70 replies to this topic

[Junior Mini]

Good evening forum folks,

 

Well after a rightly deserved nudge (Sorry Minimissions  ) i guess i should update this project.

 

So i haven't been neglecting Trixy, even if i have been neglecting you guys 

 

Right, so way back in August as i was waiting for parts for the welder, i decided to have a go at reconditioning the steering rack. I found a REALLY good how to on here but quickly discovered that i had a sealed for life rack and that no really useful spares were available anymore for the rack. So i have stripped it down as far as i could, inspected the teeth, cleaned and repainted the body repacked it with grease and then fitted new pinion seals and rack boots. I also have new track rod ends for it, but have left them off for now.

 

 

By then the welder was up and running and so i could crack on with finishing the jig. I have to say it has proved invaluable and i wish i had bought one a long time ago. That said, if i did buy one again, i wouldn't buy the kit version as i did this time! Thinking i can weld it up and save myself a few quid was, although correct, foolish. First the instructions are at best sketchy and at worst down right useless. added to the fact that i get so little time in the garage i would have rather have spent the 3 weekends it finally took to build it working on the Mini. Still it can now allow me to get a good look at the underside.

 

 

To be greeted with the original MOT failure 

 

 

Well, best get on with it.  

 

I decided, looking at the job in hand that although i now had a very good rear end to connect the new floor pan to, the rest of it was at best crispy!! So i have decided to start replacing the floor by replacing the Toeboard. 

 

To gain access for the welder, i removed the drivers A panel, outer & inner wings:-

 

 

 

 

When i removed the suspension mount, it looked quite pained by the whole thing

 

 

Even the mount look quite surprised!! 

 

 

Having had to remove the end of the scuttle, i noticed a little rust lurking above the hinge mount

 

 

So as has been demonstrated many times, we needed to chop it out:-

 

 

 

 

Make a CAD template:-

 

 

And then weld something like up out of steel:-

 

 

 

 

And then fit it back in:-

 

 

 

Unfortunately, i got distracted with the bulkhead then and removed the rest of the scuttle to clean all the paint and muck off. finding in the process another little patch was required above the Rotodip hole

 

 

 

 

 

Which has left Trixy looking like this as of now:-

 

 

It's not up to Ben's standard but we can try to aim for that?

 

Not entirely to plan, but it needed doing i guess. It still wants a final bit of prep before paint but at least the welding is done on that

panel now.

 

So now maybe i can get on with the Toeboard now???

 

I will try and keep this a little more up to date in future.

 

Till next time 

 

Paul.

 

 

 

[minimissions]

haha Nice to see you back at it, I am keen to see how you do the heel board at the rear as that is my next task on my other half's mini. Trixy looks very sorry for herself but I am sure she will get the panels she needs the back end is coming along very well...

[Junior Mini]

I have a complete floor assembly with the heel board already attached. The plan is to align the heel board using the rear subframe and then spot it to the rear seat base/bootfloor. 

That's the plan but i guess time will tell if that's what Trixy has planned! 

Edited by Junior Mini, 08 November 2018 - 08:35 AM.

[minimissions]

Nice one I look forward to seeing the floor go in then, I am doing it the other way as our floors arent to bad and to save funds got a heel board and two 1/4 floors to go in.. so just hope I can line it all up right. I have braced the rear tubs and left the mounts in place so fingers crossed this all works and i can use the exhaust tunnel to line it all up.

 

Keep the pics coming

[Junior Mini]

Happy 2019 forum folks 

 

So after getting Christmas out the way it was time to get on with Trixy. 

After taking a breath, a ventured in to the garage, to be greeted with a present from Trixy.

It wasn't good.

 

It would seem that i may have made a HUGE mistake in removing all of the drivers side inner wing. Over the course of the few weeks break the weight of the shell, supported only by the front bulkhead cross member has caused the shell to 'sink' and bend the lower dash panel in the process as shown below 

 

 

 

Now this was a massive hit to my confidence. I am trying my best, but i'm no expert. So what do i do????

That's right, i went in for a sulk and a think. 

 

So next weekend i had a plan. IF the shell bent out of shape because of the weight causing it to drop what would happen if i lifted it back?

I took a huge brave pill, and placed a 4x2 timber across the floor pan and jacked it up slowly. It started to right it self but then the jig started to lift from the floor. Hmmmmm, new plan.

 

Right,so i drilled the floor and bolted the jig to the garage. Then, i got 2 steel rules and fixed them from the A posts to the uprights for the inner wings. The measurements showed that the passenger side was fine but the drivers side had moved 1/2".

