464 replies to this topic

[slidehammer]

An inspiration as always Ben, I would have taken most of the day just to ponder how I was going to approach that repair and then slept on it!

[Ben_O]

The A post/step panel arrived so I set about fitting it

 

 

 

The process is the same as the other side so I didn't take any photos as I went along so ill jump cut to the finished job

 

 

 

 

With that done, the frame can come out so I did that and had a sweep out

 

 

There is still a few little bits to do in there but they will be easier on the spit.

 

So onto the front end

 

 

15 mins later

 

 

Before I start to clean it all up, I need to remove the remains of the old panels

Here is one side done

 

 

Few repairs to do but they are in good condition overall

 

More tomorrow

 

Cheers

Ben

[gaspen]

I am curious how the front wings will fit - as I fighting with them in my Mini. 

 

Will you fit new wings ?

[Ben_O]

I am curious how the front wings will fit - as I fighting with them in my Mini. 

 

Will you fit new wings ?

Sometimes they can be tricky to get to fit and often it's because of the panel rather than the car.

 

I always use genuine wings but just lately, they have been troublesome and require a fair amount of modification to get a nice fit.

 

I'm fitting an entire new front on this car apart from the inner wings and this time, I'm using non genuine wings, a panels and front panel along with heritage bonnet and lower screen frame.

There is quite a saving on the non genuine wings and front panel so I'm looking forward to seeing how they fit. The steel quality certainly seems good and if they require some modification to fit, I'm no worse off than the heritage stuff but a saving will have been made on the parts.

 

Cheers

Ben

[JAYSONIC 79 IOW]

Spot on Ben great work

[slidehammer]

I will be interested to see what you think of the fit on the pattern panels Ben. It seems every time I go to order any heritage panels they have gone up way more than inflation which makes the idea of some of the pattern panels more and more appealing. Top work as always

[Ben_O]

Here is the latest round of work on the Advantage.

 

O/S inner wing

 

 

First up, I cleaned it up and gave it a coat of zinc. This is to show up the bits that need attention and give me something to draw on when making up repair sections

 

 

It was mostly surface rust, spray sealer, dirt and cobwebs.

 

First bit to repair was the edge of the flitch. Here it is cut out

 

 

And then a repair section made up and welded in

 

 

And then I made up and welded in a section to close the bottom of the flitch off to the floor and toe board

 

 

Next was this small perforated section

 

 

Cut out and piece let in

 

 

Then the shock mount area

 

 

 

New piece to repair the reinforcer behind made and welded in

 

 

And then a piece for the inner wing itself

 

 

Lastly, there is this piece at the front where the 'ear' of the front panel welds on. It's grotty and holed so must be repaired

 

 

And here we are

 

 

And that completes that one

 

 

So onto the other

 

 

The worst part seems to be this

 

 

After a clean up, there are two section to replace

 

 

Here they are done

 

 

Then the shock mount area.

 

 

This side is not as bad

I cut off the outer piece, cleaned up behind and made, then welded in a replacement section

 

 

All that remains now is the lower flitch which is nice and straightforward and that should be the end of the repairs on the front.

 

Cheers

Ben

[Ben_O]

A bit more done today.

 

First job was to complete the inner wing repairs by closing off the lower flitch

 

 

And then after a clean up, that's the repairs complete

 

 

Next job is the bulkhead. It looks shocking but the worst of it is caused by brake fluid spillages and general grot and grime

 

 

Its a slow and messy job but the results speak for themselves

 

 

Ill sort the inside of the inner wing whilst im here.

 

 

These brackets needed removing as there was rust behind

 

 

And then after a clean up and weld back on the brackets and it's done

 

 

Nearly there!

 

Cheers

Ben

[Sam76]

Are you restoring this as a stock advantage Ben? Or will it be changed?

[Ben_O]

It's going custom.

Mk1 influences with island blue paintwork, white roof and 10"wheels

 

Cheers

Ben 

[Sam76]

It's going custom.
Mk1 influences with island blue paintwork, white roof and 10"wheels

Cheers
Ben

Beautiful ?

Edited by Sam76, 23 October 2020 - 08:07 PM.

[floormanager]

You got any spare Island Blue paint Ben?  Better keep some in case I make another mistake next time I've over!

[Ben_O]

I have some of your paint left over from last time Paul. 

[Ben_O]

Now the rest of the bulkhead is cleaned up

 

 

 

I can have a look at fitting the front end.

 

First up is the front subframe which is installed with new mounts

 

 

Next to go on is the lower screen frame making sure it is set at the correct height

 

 

Next to go on is the front panel. New teardrops were fitted to the panel first and then it was bolted to the subframe and clamped to the front of the inner wing both sides.

 

 

Then the bonnet goes on next and is aligned to the scuttle and front panel

 

 

The back needs to be even with the scuttle

 

 

Level with the front panel both sides

 

 

And the bonnet needs to sit evenly with the edges of the inner wings both sides as a good start point

 

Next, the wings can go on. 

 

 

I'm not looking for the perfect fit here (wouldn't that be nice!) All I want is to see the fit where they touch.

Not a bad starting point but has plenty of issues

 

This side, the gap is about right at the front, pretty good at the back but the top in general is wide and the wing fits like it is rolled out at the fold into the shut. Not ideal

 

 

This is as good as it gets without surgery this side which isn't great

 

 

But the other side is much worse.

 

 

And this is a bit of a joke. It can't stay like that...

 

 

And that's where I am with it now.

As the wings were so cheap, it's worth me working with them as ill still have to do something with heritage panels and ill have to wait for them to arrive too. Not to mention the extra expense so stay tuned if you want to see what I do with them.

 

Cheers

Ben

Edited by Ben_O, 26 October 2020 - 05:06 PM.

[JXC Mini GT]

Cant wait for the next episode Ben to see you work your magic on the front of this mini.