129 replies to this topic

[feybrand]

okay so it may not look like ive done much but i can assure you ive been working at it non stop ... honest lol

ive stripped the majority of the underside now and unfortunately the boot floor is rather bad dunno if these pics will do it justice

the view from the inside of the car through the rear bins

and the rest of the floor which was ok actually no new suprises

and the rear valance which was held on solely by sealer ... i think it was originally bolted to the closing panels but they have long since rotted away

and finally the other jobs ive been doing...sorting bits for painting ive stripped them and cleaned them with thinners just need a quick sand blast before i paint them

[feybrand]

im not sure what to do with the boot floor as i need to replace both inner arches and the bottom of the rear panel and side panels im not sure whether to replace the whole bootfloor or try to repair whats there as i dont know how well i can get it all to line up with so much of the rear end being replaced.

 

and in other news the paint ive ordered has arrived ..etch primer ...normal primer and some gloss black so that i can paint up all the parts ready to store them away safely and also etch the shell when i blast it ...i also bought a new paint gun as my old one was left in my parants garden for 4 years since i finished my last mini ..doh!!!

[Ben_O]

I say go for it with replacing the boot floor.

 

If you are keeping the rear panel intact, you can cut the arches and floor out in one go. And when you come to fit the new panels, pop the bootfloor in first, You will have the rear bins, heelboard and the rear panel to line up to and once it's screwed/clamped into place, you can pop the arches in using the quarter panels boot floor and rear bulkhead as your reference points.

 

Sounds scary but it need not be and you will be guaranteed a nice strong sound boot floor at the end of it. I would rather chuck in a nice new complete bot floor than spend countless hours patching what you have.

 

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Ben

[jagman.2003]

Good progress, won't be long before the shiny things are being bolted back on.

[feybrand]

small update ...

 

made this to turn the shell with

i also put the a frames on wheels so i can move the shell around easier

and finally i have started to paint the bits ive been cleaning and blasting

so far just the cast parts ...i painted them with a brush instead of the sprayer mainly because their cast so it doesnt really matter but also as they have parts i didnt want to get paint onto and the masking tape wasnt sticking

oh and also .... i turned 30

[lawrence]

Thirty better then 40 :). This looks to be a fun project. I'm looking forward to what's under the pop riveted on sills! You never know maybe because they were riveted on they may not have rotted out the floor as there was no welding to burn off paint! Think positive :)
Lawrence

[ribz0]

good progress and nice work on the spit.... a job I will need to do very shortly...

 

Keep the pics coming..

 

Cheers

[James_eaton_thewholething]

wishing now that i had a spit. if the boot floor is going to look like a patch work quilt then i agree with ben replace the whole panel. it would seem daunting at first and like a lot of work but its also a big piece so when its in its like a lot of jobs in one go. thats how i felt replacing the whole main floor panel

[feybrand]

got a week off work coming up ao ive been spending  bit of money to give me something to do while im off ...just under a grand on panels and also bought a spot welder :)

 

[Daz1968]

Plenty to keep busy then, is that the csw6t or csw13t, I have bought the 6t and only done test welds but impressed so far,

[feybrand]

er not sure lol its the cheaper one with no timer

 

ive done a few tests myself ...where i can get to its gonna save a lot of time and should make the result a bit better ..no plug welds to grind back etc

[Covert]

Good luck with it matey , nice looking mini .

[Daz1968]

That will be the 6t like mine, there is a basic timer on the back but it hasn't got the auto fuzzy logic like on the expensive one, but my results so far have been promising. I was planning on buying some copper bar and make some different electrodes to try to use it in as many places as I can, as like you say it's neater and saves the grinding, best of look with it.

[feybrand]

ok so yesterday i cut out the driver side rear quarter

 

 

 

it took a lot longer than expected as i couldnt drill any of the spot welds and i had to grind every part of it off ...also due to the thickness of the dodgy repairs and the stupid amount of weld on each old patch,i got through 4 cutting discs on 1 panel.

 

i was going to do a panel at a time but there wasnt much to weld the quarter panel to so today i took out the arch,and then spent a few hours fetling and double checking ready for welding together tomorrow

 

 

[feybrand]

hvent been able to take any pictures all week so her are the pictures of the final result

 

driver side outer skin is all spot welded up

and the arch is in

 

and ive also done the passenger side

outer panel

and arch

s

till got some welds to dress and the arch to bulkhead stiffeners to do but they can wait for another day