948 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

Manic week at work, I didn't even have time to post my progress from last weekend. Catching up now...

 

All prep and ready for welding

 

 

 

Clamped

 

 

Welded and grinded

 

 

And painted

 

 

Inside the access was very tight, and very difficult to get the welds properly done...

 

 

 

After a bit of grinding, it doesn't look too bad...

 

 

And finished off with some paint

 

 

That was all last week.

[Viktor]

Today I decided to go back again to a previous repair of which I wasn't very proud of, but first I thought it was about time to remove the wiring loom...

 

 

A bit of grinding to reveal the bad welds I did in the past

 

 

 

Then some welds in to cover the small holes

 

 

A bit of grinding 

 

 

And some paint to finish it off. I'm much happier now about this repair!

 

 

My dog Chunky 'helped' me today...

 

 

That was it for today. Hopefully more coming tomorrow!

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

I didn't do much today, but as it was quite nice outside, I decided to take the Mini out. That allowed me to clean up the garage, which was quite dusty!

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy Easter!

 

Victor

[Viktor]

I need a bit of advice here. I'm thinking on doing the rear wheel arches next, before putting in the new floors. The main reason is that I have the wheel arches already with me, but the floors I still need to order them!

 

 

 

I will be replacing the quarter panels as well, so I can cut these off to get better access. Can I get some tips to carry out these works, or perhaps a link to a post where someone has done this before with plenty of photos?

 

Thanks.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Gilles1000]

Nice work on the front inner wings :) Experience is it call, does it? 

 

I would say, for your rear wheel arches, you can spot weld them to your new rear floor and maybe screw them to the quarter panel as a temporary fixing as you plan to remove them later. This way you will keep a way of positioning everything together.

You do not have the side of the rear arches where the damper runs? Sorry, I'm not so deep in your resto :)

 

I would continue to focus on the rear to get this area done before changing to the floors or the front.

 

Do you need to change the complete rear quarters? According to the last pictures, they do not look so bad... but again I do not know how the inside looks...

 

Cheers

Gilles

[Verderad]

How bad are the the arches?   Looks like a lot of work to remove the existing arch top,  then piece it all back together.  

Looking at your previous pictures of inside the arch you have two options

1. If the existing arches are in good shape, cut the new arch into repair sections rather than replace all.

2. Drill out he spots from inside the wheel arch.  Might be difficult due to space, but would hide up plug welds once seam sealed and underseal applied.   If rear quarter is being removed you could cut out the arch but leave the lip in place to allow for alignment.  Would be two thicknesses of metal on the rear quarter lip but this won't interfere with alignment too much.

 

I was fortunate and the arches on mine were good so left them in place.  I ground the 2nd layer of metal off the arch lip after cutting the rear quarter off.  

 

Edited by Verderad, 14 April 2022 - 11:01 AM.

[Viktor]

Nice work on the front inner wings :) Experience is it call, does it? 

 

I would say, for your rear wheel arches, you can spot weld them to your new rear floor and maybe screw them to the quarter panel as a temporary fixing as you plan to remove them later. This way you will keep a way of positioning everything together.

You do not have the side of the rear arches where the damper runs? Sorry, I'm not so deep in your resto :)

 

I would continue to focus on the rear to get this area done before changing to the floors or the front.

 

Do you need to change the complete rear quarters? According to the last pictures, they do not look so bad... but again I do not know how the inside looks...

 

Cheers

Gilles

Hi Gilles, thanks for the feedback. I don't have a spot welder, so it needs to be done with my MIG welder. The side of the wheel arches are in good condition, so I'm keeping those. I have already welded the new boot floor to them.

 

 

The top of the wheel arches are quite rusted and there are sections missing on both sides, as shown in the picture above.

 

Yes, I will get all of this sorted before putting in new floors. For the rear quarters, I will only replace up to the window, not the whole panel.

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

How bad are the the arches?   Looks like a lot of work to remove the existing arch top,  then piece it all back together.  

Looking at your previous pictures of inside the arch you have two options

1. If the existing arches are in good shape, cut the new arch into repair sections rather than replace all.

2. Drill out he spots from inside the wheel arch.  Might be difficult due to space, but would hide up plug welds once seam sealed and underseal applied.   If rear quarter is being removed you could cut out the arch but leave the lip in place to allow for alignment.  Would be two thicknesses of metal on the rear quarter lip but this won't interfere with alignment too much.

 

I was fortunate and the arches on mine were good so left them in place.  I ground the 2nd layer of metal off the arch lip after cutting the rear quarter off.  

Hi Darren, thanks for the comments mate.

The arches are not great, as I put on the picture above on my response to Gilles. 

