13 replies to this topic

[Sean C]

Hi guys, 

 

I would be interested in your thoughts or experiences with front ends. I'm looking for panels for my 1977 mini. I will be fitting a heritage scuttle as I know that this is an absolute must in terms of fit and shape however I'd be interested in your thoughts on A Panels, wings and front panels. Obviously heritage would be ideal but I've heard a lot of guys use M-Machine wings/ A panels.

 

Also are M-Machine wings definitely their own creation or are they Magnum wings? With my last order from M-Machine I received the wrong panel plus it was a Magnum panel and not a great one at that

 

I have the full car to restore but not a limitless budget so your advice would be most appreciated. 

 

Cheers 

 

Sean

 

P.S I'm also wanting to buy this rollover jig so if anyone in here has one could you kindly post the size of the thing plus the height from flor to the top of the mini when it's on the spit on it's side as I want to be sure it's going to fit in my garage without it being a hindrance  

[acrowot]

i wouldent bother with the rollover jig there flimsey rubbish ive fitted magnum front ends without problems u have to make them all fit right

[greenmini1275]

I e heard even heritage panels need some work to get them to fit.

[sonikk4]

i wouldent bother with the rollover jig there flimsey rubbish ive fitted magnum front ends without problems u have to make them all fit right

 

Flimsy rubbish, mine had done three restos and still going strong.

[sonikk4]

As far as i am aware M machine supply wings, front panels only from Heritage or Magnum. Not their own pressings, however when you talk to Doreen to order your bits then you can ask at the time.

 

And yes Heritage can also be a pain to fit but generally they are better than Magnum, more consistent. The front end i fitted to Wills Mini Special went straight on with no fuss at all. All Heritage.

[Sean C]

Thanks sonikk, thats a bit more reassuring to know. Out of interest is your rollover jig the same one in the link I posted?

[sonikk4]

Thanks sonikk, thats a bit more reassuring to know. Out of interest is your rollover jig the same one in the link I posted?

 

Yes it is, bought from the same person. We have had ours now for nearly seven years.

[Sean C]

 

Thanks sonikk, thats a bit more reassuring to know. Out of interest is your rollover jig the same one in the link I posted?

 

Yes it is, bought from the same person. We have had ours now for nearly seven years.

 

Excellent. I'm needing to replace the boot floor as well as the main floor so this will be needed for they jobs plus I don't fancy welding upside down

[sonikk4]

 

 

Thanks sonikk, thats a bit more reassuring to know. Out of interest is your rollover jig the same one in the link I posted?

 

Yes it is, bought from the same person. We have had ours now for nearly seven years.

 

Excellent. I'm needing to replace the boot floor as well as the main floor so this will be needed for they jobs plus I don't fancy welding upside down

 

 

If you look at the Project Paddy link in my signature you will see it in use, also in the Project Erm link.

[Daz1968]

The rollover jig looks pretty good, expensive though.
I didn't have any issues with magnum front end on my mk1, I chose to use heritage front wings and scuttle, m machine full a panels inc post and m machine modified magnum front panel on my mk2 and only panel that gave problem was the passenger side front wing, I had to cut it to follow bonnet profile correctly, my bonnet was the original bmc one. I would go with what you are happy to spend and just take your time fitting. You can get a good result although maybe more labour intensive with any panels.
I made my own spit with some a frames and a scaffold pole and have done two restorations with it.

[Sean C]

Thanks for that Daz, If I have to pay the extra for a better fit then I guess I'll have to but obviously I'd rather save where I can without compromising the quality too much. 

 

Now I'm still stuck between the aftermarket v heritage lol

[Spider]

As I recall, even factory panels back in the day needed a little tweaking to get to fit right and is pretty much the norm for any car / panels.

[Homersimpson]

As I recall, even factory panels back in the day needed a little tweaking to get to fit right and is pretty much the norm for any car / panels.

Absolutely agree, that's why its panel beating and not flat pack assembly  

 

Looking at the build threads on here people use both sorts of panels and get really good results, its just which panels are going to need the least amount of work.  

[Lucas1988]

I'm in the process at the moment of doing a full front end, floor and boot replacement. We used heritage panels due to spend a lot less time making it all fit together, but also used a jig rather than a spit as then we knew exactly that everything was straight and true on the shell, haven't uploaded to my build thread in a while just tend to upload photos to Instagram now