283 replies to this topic

[emalee]

After completing my Sky in May last year, I've some how managed to take on a even bigger challege!!!

It all started after a very unsucessful search for a mini for one of Torbay mini club member(Wooo pecker)'s daughters(Tanya) for her 17 birthday, and I stumbed across one of our other club members mini sat on his drive way with no front end on......

so after a month of more hopeless searching - the deal was done (well ish) and the project has began

Right so the Plan

Take One mini....add 7 weeks (till Tanyas 17th Birthday....and get one rebuild.....

well hopefully!!!!

colours and final designs will be made by Tanya - so we'll have to ask her what she wants

we just need to get this mini rot free and mechanically sound for Tanya to take to uni and have fun with, without having to worry about it.

it will need a complete new front end - a panels, wings and front panel, along with scuttle and inner finch repairs

then new sills, bootfloor repairs, door skins, and one small repair on the rear quarter - and suframe repairs!!

then its gonna have a full respary in tanyas choice of colours, then the engine will be swapped with one of our 998s as this one is siezed, with bits on from this engine - head and clutch/flywheel, then all new brakes, bearings and bushes, and a bit of a electrical overhual

then hopefully a full bright red interior - if not i'll have to knock her up a custom jobbie!! and it will be fitted with the black ribbed doorcards that came off it, with new carpets and probably the speakers from one of my minis and a new headunit

then it will be sat on some rover minilights

All in 7 weeks!!!!!!!

so pictures from today, jacking the mini off the floor



then with a blocking mini out the way, we were ready to push it out



white mini left in the middle of the road



and loaded up






and arrived back at the farm



off the trailer


and ready to drive it down the hill to the garage with little brakes and no seat.......



the main route to the garage is blocked by a broken down bit of machinery :roll:

so me, wooo pecker and my dad (fonzy) set to work stripping the mini



LOL

after a hour and a half in the garage



some holes i poked





this one annoyed me because it wouldn't hole!!! grrr - still all be chopped out tho

air vent



other side



inner finched are required!!! LOL

yeah i poke this one tooo

heheh



let see if my rust rule works - it this bit is rusty its my rule that the heal board and closing panel has holes in.......

then after 3 hours

then engine came out



that is our rule - 3 hours to get a engine out - happy days





and 5 mins later the head off



FAIL!!!!!!!! one siezed engine!!!

[emalee]

hopefully the head will be alright



then we jacked up the rear



then after 4 hours of stripping we are left with this





ready for the rear sub to come off tomorrow - and hopefully the drivers door if the nuts decided the want to come off!!! LOL

[minimuff]

great work and keep posting the pictures.

Nice one.

[Rosslin Racing]

some more nut cases!! good luck with this project

[foxfan]

This is a great thread. Luvin those great pictures, keep em coming. You are planning to do in 7 weeks what it took me two years to do. I hope you manage it, good luck

[minimuk]

I like your garage, better make sure you put all nice in little bags and boxes!! bet yr lovin it.

[emalee]

our garage is a tip - but has loads of goodies hiding away everywhere - if we can find them

My sky was fully rebuilt in 7 months.... at a push.... so this in going to be interesting!!!! its not gonna be a perfect finish - a good finish, just not perfect, but the body is really straigh so hopefully that will save time, and the mechanics and electrics won't have such a indept rebuild - and i'm hoping the spotwelder is gonna save some time!!!!

Thats Wooo in the pictures she is a nutcase but great fun (and is funding the project, so i better be nice - shes already gonna left me make a massive mini spares order for parts and panels )

Right todays progress!!! i think we had a good day, but fustrating, but gooooooooooood

starts off with a fail 2 of the healboard subframe bolts sheared!!!!!, one that come out was proper rusted, and the other
one was nearly mint




then me and cj(woo peckers 13 year old son) struggled with the back ones as there are quite well rotted on!!!

they come off eventually then we lowered the back of the sub and pulled it off (crow-barred) it off the heal board

CJ spent the rest of most of the day learning how to use a grinder :?

and cutting out the rot in the subframe - he did a really good job and there are only a few bits left to cut out before we can repair it!!!



rusty bit



and cut out



Woooo spent most of the day under the mini stripping off the underseal and crap from under the boot floor

and Fonzy spent most of the day stripping down the old engine and clutch, and finding a replacement engine and tidying up the engine department..... LOL


New engine :?


there is a worrying amount of green paint on it - which came from my green mini which was painted in sept 2004.....



then i decided to cut the rear valance off....... it wasn't massively rusty but while we are here - and i wanted to repair under it.....



so off it came!!!!

then i had a good poke around underneath and found that indeed my rule is correct - rusted in front of the arch = rotted heelboard - it makes sense really the water goes in the hole and sits next to the heel board rotting it from the inside

there was a really odd hole in the rear arch aswell which wasn't rust - just a hole....... i'm not quite too sure what was going on - fonzy spotted a ripple down the side yesterday - which where me and wooo were we couldn't see...., but its quite clear now you know its there, there is like little dips in a line all the way along the rear quarter - and this random hole it at the end of it...... odddddddd

any way, after taking the wire brush on the grinder, to the boot floor i found all of these holes.....



and from under neath




so after a bit of cutting and chizeling



those damn spotwelds!!!!! drive you mad!!!

nice big hole ready to replace with fresh metal

i get to play with the spotwelder making the strengthing brackets tooooo

the other side half out



and finally out after braking all the spot welds they are a female doggy!!!!



the old crusty bits



i've still got a lot of tidying up to do on the drivers side ready for the new panels, which i'm hoping to do tomorrow night, and i'm also hoping to get the repair sections ready to weld in on tuesday night

[IFlingPoo]

Good luck Emalee. Seven weeks is a tall order. I planned on mine being a quick turn, but life happens and it's now going on 11 months!

[emalee]

Good luck Emalee. Seven weeks is a tall order. I planned on mine being a quick turn, but life happens and it's now going on 11 months!

thanks its gonna be a push - but hopefully to will be done very quickly

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

jesus you have my dream 7 weeks

cant wait to move into my new flat / house room for 7 minis in the garden and I bet you any money i have the garden full before to long to

[stevede]

Hi emalee

You're going to do more in 7 weeks than I have done in 7 months!!!!!


Good luck to you


Regards

Steve

[emalee]

Hi emalee

You're going to do more in 7 weeks than I have done in 7 months!!!!!


Good luck to you


Regards

Steve

i;m starting to brick it about the 7 weeks already!!!! LOL

[sazal]

Looks like you've definately got your work cut out! But after seeing your other projects Im sure you'll get it done in time and it'll look great!

[Woodpecker]

Hi emalee

You're going to do more in 7 weeks than I have done in 7 months!!!!!


Good luck to you


Regards

Steve

i;m starting to brick it about the 7 weeks already!!!! LOL

I don't know why, you know it'll be fine!!! LOL

[emalee]

Hi emalee

You're going to do more in 7 weeks than I have done in 7 months!!!!!


Good luck to you


Regards

Steve

i;m starting to brick it about the 7 weeks already!!!! LOL

I don't know why, you know it'll be fine!!! LOL

only if you and your crew help loads!! LOL

oh yeah i started a thread on here about your mini too