454 replies to this topic

[emalee]

god i haven't undated this since saturday!!!!

ok so sunday was the run

at which i was told my exhuast was too low, which was right, one of the mounting had snapped in half, so robbed a mounting off my old pea shooter exhuast, and jacked the exhuast up and rebolted it, made a bit harder because the tow bar was in the way!!!! grrr annoying, but such a good towbar!!!

so then me and dad cleared the old welder out the way and tided up, so we could bring the engine out

we found sliding it on plastic stuff, its about 10mm thick worked really well!!

so then monday as it was reallly wet, i went to let me horse out and thought might as well do some painting of the shotblasted bits, went and bloddy spent the whole day there!!!

stripped the engine down to





then sandblasted a lot of bits and baged all the bolts up ready to go back on (and sandblasted most of them....) and primed up the big bits ready to be painted

then yesterday i repaired the bulkhead


first layer

second layer


then a tackled the shock mount


repaired and cleaned up the inner wing



and quickly wire brushed a bit of the engine (because it was raining)



there is yellow paint under that rust some where!!!

ok so today started with the rust on the inner wings





and repaired





then a got the sand blaster out to play....



DOH!!!!



does clean things up lovely tho!!!



i also blasted in the corners of the roof gutter on the body, as its impossible to get in there with anything else, and is one of the only places were my mini is rusting.

then i cleaned up the inner wings and replaced this



with a lovely new one!!!

then red oxided everthing and painted the scuttle and windscreen surround/roof gutter white





so the plan for tomorrow is to replace the top corners of the inner wing, where i got a bit carried away when we fitted the scuttle!!

and clean up the new panels (ones been sat for about 5 years) ready for the fit on the weekend. they aren't gen panels aswell as i brought them before i started the build and knew how bad they fit, so fingers cross everything will go on alright!!!!

[emalee]

ok so a bit of good news, i've got a job!!! and i start on monday!!!!, so much needed cash for the sky!! Whoop whoop

in the mean time the thing i'm most excited about, even more that xmas, front end on the sky this weekend!!!!

i haven't got that many pics, because my camera died, but alll the panels are preped apart from one a panel because i left it at home!!!!

the driver wing started like this.....



i couldn't believe it was so bad, i stripped it back a few years back and painted it with the paint we were using as a unrust..... it was pants!!!

anyway quick wire brush/ sand disc on the drill, and sandblaster, it came up alright, so now its red oxided and all ready to be fitted

the other major shock for today was the bonnet, i brought it at bingley hall in 2007, as i knew the sky needed a new bonnet, any way,



so i unwrapped it to find



which the centre line is no way near the normal line



so i was hunting round for a another bonnet to use, and found that almond green one, but thats quite rusty, well too rusty for the sky!!!

a pale metalic green one, which again had rusty issues, than a silver one with a bit of surface rust, so that came out and i'll be using that

even if the new bonnet fitted perfectly i would hate that centre stripe and it would bug me forever!!!

so thats most of the panels ready to be fitted and primed

i gotta do 2 little last bits of welding on the front end, and a little bit on the bonnet, (where they crack!!!)






and tomorrow i'll be going shopping for mini parts, seeing as i'll have some more cash now!!!

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

lol u beat me to having a job good work im lucky that i have people around me who need cars fixing constantly so i just survive but glad to see skys getting sorted

[dfraser]

Your'e doing really great, especially in this cold - you're a machine!

[BMC Paul]

Yeah some machine! Emma is doing so well and got so much enthusiasm its brilliant!

You got a spot welder now havent you and already had a practice with it on the scuttle so you ll be flying once you get the panles in line and in position etc.. so much easier then the mig and no grinding down and can male it all look factory fitted! Makes life so much easier, i use mig 99 percent of time but for fitting the front a spot welder is fab and saves so much time and effort and alos gives u that LOOK that plug mig welding cant!

Keep it up Emma and by the way, what colour you painting the engine ?

Edited by BMC Paul, 12 February 2009 - 09:07 PM.

