948 replies to this topic

[colinf1]

Oh no! Hope its not too bad and you can get back to it soon!

Yes, its very easy to pick up a grinder just to nip a piece off without PPE.
I know a guy who was using a wire wheel, had safety glassed on, but not pushed up fully, punctured eyeball and got his retina glue back on, he was extremely lucky!

[Viktor]

Thanks guys, I was lucky enough that it can be removed with no other damage. I have now to put dops in my eye for 7 days, but other than that I'm fully recovered!

 

I'm away this weekend, so perfect timing to stay away from the garage for a few days.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[MacGyver]

Nice to know it won't put the mini on hold too long. 😅
Makes a forced rest, will be twice as productive after. 😁

[Viktor]

I went back to Spain for a family event this weekend, and talking to one of my uncles about my project he told me he also owned a Mini some years ago. He said it was a 1275 Cooper, but he didn't remember much of it. I asked him to send me some photos, and I thought it would be worth sharing...

 

This is my uncle with the car

 

 

And some other photos...

 

 

 

 

And my favourite one, on the snow...

 

 

Cheers

 

Victor

[Gilles1000]

Really nice pictures !

Hope they will give you even more motivation to get yours back on the road and shot the same :)

 

Cheers,

Gilles

[Eggers]

Hi Victor, looks like you've done a load of great work so far! I've just caught up on your project- I've been reading through a load of project threads and watching YouTube videos in preparation for hopefully starting my own project in June, if I can acquire the car.

I'm also based in Wimbledon- near Haydons Road, although I will be doing the project at my Grandma's in Carshalton (the downside of living in a flat).

I'm a complete novice with cars, but I've been welding MIG and TIG for about 9 years now, so I shouldn't have any problems with that side of things.
Your welding looks like it's improved loads, but if you ever want any in-person welding advice, I'd be happy to swing by some time. Drop me a PM of you like :)
Hope your eye gets better soon, you b can never be too careful. And everyone else, don't neglect your ears either! Grinders are loud :/

Looking forward to seeing your Mini around the area soon!

[Viktor]

Hi Victor, looks like you've done a load of great work so far! I've just caught up on your project- I've been reading through a load of project threads and watching YouTube videos in preparation for hopefully starting my own project in June, if I can acquire the car.

I'm also based in Wimbledon- near Haydons Road, although I will be doing the project at my Grandma's in Carshalton (the downside of living in a flat).

I'm a complete novice with cars, but I've been welding MIG and TIG for about 9 years now, so I shouldn't have any problems with that side of things.
Your welding looks like it's improved loads, but if you ever want any in-person welding advice, I'd be happy to swing by some time. Drop me a PM of you like :)
Hope your eye gets better soon, you b can never be too careful. And everyone else, don't neglect your ears either! Grinders are loud :/

Looking forward to seeing your Mini around the area soon!

Hi Eggers, just sent you a message.

Victor

[Viktor]

After more than a month away from the garage, I managed to spend some time today working on the Mini. Just really tiding up some old unfinished repairs, to get my head around the project again.

 

This door step was redone but was not finished. So I grinded it down and painted.

 

 

 

Looking good, I'm now satisfied with it.

 

 

I also went over the other side of the door step, where I left a couple of unfinished holes months ago. Now is done

 

 

And that was it for today. Short update, but I'm glad I'm back to it!

 

Victor.

[Gilles1000]

Small progree is always progress!

And I also do some "relearning" sessions after a long time, looking at some small areas to clean up (and heat myself up for the next bigger jobs)

[Viktor]

Look at what was delivered yesterday!  I will spend the weekend doing testing on different metal thicknesses. Very excited about my new toy!

 

 

 

   

[MacGyver]

You're going to save time on your build and have fun at the same time.
Good buy! 😎

Ben

[Ben_O]

I wonder if they do electrodes that extend outwards past the end of the arms?

 

You'll have trouble In some areas like the bottoms of the quarter panels to the outer sills for example as the ends of the arms will hit against the panel before the tips reach.

 

Whilst on that point, make sure that no part of the arms touch any other part of the body during the welding process as it will ark and blow holes.

 

Looks like a decent but of kit though and will save you a lot of time!

Cheers

Ben 

[Icey]

I wonder if they do electrodes that extend outwards past the end of the arms?

Not sure if they'll fit this machine, but Machine Mart do a variety of electrodes

[slidehammer]

I have SIP Spot welder and SIP didn't make some of the arms I wanted so I bought the Clark ones and had a machine shop turn the ends down slightly so they fitted

One thing I would add to Ben's fine advice is the metal needs to be spotlessly clean, far more so than with MIG welding and use weld through primer as normal.

Enjoy, they make the final result look factory and save a load of grinding back of plug welds.

[pete l]

I have one of those. Do not over use it, It says 2 spot welds per minute. If you over use it, like I did, things get very hot and the copper arms and tips change colour and don't weld properly. I was getting pink spot welds. Ended up having to buy new arms and tips.