Good to see progress being made and nowt wrong with that camber - eliminates alloy kerbing

Cheers for the positive words guys.

Okay another update.

First of all theres been a fair amount of progress since last time, mainly bodywork. I've made up some panels which you can see in these pictures:



There's been lots of small bits i've been doing like welding in little holes here and there and also stripped down the front hubs and cleaned everything down and primed inner wings.



I wanted to make sure i cut everything correct before fitting the scuttle as it's an expensive panel and didnt want to muck it up!

Tacked On:


Grinded down but not fillered yet.


I plug welded it along the seam and it seems to have done the trick. Straight and true!

After doing that i started work on the corner of the rear quarter, bit of a pain to cut and i'm not looking forward to welding the main patch on as i can see the metal warping in my brain. Best way to stop metal warping? I was thinking of putting clay/putty around the bit i'm going to be welding to kind of dissipate the heat, but i have no idea if that will work?





Thats it for now really, it's definately starting to take shape. This weekend hopefully get that little patch done, and do some more work on the front. I'll also attempt to put the rear subframe back together.

Cheers until next time!

You're doing well there Dougie, keep it up.

These pictures taken from my phone:







Sorry for the fancy pictures (Instagram App on the iphone), also does anyone know if it is okay to plug weld the boot repair section in like i've done in the pictures? I did it then thought.. perhaps i should seam weld it as i dont want the MOT man to be angry at it! Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Defo seam weld the boot!

Ming

looking good dougie. I think pre heating the metal prior to welding could help reduce the chance of warping

Gaz shocks ftw - have heard good things about them

Looks good from the pics, nice amount of progress made. I'd always assume seam welding would be better just due to the continuous contact to spread the stresses along the join. Never welded anything in my life though, so that's a pure guess :laugh:

As Ming said Dougie, seam weld it, last thing you want is to have to do more work after all thw work you've done so far.
Anyways keep it up Dougie, how much longer till the Mini's back on the road??

defo if you have the time seam it. its overall better. looks better and then the mot man cant moan at all.

if you dont have it im almost certain it will be fine but any small accidents could easily move the entire pannel and be a complete pita

Looks like it was spot welded as standard? so spot welds Shold do if u grind the welds flat and it will look good

I'm not the best at updating this, but here's the next installment. Been pushing on with the car over the past couple of weeks...

Okay set to work on finishing the front end, quite pleased bearing in mind i used non heritage panels (Except the scuttle).

I didnt have enough grips to mount all the panels first, and the weather hasnt been the best lately so i decided to get a rough idea by lining them up with the front panel and the a panels as best i could then just tacked them in place.


After a lot of trial and error and some frustrating moments i managed to get them all fitted and looking like this


So that was one of the final big things that needed to get done. Another big task was to get the rear subframe built up again


Then with some help i got it mounted in fine


All going well? No.

One of the nuts inside the heelboard is too far gone, the bolt wouldnt catch and after using a tap to get the threads sorted it wouldnt tighten. So today i cut out a little section in the sill ready to fit a new nut on the back, didnt get any pictures as theres not much to look at, but finding a bolt the right size is a bit of a nuisance. This is one of the last things i need to do before it gets painted, all i have to do is get the subframe sorted, brakes bled, trim put on so i can get it MOT'd then paint!

However, i also managed to sort out a little problem on one of the subframe steadies at the drivers footwell. There was basically nothing holding the steady on with any strength, when i went to touch the head of the bolt with a screwdriver it pretty much just fell off so i decided that instead of taking the bolts out i would just cut around them and then weld straight onto the mount, making it effectively a solid mount, much sturdier than before.




After cutting around it, cleaning it a bit and adding some weld through:


I layered the sheet metal, putting a slightly thicker guage metal underneath directly onto the subframe steady to make sure it was strong enough, plug welded onto the mount. Then slighty thinner metal on top to add an extra bit of security and to finish it off. I also effectively welded in the heads of the bolts which go into the mount, there was no way you'd get a spanner on them and i didnt see the need to take them out. Not much to look at but function..




Bit of a dilema with the paint as i'm not sure what colour i want to go, i'd like to stay red but lately i've been seeing a lot of pale gray/cream cars which have really caught my eye.


If i keep it red i dont need to get the interior painted, but i love the white/cream/grey!

Anyway, hopefully have some more updates soon as i'm going to be fitting the exhaust, fuel tank back in maybe over the weekend if i can get some time so hopefully get the car running next week at some point!

Thanks

Loks like prgress is being made there Dougie.

As said on FB go for Brittish Racing Green, White Chequred Roof, Cooper Alloys, White Stripes down the sides,Chrome Bumpers & Rally Lights on the grill....... (well I can always dream)

Haha i hear you Andi...

I just don't like the stripes :/ i've never been a fan of stripes so they definately won't be going on it. Don't worry it has chrome bumpers haha, but no spotlights, not a fan of them either. I think i'm going to stay red for now, that means i only have to get the outside painted, which leaves more money for other nice bits

What about the Cooper Alloys though Dougie??

I love white cars ... but i don't think the mini suits it. It needs a hard hard colour!

Ming

When us lot at Sicd were watching italian job , i think most of us decided eather Red , Or go for a Mad colour like Lambo Orange and make it stand out

How's about carbon front wings/bonnet and Championship White for the rest of it. Then a set of black Minilites with a chrome lip

Haha chat away!

Anyway, here's some update pictures i took tonight, was fed up of phone pictures.. Not much has changed, made up the door cards, wanted to keep them clean, although i still need to sort out some interior handles. Pretty much ready for the MOT just to sort out the exhaust as it's not permanently fixed up yet. I'm hoping for this weekend! Still need to sort out a new grille.

Thanks for looking.

Really enjoying this project thread. Stunning work mate, all the best for the MOT

Martyn

Looks really good mate, best of luck for the MOT