11 replies to this topic

[hedgesjack]

Hi,

 

I am currently trying to fix the roof on my mini where the filer and paint has peeled away. After taking the whole skin back to bare metal it seems to have more peaks and valleys than the whole of Yorkshire. After a bit of reading I have found a lot of people recommend ABS Motorsport for a fibreglass roof skin, but there's mixed messages on how to fit them and whether to cut the old skin out. In my case the rest of the car is OK, all glass is in as well as a headliner and I don't want to pull that out for cutting the skin out. I'm a few years away from a full resto, and just I wan't to be able to use it again.

 

What's the verdict on putting the skin over the top of the steel one, can I do it or is it a must to cut the old one out? Obviously the steel one will get primed and a rough coat to protect it along with some seam sealer when the new roof is bonded on.

 

Thanks,

Jack

[Cooperman]

You will need to remove the old roof skin, but an air chisel will do that. Don't worry about cutting the edge flange off. It is welded to the body structure. Then use a good structural adhesive to bond the GRP roof skin to the body structure (Tiger Seal or similar). Use a 'kiss' of filler around the edge and sand back, then just paint it.

[petey81]

Ive fitted one from parkers mini and i didnt cut off the old roof. I have a slight gap at the bottom but i used some sealant then painted over. Tiger seal is what Ive used to stick it down.

[Avtovaz]

sounds quite drastic? cant you just refill it or get someone to help you that knows how to do it? I have replaced teh roof on my mini from pillars up, was made up, until i put a long dent in the front of the roof. I just filled it and forgot about it, and i am still learning.

[Homersimpson]

How strong will the shell be if you cut the roof off? It will be like an open shoe box.

 

I know some people do it but I would be wary, either repair the skin you have or fit a fibreglass one over it if you can.

 

Any pictures of the dents to show how bad it is? I've filled a few roofs over the years and they arn't as bad as they seem once you get into it.  I've got a massive dent to sort out in the roof of a MK2 jag i'm doing which will be fun!

[Avtovaz]

How strong will the shell be if you cut the roof off? It will be like an open shoe box.

 

I know some people do it but I would be wary, either repair the skin you have or fit a fibreglass one over it if you can.

 

Any pictures of the dents to show how bad it is? I've filled a few roofs over the years and they arn't as bad as they seem once you get into it.  I've got a massive dent to sort out in the roof of a MK2 jag i'm doing which will be fun!

 

lol i was just about to start reading " fitting a jag door skin " ;)

[Cooperman]

When I rolled my 1964 Cooper 'S' on a rally a few years back i fitted a new steel roof skin in a couple of days. It was a vry straightforward job. 

[sonscar]

The roof skin will add very little to stiffness,think web as to type roofs.Steve..

[sovenmini]

I have fitted to carbon roofs now and the one thing you do not do is to remove the whole roof skin, you leave a minimum of 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the steel roof skin on, this is for 2 reasons, 1: so you have good surface coverage to bold too, you need good contact as the body twist’s and moves why driving and you don’t want the bold to start moving loads and gaps opening. 2: you metal lips will stop water going in ect if there is a gap, you can seal right up against the edge and can be paint like mentioned on here and if done probably you can’t tell.

Lots of the skins can just be put straight over the metal roof and should fit fine.

Also just some advice tiger seal and stuff like that is great stuff, it’s strong and sticks to stuff well just remember what your sticking it to, primer is not good enough because it’s porous so will start to rust at some point so needs sealing with paint or could use epoxy straight on to the metal as that is not porous. When this is done make shore all the paint ect is done 100% properly (not this look of it) but the way it’s stuck, you could use the worlds strongest sealer but if the paint is not stuck to the body properly then the sealer will just pull the paint off the body.

These roof panels are mainly made to reduce the weight and help lower the top weight of the car as this will make a difference in racing cars not the road.

Fibreglass and carbon roofs are cool and good fun and hey it’s your car do what you want with it not others, but if you go to the effort of refitting a steell roof it will probably add to the value of the car in the long run and will last years and years as a mini from 1959 will prove as lots will have its own original roof skin.

Edited by sovenmini, 10 May 2020 - 10:41 AM.

