1146 replies to this topic

[myredmini]

Loving this project, weldings going great keep it up... SUBSCRIBED !!

Dan.

[CLM]

That door issue could also be worn out hinges, if they seem to have a lot of play you might want to replace them. The hinge panel looked as though the holes were mostly still intact and if the nuts were still tight it was unlikely the culprit. Dont worry if that dash repair is not too sightly as it should be fairly hidden by your dash covering The fit on that large repair panel looks very good, did a nice job trimming to fit it! Depending on how the inside of the box sections look you might want to pick up some phosphoric acid based rust treatment and treat any hard to get to spots before reassembly. I use something in the US called ospho, it treats the rust converting it into a black inert substance and etches the metal for paint adheision. You might also consider picking up a semi or gloss paint, something that will be moisture resistant, for these areas as "primer" is generally porous and condensation will soak through to the base metal. obviously specific color is unimportant inside the doorframe

Chris

[hughJ]

Help!

Thanks a lot Ryan, Mel, Dan and Chris.

Sorry nothing to report - no further on.

I was hoping I'd have the flitch panel welded by now but I have been measuring doors and checking fit before doing so. The drivers door has never sat right since I got the mini. It always stuck out a bit at the lower back corner and has never latched well. I had thought it was flex in the hinge panel - I checked the hinges Chris, but there is no wear. The hinge panel certainly flexes just now. Here are pictures of the fit of the door.

Big gap at top front even bolted as high in the holes as possible



Rubs at top rear if not carefully opened and shut









There are no shims - I wish there were to take some away.

And the better passenger door







There is a shim top and bottom of the passenger door hinges.

Do I go ahead and weld up to stiffen things up?
Do I elongate the holes to bring the door up a bit?

I have measured both door apertures accross from the top hinge bottom hole to the door striker (96.3cm) and also from the door step to the top door lip where the rear of cross member inside the car is (92.8cm). They are the same give or take 2mm.

Could a pattern door of poorer fit have been fitted at some time?

Sorry to bother

Hugh

[dougie1142]

and the back




and the back

Looks like you need a tad more power/flow or slow down a wee bit from my lack of welding knowledge! I'm at the same stage as you, about to start welding on my car.

[hughJ]

Thanks Dougie - I think you are right - I chicken out too soon.

Well no one screamed out - don't weld it in!! So I welded in my first panel. It shows how stupid I am. I couldn't understand why my tacks and first wee weld were so awful. I was blaming the weld through primer - No! I forgot to put the gas on.



From inside there is penetration





And tidied up with the grinder



Still at the bottom of the learning curve. I tried to take Dougie's advice and hold the weld that bit longer. It did blow a couple of times but it was fairly easy to stop and fill back. I do hope it gets more beautiful.

On the door side - its still a poor fit. Maybe when I have developed some wonderful skills I can alter the door a bit.

Grinding on

Hugh

[Miniowner123]

nothing wrong with that welding, i'd be very happy with it. good work and dont worry doors can be very annoying things to line up and get right

[Carlos W]

Hugh, with that welding you can come and weld my near side flitch panel on!

I love it when I get emails saying someone has replied to this topic!

[sonikk4]

Your door problem Hugh is mirroring the problems i have got with Erms. You can only move the door up so far or shim it etc before you have to get more drastic.

The gapping issue with the door skin can be dealt with by several ways. You will be no doubt re skinning the doors so you can move things around a bit before folding over the edges. If you still have large gaps then you will need to add metal. Use 3.4mm welding rods and weld these to the door edges. You can then grind these down to get a nice even gap. If you have no gap at the back of the door then you can section the quarter panel but if you do this then you will need to use a 1mm stainless steel cutting disc to get a nice thin cut.

You can go the hammer route to try and increase the gap but this will distort the panels causing more grief.

The window frame can be bent a bit but to get the gap closer at the top without having a huge gap at the bottom then you may have to go the same route as me by welding in small extension pieces to decrease the gap.

You have been reading the Project Erm thread so you can see exactly how i went about doing all of the above. As a matter of course both of the doors that were fitted to Erm when we got the car were not the original doors so this contributed to our problems.

You are doing well and your welding is coming on really well but i would recommend getting a panel beating kit (Hammers and Dollies) as this will help you. I will be sorting out the r/h door window frame shortly so you will be able to see what i have done with that.

[myredmini]

That weldings great, well done, loving the updates..

Dan..

[CLM]

Looking excellent Hugh! Great start for a first panel, time to jump in the deep end!

Chris

[grahama]

Hi,

great start to your welding. That is where I started and it is so satisfying when you get the first bit done, especially when it is so neat, keep it up.

Graham

[hughJ]

What nice comments - pinhead, Carlos W, Neil, Dan, Chris and Graham - they mean a lot to me.

I have done a bit but it doesn't show for much.

A 'scoosh' of etch primer





I moved over to the passenger side flitch panel - making a big hole



Then trying the panel for fit



I have a few repairs to do and then a bit of rust treatment before this can be welded in. I can hardly believe it but I am quite looking forward to the welding!

I hope to finish repairing the inner wings and then patch the bulhead. Its the roof channel after that trying to remove the roller weld. Then hopefully get the windscreen surround panel in. Its easily typed!

My mentor, Neil, I should instantly put your advice into practice. I did remove the wiring loom on the drivers side but didn't the passengers. Yes I put my grinder right through it! That's me. Thanks for the advice on the doors. I have read all that on your post - several times. I also got the thin cutting disks on your advice. They are brilliant but you don't half go through a lot of them. The other thing I seem to use up is spot weld bits.

We grind on

Hugh

[Miniowner123]

you seem to be making healthy progress on this project, specially for someone that couldnt weld at the start of it,

have you been daring enough to remove those front shock mounts yet? think you might find something lurking behind them

[myredmini]

WOW that passenger flitch panel is brilliant, a nice gap between the new panel and inner wing, well done and those intergrips are a god send

Dan..

[WoodlandsMini]

Looking good hugh

Seemed to have started in a similar place to mine, I haven't got as much rust, but working on similar panels, your welds have improved massively.

Just thought I would post my repair to the front as everyone else did












Keep up the good work, the welding does get better, and I went from seeing it as a chore to enjoying it

Subscribed

Matt