Considering my welding skills, it is going to be easier for me to replace the whole arch, rather than cutting sections. Also it is a shame to cut these heritage panels, as they are quite expensive. I know that removing the wheel arch and putting a new one in place is a lot of work and time, but probably better for my skills set. I would go for option 2, as I believe it would be easier for me.

Victor.

[Gilles1000]

Well Ok, this pictures looks familiar to me :)

On my car I had luckily only the rear end of one arch to repair so I tackled it and add only a strip of new metal. I think I am pretty lucky with mine regarding rust :)

Do you already have the small closing panels going in front of the arches? on the left of your picture

 

And yes, I had in mind the quarter panel up to the windows. I assume it's rotten on the bottom (I saw this on your previous pictures) AND the quarter window surround?

 

Gilles

[Viktor]

Well Ok, this pictures looks familiar to me :)

On my car I had luckily only the rear end of one arch to repair so I tackled it and add only a strip of new metal. I think I am pretty lucky with mine regarding rust :)

Do you already have the small closing panels going in front of the arches? on the left of your picture

 

And yes, I had in mind the quarter panel up to the windows. I assume it's rotten on the bottom (I saw this on your previous pictures) AND the quarter window surround?

 

Gilles

Hi Gilles, the closing panels are all gone, as well as the bottom part of the companion bins. My car is very rusted, unfortunately.

The quarter panels are okay generally, the bottom area is rusted, and also around the wheel arch, but other than that I believe they are okay. I would need to check the window surround, but I think these are fine.

Cheers.

Victor.

[Viktor]

It was nice to work on the Mini today, although a bit hot...

 

I checked the quarter panels, and they are fine, in general.

 

This side is okay, with rust along the seam with the rear panel, but up to the lower part of the window. The rear panel will also be replaced

 

 

A bit of rust in the lower part of the window, but nothing too bad

 

 

The other side is similar, but there's a bit of rust under the gutter

 

 

A bit of rust in the lower part of the window

 

 

And the area below the gutter, quite rusty

 

 

I removed the paint around the wheel arch, and the metal is in good condition apparently

 

 

The underside is not great, very crunchy and with missing sections

 

 

 

I then decided to park the rear arch replacement. I still not sure how to remove the old one, so I will check some videos on YouTube this evening.

 

I also cleaned up the toe board and applied a bit of anti rust treatment.

 

 

And finally I decided to tackle something that has been bothering me for quite a while. The RH step, was the first I replaced and it didn't came through properly. I think the settings on the welder were not adequate, and I didn't get good penetration. I decided to re-do it again...

 

 

 

With the parts separated, I cleaned them up, removed all the old welds and started repairing the stiffener. Tomorrow, I will be able to finish it and weld it again in place.

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

I welded the RH step back again, but didn't take any photos. This time I got good penetration and the panel is very solid!

 

Then I decided to give it a go at the wheel arch. What a tremendous task I got myself involded in! I thought it was going to be easier, just removing a few spot welds, but unfortunately it is much more than that.

 

First thing first, I cut the old wheel arch, keeping the lip of the quarter panel for future reference.

 

 

 

 

I removed the spot welds from the companion bin, that was pretty easy. But the top wheel arch to the side wheel arch is fixed in multiple points, not just the spot welds, so I had to grinded it down every single milimiter of it. Very time consuming and difficult to access.

 

 

After bending out the companion bin to grant access, I managed to clear up this front section of the wheel arch. The compaion bin will be most likely replaced with a new one.

 

 

I located the spot welds on the rear section, but didn't drill them yet. Access behind the shock absorver mounting point and the stiffener is going to be very difficult...

 

 

 

And that was it for today. My wife told me that I was making too much noise, so I had to stop. I guess when the car is in the garage the noise levels are lower, but with such a nice day, I preferred to work outside!

 

 

I'm wondering if the other side will be done the same way, Or perhaps I might try just to make a couple of repairs to the wheel arch, instead of replacing it all. Food for thought.

 

More updates tomorrow.

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 17 April 2022 - 06:45 PM.

[colinf1]

Good work, your probably feeling like me "a bit frustrated with the slow progress of small repairs"

Hopefully you get a good run at it tomorrow, as long as you put the grinder on silent! 🤣🤣

[Viktor]

Not more progress unfortunately. I spent 3h yesterday at A&E as I got something in my eye while I was cutting metal. I always have my eye protection on, but I took it out for a second and bang!

 

Lesson learned, always wear your PPE! 

[MacGyver]

Only takes a second... Ask me how I know. 😒

It's quickly done around power tools. 😁
Hope it's not too bad?

Edited by MacGyver, 19 April 2022 - 07:44 PM.