33 replies to this topic

[2Black]

Today I got the other side cleaned up. It is now all just bare metal.
Hope to prepare the window for insertion thursday.
Tomorrow a package (maybe 2) will arrive from the UK. New front & wings plus articulated hinges for the bonnet, and I'm expecting a Moulton Smooth-A-Ride kit.

I hope those will be the only expensive things for the near future..., luckily sanding & preparing bodywork is quite cheap

[2Black]

right hand side sheet removed, Metal underneath had never been prepared with any kind of rust-prevention.
Lucky that this car had been stored dry for 11yrs, otherwise it would probably have corroded heavily under that metal sheet.



grinded everything down to bare metal. On this pillar was a 5mm layer of filler.

Edited by 2Black, 30 May 2012 - 09:00 AM.

[2Black]

Yesterday we completed the left hand side window opening.
Getting ready for the other side now, will be slightly more difficult since more of the side has been cut away there.

[2Black]

I'm getting the thing into shape I guess.
Both sides have now been done and the result is pretty good I think.
After tidying up the welding spots with the grinder we've now put on zinc-coat for some basic rust protection and one side is nearing completion.

Looks pretty good.


Here we found a couple of spots with old repair work, busy getting that sorted.


And we've reached the rear.
On the picture a lot of grinding has already been done, revealing how the previous owners tried to repair things.
I'm not going to start over although maybe I should... Getting it grinded clean as much as possible so it won't rust away in seconds once the car gets used in the rain...


Also I've received the Smooth-A-Ride kit and have assembled the set for the rear. My Van didn't have shocks at all so putting this on now is quite handy, stabilising things.


For those who've never seen the difference in size of Smooth-A-Ride cones versus normal cones have a look here.
On the left the front cone, in the middle the rear cone and on the right a (old) standard cone.
I can imagine this has a rather large effect on how a Mini handles damping. It's actually similar to how Citroën has different pressures in the spheres they use in their hydro-pneumatic system, also with greater pressure in the front than the rear. But also different pressures for cars with heavier engines.

Edited by 2Black, 08 June 2012 - 08:12 AM.

[2Black]

Putting work into the back end is paying of.
Rust removed and straightened out.
Am now busy with the underside of the roofgutter (is that a correct way of naming it?) which especially on the rear of the Van has quite a bit of corrosion IN the metal. Trying to grind all of it away with a Dremel, tedious job. Getting all of that cleaned will probably take up more time than all the other things put together.

Also I've started my search for an engine....
Will probably go and visit the largest used Japanese parts company in NL next week. Hoping to get some useful info there.

How the rear looks now:

[SAL 821X]

coming on well 2Black like the idea of the half smooth valence.

Edited by SAL 821X, 14 June 2012 - 02:59 PM.

[2Black]

The smooth valence is born out of necessity. Only way too get it looking half-decent with all the welding that had been done there by the previous owners.

Meanwhile we've started sorting out the rear doors and are sort of making 2 doors out of the 4 I had.
The LH door is the one that will be hardest to get right. It needs a new bottom repair section. Luckily my Mini-specialist friend had a repair set lying around in his attick somewhere.
Started cutting and welding that piece this afternoon. Haven't got pictures of that because I wasn't there... i'm not a welder...
Hope to see the finished result monday.
Not having to buy new rear doors keeps money in the bank

[2Black]

Left hand rear door, picture of what we started out with. Slightly rusted...
Bottom section cut of.



repair panel that will get welded on



outside after welding and grinding



grinding some more, inside of door



end result inside. Looks pretty good.

[2Black]

Have been grinding away with a Dremel last week.... pfffff.
And now it's broken because that's what Dremel's seem to do after 15-20 hours of use.

Anyway...
Gonna go for a visit at NL's largest used Japanese carparts place tomorrow to get some info on Suzuki engines.
Getting a Mini on the road is all about planning...

[SAL 821X]

2black.

Does the bottom repair sections come in two panels or are they joined together and 'you' weld them to the rest of the door. I need to do mine just wonder if I repair with sheet or just buy the repair sections?

Suzuki engine you say......?

[2Black]

@sal: the repair sections come as 2 sides, front & back.

So you have 2 actually build the whole thing together. This has pros & cons,...
It is quite a job to get right, mainly because the rear doors are slightly curved.
After we had finished the door and counted up the hours needed, buying a completely new door isn't actually that expensive....

Suzuki I said... yes

[SAL 821X]

hmmmmmmmm. thanks for the info 2black.

The outer skins are fine its just the inside lower rail corners that have gone so I think I'll just try and repair them then.

[2Black]

Due to the summerholidays in which (unfortunately) there are kids to look after... not much progress on the Van.
Did however manage to go on a fieldtrip and had a look at a Suzuki 16v Mini-subframe.
It's the british made AllSpeed frame but with some small changes. AllSpeed delivers a good product but the frame hasn't really been developed to it's full potential.
The garage I went to has done a number of Swift GTi DOHC 16v conversions and has thereby learned what alterations need to be done to make the frame be really finetuned for that engine. Some small tweaks I guess.

Anyway...
I've now got some more info on that so can move forward in regards to the engine.
Now I just have to find an engine...

[2Black]

A month ago I thought I had found a Swift Gti and agreed to buy it.
No probs, nice lady. She had to get some paperwork in order so I knew it wouldn't be available within a week.
But... haven't heard anything since and she doesn't even reply to e-mail. Guess she sold it to someone else without bothering to inform me.
Bummer...

Back to square one on the engine front

[SAL 821X]

Bummer... good luck with your quest.