[emalee]

i think i'm just obessed, more than a machine!!!LOL

thats the reasons why we got the spot, speed, easy and to look original, the little dimples in the scuttle join look sooo right, i'm so glad i got that panel, it would of been a pig to repair the old new and just not the same finish!!!

the engine is stay yellow, factory spec and all, with black fitting and black steel rocker box!!!

Yeah some machine! Emma is doing so well and got so much enthusiasm its brilliant!

You got a spot welder now havent you and already had a practice with it on the scuttle so you ll be flying once you get the panles in line and in position etc.. so much easier then the mig and no grinding down and can male it all look factory fitted! Makes life so much easier, i use mig 99 percent of time but for fitting the front a spot welder is fab and saves so much time and effort and alos gives u that LOOK that plug mig welding cant!

Keep it up Emma and by the way, what colour you painting the engine ?

[emalee]

ok so yesterday i put the bonnet on and bolted the front panel on

the bonnet



much better than the cheap pattern!!!

welded up the crack



fitting it after much fidding around, it sat too high in the middle



so i took it off and bent it to fit



then started on the front panel, tried to bolt the teardrop mounts on and the hole wasn't in line to bolt it one, but i could get the bolt in, so i tighthened it up, then



the nut came out of its holder, so i cut it out of the front panel



welded the nut back on, and welded it back onto the front panel

for the other side, i just made the hole bigger on the mount!!!

so bolted the front panel on



shut the bonnet


hmmm, the other side was fine, but the front panel was thicker on that side than the other!!

anyway, so rested the wings in place



drivers



lovely fit at the scuttle, but the front panel was out



passenger

scuttle was out



and didn't even bother with the rest!!!

so today, with my panel beater dad on hand the scuttle gap went to



and with a lot of work







the driver wing went on without any alternations and dad managed to pull the gap on the front panel out

then driver a panel



and door, after i had to add another door shim to the top hinge, it must of disorted when i welded the inner finch in!!!

then passenger a panel



which is almost there just needs a little bit more work, but it got too dark to do it!!

so thats it the front end is in place, held on by 3 rivots and about a million clamps!!!

tomorrow we will do the final work to the a panel and a bit more clamping, then the spotwelder will do all the hard work welding it on!!! then we'll drop the front subfame to get the spotwelder on the pig ears to spot them on!!!

[GreaseMonkey]

You are amazing

Great work

[edi57]

Super work Emalee. You almost have a Mini again!

Ed

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

not far you've got loads done

[BMC Paul]

Well done! Simple as ! Well done !

[adam_mini]

Looking good. Been following this since the start only just got chance to comment.

The car was very rotten to start with so i think you've done very well saving another mini and all that.

Put me to shame with the welding etc

Your lucky having 2 minis on the go.

Keep going

Adam

[emalee]

cheers for all the comments everyone i'm so chuffed at how its come along, i didn't think it was that rusty tho.... should of seen mine when we got it!!! LOL

and my dad did all of the work lining the panels up!!!

anyway, the front end is 95% welded on, we just need to be the 'pigs ears' on the front panel with the spot welder and braze the front seams around the headlights and bumper lip!!!

ok so i came up before dad and tackle the roof gutter rust





then dad came up and we spot welded the wings to the inner wings





and the driver a panel



then with a bit of adjustment (with a hammer) to the electodes to bend them out to get into the seam the passenger a panel



we couldn't get the spot in the inner arch and on the headlight seam, so dad mig'ed it, he like to take over....



and i took the hubs off



i couldn't believe how thin the disc were, compare to one that was on my mini for about 2 years/30-40k





yeah i'm sure they were brillient brakes, i think the sky hasn't quite been aswell looked after as it should of done.....

so anyway i stripped the hub down to this



then dad had to go home to fit a carpet, so i dropped the subframe



and started painted







amd roof repairs








well happy

[BMC Paul]

In your words " WELL HAPPY" I bet you are Emma, well done yet again to you and your dad lol! Really is coming along this rebuild

