723 replies to this topic

[kirk]

great work mate looking forward to update

Edited by kirk, 23 July 2009 - 07:05 PM.

[mighty mini jack]

Can't beat 10's!

[stevede]

Hi Guys, just a bit of an update.

We've done a bit on the inner and outer sills but the weather hasn't been too kind so I'll update that bit once I have finished at least one side.

Remember a while back when I was wondering what to do with the rear fog light? Searching around on flea bay I came across a small round lamp and in best Blue Peter fashion I got to work.


1 x lamp and 1 exhaust trim



Little bit of cutting & grinding




Bit of welding




Bit more grinding


Little bit of filler and some sanding and Hey Presto!


I had another idea with the number plate light also, but lets not go there, it wasn't pretty!

If the rain holds off, should have updates on the sills over the weekend

Thanks for looking.

[johnbest981]

Brilliant! when is your blue peter badge coming through?

[Pitcrew6464]

nice project you have going

[stevede]

Latest update on the sill Guys now that the weather has been a little kinder.

Plenty of rot to go at on both the inner and outer sills. Especialy on the drivers side.







New inner sill fully welded in





Took the complete outer sill off and also cut out the jacking point. I haven't replaced it as I would never have used it.





Repaired the rot at the back which was in the side bin.





Little piece on the door step to patch as well



Made up a small piece to fill the hole in the new sill.




We thought to improve the look underneath after the repairs that we would add a strip the full length of the floor which we would then weld the sill to. This has been added over the already repaired inner sill / floor so should also add some strength.



We then fitted the new sill and plug welded every inch to get a really strong fix.



I'm really pleased with the finished result and once primed, stonechipped and painted should look fine.



Few pics of the other side, but the same process carried out.









Recieved a bit of financial help too with the project!! It fell out of the sill when we cut it off.



Now that most of the tub is solid (couple of bits at the base of the inner wings) I'm going to do a bit of cleaning up before bending the credit card and buying a complete genuine front end. I've also got the doors to work on and fit and I will update on those when I have completed them.

Oh, and get more gas. If anyone wants to know how long a bottle of Argoshield light lasts when restoring a Mini? About as far as the inner wings!

[stevede]

Thought I'd better give a bit of an update. Lots been going on so I'll update in a few posts.

Doors!

Had a couple of doors for a while now that needed some repair & new skins. The green one just needed a bit of work at the bottom before re- skin whilst the silver one was in a much worse condition.







The green one repaired okay but after putting a new panel in the silver one, it was never going to be right so I scrapped it.



I managed to find another door at IMM for not much money. Same colour as the other one - how spooky.

Couple of small patches to repair and fit the skin that I already had.







One happy pair of repaired doors.



Even fitted okay. Still some playing about to do with the gaps etc but overall quite pleased





Even got some more gas. Bigger bottle this time as I managed to (ahem) "Aquire" an empty which means I can now loose the rental charge going forward.




The new front end has now all arrived and weather permitting will go on over the bank holiday weekend.

Some other purchases made also but I'll tell you about those another time.

Thanks for looking.

Steve

[minimotor_JD]

Nice project you got steve, really like how you've done it the short space of time, i'll be going back home next weekend to work on my mini over the bank holiday, spoken to my neighbor and my carbon fibre boot lid and wheel arches have arrived along with my new wiring looms made up by autosparks. picking up my panels from Moss Europe in Hanworth (Middlesex) next friday before closing or saturday morning.

Wow i didnt know that was Oz's car's I spoke to him when i was adding the 10% discount the other week.

Keep up the good work, i would love to learn how to weld as i have to sent silver to the garage. I'm going to be building my engine up with various parts but just working on bodywork and electrics at the moment.

[stevede]

Another installment to try and catch up a bit with progress.

Now that the doors are on (although still need some work) and the inner and outer sills are on (again, little bit of work at the front) I thought I would clean up all the floor pan and check for any more hidden rust.

I scraped most of the underseal off and the waxy coating that was on the floorpan. (anyone know if this was original or an aftermarket process?)



Then went over it with some paper towel soaked in white spirit and it came up a treat.





I will grind back / treat any small spots of rust and then I have bought some 2 pack paint from rusteater for the entire underneath before stonechip & topcoat.

Did the same inside after removing all the bitumen coating.





Found some weak metal on the scuttle under where the window seal join would have been.



Cut out & welded a piece in



New genuine front end has now arrived and will hopefully go on over the bank holiday weekend, weather permitting.



I have a front panel as well but that came after I took the photo.

I'm a little bit further on than the pictures suggest so another update will be due soon.

One last photo that I found whilst going through my images. It's one of a the clocks i got from Monty a while back but have not shared as yet.



Suppose that answers the orange and black colour idea!!

Thanks for looking once again.

Best wishes - Steve

[rimmer1993]

Great work! Ill be following this over next few months

[rosco454]

Coming along nicely,i really like the idea for the foglight.

[Leroy Boyce]

Very impressive! You couldn't weld at all before you started?

The spit really is a boon, isn't it?

[stevede]

Thanks for the comments Guys.

Rosco - I originally wanted to put the fog light low down, almost like a r/hand exhaust but it would have been too low for MOT. The idea in the boot lid was that if it didn't look right, it was easier to swap the boot lid for a clean one.

Leroy - No I couldn't weld at all before hand, (my pal probably says I still can't). Good tuition, kit set up with proper gas and plenty of practice. And I've had plenty to practice on!

Collected some more "toys" today - Another update coming soon!!

Regards

Steve

[stevede]

Well, finally made it to the front end and there's quite a bit of work to do.

A friend of my daughter asked if he could have the old front to make a BBQ out of!

Now you see it



Now you don't



Gave him the old bumper and bonet as well, can't wait to see the pictures!



I needed to repair / replace both inner wing panels and the damper mounting areas. I deceided not to replace the complete inner wings, partly for cost, and because I didn't know if the alignment would be right afterwards so, repair it was. - In hindsight, it would probably have been easier to do the full panel.

Some befores:









I cut the panels out using the repair piece as a pattern. None genuine parts so the fit was questionable. The drivers side was the worst but was the easiest to do. I had a few issues with the passenger side which would come back to bite me later.









At the front of the drivers side there was some rot where the front panel had joined. after a bit of thought, my Blue Peter glasses came out again and we were off.





Took me about an hour to make and I was really pleased how it fitted.





I'll put some more pictures up later of the damper mounts & a few other bits I've completed but I mentioned in an earlier post that I had picked up some "toys".

I've bought a "few" items to keep me going over the next few stages including some new brakes to go under the 10's and a high low kit whilst minispares had their 15% offer on.

These are the best so far though



My pal was tempted by them but they were never going to quite fit.



His brake discs are as big as the wheels!

More to come. Thanks for looking

Steve

[Shifty]

Wow, you're cracking on with this Steve, some really tidy welding there as well.

Be on the road soon?