289 replies to this topic

[CityEPete]

You need to clone yourself!

[Ben_O]

You need to clone yourself!

I do need another pair of hands really but I prefer to work alone. That's the issue..

[spraybeater]

 

You need to clone yourself!

I do need another pair of hands really but I prefer to work alone. That's the issue..

 

 

I know where your coming from Ben had the same problem for Fifty odd years

about four out of nearly a hundred apprentices made the grade. 

[nicnoo]

 

You need to clone yourself!

I do need another pair of hands really but I prefer to work alone. That's the issue..

 

That's the sign of a perfectionist, I know it all too well :)

[blueovalcraig]

Great work.  Mini is really coming on well now.

[Ben_O]

Another day of prep today.

 

Inside the boot

 

 

Parcel shelf

 

 

Rear bulkhead and seat pan

 

 

 

And then the floor was scotched up again to key the primer I put on last time

 

 

And then I done some masking up ready for primer

 

 

 

As you can see, I removed the steering column so that it's not in the way.

 

Before I finalised the prep, I needed to hang the doors to double check the fit and make sure that everything aligns now the car is down off of the stands

 

 

 

 

And I also refitted the boot lid and rear bumper to check those too

 

 

 

I am happy with the fit so they will come off in the morning. Then I will trial fit the rear screen, tail lamps and fuel tanks and then I can start degreasing and get some primer on

 

Cheers

 

Ben

[miniireland]

Ive been waiting patiently for this update , its simply stunning

[JXC Mini GT]

Great work Ben, doors and boot gaps look good, the owner must be well pleased with the repairs you have carried out even though the original work request was to replace the inner and outer sills.

[Ben_O]

Great work Ben, doors and boot gaps look good, the owner must be well pleased with the repairs you have carried out even though the original work request was to replace the inner and outer sills.

It has been a long road but the end is near now.

 

Then on to yours!

[Marco1972]

Top work as always Ben

The end is in sight

[Ben_O]

More trial fitting today

 

 

I didn't strap the tank down but held it square on it's stand and the filler neck pokes out correctly so that's all good. I put the rear screen in but didn't end up trying the fillet strip.

Experience doing these tells me that it will go in just fine so i'm happy with that.

 

Now I want to get some primer on it so everything came back off and I masked up the front end

 

 

And then degreased inside the car and boot and of course the outer panels

 

 

 

 

And then mixed up and applied some primer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then had a cup of tea whilst that dried.

 

Next, I flatted down the primer inside and in the boot. I shall leave the external panel flatting until i am ready to paint the outside. This job will have to be done in 3 stages - Inside and boot, Underside and then finally outer panels

 

 

 

 

And then applied some brush on sealent

 

 

 

 

I also sealed up inside the companion bins and inside the boot

 

I was going to get then underside primed tomorrow but decided that I would get the inside top coated as well as inside the boot. This will save me lots of hassle raising and lowering the car doing it the other way.

 

The paint arrived this afternoon too

 

 

Looks good to me!

[miniireland]

Fantastic if I owned it Id be getting the whole lot painted though thats my 1 and only gripe

Sterling Work

[minimans]

Fantastic work and attention to detail! I do mechanical restoration only in my business and wish I could find somebody here in California to do body work and paint like you! As the previous post I can't understand why the customer would not authorize a complete re-paint? with the best will in the world it will still show the old and new, if not straight away, once the new starts to fade in a year or two it will become obvious? but I understand re-straights placed on you by the customer if this is the case. Anyway if you fancy a bus mans holiday here in California my 1960 is needing some love.......................................

 mini2.JPG   65.45K   2 downloads

[minimissions]

Loving the look of this Mk2, Nice work, I would love to come learn from you guys... its going to be another stunner!

[Ben_O]

Fortunately, the entire car has been resprayed fairly recently so the paint is all still fresh which is why I didn't recommend a full respray. There isn't really any need.

 

 

Fantastic work and attention to detail! I do mechanical restoration only in my business and wish I could find somebody here in California to do body work and paint like you! As the previous post I can't understand why the customer would not authorize a complete re-paint? with the best will in the world it will still show the old and new, if not straight away, once the new starts to fade in a year or two it will become obvious? but I understand re-straights placed on you by the customer if this is the case. Anyway if you fancy a bus mans holiday here in California my 1960 is needing some love.......................................

mini2.JPG

Thanks for the comments.

I'd love to come out to California, even if it ended up being a bus mans holiday!