 

Okay, so now i know. Lets have another go. So i raised it on the jack and watched the measurements equalise. and this in turn allowed the dash panel to straighten itself out. Woop Woop!!!!   

 

 

 

Then quickly slip in another brace and hopefully that should be the end of that? I guess time will tell.

 

 

SO the next weekend i could finally get on with the toeboard....lets get it out.

 

First brace the shell up

 

 

Then pull the old panel out.

 

 

 

Now, Trixy is no trailer queen but is intended to be a daily, but I do need to modify the new panel slightly.

 

I need to remove the pressing for the injection at the bulkhead so it can follow the existing panel.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we can spotweld the new panel in:-

 

 

Yay, now the next job is the one that i have been looking forward to most since i got my hands on Trixy. The floor pan.

 

So till next time.

[Junior Mini]

Hi Mini Forum,

 

Well things keep getting in the way but i'm slowly plugging on with Trixy.

 

The subframes are back from Zinc coating and then re powder-coated. They reckon we might get 30 years out of these ones!!!

 

 

 

 

The floor is done and thankfully all lines up perfectly which is fantastic morale boost. I feel like i'm really making progress now. In one of the pictures you can still see the MOT chalk from the failure BEFORE they fitted the over sills 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 That's better than before 

 

 

 

Next was the top dash rail

 

 

 

 

Once it's been welded in, the a posts are next on my hit list. 

Out of curiosity, i tried the door on the striker to see how well it fitted and checked the door gap with the obligatory pound coin and am happy to report that all is good 

 

 

 

 

 

Any comments welcome, and thanks for looking.

 

Paul.

 

 

[Steve220]

Great Progress!

[Junior Mini]

Thanks.

[Avtovaz]

wow, i thought mine was bad! top work!

[johnR]

Good work - I have great respect for anyone who restores a Mini body - especially for the first time.

[Junior Mini]

Hello forum folk,

 

Well i must start with an apology again! I have been very lazy updating the forum on my tinkering but haven't abandoned you. So sorry for that 

 

So when i last updated, i was about to tackle the dash rail which is now all welded in with the correct distance of 411cm between top and bottom of the Windscreen aperture 

 

 

Then i tackled the drivers side A post, best thing i decided to do was just scrap it and start again.

 

 

 

First a new closer was fitted

 

 

 

 

The inner wing was welded to the door step panel first as i wouldn't have access afterwards (Forgot to get a picture of this)

 

And then it was offered up to the car but i have cut the B post a bit short so that will need looking at 

 

 

 

All the inner box sections were zinc primed

 

 

 

And then a marathon spot welding session gets the wing on! 

 

 

 

 

 

So after what seems like forever Trixy has a door again (It's rough and needs work, but a door none the less)

 

 

 

Interestingly, the door seems to fit quite well but the upper window frame isn't level in the hole??????

I'll look at that but i'm not sure whats going on there.

 

So same again on the passenger side 

 

 

 

but as i was preparing the panel my die grinding tool snapped! 

 

 

So until pay day, that's game over for now.

 

Thanks for reading, all comments welcome.

 

Paul.

 

 

[Marco1972]

Very nice work going on there 

bringing back some interesting memories ( didn’t think I’d get nostalgic over welding minis ) 

 

keep up the good work 

mark 

[Bdshim]

Just seen this, lots gone into this keep up the good work

[Junior Mini]

Thanks for the comments, they are much appreciated.

[Junior Mini]

Hello forum folks,

 

SO as i was waiting for the new grinder to turn up i decided to tackle removing the union flag from the roof. I thought this would be a nightmare, but as it turns out a little bit of heat from a paint stripping gun an some label adhesive remover and it all came off quite easily.

 

 

 

 

Then the postie brought me some salvation!!! 

 

 

So back to fitting the passenger side inner wing and door step, First after numerous trial fits and measurements i fitted the door step panel to the inner wing as i would have no access for the spot welder afterwards. Then same as the other side Zinc everything that's not bolted down and fit, fettle and weld it up 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then i tried the door back on and like the other side it needs work but it's not a million miles away. It's even looking like a car from the inside now 

 

 

 

 

SO next task was to tackle the scuttle panel, and that's what i have been doing this weekend. It has taken 4 days to fit this panel, but i wanted the best possible panel gaps i could achieve! As it happens i have now got an even 5mm gap at the bonnet front and rear with perfect alignment to the front panel. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So next thing will be the wings, but i have dry built this front end several times so am confident i can keep my shut gaps 

 

Any comments or feedback welcome. I never know if i'm not putting in enough detail or to many pictures????

 

Stay Safe and enjoy the tinkering time 

 

Paul.