578 replies to this topic

[sledgehammer]

love the attention to detail 

 

nice to see someone taking the time to get it right with the repairs

 

hate to say - most so called 'restorers' are just in it for a quick buck - or rushing to the deadline

 

also it does amaze me when a customer is rushing a workshop for a restoration to be completed 

 

fantastic work

[Ben_O]

I have been cracking on with the Mini 40 the past few days. I have only just gotten round to sharing the progress with you though.

 

I have spent quite a while playing around with the door gaps on the n/s door. They were very far out as you could see in the last update. I knew the car had previously had a quarter panel and so this was suspect despite the fact it's also had an A panel.

I had to start somewhere so I concentrated on getting the front gap and the window frame as good as possible.

 

 

It's a little tighter at the bottom but If I shim it across a bit, then it is far too tight at the back

 

So this is where I settled

 

 

Then back off for prep and primer

 

 

All important riv-nuts for the mirrors

 

 

Then a seal up

 

 

 

Then back to the booth

 

 

Along with the bonnet which had some damage

 

 

 

Repaired, primed and prepped

 

 

 

And then paint.

I knew this car has been painted at least 3 times so I wasn't going to assume that the colour code on the VIN would produce an accurate match so I had it scanned and the closest match was a Citroen colour so I went with that.

 

 

 

 

Ill paint the other bits on the car on Thursday!

 

Ben

[the.stroker]

Awesome work Ben, Charlotte is one extremely happy girl!

[Ben_O]

Awesome work Ben, Charlotte is one extremely happy girl!

Good stuff

[MikeRotherham]

Hi Ben,

 

A couple of questions:

 

When you are wrapping a door skin around a the door framework could you use a car panel adhesive as they seem to do when building modern cars now? It may help to keep the seam rust free or do you think it unnecessary?

 

When you are welding two flanges/surfaces together e.g. spot welding an outer sill to the door step or plug welding the outer sill to the inner sill. Do you prime/paint the inner surfaces then just bare metal the two contacting surfaces then weld or use weld thru primer?

 

Mike.

[Ben_O]

Hi Ben,

 

A couple of questions:

 

When you are wrapping a door skin around a the door framework could you use a car panel adhesive as they seem to do when building modern cars now? It may help to keep the seam rust free or do you think it unnecessary?

 

When you are welding two flanges/surfaces together e.g. spot welding an outer sill to the door step or plug welding the outer sill to the inner sill. Do you prime/paint the inner surfaces then just bare metal the two contacting surfaces then weld or use weld thru primer?

 

Mike.

You can use an adhesive between the frame and the skin before wrapping but it makes a mess and you have to work quickly to get the skin folded, onto the car and then adjust the skin if necessary before welding, all before the sealer goes off.

And then when you weld the skin, the sealer often gets in the way making a mess again.

 

I prefer to fully coat the frame and the skin, fold the skin, weld and then seal the skin to the frame after to keep wet out and then flood the inside with wax.

 

As for welding on panels, I tend to leave the e-coat if it is sound as this is good at keeping rust away. I clean back the weld edges and coat with zinc before spot welding

 

Ben

[Homersimpson]

Personally I wouldn't seal the skins on as I have had bad experiences (twice) using polyurethane type sealants and the welding the edges up to get gaps. 

 

Something strange seems to happen to the sealant where you get it hot and the sealant makes the seams rust very quickly,  I now have to reskin four doors on a car where rust is breaking through the new skins after less than 2 years.

 

I cant believe it but this is the second time this has happened to me,

[MikeRotherham]

Thanks for the info.

[Ben_O]

I've been beavering away with the prep.

Nothing exciting so I shan't bore you all with the details.

 

I drove it into the booth, masked up and primed some minor repair areas

 

 

 

 

 

Despite my best efforts, there just wasn't enough time to paint today so whilst the primer hardened, I polished the bonnet and doors instead.

 

 

 

Ill paint the car in the morning and then it can go back together!

 

Ben

Edited by Ben_O, 07 June 2018 - 05:32 PM.

[Ben_O]

I painted the Car this morning

 

 

And then this turned up after lunch for some paintwork

 

 

I don't usually post up about my other jobs but when was the last time anyone saw one of these?!

It only needed some minor work so I spent a few hours sorting that

 

 

 

And then back to the Mini.

 

I started fitting the parts back on

 

 

Door on

 

 

The new rubbers have thrown the door gaps out again so they will need time to settle in

 

 

Ben

[Ben_O]

Almost rebuilt now.

 

New guides on the windows

 

 

 

Anti drum

 

 

New moisture barrier

 

 

 

One side finished

 

 

I refitted the bonnet and the other door which is now 99% built up.

Just a de-nib and polish on the drivers side, stick on the decals and done.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[the.stroker]

Spectacular attention to detail as always Ben!

[Ben_O]

Well the 40 is now finished.

 

 

 

 

 

[wingnut]

Fab

[Ben_O]

It is one of my favorite LE Mini's and really is a credit to it's owner.

 

There is something about a White Mini with Chrome that I really like. It just looks right