948 replies to this topic

[Verderad]

The only recommendation I have is to prep panels ready for welding before first fit.

Always goes no the best first time.

Bonnet on its hinges, good gap to scuttle 

 

good luck 

[Viktor]

Simpson's Classics -

Classic Mini Worksop - The Moment of Truth: Will The Front End Fit Properly? Classic Mini Workshop - Racing Green Pt.37 (youtube.com)

Thanks Jarvis, interestly I was watching that yesterday.  Thanks for the link!

Victor.

[Viktor]

The only recommendation I have is to prep panels ready for welding before first fit.

Always goes no the best first time.

Bonnet on its hinges, good gap to scuttle 

 

good luck

Thanks Darren. I did a bit of try today, but nothing really serious.  I'll take your advice and prep the panels first!

Victor.

[Viktor]

Some prep done today to get the front end in place.

 

First I put the front subframe in with the help of the jack.

 

 

 

Next I put the door back and adjusted it as best as I could. However, I think I have to get it perfectly aligned before commiting to the A-panels...

 

 

I did a bit of test to see how the A-panel might sit in there...

 

 

What people think about these gaps? Does it look okay?

 

 

I also tested the wing, but it is not sitting properly...

 

 

 

Gap around the scuttle does not look right.

 

 

And also not great along the inner wing.

 

 

I also tried the other wing to see how it looks. Both wings need to get closer together to close the gap.

 

 

Conclusion from today: This is going to need more work than initially anticipated...

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[colinf1]

As Verderad said, prep the panels for where you need to weld them, then if you get it fitting right you can weld them in place, rather than trial fitting them, getting them right and having to remove them fully for prep....only to struggle to get them fitting as good again....

With your angled electrodes, you should be able to fully spot weld all of the front end, bar the seam weld at the top of the A-panel.

Starting to look like a mini again!

[Viktor]

Cheers Colin, yes hoping to make good use of the spot welder...

 

Today first day of the Easter holidays, so I decided to go for an easy win and get the closing panels sorted.

 

 

Clamped in place to prep the inner wing.

 

 

 

 

Then preping the closing panel itself. This is a mix of spot welds and plug welds.

 

 

Applied zinc primer to the inner wing and the closing panel on the top.

 

 

 

All clamped again and ready for the spot welder.

 

 

 

Then spot welded along the external edge.

 

 

And plug welded against the inner wing. This side did not come out very nice, as I had the wrong settings on the welder, but the sealant will make it look better.

 

 

On the other side same procedure, but finished a bit better.

 

 

 

 

That was all for today. Tomorrow weather permitting I'll start with the front end assembly...

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[stuart bowes]

its all about the progress however little it seems, keep it chugging along one less thing to do :)

[Viktor]

A little more progress today. Got the front panel prepared and bolted to the front subframe.

 

The inner wings need to get closer together, as it can be seen in this picture.

 

 

With some rope and tensioners I managed to close the gap, so the bonet aligns better.

 

 

 

 

Then I got the front panel full prepared, ready to get bolted into the front subframe.

 

 

 

It seems that it is sitting well, but the inner wings will still need some pulling to get the gaps correctly.

 

 

 

And that was all for today.  I'll try the wings and A-panels tomorrow to see how how they align.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

Edited by Viktor, 27 March 2024 - 06:46 PM.

[Viktor]

I have been playing around today for a couple of hours, trying to align one of the wings and the A-panel.

 

I think it is almost there, but I can still feel with my hands a bit of a bump in the transition from panel to panel. It is just a few milimeters, but I'm sure I can get it sitting perfectly. It just needs some more work...

 

 

 

 

I didn't take any pictures of the gap along the scuttle panel, but it looks quite good there.

 

I also got the A-panel aligned with the door, but not so good with the wing. That needs a bit of work...

 

 

 

So far is looking good.

 

 

For next time I'm planning to do a few spot welds between the front panel and the inner wing to get that position fixed. Then I will remove the external wing to do all the spot welds, which will provide a better access for the spot welder. Let's see how that goes.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

Quite a lot of work done today...Not much progress though...

 

I removed the wing to get the inner wing and front panel spot welded.

 

 

One spot weld to the front.

 

 

And a lot of them inside the inner wing. Once I remove the front subframe I will add more...

 

 

 

Then it was time to align the inner and outer wings, using these mounting screws. They are superb for the job.

 

 

A few screws in and ready to use the spot welder.

 

 

One final check with the bonnet down. The gap looks good to me.

 

 

All aligned in the different areas, so happy to put the spot welder to work!

 

 

 

First I spot welded the A-panel to the wing.

 

 

And then I spot welded the inner and outer wing along the bonnet line.

 

 

I prepared the A-panel for plug welding to the A-post. Welded and grinded.

 

 

 

 

Then I went back to the gutter along the bonnet line and removed the mounting screws. After that, I filled the holes with plug welds and gave it some zinc primer.

 

 

 

I finished by using the spot welder between the front panel and the wing. Access was difficult but managed to get it done. No photos of that though...

 

I gave it a go at the other wing and A-panel in preparation for the next day. The gaps along the bonnet look good to me...

 

 

 

 

On the side also looking good.

 

 

 

So that was all for today. Next time I'm hoping to get the driver's side fully welded! Looking like a Mini again!

 

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[sonscar]

Looking good,glad to see you stuck at it.Steve..

[Verderad]

Wow, that’s progress.  I think mine took months of on and off.  Well done, as you say starting to look like a mini now 

[Viktor]

Cheers guys, thanks for the support.

 

I got the front end completed today. There are a few spot welds to get sorted, but I need to remove the front subframe first. Some photos from today...

 

I got the inner wing and front panel spot welded together. Access was limited, so I will add more spot welds once the front subfram is out of the way.

 

 

 

Wing and A-panel all prepared and ready to go in. I also applied some zinc primer to the car.

 

 

 

All aligned as shown in the photos. It took a few attemps but at the end I was satisfied with the aligment...

 

 

Gap along the scuttle looks good.

 

 

And also along the door opening.

 

 

Front panel and wing aligned.

 

 

Then I started with the spot welder between wing and A-panel.

 

 

Mounting screws along the bonnet gutter.

 

 

And all spot welded there.

 

 

I removed the mounting screws and filled up the holes with plug welds. I applied some zinc primer to finish it off.

 

 

I also plug welded the A-panel against the A-post, but my phone died so no pictures of that.

 

Tomorrow I will remove the front subframe and finish all the rest of spot welds to the inner wings.

 

After that, back into the rotisserie jig and ready to paint the underside of the car...

 

Exciting times ahead!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

Although I spent a few hours in the garage I have not done much today. Putting the car back into the rotisserie is a 2 men job...

 

I removed the front subframe with the help of the jack.

 

 

And then after a lot of effort I managed to get the car back into the jig.

 

 

I need to tidy up a few things, but after that I'm planning to prepare the underneath of the car and give it a go at painting it myself.

 

Let's see how that goes...

 

Victor.

[stuart bowes]

really getting a shift on now be driving it soon !