Finally got a few days off from work that weren't pouring down with rain. Spent the time working on the mini again. We managed to glue and spot weld on the roof after spending the time sanding back the edges that were painted with epoxy to stop the rust. We put the roof skin on and thought that it was on backwards. Took it off and put it on again, then found out that it was around the correct way the first time and had to rush to take it off again before the bonding compound set. A few spot welds later, not as many as Bristish Leyland Australia used, but all done now.
The next day was spent linishing back the welds on the front floor panel on the passenger side. The next step was to cut off the A panel and sand back the inner A panel and then weld up a few holes that were discovered. The coating on the Magnum panel hasn't really held up well and the surface rust has come through but only on the outer surface. My panel beater said that we'll sand it back and coat it with epoxy and rust converter and it will be fine. After reading a few opinions about the fit quality of the Magnum panels, I was very happy with the fit of the A panel.
The last thing completed was fitting the passenger door. One of many things that has not happened since owning the mini. I'm really lucky that I have had the opportunity to work on the car which has saved me money and learnt a lot during this time.
On a sad note, the two days of work did cost me more money for a new rear floor panel as we found more holes and rust, so it's more economical to replace the whole panel. I have lost my favourite rust "repair" work though. It looks as though the metal was welded from the inside and not finished from the underneath.
Can anyone tell me what is normally done to seal the sections either end on the parcel shelf from the boot?
