664 replies to this topic

[M44K TS]

After about 3 years of the Mini sitting doing nothing, i decided it was about time something was done with it.

Engine wise, it's sound, although there's a strange noise from the gearbox or diff maybe when it's driven, but it starts off the key (when the battery is charged) and runs very sweet.

Body wise, i have a long list of things that need done.

Basically, inner and outer sills, rear valance, o/s/r inner arch, wings, front panel (slam panel) lower windscreen scuttle panel, botton of the rear 1/4's and a couple of very small patches in the very corners of the front footwells.

So, work started today, stripping the car down as much as i could ready for going in to get the bodywork repairs on the 2nd May.

How it looked when i took it out of the garage today.






Engine bay, bit wiring to tidy but nothing too drastic


Red Bull ignition coil, fitted for a laugh, been there for 4 years

Edited by M44K TS, 05 August 2010 - 08:56 PM.

[M44K TS]

A panel where it meets the sill, rotted through!


Top of the drivers wing where it meets the scuttle, had a repair job previously


Front wing which is getting relaced anyway, so i started prodding with a screwdriver to get the idea f the full extent of the rust


n/s bottom of the scuttle, not too bad considering


Doors are spot on surprisingly, which is a releif, i was expecting the door bottoms to be shot but they're like brand new 8)


o/s rear inner arch which needs sorting, i think that and the sills are in the worst condition but i've been told it's straight forward to fix


Boot floor



Front bumper came off a treat, as did the spotlight brackets


Wheels may need to be changed for 13's when the 4 pots go on 8)



What looked like a shiny chrome bumper revealed alot of rust on the underside, good job they're getting replaced


Next to come off was the boot lid and one of the tail lights, 4 bolts and 2 screws for the boot, 4 bolts for the tail light. The other one is obstructed by the petrol tank which i'm not touching, especially as it's got 1/4 tank of juice

[M44K TS]

Next was the bonnet




Next up, wiper motor and linkage, needs refurbished as the wipers barley move, i think it'll be a bad connection somewhere, the park switch's are nutorious for breaking down after a while so my moneys on that



Interior wise, Late spec Cooper 1/2 leather, just needs a bit of a clean in places after today back seats were already removed



Next was the carpets, dash, center console and speaker pods


Getting the carpet out meant dropping the heater unit out, simply 2 screws and 1 bolt

[M44K TS]

After the carpet came out, i noticed the sound deadening pad was soken wet so i binned that, another thing to add to the ever growing list of bits to buy
Eventually, carpet was all out




Couple of patches that need doing can be seen on the left of the picture


At this point, the interior has a steering wheels, and erm... that's about it



Last job for today was taking out the rear 1/4 glass, again 4 screws, damn, this car is so easy to work on!


Old Skool Vax - cheers Nana 8)



How it went back in the garage


An my van, full of all my tools and now **** loads of Mini parts!


That's it for today, i still need to go back and take off the battery to get it on charge, and i'm sure i'll take more pics when it goes into the bodyshop. Next job though, is to order the body panels ready.8)

[M44K TS]

Got all the panels i need today apart from on which is due in tomorrow...

Anyone for an Airfix Mini?


Front Panel complete


Wings


A panels (fit between the wing and the doors)


Inner Hing panel which forms the rear of the front wheel arch the mounting for the dash air vents


Genuine Herritage Scuttle panel forms the lower windscreen


Rear Valance


Inner rear arches



Inner and Outer sills



Door step and lower rear 1/4 repair panels (only 1 pictured)


Quick one of the steering wheel to match the interior, still unsure if it will fit due to it being an airbag wheel, still waiting for the airbag to arrive
[img]


And i found out, my 4 pots will fit under my wheels, so saves money for now until i can get some Starmags

[M44K TS]

One more job off the list..

When i took the carpet out, it was stained and had a bit of muld (i think) around where the center console fits.

So, out with the cleaning gear and scotchgard stuff and it's came up like brand new






Also took some pics of the new spotlights, all nice and shiny!




They come with snap on covers but i don't think they'll be fitted

[M44K TS]

Started ordering a few bits and pieces like the Headlamp bowls, front indicators, couple of wiring harness' etc etc

Totals quickly rising.

Comments welcome

[M44K TS]

More goodies today......

Airbag was eventually delivered after about a month of waiting for it......




How it will look when it's attatched to the wheel, lets hope it will fit to the steering column




2 x wiring kit inc relays for the spot and fog lights.




And some pics of the 4 pots 8)






Still unsure of what colour to do them, i quite like the standard gold.

[Mincento]

Nice little car are you doing the work on it yourself or giving someone else the horror ?

also the panels pictured are excatly what mine is in need off mind telling me exactly how much all them cost? especially the four arch panels ?

and the four pots would they be MG metro ones by any chance?

and the dash totally random but you didnt get it from a lad in stoke brought out of miniworld did you?

one last thing shouldnt this project be in the full rebuild section? as you are doing quite a hefty amount of restoration to it?

wayne

[adammini]

looks like you have lots to do!

Bloomin rust...

Just one thing, I noticed you have some new over-sills to go on your car. I would defenately advise not to use them, and get the narrow type. The previous owner of my car put them on mine and now the floors and front wheel arches are shot!
They trap water in and excelerate rusting even if you remove the old sills too.

Good luck with it.

Ad

[miniboo]

the mpi steering wheel and older steering whells have a different size spine that fits onto different columns. i am not saying it wont fit but it will take some serious thought and modification

[M44K TS]

Mincento - The car is being sent away to get all the bodywork & welding done, i've never held a welder in my life!

All the panels pictured came to around £400, (£80 of that was the genuine scuttle panel)
The rear arch ones were £67.20 for the pair.

And yes, the 4 pots are from an MG Metro, (turbo i think)


The dash was bought from Dash Of Colour a few years back, i think they advertise in the Mini mags. Not bad quality, but loks tired after a few years.

I think you're right, it probably should be in the full rebuild section! - Any mods, feel free to move it to the appropriate section (n00b)

Ad - the guy who's doing the welding said the whole lot will be chopped out, and new sills put on, not oversills. I'llhave a word with him and see if i've bought the right ones lol

More than likley i haven't!

Miniboo - I have a feeling it won't fit... If it doesn't, expect to see it on ebay or the for sale sections on here.

Cheers for the comments guys

[Retro_10s]

Ad - the guy who's doing the welding said the whole lot will be chopped out, and new sills put on, not oversills. I'llhave a word with him and see if i've bought the right ones lol

More than likley i haven't!

They are definatly oversills,.... proper sills have vents in.. the are vents to let moisture out (mainly condensation etc... oversills trap moisture and rot your car very fast from the inside out. dont' panic... you can turn oversills into proper ones that don't encourage rust by cutting them down the centre to open up the vents like so...

Attached Files

•  9sill_cut_to_4_vents.JPG   7.95K   18 downloads

Edited by Retro_10s, 24 April 2007 - 09:06 PM.

[M44K TS]

cool, cheers.

I'll leave it in the capable hands of my bodywork guy and see what he's gonna do

[M44K TS]

I'm on first name terms with Royal Mail...

Couple of bits arrived today..

New number plates and Headlamp bowls.




I'm loving the plates though