691 replies to this topic

[LAYZeBOY14]

it is amazing what condition every mini out there is like. 
luckily for me i have rust free mini besides the odd panels im replacing but i dont like patching so if a panel surrounding another panel is good condition i will still ct it out and replace everything around it if a panel is rotted. relieves stress haha

but design plans for me has changed after i put it away for winter so striping it was  the only way forward :)
 

[alchall]

it is amazing what condition every mini out there is like. 
luckily for me i have rust free mini besides the odd panels im replacing but i dont like patching so if a panel surrounding another panel is good condition i will still ct it out and replace everything around it if a panel is rotted. relieves stress haha

but design plans for me has changed after i put it away for winter so striping it was  the only way forward :)
 

 

Makes sense to replace panels rather than patch some times, certainly more likely to have a better finish you'll be sure to eradicate all the rust too!

 

What's your new design plan?

[LAYZeBOY14]

I wont the 60s 70s look but with modern type twist look. Just weighing up ideas and picturing what the final look will be like :)

[alchall]

I wont the 60s 70s look but with modern type twist look. Just weighing up ideas and picturing what the final look will be like :)

 

Look forward to seeing the result, I'll have a nod to the 60's 70's as I'm going to go with 10" wheels but overall it will be fairly understated, nothing too showy.

[alchall]

Well it's been a while since I posted, just after I started on the final quarter of the car I got the flu which led to Pneumonia and a short stay in hospital, I'm on the mend now and have managed to get back on with things, slowly for last couple of weeks but this weekend managed to get pretty much finished but for some final fettling that needs doing.

 

So before I was ill I finished off tidying up the bulkhead edge, waist rail and B post....

 

 

 

 

 

I also fitted the companion bin, that was the last thing I managed to get done but I didn't take any photo's.

 

So when I was starting to feel a bit better and ready to make a start I set too drilling and punching holes in the various panels, painting B post, inside waist rail, and also inside the companion bin closing panel and wheel arch stiffener, not got photo's of it all but here's one I did take, albeit a bit out of sequence for this post....

 

 

Next up wheel arch and closing panels, which were then all cleaned up, some paint inside the sill, seam sealed and zinc primed....

 

 

 

 

And finally this weekend now I have my energy back the quarter panel went in, welded, ground down and primed....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The joins at the top aren't too bad, pretty clean and will only require a tickle of filler to render them invisible....

 

 

 

The edge of the rear panel and seam that I had to re-create isn't quite as tidy and will need some filler to smooth it out but at least it's the right shape and size and it's solid, just a little rough.

 

Anyway, that's the shell pretty much done, just the rear valance and subframe mounts to do, after that it's mostly fettling, some brackets to fit, some holes to fill, others to drill and the gutter to finish tidying up, so despite the pause in proceedings I'm pretty pleased with what I've achieved in the last 12 months!

Edited by alchall, 29 August 2017 - 08:46 AM.

[alchall]

Got a bit more done this weekend in the boot, fitted the subframe mounts, welded the bulkhead to floor bracket to the floor, started prep of the rear valance and cleaned up the washer bottle and fuel tank brackets I salvaged.

 

Lost my proper photo links here thanks again to Photobucket, some below that seem to be kind of related....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brackets then welded in, plug welded to the floor and seam welded to the arch, pretty pleased with the neat welding here which is nice being as they are visible when the boot is open.

 

I did re-fit the subframe again before doing this to make sure things all lined up, as per my previous trial fit I found the holes in the floor to be slightly too far in on both sides and very slightly too far back on the left so I mounted the brackets so the holes would fit nicely and I'll just open up the holes in the floor to match the brackets before finishing off, it's only a mm or two here and there but glad I did this to be sure.

 

 

 

Rear valance and closing panels clamped up, going to need some (a lot of) fettling to get these in successfully...

 

 

 

I will also trial fit the subframe once more whilst upside down to be 100% sure the holes are all in the perfect places before committing to any welding here.

