14 replies to this topic

[Merryck]

Hi guys,

 

I've been dismantling my front end and practising my welding. I've discovered that my scuttle had a load of filler in it, and rust at each end.

 

How difficult is it to replace the scuttle panel? What do I need to consider when I'm fitting a new one? I don't want to feck it all up!

[corrado vr6]

Wings have to be removed to do this properly however you may have done this already

When you have the scuttle panel use it to mark where to cut on the pillars make sure you only cut the scuttle panel though

Then drill the spot welds out along the top lip and remove the panel you will be left with to scuttle close out panels either side which will probably be non existent or badly rusted these need to be removed

I would then clean up any rust issues and place the scuttle panel in place and roughly clamp it on where possible, then refit your bonnet and clamp the new wings into place and play around with them all until your happy with the shut lines of the bonnet to the wings and bonnet to the scuttle joint
MAKE SURE YOUR BONNET STILL OPENS OVER THE SCUTTLE

Then spot or plug weld the scuttle to the lip and seam weld to the pillars and clean up with the grinder, fit your scuttle close out panels and fit the wings permantly in place

Make sure you buy a genuine or heritage panel as the pattern ones just don't fit so don't waste your money on them

Edited by corrado vr6, 28 February 2014 - 10:27 AM.

[midridge2]

Good advice, but make sure you measure the gap from the top of the aperture to the bottom to ensure the screen still fits.

[Merryck]

Good advice, but make sure you measure the gap from the top of the aperture to the bottom to ensure the screen still fits.

 

This is one of my main worries. If I'm holding the screen in place, what distance should there be between that and the surrounding metal? How much space is taken up by the windscreen rubber?

[midridge2]

If the scuttle is still in place make a couple of templates for each side of the aperture and reuse these when you fit the panel.
If you have removed the panel I think it would be best to post up asking some one who has the screen removed to measure up the size of the gap.

[Merryck]

Ok cool, I'll make a load of measurements before I remove the panel.

 

Thanks!

[tiger99]

You could make a vertical strut, as is fitted to a new windscreen surround panel, temporarily weld it at the top, and fit it with a stop (small piece of metal welded on) to position it exactly against the old scuttle, then the new one will go back in the same place. You could even make a clamp-on strut, with a stop at both ends, especially if you think you may need it again on your next project. A bit of flat bar, say 1" * 1/4", will do, and that is most likely available from B&Q. Make the stops from scrap 1.2mm or 1.5mm (you will be clamping on two layers of 0.9mm). and clamps from short bits of the flat bar, each with a couple of 5/16" bolts.

 

I would actually prefer to replace the entire windscreen surround, simply because it avoids the need for butt welds in very visible places, at the base of both pillars, which will need lots of finishing work, and gives a good opportunity to clean and derust the insides of the A pillars. Obviously the strut stays in until the job is done, so the vertical dimension will be correct. Costs a bit more, of course.

[midridge2]

One vertical strut in the middle of the aperture is no good, each end of the scuttle could be tilted up or down.
I take it you have never fitted a scuttle panel before? butt welding part way up the sides of the pillar takes a few minutes and grind down, and if needed a skim of filler. 

[tiger99]

Well, you can set the two ends correctly by marking carefully before cutting, and the strut is just to prevent an error in the middle caused by the scuttle tending to flex. It is not all that stiff until welded to the inner structure of the top dash rail and bulkhead. I was only suggesting preventing the most likely cause of error.

 

However, your point is valid, and if I was intending to be regularly replacing lots of scuttle panels, I would perhaps make up a set of three clampable struts, with lateral spacing arrangements too, a kind of simple jig. I would also make a set of clamp-on door aperture bracing, a jig to hold door frames without twisting when they are having the bottom patched and skin replaced, and various other things too, because when you are doing lots of similar shell repairs, simple tooling that speeds up the job easily pays for itself. We have recently seen on the forum that people are building jigs to ensure correct heelboard alignment, for instance.

[Wise Old Elf]

From a few posts on here and Miifinity most people are saying the aperture gap should be between 41cm and 41.5cm.

[tiger99]

That is quite a big tolerance! On the other hand, it is a Mini.....

 

[Wise Old Elf]

That is quite a big tolerance! On the other hand, it is a Mini.....

 

 

5mm is only 2.5mm top and bottom. Not a huge gap.

 

Anyone got a screen out and can measure?

[tiger99]

Yes, not huge, if the glass remains centred. But it also depends on where the rubber actually makes its seal. If it seals on the edge of the glass, that tolerance would be disastrous, and I don't think that the rubber grips the inside and outside faces of the glass particularly well, although that may have been the intention.  I am beginning to wonder if the later, wider rubber, which leaks more, was a misguided attempt to solve the tolerance problem, if the glass was being obtained from a different supplier, with less effective dimensional control.

 

Bonded windscreens are of course the way forward, as the entire industry knows, but hardly feasible in a Mini.

[BusheyTrader]

On my SPi  in mm.   412 - 410 - 412        Left   -  Centre  -  Right      when looking back at the windscreen but hey its symetrical so it doesn't matter

[russelli]

410mm on mine