1498 replies to this topic

[James_eaton_thewholething]

Yeah I understand most days I only get time to do things before work so end up rushing to get as much done as possible. Still will be worth it when it's done.

[alchall]

Lovely neat job as always, amazing how some things can take so much longer than you expect them to!

[Carlos W]

Looking good mate, keep the momentum up.

[Ben_O]

Hi all.

 

I decided that i should sort the rear bumper lip on the back panel today as i should be receiving the new boot floor tomorrow so i did just that.

 

Here is the crusty mess. it is even worse on the underside and where it has blown so much, it still has part of the boot skin attached. No way that can be saved.

 

 

 

I shall need to make the new lip in 3 sections as i don't have any steel large enough to make a 1 piece lip.

 

The template is very simple to make. I just clamped a piece of card to the old lip so there was card infront and behind to trace the outline.

 

 

I thin drew the line on the inside and the outside following the curve of the back panel as a guide.

 

Then i cut it out

 

 

Once i was happy it followed the curve accurately, i transferred it onto steel.

 

Then once i was happy with the fit of that, i cut the old section off

 

When i was cleaning up the edge for welding, i noticed this

 

 

 

So it was cut out and a new piece added

 

 

And then welded together with the lip

 

 

Next were the side pieces

 

In card

 

 

Chop off the old one

 

 

And weld in the new

 

 

i hit a slight snag at this point. As you can see above, i haven't welded it right to the edge. If i do, it's going to be a pain to grind the welds down so close to a tight corner.

Instead, i welded this part from inside so at least ill only have the penetration on the outside which will be easier to grind down

 

 

Then the same process for the other side

 

 

and finished

 

 

I didn't really have time to start grinding today but i wanted to see how it would look so i did the centre section.

 

 

That should grind back a treat but will probably have a light skim of stopper at some point just to even it all up.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[nightflier]

Nice fabrication work, Ben. I love the to and fro of ownership, and credit to you for sticking by the Mini :)

My other half has an original 25 with factory fitted sunroof (apparently one of ten originally made) He's called Ronnie, and is stored, patiently awaiting his turn in the welding queue! :)

I'll be following your progress with interest :)

[Ben_O]

Nice fabrication work, Ben. I love the to and fro of ownership, and credit to you for sticking by the Mini :)

My other half has an original 25 with factory fitted sunroof (apparently one of ten originally made) He's called Ronnie, and is stored, patiently awaiting his turn in the welding queue! :)

I'll be following your progress with interest :)

Thank you.

 

Will you be showing Ronnie's progress on here when his time comes? There aren't enough 25's on here..

[nightflier]

I'm sure we will, I think they're an underrated SE, and definitely worth saving where possible :)

[SAL 821X]

Even your CAD templates are a work of art Ben. 

 

Certainly brings a new meaning to 'cracking the whip' this thread at the moment.

Edited by SAL 821X, 17 August 2015 - 06:07 PM.

[Ben_O]

Even your CAD templates are a work of art Ben. 

 

Certainly brings a new meaning to 'cracking the whip' this thread at the moment.

Cheers.

 

I feel as if everything is a bit half arsed at the moment due to the rush but needs must. I shall re-visit all these areas when it comes to prep and finish it all of nicely.

The Boot floor will be here tomorrow so that will be going in and then it's the mad rush to get the arch tub and quarter panel done then hopefully the inner and outer sills on the n/s before the move.

 

3 weeks and counting....

[James_eaton_thewholething]

Love the repair on the hinge panel. I've just finished mine today wasn't as hard as I thought. Just wish I had your skill with cleaning up welds

[Ben_O]

Well some of my Minispares order turned up. It seems the courier has lost the boot floor and are trying to locate it.....

 

What i did get was a rear subframe fitting kit, a rear arch tub and the rear subframe mounting reinforcers.

 

I made a start on re-bushing the rear subframe prior to using it to aid lining up the new boot floor and i had a bit of a disaster.

 

More on that when i can get on my own laptop..

[Ben_O]

Here is what turned up

 

 

Well apart from the zippo

 

As i just said, the bootfloor is MIA.

 

I dug out the subframe and decided to work outside as there is more space. Fortunately, i have my brother in law's old bed base here waiting for me to take to the tip so i put it to use as a workbench

 

 

I thought i would blow the cobwebs off of it and re-bush it ready for fitting to aid boot floor alignment.

 

here is the Minispares kit

 

 

I started with this front mount.

 

 

here it is removed. Took some beating to shift it, it was completly stuck to the frame

 

 

I also removed the other bolts you can see that hold the radius arm carrier on and bagged them up o they don't drop out and get lost.

 

I had to burn the bush out of this trunion as it had completely collapsed inside and wouldn't shift.

 

I gave the trunion  a quick clean up with a wire wheel for now and fitted the new bush. Before final assembly, they will either be painted or plated.

 

 

And fitted.

 

 

I decided to leave the nuts loose to give me some wiggle room

 

I did the same the other side

 

 

 

And then started on the rear mounts.

 

 

That one was a pain because the trunion had been removed years ago leaving the thread exposed to all weather since.I had to use the new nut to work on and off the thread a little at a time to clear the threads.

It's all ok now.

 

Then onto the other side

 

 

Whoops

 

 

Oh dear. 

I have sort of come up with a plan on how to fix it which will involve chopping the frame open and cutting the old bolt/pin out.

I think you can tell from this picture where i am going with it

 

 

I wonder...

 

anyone got any better ideas? Or if you agree it's a good one, has anyone got a spare front trunion pin with a good thread knocking around that can go to a loving home?

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[Rocket.]

The same thing happened to mine

 

I chopped up another rear subframe to fix it

[Ben_O]

The same thing happened to mine

 

I chopped up another rear subframe to fix it

I watched a video on youtube where some bloke used some cds tube and a new bolt and made the whole assembly with some new 3mm plate.

 

Looked like quite a good job.

 

I might see what i can do with a front pin though as it's all the same sizes and ready to go.

 

I just wish i had heated it up first but i wasn't thinking. I was chatting instead 

[Rocket.]

 

The same thing happened to mine

 

I chopped up another rear subframe to fix it

I watched a video on youtube where some bloke used some cds tube and a new bolt and made the whole assembly with some new 3mm plate.

 

Looked like quite a good job.

 

I might see what i can do with a front pin though as it's all the same sizes and ready to go.

 

I just wish i had heated it up first but i wasn't thinking. I was chatting instead 

 

 

I didn't notice the pin was the same size  

 

Mine was the last thing I had to undo then SNAP