62 replies to this topic

[mini 4o]

hi
Nice project , will look good when on the 10" wheels with the cooper s brakes, sad to see the rust
good luck and keep the rebuild going
john

[malcs_miniturbo]

going to be nice when done mate

[minimuk]

Nice little project you have got there. One thing though i would replace those flitch sections as they look bad. By the time you have fitted new A panels the rust will quickly eat its way through.

Cheers mate! Yeah going to have to do that for sure, the joys of uncovering little secrets with mini's! Just ordered the rest of the stuff, then saw this.. oh well another order it looks like. Do you know if they are hard to fit at all? Is bracing required across the door's etc? To be honest the other side is worse than the passenger side, so it will have to be replaced i think.

Hi, Check out some of my pictures on TOTAL REBUILD Of '71 Evy, just done today the N/S door-post and flitch and innerwing! Few weeks ago done the same on the O/S, check the pictures, they might explain the lot.

[dougie1142]

Cheers for the positive words guys.

Okay another update.

First of all theres been a fair amount of progress since last time, mainly bodywork. I've made up some panels which you can see in these pictures:




Nothing special and nothing perfect by any means but as this is my first attempt at welding and rebuilding a car i'm fairly happy. Limited tools too, well metalwork tools. Don't look at the welds!


There's been lots of small bits i've been doing like welding in little holes here and there and also stripped down the front hubs and cleaned everything down and primed inner wings.



I wanted to make sure i cut everything correct before fitting the scuttle as it's an expensive panel and didnt want to muck it up!

Tacked On:


Grinded down but not fillered yet.


I plug welded it along the seam and it seems to have done the trick. Straight and true!

After doing that i started work on the corner of the rear quarter, bit of a pain to cut and i'm not looking forward to welding the main patch on as i can see the metal warping in my brain. Best way to stop metal warping? I was thinking of putting clay/putty around the bit i'm going to be welding to kind of dissipate the heat, but i have no idea if that will work?





Thats it for now really, it's definately starting to take shape. This weekend hopefully get that little patch done, and do some more work on the front. I'll also attempt to put the rear subframe back together.

Cheers until next time!

Edited by dougie1142, 26 March 2011 - 12:15 AM.

[myredmini]

what size was socket did you use on the hub nut ?

[dougie1142]

what size was socket did you use on the hub nut ?

34mm mate Took bloody ages to find someone here that sold one! But a few calls and a local toolshop had one. It does the hub and also the front subframe tower bolt if you ever need that done.

[Stevee]

what size was socket did you use on the hub nut ?

34mm mate Took bloody ages to find someone here that sold one! But a few calls and a local toolshop had one. It does the hub and also the front subframe tower bolt if you ever need that done.

its not 34mm its 1 5/16" AF socket they used

but 34mm fits with little bit of movement

nice project by the way

[dougie1142]

its not 34mm its 1 5/16" AF socket they used
but 34mm fits with little bit of movement

nice project by the way

Ah i just realised, i think mine was refitted with a 34mm nut about 5 years ago (purely for convenience sake)! Sorry for the wrong info, don't take anything from me Hehe.

Thanks man

Edited by dougie1142, 27 March 2011 - 12:47 PM.

[Stevee]

its not 34mm its 1 5/16" AF socket they used
but 34mm fits with little bit of movement

nice project by the way

Ah i just realised, i think mine was refitted with a 34mm nut about 5 years ago (purely for convenience sake)! Sorry for the wrong info, don't take anything from me Hehe.

Thanks man

Yeah mini spares i think do the 34mm replacement nut cause its easier to find a socket for it it took me ages to find a 1 5/6" socket but also have a 34mm

and no problem 34mm dose fit but on a tight bolt i wouldn't like to try use it

[dougie1142]

Yeah mini spares i think do the 34mm replacement nut cause its easier to find a socket for it it took me ages to find a 1 5/6" socket but also have a 34mm

and no problem 34mm dose fit but on a tight bolt i wouldn't like to try use it

Yeah i know exactly what you mean!

You'd end up with another 2 rounded bolts on my mini

[myredmini]

Thanks guys i can now find one that fits ! appreciate your help

Dan..

[dougie1142]

These pictures taken from my phone:







Sorry for the fancy pictures, also does anyone know if it is okay to plug weld the boot repair section in like i've done in the pictures? I did it then thought.. perhaps i should seam weld it as i dont want the MOT man to be angry at it! Any help appreciated.

Thanks

[benjy_18]

plug welding is fine for the bumper lip but i would deffinatly seam weld the inside join, and make sure you seal it afterwards else it'll just become yet another water trap.

good project though (Y) good luck

[dougie1142]

plug welding is fine for the bumper lip but i would deffinatly seam weld the inside join, and make sure you seal it afterwards else it'll just become yet another water trap.

good project though (Y) good luck

Aaaah thanks for that! Okay, looks like i'll seam weld it tomorow, better to be safe than sorry Mmm i'm going to be sealing this bad boy up everywhere to save me doing it again in the future. Thanks for the comment!

[sonikk4]

Clay or whatever you are thinking of using will be no good, ideally you need something like this
http://www.frost.co....ront-414ml.html

Or what you can do is tack weld the repair panel in place with 1" spaced tacks. Keep a damp rag to hand then pulse weld between each tack but keep applying the damp rag to help dissipate the heat build up. You will still get some distortion but nothing a skim of filler will not fix.

The repair you have done to the flitch although the welds look ok i would seriously re-consider what you have done around the door mounts. The repair panel needs to be tied into the door mount area properly so if i was you make two filler pieces that will slot into the gaps where the mounting bolts go, seam and plug weld in the pieces then back drill through the A post hinge holes.

Refit the door.