730 replies to this topic

[MrBounce]

I went back in with trepidation today. Why? Doors. I have decided that I don't like doors, especially Midas doors, as they're fiddly, and seem to need 12 hands to put back together. There is also a specific way that they will need to go back together. Of course, I have not quite figured that out yet, and will need to refer to old pictures, mainly because it's been a while since I took everything apart.

 

I started with the door hinges. These were disgusting - they'd been left in a tray of parts when they were taken off back in the 2010s and had accumulated ALL the grime and dirt. Thankfully, they were no match for the knotted wheel of death, and cleaned up pretty nicely before a coat of paint. Whilst I was waiting for the primer to dry, I finally righted my wrong of the incorrectly placed rubber/plastic guides on the door striker plates.

 

As I was a bit worried about damaging the freshly painted door handles on the bench, I decided that the easiest way to deal with them was to attach them to the doors. I also offered up the locking mechanism. This was where I needed to refer to my old photos as I simply cannot remember how everything goes. So I came inside for a think, a review and some further research.

 

Door hinges.They were absolutely minging.

 

 

Cleaned!

 

 

Partway through being painted

 

 

Door handles look good!

 

 

 

Striker plate guide now the right way round!

 

 

Lock mechanism loosely in place. Look at the butchering to get everything in. Someone was here before me...

 

 

Door latch in place. Took some wiggling.

 

 

And finally, which order do I need to do things in? Do not forget there are frames, glass and winding mechanisms to factor in. Joy.

 

[Midas Mk1]

Know the pain with lining doors up, took the three of us a good evening to get them refitted, came off a doddle, worst bit I couldn’t ask Dad for advice aha.

The club had a set of hinges done back in the day, know we’ve got a spare set. How did you find the door fit?Dad always slammed the door to shut, I trimmed down the seal and then used foam on the door itself to seal it, seems to hold up ok! Bet you can’t wait to get it on the road, one of my Minis bright orange and if I had a Midas it would be that colour aha

[MrBounce]

Know the pain with lining doors up, took the three of us a good evening to get them refitted, came off a doddle, worst bit I couldn’t ask Dad for advice aha.

The club had a set of hinges done back in the day, know we’ve got a spare set. How did you find the door fit?Dad always slammed the door to shut, I trimmed down the seal and then used foam on the door itself to seal it, seems to hold up ok! Bet you can’t wait to get it on the road, one of my Minis bright orange and if I had a Midas it would be that colour aha

 

The doors haven't been on for several years so I am struggling to remember the basic details such as fit. I seem to recall that (much like my school reports) there was "room for improvement"! My hinges are pretty much bang on - they needed a soak in oil for a week or so to get them moving properly again, but they're big hardy beasts so shouldn't be an issue. And as much as this wee orange beast annoys me, no you can't have it   

[MrBounce]

Time to do a trial fit of the door gubbins then. I decided to start with the passenger door as this was the one that was on the workmate. the first issue I encountered was with the plate that holds the winder mechanism and the interior door handle. For those of you that haven't been with me since day one, I should explain that each of these steel plates had rotted excessively at the bottom. I had cut the rotten bits off and replaced them with new steel. Unfortunately I'd used one side as a template for the other. I know that the driver's side fits. However, the passenger side was WAY out. So much so, that I flattened it out, and cut a strip off the bottom, before re-bending it to fit correctly. Once I knew that it fitted properly, I drilled holes in the bottom flange to match where the holes on the door shells are. Originally these were riveted on. I shall probably re-rivet them as I am not keen on using screws, but for the sake of this mock-up, I did chuck some screws in. 

 

Next on the list was the window winder mechanism. I ended up wasting a significant amount of time with this. Why? Bolts. The Ford Fiesta winder bolts to the Midas-specific plates with short M6 bolts. I have saved these somewhere. That somewhere, like many archaeological missions, has been lost to time, and 2 garages, as well as a house move. They're doubtless stored safely in a small box or bag in a safe place. Which is nowhere I can remember. I also don't have many M6 bolts. I have found about 5, just one of which was the right length, so I spent some time shortening 3 of them in order to bolt everything together properly. By the time I had done this, it was pretty straightforward to line everything up and attach the cradle which holds the glass. This included the interior door release handle, which clips in the slot on the door plate. I say it clips in - it's a struggle to get it in there...

 

2 final things that I did. Firstly I draped the door card over the top, which looked good. I will have to find some spacers for the winder handle (or maybe make some?) but everything seems to go together nicely. I also had a look at the door frame. It was painfully obvious to me from this point that the frame MUST go in first - with the glass installed - everything else will then fit around it. It's a bit of a pain, and likely to need those 12 hands I mentioned previously, but it has to be done a specific way. At least this was a trial run - I would have been super-annoyed drilling out 20 -odd rivets!

