684 replies to this topic

[skoughi]

God this Clubman reminds me so much of what my one was like! Maybe it's the orange paint and huge sections of bodyshell that required replacing! Great work and love seeing the pictures, will be very good when finished.

Edited by skoughi, 12 December 2016 - 07:28 PM.

[Ben_O]

The A post repairs on this side of the car have ended up being much more involved than expected but finally they are finished.

 

I was cleaning up under the scuttle ready to accept the new panel and what looked like solid metal under a coat of underseal turned out to be an expertly crafted illusion created by an aluminum plate glued on with bathroom sealant, then blended in with body filler and fibreglass  and then a coat of underseal.

 

But finally, i could clamp in the prepped flitch panel

 

 

 

It is almost big enough to fill the gap but will need another small plate making to fill a gap at the bottom

 

 

And finally welded in

 

 

 

Ignore the ill aligned hinge holes, the holes on the new flitch were in the wrong place... That's sorted now however.

 

Then on with the door and A panel

 

 

 

 

pretty pleased with the initial gaps but the door will need some work in places to make the gaps even all round.

 

And then I welded on the a panel

 

 

 

 

The main place on the door needing work is along the front edge where the paint is chipped so ill add some metal there to sort it out. 

 

One side down, one to go

 

 

 

And here is a peek at the other side which hopefully won't need as much work

 

 

 

 

That's tomorrows job.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[JXC Mini GT]

Hi Ben

 

Super work on the repairs and alignment of the door.

 

I thought the bodges were confined to the rear of the car, but this one of the panel that looked like solid metal under a coat of under-seal and turned out to be an expertly crafted illusion of an aluminum plate glued on with bathroom sealant, then blended in with body filler and fibre-glass  and then a coat of under-seal really takes the biscuit.

 

Hopefully the other side doesn't have anymore suprises

[James_eaton_thewholething]

Lovely work as usual Ben. One day if I can afford it I might send my 205 for you to do the work on. Especially with the awkward parts haha

[scrumpix]

enjoying this thread and enjoying your work

[Steve220]

So satisfying to watch rot being replaced by new metal.

[Ben_O]

So yeah, the other side is just as bad...

 

Oh well, it needs doing so i better crack on.

 

Bit of a late start today as i had some quotes to prepare and a Wolsley 15/50 to put back together and polish after having some work done last week.

 

I ran a grinding stone over the hinge panel to turf the filler out and see what it was like

 

 

 

 

I had a look at the bottom section and it consisted of 4 layers where bits of tin had been welded on from both sides during previous repairs and i just couldn't decide what to do with it as there was no sensible way of splitting all of those layers so this happened...

 

 

 

I made up a new section of hinge panel and welded that in

 

 

And then made up the outer A post section and added that

 

 

I have left the very bottom unfinished as the new step panel will go in tomorrow and finish that

 

from the other angle, you can see that i have fabricated and replaced the lower inner A post section. I need to replace a small section above that but can't until the bracing comes out.

 

 

Once i was happy that the bottom section was in the correct place, i cut off the top section

 

 

I then helped Colin with another matter and time ran out

 

Once the hinge panel is complete and i have tried the door on, the flitch and step can go in.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Ben

Edited by Ben_O, 14 December 2016 - 07:15 PM.

[JXC Mini GT]

Great work Ben, the Mini is going to be so much lighter with all the additional layers of patches/filler etc removed.

[Ben_O]

Great work Ben, the Mini is going to be so much lighter with all the additional layers of patches/filler etc removed.

I still have all of the removed metal.

 

It would be interesting to weigh it and compare with the weight of the new panels.

 

I actually wish i had weighed the car before stripping it now.

 

Oh well.

 

Cheers

[CharlieNZ]

Ben, ever thought of setting up shop in New Zealand? My 1275GT would be your first job...

[Marco1972]

Hi Ben

Really enjoying these threads from Mill Road Garage
So nice to see a proper job being done
So many familiar repairs

What's happening to your own mini ?

Mark

[Ben_O]

Ben, ever thought of setting up shop in New Zealand? My 1275GT would be your first job...

Sounds tempting!

[Ben_O]

Hi Ben

Really enjoying these threads from Mill Road Garage
So nice to see a proper job being done
So many familiar repairs

What's happening to your own mini ?

Mark

Hi Mark.

 

Thanks for the compliments

 

My mini is on the driveway rusting under a tarpaulin. I really must get it over to the garage and sort it out

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[Ben_O]

Bit of a late update tonight. It's been a busy evening.

 

Continuing on from yesterday, i finished the top part of the hinge panel

 

 

With that done, I removed the old step and quarter panel bottom

 

 

 

And then trial fitted the new lower side repair panel

 

 

 

That is a Magnum panel and i have heard a great many people moan and groan about the quality and fit. whether i got lucky or what but the fit was pretty much perfect only requiring a slight trim at the front where it joins at the A post.

 

So once it was marked out and cut in, i took it back off and fitted the companion bin closer

 

 

I didn't take a picture of it welded in primed so on with the step again and tacked to the quarter and plug welds complete

 

 

And then fully welded

 

 

And then the moment of truth. Will the door fit??

 

First i had to remove a damaged hinge from the door. It had a snapped stud and one of the retaining screws was rounded off so i had to drill and tap a new thread.

 

Here is the broken hinge removed

 

 

And then refitted with a new stud and new retaining screws

 

 

And then onto the car

 

 

I guess there was no need to worry then. Phew!

 

I clamped the A panel on without the flitch just to check i wasn't left with a horrendous gap at the front or anything.

 

Not to bad

 

 

With that complete. It was time to repair/replace the other flitch.

 

After a clean up, i could see what i am going to have to contend with.

 

 

To be continued....

 

Ben

[Ben_O]

Continuing on, i peeled off another patch to find filler, bathroom sealant and fibreglass

 

 

So i cut it all out

 

 

Above that is a hideous looking patch which is about 3mm thick and to remove that and replace it would involve removing the wing and scuttle corner. So after a chat with the customer, it has been decided to leave it as the front end is going to be replaced in the near future so it can all be done then.

It is adequately welded so isn't going to cause any issues come MOT time.

 

I then prepped and clamped in the new flitch repair and then welded it up

 

 

 

I got half way down and ran out of gas

 

I couldn't go out to collect any and couldn't get a delivery so had to change plans.

 

Instead of finishing that, i took the shell off of the spit

 

 

removed the bracing

 

 

 

 

And started grinding up some of the plug welds inside

 

 

Then onto the back panel. This is a job that needs to be done whilst it's off the spit so now was a good time

 

 

Cut off

 

 

Cleaned back

 

 

 

And the new one trial fitted

 

 

 

It fits really well so i removed it again, punched holes for plug welding and prepped it ready.

 

Before it can go in, i'll need to make up and fit the wiring loom tags for the back edge of the floor and clean up and refit the stiffener panels that tie in the floor, arch tub and seat back.

 

Cheers

 

Ben