313 replies to this topic

[JDImini]

 

I would sure like to know what the budget is for this rebuild - it will be like a new car when done!

Sorry but I can't say.

It's not cheap though.

 

It sure is shaping up into a nice car though. I hope Darren will be happy with it.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

 

As they say "you don't get owt for nowt" and I am in a very fortunate position to be able to afford it.

very happy with how it's going and if it's as good as the mini it'll be spot on!

The seats look really good

Edited by JDImini, 25 August 2017 - 10:23 PM.

[JDImini]

 

that's looking lovely!

[Carlos W]

I keep looking for a shot with my bike panels in the background

[Ben_O]

I keep looking for a shot with my bike panels in the background

They are upstairs 

[Ben_O]

 

 

that's looking lovely!

 

That was just a very quick 2000 wet flat and 30 second compound. 

I estimate it will take me around 5-6 hours to flat and polish the shell.

 

It will have a nice depth when done though.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[Ben_O]

Update time.

 

I finished polishing the front deck and fitted the wiper wheelboxes, washer jets, padded rail and tourneo press studs as well as the fresh air de-mister vents

 

 

I then fitted a new windscreen frame to body seal to the windscreen frame and attempted to fit the screen to the car.

If you think fitting a Mini screen can be tricky..... This is in another league. 

The main issue is the new seal. Its so hard and thick that when fastening the screen down, the rubber won't compress enough and the stress keeps putting a dip in the scuttle.

 

I had the screen on and off about 3 or 4 times trying to get it to fit nicely and in the end gave up.

I'm on my own this week and it's really a 2 man job so that will have to be done next week.

 

Well here is the latest parts haul

 

 

The main parts I was waiting for are the wishbones and king pins so that I can assemble and fit the front suspension and hubs.

As you may remember from earlier in the thread, this car is having uprated suspension and brakes fitted which comes in kit form so required quite a bit of head scratching to put together nicely.

The finish of some of the components wasn't the best. Mainly some threaded parts like the shock mounts were not drilled and tapped deep enough fo the bolts so needed sorting.

Also, the new top arms foul the brake pipes when routed in their original position so they needed to be relocated which meant making up another set of new brake pipes.

 

Anyway, progress was made and I soon had one side on

 

 

You can see the brake pipe in it's original position would be crushed by the top arm at full droop so I drilled through the inner wing and moved them out of the way

 

 

And then with the hubs and brakes on, one side is complete

 

 

And with the shock

 

 

I still need to paint the hub and steering arm. I was reluctant to do that first as I knew I would need to make some adjustments and slight mods to them for everything to fit so that will be done after everything is fitted and the car is rolling.

 

And here is the other side minus the shock. I still need to drill and tap a deeper thread into the bottom arm to accept the shock absorber bolt before it can go on

 

 

And here is the re-located brake pipe for this side

 

 

 

I'm not sure until I get the wheels on and the car on the ground but I may need to space the top trunnions slightly which will mean removing the springs again.

I have made a special tool to make that easier so won't be the end of the world if it has to happen.

 

Once I am happy with the front suspension, Ill get the steering rack fitted and the ARB. I think that the steering arm may need spacing back more so that the track rod ends don't foul the brake discs but ill cross that bridge when I come to it.

 

Cheers

Ben

[JDImini]

Front setup is looking very nice!

[Vinmin]

Just one thing to advise. You have the top trunions fitted wrong. The pin to what was the original shock mount should be on the outside (neareset the disk). You will have a lot of positive camber the way you have assembled it.

 

Common mistake I've done it myself.

[Ben_O]

Just one thing to advise. You have the top trunions fitted wrong. The pin to what was the original shock mount should be on the outside (neareset the disk). You will have a lot of positive camber the way you have assembled it.

 

Common mistake I've done it myself.

Thanks for that. Ill sort that tomorrow

[Ben_O]

I painted the steering rack, anti roll bar and all the brackets etc this morning so whilst they were baking, I decided to fit up some of the back end.

 

Before the bumpers could go on, I needed to flat and polish the bottoms of the quarter panels as they will be obstructed by the rear bumper.

 

 

I also polished the rear panel at this stage

 

And then on went the bumpers, rear lamps and number plate

 

 

 

 

Then I got the steering rack and column fitted plus the alternator conversion

 

 

 

 

And finally the Anti roll bar

 

 

The first thing i do tomorrow will be to turn the trunions round as has been pointed out and then get the last of the front end bits cleaned, painted and fitted ready for the wings and front panel.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[Ben_O]

So as I said yesterday, the first thing I did today was to drop the springs back out and remove the shock absorbers from the front to enable me to turn the trunnions round.

 

 

 

Had a few issues with some of the new nuts and bolts supplied with the kit though. When bolting up the spring pans and lower shock arms, some of the new bolts started to strip their threads when I tightened them.

This is obviously not good so I decided to not take any chances and just replaced all the spring pan and lower shock mount nuts and bolts with better quality high tensile ones.

I'm now much happier with it. It's just disappointing to see these firms selling kits with cheap fastenings.

 

Anyway, with that done I fitted the front brake pads, made sure everything was tightened correctly, knocked over the lock tabs on the steering arms and brake calipers, fitted new dust boots to the track rod ends and that finishes off the front brakes/suspension.

 

So I moved onto the back.

 

First up was rebuilding the brakes and fitting the drums

 

 

 

I also ran all new brake pipes across the axle and a new flexi from the main front to back line across to the splitter on the axle.

 

Then I fitted the panhard rod, shock absorbers and fuel tank

 

 

 

 

 

Fitting the rear shocks was fun with no weight on the back end because even at full reach, they wouldn't meet the top mounts.

In the end, I fitted the back wheels, lowered the car to the ground and recruited 2 helpers to weigh the back down. I had my boss squatting int he boot and another helper pushing down to enable me to pop the bolts through from below.

 

It worked fine and all that's needed on the back now is to refit the prop shaft and the handbrake cables.

 

getting there!

[JDImini]

Hi Ben

 

it's looking great. I realise it's not going to be ready for The Revival which is a shame but it's not worth trying to rush it and ending up with a problem at the last minute

 

Thanks

Darren 

[Ben_O]

Hi Ben

 

it's looking great. I realise it's not going to be ready for The Revival which is a shame but it's not worth trying to rush it and ending up with a problem at the last minute

 

Thanks

Darren 

Sorry Darren.

 

You are right though, rushing it now would be a mistake.

 

There isn't a huge amount left to do though. The main things are fitting out the interior and painting and fitting the panels.

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[blueovalcraig]

Hi Ben, looking really good. When I eventually get the mini on the road I'd like to restore a midget or an MGB GT. You've done a fantastic job on this.

[Ben_O]

Hi Ben, looking really good. When I eventually get the mini on the road I'd like to restore a midget or an MGB GT. You've done a fantastic job on this.

Cheers.

 

Although I have worked on various MG's before, this is the first one I have restored. It certainly won't be the last though.

I have an MGB and an MGC waiting in the wings to be restored.

 

The 'C' will be a massive undertaking though as it has previously been stripped to a shell, braced and had the inner and outer sills cut off and then just left outside for the past 6 years.

Mind you, the 'B' is one of those cars where there isn't anything left of it that doesn't need massive amounts of work although it is complete.

 

They are quite nice to work on though.

Thanks

 

Ben