Hi
Had a good look at the links really impressed with the standard of work that you have done cant wait to get out there and start working on my own car.. I've herd good things about M machine so think I will get my replacement panels from them then..
Off to old scool mini tomorrow for a new door skin for my lads mini any tips on fitting it as I've been told they can be a bit of a pig.
Many thanks Mark....
Blimey must have missed this and this question. Yes they can be a pain to fit and before you even get that far have a look at the new skin to see if the skin is bowed at the top. Some pattern skins can be very poor and i have had two now where they have bowed out at the top. One i managed to save by a bit of tweaking but the other was beyond saving. That was why we went for heritage skins.
I have reskinned three other doors with pattern skins and they have come up ok. The gaps are not the best but i will sort those out later.
With the door in place check your original gaps first. Take a couple of measurements from the top of the window frame to the bottom of the door skin front and back. Now wind down the window and take the door off. Remove the hinges next, take off the door furniture and the door panel. Now undo the door handle and release the latch clip then remove the handle and the door latch.
Now using a grinder carefully grind down the very edge of the door skin until you can split it. Very carefully pry up the skin to show up the spot welds. There will be four or more. Drill these out. There will also be a spot weld that attaches the skin to the window frame front and back.
You should be able to remove the skin now. You can now clean up any left over parts of the door skin at the top front and back. Check the flanges to see if they are corroded. If so you may want to replace these. Have a look at the window lifters to see if they need replacing. Now is a good time to do that. You can fit the skin with the window installed but this is entirely up to you.
If all is good now is a good time to add any fresh paint to the internal parts of the door.Also strip of the cack coating the skin comes with internally then etch prime prime and paint. Refit the hinges to the door then offer up the door frame back into the car.
Place the skin on to see how it sits. use your measurements from earlier here as a guide. if it looks good then take the door off, drill some 3/16th or 1/4" holes for plug welds along the front, bottom and rear of the skin. Also drill one 1/4" hole in the skin front and back where it contacts the window frame and tack the skin in place. Check the door again and if all is good now you can fold the skin lip round. I use a panel beating hammer and dolly for this.
You will need to keep the top of the skin clamped in place so i tend to tack weld this while i work round the rest of the skin. Once you have done the folding over you can seam weld the top sections of the skin. Finish off by doing the plug welds.
Now you can spend some time with the hammer and dolly to make sure the folds are as flat as possible. Refit the door again to check the gaps. Its at this point you can now add welding rods or weld to the edge of the door to help fill up any large gaps. Grind flush all of your welds. I would add a bead of sealant folded edge of the flanges before painting.
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