684 replies to this topic

[Ben_O]

Hi Ben
Good to hear the order turned up, but that's a bit of a bind that the engine wasn't prepared properly so reacted with the primer, I wonder how long the green engine paint would have lasted?
 
Nice to see shiny new panels going on.

I did think that it was a good thing that you wanted it painted otherwise once the engine was fitted and warmed up, the paint may well have started peeling off.
Never mind though, it's sorted now.

Cheers
Ben

[Ben_O]

Yesterday I painted the engine

 

 

 

 

And then continued modifying the bulkhead

 

These are not needed

 

 

 

The brake valve captive nut is in the wrong place

 

 

Moved

 

 

And a few other holes were blanked up and re drilled elsewhere 

 

 

 

With that done, It was time to start aligning it onto the car.

That brings us to this morning..

Its very straightforward when you have a toeboard already in as the whole lot is pretty much self jigging.

 

Clamp the top flush with the dash rail and let the bottom fall into the recesses in the toeboard for the brake and fuel lines

 

 

The bottom of the bulkhead should hang beyond the toeboard by about 5-7mm so that seemed fine. Then it was just a case of lifting the bulkhead/dash rail up until we get the correct screen aperture measurements and clampin the bottom to the toeboard.

 

 

 

Its important not to skip this stage as the dash rail can sag in the middle with the weight of the bulkhead hanging on it. I started off with a 420mm measurement before lifting it back to 411.

 

Once I was happy, I added 4 spot welds at the top to secure it to the dash rail and a few either corner at the bottom. Ill finish the top once the scuttle is on and the bottom once the inner wings are on. We need to first make sure that the return on the bottom of the flitches follow the floor and toeboard nicely before getting too carried away.

 

Anyway, inner wings clamped on

 

 

 

 

Again, you cant really go wrong as everything ties into the toeboard and A posts so as long as the door hinge holes line up and the shock top mounts line up and also the aforementioned lower flitches follow the floor and toeboard tightly, then its gotta be right.

 

I could get all carried away at this point and screw everything together and clamp the wings and front panel on but everything looks so good that I am confident its correct.

I did get the doors bolted on though to check.

Just a couple of spot welds required so the clamps can come off

 

 

And then doors on

 

 

 

The are fine.

So is the scuttle fitment

 

 

It all sits naturally exactly where it needs to without any tension etc.

 

And I am now calling that ready to weld on this afternoon

 

 

Cheers

Ben

[JXC Mini GT]

Great work Ben, you make it look so straightforward, good to see it all taking shape.

[Ben_O]

No real strategy to the welding except I try to do all of the welds I can manage with one set of arms and then change to the longer set for the harder to reach ones just to save keep swapping them back and forth.

 

I spot welded the inner wing to the bulkhead

 

 

 

 

And then the reinforcer

 

 

 

Then the same the other side

 

 

 

I also spot welded the tops of the inner wings to the top dash rail either side but no picture...

 

Next up, scuttle. I had previously cut the joins in so it was ready to fit

 

 

I spot welded that on 

 

 

 

Next up was to plug weld the bottom of the bulkhead to the toe board

 

 

 

And thats it for today

 

 

Tomorrow I shall plug weld the flitches to the floor and toeboard and then see about fitting the lower dash rail and parcel shelf.

 

Cheers

Ben

Ill come back to welding up the joins in the screen frame later.

 

With the doors back off, I welded the flitches to the hinge posts

 

 

And the other side too.

[jamesquintin]

Exccelent work as always! Out of interest, do BMH sell the whole front section as one piece? I know they built them like that in the factory (joingin the front to the floor, then adding the sides, roof etc)

Q

[Ben_O]

Time to weld up the flitches today

 

 

 

 

And the same the other side

 

 

Scuttle joins were welded up

 

 

 

After that, I installed the front subframe

 

 

 

Then the bracing was removed so that I could weld the A post boxing panels to the flitches both sides

 

 

 

And then a tidy up of welds etc and a splash of zinc

 

 

This afternoon, I hope to have the lower dash rail and parcel shelf in.

 

Cheers

Ben

[Ben_O]

Exccelent work as always! Out of interest, do BMH sell the whole front section as one piece? I know they built them like that in the factory (joingin the front to the floor, then adding the sides, roof etc)

Q

I bought a complete bulkhead including the toeboard. This starts at the top dash rail and goes right to the floor.

Its the only thing available and I didn't need all of it as I put a new toeboard in this 3 years ago and its welded to the floor with aver 100 plug welds which I didn't fancy finding and grinding out! Plus, it's still in perfect condition.

 

Cheers

Ben

[jamesquintin]

I meant the whole front of the car including wings, front panel etc...

Q

[Ben_O]

I meant the whole front of the car including wings, front panel etc...

Q

I don't think so.

 

Cheers

Ben

[Ben_O]

I didnt manage to finish the lower shelf and dash rail. It was more of a faff than I imagined it would be.

 

First job was to mock it up. I used another shell I have to get measurements to make sure the shelf was at the correct height.

 

 

 

I also remembered to save this trim retainer from the old shelf

 

 

Once everyting was lined up, I marked out the position, removed it all to prep and then welded the shelf in

 

 

Just the lower rail to go now.

 

Cheers

Ben

[Jase]

This is immense Ben, fantastic work and another GT kept on the road.

[CharlieNZ]

I have a question Ben. Anyone looking at your work can see the impeccable quality of what you do. Obviously you have decent resources and you take the time get the job done properly, but if you had unlimited time and resources (say, like someone restoring a heritage Ferrari worth millions), what (if anything) would you do differently?

 

As a corollary to this question, when you look at the work you do now compare to what you were doing (say) 5 years ago, in what ways would you say your work is better?

