477 replies to this topic

[Ben_O]

Don't rush it!

[Avtovaz]

It's nearly ready to weld on !!!

[Ben_O]

did you join at the pillars in the end?

[Avtovaz]

well, here is what i did, i know its not the best way to have done it, as we said, joining it at the pillars is best, but i looked at the job, and thought id do it this way as ill explain now.

 

 

With the old roof removed, i put the bilt hamber deox gel on the roof and today it was still wet and  removed it.

 

 

 

 

I then panel wiped it up.

 

 

 

There was black marks, and that was the rust remover at work. So i then got the wire wheel on it, adn the belt sander, and got most of the rust out. I then brush painted it in 2k epoxy primer.

 

 

 

You can see its not 100% there is some of the old roof still there, i tried to grind as much as i could out but with the belt sander it was long process.

 

While the epoxy was drying i started work on the roof itself. I started t drill the spot welds out, but then realised how long it was taking, so i cut just under the lip with a slitting disc, then i ground off gutter part...

 

 

 

But of a test fit and all was going well

 

 

 

 

 

 

roof back off, and headlining out with a blade

 

 

 

Drilled the roof and painted the edges with upol weld 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the roof is in for fitting up and welding

 

 

Held in place i started to weld it on

 

 

 

 

Then i ran out of welding gas! I only had a little disposable bottle, so i need to work out what to do about welding gas now, i thought these would last a bit longer.

 

 

So i could have cut the pillars, but then thought about lining it up, and the time it will take, then that it ll have a trim cover over it, and itll be something like. I dont think itll rust again as i used the 2k epoxy and the upol 2... Ill tiger seal the seam too...

Edited by Avtovaz, 18 January 2018 - 08:00 PM.

[Ben_O]

Try Adams gas or Hobbyweld for your gas.

 

You pay a one off deposit and then just have it exchanged when it runs out paying for the refill.

 

When you no longer need it, you return the bottle and get the deposit back.

 

Hobby weld have a stockist locator on their website. My local hobby weld stockist is a builders merchant and Adams gas is stocked in a metal and fabrication company a few miles away.

 

I'm sure you will have one close

[Avtovaz]

there is a hobby weld stockist by us, its £65 for the bottle, but it dosnt say how much a refil is. This bottle holds 9 of the disposable ones, that isnt that much really. You would not use just c02? I have used it before, i know i welded the mini van with it but i cant remember what it was like.

 

 

What do you recon to the rust proofing etc of the new roof? I know if its not that neat when its done, i can then get another roof and cut the pillars, but if its something liek with the seam covers on, ill be happy.

 

thanks for the reply.

[Ben_O]

there is a hobby weld stockist by us, its £65 for the bottle, but it dosnt say how much a refil is. This bottle holds 9 of the disposable ones, that isnt that much really. You would not use just c02? I have used it before, i know i welded the mini van with it but i cant remember what it was like.

 

 

What do you recon to the rust proofing etc of the new roof? I know if its not that neat when its done, i can then get another roof and cut the pillars, but if its something liek with the seam covers on, ill be happy.

 

thanks for the reply.

I think around the £40 mark.

 

They generally last quite a while. The trick to making them last is to either weld inside or if you can't do that, weld on a still day. That way, you can turn the gas flow right down.

 

The rust proofing is fine. The only issue I can see is where you have left the remains of the old skin in the gutters. There will be rust between them so it will eventually show through again.

Sealing up done well will stop water getting in though so should help.

What I tend to do is run a very small amount of sealer round the seams and then force it in with a finger and then wipe away the excess so you are left with just enough sealer to create a barrier. 

It looks neater and should last better as there is less risk of having air pockets which will invite water in and trap it causing the rust to start sooner.

[Avtovaz]

i kinda plan to fill the bottom of the gutter with tiger seal, but not so its full like. Itll make sure no water gets in, and with a seam cover on, i hope you wont really notice. I will fill the cover with wax oil too, my dad did that to the 30 and it has no rot on the seams what so ever. Not looking forward to getting in with a grinder to get the welds down though.

 

 

 

talking of the 30, my brother has been polishing it for us, its come up all right actually when you considering  its 30 years old!

 

 

Edited by Avtovaz, 18 January 2018 - 08:03 PM.

[gadget555]

Wow nice 30!

[Avtovaz]

yes its ok, close up there is a few runs in the laquer,  but it has no rust on it, and is for sale soon

[Avtovaz]

Did a little more today, started with the 30, it would not start properly, so i changed the dizzy the other week, and it started straight away, thought i had cured the problem, but the other day i went to put it away and it stalled, it was like the float chamber was empty, restarting it it would be ok, then again like it was struggling for fuel.

 

So, i stripped the carb down, found the fuel was a little bit dirty in the bottom of the float chamber..

 

 

 

 

Should there be a metal adjuster part to the float too??

 

 

Put it back together, and it started first time... Now, i had it runing and it did it again, was like it was low on fuel in the float chamber, so i took the lid off and it was full of fuel. Now it wont start at all, got 9v at the coil with a fairly dead battery, so i put it on charge, and still wont start. Have to have a proper look at it next week.

