30 replies to this topic

[Guess-Works.com]

If you had a piece of clear plexi-glass shaped to the curve of the quarter then you would not have the problem with the water collection.

As for the point about the shell.. unless you don't mind a "Q" plate then your only option is to repair the shell you have ( and I suspect that will not be a problem ) or a new Heratige shell which will cost you 2k+

I would like to think that all minis which are currently on the road have repairable shells, it's only when you start looking at replacing major swathes of metal or panel damage when they become ready for the mini graveyard

[minipixie]

As for the point about the shell.. unless you don't mind a "Q" plate then your only option is to repair the shell you have ( and I suspect that will not be a problem ) or a new Heratige shell which will cost you 2k+

what do ya mean by "Q" plate?

yea im beginnin to think re-shellin would be a bit extreme!
gonna take a look at the rusty spots in a li bit, ill post some pictures! then u guys can tell me how bad they are :grin: cus lets face it, i wont know!

if ya dont mind that is....??

[Guess-Works.com]

A Q plate is give to a car when the origin of the vehicle is undeterminable and/or is made up multiple vehicles, without one of those vehicles contributing enough points to account for the vehicle...

so you number plate would be like... Q123 ABC

Normally you will see them on kit cars and things like that, but since the DVLA have been 'gettin tough' they are being seen more and more.

DVLA quidance on Registering Rebuilt, Radically Altered Vehicles and Kit Cars

[minipixie]

ooo i dint know that!!! i dont want a "Q" plate! im not gonna get a new shell anymore!!! i like my red plate as it is! lol
thanx for that!!
sian

[minipixie]

k, so iv jus bin out (in between the rain showers) with the camera and taken some pictures of the rust the i can find without diggin about too much and here they are.....

rusty pics

what do ya think? is it not as bad as i think? or bad?

sian

[Guess-Works.com]

fairly normal for a mini, the ones which you need to look at closely are the patches at the bottom of the windscreen, if you can take the vinyl at the back of the dash and the two air vents out, and have a look how far it goes...

This is a fairly common place for minis to go, but does involve a bit of work sorting out, as the closing panels at the top of the inner wings below the scuttle ( the bit which is at the bottom of the winsdscreen ) which rot away and then let water in..

If you want to see rust have a look at petal >>> Clicky

[minipixie]

do ya mean it'd let water that'd run down behind the top rail dash thingy in to the lil dash area? cus that happened before! got it foxed tho! not sure if it was jus from the window seal or not tho!
iv tried to get the vinyl bit off before but cant seem to work it out!
with ur mini, did u get new panels then? not a new shell (im sorry iv not read it, jus looked at the pictures)

sian

[Miniman]

that doesnt look to bad rust wise compared to some

[binge]

Ok. all your "rust" Is ok really. Nothing majorly bad.

The only "bad" bits are the bits where it has got inside the car. Because that means its rust right the way thrught the pannel.

Now any good body shop can repair that buy cuting off all the corrosion and rewelding a patch. OR replacing the pannel.

A whole shell would be very unnecessary.

What you need is sombody who knows a bit who is willing to take your window seals out and your dash rails out so you can see how bad it is. once you have taken them out, you can then get it to a body shop and get it sorted.

And in the other post about the "Fancy rear lights"... What about Clear lenses, they cheer the car up and make it look better than the dull red and orange ones. :cheese:

[Alex1380]

My reshell has cost about £7k but i had lots of bits done on top of just the shell. the good the with a reshell it the WHOLE car is brand new not just say the front pannels or what ever else u end up replacing. you don't have to go on a Q plate becasue the new shell don't come with a vechial number so its just a replacement. the problem with just repairing the car is you don;t know what else you will find when u start cutting and the price will just go up and up and up.

[minipixie]

i see what ya mean alex1380. think what im gonna do is take it down to the mini garage when i have the money and ask him what he thinks! he's done loads of work on the car before so i guess he'll be able to give me an honest answer!
really like the sound of a new shell because like u sed everything is new, but might just stick to replacing some of the panels, think that'd be cheaper!

and binge......im gonna luk to see where i can find some clear lenses from...see how much they are etc! cheers for that idea

sian

[Dom]

huddersfield mini spares are doin a deal on them, whole set with bulbs £20

[rob mini]

wow, im honoured lol

the water issue has been dealt with so shudnt be too much of a problem. if you look on the outside of light u will see the lense just comes to the edge. there is a rubber seal around the edge of the light and the tube they go in is very tight! secondly the tube was angled downwards slighty so if any water does find its way there it can run out easily

cant remember exactly but the lights were in excess of £150 themselves and we have put about 15-20 hours in on the rear lights! wouldnt have been able to afford paying a bodyshop to do them for me!

[minipixie]

:grin: were they mega hard to fit?? actually thats a stupid question if it took ya between 15-20 in guessin they must have bin quite difficult!! i weally want lights like that on my mini!! might have to get saving them pennies!!! where'd ya get the actual lights themselves from?

[rob mini]

i bought them from a kit car show but i know they are available in demon tweeks. two tubes had to be welded in place and then fibreglass to make the rest of the shape up. sounds simple but believe me it took a lot of work!