62 replies to this topic

[Cooperman]

That rust is almost identical to my grandsons MPI. It didn't look really bad, but we wanted it to last and it needed:
2 new wings,
2 new A-panels,
Front panel
Screen scuttle panel
Windscreen lower inner rail
Bulkhead top repair
Inner wing repair both sides
1 new door skin
New inner & outer sills
Boot floor patch repair

As we do all the body welding and priming ourselves it cost about £350 for the panels. The re-paint done professionally cost just under £1000, but unfortunatel there is a slight mis-match as we didn't have the back done and it's slightly faded.
Approximate total man-hours for the two of us to do all the body prep and welding and priming was 38 and the primer and materials like seam-sealer, welding gas, etc, was another £50.

[fattail95]

So if I budgeted £2k, is that about right?

[richw911]

For the amount of new panels i would go for a full respray (apart from the roof of course) - otherwise it wont be 100% match and you will always be a bit annoyed about it.

[fattail95]

How much more is that?

[cliche]

Yup I was quoted £2k upwards for my 94 SPi

[AVV IT]

So if I budgeted £2k, is that about right?

As I said previously, for the work needed that we can see, then to pay someone to do that sort of work is going to cost you from around £2k. But as others have said, we haven't seen the other usual places such as the floor pans, boot floor, flitch panels etc. so the bill could get a fair bit bigger yet. Sadly the problem with rust on the classic mini, is that it is almost always worse that it first appears.

Obviously there are considerable savings to be made if you do all, or even part of the work yourself. The other big advantage of doing it yourself, is that you can ensure that you take all the necessary steps in using protective paints and rustproofing measures, to prevent all that new metal going the same way as before. Something you are unlikely to get if you pay someone else to do it all for you.

Edited by AVV IT, 06 February 2012 - 06:53 PM.

[Cooperman]

Really the best bet is to buy a decent MIG welder, an angle grinder, body clamps, chisels, files, and other body building tools and do it yourself. If you are intending to keep a Mini in the long term it's vital that you can do as much of the work as possible yourself. Otherwise it'll be a constant financial drain.
Once you get started it's not as difficult as it might seem and the ability to MIG weld is always a good skill to have.
When you buy the panels get the 'genuine' ones and buy the best quality tools you possibly can.
Good luck with it.

[Richey]

I'm hoping to similar work done on my Mini. Want a full re-spray and a few replacement panels by the end of this year. Should I be looking at a budget of £2000?

[AVV IT]

I'm hoping to similar work done on my Mini. Want a full re-spray and a few replacement panels by the end of this year. Should I be looking at a budget of £2000?

That really depends on what panels you want to replace, obviously who you get to do the work will have an effect on how much it will cost too, as will whether you use genuine heritage panels, or the cheaper pattern versions.

Edited by AVV IT, 06 February 2012 - 07:46 PM.

[Cooperman]

If doing this sort of bodywork for the first time it would be best to use genuine 'Heritage' panels. Some of the pattern ones are hard enough for us old bodywork veterans.
Ther is a lot of help available on here if you need it and once you get started you can ask whatever you like. There are a few things to do in preparation.
The first thing is to bolt the front sub-frame onto the car using solid mounts. This will more accurately locate the panels before you start welding (and make the car much nicer to drive afterwards). You do this before you start removing any panels by grinding/chiselling them off, but more of that later.

[villa3]

Sell it,save the money and buy a decent one,the late model minis are not worth a lot anyway so you would never get your money back.

[Richey]

I'm hoping to similar work done on my Mini. Want a full re-spray and a few replacement panels by the end of this year. Should I be looking at a budget of £2000?

That really depends on what panels you want to replace, obviously who you get to do the work will have an effect on how much it will cost too, as will whether you use genuine heritage panels, or the cheaper pattern versions.

