146 replies to this topic

[Dan6061]

Thing is, it won't pull out far enough to line up with the A panel.
So welding anything to the A panel won't make a difference!

It's an ABS one. I've PM'd body stylist yesterday asking about it, just about to link him to this so he can have a look.

[Deathrow]

I think he'll say that once you trim down the lip on the outer edge it will have much more give in it to bend to the shape it should be.

We shall see what he says though .

[Dan6061]

Drivers wing is now sorted! Attacked it with the heat gun and pulled it out, then held it there until it cooled down, and now it'll be fine!
Trimmed up the scuttle panel join today too, and got it as close as I could be bothered too, and I don't think it's that bad!
Forgot to take pictures, I'll get some tomorrow for you. Just thought I'd post up incase any of you were wondering...

I think it'd be best if I replaced my A panels, although I'm worried about how much work that would be? The passeger side has a rusty hole in it, as is bent about and dented a bit.
How much work do new A panels need?

[1984mini25]

Drivers wing is now sorted! Attacked it with the heat gun and pulled it out, then held it there until it cooled down, and now it'll be fine!
Trimmed up the scuttle panel join today too, and got it as close as I could be bothered too, and I don't think it's that bad!
Forgot to take pictures, I'll get some tomorrow for you. Just thought I'd post up incase any of you were wondering...

I think it'd be best if I replaced my A panels, although I'm worried about how much work that would be? The passeger side has a rusty hole in it, as is bent about and dented a bit.
How much work do new A panels need?

A panels are pretty easy to do and are cheap enough, the old ones (if original) should be held in place with a few spot welds along the edge nearest the door and a couple of tacks at the top and bottom.

[analogue_radio]

Massive step forward then with sorting the drivers wing out, well done what condition is the door hinge & flitch in?

[Dan6061]

Went out earlier to finish off the scuttle panel trimming, and I've got it as close as I can, and I'm chuffed with it!
Stuck the bonnet on too to look at it all lined up, looks awesome!
Once again, no pictures! My mate came over and wanted me to help him change the oil on his Corsa, so I dropped my tools, packed up and went to help him! He didn't even need my help in the end!

I'll update with pictures tomorrow.

[Dan6061]

Bit of a bump!
I haven't abandoned the Mini at all! Was waiting for it to dry up a bit before going back to the garage to work on it!
I bought a fibreglass kit, so I can fibreglass the hinges to the front. Had a quick go at fibreglassing some mesh to the scoop on the bonnet, and just made a mess!
I heated up one of the wings, and pulled it out into shape of the Apanel. Now that's clamped up and setting in place. The passenger A panel is rusty, and has a hole in it, but I'll patch that up with fibreglass soon. It was a little bent and dented, but I've pulled/knocked back what I can.

Just need to get the hinges bolted in place (pivoting on one bolt at the moment) fibreglass them to the front, then fit the rubber hooks at the top, and the locking bonnet pins, and it's basically done!
Oh, need to sort out some tabs for the Apanels, to sit the front in place, but my mate's dad could weld some on for me I hope!

No pictures, as it looks the same as before really, just thought I'd post up incase you were wondering where I'd got to!

[bamby]

as they say no news is good news. Glad your getting there with it sounds like theres not much left to do.. good luck with the rest of it though keep it up

[Dan6061]

as they say no news is good news. Glad your getting there with it sounds like theres not much left to do.. good luck with the rest of it though keep it up

Thanks. There's not much left, no. Just what I said (which are the awkward bits!) then I'm going to change the oil, need to check the timing, put the catalyst back on the exhaust, and do all the MOT checks! Oh, and fit the side-repeaters to the Apanels.
Hopefully it'll pass the MOT for when it's back on the road! I miss driving it about!

[analogue_radio]

Hey man! glad to see an update, wondered where you've been!

[Dan6061]

Hey man! glad to see an update, wondered where you've been!

I've been hiding!

[Dan6061]

Back again!
Been doing a bit of bodywork today. A while back I spotted a little bit of rust, so as usual, I prodded it, and my finger went through it!
Patched it up with fibreglass, then went over it with some bodyfiller. It looks alright, only a temporary job until I change the Apanels!
Also finished trimming the front down, and sorted out the mould problems I had with it on the Apanels! It's all going well now!

Pictures:


Patched up A panel. The hole was at the bottom right. All patched up, sanded back, and quickly sprayed it with black Platicote to protect it.


More rust I found along the sill! I was fitting the new rubber trim, and a load of body work came off with the old one. So I poked out as much as i could, then sprayed over it. - Another temporary fix!


Front end on. All nicely lined up!


Passenger's side scuttle join. I'm quite chuffed with how close it is now!


Driver's side scuttle join. Again, pretty chuffed with it! Might sand back that bubbly paint and give it a quick spray over...


Driver's side A panel - Wing join. Can't really tell, but it is nicely lined up there now.


Passenger's side A panel - Wing join. Again, hard to tell, but it is nicely lined up there too!


Driver's side bonnet line. It's not perfect each side, but it's close enough. It might line up once it's all fitted!


Passenger's side bonnet line. Bit closer than the driver's side...


Bonnet line over-view. See the bigger gap on the driver's side?



That's all for now!

Remaining jobs:
Fit side repeaters to the A panels.
Finish bolting the hinges in place on the subframe.
Mould the hinges to the front end.
Make/fit some metal strips for the a panels, so the front can sit over them and line up.
Fit the rubber hooks.
Fit the arches.
Put the bootlid back on.
Flush/change the oil.
Check engine timing.
Fit cat' back on the exhaust.
MOT checks.
Pass MOT.
Get it sprayed!


Not too much, once the front end is done, it's just little bits!
Really can't wait to get it back on the road!

Edited by Dan6061, 11 March 2009 - 02:55 PM.

[analogue_radio]

Looks spot on! are you gonna have it sprayed?

[Dan6061]

Yeah I am, had to edit that into the list after!
One of my mates used to work at the local Ford garage body repair but, so he's pretty good at spraying. He might be getting his own spray guns soon, so if we can find somewhere could enough to spray it, then he might do it for me.
If not, another mate's dad has a spray booth at his garage, but that will cost more...

[Dan6061]

Started the lovely job of fitting the hinges today! But I'm stuck.
I sanded back the front where the hinges will be fitted, so it's a nice flat, smooth surface. I then coated it in resin so it was tacky, and then fitted th front on. Once the hinges were sat in place, I awkwardly blobbed a bit of filler on, let it set, then they were held in place.
I removed the front along with the hinges, so I could fit them and keep them in place.
I fibreglassed oves them, and made sure they stayed in the exact same place.
Once that set, I put some more filler over, let that set, and sanded it back. Gave the hinges a little tug, and they were wobbling about!

I know I gave them long enough to set, I even helped it along with the heatgun!
So that didn't work, anyone got any other ideas I could try?

Didn't really want to bolt it on, as it'd ruin the look of the front end, but I might have to resort to it! Might look for some countersunk bolts maybe?