FJ12jagman
Member
- Messages
- 23
Bought a classic Mini (1977) last year in a fit of nostalgia. It looked asthough a quick polish maybe a bit of paint and it’d be on the road.
Removed the carpet and found lots of damp, bit of rust but hey ho it’s a mini. Replaced widow and door seals and found ........yep more rust. Bit concerned about the rust in the roof gutters, decided to start there and keep it restrained so I could use the car.
By Xmas the roof was stripped of paint and primed despite the lack of space. Did I mention restraint......
Rear valance was rotten and that’s where my plans started changing. By Christmas the rear subframe , all glass, seats etc stripped. I knew the A panels and bits of wing need replacing then discovered the boot was a bit religious (holy)...
Decided to do the rear first. Planned to remove rear subframe and lift the back as high as possible to reach near the middle of the car to weld bits of sill etc. Then turn the car around and do the same on the front. I then realised the extent of the welding required and how much that would cost.
Signed up for a night school in welding. 10 weeks later I realised what an art it is but after reading this forum also realised that lots of other people give it a go and have some good results.
Another change of plan. Didn’t fancy welding upside down in a tight spot under a precariously balanced Mini. Rotisserie is the way to go. Bought a Migtronic Rally 166 (after reading reviews) off ebay and some box section from a scrappy...
Pleased with some welds, others rubbish and had to grind off. Learnt a few lessons eg don’t guess where you are welding, you’ll get it wrong. And turn your work so you are comfortable.
Welded on some pates for the castors, just needs painting.
At the same scrappy found a TV/video stand on castors, built for a 90s telly so very robust. Bit of scaffold pole and that’s the other end sorted.
Now need to get the car out of the garage to remove the front sub frame, engine etc but got no wheels on the back! I was concerned that supporting the back end on a trolley of some sort would do some serious damage until I’ve welded the boot floor.
I posted some practice bits in Learning Mig welding and am following the advice.
Last weekend I started cutting..
This is looking into the right side of the boot, battery box at the top, hinge panel at the bottom and hole where the right side floor was.
Here I did show restraint. The whole rear end of the boot floor needs replacing, along with bits of the hinge panel. Concerned that if i cut too much without bracing the I’ll lose the geometry for the subframe mounts. How do you cut straight lines? I’m using a 1mm cutting disc on an angle grinder but can’t seem to go straight. I’ve had to cut back to the marked line with a grinding disc.
Started cutting patterns with cardboard.
Long first post, hope not too boring but wanted to get up to date. Will post more as I go along. (Learning photography as well!)
Removed the carpet and found lots of damp, bit of rust but hey ho it’s a mini. Replaced widow and door seals and found ........yep more rust. Bit concerned about the rust in the roof gutters, decided to start there and keep it restrained so I could use the car.
By Xmas the roof was stripped of paint and primed despite the lack of space. Did I mention restraint......
Rear valance was rotten and that’s where my plans started changing. By Christmas the rear subframe , all glass, seats etc stripped. I knew the A panels and bits of wing need replacing then discovered the boot was a bit religious (holy)...
Decided to do the rear first. Planned to remove rear subframe and lift the back as high as possible to reach near the middle of the car to weld bits of sill etc. Then turn the car around and do the same on the front. I then realised the extent of the welding required and how much that would cost.
Signed up for a night school in welding. 10 weeks later I realised what an art it is but after reading this forum also realised that lots of other people give it a go and have some good results.
Another change of plan. Didn’t fancy welding upside down in a tight spot under a precariously balanced Mini. Rotisserie is the way to go. Bought a Migtronic Rally 166 (after reading reviews) off ebay and some box section from a scrappy...
Pleased with some welds, others rubbish and had to grind off. Learnt a few lessons eg don’t guess where you are welding, you’ll get it wrong. And turn your work so you are comfortable.
Welded on some pates for the castors, just needs painting.
At the same scrappy found a TV/video stand on castors, built for a 90s telly so very robust. Bit of scaffold pole and that’s the other end sorted.
Now need to get the car out of the garage to remove the front sub frame, engine etc but got no wheels on the back! I was concerned that supporting the back end on a trolley of some sort would do some serious damage until I’ve welded the boot floor.
I posted some practice bits in Learning Mig welding and am following the advice.
Last weekend I started cutting..
This is looking into the right side of the boot, battery box at the top, hinge panel at the bottom and hole where the right side floor was.
Here I did show restraint. The whole rear end of the boot floor needs replacing, along with bits of the hinge panel. Concerned that if i cut too much without bracing the I’ll lose the geometry for the subframe mounts. How do you cut straight lines? I’m using a 1mm cutting disc on an angle grinder but can’t seem to go straight. I’ve had to cut back to the marked line with a grinding disc.
Started cutting patterns with cardboard.
Long first post, hope not too boring but wanted to get up to date. Will post more as I go along. (Learning photography as well!)