464 replies to this topic

[Ben_O]

With the grille and bonnet back off, there is this bracket to go on for the clutch line and engine steady

 

 

 

And thats the front conmplete

 

 

Next up, door skins

Ill start with the worst one

 

 

 

First the door needs stripping

 

Hinges come off first

 

 

Followed by the locks and associated parts

 

 

To get the old skin off, I need to drill these spot welds

 

 

 

Cut these welds

 

 

 

And then grind through the edge of the skin fold all the way round like this

 

 

There may also be some spot welds securing the skin to the frame in places around the edge but they don't put up much fuss so not really worth locating and drilling in my opinion.

 

And that's the skin off

 

 

Leaving the frame for me to repair

 

 

I start by cleaning up the areas that don't need to be cut and replaced

 

 

 

And then I begin by making up pieces for either end at the bottom starting with card templates

 

 

And in

 

 

And the other end

 

 

 

And then the middle

 

 

 

Then I can try on the new skin

 

 

 

It all seems to fit well. The next stage is to partially fold the skin on so it can be tried on the car for fit but first I want to epoxy prime the frame and the inside of the skin.

That's just been done and is drying as I type.

 

More tomorrow.

 

Cheers

Ben

[MikeRotherham]

Are the heritage LH wings a poorer fit than the RH ones or is it only problematic for pattern parts?

 

Is the only difference between a LH wing for an MPI and an older model the cutout for the headlamp motor and the aerial hole. Would it fit an older mini otherwise?

Edited by MikeRotherham, 05 November 2020 - 06:01 PM.

[Ben_O]

Are the heritage LH wings a poorer fit than the RH ones or is it only problematic for pattern parts?

 

Is the only difference between a LH wing for an MPI and an older model the cutout for the headlamp motor and the aerial hole. Would it fit an older mini otherwise?

Seems to be an issue but not always and only applies to heritage.

As for differences, it is literally the headlamp ring to suit mpi adjusters.  It will fit an earlier mini.

 

Cheers

Ben

[Ben_O]

 

Skin and frame reunited ready for folding tomorrow.

[MikeRotherham]

Thanks for the info.

 

The standard of this restoration is as usual stunning.

 

I wish I had half of your skill!

 

Seeing all those new body parts makes me realise once again how lucky we are to be so well served for replacement parts.

Edited by MikeRotherham, 05 November 2020 - 07:01 PM.

[Johnmar]

 
Skin and frame reunited ready for folding tomorrow.

Great work!!

Just a question:
Did you forget to drill the drainage holes at this stage in the bottom "rail" of the door or do you have a different approach?

[Ben_O]

 

 
Skin and frame reunited ready for folding tomorrow.

Great work!!

Just a question:
Did you forget to drill the drainage holes at this stage in the bottom "rail" of the door or do you have a different approach?

 

Funny you should say that! I was thinking about the fact I forgot on my way home tonight.

 

I'll be sure to drill them before the skin goes on

Cheers

Ben

[Sam76]

Ben, just curious, and certainly wouldn’t want you to divulge specifics, but as a general idea, what sort of cost would these body restorations be? I love the fact that original minis are being rebuilt to such an amazing standard, I understand sometimes a replacement ‘shell is the only viable answer, but it’s great to know these are the original car (mostly!)
Great work, so inspiring- keep em coming :)

[Ben_O]

PM sent

[Ben_O]

I've now folded on the skin but not tightly yet until I have positioned it correctly

 

 

I then cleaned up the hinges and spacers in the sand blaster ready to fit

 

 

And then first try on with the door

 

 

And this is why we try the door before welding the skin on. 

The main issue is that the skin is too far forward on the frame

 

After some playing around with the skin position and an extra spacer on the bottom hinge, It's somewhere close

 

 

And then after adding a bit of weld in the wider areas and grinding back, we have a good result.

 

 

Now onto the other one

[slidehammer]

Ben,

I know you mentioned you were using some pattern panels on the front end, do you think they were worth the cost saving in the end?

[Ben_O]

Ben,

I know you mentioned you were using some pattern panels on the front end, do you think they were worth the cost saving in the end?

I ended up using the following pattern parts.

A panels

Wings

Front panel

Door skins

1 step 

 

The a panels are absolutely fine, the wings and front panel need some twisting and minor mods but mainly time.

If you have the time, then they are worth the saving.

The step isn't as crisp as a genuine one but looks fine and fits well.

I was surprised and impressed with the door skins. They needed some minor tweaking but you will get that with most minis as they are all slightly different, particularly if the car has had other panel work to the surrounding panels.

They are definitely worth the saving.

 

Cheers

Ben

Edited by Ben_O, 06 November 2020 - 06:43 PM.

[cookie4343]

Great work Ben, lovley job. Are the door skins genuine or non genuine.

[JAYSONIC 79 IOW]

Starting to look like a little gem now Ben great work

[steeley]

I’ve just fitted magnum door skins to mine, they fitted as well as the heritage ones in my opinion and are half the price, I bought them from mini sport