1146 replies to this topic

[puggered]

Great work as always Hugh, its really coming along a treat!

Cheers, Sean

[CLM]

Crossmember end looks to be in really good shape Hugh, I am envious

Chris

[hughJ]

Thank you Sean. Chris its amazing what a wire brush and a wee bit of primer can do!

Welded in the big patch tonight







Another bit of grotty rust gone. Every little helps. I'll have to do a small repair to the end of the heelboard, make the missing bracket close to it and then try to make a complete jacking point! Then I can get the sill on. So easy to say, so hard to do!

Welding on

Hugh

[minimuk]

looking good. seems that the rear bin is ok then? Not heard anything from Graham either, stuck abroad somewhere with a Chianty. What are you teaching then, summer hols still going on here.

Edited by minimuk, 15 August 2011 - 07:53 PM.

[grahama]

Nice progress Hugh. Have been keeping an eye on your great work and feel very ashamed at my lack of progress. Will have to rectify that now the hols are over and my back strain gone. Want to get body done this Summer, what is your timescale??

Graham

[hughJ]

Hello Graham and great to hear from you. I had you lost in France. Sorry about your back. I damaged a disc 26 years ago and my back has never been quite the same again. With all this Mini malarkey you'd think it would be totally wrecked!! I would like to finish the welding this year but we'll see. All the targets I have set in my mind have slipped. It all takes so much longer than you'd think.

Hi minimuk - yes my rear bins are pretty good. I teach Chemistry mostly and a wee bit of ICT. I'm back at school and its been fun and games. The IT for the whole region has been taken over in a big contract by a major Japanese company. Now Japan dictates the Scottish curriculum. I have had no digital projector all week - it's my only way to explain things to my pupils now!! I wish we had kept blackboards. I had to take a new first year ICT class with no pupil logins and passwords!! We are not allowed to and can't install software or make any changes to our computers. I love teaching but the thought of the possibility of retiring in a few years is sweet just now.

Well enough of that ranting. I did some fussy repairs at the rear driver's side heelboard. I'll just let the pictures talk. I think I've done enough.















So another small step along the road of repair. I think I'll tackle making a jacking point next.

Crawling along

Hugh

[CLM]

Crawling well there Hugh, making good progress, I feel like I am going backwards myself trying to straighten this subframe

Chris

[minimuk]

you are lucky, the rear bin is always a nestling point for rust near the heel board in that corner, looks like the stiffener is fine to, nice job in such a small place, I see you taking a lot of thought before you weld stuff, pre-planning key of the game.
But then, being a teacher and Chemistry and ICT is all about planning ahead, that is before the japanese walked in,......now you sail with the flow, shame that is, give it time and they soon leave you to it again. You gained a great hobby when you do retire!!
Good luck with the Jacking point, but remember that one will be the other way round!!

[hughJ]

Fabricating a jacking point

Bottom of page 3 a sure sign of laziness.

Thank you Chris and minimuk.

Thought I'd give the jacking point a go

So made up these wee bits



I made it up and then did a cut out on the wrong side!! So had to try again and this was my last bit of 1.2mm steel - couple of cuts on the side but who sees it?

And here's where its to go. A layer of gloopy paint underneath.



Different angle




Welded in and tabs welded at sides



Cleaned up



And the actual jacking point



Primed



There are probably far better ways of doing it, but its a jacking point. I had to build it in situ to get the position spot on with the sill. It would be a bit tidier if it could be done on the bench but the position would, with my measuring, be wrong!

Flooded the area with gloops of Smoothright.



And the sill has been trimmed and drilled for plugwelds, then primed and painted. I stupidly put the top coat on too soon over the etch primer and it has bubbled a bit. No one sees it and I'll pump waxoil into box-section when its all done.



So I hope to get this welded in next week, probably Tuesday evening.

Grinding along

Hugh

Edited by hughJ, 27 August 2011 - 06:09 PM.

[grahama]

Great work Hugh, need I say more!!! Seriously, comming on great, must get back on the horse here too!!

[CLM]

See, and you were worried you couldn't make it! Looks great

Chris

[vincent300]

Love your work man. Really needed to see some pics of those jacking point areas, as mine have totally rotted away, nice to have something good to refer to, thanks. Keep the awesome work

[jagman.2003]

Great fabrication work Hugh, very fast progress.

[minimuk]

your a professional at that!!!, you can make me a set for definate. you are excelling your own expectation on here )

[hughJ]

Thanks gents. If you could get a close looks at my plug welding tonight I think you would be less enthusiastic. I ran out of weld through primer and used a cheap tin I got on Ebay. The previous tin had been Upol. This one I had blobs of spatter flying past my head and the welds were not too bonny.

Aren't the nights coming in. I can hardly face going out in the frost!

I got the driver's side sill in tonight.



And my jacking point





I ran out of etch primer and thought I had got the same as last time - no its light gray - so a zebra mini. You can see I've been cutting out the rust at the bottom of the quarter panel. That's next job.

Plugging along (badly)

Hugh