8 replies to this topic

[Twisty]

Hi peeps i have been pulling apart my mini as its not being used, to make sure that when it goes back together it will be solid and nice.

My first of many questions is that my door steps are urrmmm fudged, and need replacing i will also be replacing the sills with proper items not over sills.

can someone give me a quick run down of where to cut for the door steps and what to replace first? do i replace the door step then the sill or do i replace the sill then the door step? Pics would be very handy as these often speak a thousand words and i can have the odd tendency to be a bit dim?

thanks

Steve

[sonikk4]

Replace the door step first then do the sill.

The only problem here is most of the pattern door steps are rubbish and will take some work to make them fit.

Picture wise have a look at the Project Erm link below to see what i did and had to do. (I ended up making my own from scratch on the l/h side)

For cutting the old one off, lay the new step over the old one and mark the ends. Now drill out the spot welds on the inner sill to door step lip and door step to outer sill lip. Now cut inside your marked end lines. You can trim off any extra to make the step fit nicely.

[tiger99]

I will tell you why the pattern parts are mostly rubbish. The same applies to sills too. The Mini sides are actually curved, although they look straight. (Try a ruler or straight edge along the side seam if you have doubts!) That is because if the sides were actually straight, they would look concave.

Anyway, we have a curved car, and cheap panels made on folding machines, which necessarily make straight folds, and what do we get? Things that don't fit, of course. It is a problem that goes back maybe 30 years, and it really annoys me that people make junk like that and sell it to unsuspecting Mini owners.

Proper panels are made with press tools like the original, or possibly simplified press tools with hand finishing. Either is acceptable.

Admittedly, the reason I get so annoyed is that while I am capable of welding things, and actually like all forms of welding except gas, I have never had the time, or perhaps the inclination, to become proficient at reshaping metal, so I would not want to have to make one fit.

[sonikk4]

The problem with the pattern door steps is not so much the curvature of the panel its the returns on each fold. Instead of nice radiused steps you get a miss mash of curves plus the width of each step varies by ridiculous amounts.

[Twisty]

Nice one thanks guys i was going to use a pattern part for the door step and an oem sill, but it looks as if its genuine all the way for me as i dont trust my ability to make things fit as they should.

Thanks

Steve

[Tamworthbay]

The corners aren't tight enough on the pattern ones we used. They can be made to fit but heritage are worth it if you can afford to.

[sonikk4]

This is the one i made from scratch, first part in place

finished item bar some grinding

This was the other side and the better fitting one??

and after i had finished with it

and this is what i had to do to get it to fit properly

and this was how bad the l/h side was before i made my own. Total pants

[Twisty]

Thanks Sonikk what tooling did you use to make up your door steps? as i dont have any metal bending / shaping tools. just hammers and grinders.

Thanks

Steve

[sonikk4]

Ahh then that is a problem. We have a large folder at work which is how i managed to form my sections. If you want to go down the route of making your own then i would suggest you find a local machine shop or somebody will a suitably sized folder, give them the dimensions to enable them to form the two parts. then tack weld them together before you install it in the car and finish welding it all together.

It is very difficult to fold it all in one section and believe me i tried