524 replies to this topic

[Jared Mk3]

This made me sad . . .

[Vinay-RS]

 

... I wasn't watching what I was doing and had an accident with another car....

Oh you plonker!     (can't find the SA or Xhosa equivalent term).

The important thing is that you're OK & the car is repairable.

Haha, yeah, I suppose it's important to look at the positives. Trust me, I feel worse than words can describe.

 

This made me sad . . .

I know dude... sigh, there's not much to do now. Again, the fear is that I don't exactly have the fund to fix two cars, so the Mini will have to wait.

 

It also means money that could have been used to get the car in a better state has to be used to fix my stupidity. 

[Vinay-RS]

And here's an image of the damage  

 

[Ben_O]

What a shame

 

It looks minor though, A good panel beater will have that out and sorted in no time.

[GT Jimmy]

It's not often a mini fairs better than the other car in a crash, this could have been a lot worse

 

Nice car by the way

[Jared Mk3]

As sad as it is, it could have been worse. No damage to suspension etc?

[Vinay-RS]

What a shame

 

It looks minor though, A good panel beater will have that out and sorted in no time.

Yeah, I'm hoping so too. I think I'll try and get a quote for all the bodywork at the end of the month or early next month. 

 

It's not often a mini fairs better than the other car in a crash, this could have been a lot worse

 

Nice car by the way

Thanks, dude :) It was definitely nicer a while back and hopefully it can get back there. 

 

As sad as it is, it could have been worse. No damage to suspension etc?

I had a look and the suspension seems fine, but I think it'd be ideal to check everything again and replace any components that might be broken. 

[Vinay-RS]

So, I decided to take the Mini to an auto body place that I've used before. He only took a week for the work and I actually got the car back last Sunday (I forgot to update the thread... :| ). 

 

I haven't yet taken any pictures since I still need to get the vinyl sticker sorted for that wing. 

 

Now to pull finger and fix all the broken things. First up, squeaking suspension components. Then to build the disc brakes and hubs. Then find a brake bleeding kit and then fit the brakes. Maybe I can do these jobs before the end of the year... unlikely, but hey, I can dream too  

[Vinay-RS]

So, the pictures of the fixes. Gave the car a clean up this morning and took a couple of pictures. 

 

Fixed and resprayed wing,

 

 

 

Repainted roof :)

 

 

This trim is a bit damaged only spotted it when cleaning.

 

The wheel is a bit damaged too, it's not too bad, but I need to find out how to fix it. 

[Jared Mk3]

Looking good 

[timmy850]

The paint has come up really nicely! 

 

What's the problem with the wheel, is it bent or just a bit scratched up? Are your tyres old too? Looks like some cracks starting to show through

 

I've got a wheel repair shop near me that fixed these up for me (I bought them damaged)

They straightened the edge of the rim and welded up the lip and machined it nice and smooth 

[Vinay-RS]

Looking good 

 

The paint has come up really nicely! 

 

What's the problem with the wheel, is it bent or just a bit scratched up? Are your tyres old too? Looks like some cracks starting to show through

 

I've got a wheel repair shop near me that fixed these up for me (I bought them damaged)

 

 

Thanks guys. I've also heard that the vinyl stripe is ready so I'll go and get that done in the week :) 

 

There is an outer ring on the lip that has been compressed it and scratched. The rest of the wheel is fine. I'd like to clean them up too as there are some scuffs on the brushed metal parts. 

 

You're right. I need to look at a fresh set of rubber next year. Probably Yokohama A008s or Dunlop R7s (a bit harder to find I think). 

 

I've asked on the local chat group if someone knows a good wheel refurbishment place in Cape Town. Those wheels of yours came out really well. The wheel shop did a good job. 

[Vinay-RS]

Decided to spend yesterday afternoon to evening working on the front suspension of the Mini (or at least trying to).

The recent issues have been:

1) Squeaking suspension when driving (much like before the replacement of the bushes).

2) Scratching sound when turning right. 

 

For once I actually have a decent toolbox with metric/imperial spanners and sockets and I decided to work in the tunnel at work since no one was around to tell me not to work there

 

I used a grease gun and greased all the grease points, front and back, removed the tie rods and greased the two front bushes on either side. I think I should have taken it all apart and greased everything, but I was worried that I wouldn't know how to put it all back together again. Also, I might have used the wrong grease. I think I need to use a metal-based grease for poly bushes, like CV joint grease. Rather than wheel bearing or rubber grease. Anyway, it didn't work, the squeaking is still there. 

 

Then I tried to remove the right side drive flange, but it wouldn't budge. No amount of prying or levering would get it loose. I wanted to remove it to put some grease on the bearings, in case they were the cause of the scratching. Turns out the real reason might be that the castle nut was loose (I know, scary...). Anyway, tightened it up and the scratching sound seems to have reduced (for now). 

 

I think I will leave it for now and get onto building the brake assemblies. Then perhaps when fitting the new brakes I can regrease everything. 

 

I wonder if I can get a one person brake bleeding kit in SA?

[Vinay-RS]

Some good things done today. I assembled the brake calipers, yay! Going to paint them again as the handling has damaged the silver paint. 

 

 

 

Up next, assemble the hubs with new bearings and then put it all together. 

[Jared Mk3]

At last