609 replies to this topic

[minisi35]

Finally sorted the last arch out. This is how I did it.
First of all I fitted the arch and marked the outline on the wing


Then using a 15mm piece of steel marked a new arch line out

and tapered it towards the back of the arch

Then cleaned off the paint upto that line

After its all nice and clean I cut slots into the arch upto the marked line evey 10-15mm

The slots are then bent at right angles to the wing

[minisi35]

I missed taking a few photos of the next bit but basically I cut a piece of steel 50mm wide and 2 foot long, this was clamped and spot welded along the length of the arch, then it's a question of welding it in. In this pic I've already started cleaning the welds up

Then trim off the excess , clean up the welds, a skim

[brad-the-bear]

what paint you using here pal?

Have a look at page 7 brad

haha sorry, totally forgot thanks buddy. your build looks good anyway and those arches you have made look the mutts nu*s. by the way why have you opened up the arches?

[minisi35]

haha sorry, totally forgot thanks buddy. your build looks good anyway and those arches you have made look the mutts nu*s. by the way why have you opened up the arches?

The "gravel" tyres i use are quite a tall profile and on my other car they used to catch on lock. Plus the selection of good 12 inch tyres isnt great so i can look at using a 13" wheel and tyre as theres more choice

[Italianjoblofty]

Fair play dude its looking good now. your gonnahave to work ya nuts off to get that ready for mid march haha! hope ya get there, and hope i do too

[minisi35]

not alot to write about, it all seems to be rubbing down and prepping at the moment
Sprayed the arch repair to check for any thing that might affect the top coat

bought a new front subframe to seam weld when the cars gone for paint

sorted the windscreen pillar where the new scuttle joined

[Down&Out]

Top work on the arches, seen some right shonky work on here before where they just bend a bit then leave the bear metal exposed and it looks terrible, this is great though. Look forward to completion.

[1977 Loud_Mini]

Yeah looking good, just realised i never replied to your question on page 3 or around there regarding my headlamp covers. I purchased them off ebay but i think there may be a few other places to buy them. The look you are going for is exactly what i tried to get mine to look like. I even got the rare 5 pin lucas plug and infact 2 sockets. Can't wait to see this finished as it will look great in rally styling.

Evan.

Edited by 1977 Loud_Mini, 25 January 2012 - 09:17 PM.

[minisi35]

Top work on the arches, seen some right shonky work on here before where they just bend a bit then leave the bear metal exposed and it looks terrible, this is great though. Look forward to completion.

Thanks, its my first time doing bodywork so im quite pleased with the result. A friend of mine had his arches cut out and they just left the sharp edge( as i found out by cutting my fingers!!) Worth the 2-3 hours work

[minisi35]

Thought I'd have a crack at making some works type headlamp covers. Got all the bits (apart from the belt which was £3) from a charity shop off eBay. Grand total of £26

First of all I test fitted the cover and got them all lined up and level, then measured 4 inches back from the edge and drilled the hole for the "lift the dot" fastener


Then I cut the buckle off the belt and used the backing of the fastener to mark where the holes needed to be

When that was done it was easy to assemble just need to bend over the legs to secure it all together

Then test fitted and cut to length

[brad-the-bear]

cool, let me see the covers when you have finished them

[1380roadmini]

looking great, liking the arches, worth all the hard work when you stand back and admire them

[minisi35]

Right finished them off tonight
I had some really thin stainless steel on the garage, it's the type you use in the kitchens for heat shielding cupboards etc. anyway I made a cardboard template to make the end sections and knocked 4 up

Then it was a case of drilling and attaching the straps to then lenses. The worst bit was drilling them and I made a slight error the first hole that I drilled was too small so I put in a bigger drill bit and started to drill and It created the smallest of cracks. Luckily it's hidden by the straps and using the right size drill bit first time the other holes gave me no trouble..

The finished product

[brad-the-bear]

those look like the ones you would buy! keep up the good work pal

[minisi35]

Cheers Brad, im test fitting all the front chrome work before i send it away to paint, would hate to start drilling fresh paint