1844 replies to this topic

[Ben_O]

That bird looks like a baby hawk ? ...............But then again i kownothing about wildlife other than fairy things are considered mammals   (Thanks Education!)  .

 

I was wondering i short while ago Pete about the Brushed in Zinc primer in the seams you've done, from what i gather primer/s are pourous and trap moisture so wouldnt the seams zinc primer gather moisture and still rot ? obviously we cant fully stop cars rusting, just slow the aging process down, but wouldnt a coat of some paint or seam sealer whilst the primer is tacky be a good idea before the seams were closed ?

 

Still loving the project thread and learning so much despite not posting too much myself :),

Cheers,

Cliff

Zinc primer is not porous mate

 

Thats why its the perfect paint for the job. Why people still use red oxide is beyond me! 

[rally515]

 

That bird looks like a baby hawk ? ...............But then again i kownothing about wildlife other than fairy things are considered mammals   (Thanks Education!)  .

 

I was wondering i short while ago Pete about the Brushed in Zinc primer in the seams you've done, from what i gather primer/s are pourous and trap moisture so wouldnt the seams zinc primer gather moisture and still rot ? obviously we cant fully stop cars rusting, just slow the aging process down, but wouldnt a coat of some paint or seam sealer whilst the primer is tacky be a good idea before the seams were closed ?

 

Still loving the project thread and learning so much despite not posting too much myself :),

Cheers,

Cliff

Zinc primer is not porous mate

 

Thats why its the perfect paint for the job. Why people still use red oxide is beyond me! 

 

 

 

Ahhhhhhhh  ,  i never knew that, guess so then!.

 

Re oxide doesn't contain lead anymore i belive, no idea what inmapct on the product that has but as a temp coating before you send a project off to respray its probably good enough.

 

I just wish i could do what you do Pete, alternating between painting and bodywork repairs and remaining reletivly clean!

[matty1303]

Is it a sparrow hawk?

 

It is indeed, a male sparrow hawk if your interested

[rally515]

 

Is it a sparrow hawk?

 

It is indeed, a male sparrow hawk if your interested

 

 

 

I said hawk in my post before anyone else!!....that means im pro now thankyouuuuu    , thats a nice shot by you too Pete, are you a keen photographa ?

[Petrol]

 

Thanks for the clarification matty 1303.

I don't see much in the way of interesting wildlife in the back garden so that was a bit spesh for me.

 

 

I'm interested in astronomy Cliff and have taken quite a few pics of galaxies and nebulas. Most of the pics I take though are of cars.

 

Decided to fit the roof last. Inside of the shell wants flatting before painting and it's like the black hole of Calcutta in there with the roof on. I'm going to have to sort some proper lighting out for the final paint job.

 

Seam sealing underneath the front arches was not easy

 

 

 

I also applied it over the whole of the arch to front panel seam. Rust starts on sharp edges and corners, especially on vulnerable areas.

 

 

With a coat of stone chip followed by a basecoat and 2K clearcoat, it should offer decent protection.

 

Pete

[big-jay]

Cracking job your doing here Pete, very inspiring !

[matty1303]

 

Thanks for the clarification matty 1303.

I don't see much in the way of interesting wildlife in the back garden so that was a bit spesh for me.

 

 

I'm interested in astronomy Cliff and have taken quite a few pics of galaxies and nebulas. Most of the pics I take though are of cars.

 

Decided to fit the roof last. Inside of the shell wants flatting before painting and it's like the black hole of Calcutta in there with the roof on. I'm going to have to sort some proper lighting out for the final paint job.

 

Seam sealing underneath the front arches was not easy

 

 

 

I also applied it over the whole of the arch to front panel seam. Rust starts on sharp edges and corners, especially on vulnerable areas.

 

 

With a coat of stone chip followed by a basecoat and 2K clearcoat, it should offer decent protection.

