13 replies to this topic

[Richard M]

Hello fellow Mini'ists. Although I have previously revealed one of my two past minis. Does anyone have any actual documentation on how to do it in the most hassle free way.

[nicklouse]

nope and you may find that doing it today could cause issues.

 

but a few inches at a time. weld tap back and fill.

[skoughi]

From someone who owns a deseamed mini (not done by myself but I had to repair what had been done) don't do it! However it's your mini and you are free to do as you wish. If I were to do it from scratch then I would get access to the seams from the rear and seam weld down the inside, not all at one go but do about an inch then miss about four inches then another inch. Go back and then do another inch etc until you have a continuous seam weld. When you do the a-pillar then you'll need to remove the panel on the inside of the pillar to get access then once the seam weld is done then replace the panel you removed. Then all the outside seams can be removed and any small bits of welding done from the outside. You'll probably need to do a fair bit of hot shrinking to regain tension in the panels after doing all that welding. As Nicklouse says it may cause issues doing it nowadays, it'll most certainly devalue the car as well.

[g111mds]

Big undertaking but can look really good. I'm currently scratching my head a little to work out how I return my deseamed pickup back to standard.

[megamini_jb]

My dads mini is fully de seamed and looks the part, but his was done in the late 70s by the previous owner. I personally wouldn't do it to my minis, but each to their own. I've seen some that have had the bumper lips and side seams de seamed, but retained the roof gutter, or in some cases just the side of the roof gutter, which both look odd. If you're going to do it do the whole lot

Edited by megamini_jb, 05 October 2017 - 02:24 PM.

[nicklouse]

 If you're going to do it do the whole lot

and learn to Swim.

 

side or half or front half roof gutters are left so as to keep water from entering the car.  lessons learnt from people who removed the whole lot.

[sonikk4]

From a strength point of view i would add a strip of metal behind the seam, plug weld that in position with one inch spacing either side of the internal seam making sure its tight into the curvature of each seam, then cut off one or two inch strips of the seam each time then seam or pulse weld. Repeat.

 

And i would leave the roof seam alone.

[CityEPete]

A flat panel will never have the torsional strength of a pair of L shapes welded together.

[skoughi]

Please leave the roof gutters on if you're going to do it, the gutters are still on my Clubman and I wouldn't like to see what it would be like without them! At least withe the gutters on it still retains a bit of the original look. I understand the designed strength that having a 90deg bend on the edge of the panel will have but I wouldn't put too much faith in the quality of the spot welds on a mini!

[Cooperman]

I have only done it the other way around. i.e. putting the flanges and capping strips back on.

 

When I did the front I was surprised how poor the join was between the front wings and the A-panels. It was just a bit of tack weld and a lot of body-filler. Fortunately I was putting new wings, inner wings and A-panels on, so no real problem. Further up the A-post I had to fit a doubler-strip in  (it didn't have one done during removal!), then make up some flanges using a capping strip cut into two layers and welded onto the repaired A-post and plug weld it, then seam weld it with a continuous seam weld all the way up on both sides of the new strip..

 

Te rear is somewhat easier as it is simpler to fit a doubler strip of steel once the boot is completely stripped out.

 

So long as it is done properly by a competent welder using good new steel doubler-strips, there is no reason why it is unsafe.

 

Of course, the down-side is that it de-values the car for very little benefit, unless it is for out-and-out competition where it saves 44 sq. ins. of frontal area

[Richard M]

Thank you all for your comments much appreciated

[nicklouse]

thinking about it Vizard covers it in How to Modify your Mini IIRC. don't have it to hand to check though.

[stevegrabba]

I would 100% say don't do it from a few different angles.

 

1)  Its a pain in the backside to do.

2)  In general it requires a lot of work and devalues the car at the end of the process.

3)  At a later date if you need to replace a panel due to rust or damage it takes 4 or 5 times longer than with a seem.

 

Unless your heart is absolutely set on it, avoid the idea like avoiding the plague!!

[Cooperman]

It is really only worth it if you are racing and the regulations allow it. It saves around 44 sq.ins. of frontal area so the form drag is reduced.