14 replies to this topic

[Artful Dodger]

Hello every peoples!

im going to be doing a mk1 door conversion on my mk3 and need pictures of the places said. i need to see if its going to be serous modification or a panel replacement and some 're-juggling' of steel:)

everything will help!

also, a step by step pic guide of how the a panels and door post goes on, is it the same as the mk3, just with different hole location and the inner a panel?

cheers:P

[CLM]

Door frames are vastly different shapes between them, you are likely better off doing a sliding window conversion to your mk3+ doors

http://www.plastics4...-1-288-298-856/

And converting to external hinges on those doors like several people on the forum have done then making mk1 doors fit in a mk3+ Just for example, I set a mk1 door in my mk4 shell and took a picture for you to see the size difference.



In essence to make those doors fit you would need to find a whole door frame from a mk1/2 mini or any year van or pickup and graft the whole door frame in. It's not just going to be a panel and slam panel.


Chris

Edited by CLM, 07 February 2012 - 08:32 PM.

[Artful Dodger]

hmmm, plenty of modification needed.

also, i am really trying to do this conversion, as its unique and no one has done it before. the skills we can muster, but what we really need is plenty of pictures of the mk1 door frame:)

thanks for your picture chris, really helpful, showing were we need to mod :)

[Cooperman]

It will be a blooming nightmare - not that I want to put you off!
The door frame is a different height on the later cars and the front is entirely different at the A-panel. The B-post is also entirely different as are the door catches.
The A-panel will need substantial re-design to take the door loads as applied by the external hinges, the later A-panel being far too flimsy whilst the early cars had a double-skin A-panel.
You might be able to buy a complete Mk.1/2 door frame and rear quarter panel, then get Mk.1 inner wings with the different A-panel, but I'm not absolutely sure about this. It's one heck of a big job.

[CLM]

All in all, you can buy the mk1 a-panel door pillar combined as per mk1 from m-machine, that and a door bottom panel and you would have a and door bottom taken care of, however no one makes the b-panel



or the inner b pillar



That I am aware of, so only really the door step and a pillar would be easily buildable.



Chris

[Artful Dodger]

does the top of the door frame need modifying? i have had a look at your pics and some mk1 pictures and at my mk3 and it looks like that the top of the door apature needs to be brought down a bit.

[1977 Loud_Mini]

There is infact a mk3 onwards mini which was a replica of ORX 7F rauno aaltonen's works rally mini cooper which somehow converted the shell to run the mk1/2 doors, A panels and the B pillar as you are wanting to do, so it is possible but as others have said it is/can be very difficult and there was no info on how he managed to do it and any implications that may have arisen.

Evan.

[ryan22_lgm]

i would love to do this mod to my car but it looks as tho it would cost alot will have to just go with mk1 rear lights and bootlid

[CLM]

Find a rotten van/pup/mk1-2wagon or saloon shell and repair/pull the door frames out of that :)

Chris

[Artful Dodger]

yeah sounds like its going to be a toughie..

might see if i cant find a rusty van / mk1 doored car to cut the door frames out of.


anyone know of one / own one i could rip them out of?

[CLM]

I do... but I am a few... thousand... miles and one minor pond away lol. That and I am thinking of fixing it.. or putting the mk4 door frames in or... Hmm.

I think it would be easier to pseudo mk1 it with some sliding window conversions on the late doors and hack up some inner a panels from a mk1 (repro panels) to add the external hinges, it shouldnt be all that hard, and now that I have a mk4 here I don't think it would be hard to modify the door to have the round lower corner and add a scallop to the outer a panel to match it.

Chris

Edited by CLM, 09 February 2012 - 04:10 AM.

[dave1293gt]

I do... but I am a few... thousand... miles and one minor pond away lol. That and I am thinking of fixing it.. or putting the mk4 door frames in or... Hmm.

I think it would be easier to pseudo mk1 it with some sliding window conversions on the late doors and hack up some inner a panels from a mk1 (repro panels) to add the external hinges, it shouldnt be all that hard, and now that I have a mk4 here I don't think it would be hard to modify the door to have the round lower corner and add a scallop to the outer a panel to match it.

Chris

Converting the existing would fool a good few and confuse most of the rest. Even mk1 style with wind ups.

[Artful Dodger]

yup, i could do the slidy window and hinge conversion

but im going to do it properly or not at all.:)

I do... but I am a few... thousand... miles and one minor pond away lol. That and I am thinking of fixing it.. or putting the mk4 door frames in or... Hmm.

I think it would be easier to pseudo mk1 it with some sliding window conversions on the late doors and hack up some inner a panels from a mk1 (repro panels) to add the external hinges, it shouldnt be all that hard, and now that I have a mk4 here I don't think it would be hard to modify the door to have the round lower corner and add a scallop to the outer a panel to match it.

Chris

damn these minor ponds...
if this modification was made into a weld in kit, i think there would be alot of money to be made. any thoughts??

Edited by MiniclubmanGT, 09 February 2012 - 07:33 AM.

[CLM]

If the door frames were remanufactured there would be some money in it. but someone needs to do it :)

Chris

[Artful Dodger]

something may be in the pipeline ....