 

Pete

 

 

your welcome..........oh by the way love this build attention to detail is off the charts, been following this for a while now, I will have to agree with big-jay, very inspiring

[Petrol]

Thanks again guys,

 

Decided to have a bit of a clean up today. Garage was a bit of a mess

 

 

Progress so far

 

 

 

 

 

Couple of drive pics

 

 

 

Might be worth a mention about paint hardening times as it takes a lot longer than you might think. Depending on thickness & temps, it can take months. It's another good reason to paint as you go since it allows time for the paint to fully cure. Too much too soon is easily done and often ends up with crazed paint and shrinkage lines around filler.  A hand built shell will invariably have ripples where the heat has run up the panels during welding. Whilst spot welding introduces less heat than plug welding, it will still be evident. I have seen rippling on brand new Heritage shells. What I am doing is building up the paint to hopefully achieve a totally ripple free finish. I sprayed some 2K high build primer on one of the rear 1/4 panels a couple of weeks ago and flatted it back today. 

 

 

 

I don't flat panels by hand, I use a variety of blocks. These are mainly what I use.

 

From the top -

 

Small rubber block, great for small flat areas and filler

Large block that has a thin rubber pad on it, this allows it to shape to the contour on larger curved panels

Hard foam block, great for curves like the rear valence

Thin foam block, flexible enough to shape around tight curves

 

 

I mentioned earlier in the thread about spraying gloss to see what you're doing, in other words any imperfections. At this stage I'm rubbing down with 600's but it's still possible to see them as the flatted finish has a sheen. This is the top of a front wing for example which looks OK to me

 

 

 

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Petrol]

I got bored with bodywork so decided to have a look at the wiring. I'm ditching most of the electronics including the injection so need to make up a custom loom. This will mainly be made up from an early loom with some of the MPI stuff spliced in. This is not easy to say the least

 

Mpi loom chopped up

 

 

The basis of the new loom

 

 

MPI sized grommet fitted for the bulkhead

 

 

I will be using the later indicator stalks with the the headlight switch built in, wires cut ready to splice in

 

 

Quite a lot to do but got this far

 

 

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ben_O]

This is one job that i am DREADING on mine.

 

Good progress with it though. I would still be sitting looking at it if that was me.

 

Ben

[domdee]

I dont envy that wiring job you've got on, but would do it if it meant having the car your going to have!!! keep going :)

[Petrol]

The Haynes manual wiring diagram has quite a few wire colours wrong particularly on the MPI loom. I had to strip most of the loom wrap off to trace the wires and sort it. Got there eventually.

 

Intermittent wipe relay and indicator flasher mounted behind the dash

 

 

 

Engine bay, I have another fuse box and relays to add (Spots and air horns)

 

 

Rather than use the unreliable bullet connectors under the front panel for the lights, decided to keep the MPI arrangement and run the cables under the wings

 

 

These use modern waterproof connectors,  it also keeps the wiring in the engine bay a bit more minimalistic

 

 

 

In both of the looms, I found a lot of crimped connections; It's just a cheap way of splicing wires together. Long term this could lead to connection problems so I soldered them up. That was my weekend gone in a flash!

 

Pete

 

 

[Tomo16]

Evening all, new to this forum so spend the last hour or so reading everyones posts. I have a 97 cooper 1275 gt sport.
 image.jpg   56.61K   15 downloads
It's the first mini I have owned. Fell in love with the car as soon as I saw it and went on to buy it there n then. It has started and run fine every time I've gone to it but had a little incident with a pot hole last week.
(Won't let me upload a picture in this post but will upload one in a post straight after) just wanted a little advice on how to go about replacing necessary panels. From what I can see il need a new wing,a panel and could do with a new panel below the windscreen while it's in the garage.
Any advice would be brilliant
Thanks in advance
Tom

[Petrol]

Evening all, new to this forum so spend the last hour or so reading everyones posts. I have a 97 cooper 1275 gt sport.

 

Just wanted a little advice on how to go about replacing necessary panels. From what I can see il need a new wing,a panel and could do with a new panel below the windscreen while it's in the garage.
Any advice would be brilliant
Thanks in advance
Tom

 

 

Hi Tom, I have shown how I have built this shell but it will take ages to go through the thread. it might be best if you ask in the Bodywork, Paint and detailing section of the forum. I'm sure you will get plenty of answers in that section.

 

Update on the project -

Loom is done

Back to flatting back the bodywork, a long and boring job

Pete

[Ben_O]

Glad to hear the loom is done Pete.

 

Have fun flatting!!