Classic mini mig welder

[Kathryn Deriu]

Hi all
Totally new to the forum and to welding
Am hoping to do a short course on mig welding soon
I have a classic mini which I need to weld new inner and outer sills and some of the floor pan
Have been quoted 4 grand to do this so thought I would learn myself
I’m wondering the best machine for ease of use for me, have been trawling through the internet and so much different info out there
My budget would be £250
Thanks all appreciate your help
Kath

 

[bert]

Where abouts are you and who quoted you 4k?

Got any pics of yours?

 

[Jlg]

Hi all
Totally new to the forum and to welding
Am hoping to do a short course on mig welding soon
I have a classic mini which I need to weld new inner and outer sills and some of the floor pan
Have been quoted 4 grand to do this so thought I would learn myself
I’m wondering the best machine for ease of use for me, have been trawling through the internet and so much different info out there
My budget would be £250
Thanks all appreciate your help
Kath

It will be a bigger job than your expecting I can promise you

 

[Kathryn Deriu]

Where abouts are you and who quoted you 4k?

Got any pics of yours?

Hi Bert
I’m in Suffolk and it was a local mechanic.
I can upload some pics if work needed tomorrow if that’s what you mean ?

 

[bert]

4k isn't a bad price if it's done right with heritage panels.

My job is restoring these and I can confirm as above it will be worse than you think.

The one I'm just doing has had a complete floor Inc sills, toe board, heel board, boot floor, rear inner arches, rear panel, valence, rear 1/4's a door skin, door steps, door posts one front inner wing, wings and front panel.

I'm about 8weeks in so far and just about to finish painting it.

 

[Kathryn Deriu]

4k isn't a bad price if it's done right with heritage panels.

My job is restoring these and I can confirm as above it will be worse than you think.

The one I'm just doing has had a complete floor Inc sills, toe board, heel board, boot floor, rear inner arches, rear panel, valence, rear 1/4's a door skin, door steps, door posts one front inner wing, wings and front panel.

I'm about 8weeks in so far and just about to finish painting it.

Oh blimey ! So is doing it myself a good way to go or should I get other quotes ?

 

[bert]

I'd get other quotes first from some specialists who restore these. Post up some pics and I can at least give you an idea of what really needs doing and how long it should take.

 

[Kathryn Deriu]

Thank you so much

 

[Jlg]

Oh blimey ! So is doing it myself a good way to go or should I get other quotes ?

I'd get someone else to do it I've done a few cars and I'm in the middle of doing a abarth fiat that started as two holes in the foot well and one in the wheel arch I've been at it five days and I'm still doing the floor and finding more stuff wrong it's had a new floor in the process of putting new sills in and then I've got the wheel arch to do

 

[Wozzaaah]

If you have the room, the equipment, the enthusiasm and the will to learn there’s no reason not to do it yourself.
Minis are so simple and everything you need to restore it is readily available.

 

[Bigjoe]

Welcome Kathryn, As the others have said,mini's are a good starting point for building restoration skills,for a machine it might be worth looking for a reasonable 2nd hand machine or maybe a clarke 135te or similar (Roughly £250 new) but obviously plus gas and ppe etc.

I wish you luck and feel free to ask anything as this place is a font of knowledge and also loads online too

 

[pedrobedro]

Get another Mini enthusiast who can weld to give you a hand, there are plenty of them about I've got an old Mini City rotting away on the back yard, if anyone asks me about it I tell them it's flawless (floorless) As Wozz sezz all the bits are available and I've done a few myself. Just looked how much a Heritage shell is now, over £8000 so it's well worth the effort to repair one.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Welcome aboard, Kathryn.

Don't forget to allow for PPE (personal protection equipment) in your budget - welding mask, gloves etc.

What the lads have said ^^ is right, best start saving the pennies.

 

[Bigjoe]

If you have'nt already it would be worth joining a local mini owners club or Facebook page etc as im sure there will people locally who could help or at least offer some guidance

 

[bert]

Also remember that the Mini is mostly spot welded together so if you are going to mig it that's a lot of drilling holes, plug welding and grinding them back flat.

 

[addjunkie]

Welcome, if you decide to pay to have the work done, travelling is another option, dont just stay local, find the best person for the job.

Clarke 135 would do you, but as said the job will grow arms and legs.

 

[gt6s]

But Minis only rot between the bumpers.

 

[Farside]

Handy thing about Minis is you can tip them over on a mattress to do the underside.

 

[bert]

You certainly can. Makes painting the underside much easier

 

[ibrooks]

Personally I'd go for it - the welding gear will pay for itself if you use it and it'll hold it's value if you look after it so it's win-win. Clarke is a decent home machine and a 135 will do the job nicely (I have a 150 that I bought well over 15 years ago and it's never missed a beat). Don't go for a no-gas machine as it doesn't give nice results on car bodywork and will just leave you demoralised with the whole thing. Get a "pub size" gas bottle quickly as it'll save you a huge amount on gas.

As far as the Mini goes beware "local garages" there are a lot of bodges possible and they are likely to use them as a short-cut. Most generic garages will be working to "MOT standard" which is basically the minimum required to get the car through it's MOT and make it last another year. The prices that Minis command nowadays are high so I'm thinking that you've likely got a fair amount of money tied up in this car (the fact that you are talking about spending £4k on it backs this up). A set of oversills welded on beautifully will look pretty and will satisfy the MOT tester but they WILL allow the rot to fester and fail again within a couple of years leaving a bigger repair job then (from the sounds of what you say the car needs it's possible this is the position you find yourself in now). Doing the job yourself gives you control over how the job is done.

Beware Mini "specialists". Given that they are small and easy to work on I've seen a good few so-called specialists pop up thinking they can make a quick pile of cash with minimal outlay on equipment and premises. When these "specialists" discover that time is money when it's a business and they can't do it cheaper than the big boys whilst investing the same amount of time to do the job properly...... they either wind up leaving half completed jobs or they start taking the shortcuts themselves which doesn't tend to end well for anyone.