135 replies to this topic

[minichick]

Anyway, things to do this week: win the lotto!

That's been my plan for the last four years, but strangely never seems to come true

Ooo-well

Good luck mate

Edited by minichick, 28 May 2007 - 05:18 PM.

[stickolip]

this is a kool project and it sounds mighty fun hehe, atleast at the end it will be 100% rust free.

[gavfoz]

Anyway, things to do this week: win the lotto!

That's been my plan for the last four years, but strangely never seems to come true

Ooo-well

Good luck mate

You got to be in it to win it! Didn't win Saturdays draw though. . . maybe tonight is my lucky night!

this is a kool project and it sounds mighty fun hehe, atleast at the end it will be 100% rust free.

Yeah but how long until another bit rusts? If I get a few years out of it I will be chuffed. I have spent nearly £200 on repair panels + flip front and associated parts. Then £200 on a welder, £30 on an angel grinder and discs. . . still cheaper than a professional bodyshop repair. Still, its all about the end result. Projects like this put mine to shame and make you want to start again. . . which I might do, with a new shell in a couple or three years

Gav

[gavfoz]

Still not won the lotto. . .

This weekend I reskinned the origonal drivers door and replaced the door bottom section. I also continued to sand/fill/sand/fill/sand/primer the back end where I welded in the Mk1 plates. If anyone reading this fancies Mk1 rear lights have you looked at the bigger Mk2s? They are nice as well!



So just when I thought I had settled on the final colour scheme I see a VW bug that looked just soooo right. I think the colours work well on a Mini as well. What do you think? (appologies for slow load up, its a bitmap produced in MS Paint)



Also been thinking a lot about engine choice. Though about going for a k-series for about 2mins then saw sense. The mini k frame is quite expensive and using a metro frame is a no-go having spent money on the existing Mini suspension. Then you got driveshafts to make. . . .nah, its not for me. Been looking into doing the FWD R1 conversion but sadly with 6 points and only 2years no-claims its just too expensive to insure. So A-series it will stay. It won't be a standard motor but I have gone a full loop in though and fancy the idea of a supercharged 998 again. Imagine that! I wonder if I could get 90bhp+ out of it?

This time next month I will have been working on this Mini for a whole year! Its about time I enjoyed it!

Gav

[Molly May Mini]

Those colours are so damn sweet!

[gavfoz]

I tried to get a pic of the bug but in a drive by attempt but it came out all blurry. . .

Still not won the lotto, got 2numbers last night though!

2 steps forward, one massive leap backwards. . .

Yesterday:

Took the a-panels off as I think I welded them on in slightly the wrong position. The front leading edge appears to be about 10mm out which is probvably why I was finding fitting the fibreglass front such a nightmare.

Anyway, whilst they were off I stripped all the old underseal off the inner wings and removed the shock mounts etc. and red-oxided the lot. Looks quite neat now. Only got the passengerside done yesterday as the underseal was like 5mm thick in places!



Today did the same on the drivers side.

Started to scrub the panel down, noticed this patch welding the suspension mount to the inner wing. Alarm bells start ringing. ..

Undo the bolts holding the suspension mount to the wing and the whole lot comes away with little resistance from the welded on patch!

(notice in background poor penetration of weld by the previous owner welding in the new drivers floor. . .looks like that needs re-doing properly )

So, what the hell do you do with that! Top marks to the repairer, he welded good metal to rust!

Going to have a relaxing afternoon, a few pints whilst changing the valve stem seals on my Landies head. . . mini. . .

[gavfoz]

Have decided to replace the whole flitch/inner wings/a-panel assemblies with the proper Heritage one-piece panel as if a jobs worth doing, its worth doing well. Going to do both sides as the flitch has been patched up on both sides. Also decided to replace the inner/outer sills as the inner sills have been poorly patched and the origonal sill is hiding behind the oversill. Shall cut the lot off and start again. Once all this work is done, and I have replaced the rear section of boot floor, my shell should be rust free. . . for a few months at least! I think by patching panels up your always on the back foot chasing the rust out the car, replacing the whole panel should give you a bit of a head start!

The only difficult decision to make now is whether to cut the expensive Heritage inner wing panels to fit my fibreglass front end or go for an all steel front.

