723 replies to this topic

[stevede]

Wow, you're cracking on with this Steve, some really tidy welding there as well.

Be on the road soon?

Thanks Shifty.

Not sure about on the road soon? My biggest stumbling block will be the paint. Not the doing as I have painted a few cars in the past, but a place to actually do the work.

The credit card has also had to go and lie down in a darkened room for a while. Still plenty of jobs to keep me going though.

[stevede]

Short update to some of the work from the bank holiday weekend.

The inner wings behind the damper mounting brackets was rotten.





After redaing some of the posts from people who had done the job before I cut out around the area and cleaned it up.



Then I used the piece that I had removed to make a template. I used much thicker steel as it was replacing more than one layer.





Then I bolted it into place before fully welding





I also fitted the filler panels under the scuttle. I had to cut out and replace a couple of small patches but some distortion on the passenger side gave us a severe headache when we put the front back on.





I'll update with progress on the front end fitting over the next few days. If only we knew then what we know now! Ah well!

Thanks for looking

Steve

[stevede]

Well then! We finally made it to front end day. A very steep learning curve and whilst it should have been one of the nicer parts of the project, all it seemed to do was to highlight shortcomings in some of my earlier work.

My lack of experience didn't help and if we had the chance to do it again....... But, we are where we are and there is nothing that can't be put right. Just a little more time.

Just before I start, remember the old front end?



I know I posted it on a seperate topic but in case you missed it.

On to the build..

Subframe in place ready to take the front end.



We bolted the front panel to the subframe and then fitted the wing on the drivers side.



Some playing about and the fit around the scuttle was good



I realise now that I should have fitted the A panels first.

On to the left hand side and a perfect fit at the front



But after much tweaking & trimming we couldn't get the scuttle join right.



I'll have another look at it but the only option that seems feasable at the moment is to weld up both joins completely and smooth it off as I can't see how I can get the joints to look even. Not my first choice but a fresh look another day may bring a different option.

A panels were then fitted which met with the wings fine, but on the passenger side, the flitch repair panel was too far in and we had to put a small piece onto the panel to fix the A panel





What the front end did highlight was how "out" the doors were. There is much too big a gap both at the front and the back on both sides. The upper frames sit okay so I can only point to either the skins (patern), the way I put them on, or, a combination of both. Didn't get any pics at the time but a trick spotted in a practical classics magazine involving a 2mm welding rod may just come to my rescue.

A lighter note to finish this episode on. My wife was compaining she had become a "mini widow" so a trip to the RSPCA saw us adopt this little fur wrapped dynamo!



I elected to name her but after mini & cooper were rejected out of hand, she was christened "Cookie". (Short for "cooking fat").

More updates to come and if anyone has a suggestion on the scuttle or an alternative for the door gaps, I'm all ears.

Thanks for stopping by.

Regards - Steve

Edited by stevede, 07 September 2009 - 09:03 PM.

[GreaseMonkey]

Great work

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

cool cat id call it phoebe cause thats an ace cat name

[cookie4343]

Looks like your doing a great job keep up the good work.

[Shifty]

Don't want to worry you but you really need to try a bonnet on that.

Also, the best way to fit the front end is with the front subby on, theres a danger that it could be on the "skew"

I've just done one this way

- bolt the front panel

- trial fit the doors and a-panels to get gaps right

- trial fit the wings

- try is with the bonnet

Adjust gaps to suit.

Fiddle with blocks of wood/hammers/crowbars to get right!!

[Shifty]

I had a bit of a pig with my scuttle end repair, the best way is to not weld it up till you've offered the wing up.

If you can't get the join right then it may be better to remove the end piece and re-do it

[Shifty]

EDIT... Apologies Steve, you did fit the subby, my bad!!!

[stevede]

Thanks for the comments once again guys.

Shifty, Thanks for the feedback. I did read your thread about putting the front ends on but I didn't realise the effect doing it the other way round would have until it was too late.

Re the bonnet. Yes it does fit ........ Now. It was tight at the front at first because we thought it would be easier on the spit and measured rather than trial fitted. we "adjusted" the gap at the front of the wings with a spreader jack rather than removing / re-welding as we were only looking for 8mm.

Whilst I would rather have the nice line at the scuttle, the thought of taking it all off to redo is parked at the moment. I'll give it some thought rather than rush in and regret it later.

Hammer, blocks of wood, yes, but no crowbar. Maybe that's where I went wrong.

Lesson learnt - Ask first next time!

Cheers

Steve

[Shifty]

Steve, the only reason I know is because I've made the same mistakes!!

Front ends are a pig, on Spudnik I reckon I've put 25hrs+ into getting it how I want!!
(mind you that was all pattern parts and 1 a-panel took 4 hrs to shape!!)

Leave it for a bit and come back to it with a clear head, things will always look much better.

Shifty

Also if you're unhappy with it now, when its in paint and you can't change it it will REALLY REALLY bug you(don't ask how I know!!)

Edited by shiftyseamus, 08 September 2009 - 05:40 PM.

[stevede]

Hi Guys

Hope you all enjoyed Stamford Hall. I stayed at home to take advantage of the weather and get a bit more done. This update is a couple of weeks old but I am slowly catching up.

Front end on (not without problems) but as I am not having bumpers I took the strip off by drilling the spotwelds



Then I cut the number plate brackets down before re-welding them in place.



Remember the scuttle gap?

Good side



Bad side, and after much fiddling about, (didn't quite get to the crowbar Shifty), managed to get to this



Still needs some work but a mile away from where it was.

I mentioned a few posts back about some "toys" I had purchased. You've seen the wheels already but here's a sneak preview of the others....



I set the hubs back up on the subframe to have a look at the wheels in situ and couldn't resist having a try.

Have a look at the wheels mocked up as well.



I can't believe how low the car is overall once you take it off the spit. I'd kind of got used to it being just above waist height.



Hi-Lo's set at minimum but obviously no weight in the car at the moment.

Now where did I put those arches??






The group 2 wide arches I have look as though they will be fun to fit. My thought is to sit them so that the top third of the arch (if that makes sense) follows around the same level as the original wing. I have done some mods to the front of the arch to clear the wheels but will detail this in a separate post.

Anyone who has fitted these before and has any advice.... It would be appreciated.

Catch you all soon and thanks for stopping by.

Regards

Steve

[guywithvan]

just read through the lot cracking project mate some great progress made, im sure your daughter will love the final outcome she's a lucky girl,thats if after all the hard work you decide to keep it for yourself ,oh and did i see a glimpse of a suzuki sv650 in the garage?

[mighty mini jack]

Top work as usual, really does put me to shame!

Hope to see this car in the flesh one day, i love it!

[stevede]

just read through the lot cracking project mate some great progress made, im sure your daughter will love the final outcome she's a lucky girl,thats if after all the hard work you decide to keep it for yourself ,oh and did i see a glimpse of a suzuki sv650 in the garage?

Thanks for the comments. Zoe is looking forward to using it when it's done. But........ only occasionally, and if it's sunny, and if she doesn't go over 30mph, and if there's a R in the month. You get the picture.


Yes you did see an SV650s in the garage. Contemplating selling at the moment as I hardly use it. It's a 2000 model bought new and has less than 4000 miles on the clock!

Regards - Steve