1843 replies to this topic

[domdee]

good luck with the roof skin. its a tricky job but with a bit of patience and fettling, you should be ok. are you spot welding or plug welding it on?

[minimaxie]

Forgot about this, done a cracking job so far! Really liking the Tahiti Blue Gloss, something I've not seen before

[Petrol]

The plan is to spot weld the roof on. I might have to grind down the arms on the spot welder to achieve this though.
The guy at mini technique, who I bought the car off, told me you can't replace a mini roof skin without buying a brand new one since they are drag welded. This process is like a long spot weld so it runs around most of the roof. Since I plan to grind the old one out leaving the gutter intact, I can't see a problem. So much for the pro's eh?

The replacement skin only needs the gutter grinding out so it should fit relatively easy. Once everything is prepped it should go on like this - 34s in



Others have replaced the roof skin without any problems so I'm not worried about it. Talking of skins, I replaced the boot skin today





There were 4 welds on the original boot skin, 2 behind the hinges and 2 that were hidden behind the reg plate, don't think I will bother with these as I can't see the skin moving when I have seam sealed with sikaflex.

Some of the corners look a bit out of shape



I know it's the norm to add some weld to build it up but I can't do that. The seams have been filled with zinc to prevent rust. I don't want to burn the paint off. Again I need to have a think about what to do.

Lots of work in progress and lots of things to think about

Pete

[splitpin]

A friend used to work on the repairs line back in the day.

He said mini roof skin replacement was common place after damage from lifting chains etc.

He said they used to run around the skin with a sharp chisel leaving the roof skins lip welded on, then they would just weld the new skin
directly over the top of the old seam!

I'm currently fitting a full front scuttle that includes the a pillar returns and the front gutter.

Nice thread, sportspacks are my current projects also!

[Petrol]

I really want to grind the old gutter off the roof in case there is any rust in the seam. The plan is to split every seam, it's a bit daunting but its the only way to get rid of all the rust.

I now have all the bolt on panels sorted and rust free. NS door skin fitted, primed inside with Electrox then 2K gloss. Outer skin was primed with 2K etch followed by 2K solid colour. Still needs a bit of fettling to get it 100%. 2K takes ages to dry so I left it out in the sun.



Bought a complete boot floor. I'm hoping this will make it easier to align the rear arches



Now that the weather is finally getting better, I can get stuck into the shell. First job is to fit the NS inner sill. I ground the spot welds to get the stiffener out of the old inner sill. Fits here



I have also bought new closing panels for the rear arches. This lot will need a bit of sorting but once it's done it should be worth it.

Pete

[Petrol]

Some pics, inner sill stiffener shot blasted and primed




Spot welded onto inner sill



Floor cut out for new inner sill





X member needs a bit of work



Trial fit



Pete

[rally515]

How did you know were to spot the stiffner on ?
Doing this tomorrow

[Petrol]

How did you know were to spot the stiffner on ?
Doing this tomorrow

I kept the old inner sill and used it for a template. I also measured it before I took it off

[rally515]

ahhh errr.......i didnt

[splitpin]

2k paint should dry quite fast, are you using an activator?

[Petrol]

ahhh errr.......i didnt

These pics might help you, top of stiffener fits just shy of the top of the inner sill. This is the NS



Distance to curve



Distance to end



As long as the inner sill fits with the stiffener on, I cant see a problem. It is however a bit tight. The tab at the end of the stiffener welds to the companion box closing panel like this

2k paint should dry quite fast, are you using an activator?

Yes, the paint I am using requires a 2:1 ratio. 2K paint dries quite fast but can take a long time to fully harden. I put quite a bit of paint on the door to "fill" any imperfections. Unlike body filler and fiberglass resin, 2K paint is an air drying product. If you flat a panel back after a couple of days you can smell the solvents evaporating.

Many have problems with paints reacting, fillers mapping out and so on. It's usually a case of too much too soon. I have flatted both doors, boot & bonnet down to enable all of the solvents to evaporate. This may seem a strange thing to do when the shell is in such a state, but this will allow everything to fully harden on these panels. It might also be worth mentioning that when paint fully hardens it shrinks quite a lot, this can lead to imperfections such as sanding marks. The blue solid paint I am spraying is not the final colour, it's just a basecoat and most of it will be rubbed off. It should however provide a good base for the metallic Tahiti blue the car will be finished in

Hope that info is useful

Pete

[rally515]

Ahh you genius, you,ve saved my bacon sir!!
Thankyou greatly

Cliff

[BishopMaverick]

Just read start to end... a great thread that has provided no end of inspiration and answers, as well as being a good read.
I too was worried about seams and which products etc. but it looks like you may have nailed it, and answered many of my questions.
Quality and patience shows throughout, a standard of work anyone should be proud of. I shall continue to follow as I crack on with my project, which I hope I can persevere with in as quality orientated way as you good sir.

Keep us updated, I'll enjoy following this.

BM

[Petrol]

Ahh you genius, you,ve saved my bacon sir!!
Thankyou greatly

Cliff

I had to trim a bit off this today to gain clearance so please don't take those measurements as gospel. They say every Mini shell is different and I can understand why! It takes ages to get replacement panels to fit properly.

Just read start to end... a great thread that has provided no end of inspiration and answers, as well as being a good read.
I too was worried about seams and which products etc. but it looks like you may have nailed it, and answered many of my questions.
Quality and patience shows throughout, a standard of work anyone should be proud of. I shall continue to follow as I crack on with my project, which I hope I can persevere with in as quality orientated way as you good sir.

Keep us updated, I'll enjoy following this.

BM

Thanks for your very kind words BM.

[rally515]

Noted