Mini Gene's 1977 Mini Rebuild

[MiniGene]

Thanks!!  That is a good tip about coating the underside.  I will do that before I weld it in place.

[MiniGene]

I took the advice and painted the underside of my cross member piece and the inside of my outer sill with some high temp paint.  Just some Rustoleum kind.



Here's a shot of me putting in the patch.  My welder decided to stop pushing wire so I figured I'd take a break.



Here is it welded in:



I would have covered everything with some primer but I didn't have any at the time.  I'll have to do that soon.  Next weekend will be the outer sill.  I would have been able to do more today but I had to change the oil in my wife's van so that took up some time.

BTW, Dan, what kind of primer do you like to use and works best with the type of paint you use when the time comes?  Thanks!

[94touring]

2k eurothane, and I typically use sealer primer.   Looking good man.

[MiniGene]

So this morning, I have a nice relaxing morning with the wife and kids.  Make bacon and eggs, read the paper, sip on coffee.  Take my time getting into the shower.  Take my daughter to her job at the mall.  I get home and get all ready to start working on the mini.  The damn cell phone rings, it's a guy from work who needs help moving.  Normally I would have said I couldn't help but he was practically begging as some of his other help had to duck out early.  Doh!  So instead of a good 4-5 hours devoted to the mini I spent it moving another guy's stuff.  What killed me was that it was just this guy and his wife and they had just as much stuff as my and my 4 kids!  Oh well, I'll get some stuff done next weekend.

[MiniGene]

Just reread this and thought I should clarify. LOL

Normally I would have said I couldn't help

Not because I'm a jerk but because I had other plans and he called at the very last minute.   ;D

[94touring]

Haha thats ok. 

[MiniGene]

So here's today's work.  Got the outer sill welded in.

A view from the top:



Raised the mini up on ramps to make welding the lower part of the sill on easier.  It was still a b!tch!  Trying to get the metal as tight to the floor as possible while welding on my back sucked.



Finally all welded in:



I needed to fill in this little gap:



I used a little section I had leftover from when I did the doorstep:



It would have been easier to use a piece of sheet metal.  I had to bend and rebend this little piece at least 10 times:



I ground it down the best I could but couldn't get into the tight spaces.  I think I need pick up some sort of cone shaped grinding stone I can put into my drill.



All done for the day:



Next weekend I'd like to clean it all up, put some Rustbullet everywhere and then some primer over the whole area.

[94touring]

Wow man you've been busy.  How much more metal work is left?

[MiniGene]

Lots.

I need to patch up some floor on the inside rear drivers side.  Then I need to patch up some spots in the rear wheel wells and the boot.  Then onto the other side to do the passenger side front rear subframe mount.  After that I know I'll at least have to do the inner sill, maybe the outer sill.  And THEN after that I have to do the front sheet metal...

Lots.  I should be rolling sometime before 2020.  ;D

[MiniGene]

Today's progress isn't really significant but progress nonetheless.

Coated the replaced metal and welds with some RustBullet:



And since I had the RustBullet out I decided to treat the bottom of the driver's side door.  It had some rust issues and this will hopefully take care of them:



I thought I'd be able to get some primer on the areas too but the can said the rustbullet had to at lease cure for 24 hours before a top coat.

[94touring]

Hey any progress is good! 

[MiniGene]

Heck yeah.  I'm happy when I get ANYTHING done on the Mini.

[MiniGene]

Does anybody have recommendations on what brand front sheet metal is best?  Also, where do you guys get yours?  I'm hoping to get the R and L fenders and front panel for my 77 soon.

Thanks!

[94touring]

I just go to the hardware store and grab some 22 gauge, which is rather thin.  20 gauge is closer to factory but they never seem to carry it any more. 

[MiniGene]

My front fenders and front nose panel are so far gone I need the whole shebang; all three pieces.  Do most people here get their's from one of the stateside Mini parts dealers or from across the pond and hope they don't get destroyed in shipping?

[94touring]

I've had no problems shipping from overseas.  Otherwise gbcarparts is priced well. 

[MiniGene]

Thanks for the input, Dan. 

Hey guess what?  I touched the Mini for the first time in several months.  I've been busy with other stuff around the house as of late but I was glad to be able to do some more work.

Took care of a hole in the floor, more specifically the base of the back seat:



Cut out and formed a patch:



Painted the underside with high temp Rustoeum:



It fit pretty decent:



Welded in:



And some primer to finish it up:



Not bad for about 3 hours of work.  It's not pretty but it will do.  That's the theme of my body work thus far.  LOL

[94touring]

Don't feel bad, I have a few ugly welds on mine too.  Grind em till they look pretty!  Try shorter burst with the trigger and take your time, they'll come out a little cleaner once you figure it out. 

[MiniGene]

Thanks for the tip.  Luckily all of my welds so far will be covered up with carpet or seats and nobody will be the wiser--besides the members here, haha.  We'll see what happens when I have to do some that will be exposed, that's when the grinder will be my best friend.

[94touring]

One thing I wish I had invested in before I started replacing so many panels was a spot welder.  I've drilled more holes and done my own spot welds than you can imagine.   So when you do the front, drill and weld away, grind as necesarry.  I had to grind a lot of welds on my floor to make it look pretty, and I'm still not done cleaning up. 

[Nicholasupton]

Spotwelder is a must when rebuilding a mini shell, and the bigger the better. I have a pro unit so I can install complete cross-members, and do entire front ends without breaking out the Mig/ Tig. The best part is how it speeds things up as You clamp everything till it fits and then go at it with the spotwelder. 

One thing I wish I had invested in before I started replacing so many panels was a spot welder.  I've drilled more holes and done my own spot welds than you can imagine.   So when you do the front, drill and weld away, grind as necesarry.  I had to grind a lot of welds on my floor to make it look pretty, and I'm still not done cleaning up.

[94touring]

The increase in speed would have been really nice, no doubt about that. 

[batman1usa]

You guys are amazing!  17.gif  I think if I had the space (shop) I might have been more inclined to rebuild the green machine.

[MiniGene]

Spotwelder is a must when rebuilding a mini shell, and the bigger the better. I have a pro unit so I can install complete cross-members, and do entire front ends without breaking out the Mig/ Tig. The best part is how it speeds things up as You clamp everything till it fits and then go at it with the spotwelder. 

WOW Nicholas!  That is awesome.  Makes for some nice and clean panel installs.  Show us a picture of your pro spot welder, please.  You could start assembling shells as fast as British Motor Heritage can with that baby!

[MiniGene]

You guys are amazing!  17.gif  I think if I had the space (shop) I might have been more inclined to rebuild the green machine.

I'm still learning everything as I go, and as I go I don't know if I'm learning.  Haha I wish I had more motivation to speed up the process but it's definitely hard with work and the wife and kiddos.  Maybe by the time my 6 year old is in HS I'll have this Mini on the road...