195 replies to this topic

[BusheyTrader]

I've nudged the A post a touch further forward to give a bit more clearance. I think it looks about right now..



I offered up the combined doorstep / bottom quarter repair panel since the door position now looks good, and it only fitted where it touched. I'm learning fast about Mini pattern parts. The doorstep profile looks Ok but I don't think it would match the original item. No problem since there's nothing left of the original to match up with. However the repair panel's profile has to match that of the bottom of theB post........and of course it didn't.


Doorstep repair panel meets the bottom of the doorstep.


I cut the 1/4 panel repair part away from the doorstep as the complete panel was too unwieldy for what came next. I slit the repair panel at what should have been 90 degree corners with tin snips, matched the profile of the B post by tweaking the metal about and tack welded across the gaps in the repair panel to keep the new profile in place. (The photos were too poor to post up) I'll have to weld in the "V's" that I've created then grind smooth and it should match well. I reckon the bottom left hand corner of the doorstep is the part that has to look best when the door's open. Hopefully it'll look good shut as well.



Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 06 November 2011 - 10:56 PM.

[BusheyTrader]

These door shims looked a bit brown and rusty so put them in a tub of diluted Deox. The water didn't change colour and the brown stuff was still on the surface. I guess they are galvanised, no steel on the surface and still in good condition.


I was welding a thin strip of metal to raise the height of the inner sill today by a few mill. None of my welding clamps were small enough to fit below the sill brace, then I remembered I had these in a drawer................ I bought them off ebay as they looked like a bargain for a set of welding clamps and well made. When they turned up they were in a tiddly box. The ebay photo looked full size but there was no mention they were almost miniature. The quality was very good though. Anyway they worked a treat in a confined space today. (Reminded me of a tv prank when people ordered an office desk and chair from an internet photo. The items were delivered inside a normal shoe box )


Adam

[BusheyTrader]

Hi, I've learnt that everything panel wise on a Mini fits relative to the door............front number plate out of alignment, that'll be down to the door gaps.

which brings me to the fit of my doorstep panel to the outer sill. The outer sill is a genuine heritage item. The doorstep is one of those repair panels + bottom of the 1/4 panel combined. I bought it since the bottoms of both A and B posts were rotten. I cut off the 1/4 panel piece as I had to slit and weld up the B post repair part to match the B posts profile as it looked pants. The other end looked pretty good but will be hidden by the door and A panel anyway.




I've fettled the doorstep and the gap between it and the door bottom looks passable.



However, the door and heritage outer sill are both slightly concave, Looking down the length of the doorstep repair panel, the outer seam that'll be plug welded to the outer sill is straight.

Looking at unrestored Minis on the road, the black trim underneath the doorstep closely follows the contour of the door. On mine, the doorstep seam runs in a straight line so any trim would look narrower under the middle of the door and wider at both ends. Even though it's profiled the doorstep isn't made of the thickest gauge steel so maybe I can get it to follow the same contour without cutting or sectioning it.

[BusheyTrader]

Not a lot of progress in the last few weeks................mainly welding in a new jacking point and front slinging bracket to the inner sill. The hardest part was positioning them so that outer sill and doorstep panel sat correctly once welded. Many cleco pins and a fair bit of trial and error, followed by zinc rich primer and welding. I wanted to keep the jacking point in case others in the family are driving and get a flat. The std jack is easier for them to use at the roadside than a trolley or bottle jack under the subframe.

My stand alone garage is a bit like riding a motorbike to work. Too hot in summer, too cold in winter but fine for the few weeks inbetween. Much respect to the guys who work outside on their project in winter time. My quilted overalls have finally worn out so it's either buy a new set or some thermals.

I've got a few days off work across the Christmas period so thought ahead and bought a new heritage heelboard, L/H outer sill and other repair panels from Minispares whilst there's a bit of extra discount. Screwfix are also discounting their welding clamps and mig welding wire heavily so stocked up.

Hopefully the passenger side sills repairs won't take me as long since its felt like lots of work but getting nowhere fast at times.

Adam

[BusheyTrader]

One of the family was rushed to hospital just before Christmas so didn't get as much done as I'd hoped on my days off work.

After trial fitting the doorstep panel with Cleco pins against the fitted door countless times I finally welded it into place. Plug welded from the inside through the inner sill and also on to the A post. Butt welded into the rear quarter panel.



I'm reasonably please with the result despite my novice efforts.

I'm now looking at the tank before dropping the rear subframe and replacing the heel panel. The tank looks fine on the outside but hopefully isn't too rusty on the inside. I'll have to checkout the pump and sender unit before deciding what to do with the rest.

Adam

[grahama]

Looks like a nice repair from here, nice fit on the door too. I have gaps like yours to get, but am way off yet !! Hope your family member is ok too.

Graham

[BusheyTrader]

Hi Graham, thanks for the goodwill.

I got a kind of warped satisfaction in making the pattern doorstep's profile fit the B post although it took up so much time doing it. The rear of the butt weld will need protection so I'll spray some Bithamber wax or zinc rich primer up there with an Aerosol tube. (All of the surrounding metal was covered in Bithamber zinc paint) There's no access behind the weld unless I start drilling holes somewhere.




The tank's out on the garage floor as I figure out what to do with it next. I don't want it to corrode further inside whilst I'm still battling with the bodywork. I may brim it with hot Deox solution and leave it a few weeks or longer to remove the surface rust. It shouldn't rust further if filled with the stuff whilst its still active.



