457 replies to this topic

[Ben_O]

Hello all.

 

I have recently been to Surrey to collect a Mini from fellow TMF member JDImini and bought it back to our bodyshop here to the Isle of Wight for restoration.

 

This will be a build diary for the car much like i did with the last one we did back in December.

 

The plan is to build a stripped out track day toy with full roll cage, bucket seats and 7.5" brake conversion for 10" wheels.

After the body work is complete, we will be building it back up with fresh parts. Engine is staying 998 at the moment but the customer has plans for that in the future..

 

The shell is very good, we have received it already stripped out and for a 1989 shell, it is in incredible condition and all original except from an A panel that has been replaced at some point.

 

Anyway, here are the first set of pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

Panel wise, we will be replacing the front panel, the A panels, the lower flitches and some repairs to the tops of the quarter panels

 

 

Then it will be resprayed inside, out and underneath in either Smoke grey or Tweed grey.

 

So with work starting, the first thing to do was degrease the underside of the floors to assess what needs to be done.

 

The waxoil under the grease has done a remarkable job of preserving the floors

 

 

I only started today late morning so nothing else to report just now but this afternoon, i shall strip back the floors underneath and post up another update this evening.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[slidehammer]

Nice one Ben, I loved the Mini Cooper you did previously as the updates are thick and fast and the workmanship top quality.

Another Mini in very safe hands.

[Ben_O]

Well i began to sand the floors this afternoon.

 

The plan was to clean up the surface rust here and there and then key up the rest but whilst cleaning up, i noticed a fair amount of spider trails of rust under the paint so i am going to have to more or less bare metal the whole floor.

 

So one side is complete bar a small amount of shot blasting in some of the seams.

 

 

 

The plan tomorrow is to strip the rest of the floor and boot floor, remove the A panels and inspect the hinge panel/A post. By the end of the day if all goes to plan, the underside will be completely prepped and ready so i can roll it back over and begin the repairs topside.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Ben

[mattmiglia]

Hi Ben could you PM an email address I can contact you on for a quote please.

[Ben_O]

Hi Ben could you PM an email address I can contact you on for a quote please.

Sure, I'll do it now

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[JDImini]

Hi Ben,

 

Great to see the work starting on the mini, a great tonic for the post holiday blues. Very pleased to here no big surprises with the bodywork, yet. Looking forward to the next update.

 

Thanks

Darren

[alchall]

Looking forward to following this one Ben!

[Ben_O]

So this morning, i have been continuing on with the floors.

 

This is the rust trails i was talking about

 

 

This seemed to be worse on the O/S floor which required all of the floor to be stripped back to bare metal. The N/S was much better but had been covered in a thin layer of grease possibly from an oil leak and this must have protected it better.

 

The best way to remove the rust tracks is a combination of spot blasting, die grinding and wire wheels.

 

The sealer over the seams looked in great shape but should always be removed with jobs like this to make sure that no rust is beneath.

There always is

 

 

Once I was happy that every trace of rust was removed from the floors i cleaned it all down

 

 

And then turned my attention to some odd holes in the floor. The must have been drilled for screws but i'm not sure what

 

 

So i welded them up

 

 

And ground them down

 

 

And then put a single coat of Zinc over the floors to protect it for the time being.

 

 

Next, ill remove the A panels and clean and inspect the flitches.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[slidehammer]

As you mentioned earlier Ben that shell is in fantastic condition for an '80s shell. There are a lot of Mini owners who would be jealous of those floors and sills, and that's before you work your magic.

[carthorse]

Bookmarked - I can see another valuable inspiration / reassuring me it's possible thread coming on!

[Ben_O]

Cheers fella's

 

Ben

[Ben_O]

Change of Plan, i decided to tackle the boot floor instead whilst the shell was on it's side.

 

There are a couple of obvious areas of surface rust but on the whole very good.

 

Again, the sealer looked spot on but i removed it anyway.

First thought was that i was wasting my time....

 

This is the seam between the top of the heelboard and the seat pan

 

 

Clean a bit further along and there is rust after all so worth doing

 

 

This is behind the rear valance once i removed the wax  from this area

 

 

Some minor spots of corrosion here too so they were removed using a combination of the die grinder and spot blasting to get in the seams.

 

And after completing half of the floor, time has run out again so i have applied a coat of zinc onto the bare areas

 

 

More updates on Monday!

 

Cheers 

 

Ben

[Steve220]

Epic work! Subscribed.

[JDImini]

Hi Ben,

 

The mini is looking amazing, not sure we're ever going to want to drive it once you've finished it

[James_eaton_thewholething]

Yes more of bens work to look at. 😊