 

My welding of the bulkhead to floor bracket wasn't as neat as the subframe mounts unfortunately so I may tidy these up a bit at a later date, I probably needed to up the wire speed or adjust some other setting with the mount being so thick.

 

 

You may have spotted some green here, I also sprayed some internal frame coating into the seam between boot and bulkhead, along the inside seams where arch meets rear quarter and where the arches meet the boot floor for some belt and braces protection, this stuff really does seep into all the cracks so I'm hoping it's money well spent!

 

The two brackets all cleaned up, paint stripped and holes drilled ready for welding....

 

 

There was a little rust here and there on these so they're currently in the deox C bath but they're in good condition so glad I saved them.

 

One last thing I did was have a crack at making the negative earth nut holder as per Ger's useful little template, it's not as neat as Ger managed so may have another go at this....

Edited by alchall, 29 August 2017 - 08:58 AM.

[Daz1968]

Looking good, think on the rear bracket you need to up the power and wire feed speed to weld the thicker material correctly, but focus torch on thicker material else will burn through the floor panel.

[alchall]

Looking good, think on the rear bracket you need to up the power and wire feed speed to weld the thicker material correctly, but focus torch on thicker material else will burn through the floor panel.

I think you're probably right, although I think it's just a bit messy, I'll have another crack at it when I've next got it off the spit so I can get better access.

[ger]

Lovely job.

[alchall]

Lovely job.

 

Cheers!

 

Thanks for the template for the earth nut by the way, saved me a lot of time working out how to do it, I might have another crack at it to see if I can do a tidier job at the weekend, even though nobody is ever going to see it

[alchall]

Rear valance closing panels went in today, only had a bit of minor fettling to do to enable the lip that meets the rear bottom edge of the wheel arch to pull in tight to the arch, just had to bend it flat and then recreate the bend in a different place, same both sides.

 

I test fitted the rear subframe with the car upside down to double check the position of the holes, they lined up exactly with the position of the holes on the internal brackets so this is where I lined the closing panel holes up with rather than the holes in the boot floor, I'll drill out the holes in the boot floor once it's all done.

 

Next job was to drill very many holes!

 

 

And I had all that to do again for the other side!

 

Holes took some time to drill being quite thick and doubled up, I wired brushed the paint away from around the holes on both sides then weld through zinced the side that meets the floor, I also put it on the car, marked where the holes were and did the same on the floor so I had good clean metal to weld to.

 

Panel bolted in place, I had to use the long clamp to pull the front end down tight to the floor, it was the same on both sides, with the bolts pulled in tight most of the panel fit tight to the floor so only had to use the long clamp in a few places to weld....

 

 

And here it is welded in place, most of these welds were very clean so I've not had to do a lot of grinding back, I've decided not to grind them all flat either for now other than those welds that would foul the subframe, I figure that it's tidy, not really going to be seen very often and will be impossible to tell once the seam sealer is in place and the whole thing is stone chipped.

 

 

I have 3 welds left to do, I'll mock up the valance first to make sure I get the inside edge of the closing panel in the right position.

 

It was all much the same for the other side so no photo's to show.

 

After which it was just a matter of cleaning it all up and plenty of Electrox for protection, I made sure plenty got in around the edges!

 

 

 

 

 

Looks good from here....

 

 

Once back the correct way up it was just a matter of cleaning up the other side of the welds and another blast of Electrox, looks like I got some good penetration here....

 

 

 

 

That's all for now, probably will get the valance done next weekend.

Edited by alchall, 29 August 2017 - 09:04 AM.

[ger]

Soon be catching me up. 

[blueovalcraig]

Superb work.  I wish my welding was half as good as yours though ;)

[alchall]

Soon be catching me up. 

Not if you keep inspiring me to take more of it apart to search for rust 

[alchall]

Superb work.  I wish my welding was half as good as yours though ;)

 

Thanks mate, it's all just practice, when I have to weld something a bit different like that rear boot floor to bulkhead bracket things don't necessarily end up quite so tidy.