Next week I am off work (better not rain ) so will strip the shell completely and leave it on axle stands so I can work on it and under it. May even nick a pallet or three from work. Probably going to get my subframes powder coated whilst they are off and go see Morspeed about an engine. . . . This car will be better than new when I have finished! (fingers crossed)

Gav

[gavfoz]

DAY 1

I knew it would rain, still got some stuff done though, not as much as planned but its a start. . .

Decided the easiest way to replace the inner wings and investigate some rust on the bulkhead was to remove the engine complete with its subframe. Got the Haynes book out and read the first two steps before getting bored and putting the book away. In around an hour the electrics were all labelled up ready to be disconnected and the steering, clutch, brakes and the other cables were all disconnected. The radiator was drained, engine steady and earth connecting engine to bulkhead was disconnected and then it rained. Time for a cup of tea then. . .


Rain stopped, back outside again. I undid the floor mounts, removed the gear stick and drop the gear linkage from the floor of the Mini. By using my brace bars flipped around I could, in theory, just wheel the front subframe away like a wheel barrow. So I undid the tower bolts but something was stopping it moving away from the shell. It turns out the front to back brake line was threaded through the subframe near the floor mounting points and I had forgotten to disconnect the battery cable. D'OH. You live and learn though. . .


And for my next trick I will put it back together. . .

A quick wash down of twenty years muck. . .

Does not look too bad I suppose.

So tommorrow, weather depending, I will strip the remaining parts off the bulkhead and then I have got one of those wire cup thingies that goes on an angle grinder. I shall attack the rust with that and see what becomes of it. Then I will start drilling out the spot welds on the drivers side inner wing or remove and strip the rear subframe so I can take both subs to be powder coated.

[gavfoz]

DAY 2

No rain today!


Rear subframe dropped out and stripped. Its been on for nearly a year and done maybe one mile pushed back and forwards. The brand new bushes have already started to crack up.

Windscreen out (again), doors off, bulkhead stripped of clutch/wiring/brake/heater pipes. . . . and the steering assembly would of been removed if I could figure out how it comes apart. All visible bolts are undone and the Haynes book says it just pulls straight out. . . does it flip! Anyway, paint stripped with one of those wire brush things that goes in an angle grinder. Then I flap-disked what I could and paint strippered and sanded the bits the grinder could not reach.

Then I primered the bulkhead using Wurth's acid-etch all singing, all dancing, weld throughable, quick drying primer that has a special nosal for different spray patterns. Excellent stuff and I highly recommend it.

Maybe new inner-wings tommorrow but its currently thundering! I hope my workshop doesn't flood!

Gav

[jim295]

Noice!!! i luvvit!


coming on well!

i shall have to learn me some welding...

[GiroUnit]

top work bud is the etch primer spray canned on? or compressor jobbie?

Edited by GiroUnit, 19 June 2007 - 09:47 PM.

[gavfoz]

top work bud is the etch primer spray canned on? or compressor jobbie?

Its just a rattle can and the paint was a free gift from the Wurth rep.

Today

Started unpicking the inner wing from the bulkhead and dash bars. Removed some more wiring, still can't get the steering column off.


Got my second parcel of the week from Mini Spares today. Top work lads! Rear valance, front panel, lowered shock mounts, bulkhead grommets, quickshift and a whole heap more! Should keep me busy for a while!

Might have an easy day tommorrow, I am ment to be on holiday remember!

Gav

[miniboo]

to get the steering column off make sure you have taken the bolt all the way out of the bottom of it.

[gavfoz]

to get the steering column off make sure you have taken the bolt all the way out of the bottom of it.

Done that. Soaked it in WD40, heated it up, pulled at it and everything. Hung off it like a 14 stone monkey and it still won't come off. It just wont budge.

[gavfoz]

Pottered about today. Took the subframes to be blasted and powder coated. Picked a nice yellow/orangy colour. Might get some more stuff, like top arms and radius arms, coated later but it would have to be the same colour or maybe blue or yellow to look sweet. We shall see.

As a self taught mechanic I have two fears. One is brake and clutch hydraulics. The second is car electrics. So today I removed the remaining brake pipes from the car and removed the front half of the loom . Some times you never learn unless you throw yourself in at the deep end. . .



Gav

Edited by gavfoz, 21 June 2007 - 03:49 PM.