166 replies to this topic

[twiglett]

if you just drill the rivets out it will be nice and neat
but sods law is if you use a grinder you will make a mess and have to tidy it up later. anyway thats what would probably happen to me, lol

[oli8925]

if you just drill the rivets out it will be nice and neat
but sods law is if you use a grinder you will make a mess and have to tidy it up later. anyway thats what would probably happen to me, lol

lol, i wouldnt really take a grinder to it. that would just end in disaster.

[oli8925]

ok just got the drivers wing off



surprise surprise very rusty underneath again.


now i need to get the front panel off but i dont know where to cut. any help as i dont want to cut it in the wrong places and iver also got a radiator, a lot of wiring and some other bits squashed right in behind in. and i dont want to cut them up or the subframe.
any help?

[Gingerjoe]

wow man! thats alot of rust, maybe a rebuild was in order afterall? still no means for the crash! but im sure you know what I mean!! so was any of the damage pushed up back? Or issit purely the front end?

[oli8925]

yeah tell me about it. i knew there was some going on but i didnt think it was too bad. my main concern is once ive straightened it out and rebuilt the front, then get it dipped. will i find so much rust that it would have been much cheaper to get a new bmh shell?!

im still sure there was someone on here that found so much rust on their mini, they reshelled into a second hand shell! but i was told in the other thread this was illegal..

damage goes as far back as the crossmember the seats sit on. ie. floors very bent, sills creased and one of the drivers seat bolt mounts into the crossmember has been pulled almost completely out, so the crossmember itself is bent and squashed too.

no accident damage i know about behind that, but who knows what rust lurks

[Rosslin Racing]

if you look on the inner wing by the subframe you will see that there are two ears these are spot welded and the inner wing is also spot welded just in front of the rad and the other side, in the wing channel where it meets the front panel it is welded once they are drilled you can remove the panel.

[tuktuk]

looking good oli!

[oli8925]

if you look on the inner wing by the subframe you will see that there are two ears these are spot welded and the inner wing is also spot welded just in front of the rad and the other side, in the wing channel where it meets the front panel it is welded once they are drilled you can remove the panel.

cheers, ill go have a look and see if i can find these bits

looking good oli!

thanks mate!

[oli8925]

right, well the ears pretty much came apart themselves during the crash. now got the front panel flapping around, i just cant drill through the welds at each end of the grille gap holding the front onto the inner wings. and theyre not in a position where im able to attack them or around them with a grinder. my weld drill bit is totally *graped* as are most of the other drill bits at home.

just getting cleaned up to see my gf for a bit. if its still light enough when i get back i might have another go.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

Surely this makes you a strong beliver in the "everything happens for a reason" phrase

good luck again mate, coming on good.

[monkey]

yeah tell me about it. i knew there was some going on but i didnt think it was too bad. my main concern is once ive straightened it out and rebuilt the front, then get it dipped. will i find so much rust that it would have been much cheaper to get a new bmh shell?!

im still sure there was someone on here that found so much rust on their mini, they reshelled into a second hand shell! but i was told in the other thread this was illegal..

damage goes as far back as the crossmember the seats sit on. ie. floors very bent, sills creased and one of the drivers seat bolt mounts into the crossmember has been pulled almost completely out, so the crossmember itself is bent and squashed too.

no accident damage i know about behind that, but who knows what rust lurks

Why not rip all the accident damaged stuff off, then get it acid dipped then you know exactly what needs doing - and if you think a new shell whould be better then you wont have wasted money on the new wings, front panel, time bending the floors out etc... just a thought....

Anyway... looks like some good progress there!!!

[dan_up850]

looks nasty, good luck mate.

[sweetser]

Well done for re-building it mate good luck!

Luke.

[oli8925]

ok. bit more done today. had a go at the spot welds with a drill and was having no luck so got out the grinder again and went round them. so now have no wings or front panel:


hadnt noticed but the damage to the oil filter wasnt the filter itself, but the bracket had just snapped right off lol. nice:


and then with some light still left i decided to take some of the little bits and bobs off the engine. horn, coil, alternator and with a bit of trouble the radiator went. so now looks like this:

its so nice and easy to get access to all the engine now its great.

so next stage would be more disconnecting of engine from car, and then to haul it out. need to find a space in the garage first though.

[WiredbyWilson]

good work oli, sorry i never got round to popping up to help with the front panel.

it turns out the alternator is at fault with the car not the glow plugs, so having to drive in daylight only with no radio heater etc

but once you have found space in the garage give me a shout and we will whip the engine out and go from there (that is if you need help as you doing brill on your own!!)

David