186 replies to this topic

[Zeemax Adventure]

3M seam sealed and stoneguarded, just awaiting some solar red paint and we can go the right way up again and start the front end

[Ben_O]

Nice

[Zeemax Adventure]

Well a bit more to write about today. Seeing as it's Xmas and I can't get the paint for the underside me and my dad spun the car the right way up and decided to tackle the front end. I'd bought all the panels a couple of years ago so was great to finally unpack them. So first of all doors were put back on and genuine a panels aligned. Really happy with the door gaps so far... I've bought some genuine door rubbers for final fitting before paint just to make sure everything is right.





Then the front subframe was bolted into position with it's new mounts and the front panel was bolted to the subframe. Plus bonnet was put on and aligned with the scuttle.




So far so good. Nice gap between bonnet and scuttle and sitting flush, new genuine front panel lined straight up with subframe. Now time for the wings.



Amazingly the drivers wing slotted straight into position. Perfect fit to a panel, scuttle and front panel. We didn't have the same luck with the passenger side. This needed a bit of tweeking to get it to fit as good as the other side as the bonnet gap was little too wide. It was tapped, pulled, nudged, jiggled and finally got into a position we were both happy with. Here it is prior to welding.



We then removed the wings and front panel as one piece and plug welded the wings to the front panel from behind. Then put it back on the car so will get that spot welded into position tomorrow. Finally it's looking like a mini again

[Zeemax Adventure]

Wheeled the young lad out today to tidy the garage so thought I'd take a couple of pics now the front is all welded up. Will start finishing the repairs tomorrow and get the wheelarches ready for stoneguard and paint.

[Richie83]

Looking good 😀

[ClassicBRG]

Nice work!

Do you plan to fill the gap between the scuttle and the wing with sealer or leave it open?

[Zeemax Adventure]

No the gaps will be getting sealed. It's a nice tight fit around the scuttle so a thin bead of sealer will finish it nicely. Same between the wing and front panel.

[Zeemax Adventure]

Well, about time I updated this.  Its been over a month and progress has been made. Not loads but some :) So to start off I thought id get the inner wings all cleaned up, repairs dressed, primed and sealed, followed by some 3M stoneguard.

 

 

 

 

 

This spurred me on to get the inner floor and boot floor repairs dressed and in zinc rich primer to give some added protection before paint and sealer.  Apologies for the poor pic quality, think my Iphone has seen better days.  You may also notice i've fitted the new door seals to get the door gaps aligned and make sure they close properly prior to paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also decided to start dressing the repair around the rear arch.  This will be hidden behind the sportspack arches, but its still got to be spot on.  really pleased how this has turned out although still needs a little more work before paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today Ive been concentrating on the engine bay.  It wasnt too bad but had small areas of surface rust to attend to and inner wing repairs to finish.  I feel as though Ive been sat in the engine bay all day.

 

 

So once id got grinding, sanding and with the help of the wire wheel on the drill i came up with this

 

 

Followed by some zinc bonda primer to the areas that need a bit of added protection and its ready for its final colour

 

 

I say I haven't done much but now i'm typing it all up it seems I have been busy.  Also started to dismantle the rear subframe.  Everything was seized solid.  Don't think the handbrake mechanism has moved for some years.

 

 

 

 

So along with this and a few other bits, they have both gone for blasting.  I couldn't face spending hours cleaning them back to bare metal. 

 

 

Also in the world of Ollie, the engine has gone off to be rebuilt.  I took it along to a local engine builder who actually had a mini pickup to my surprise :)  Anyway, i stripped the engine apart with him and it was pretty bad inside.  Heavy scoring on the crank and bores, as well as a worn cam.  So its gone for a rebore to 1293, cylinder head ported, uprated cam, duplex timing gear, crank reground due to the scoring and a few other little bits.  Little expensive bits but i'm hoping its all worth while.4

 

Thats all for tonight....seam strips and door apertures tomorrrow i think :)

[Zeemax Adventure]

Bit more of an update. Finally got the subframes and a few other bits back from the blasters so been busy getting them in primer ready for paint. So glad I had them blasted, was well worth paying to get them done.






Been doing a bit more filling and sanding. Almost there now. I'll be glad to see this in paint.




Well pretty much brings me up to date. Started doing my shopping list with minispares :s things are getting expensive. Also had an engine update so things are coming along nicely there too. Paint has arrived for the subframes so once they are sprayed up ill assemble them and get the car rolling again

[Zeemax Adventure]

Been to collect this from the machine shop and drop it off with my engine builder. At least now it's nice and smooth, was heavily scored so needed a regrind. Let's hope the engine is ready in a couple of weeks

[Zeemax Adventure]

Been to collect this from the machine shop and drop it off with my engine builder. At least now it's nice and smooth, was heavily scored so needed a regrind. Let's hope the engine is ready in a couple of weeks

[Zeemax Adventure]

Did a bit more filling and sanding today. Thankfully all repairs are dressed now, will do a few final bits before it goes for the respray. Mega progress today though, interior, engine bay, underside and boot in primer all ready for some solar red paint

[blueovalcraig]

Great effort!  Looks brilliant mate.

[Bungleaio]

Great to see this, good news on keeping it solar red.

 

I'm shocked to see how bad the rust was on this, I was really lucky to have one new in 2000. I've often thought of trying to buy it back but I think I'm better off sticking with the one I've got.

[Zeemax Adventure]

Thanks for the comments, nice to know someone's reading this Well it's defo staying solar red now, all those primed areas are now in paint. Not a job I wish to do again, especially as the cap came off the spray gun and splattered red everywhere. Looked like a murder scene :/ anyway was too dark to take decent pics when I finished last night so will try and get some after work today