393 replies to this topic

[minifcd]

Cheers madboy, thanks for the interest.

Hi Graham, yes don't worry, any rot if anything worse than just surface rust has been cut out and replaced with new panels or a repair. The inner sills will be, or should I say, have been replaced as these posts are currently a year behind. I should have started this topic earlier but just never got around to it.

Thanks hugh, that panel was made simply by laying the metal on the stepped edge of a vice, and knocking the edge down into the step. I didn't have a joggler at the time but the vice did the job a treat!

Here are the pictures of the completed door step.







I spot welded the seams of the A post. Much quicker and neater than MIG welding and looks more original. Not that you'll see them when the seals are on!










Thats the drivers door step done. Thanks for looking.

[grahama]

Looking at the quality of your work I shouldn't have worried, lol. Nice doorstep repair too.

Graham

[hughJ]

Another super repair. Graham and I can empathise with you so much!!! You've got a lot more to repair than us, though. Thanks for your reply, you make it sound easy but we know it isn't.
All the best
Hugh

[minifcd]

Thanks for the comments guys. Another update and the passengers side wasn't much better! In fact you could get a football through the hole in the passengers footwell!











Another repair piece was made for the passengers side and welded in at the bottom of the inner A post.






New door step welded in at either end and spot welded down the A post seam.

[grahama]

This is turning into an epic restoration job, #nice work given the amount of brown stuff you have to contend with.

Graham

[minifcd]

Thanks Graham, I agree! So far all the panels I have ordered are the same as my previous mini, except this one also needs a roof. Graham, I started reading your project last night but only got to page 4! Its gonna take a while!

Anyway with the shell on its side, I could see exactly what horrors had gone on through the years. Patches had been welded over all of the slinging brakets and it had also been treated to a pair of over sills! After removing the drivers side over sill, the damage to the inner sills could be seen - lots of rust!

[minifcd]

Another update. With the nasty over sill removed, I cut the complete inner sill / floor out to between the first and second grooves and removed the drivers side half of the heal board. With the floor out, I took the opportunity to repair the lower corner of the drivers side rear quarter panel, just forward of the rear wheel. Two repair sections were made and welded in and then ground to a smooth finish on the inside and outside, with final adjustments with a body hammer and dolly.























I will add the pictures of the replacement floor section in the next few days. Having a few issues with uploading them at the moment since the last Adobe Flash update.

Thanks.

[hughJ]

Very, very nice repair

Hugh

[minifcd]

Thanks Hugh. I've been reading through your project thread over the last few days. I've nearly got to the most recent page, think i'm at page 20, just slow down so i can catch up!!

[madboy]

love the fab work , judging by the old welds on that repair patch, pigions can fly up side down

[123grosso]

Looks good, loving the quality of the work

[minifcd]

Thanks madboy, I agree about that welding! Think they must have used an arc welder with no previous experience to get a finish like that! Don't know why they patched over the slinging brakets at the back as they were still there underneath. Perhaps a preventative measure to stop water and mud getting trapped and creating corrosion spots. Didn't work too well though did it!

Thanks 123grosso, I appreciate the comments.

More to come soon.

[tedmcedd]

Great to see another one being brought back to life!

keep up the good work! some great welding going on here!

Ed

[minifcd]

Thanks Ed. Now, more photos of repair to drivers side inner sill and for this I used an M-machine panel 11.31.04.38 for RH side. An excellent panel which I have used before on my first mini and around £100 pounds less than a Heritage part. Only downside is the primer used on it flakes off easily, so removed all primer back to bare metal and reprimed with etch primer.

Trial fitting the panel.


The companion box closing panel was removed from the original sill and cleaned back to bare metal. Only rusted at the rear end so trimed this shorter as not all needed and primed. With the floor panel clamped in place, the closing panel was lined up and clamped. The floor was then removed to spot weld together.






With the floor refitted welding began.




The rear subframe was temporarily refitted to locate and weld the heal board. This was a complete Heritage heal board HMP441008, which I cut in half to help keep floor square, by only doing half at a time and to aid correct location of the subframe mounting points.


Finally spot welded the inner sill/floor to the door step.


Thanks for looking.

[hughJ]

Wow!! How can you do so much at a time!! That's about two months work there!! Great - very interesting repair.

Hugh