896 replies to this topic

[Viktor]

A couple of more welding / grinding in the same piece. Not perfect, but getting there...

 

 

The final one looks like this. I will try again tomorrow to cover the last few holes.

 

 

At this pace the inner wings will be completed by Christmas! Lol

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[sonscar]

Be careful grinding welds down not to thin the metal.It looks like you are occasionally missing both sides of the joint with the bead and not overlapping the beads enough.Good progress,keep it up.Steve..

[Viktor]

Be careful grinding welds down not to thin the metal.It looks like you are occasionally missing both sides of the joint with the bead and not overlapping the beads enough.Good progress,keep it up.Steve..

Hi Steve, you are right! I noticed that and as you can see in the first photo (bottom left) I grinded the piece too much. On the second one, I put more weld on it and looks a bit better. I will keep an eye on that.

 

Thanks.

 

Victor.

[gaspen]

Maybe you can increase the welding voltage (not amper) a little. It will help for a better penetration.

[pete l]

Hi, I'm not a welder but I do feel that your welds seem to be siting on the metal rather than penetrating the metal. 

 

I would slow the wire speed down a little to give it more time to melt into the metal.

[sonscar]

I think more power and not lower wire speed,lowering wire speed reduces the power/voltage.More familiarity is needed,more power and shorter bursts penetrates harder and reduces heat input.Just my non professional experience,Steve..

[Viktor]

Thanks all for your comments and advice. I will try different settings to see what works better. I agree my welds are not as they should be, so something is not right.

 

More test to do!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Kevinmini]

Check out my Youtube channel https://www.youtube....ketrocketgarage I do a lot of welding to start with that doesn't go well

 

You may find it helps you with your problems 

 

Thanks Kev

[Viktor]

Some progress on the project. I managed to 'repair' the shock absorber mount plate on the driver's side. The welding is getting a bit better, but still not perfect. I run out of gas, so I bought a new botle of mixed CO2 + Argon, as I believe this works better. The gas regulator is crap (the one supplied with my welder). It only provides open and close positions, and I feel it is using quite a lot of gas, as sometimes I can see a flame coming out of the welder. Anyway, some photos of the process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also started to clean up the rust from the bottom of the inner wing around the A post. A lot of crusty material there...

 

 

 

I have ordered some repair panels for the inner wings from M-Machine. They should arrive on Friday, ready to crack on during the weekend. Can't wait!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[gaspen]

I am curious about quality and fitting of the M-Machine panels  !

 

About the welding : I think zinc primer won't help the welding. My experience that it will sparkle as you weld and willl give a poor joint.

 

Try some spot and butt weld on scrap metal, you will see the difference.

 

https://youtu.be/No4RKNa_jqM

 

Edited by gaspen, 01 July 2021 - 06:17 AM.

[Viktor]

Hi Gaspen, thanks for the link that is very useful. The M-Machine panels are repair panels for the inner wings. I have been told that for these repairs they are good enough. For the outter wings, scuttle panel and front panel I will buy genuine ones. I prefer to spend money on those, rather than getting super frustrated trying to fit them (which I probably will anyway).

 

The zinc paint is special made for welding. I have seen many projects on this forum using it with good results. My welds are not continuous and you can see some gaps or small holes on them. That is what I need to train more for. The pieces I have done so far are solid, probably not the best looking, but these are not going to be seen anyway, as the shock absorber bracket will be sitting on top of it. I will keep doing some tests to improve that.

 

I appreciate your comments, as you are way ahead with your project and you have already gone through all I am doing now. Thanks mate.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Gilles1000]

I used M-Machine for the inner wing repair panels, they could be fitted really easily on the car. 

That's clear, you will need a bit of tuning to make them fit onto the floor (also new from M-Machine, complete one), but I was happy enough with them.

[Viktor]

Thanks Gilles, I hope they fit nicely on my Mini.  Did you buy the whole floor assembly from M-Machine? I'm not sure if I have seen that in their catalogue. The genuine one is like over £700!  How much was the one from M-Machine?

Cheers.

[Gilles1000]

I've taken the whole floor with sills from M-machine too, yes.

It was two years ago, and the floor cost me about 600€, but reason for it was that it was matching my old floor (MK3-4). I think the Heritage one is more for MK 6-7 cars due to the pressing in the foot area.

 

One downpoint tough, it is splitted in three parts: the middle tunnel and the two floors, and spot-welded after. Not really important I think.

 

Gilles

[Viktor]

Thanks Gilles. I need the same as you in terms of the floor for my Mini, so I migth probably follow the same route.

 

I am very excited after receiving my first delivery ever with Mini parts!

 

 

 

 

It is quite interesting, as I ordered them from M-Machine, but one of the panels (the long inner wing repair) is from Magnum. The M-Machine panels seems to be made of a thicker steel sheets. I have done a quick test-fit on the car and the Magnum panel does not fit very well. The chamfer where the panel folds into the hinges is not in the right postion, so I think I will not be using this and I might probably send it back.

 

Top repair panel. I have aligned it properly later on, but on this photo it was just to see how it looks

 

 

Bottom repair panel

 

 

And the Magnum panel, which I'm not very happy with.

 

 

And this is with the top repair panel in as well.

 

 

So I aligned the top repair panel again, using the existing holes for the air vent and it fits perfectly. I have marked up the position and it is ready for the angle grinder. I believe the panel is spot weld on the A-post, so I will have to find the spots and drill them out.

 

 

More this afternoon after the England game. It would be very nice to have a final between Spain and England, so wishing the best for the Lions this afternoon!

Edited by Viktor, 03 July 2021 - 01:13 PM.