948 replies to this topic

[gaspen]

 

After all that work on the inner wing, I am now thinking about replacing it with a new heritage panel. The welding has not been great and the surfaces are not really even. A new inner wing is around £200, which is quite a lot, but long term I think it is going to be better. Anyway, thinking about it at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

I understand you do not like it but that area on the inner wing won't be seen on the finished car. Even it is not nice it can be good. A good paintjob started with an epoxy primer will protect it from moisture.

 

An advice here : put a flashlight behind your welds, and look from the other side if you see the light through the welds. With naked eye you can not see the needle-holes.

 

The question is do you have more time or more money.

 

If you have more time go for patching the panels, grinding back the welds. Again and again. As far I can see you will touch almost all area on that car. Be sure that at the end you will learn welding     

 

If you are on a low(er) budget, go for panels that will be seen form outside instead. I see your (outer) wings are scraps already. And the painter will have less work with filler on the new panels.

 

TMF+ membership is 5 GBP / year and for that MiniSpares will give you 7.5% discount to everything.

Edited by gaspen, 24 October 2021 - 02:10 PM.

[Viktor]

So you buy a new inner wing and drill dozens of holes in it,fit it,weld dozens of plug welds and grind them down,eventually covering it with the outer wing and underseal and fitting a wheel so you need a mirror on a stick to see it?In my view there is no right answer to what you are proposing.What are your expectations?will you be able to meet them?
The work you have done looks perfectly sound to me(but I have low standards),Steve..

Thanks Steve, I think I agree with you. Also reading the message from Gaspen, that area will not be seen, so perhaps finish this as it is and spend money and time on the outer panels. 

 

It is just that the other inner wing was finished better than this one, so felt a bit dissapointed about it.

 

Thanks.

[Viktor]

 

 

After all that work on the inner wing, I am now thinking about replacing it with a new heritage panel. The welding has not been great and the surfaces are not really even. A new inner wing is around £200, which is quite a lot, but long term I think it is going to be better. Anyway, thinking about it at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

I understand you do not like it but that area on the inner wing won't be seen on the finished car. Even it is not nice it can be good. A good paintjob started with an epoxy primer will protect it from moisture.

 

An advice here : put a flashlight behind your welds, and look from the other side if you see the light through the welds. With naked eye you can not see the needle-holes.

 

The question is do you have more time or more money.

 

If you have more time go for patching the panels, grinding back the welds. Again and again. As far I can see you will touch almost all area on that car. Be sure that at the end you will learn welding     

 

If you are on a low(er) budget, go for panels that will be seen form outside instead. I see your (outer) wings are scraps already. And the painter will have less work with filler on the new panels.

 

TMF+ membership is 5 GBP / year and for that MiniSpares will give you 7.5% discount to everything.

 

Thanks Gaspen. You are right mate. I think it is not worth to spend time / money on something it can be seen.

 

I'm currently using a torch and anytime I can see light through the welds, I try to close it out with another weld and then grind it down again, and again.

 

Not sure what the TMF membership is, but it seems like a great deal to have 7.5% discount on MiniSpares. Could you please let me know how to get that done?

 

Thanks.

Edited by Viktor, 24 October 2021 - 07:09 PM.

[gaspen]

 

 

 

After all that work on the inner wing, I am now thinking about replacing it with a new heritage panel. The welding has not been great and the surfaces are not really even. A new inner wing is around £200, which is quite a lot, but long term I think it is going to be better. Anyway, thinking about it at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

I understand you do not like it but that area on the inner wing won't be seen on the finished car. Even it is not nice it can be good. A good paintjob started with an epoxy primer will protect it from moisture.

 

An advice here : put a flashlight behind your welds, and look from the other side if you see the light through the welds. With naked eye you can not see the needle-holes.

 

The question is do you have more time or more money.

 

If you have more time go for patching the panels, grinding back the welds. Again and again. As far I can see you will touch almost all area on that car. Be sure that at the end you will learn welding     

 

If you are on a low(er) budget, go for panels that will be seen form outside instead. I see your (outer) wings are scraps already. And the painter will have less work with filler on the new panels.

 

TMF+ membership is 5 GBP / year and for that MiniSpares will give you 7.5% discount to everything.

 

Thanks Gaspen. You are right mate. I think it is not worth to spend time / money on something it can be seen.

 

I'm currently using a torch and anytime I can see light through the welds, I try to close it out with another weld and then grind it down again, and again.

 

Not sure what the TMF membership is, but it seems like a great deal to have 7.5% discount on MiniSpares. Could you please let me know how to get that done?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Read this : Minispares - 7.5% Discount - TMF+ Exclusive Discounts - The Mini Forum

[colinf1]

I know exactly where you are coming from with the disappointment of pin holes in the repair, but you have come so far with both inner wing repairs, it would be a awful waste of time to cut it all out and start again.