[emalee]

cheers i feel mean taking dad away from his morris when i'm pushing him to get it out of the garage, but he like the challenge of making the panels fit right,his words honest!!! and he loves the spot welder, i kept telling him that we'll mig inside the wing and he was like no its fine!!! love him!!

it was quite funny when we both asked each other if the line up of a wing was alright at the same time!!! LOL

quick ish update, my new job its nothing what the agency lead me to believe it was, and then last night my minis head gasket blow as i pulled onto my drive!!! but its given me chance to think that i really don't want this job and its really upset me because i like to stick at things, but this job is just so bad, i;m gonna throw in the towel, i was only temping there, and i don't want to sound like a 'typical temp' because i've spent 4.5months temping at me last job, and few months in the job before that, then they took me on permantly. god i'm trying to defend myself, its driving me mad!!! so when i get rid i'll be so much happier, and i've contacted a couple of agencys today, and one has put me forward for a job at the company i've just spent 4.5 months temping at, i love that place!!! i hope i get it!!!

any way, so this is a none sky update, but a tommy update, my mini!!! (tractor tom, because of varies exhuast blowing/head gasket/valve blowing and a dieing ider bearing) but tommy because he is lovely with his 1330 mg engine that we reuilt in june 2007 and i've done abour 30k in him since!!!

so headgasket change

i got dad to tow me to the farm, because i really didn;t want to even try to start him, let alone drive him and risk damaging the engine or head, because last night he would only start under full thottle, and wouldn't even consider ticking over, and thats when he was warm.....

so got towed up the farm (saves petrol!!!)



parked up next too the sky...

before



carb to one side



crack exhuast manifol



welded exhuast manifold



rocker box off


then head off



i'm quite happy that is wasn;t in the 2-3 middle one, thats my usualy favourite!!!, as you can see the carb is favouring the first 2 cyclinders and giving them a richer mixture!!!, but not a bad mixture and hardly any choke up, i reckon its done around 30k



then engine and seeing the bore wear, the last time we saw this it was all brand spanking new and shiney.... not so much now!!!! LOL

,

you can't make out the 060 marking in the middle of the piston!!!



the is a bit of bore wear, but nothing major, a few scores bit like 2!!!, (of the pistons that were down!!! LOL) the no.1 bore is a bit wierd, but nothing major, so i'm quite happy!!!

we live at a bottom of a steep hill, so every cold morning he get a thrashing up the hill, which worried me a bit, racing a cold engine and all , but all seems well!!!!


so anyway put the new HG on, (after dad tried giving me new for a one litre) put everything back on



cleaned my engine up a bit so it resembles silver.... (with a bit of red where the paint has came off) after dad asked me what colour it was meant to be!!!!

changed the rockers as mine had a bit of wear on, tightened up the fuel pump as it was worringly lose, erm changed the broken heater tap for a heater take off and changed that 1/2" hose to 5/8" (or 3/8, i get confused)
welded up the exhuast, then dad adjusted the tappets, put the rocker box back on, turned the key, started first time, with no sputtering or nothing, considering it had been dizzling for about a hour or 2

ran for a bit with no water, re torqued the head and reset the tappets and off we go,

just gotta changed the bent tie rod, from my being pants at being towed!!! LOL, better than wrecking the engine tho!!!!, i must fit a towing eye, that would be good.....


i did do a bit on the sky tho, i removed the steering colum and rack, the rack is really harsh, because both of the gaitors are broken, so there is hardly any grease in it, but no play tho!!!

then i took the clutch cover off the engine, and tried to get the clevis pin out, but its pretty solid, so i;ve left it to soak in wd40 and hopefully free it up!!!

we are really old fashoned with clutchs because dad grew up on pre verto and verto confuse him, as morris minors don't have them!!!

but when i took the cover off, there was like a cup thing that pulled off really easily for the clutch assemby, does anyone know what this is???

i;m hoping its part of a new clutch because its got 2002 written on it!!! and would be really good!!!! LOL