1843 replies to this topic

[Noah]

The other thing is about that paint quality....It is rover, we don't know how thin it is.....

[scaffers]

The skin is welded to the door frame, rather than drill the skin, which can be tricky, I decided to use a cutting disk in an angle grinder to cut slots.I'm hoping this will be a neater job



Door frame is more or less ready for the skin



Pete

i thought about this, i was thinking of punching holes in the flange for welding.

how often will you be cutting the slot.


thanks


scaff

[Petrol]

The whole car will be resprayed in Tahiti blue metallic inside and out. The problem is, if you had a shell ready for painting that was different colours – say the whole car was blue but the front end was in grey primer, by the time it was resprayed the front end would look a different colour. I think its called metamerism.

Like I mentioned earlier I am spraying the whole car solid (non metallic) blue to avoid this problem. This is why the valence is painted blue. And indeed to allow any movement of the filler. I did however mask up the seam to weld it to the shell



Rover went mad with the welds on the door skin



I have only cut 4 slots to weld the lip. 2 at the bottom of the door skin, one near the top hinge and one near the door handle. The skin will be sealed with sikaflex and this will offer more strength than the original Rover welds.

Sprayed the inside of the door skin



Also the door frame

[Petrol]

Alternator bracket sprayed



Boot lid frame having a good dose of Deox Gel



Got most of the bits finished now, only got the brake master cylinder / servo, steering rack and a front hub assembly to do.
I was hoping to get some Castrol LM grease to lubricate the suspension but struggled to get some. Ended up buying this



Which enabled me to build the gear shift remote. All the nuts, bolts & washers are stainless






Pete

[rally515]

Bloody genius wish i could be bothered to do this much detailing.
How much have you spent on all the rust treatment stuff? or should i not ask a silly question like that .
By the looks of that door skin inner side (which no one will see how nice it is) the final paint job should be .

[Petrol]

I didn't buy enough rust treatment stuff - I thought it's only a Mini - Yer right

Knowing what I know now, I would get

Deox Gel X2 @ £9.17 each
Deox C X1 @ £12.20
Electrox zinc paint X2 @ £29.95 each

Xylene is also required to thin the Electrox. So as a ballpark about £100. Not expensive on the grand scheme of things. I am guessing I will spend more than that on stainless nuts and bolts, then there's the hose clips... the list goes on!

If there is enough interest on this forum, I might be able to get some discount on the Bilt Hamber range of rust treatment products

Pete

[Noah]

Rust prevention and interest are two things that go hand in hand with a Mini forum....

[iMurray]

really like that flat blue...

[rally515]

Isnt too much then,Might think out it for a next project.
SS nuts & bolts for rear subframe complete kit (shocker bolts,trunion,subframe bracket nuts & washers ect..)cost me £35.75 delivered.

[java gt]

Just read the whole of this thread,fair play to you for going to the extremes to rescue this MPi.Unbelievable how badly they rust which makes them a good investment in the future when most of them have disappeared due to rust.

[Albertini]

Fantastic thread, this car is going to be seriously mint, Keep up the good work.

[Petrol]

Thanks for the comments

Rally515 I wouldn’t recommend stainless bolts on critical areas like suspension, steering & subframe mounts. These will be high tensile bolts and stainless only has 80% the tensile strength of a HT bolt. Another one to watch is the rear brake back plate to radius arm bolts. These are under significant shear force when braking.

Java gt, I also can’t believe how bad it is. It seems to me that the E coat process has failed and I can’t quite fathom out why….

If you have an old car E coated, it first goes into an oven to blister the paint. This speeds up the next process - an acid dip to remove everything other than steel. It then goes into a rinse tank before the E coat is applied. E coat works by immersing the shell in a solution and applying a high voltage which results in the deposit of the E coat to the steel – it’s a bit like zinc plating. Looky here

http://www.sxoc.com/...a-refurb/page28

Mini’s have a lot of wide seams, this could cause problems with the rinse process. If the acid is not rinsed out of the seams properly, then it’s the start of the end. My guess is that Rover welded up the shells and went straight into the E coat tank. The second you weld, you have rust so this could explain why the E coat failed. E coat needs clean, bright steel.

I also think that when Rover built these cars they knew the writing was on the wall. They fitted a lot of “bling” to sell em… Fuel injection, wood dash etc etc but to cut costs, they skimped on the basics.

Again thanks for the replies. I’m still working on ways to rebuild this Minbin so it doesn’t rot. I don’t have a garage so I have my work cut out.

Pete

[Noah]

Yay someone else without a garage, my drive isn't flat and I live on a hill so I may end up chasing my engine down the hill when i finally pull it out.

I actually think Rover didn't bother with the Rust Protection on the later cars, mine is 1994 and after 18 years, it needs a new front end, some patching on the scuttle and some new outer sills. Though I'm replacing alot of the panels like the scuttle rather than patch, its just not worth the hassle. Apparently though, to save costs not only did they cut rust protection, they reduced the thickness of the metal on areas like the scuttle on the MPIs. Just a rumour, don't know if its true.

Edited by Noah, 03 February 2013 - 12:01 AM.

[4V8s]

Pete I am gonna keep an eye on your car for the future if it ever comes up for sale it will be one to buy and cherish for sure! maybe the only one likely to never rust again!!!!

Also following this tread with great interest. Keep up the good work and the excellent posts

[Petrol]

Noah, I think you are right, rust proofing on these cars was pathetic. What I would say though is the sheet metal has a high carbon content. I mentioned earlier in this thread about carbon deposits and boy did I struggle to remove them from the bonnet. I did however get them out. I also got the bonnet lip welded on tonight.

4V8s, thanks for the kind words but I don’t think I will ever sell it. Made that mistake before and regretted it. My first Min was sold to Remi Moses of Man U fame, I tried to buy it back again but to no avail. This one will be a keeper

You can buy a new shell from Heritage but it's bright steel and primer. It's only a matter of time before it rots. I think the only way to build a min that will last is to fabricate your own... That's my plan

Thanks for looking

Pete