For the amount of time it would take to remove the full old inner wing, you could have the front end finished.

Keep up the good work!

[Viktor]

Thanks Colin. I'm now convinced that keep going is the sensible thing to do!

 

Cheers mate.

[Viktor]

Gaspen, it seems that I cannot open the link

 

Read this : Minispares - 7.5% Discount - TMF+ Exclusive Discounts - The Mini Forum

 

Is it because I'm not a TMF+ member as you are?

 

Thanks.

[gaspen]

Gaspen, it seems that I cannot open the link

 

Read this : Minispares - 7.5% Discount - TMF+ Exclusive Discounts - The Mini Forum

 

Is it because I'm not a TMF+ member as you are?

 

Thanks.

 

Sorry, I didn't know it. But I think if you pay for the TMF subscription (which is the first step) you will see that topic.

 

Anyway here is the description for you :

 

Discount:
Minispares are offering 7.5% off everyone of their 9000+ product lines.

How to get the discount:
If you've ordered from Minispares before, PM [email protected] (not e-mail) to have the discount set up on your account. If you haven't ordered with them before, please PM Simon with your full name and full address, so he can set up a Minispares account for you. Please note that PMs will only be read and acted upon within normal office hours. Please make sure you PM, rather than e-mail! Your TMF+ membership number is not required by Simon in order to set up the discount

You will not be able to take advantage of your Minispares discount until you have PM'd Simon.

Edited by gaspen, 25 October 2021 - 09:30 AM.

[Ben_O]

Good thing about metal work and welding is you can always cut back out what you aren't happy with a have another go.

 

Perhaps finish the inner wing repairs and move onto the other repairs on the shell leaving the front end outer panels until last.

That way, as your welding and fabrication skills improve repairing the underside, you can then have another crack at that inner wing if you feel like it.

 

Of course, you can just carry on as you are. Those inner wing repairs are perfectly adequate for an area that won't really be seen. Just make sure it's well protected and coated

[Viktor]

Thanks Ben. That is exactly my plan. Before getting the front end and outter wings I will do the step and A-post repairs, and then I will move to do the floors and the boot. Now I have the rotisserie, so it should be easier.

 

I think it is sensible to wait until all of the above is done and then decide if the inner wing can stay as it is, or if it should be replaced.

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

Some progress during this half term week. With a lot of patience and some body filler, I managed to fix the inner wing and now I'm happy with the final result.

 

 

 

 

I also repaired the toe board on the driver's side, as it was quite rusty and with holes.

 

 

 

The repait panel was a bit shorth, so I have to extend it:

 

 

 

Fixed in position

 

 

 

And then welded

 

 

 

So far, quite happy with those repairs.

[Viktor]

I also prepared the A-post lip as per the sketch sent by Colin. 

 

 

I'm not going to fix these just yet, as I prefer to wait until the new floors and sills are in position.

 

[gaspen]

Not bad, but I should plug welded that lip from outside, just like you did it on the LH side earlier. As there is no floor panel in that area you have a good access with pliers to hold the panels together.

 

 

 

 74ZKWcN.jpg   71.15K   1 downloads

[Viktor]

Exciting times ahead! I managed to put the car in the jig. This is a home made rotisserie that I got from another Mini owner. I added some wheels, so I can move it easily in the garage. It works really well and I can turn it upside down by myself without the need of anyone else. I think my wife is not very keen on helping me on this...

 

 

 

 

Now the plan is as follows, so please feel free to comment on. If I'm doing something completely wrong I'd like to know...

 

1- Reinforce the shell with steel profiles before cuting any floor panels.

2- The curve tunnel and the cross member are in good condition, so I thought I can keep them. I will get sill & floor assembly from M-Machine and put them in place to see where I have to cut. Then weld the new floors in.

3- Get the mounting panel, rear sub frame from M-Machine, as this is quite rusted as well. This is the vertical closing panel between the floors and the boot floor.

4- I need to assess if I need to replace the whole boot floor, or if I can get away with the repair panel.

 

Some photos of the underside of the car.

 

 

 

 

 

So that was it so far. I will try to do some more this afternoon if it stops raining!!!

 

Cheers.

 

Victor.

[Viktor]

Not bad, but I should plug welded that lip from outside, just like you did it on the LH side earlier. As there is no floor panel in that area you have a good access with pliers to hold the panels together.

 

 

 

74ZKWcN.jpg

Hi Gaspen, thanks. Yes, I forgot to do the holes before welding it in place. I welded the internal lip to the repair panel and it looks quite solid to me. I will have a look again to see if it needs any additional wleds.

Cheers.