71 replies to this topic

[lchris21]

so any more progress ???

Phew....................its taken nearly a year on and off to get this far, LOL
Just got the drivers side door step and sill tacked into place. So nothing earth shattering just run of the mill Mini resto stuff really. Next updates could be a while


Door step and rear quarter fitted in place with the door for alignment ready for tacking




Sill punched ready for puddle welding into position.

[lchris21]

This weekend I have been mostly working on the drivers scuttle / inner wing area. Usual mini rot magnet areas, which had been previously bodged with *poop poop* welding and lots of body filler. Soon got the grinder on that !

Enjoy the pics:

Not a pretty sight




Out with the spot weld remover and my favourite cut-off discs




I feel like a surgeon sometimes.................Scalpel !




Bit of "Blue Peter" stuff




In with the patch




Bit of a tidyup




New patch for the upper rail area




A bit more welding




New scuttle repair panel in place ready for a more thourough tidy up when the time comes....................

[lchris21]

My learning curve into sheetmetal bodywork continues..................................

Decided to have a go at tidying the scuttle repair I did yesterday. No matter how hard you try, how good your fit-up is, or how slow you mig thin sheet together it always has a mind of its own when it cools I find. Even with the spot weld back & forth technique.

After the scuttle was mig'd in it left a nasty raised seam on the weld. I ground back flush , but it could still be felt, so I did a bit of Googling on mig weld finishing, metal shrinking, panel beating etc, and stumbled accross this
http://www.wolfesmet.../sdiscdemo.html
So to cut a long story short, I knocked one up out of a bit of stainless I had lying around and gave it a wurl !!

Takes a bit of practice and a bit of fiddling with the panel beating tools but it seems to work. I'm very happy with the results and the repair panel looks / feels good. A light skim of filler should sort any imperfections out.

Only drawback is the noise. Jeees its loud. Metal on metal at 20,000 rpm. Best not do it when your neighbour is working nightshift. I had earplugs in and muffs over the top


Enjoy................

Here we go, DIY shrinking disc




Ready for action




All primered up to keep the rust at bay, with no filler yet ! A few minor imperfections to fill when the time comes and it should sorted.

Edited by lchris21, 27 April 2009 - 03:35 PM.

[Baldspeed Racing]

good work dude fair bit of welding going on so thumbs up for saving a shell

[lchris21]

More progress..............................................on the rust that is

Perhaps I should have started this thread in the complete min rebuild section, then moved here when the nitty gritty starts, anyway. I'm here now.
Passed a bit of milestone today, as all the rust foward of the rear wheel arches is gone !
Did the passenger scuttle area today. A bit more fiddly as the windscreen rubber metal had gone along with the dash rail inside. A few months ago I would be dreading a job like this, but I'm getting quite good at the rust malarkey !

Enjoy the pics.....


Last bit of rust up front:





Out with the scalpel:





Bit of blue peter stuff with the windscreen edge repair:





In with the dash rail repair:





All done, ready for filler:

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

great update i like it when you thinkin of atemptin the engine gbox work as this is the part i enjoy the most

[mighty mini jack]

Top work as usual dude, makes me want to get on with mine.

[lchris21]

great update i like it when you thinkin of atemptin the engine gbox work as this is the part i enjoy the most

Been doing a bit of research on suitable materials for the various engine mounts, rear sub frame, wishbones and stuff. Will be ordering some CDS tube next week just to get me started. One of my first jobs with the tube will be to make a tube bender. I want to be able to get things just right without having to nip back & forth to my local tube bending emporium (wherever that may be?)
Round tube chassis mods look alot more pro, and will be much stronger, if a bit more work. Sorry to prolong the wait for the nitty gritty engine & stuff, but I want to do this only once and don't want to cut corners.

I'm one of these mesure a hundred times & cut once guys,............................................ I seem to spend half my life researching stuff on the tinternet

Edited by lchris21, 03 May 2009 - 07:34 PM.

[mini.cooper998]

tube bending is all about the mandrels we have a cheep one at work and an expensive one that pulls a form through the middle as it forms.
the cheep on creates creases in the pipe as it bends where as the expensive one with the bit inside makes perfect bends. not as easy as i thought to do it but let us no how you get on.

Ps i copied the folder arnt they great. thanks for the tip

andy

[preston-7]

This is booming, not a corner cut, make me a rollcage please haaaa

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

lol im still impressed by good body repairs

[rustandoil]

Excellent work

Subscribed..........

[JordanRaisbeck]

Lovin the work mate, looks like a good project.

[jplonie]

Looking good, keep us up to date!!

J

[clubmanreece]

This is not my car but here is a front engined rwd ZX12R in a standard length front end but it's tight

Cheers
David

whoes mini is this can i see any more pics??