For the first time in ages I was able to spend a really good day working on the Mini. I sent the other half out to the shops with the credit card and my mate came round to help me out. What a difference it makes having an extra pair of hands around all day.
I managed to get the front subframe fully disassembled (removed suspension cones finally) and have this fully painted and ready to be reassembled once I have got round to ordering a polly bush kit and some new disks and pads.
I have also begin to get the hang of welding so spent most of the day welding panels in to place as you can see below. I have welded the join between the front panel and the wings. I plan to smooth this of fully so want as little filler as possible.
I also had the front drivers floor out and replaced. Unfortunately the front corner section was not tall enough to fill the all the hole cut to remove rust so I had to fabricate a small patch. This was ok until I forgot to change the settings on my welder from some earlier work and burnt a big hole through it : dontgetit: Not to much to worry about I will manage to weld this us during the week.
Due to a fair amount of rust in the battery box I decided to do away with is and just relocate it within the boot I have therefore cut this out and patched the hold with some sheet steel.
As I am looking at relocating an alloy fuel tank in the boot I thought I should build something quite secure for the battery. We fabricated this out of some L shaped steel from B&Q. Still needs a little more welding, a tidy up and lick of paint but seeing as it is the first thing I have ever fabricated with metal I am really pleased.
Also patched an area I had to remove around the rear subframe mount. Still a small about of work to do around here but nothing major. All things I can manage without another pair of hands with no problems.
Really pleased with the progress so far this weekend has given me a real boost and I have a few days off work at the end of the month so will be looking to get a large amount done again soon.
I have also been collecting parts for my engine build. Won a T2 turbo from a Renault 5 on Ebay the other day, just waiting for it to be delivered along with a few samco pipes and a boost valve. Slowly collecting the parts I need as and when they come up at a good price.
Also waiting for some Miglia arches and a single skin smooth boot to be delivered from Arc Angels. Cant wait to see them should look good on the car. I have decided I will be going as smooth and clean as possible with the exterior. Want to fit Mk1 rear lights, remove the rear bumper lip when fitting the new rear valance and remove the fuel filler, should look good along with the smooth boot. Also thinking of deseaming it but want a lot more practice welding before I even think about doing this seriously.
The front should also look nice and clean as I have removed the front bumper and plan to fit some small round side repeaters from another car to replace the front indicators. Should be good along with the filling of the seams on the front.