I can't say for sure, but I don't think there is too much rust 'inside' my Mini. Mainly, I have a little around that common spot, just under the headlamps, so I'm guessing that may be a little worse inside. Having said that, I'm sure we all know it can be like opening Pandora's box when you get inside... I'd be looking to spend no more than 2K getting the Mini back to tip-top condition.

[Cooperman]

Do the bodywork yourself including all the fitting and new body panel welding. Then put the final body surfacing, preparation and painting out to a good paint shop. Take the car back without the windows and electrical bits fitted and do that yourself.
Do that and you should get away with around £1600 plus buying or borrowing the necessary tools, welder, etc.
Have you seen the way the prices of those later cars are going up when they are rust-free?

[AVV IT]

I can't say for sure, but I don't think there is too much rust 'inside' my Mini. Mainly, I have a little around that common spot, just under the headlamps, so I'm guessing that may be a little worse inside. Having said that, I'm sure we all know it can be like opening Pandora's box when you get inside... I'd be looking to spend no more than 2K getting the Mini back to tip-top condition.

Much of the rust under the head lamps occurs where the panel overlaps on itself and joins. Moisture gets into this seam from under the wing causing it to rust and spread until you can see it on the outside of the panel. Because you cannot get between the two layers of metal to remove the rust, it's almost impossible to remove it, even if you attack it from both sides, meaning that it will always return. The only real options are to either replace the wing completely and make sure that the seams on new one are adequately protected next time, or to cut the corroded seams out and weld a new sections in.

The other issue beneath the headlights is that moisture often gets into the join between the wing and the front panel from behind, again causing rust that spreads into what becomes visible from the outside. Again this corrosion is very difficult to treat as its origin is trapped between to layers of metal. If the wing is removed & it is sometimes possible to salvage the front panel, as removing the wing allows access to the lip on the edge of the to panel, so that the rust can be removed properly.

If the extent of the corrosion is only limited to the wings, then you should be able to get the wings replaced and made good for more like around £800. Chances are though, that there will be more to come when you actually get the wings off. The other issue is that in order to replace the scuttle panel, the wings need to be removed. Trust me, there is nothing worse than going to the all time and expense of replacing the wings, only to then wish that you had actually done the scuttle at the same time, when your scuttle panel then goes a few months later.

I would still recommend learning how to do the work yourself though, not only is it an awful lot more cost effective that way, but also you can then be sure that you have taken all the right steps to protect all the new metal properly, in order to prevent it going the same way again. Which is something you just won't get by paying somebody else to do it for you.

Sell it,save the money and buy a decent one,the late model minis are not worth a lot anyway so you would never get your money back.

Whilst this is certainly the case with the early nineties models, I'm gonna have to agree with uncle cooperman on this one though. The very late mpi models are very desirable and hold their value much better than the slightly older spi versions. A rust free sportspack example can fetch upwards of £4.5k, even in todays lousy market, whilst an Spi of a similar standard would struggle to even make half that amount. If I were going to have that sort of work done to an mpi, I would probably fit sports pack wheels and arches etc at the same time, in order to maximise potential resale value.

Edited by AVV IT, 07 February 2012 - 10:42 AM.

[Cooperman]

On 'Cooperkid's' MPI we fitted a Mk 1 grille surround and grille, removed the bonnet flange, removed the wheel arch extensions and stayed with the standard 4.5" alloys. It even has an early 'Morris' bonnet badge and a 'Mini-Minor' boot script. I'll post a photo of it some time.
To get back to the rust issue with the OP's car, the screen scuttle is a major problem with all late cars and a new scuttle panle and, probably inner lower screen rail is important if the job is to be donw well. As 'AVV IT' says, the wings have to come off the change the scuttle and imagine just 'bodging' the scuttle and fitting new wings, then in a years time having to rip the new wings off to fit a new scuttle.
It is always likely that the top of the bulkhead will need repairing as the rust just erodes it. Make sure the screen aperture is measured before grinding it off as that dimension is very important when re-fitting the screen.