297 replies to this topic

[Gilles1000]

Congrats on labelling and picturing each part you took away from the car... 

I tried to do this, it ended up in a right mess, having some pictures, but then dirty hands, and no picture... and so on...

 

I will make use of your thread once I will start the rebuild.

But first jobs at first, I just started the metal repairs and this is going to be very interesting as Ihave holes on nearly every panel...

 

Good luck with your project, and see you at L2B in some time ;)

I wanted to take part to the 60th anniversary (and 40th of my car). Could have been possible on the trolley haha.

[Ben Rose]

So my plan to remove the engine is to use a bolt through a roof joist and chain and block to lift out engine. This means I need to be able to easily move the shell around the garage.
First I need to make the dolly the shell and engine will sit on allowing me to move it around. This will hopefully help when I get to body work.

I already had some wheel dolly's so I intend on re-using the castors from this.




Got myself a sturdy pallet and used another to create some extra lift so I can remove brake lines etc in the process.


Castors installed.




Remove some final parts from the underside of the shell.
Heat shield.






Floor looking good?!


Fuel line clips.








Battery cable.


Chair restraint brackets.


Car on dolly! I have a moveable shell. Next post will be engine out, I promise.

[cooperd70]

???

[Ben Rose]

So just a quick update. The engine is out which for me is quiet an achievement. It means I'm at the point where I can no longer put off the bodywork stage! 
 
I am currently writing a list of panels I think I need which will give me a final cost that I will have to budget for.  Depending on the cost may slow down my progress a bit.
 
I lifted the engine out using a bolt through a beam in my garage and a Chain/Block lift.  I chose this method as I didn't want a big engine crane taking up valuable space in my garage.  Also it cost a significant amount less than buying OR hiring an engine crane.
 
Engine lifting brackets from mini spares bolted to the two outer most head bolts.  I then used 1 Tonne straps to lift with.





All seemed really secure and sturdy so I can definitely do this again in the future.





And its out! I will build a small dolly to push the engine around on out of some timber and another set of castors.





Bare shell, just the front subframe to remove before I start to remove panels. Any tips on removing / replacing a complete front end?!









    Big shout out and thanks to my good friend Gary for helping me on this. 

Edited by Ben Rose, 10 December 2019 - 11:51 AM.

[Ben_O]

Excellent!

 

My tip regarding the front end for now would be to leave it until last. Work from the back forwards.

 

When the time comes, decide how far you want to go with panels before cutting anything. For instance, do you intend to replace the inner wings? maybe even a new bulkhead if its bad enough?

 

Then decide. If you are replacing the lot, you can brace up and cut the whole lot off in one bulkhead and all

[Ben Rose]

Excellent!

 

My tip regarding the front end for now would be to leave it until last. Work from the back forwards.

 

When the time comes, decide how far you want to go with panels before cutting anything. For instance, do you intend to replace the inner wings? maybe even a new bulkhead if its bad enough?

 

Then decide. If you are replacing the lot, you can brace up and cut the whole lot off in one bulkhead and all

Thanks for the input and advice Ben.  Really appreciate it.  The back of the car does look far better but there are definitely small repairs needed here and there so I will start on those.  The bulk head is solid but the inner wings need to be replaced in my opinion.  I'll put a post up showing the rust in all the panels more clearly.  Its looking like a complete window surround will be easier than just the scuttle too.

 

Hopefully it repairing the smaller patches of rust will give me good practice and time to save up for the panels I need at the front.

 

May seem a daft question but do you have any advice for buying sheet metal for repairs?  I'm in Lancashire.

[Gilles1000]

Nice progress!! 

Lifting the engine out is always a big milestone!

Then you will see that there are still loads of parts left in the car. Screws, clips, brake pipes...

I checked many times before sending the body to acid dip but I still found screws on the car after getting it back.

 

Now comes the real part of the restoration. bodywork!!

 

@ Ben_O:

why would you start at the back? Easier repairs to start with? Easier construction at the back?

[cooperd70]

Great progress Ben. Know you've seen some of Ben_O's threads...if you haven't seen this one already....

http://www.theminifo...f-wight/page-27

Clubman shell, but he's currently starting work on the front end ???

[Ben Rose]

Great progress Ben. Know you've seen some of Ben_O's threads...if you haven't seen this one already....

http://www.theminifo...f-wight/page-27

Clubman shell, but he's currently starting work on the front end

I hadnt seen this one!  I'm follwing it now and will read it all later.  Certainly helps to see how Ben approaches the repairs.

[Ben_O]

If you have the entire shell to restore, I find it easier to start at the back as you are less likely to run Into issues with panel orders.
For instance you might fit a pair of inner wings and weld them all nicely to the floor and then find that the floor wasn't as good as you hoped when you start prodding further back meaning it's now better to replace a half floor or the entire floor. Suddenly you are undoing work you have done.
It might be more personal preference but it seems logical to me.
With regards to the scuttle, replacing the whole frame may not be necessary or easier as replacing the whole thing requires unpicking the gutter from the roof skin which is roller welded and quite tricky to split cleanly. Of course you might still like to get the whole panel to enable you to make your joins higher up the screen frame.
As for buying sheet steel, just have a Google and see if any steel and fabrication firms are nearby and give them a shout.
All my sheet steel and welding gas comes from a small local one man band and the service and price are really good

Cheers
Ben

[Ben Rose]

So its amazing how busy Christmas can be with two children under 5. Anyway enough of the excuses.

I finally made the dolly for the engine so I could push it around my garage.





With that completed I had no excuse to start the bodywork. I'm not embarrassed to admit I'm scared about this part.

So as per Ben_O's advise I'm going to work from the rear up to the worst part, the front!

Rear Valance is the first Job I'm going to tackle. Its very bad in certain places but good in others. The panel still needs to be replaced.



I started off removing all the finishing strips which came off quiet well and I hope with a bit of a clean can be re-used.







This is the point at which I need you guys to tell me if I am doing any of this wrong!!

I started by gently grinding back the paint to find the spot welds.





I then drilled them out and started to pry the two sides apart.









Does that look right? Sorry if I am asking an obvious question.
I'll complete the panel removal over the weekend, I just hoped someone could stop me if I was doing something obviously wrong!

[Ben_O]

What you are actually doing there is splitting the bootfloor from the rear panel by the looks of it.

There are 3 skins there, Valance - boot floor - back panel

 

No worries though, you can just continue on but drill all the way through the spot welds until your drill pops out the other side, that way you will split all 3 panels

 

Cheers

Ben

[Ben Rose]

What you are actually doing there is splitting the bootfloor from the rear panel by the looks of it.
There are 3 skins there, Valance - boot floor - back panel

No worries though, you can just continue on but drill all the way through the spot welds until your drill pops out the other side, that way you will split all 3 panels

Cheers
Ben

Wow, glad I asked. Thanks for the advise. I'll do that over the weekend and post results.
Would you have removed it differently?

Thanks

Ben

[Harryrothers93]

ahh the fun starts!! wishing you the best of luck with the body work!

 

I did the same by just drilling all the spot welds and just ran down the seam with a big flat blade unpicking the panel sandwich one part at a time. Just take your time and you will be fine.

 

ask as many questions as you want. No judgement will be passed no matter what you ask! we all had to start somewhere!

 

 

harry

[Bdshim]

I got a spot weld chisel the other day for when I get going might be worth getting one looks like it would be useful for the job