 

 

Also, the hazard s wernt working, and i found that the fuses behind the air box where not getting a good contact, and one housing was totally broken, so i replaced them with later holders. Will that be ok, some one once told me they work in a different way, and not to use this type of fuse on a mini...

 

 

 

 

 

Had a mess with mine too, wiring loom is out, dash is almost all out, but i had a look threw the speedo hole toward the engine, id taken the carb off as the engine bay is mostly stripped now too. The inlet port is never standard, its massive! the exhaust manifold is still on the car so i could not see in there. I dont know anything about the car other than what i can see. Looks like someone has spent loads on it, repainted it, spi trim etc, then sold it, next guy was going to rally it or something as he started with the roll cage mount plates, and battery cable in the car.

 

When i bought the car, i bought it of the last owners mate, AFTER agreeing to buy it he said his mate has cancer and not long left, so i cant really go and see him to ask about the car.

Edited by Avtovaz, 18 January 2018 - 08:05 PM.

[Avtovaz]

right, not exactly flying on this car but some progress!

 

Decided to leave the roof alone until i get the car into the garage, i may take it off again and have another grind up, and sort the gutters out then. So i managed to get what i thought was the original grill from my mate.

 

But as you can see, its black, and with out austin badge on it. So it is not the original one.

 

 

 

So i decided to paint this one nimbus grey and also a few other bits of the car. I could buy the correct bits but i can get them 99% with some 2k paint!

 

 

I had bought these dials too! They are nipon seiki ones, not smiths but they are the same style, and unless you know what your looking at, you would not really be able to tell.

 

 

 

 

I stripped the cover, and plastic primed it

 

 

 

stripped and primed the grill

 

 

 

 

Nimbus grey!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So let those dry and did some on the 30...

 

 

it wasnt starting, so i took the dizzy out again and after 1/2 hour messing about noticed dirt on the face of the points. Sorted that and it runs fine again..

 

 

Set the timing at 4 degs , is that right???

 

 

 

 

Maybe more work done tomorrow , have to see!

Edited by Avtovaz, 18 January 2018 - 08:11 PM.

[Avtovaz]

didnt do lots today, wasnt really in the mood for it

 

The bonnet i had tried to paint strip a few times, got the top layer off but the factory coat was really hard to shift, so i left it in paint stripper over night with plastic over it. This morning i scraped it a bit and it was liek this

 

 

You can see that there is rust there, didnt know, it looked really solid when it was painted! So i took my drill with wire wheel in it and took all the old paint off..

 

 

poked out the filler in the badge holes and panel wiped it, then painted it in 2k epoxi primer...

 

 

All was ok until i dropped the mixing cup i had with the primer in it, and it went over the bonnet, i thought i would just leave it to dry and see what happens, can always sand it and put another coat of primer on it...

Edited by Avtovaz, 18 January 2018 - 08:14 PM.

[Avtovaz]

well, im off this next week so hopefully get some progress in and the 30 mot;d

 

I was looking at the bonnet, and i need to get the inner shell out of it to get the rust out and get the paint sorted out as its a bit messy. So that is one job for this week i think.

 

 

I bought a boot lid from ebay, £7.50 with £7.50 postage! got it last week, for the money made up with it. Would be nice if you could get a boot lid skin though, this one is a bit dented and has some deep rust in it, bu t itll do if i have to

 

 

 

 

paint stripper

 

 

3 hours later of swearing

 

 

 

 

some 2k epoxi

 

 

 

need to sort the rust out though, primed it as it was bare metal and i can see the dents now... Not good with filler so this is going to be a learning curve too!

Edited by Avtovaz, 18 January 2018 - 08:19 PM.

[Avtovaz]

little bit more, i was busy painting my road car, and trying to polish it over the last few days, but here is some more

 

 

inside of the bonnet was minty,

 

 

 

 

so that got paint stripped and 2k epoxy primed

 

found a few hols in teh front of it too, so drilled them out to 8,8 and then welded up the holes

 

 

then the top of the bonnet was rough as of the 2k i had put on it last time, and also where i spilt primer on it, i had to sort that out. So i flatted it by hand, and primed it again

 

 

 

 

wasnt sure what to do about the bootlid, it had some holes in it and also some damage

 

 

 

 

 

So i drilled and welded the holes

 

ground them off

 

 

 

bog it up

 

 

3rd load of filler here!

 

 

 

 

and that is all i got done today.

 

 

 

 

 

Also, i had a co2 cylinder that has some co2 in it, so i tried the welding today, and well its quite good actually for what im doing, it worked better than i thought! I tried to get the cylinder refilled, but this one is a box one and jim barkers in widnes will nto get it filled as it has to be a certain type. So i need a cylinder, not sure where to get one.

 

 

When i was doing the 2k painting, i need to sort something out, its getting on my chest, and i know its not doing me any good. can someone recommend a mask that i can use at home for this? Im coughing quite a bit now, and i can feel it in my lungs.

 

thanks

Edited by Avtovaz, 21 January 2018 - 08:05 PM.