 

Additionally, I only had one of the surrounds for the door release handle, and that was broken. Luckily, it had a part number on the back of it. Turns out it's Mk2 Escort. I had a look on Ebay - yup, Ford tax. So I've ordered a couple as I can't get them anywhere else. Ah well...

 

Door plate finally in place after some surgery. It has since been repainted.

 

 

I chopped this bit off the bottom then re-bent everything to make it fit properly.

 

 

Winder mechanism in place.

 

 

Much modified bolts in place - these caused me issues thanks to my poor memory. New ones are on order.

 

 

Door release handle finally in place. This is a proper backside to fit.

 

 

Cradle to hold the glass.

 

 

Door card draped in place. Liking the look of this.

 

 

Door frame - needs to go in first. Hmmm. Still, at least this is only a mock-up.

 

 

And finally, the broken surround for the release handle (no clips). This is an old Ford part, so it's expensive to replace. It's also Mk2 Escort. So it's now more money. I dislike Ford tax.

 

[MrBounce]

Don't you just love it when you order something and the wrong item turns up in its place?

 

Apparently, this is a pair of Mk2 Ford Escort interior door handle surrounds. Nope. I'm pretty sure it isn't...

 

 

I've contacted the seller and they were very apologetic and confirmed they're re-sending the correct items. Still irritating though.

 

The garage was in an absolute state, so I have spent some considerable time cleaning it up. Once clean, I then proceeded to make some more mess. I have no spacers for the window winders. Being Mk1 Fiesta items, there will be Ford tax. I had a look around the garage to see if there was anything I could use. I have cut two rings from a pipe I had lying around (a bit of RC40, possibly), which I may modify. It's also possible I may just use them as a template to make a fibreglass buck. I am undecided at present, but as always, I'll figure something out.

 

The replacement bolts for the winder mechanism turned up - some lovely short stainless M6 Bolts. They're all fitted. Murphy's Law dictated I immediately found the old ones, in a pot marked "winder bolts". On the shelf where I was convinced I had already looked. Ah well. The stainless ones look nice. And will be in a place where they cannot be seen. Awesome.

 

I also gave the door lock knobs a quick rub down and a coat of black as they were dirty and covered in overspray. They now look rather swish. 

 

Potential winder spacers. Or the start of potential winder spacers, anyway.

 

 

Shiny new bolts!

 

 

Old bolts located, just after the new ones arrived. Now, what was I thinking about? Oh yeah, that's right. Yeehaw.

 

 

Swish knobs.

 

[MrBounce]

More door stuff, then. I had an idea in my head of the order which everything needs to be done in when putting these doors back together, but thanks to my brain telling me not to rush things, there were a couple of bits I remembered that needed to be done first. Which, for some reason, took WAY longer than necessary... 

 

Number 1? The waist seal. Luckily, I did have new ones in my big bag full of new seals, and, as per the original one, these were to be riveted on. I did consider using sealant, but the seal had been left wound up so keeping it in place would have been awkward. Plus I got to use my new riveter. Due to using the original holes in the door, and the seal constantly moving due to its natural curve, this took significantly longer than expected to line up. Still, I eventually sorted all the holes. Out came the rivet gun and it all fitted together. And yes, I did remember to check that the edge hadn't curled under.

 

I had to follow this up with the door hinges, as trying to fit these with all the door mechanisms in place would be more than awkward. It turns out that trying to fit them without said mechanisms in place is also awkward. It was really difficult to get my fingers in there to get a nut and washer on the back of each bolt. It was a REAL struggle. Still, it's now done, and I don't really want to do it again... 

 

I have drawn a blank for finding some spacers for the window winders. So I may as well make something - but from what? I had those two rings I'd cut from pipe, but I knew these weren't right. However, cutting them and expanding them slightly made them the perfect size for a mold. So I got some parcel tape, and some card, and made 2 little non-stick "pools" for resin. Of course they weren't quite liquid proof, but because I made a "hot mix", it only leaked a little bit before settling.

 

Finally, the door handles turned up. These were 3D printed by the look of things, but were generally pretty good. I gave them a quick sand and gave them a coat of textured paint. Lovely.

 

I might try putting a door together soon... 

 

Waist seal. Of course it wouldn't stay in place...

 

 

It does when it's riveted!

 

 

Taping a nut to the spanner in an attempt to get it on the hinge bolt - this failed...

 

 

EVENTUALLY got the hinges on...

 

 

Molds ready to receive resin...

 

 

...and full up (with some small leaks).

