285 replies to this topic

[Marco1972]

Hopefully look better than this when its finished

Mark

[Marco1972]

Update time

Decided to get the shell mobile again so I've got another pallet and some castor wheels so first job was to set about getting that sorted



Made a start on removing rust from the crossmember with a twisted wire cup on my grinder there is some pitting but it's solid so it got a splash of zinc after the rust was gone



Thankfully this bit had just surface rust so no work needed here



With that sorted it was onto the shock mounts and yes they lived up to there name ..... Shocking ......



Both sides are the same so more bloody work !!

Made a start by cutting out the rot with a thin cutting disc.I ended up removing more and more rot until I realised the complete reinforcing panel was toast .... Not a happy bunny so only one thing for it and that was to remove it ,no easy task with the wing on I can tell you











Ended up with this after much effort at least the cross member behind is in good condition so no work to do to that





Then it was onto fabricating the new reinforcement panel as apparently it's one panel you can't buy ?
As you can see I only had bits of the old one to use as a template but I'm happy with the result





Trial fit





Holes drilled for plug welds and a splash of zinc primer then fitted into place



This has got to of been one of the hardest jobs I've had to do so far and I've still got the other side to start
Unfortunately the power in the garage went out so I've had to delay welding Until this weekend

Slow progress

Mark

[mikal]

Utter genius work Marco! I've just read the whole thread and am astounded what you've done. I'm amazed at the places that rust out on English cars. Thankfully not the same here in Oz.

 

Well done

 

Michael

[Marco1972]

Utter genius work Marco! I've just read the whole thread and am astounded what you've done. I'm amazed at the places that rust out on English cars. Thankfully not the same here in Oz.
 
Well done
 
Michael

Thank you Michael

It's been a bit of a Pandora's box the tin worm gets everywhere
our wet climate and salt on the roads at winter is no good for cars especially mini's

Thanks for your kind comments

Mark

[Marco1972]

Update

Got the engine removed from the subframe today it will be sorted once the shell is finished







Then it was back to the shock mount reinforcing panel got the car up nice and high



Clamped up ready for plug welding



welded in and dressed up





Ran some seam welds down the front edge back to factory spec then I started on the repair plate for the inner wing





Mark

[lawrence]

Great work. Nice and tidy too :)

[Marco1972]

Great work. Nice and tidy too :)

Cheers bud

[JonnyAlpha]

Great work Mark, started looking at this thread as I was searching for Shock Mount repairs, too mine off today, LH side was fine, RH side - well rotten!! Not too much to cut out and need to do it with the engine in place so I will only be welding the outer skin on?

[Marco1972]

Great work Mark, started looking at this thread as I was searching for Shock Mount repairs, too mine off today, LH side was fine, RH side - well rotten!! Not too much to cut out and need to do it with the engine in place so I will only be welding the outer skin on?

Cheers bud
Yes if it's just the outer skin then you can remove what you need and replace with fresh metal but they do tend to rot through to the reinforcement panel behind
you will soon see how bad it is when you start removing the rot

Mark

Edited by Marco1972, 01 May 2016 - 03:52 PM.

[Marco1972]

Update

Well only a short one but progress is progress

Drilled 6mm holes for the plug welds then set about welding this repair panel in
I remade the bottom lip by bending it out tacking both sides and bending back down followed by some shaping with a flap disc and the power file









Took an age to do this repair and some creative welding techniques but I'm fairly happy with it
Just needs the welds grinding flush and 2 holes drilling for the bottom shock mount bolts
when it's finished the shock mounts will get a bead of tiger seal before being fitted this will keep the water out

Mark

[Marco1972]

Not an update as such but had a run out to BMC at Himley Hall

Scorcher of a day and some nice cars on show really like this 1100 special





Pleased to see our forum in attendance





Jay and I purchased a few bits but imo there were less traders than last year so we didn't get half of the bits we needed

And don't get me started on the que to get out the place !!

Nightmare

Mark

[Steve8274]

Just read through. Car and work looks very good. Looking forward to next instalment

[Marco1972]

Just read through. Car and work looks very good. Looking forward to next instalment

Cheers Steve8274

Should be back at it this weekend

Mark

[1984mini25]

Jay and I purchased a few bits but imo there were less traders than last year so we didn't get half of the bits we needed

And don't get me started on the que to get out the place !!

 

At least I'm not the only one that thought that with the traders, as the last time i'd been to Himley Hall was 7 years ago. And although I got some bits, I don't think it was really worth the 190 odd mile round trip.

I also wondered around looking for the tmf forum stand, but I think the heat mush have fried my brain, as I completely missed/walked past it.

 

Also apparently that que for getting out started at around noonish according to the rents that chose to stay close to the car in the car park, as it would have been £40 for the 4 of us just to get in. How it didn't kick off with some of the antics I don't know. Plus I can't see why they couldn't have opened the gates further down so there was two exits rather than the single, only wide enough for one car at a time exit/entrance to help ease things.

[Marco1972]

Jay and I purchased a few bits but imo there were less traders than last year so we didn't get half of the bits we needed
And don't get me started on the que to get out the place !!

 
At least I'm not the only one that thought that with the traders, as the last time i'd been to Himley Hall was 7 years ago. And although I got some bits, I don't think it was really worth the 190 odd mile round trip.
I also wondered around looking for the tmf forum stand, but I think the heat mush have fried my brain, as I completely missed/walked past it.
 
Also apparently that que for getting out started at around noonish according to the rents that chose to stay close to the car in the car park, as it would have been £40 for the 4 of us just to get in. How it didn't kick off with some of the antics I don't know. Plus I can't see why they couldn't have opened the gates further down so there was two exits rather than the single, only wide enough for one car at a time exit/entrance to help ease things.

TMF stand was over by the lake right at the back ( I had to mooch around to find it )
Yes I agree leaving the event was a right mess I'm not sure what was going on !!
I saw some very stupid antics from a few individuals and it has made me consider if I'll go again
Think the BMC need to take some feed back and look at this for next year

I also see the win a mini had been replaced by win a grand ( I wonder how successful that was) not really bothered as I have no luck with raffle tickets

Mark