin]

picked up a pair of used mark 2 tail lights this afternoon for 30,
here's a pic of one of them after i cleaned it up a bit,
still need to do some light sanding on it and add another coat of paint
but im good for the night

[joakwin]

sanded down the filter housing last night, it had alittle bt of surface rust and i wanted to make sure their wasn't any rust under the paint that was still left on it

[joakwin]

i got one coat of rust prof paint on it so far, i still need to paint it satin black to match the rest of the engine,
i did the work last night

[joakwin]

this morning i sand blasted the hole firewall down to raw metal
and got alittle bit of paint on it

Edited by joakwin, 13 December 2010 - 05:16 PM.

[joakwin]

i took my heater unit 100% apart, because their was some surface rust on the inside of the housing, i sanded down each part by hand to start over with clean rust free metal,
it took forever it seems like in order to sand it but in the long run, its better for my project

i got brand new sheet metal screws because some of the old ones where alittle bit to rusty for my liking and sinces it was apart, why not do it, less then a quid for a hand full of them screws
and i painted the inside and outside with some high heat paint, and then painted the outside again to my matt black color to match the interior of the car

im gonna make a few changes to the heater set up,
the 1st on being...- i removed the trap door on the inside
the 2nd one being.... im moving the fan switch to the right side of the steering wheel
3..... im making a new screen for the front of the heater housing, and will block off the old car vent holes in the front of the case, im gonna make the block off metal bolt in useing the same sheet metal holes so that i can take the heater unit back to factory if my idea doesn't work to my liking
and the last thing i did was back flush my heater core to make sure it was clean inside of it, the heater core only had been in the car for 2months before i took it off the road, so its pretty much brand new
and i also have a extra heater set up with a new core, so if i screw up this one, its all good


this is what i started out with

and this is what it looks like now

Edited by joakwin, 29 December 2010 - 09:24 PM.

[charie t]

Heater looks good
Just make sure to sure the 2 shorter screws under the flap as it wont swing all the way