 

My guess is that you would be finding a way to source only OEM parts, but I can't honestly see how you could be doing a better job of panel and paint...

[Ben_O]

I have a question Ben. Anyone looking at your work can see the impeccable quality of what you do. Obviously you have decent resources and you take the time get the job done properly, but if you had unlimited time and resources (say, like someone restoring a heritage Ferrari worth millions), what (if anything) would you do differently?

 

As a corollary to this question, when you look at the work you do now compare to what you were doing (say) 5 years ago, in what ways would you say your work is better?

 

My guess is that you would be finding a way to source only OEM parts, but I can't honestly see how you could be doing a better job of panel and paint...

They are very interesting questions and I don't think I have been asked them before.

 

First of all, restoring primarily mini's helps a great deal. When you know the body construction inside out you then start to develop little techniques to speed the job up. tricks to removing panels more quickly and knowing when to say that panel is beyond economical repair which is why you often see me replace whole panels rather than use repair panels.

 

I like to make sure that panel fit is as good as possible and that finishes are as good as I can reasonably get them. I wouldn't say that the work that I do is as good as it possibly can be and this all comes down to time and budget. I already tend to run over but this can't be helped sometimes.

I treat every restoration as if I was doing the work for myself.

 

If I had unlimited time to work on a restoration then there would certainly be a higher level of finish and something I hope to show on the "what do you do with a hot pink and rusty mini" thread I have on here which I will be restoring to concourse.

 

I am not a formally trained painter and am a mixture of crash course and self taught picking up things along the way. My paintwork is far from absolute perfection but I like to think that it is perfectly adequate for the price. I believe that paint finish is absolutely the thing that can be vastly improved if there is more time allocated to it whereas panel work particularly major structural things like I am showing on this Mini have to be right. there is no room for bodges especially when you are repairing a car for someone else even if that takes a little longer than quoted.

 

I wouldn't say my work is necessarily better than it was 5 years ago but I am certainly quicker at doing it. With experience comes better instincts so I don't tend to agonize over major panel replacement anymore. I know exactly how to fit it and if something isn't quite right, i know if it's me or the panel at fault and exactly how to overcome the problem quickly.

I just wish I had more time these days to document the work in more detail like I used to but the main purpose of the updates are fulfilled in that the customer can see exactly what is happening at all times, everyone can see that the job is being done properly and there are no hidden surprises under the carpet or beneath the stonechip.

 

 

I hope that answers your questions.

 

Cheers

Ben

[MikeRotherham]

 

I have a question Ben. Anyone looking at your work can see the impeccable quality of what you do. Obviously you have decent resources and you take the time get the job done properly, but if you had unlimited time and resources (say, like someone restoring a heritage Ferrari worth millions), what (if anything) would you do differently?

 

As a corollary to this question, when you look at the work you do now compare to what you were doing (say) 5 years ago, in what ways would you say your work is better?

 

My guess is that you would be finding a way to source only OEM parts, but I can't honestly see how you could be doing a better job of panel and paint...

They are very interesting questions and I don't think I have been asked them before.

 

First of all, restoring primarily mini's helps a great deal. When you know the body construction inside out you then start to develop little techniques to speed the job up. tricks to removing panels more quickly and knowing when to say that panel is beyond economical repair which is why you often see me replace whole panels rather than use repair panels.

 

I like to make sure that panel fit is as good as possible and that finishes are as good as I can reasonably get them. I wouldn't say that the work that I do is as good as it possibly can be and this all comes down to time and budget. I already tend to run over but this can't be helped sometimes.

I treat every restoration as if I was doing the work for myself.

 

If I had unlimited time to work on a restoration then there would certainly be a higher level of finish and something I hope to show on the "what do you do with a hot pink and rusty mini" thread I have on here which I will be restoring to concourse.

 

I am not a formally trained painter and am a mixture of crash course and self taught picking up things along the way. My paintwork is far from absolute perfection but I like to think that it is perfectly adequate for the price. I believe that paint finish is absolutely the thing that can be vastly improved if there is more time allocated to it whereas panel work particularly major structural things like I am showing on this Mini have to be right. there is no room for bodges especially when you are repairing a car for someone else even if that takes a little longer than quoted.

 

I wouldn't say my work is necessarily better than it was 5 years ago but I am certainly quicker at doing it. With experience comes better instincts so I don't tend to agonize over major panel replacement anymore. I know exactly how to fit it and if something isn't quite right, i know if it's me or the panel at fault and exactly how to overcome the problem quickly.

I just wish I had more time these days to document the work in more detail like I used to but the main purpose of the updates are fulfilled in that the customer can see exactly what is happening at all times, everyone can see that the job is being done properly and there are no hidden surprises under the carpet or beneath the stonechip.

 

 

I hope that answers your questions.

 

Cheers

Ben

 

I'd have liked this post twice if it was possible.

 

If only others in the motor trade had half the amount of the honesty and integrity you have Ben. Things would be so much better for motorists.

 

All I want whenever I take my car in for whatever kind of work is to be treated with honesty and fairness not ripped off and if things have gone spectacularly wrong, own up to it.  And yes I'm well aware of the other side of the coin where some motorists are complete (insert favourite expletive)'s want something for nothing and are just PITA's

 

Gone a bit off topic there.

[CharlieNZ]

Thanks Ben, that's an excellent answer. I guess that getting that perfect mirror-like paint finish is what sucks up the time and money for the guys doing top level restorations. However, once you've got a finish like that, you're never going to drive the car. I would much prefer to have a car done by you, where you know the rust is all gone, everything is in line, and the structure is 100% correct, but you aren't fretting about chips in the $30,000 paint job. If only you would emigrate to New Zealand, my car would be first on your job list...