464 replies to this topic

[Ben_O]

Here is yesterdays progress.

 

Next job was the replace the left hand arch tub.

Here it is cut out

 

 

 

And the new one trial fitted.

 

 

 

Once I was happy with the fit, I cut out this rusty section to replace with new metal

 

 

And replaced it

 

 

 

And then sprayed everything up with zinc and clamped in the tub

 

 

Spot welded the arch lips together

 

 

Plug welded the end of the bulkhead and companion bin to it

 

 

And popped the slug of weld to the stiffener completing the instalation

 

 

Next to go is the boot floor

 

 

As the valance, closers and back panel are completely shot, It can all go together

 

 

 

 

 

That's the floor gone, next is the seat base section

 

 

 

At this point, I spot welded the stiffeners to the arch tub

 

 

Next up is to prep for the new boot floor

 

Cheers

Ben

[JXC Mini GT]

Great work Ben , it brings back memories of my mini being done in the same sequence, as always you make it look so straightforward.

[slidehammer]

Top quality work as always

[JAYSONIC 79 IOW]

Great work Ben

[Ben_O]

This morning has been spent cleaning up and prepping all of the edges that the boot floor was attached to and removing all the snaggy bits of floor that was left behind.

 

 

 

 

And now the prep can begin on the new floor.

 

 

It needs a minor modification here

 

 

And then we have to transfer this over.

 

 

I have removed the battery earth fitting and sand blasted it ready to fit

 

 

I'll finish that up this afternoon and start fitting it to the car.

 

Cheers

Ben 

[Ben_O]

I cleaned up the tank strap bracket

 

 

And welded it to the new floor

 

 

Along with the earth strap captive

 

 

Then welded up the injection fuel line grommet hole

 

 

 

And then trial fitted the floor into the car

 

 

 

Overall, it fits very well but I was a tad concerned with the way the ends met the back of the quarter panel.

This is how it should be

 

 

But the other side is like this

 

 

I am certain that everything is in the correct position and that this must be a fault with the new floor so I tried on a half rear panel to check 

 

 

This isn't the panel I will be using on this car but it demonstrates that everything is ok with the position

 

 

The bumper holes line up perfectly

 

With that confirmed and the back panel removed again, I prepped the new subframe so I can trial fit it.

 

This is just sandblasted original trunnions with new pins, bushes and hardware

 

 

And into the car

 

 

It went straight in and the bolts dropped through easily so I'm calling that sorted.

 

 

Next time, I shall finish the prep on the boot floor and get it welded in!

 

Cheers

Ben

[Avtovaz]

wow glad you showed the bit about the rear panel mate, mine was the same! Thought it was me!

[Ben_O]

Most of the panels have some kind of issue that can make you think you got it wrong.

all I'll do with this is modify that end slightly to extend it over so that it doesn't pull the quarter over

[Magneto]

Do you remove the black E-coat, or just prime over it?

[Ben_O]

Do you remove the black E-coat, or just prime over it?

Sometimes I do but only if there is rust beneath. That doesnt tend to happen now but used to be common.

 

Generally speaking, e-coat does not need to be removed prior to painting unless it is damaged.

 

Cheers

Ben

[DUF2]

Some nice work there.

[Ben_O]

With the frame removed again and the floor taken back out, it's time to finish prepping the boot floor for its final fit.

 

Holes were drilled for the fuel supply and breather

 

 

And then it was time to work on the valance closers. I like to fit these to the floor before the floor goes in for ease of access.

Stupidly, I ordered the valance closers without the side closer and reinforcing plate.

It made more sense to just fabricate these parts than wait for replacements.

 

Pictured here is the prepped floor, the valance closer and the reinforcer I made up

 

 

First the reinforcer is spot welded to the floor

 

 

Followed by the closer

 

 

And then the same for the other side

 

 

Then I needed to make up the side closer and as this follows the curve of the valance, I decided it would be a good idea to clamp that to the floor. I just used the bumper mounting holes to line it up

 

 

The side closer goes here

 

 

And my homemade one clamped in place

 

 

And welded

 

 

Here is one for the other side

 

 

Which I fitted next

 

 

And then the floor is ready to go

 

 

In it went and all clamped up

 

 

Once it was all lined up and the subframe refitted, I started by welding the arch to floor reinforcers.

 

 

 

Then the seatbelt plate was welded to the floor as per factory spec

 

 

Then the arch to bulkhead reinforcers were welded to the floor. Again, as per factory

 

 

 

At this point, the sub frame can come back out enabling me to spot weld the arch tubs to the floor

 

 

And the multilayer sandwich of floor, valance closer and arch tub either side

 

 

 

Just the seat base section to weld to the rear bulkhead and companion bins

 

 

I finished up by lowering the car on the stands ready for the next stage

 

 

Cheers

Ben

[Ben_O]

A little bit done today.

 

Wiring harness tabs made and welded into place

 

 

Bottom of the rear bulkhead welded to the bppt floor and linished back

 

 

And then the sides of the seat base were spot welded to the companion bins

 

 

[Ben_O]

Todays task was to remove the remains of the back panel ready for the new one.

 

First up, I drilled the spot welds around the window frame

 

 

And then I cut just under the gutter and just inbound of the rear seam with a disc cutter to remove the bulk of the panel

 

 

Then there is the remains of the seams to remove and clean up starting with the roof gutter

 

 

I just grind through the roller welds with a flap disc until its thin enough to peel away

 

And then after a clean up, it's ready to go

 

 

 

And then I used the same method to remove the remains of the seams from the side panels and cleaned everything else up

 

 

And then tried the new back panel on

 

 

 

Next stage is to get everything on the back end including the inside of the back panel and valance prepped up for epoxy. 

Easier to do this now than once its welded to the car.

 

Ill post up when its done

 

Cheers

Ben

[floormanager]

Didn't realise there are two layers of steel for the roof