46 replies to this topic

[AbitNutz]

My Mini has inside door hinges and they work just fine. However, lets face it, the outside ones look much nicer with the external seaming and all.

Does anyone just add the outside hinges for looks? Or is the that over the top?

[Ethel]

They wouldn't work, without a fair bit of extra work, but I believe there are mock external hinges to stick on.

[Samini86]

Have you got a link?

[Ethel]

Had a quick look, couldn't find any, some suggestion they were a Japanese thing.

[brad-the-bear]

id buy them, sound cool if they look good

EDIT: changed my mind

Edited by brad-the-bear, 01 May 2012 - 05:48 AM.

[Bungle]

http://www.theminifo...al-door-hinges/

http://www.theminifo...05#entry1389605

https://www.mini-del...detail1404.html

http://www.the-arc-a...p?CategoryID=22

[AVV IT]

These are the Arc-Angles stick on hinges that Bungle mentioned above (http://www.the-arc-a...p?CategoryID=22). It's quite clever how they work, but then at £212 it ought to be!!

[1984mini25]

It's quite clever how they work, but then at £212 it ought to be!!

And at only double the price it cost me for hinges and panels to do the mk3 to mk1 conversion properly

[mk3 Cooper S]

It's quite clever how they work, but then at £212 it ought to be!!

And at only double the price it cost me for hinges and panels to do the mk3 to mk1 conversion properly

Lets see the results - mk1 doors are completly different? or do you mean you added hinges to mk3 doors

[1984mini25]

It's quite clever how they work, but then at £212 it ought to be!!

And at only double the price it cost me for hinges and panels to do the mk3 to mk1 conversion properly

Lets see the results - mk1 doors are completly different? or do you mean you added hinges to mk3 doors

What I did was to remover the mk3 hinges and throw them in the bin. Then I reinforced the apanels and bolted up the hinges with spreader plates on the doors. So yes they are mk1 hinges on a mk3 door, but mine work as hinges.

[AVV IT]

And at only double the price it cost me for hinges and panels to do the mk3 to mk1 conversion properly

What I did was to remover the mk3 hinges and throw them in the bin. Then I reinforced the apanels and bolted up the hinges with spreader plates on the doors. So yes they are mk1 hinges on a mk3 door, but mine work as hinges.

Yeah but to be fair, doing it properly sounds like an awful lot of work & hassle to save that hundred quid or so, and that's assuming you have the skills, tools and facilities to do the work yourself. If you weren't able to, I'm fairly sure that it would cost you a lot more than that to pay someone to do that kind of work for you, where as anyone could fit the Arc-Angels stick on hinges in a matter of minutes!!

Don't get me wrong I'm sure everyone would much rather have your proper working hinges, than these fake stick on items, and I'd love to see any pictures you may have of your conversion, but it just doesn't sound like a very easy or practical solution to achieve the external hinge look.

Edited by AVV IT, 01 May 2012 - 10:06 PM.

[AGoaty]

They do look very clever! I think that at £212 is just a bit pricey form me.

Shame as they look good!

[scaffers]

How much

Jesus, there's more money than sense in some items


.

[AVV IT]

How much

Jesus, there's more money than sense in some items

Like I said in my previous post, if you want the external hinge look, then compared to the alternative of welding in new metal and making good afterwards, then £212 probably isn't all that expensive, particularly if you don't have the skills & facilities to do a genuine external hinge conversion yourself. Also if you look at the amount of engineering that has gone into these hinges, then £53 per hinge in the production volumes concerned probably isn't overpriced. (It's about the same price that you pay for a decent piston these days and they are a far simpler design produced in far greater numbers).

Don't get me wrong, as much as I'd love to have external hinges I couldn't personally bring myself to pay that sort of money for them. I'd also be worried about them falling off, or someone helping themselves to them!!

[ChopperHarris]

are you telling me that every time you open the door, that mechanism is visible?!!!
Dear Lord