58 replies to this topic

[danotje21]

GraemeC -- I've seen that panel on here, and I'd love to do that. It is MUCH cheaper, and I think I can get good results. The shipping is outrageous, though, so I'm not sure. Still some time to sort that out.

Thanks for the kind words, Mag!

Since I've actually been working on the car for a while, I decided to go back and find some pics of other repairs I've made. Here are some of the driver's floor and inner sill.

Old rusty and bent floor section:



Not the worst, but it needed fixing. I think it was easier just replacing the entire section versus just cutting out a part of it. Besides, I needed the inner sill section, too. Here's most of it cut out:



Pattern panel with surprisingly good fit:



The inner sill section now cut out and the panel trimmed, fitted and clamped into place:



Tacked mostly in. Had to go slow here to make sure everything stayed in line.






Welded. I did manage to cover the subframe mounting hole, but that was easy to fix.



Also made a patch for the front corner. Took a bit of finesse to get it right.



But in the end, it turned out great.



Now moving on down the sill...



Cut out the rusty bit



This is part of a pattern inner sill, but I didn't like the part I needed (the middle), so I cut off one of the ends and flipped it over.






The whole side is now solid metal again with all traces of rust removed.This was a big moment for me.

[danotje21]

The rear subframe mount on the driver's side had gone, too. Since it wasn't to complicated, I decided to make a new one. I also replaced the small strip panel above it.

New mount made up. I used pretty thick steel and braced it a bit better than the old mount. Couldn't find any captive nuts, so I welded in a couple of regular ones.



Trial fitting this proved a bit tricky.






In the end, it all worked out, and I think it is stronger than before. Actually, since it was rust then, I know it is. You can also see that other panel welded in in this shot.



Also had to make up new reinforcement panels. These were easy to make, not fun to put in.



Thanks for looking!

[grahama]

Loving your work. Great sub mount repair, really like it. I had the same fit on floor panels as you, the pattern ones are quite good there, keep up the great work and lots of pics.

Graham

[danotje21]

Little bit of an update. Managed to stay on task throughout the 4-day weekend and got a lot done. The big job tackled (mostly as I still have some plug welds/grinding to do) was welding on the quarter panel. That panel has not been a part of the car for over a year now, and it was a big milestone for me to start welding it in. With the door on, it is beginning to look more like a car. I also made a couple of patches while I was waiting for things to cool.

Finally got the front edge of the quarter re-welded



and dressed. This turned out very well and made the panel fit nearly perfect.



Clamped in



about half welded. I used weld thru primer here for the first time. Although it worked well, I think I need to modify how I'm doing it just a little. I coated the whole edge, but I think I need to remove it from the plug weld holes prior to welding. It worked, but spattered quite a bit. Live and learn.



Started looking ahead at the sill and door step. This is pretty exciting, too. by the way...check out that door gap! I need to even it out a little, but it is really tight. My first quarter was a pattern panel, and the belt line wasn't even lining up from the front to the rear. This is my only Heritage panel, and I must say, it is phenomenal (save from that minor bit of adjusting in the beginning :).



Since I'm deleting the fresh air system, I'm also plugging all the associated holes. I really miss vent wing windows like on my VW.
Getting rid of this



With this



stuck in



And just fooling around, I decided to get a look at the future state. Looks pretty cool. The front end by itself has a cool street rod feel to it. Almost want to paint the car matte black!









Still working out how I want to tackle the back end. I'm not overly concerned about originality or concourse. I plan to drive the car and enjoy it as much as possible. The original light looks pretty good, but I also saw CobraV8's project car where he took a Mk I light and stuck it on the later bootlid. I think it looks nice, too. His car is actually about 90% similar to what I want to do. Big thing is cost. I want it to look good while not costing a fortune. Let's see if I can put a link to his car in here: http://i835.photobuc...19092009485.jpg
Hopefully that's not illegal or anything.

Edited by danotje21, 29 May 2012 - 11:06 AM.

[danotje21]

Little update on the front end. The right side scuttle/wing seam was not sealed well (at all), and it wound up rusting quite a bit. So I ordered a new pattern and set about on the repair.