Adam

[BusheyTrader]

I've removed the pump and sender unit from the tank. Lots of scaly crusty stuff is all over them but its not rust from the metal underneath. I was going to check the sender unit with a multimeter but the battery inside was dead after I'd left it switched on many months ago. The pipes around the pump were filled with a white gunge.



A couple of pints of stale petrol were in the bottom but it smelt more like industrial cleaner. There was rubber seal floating around in it. It was an odd size so must have been dropped in accidentally at some time. The tank looks remarkably sound for an 18 year old example in a car that hasn't moved in 10 years. It's made of much thicker steel than I was expecting. A good job too as they're priced around £225 for an injection tank.



I'm not sure what the white / grey plastic pod is on top of the tank, I'll have to look at a parts diagram later.




I've trawled and searched across the forum but haven't come across a full rebuild of an Spi injection system. I'm more at home with carbs and Holley 4 barreled ones on top of V8's at that. If there's a link someone could post up I'd appreciate it.

I've removed the 4 rear subframe bolts from the boot floor. After lots of WD40 and heat it was definitely a 2 man job due to the torque needed. Only 1 of them sheared off.

Happy New Year Peeps.

Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 01 January 2012 - 10:01 AM.

[BusheyTrader]

Today I removed the axle stands from under the rear subframe and placed them about 6 inches forward of the heel panel with a length of 3" x 3" timber across them. After cutting the brake pipe (it was dry inside), disconnecting the fuel filter, (it wasn't) removing the battery cable and releasing the handbrake cable from its lever, I dropped the rear subframe.



The subrame to heel panel bolts came undone easy enough after some WD40. Another length of 3" x 3" timber on a trolley jack supported the subframe so it be could slowly lowered. Yeah right......it fell on to the floor.



Although covered in crud, the subframe looks solid with just some surface rust but I'll know better once it's been severely wire brushed with an angle grinder.



At the back in the centre is a small bracket with nothing attached to it. It looks factory fitted.



Unless it's for a centre mounted fog lamp in an overseas market I haven't a clue what it's for. It's not solid enough for an exhaust mount and way too small.

I bought a heritage heel panel from Minispares before Christmas as the original looked badly rusted on either side. It looks like I'll only need to replace about 6" on either side since the centre looks completely rust free.





Some of the seam sealer in the middle is a good 1/2" thick in places with no corrosion beneath it so far.

Adam

Edited by BusheyTrader, 08 January 2012 - 01:14 AM.

[BusheyTrader]

Had a closer look at the rear valance and inside the boot. The valance itself is in reasonable nick, the fog light bracket was a mess and snapped off quite easily. The closing panels at either end had rusted right through as I pulled them apart with my fingers. The boot floor doesn't look too bad but I'll know better after attacking it with the wire brush in the angle grinder.

The triple layer sandwich between the boot floor seam, valance and boot hinge panel has plenty of rust in it. There's no accident damage but a couple of parking nudges have pushed the seam down a bit. If I'm lucky I may get away with butt welding some home made repair strips instead of buying large repair sections or new panels. Whoever was on the production line for applying the seam sealer stuff at the rear didn't hold back. Its everywhere and up to 1/2" thick in several places, a shame not much of it was applied at the front end.



The battery box has plenty of surface rust inside it. The three holes running down the centre had no bungs but were were completely covered by a strip of factory bitumen, the same stuff that covered the main floor.

[BusheyTrader]

It's been too cold in the garage to get anything meaningful done. I managed to drill out some of the spot welds on the right hand end of the heel panel before I'd had enough.

Fortunately I had something Mini related to keep me occupied..............


The panels fit way better than pattern parts.......

Adam

[BusheyTrader]

I drilled out the rest of the spot welds on the r/h end of the heel panel then cut it out. About 6 - 7 inches. The top of it was seam welded as well as spot welded to the companion bin above. Very neat welding from the factory, hidden under masses of seam sealer.

Some of the floorpan and inner sill need new metal letting in a few places but nothing major. After the state of the inner and outer sill and doorstep panels I was expecting far worse.

Adam

[BusheyTrader]

Hopefully I'll get some work on the Mini this weekend.


Wearing 4 layers including thermals didn't keep the cold out when it was subzero in the garage.

[Black.Ghost]

Some good work here. I should begin the stripping of my own Spi Cooper (a 92 one) in April. I can't weld so I either need to learn or get someone else to do it. I know there are a few bits that will need doing. Like you I have a small garage as well, but no power which is a real pain.

I will be following this quite closely, especially the rebuild phase for guidance! Keep up the good work.

[BusheyTrader]

Thanks. Jobbing out the welding could prove expensive. My labour is free, it's a learning curve but some of the simple jobs seem to take forever. I don't know if it's possible to run a Mig off a generator.

After carefully cutting out the r/h end of the heel panel from the body, I cut out the adjoining rot on the rear passenger floor, inner sill and stiffener across the rear of the companion bin and butt welded in new metal.



It's ready to receive the r/h end off the heritage heel panel. That'll be mostly plug welded in and seam welded across the top to replicate the original item. I'll have to make sure it's properly aligned and in the correct place so the subframe sits correctly. The centres of the subframe holes are exactly 50 1/2 inches apart from left to right.

Once that's on I can weld in the driver's outer sill. That will be a milestone to finish of the driver's side floor and sills........

Edited by BusheyTrader, 21 February 2012 - 10:52 PM.