4 replies to this topic

[alex-95]

I'm going to have to replace the whole floor on my mini van and probably the toe board too, I'm trying to find the best option, either A - buying a full m-machine floor or B - buying a saloon heritage floor, extension piece, sills, heelboard etc or c - buying a magnum van floor and buying the sills, heelboard etc.

 

Option A - m-machine - roughly £750 +postage

 

Pro's - it's already welded on a jig so know it's square etc

 

Con's - it's 2 floor half and a tunnel spot welded together so have the seams for rust traps

          - Not knowing how well the seams are rust protected, if at all?

 

Option B - Hertage - around £550 + postage

 

Pro's - It's mainly one full panel

        - Can treat all the seams with what I want

 

Con's - Have to weld it yourself with no jig

         - Spi floor so has one floor flute running down the full length of the floor 

         - have a seam at the back where the mani floor attaches to the extension piece

 

Option C - Magnum - roughly £690 + 2 x postage 

 

Pro's - Full floor panel

         - Can treat all the seams with what I want

 

Con's - Have to weld it yourself with no jig

          - Unsure on quality and thickness of steel (usually slightly thinner than heritage and m-machine)

          - I think they only do round tunnels currently?

 

 

So has anybody had experience of the above options? Any tips for fitting it? I'm going to brace it all and portably put a couple of datums like the front and rear subframe mounting holes.

I very nearly bought the M-machine one yesterday until I saw they aren't one piece (I forgot to ask about rust protection they apply between the seams when I rang them)

 

 

 

[MrE812]

Hey Alex,

In my limited experience, replacing one panel which is pre-assembled will be easier than assembling the jigsaw yourself (see Project Binky).

You'd still need to brace the shell and possibly make reference points to align with the floor.

I sourced half floors for my estate through M-Machine along with some heritage panels too.

Doreen would see you right I'm sure.

 

I would also suggest you assume nothing is protected against corrosion and treat all joints as a matter of course.

The coating on most panels is a courtesy to shipping and I've certainly had to sand back to bare steel to remove corrosion under the e-coat.

A good dose of etch primer and/or paint and seam sealant before more primer etc should be the ticket.

 

Other experts will be along to advise shortly I'm sure.

[Ben_O]

I had this dilemma on a pickup I restored.

 

I ended up ordering the m machine floor but immediately sent it back. Not sure if it was just a dodgy one but i would describe it as being a scruffy patchwork quilt.

 

I ended up going for the heritage saloon floor, traveller/estate extension piece and then van sills and it worked out perfectly.

Like you pointed out, it has the injection pressing but is a small price to pay if you want a factory looking finish.

I had no issues getting the extension to line up. All you have to do is cut the return off of the back of the floor pan.

 

You don't need a jig, just build it all up on the car.

 

Here is how I did it, scroll down towards the end of this page for the start of the process.

http://www.theminifo...of-wight/page-4

 

Cheers

Ben 

[alex-95]

Hey Alex,

In my limited experience, replacing one panel which is pre-assembled will be easier than assembling the jigsaw yourself (see Project Binky).

You'd still need to brace the shell and possibly make reference points to align with the floor.

I sourced half floors for my estate through M-Machine along with some heritage panels too.

Doreen would see you right I'm sure.

 

I would also suggest you assume nothing is protected against corrosion and treat all joints as a matter of course.

The coating on most panels is a courtesy to shipping and I've certainly had to sand back to bare steel to remove corrosion under the e-coat.

A good dose of etch primer and/or paint and seam sealant before more primer etc should be the ticket.

 

Other experts will be along to advise shortly I'm sure.

Cheers, Thats what I was thinking being pre-assembled and would save time. I did ring Doreen and she was very helpful.

Definitely going to be coating up the panels and doing it as i fit them, I learnt that after doing my saloon project

 

I had this dilemma on a pickup I restored.

 

I ended up ordering the m machine floor but immediately sent it back. Not sure if it was just a dodgy one but i would describe it as being a scruffy patchwork quilt.

 

I ended up going for the heritage saloon floor, traveller/estate extension piece and then van sills and it worked out perfectly.

Like you pointed out, it has the injection pressing but is a small price to pay if you want a factory looking finish.

I had no issues getting the extension to line up. All you have to do is cut the return off of the back of the floor pan.

 

You don't need a jig, just build it all up on the car.

 

Here is how I did it, scroll down towards the end of this page for the start of the process.

http://www.theminifo...of-wight/page-4

 

Cheers

Ben 

Thanks Ben, Thats very Useful! I'll definitely be following that thread when I start it. I did think you had done a full floor but couldn't find it. I did see minimikej's estate thread that he had problems too. I think that makes up my mind on what way to do it though looking at your work. A friend of mine has just done similar on his clubman estate and said it wasn't too bad a job. I was going to ask if you would replace the toe board before or after the floor but your thread answers that

 

It's going to be another big order from minispares 

 

I'll probably have loads of questions on bits you've done when I start doing it, if you don't mind

[Ben_O]

 

No problem Alex.