Here's the starting point



Wing removed


Underneath it was really bad. Not really a whole lot of solid metal to weld to here


First, I decided to started deleting the fresh air vents since I don't use them. This also gave me a little metal further up.






Then I cut off the remainder of the scuttle and made a patch for the inner wheel well.



Next came the end of the scuttle. The pattern panel fit alright, just needed a bit of tweaking on the overall curve.



Cut to fit




Nearly there


Had to adjust a bit once I offered up the wing, so this is about where I stopped for the night. I'm pretty satisfied with the fit and finish of the panel, now I just need to work the wing a little, put in the closing panel and complete the welding. I stabbed myself in the finger with an awl, so I've been in recovery for a day or two. I'll have more hopefully tomorrow.

Edited by danotje21, 02 June 2012 - 01:29 PM.

[markje]

Soo still to takre my own doubts away his is the vermillion red color:),stll good plan to reinfocre the the panel at the rear for the subframe,i need to replace that part as well and also the panel above the subframe panel as well tricky job

[danotje21]

Sooo...it has been forever since I last updated this thread. Can't say a whole lot got done due to life creeping in, but I'm at it once again. For this update, I finally got the front panel welded in the Mini. It really is great getting something big like that done. Gives you that needed boost, I think. Since it is beginning to look like a car again, I started working on putting the front wings on, too. These have proven to be very tricky as they are all pattern panels and not exactly right. After some modification, though, I think they will work out just fine. Not stuck on, yet, but the fit is now pretty good. Here's the pics:

Newly primered front end with subframe attached. Cool Minisport solid mounts, too.




And done. Not a lot of prep pics for this one, but I think you get the idea.



Left side wing fits well.



Not so much on the right. It sits about 1/2" higher than the bonnet.



In order to get them both fitting well, I had to relocate the flange where the wing attaches to the inner wing.



Put the flange on the inner wing and set the wing in place. Then once I was happy with the fit, I tack welded the flange to the wing. Pretty straight forward, really.







That's all for the last 2 days. I'm pretty excited about getting the wings on, though. I'll finish welding the flange this week and get the wing stuck on. Then I'll work the right side. It is going to take a fair amount of massaging as it still sits about 1/4" above the bonnet in one spot. Haven't decided on if I'm going to lower the wing or raise the bonnet. Luckily, the rest of the panel fits very well.

Hopefully I'll get some updates on here quicker than once every 6 months.

[mk1leg]

Hi..thats some stirling work going on there........some amaizing weld skills too........keep up the great work and lots of pics.........

[Jay81]

Well done looks like your doing a grand job, keep it up

[steven]

cracking job keep it up

[Marc_mcq]

Your doing a cracking job there! Your garage is INCREDIBLE.

My first mini was an 81HL but I threw in the towel and bought a road ready one. Your more of a man than I will ever be! hahah

Edited by Marc_mcq, 02 January 2013 - 10:20 PM.

[danotje21]

Thanks for all the kind words! It really has been a long process (with much more to go), but it is nice to finally start seeing what looks like a Mini emerging again. Anyway, on to an update.

Didn't get to too much, but worked over both wings so that they fit correctly. I finished welding and dressing the flange on the passenger side wing from earlier and reworked the driver's side to bring it in line with the bonnet.

Finished passenger's side


You can see here how the driver's side sits up too high. It is full down, so my options were not appealing.


Luckily, wings are made in three sections, so I decided to unspot weld the headlamp ring and outside wing panel.


This allowed me to align the top of the wing with the bonnet using a little coercion.


Which when welded, will line up perfectly. I also had to relocate the flange on this one and will need to reposition the headlamp retaining ring once everything is solid again. LOTS of work just trying to get this one panel to fit properly. If I had to do it again, I would go with the Heritage panels.


That's all for now. Thanks for looking, and I welcome any comments!

[Twichel04]

Great project! In your first picture on this thread, I thought I saw a Florida license plate? Where about are you located?

[danotje21]

I'm in Alabama currently. Unfortunately, the AL roadworks can't make a transition to save their lives, so that's how I found the rust. I guess technically it was a good thing, but I miss driving the car.

[Niko-mini1275]

nice work man!
and nice garage too