[hedgesjack]

Thanks for all your responses. Putting a fibreglass skin over the original skin is not a permanent solution. In a few years time, when I can afford it, the mini will be fully restored with a new steel roof skin. In the meantime I want to use it for a bit.

 

Replacing the skin with a new steel one requires painting the outside of the gutters after spot welding. The car is a non BMC Red and was done 10 years ago, so matching it is near impossible, I have already tried when replacing a door. That's why I am asking about fibreglass over skins.

 

Here's a photo from sanding off all the old filler which was cracking due to a bad repair by he previous owner. The filler in places is at least 5mm thick, the bare skin is badly dented to the extent that there's a cease along the edges and no real shape to be able to fill to.

 

https://imgur.com/nxtBgwk

 

The car is an '89 and far from anything special, I have no intention of selling it so value is irrelevant to me.

 

[Homersimpson]

Thanks for all your responses. Putting a fibreglass skin over the original skin is not a permanent solution. In a few years time, when I can afford it, the mini will be fully restored with a new steel roof skin. In the meantime I want to use it for a bit.

 

Replacing the skin with a new steel one requires painting the outside of the gutters after spot welding. The car is a non BMC Red and was done 10 years ago, so matching it is near impossible, I have already tried when replacing a door. That's why I am asking about fibreglass over skins.

 

Here's a photo from sanding off all the old filler which was cracking due to a bad repair by he previous owner. The filler in places is at least 5mm thick, the bare skin is badly dented to the extent that there's a cease along the edges and no real shape to be able to fill to.

 

https://imgur.com/nxtBgwk

 

The car is an '89 and far from anything special, I have no intention of selling it so value is irrelevant to me.

I've just finished the one on my MK2 Jag (hopefully)  https://forum.retro-...67-auto?page=10

It wasn't as bad as I expected and with a few basic tools and a cheap profile gauge it went well.  How bad is the one on your mini? What is the depth of filler?  I've looked it up and a new roof is the best part of £450 so I would either be looking for a secondhand skin to weld in or repair this one if it were me.

[hedgesjack]

 

Thanks for all your responses. Putting a fibreglass skin over the original skin is not a permanent solution. In a few years time, when I can afford it, the mini will be fully restored with a new steel roof skin. In the meantime I want to use it for a bit.

 

Replacing the skin with a new steel one requires painting the outside of the gutters after spot welding. The car is a non BMC Red and was done 10 years ago, so matching it is near impossible, I have already tried when replacing a door. That's why I am asking about fibreglass over skins.

 

Here's a photo from sanding off all the old filler which was cracking due to a bad repair by he previous owner. The filler in places is at least 5mm thick, the bare skin is badly dented to the extent that there's a cease along the edges and no real shape to be able to fill to.

 

https://imgur.com/nxtBgwk

 

The car is an '89 and far from anything special, I have no intention of selling it so value is irrelevant to me.

I've just finished the one on my MK2 Jag (hopefully)  https://forum.retro-...67-auto?page=10

It wasn't as bad as I expected and with a few basic tools and a cheap profile gauge it went well.  How bad is the one on your mini? What is the depth of filler?  I've looked it up and a new roof is the best part of £450 so I would either be looking for a secondhand skin to weld in or repair this one if it were me.

 

 

The only 'high spot' on the roof is pretty much smack bang in the middle. There's 2 or 3 dents are in excess of 50cm wide and up to 1cm below what they should be, the rest are about 5mm deep. Both edges of the roof, nearside and offside, have long creases where the roof starts to go vertical down to the gutters.

I think the skin is stretched so pulling back into shape isn't an option.

 

Welding a new skin in isn't an option unless the car gets a full respray due to the colour fading over time. At that point I may was well do a full rebuild on it, which I can't afford yet.

 

I found an old photo of the car where it's literally sat on its roof to have the underside welded, so there's no wonder it's this bad. Wish I had seen it before buying, the filler only recently cracked which is why its having to be re-done.

 

As I said the rest of the car is OK, which is why I want to make the roof waterproof for a few years before it get's a full restoration of the shell. I'm not looking to take it to shows, just want to have some fun for a while.

Edited by hedgesjack, 03 October 2020 - 11:37 AM.