 

 

And lastly, new door handle surrounds, which have been painted. Excellent!

 

  

[MrBounce]

Before I did a "dry" fit of the door and its associated hardware, I took a cutting disc to the sides of the molds I'd made for the homemade winder spacers. They cracked open beautifully and I am pretty pleased with what I have created. They're slightly different sizes, one being slightly thicker than the other, but that is nothing that a bit of sanding can't cure. I'll get back to these later.

 

So back to the doors: I wanted to do a dry fit to make sure everything lines up and also to make that mental note of the order they have to be reassembled. I needed to reattach the cable to the latch mechanism, but i could not properly do this until the pull handle was carefully slid home into the door plate. And when I did manage to get the cable in its hole, it pushed the grommet out and broke it, probably because it was 45 years old and as brittle as a 1970s Christmas decoration. Luckily I have a box of more recent grommets, so I sorted a replacement for both this door and the other, as that one would almost certainly be as bad. It was. 

 

Having got the rod in place, I gave the mechanism a shot of white grease, before sliding the door frame into place. I needed to amend the edges of the waist seal as they both fouled. Not a huge undertaking, but still something that needed attending to. Having attached the frame with some screws, I then realised that there was a step I 'd missed: I cannot attach the mirrors with the door cards in place, so these need to go on first. Luckily, these actually were in the box marked "Mirrors". They still need putting together, but this was an easy formality. I just need to sort the bolts to permanently attach them, which have to be screwed in from the inside of the door. Note to self: don't break the mirrors, as finding a replacement from a Renault 14 is somewhat difficult. I got my passenger one as a lucky find from Ebay in France about 12 years ago. Finding one today is as likely as me going for drinks with Gemma Arterton, and Hayley Atwell. At the same time. It isn't an impossibility, but it is rather improbable. Damn.

 

I then disassembled the door as I will need some sealant to put under the bottoms of the quarterlights and under the front of the door frames. I don't have any, so I will need to get some. More shopping I guess...

 

Molds "popped"

 

 

Cable not quite in place...

 

 

...as it needs to be fitted to the door plate.

 

 

A 45-year old grommet self destructed. Well that's a surprise...

 

 

Grease is the word...

 

 

Adjustment needed here...

 

 

...and here.

 

 

Frame temporarily in place. And looking pretty good.

 

 

Mirrors located, and put together. They reflect, which is a good thing! 

 

 

Aaaaannnd everything is in bits again. I need to go shopping. Again.

 

[MrBounce]

Just a very quick little update, and it's something I have been meaning to do for AGES. That little some was to sort an earthing point on the front subframe. So in I went with a drill and made a hole for an appropriate bolt. The more difficult thing was to get an tool in place to clean off the paint surrounding the hole. Sounds easy in practice, but when there's 1293cc of BL's finest and a Midas bodyshell in the way, it makes it a bit awkward. Eventually I managed to get in there by removing the coil and its bracket plus taking the entire filter system off the Powerfile. I ended up with about 3mm clearance, but this was enough room to attack the paint with 8 grit belt. 

 

Paint removed, I used a couple of star washers and nipped it up. Now any earth leads can terminate here. Excellent.

 

[MrBounce]

It looks like I have done nothing for the best part of a month - not so. I have been doing little bits here and there and have been saving up the photos for a bit of a decent sized update, so here we go.

 

I decided to try the glass in the window channels. On getting it out of its place of slumber, I realised that I had not cleaned it since I removed it from the car, so it looked like it had been on someone's driveway for several years. Oh, hang on... This was swiftly dealt with by the use of some window cleaning spray and using my razor-blade scraper - a marvellous bit of kit. It cleaned them up pretty well. Obviously it won't be perfect because it's 43 year old glass, but it's good enough for me! The glass, though would not go into the new channel easily. It was at this point I was made aware of the delight of silicon lubricant spray. It slipped in with no issues after that, and I tried another mock-up of the door. I have managed to make it work, so I riveted the first piece - the cover for the winder. I only needed to drill out one hole as it was slightly out. 

 

As my friend was due to come round the following week to do some wiring for me, I figured it was time to get something important: a battery and associated cables. We have a very useful local car electrical supplier, who is happy to make cables to size, so I took some measurements and popped to see him. I came away with positive cables for the battery to solenoid and solenoid to starter, plus 2 earth cables for the battery and engine to the earthing point I made earlier. I also picked up a battery from Halfrauds, as amazingly it was the cheapest in the area. My Mk1 has had a modification to the battery area, which enables me to use an 038 standard Mini battery. Connecting up these leads was straightforward, but I did remember I needed the cable guide that goes on the starter motor. However, the original one had "gone missing", or had never been there in the first place (the engine was in bits when I got the car). Making a new one was easy with a bit of steel, a stepped drill, a grommet and a bit of paint. I fiddled around with the battery clamp and it needed some modification - but this was easily done. I still need to make a bit of extra clearance for the nut nearest the bulkhead, but a couple of minutes with a power tool should sort that.

