375 replies to this topic

[Ethel]

Old dubba Beetles had their cavities filled will expanded PU foam, that works really well at keeping the moisture out and adds a fair bit of rigidity to the shell. Bit of a bugger if you need to get the loom out tho'

[Juju]

Since it is so gorgeous today (I thought it was supposed to be a Bank Holiday weekend? ), I decided to start taking the glass & inner bits out. Pulled out the windscreen to start with. Its the original screen & it is mint. No chips no nowt.

The scuttle is in ace condition. I'm chuffed.



It's actually better than Matilda's.



To get the dash & clocks out, I first had to work out how to get the stereo out without hurting it.



It works well, and another Unipart head unit would be hard to come by. (and I'm actually quite fond of it & its little door-mounted speakers.



It's just bizarre. (not that I actually have any experience of removing car stereos at all) I didn't think they came apart like this, but hey ho, perhaps they did in the Seventies, when I was an ickle girl.



So, this is what Mr Ethel & Mr Bellamy were warning me about? I can't get the screws of the plastic vent undone, but I can stick a screwdriver through the panel to which it is attached... More patching & welding.........thanks for the tips, though guys.



Same on the other side...



Nevermind.

Despite the surface rust, the engine bay & bulkhead are actually quite solid, so that cheers me up a bit.



I've really got to try & ort out some more storage space, because he's starting to get quite full up.



List of bits of metal that Tommy's body needs:

Rear valence
Front panel
Front N/S wing
Floor (cabin)
Half floor (boot)
Patches for rear inner arches
air vent panel things X 2

I hope the list doesn't grow much more.

[Ethel]

The screws will no doubt be rusted solid under the wings. You could drill their heads off, drill each one a little bit at a time so it don't get too hot 'n melt the plaggy. Doesn't look at all bad for an old timer.

[Teapot]

Good luck with the transformation. Another winner in the making

I can't get the screws of the plastic vent undone, but I can stick a screwdriver through the panel to which it is attached... oompf.gif

As it happens I was just discussing similar today with my mate Doug down the road whose mini o/s arch looks like this after the vent just fell out, saving him the toil of freeing the screws ... However, Doug is undeterred, like all true mini heroes, and will soldier on. Be of good cheer!

[Juju]

The screws will no doubt be rusted solid under the wings. You could drill their heads off, drill each one a little bit at a time so it don't get too hot 'n melt the plaggy.

Okies. Will do. I'll take my drill next time.

Doesn't look at all bad for an old timer.

Well, his top half is fantastic. It's his belly & bum which are rotten, but that's 15 years of pootling around the salty roads of central London & Twickenham followed by 14 years of sitting on his own in the dark.

EDIT: Bleedin' Nora, Mr T!! That certainly makes me feel better, thank you!!

Edited by Juju, 24 May 2008 - 02:42 PM.

[Haynes Emmanuelle]

Amazing motor Juju. Love it. Can't wait to see it all shiny and new. What's the miles on?

[Juju]

Amazing motor Juju. Love it. Can't wait to see it all shiny and new. What's the miles on?

Cheers you!

He's done only 40,000 km. 14 years of London traffic, then 15 years in a garage.

[Haynes Emmanuelle]

Amazing motor Juju. Love it. Can't wait to see it all shiny and new. What's the miles on?

Cheers you!

He's done only 40,000 km. 14 years of London traffic, then 15 years in a garage.

24 854.8477 miles then. Wooop that's low.

[AntonGT]

I read this one 'cover to cover' recently.

Great work on the resto, and a really interesting thread too! Love the car. It was a great buy and you are doing a great job on the resto.

I actually found this thread by accident. I was googling for something unrelated and stumbled upon it.

Interestingly, I had until recently a Clubman in OZ with the exact same nudge bar. A very rare bar down here. I had never seen one before I bought my Mini. I think this is the only pic I have of mine. Definitely the same bar though. I did straighten mine out though before selling the car... lol




If you are interested, I run an Australian Clubman GT website and forum. Our GT is actually a Cooper S with Clubman front. Everything was Cooper S except the body. We got twin tanks, 7 1/2" discs, twin carb S donk, etc....

[sheree&the-gt]

Anton Gt, you must see our UK Clubman Register, see the link on my signature

[Juju]

Thanks AntonGT.

Yerp, I am jealous of your Aussie twin-carb GTs. S'not fair.....am luvving the gold & black - Tommy in negative!

Anyway, update

Further strippings. Trying to get the wiring loom back into Tommy's cabin. All the wires & most of the connectors look pretty tip-top, so I'm not going to replace the whole caboodle.



There's one b*st*rd of a screw stopping me removing the bulkhead plate. > And now Ollie has rounded it off completely too , so bottom dash will have to come off, or we'll drill it out from the engine bay side.




Doorcards are off & stashed in the spare room along with the rear seat. They're a bit mositure damaged & warped (the doorcards, not the seat), so I'm hoping Newton Commercial will provide a lovely fresh set & I'll keep the old ones as templates.







I'd broken two drill bits trying to get the headlamp buckety-bowl things out & only managed to get through a single rivet. \ : So I'm going to leave them in place when he gets his paintwork done.





Two weeks ago we dropped out the engine & front subframe (which was knackering). Tomorrow I'll hopefully have the rear off too. I think I'm just going to stick a new rear subby on now. I'll try & get some more pics tomorrow.

Edited by Juju, 25 July 2008 - 10:47 AM.

[Ethel]

Good progress,

Use a bigger drill bit, you only need to drill 'til the head drops off (the rivet's, not your's).

[Juju]

Good progress,

Use a bigger drill bit, you only need to drill 'til the head drops off (the rivet's, not your's).

I did, Darling. It still snapped. Mind you, I think they were manufactured from tin in a sweatshop staffed by South East Asian toddlers.

[apbellamy]

Good progress,

Use a bigger drill bit, you only need to drill 'til the head drops off (the rivet's, not your's).

I did, Darling. It still snapped. Mind you, I think they were manufactured from tin in a sweatshop staffed by South East Asian toddlers.

I had the same trouble. I tried perseverance (I'll bet that's spelt wrong!), but that didn't work so I tried brute forse. That did!

Also stripped a screw in the bulk head....

[Juju]

I had the same trouble. I tried perseverance (I'll bet that's spelt wrong!), but that didn't work so I tried brute forse. That did!

Also stripped a screw in the bulk head....

I might try some stronger drill bits tomoz.