pics of my mini which I've been fiddling about with since late '05.It started off as a bog standard '89 mayfair with only 16,000 miles on the clock, bought for £650. I knew it was a bit pricey, but It was such a good runner and seemed to be in very good nick after a first glance, plus I was living on the Orkney islands off the north coast of Scotland at the time, where good mini's never come up for sale!
This is it as it was when I bought it.
I got it to the garage, and found it was a tad holy... corrosion was found under both rear arches, rear quarter panels, rear valance, front panel, both doors, inner and outer sills, and probably other places I've forgotten! so I set about welding up all the areas, trying to make patches rather than buy new panels, to minimise cost! It was useful working as a panelbeater/painter as I had use of all the tools and my boss was very helpful! I worked on it after work every day for about a month, from start to finish, from 5.00pm to around 12:00 midnight most nights.
Quarter panel
Boot floor
sexy new metal
New rear valance welded in
Corrosion cut out of door skin
Door skin welded up
New door post panel welded in
Various holes in front panel!
So after I fixed all the rust issues, I set about sorting out a multitiude of dents around the car, and prepped the car for spraying.
Filler work done
Primed
After it was primed, I rubbed it all down, and got it in the booth for the fun bit, PAINTING!! I was going to go for tartan red with a black roof, but saw a lovely deep red metallic in the Chrysler shade cards at work so went for that! sprayed the roof in Honda black with a purple pearl.
Body and roof based up
Lacquered
SHINY!!
So after it was painted, It was built up using various bits I'd got cheap off ebay and mini forums
It cost about £1300 in all, including buying the car, materials, parts and getting it on the road.
Finished
I drove it every day for a few months, til I had a bit of an adventure in the snow..
I braked at a junction and didn't stop.. went straight accross the road and ended up in the ditch opposite! I slid on black ice! I phoned a mate and he dragged me out in a tractor, and I drove to work, and assessed the damage
It wasn't too bad, had broken a front subframe mount, and bent in the front panel about 6 inches..
I pulled it out using the jig at work, and it was all fine again!
The next week I slid on another corner, and bounced off a wall, caving in the rear N/S and putting a big dent in the front wing! Not got pictures of that though!
I fixed all that up properly, and resprayed all damaged areas.
A while after that, I decided to move down to Somerset. (as you do). So I filled the mini with all my belongings, and had it shipped down. I never will know how I managed to fit all that stuff in a mini!
Then we come to the present. A few months ago, I was driving home from my girlfriends at about 1 in the morning, and I fell asleep at the wheel. I woke up in the back of a taxi at the lights! The damage wasn't half as bad as it could have been, as I saw it and swerved at the last minute, and became aquainted with the kerb. It wrecked one of my RSP minilights, the drivers wing, and drivers door skin.
Luckily I have now got a job at another garage in Weston-super-Mare, so have premises to work on it.
By this time I had fitted an MG metro engine, if anyone wonders whats going on there!
Pete
Edited by panelbeaterpeter, 26 May 2008 - 06:38 PM.