 

Finally, this evening, Tink came round to work his magic on the electrics under the bonnet. The coil is all wired up, the fan now works, the headlights are ready to go, he's installed a master fuse holder (still needs to get the correct rating fuse for it). We did various bits of soldering and he's given me some easy to follow (written in crayon) instructions for me to deal with over the next few days (mainly creating and connecting up earth wires). I still have no idea what most of these wires do, but he does, and is making sure that everything works as it should. I am in safe hands. 

 

Incredibly dirty glass

 

 

Razor blade and glass cleaner...

 

 

...made it look MUCH better.

 

 

More door mocking up took place...

 

 

And I actually did something riveting. 

 

 

I bought something heavy

 

 

Along with the cables and terminals to connect it.

 

 

Earthing point has come in useful already

 

 

I remembered the cable guide, but couldn't find it, so made one.

 

 

Battery clamped up.

 

 

Coil is now connected

 

 

Tink doing electrickery. Or "dark magic, as it's known in my mind.

 

[MrBounce]

Doing my best to avoid putting the door back together, which I can assure you is a hateful task, I took care of a couple of minor jobs which Mr Tink suggested I deal with. Task one was to run an earth cable from the started solenoid - this was a very simple thing to do - a couple of rings on a bit of wire and Roberto is your mother's Italian-sounding brother.

 

Task two was extend the horn cable from one side of the car to the other. This should have been a simple solder and heatshrink job. Of course, it was not. I took the insulation off the wire at the passenger side of the car. It was completely oxidised. Not good. So I went a bit further up the loom, and tried again. Nope, still blackened. So I tried just by the junction to the driver's side headlight. A little better, but still mostly black.

 

Given that I am very scared of electrics (more from a point of view of worrying what fires I might cause because I don't understand how electricity works), I did something that I am proud of. I looked at a wiring loom diagram in the Haynes manual (for a Mini). And UNDERSTOOD it. The purple and black wire for the horn does not go through the fuse box, so I followed the wire back to the plug for the column stalk, went forward a few inches, and cut it. I stripped off the insulation and it was beautifully copper-coloured wire. Excellent! So I ran a new wire alongside the main wiring loom, taping it up as I went along, and then soldered the two together, remembering to put the heatshrink on first. Before I wired them up permanently, I tested the horns directly on the battery. A small car needs to be noticed in case of danger. It will be. My ears are still ringing.

 

"Extend this cable" said Tink. Nope.

 

 

Attempt 3 looked very much like attempts 1 & 2. A repeat of oxidisation.

 

 

So I took the vast majority of the oxidised wire out of the equation by doing this!

 

[MrBounce]

I have finally got some time to get back into the garage and got back on to the door. I'd been putting it off for too long, just not having the impetus to get the door done. The basics were there, so all I had to do was to fit it together. 

 

Ok, it was a bit more involved than that. Why? The quarterlight glass would not sit right - it was proud at the bottom by almost 5mm. Turns out that the window channel was not quite letting the glass go in far enough, so I have amended this by some re-arranging (I made it into 2 sections at one of the corners, and gently "persuaded" the glass into place with a rubber mallet). Then what I needed to sort was the rivets for the door plate to make sure it didn't move. These actually went on without too much of a fight, although I did need to use some bigger rivets as the holes in the fibreglass door shell had elongated. In fact it took longer to sort the riveter out than it did to actually use it.

 

I then screwed the frame to the door shell - the front proved to be more problematic than the rear, but again I used some "persuasion". It's now together. I have also put the mirror together with its plinth - I will fix this in place, and do both the  door card and the clear plastic shielding sheeting once it's on the car.

 

Finally, for today, I needed to make sure that there is as much clearance as possible under the bonnet - I know that there are only a couple of millimetres of clearance between the negative terminal and the bonnet. I have therefore modified the bolts on the terminal by thinning them down by a couple of mm. More soon.

 

The door is together! Still needs the clear plastic sheet and the door card, but shouldn't be an issue to do...

 

 

Some bigger rivets were needed. Which is riveting. Or something like that, anyway. (Sorry).

 

 

Looks nice from this side! 

 

 

I've started putting the mirror together. This is a rare beast - a Renault 14 item. I have 2 of them (the mirrors, not the Renault 14)

 

 

And - modified bolts on the terminal. Every millimetre counts under that tiny bonnet!