Two years ago, I bought my first classic Mini, a 1980 saloon with a 1293cc engine built by Morspeed.
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/0426140715_zpscq4vkcz6.jpg)
After a year and a half of weekend drives and Cars and Coffee events, I decided I wasn't a fan of the Zeemax kit that was installed and wanted to go back to a "classic" look. Removing the body kit led to the following discoveries:
Oversills.
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/IMG_20150217_204637108_zpslsj7hyfq.jpg)
"Tubbed arches"
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/IMG_20150209_083035716_zpsdtlpmlpm.jpg)
Bodged "repairs"
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/IMG_20150117_130742618_zpsh8dxo7nk.jpg)
So I recently began the process of stripping the shell down for a full on restoration and am now left with this:
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/IMG_20150907_124807174_HDR_zpswwcigevu.jpg)
I'm sure I will have loads of questions as I get further and further into this restoration. Thanks in advance for everyone's help!
I know that car! He lived in Wilmington. Took a drive with him once.
The inner sills are shot, and there were various repaired patches in the floor boards, so I decided to replace the floors with full half floor panels. Last week, I braced the shell with box section.
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/IMG_20151108_221219811_zpsem09hcnj.jpg)
Then started making the first cuts.
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/IMG_20151124_211455452_zpsxdwzkpxn.jpg)
I decided to just replace the crossmember rather than reuse, as the driver side end had been "repaired" at one point and was no longer spot welded but rather seam welded to the inner sill.
Now for my first question: How does one go about removing the floor/inner sill in the area of the companion bin? So far I've drilled out the spot welds that attach the companion bin to the inner sill. Do I just cut the floor out from underneath the bin? TIAA.
Quote from: 94touring on November 30, 2015, 02:15:15 PM
I know that car! He lived in Wilmington. Took a drive with him once.
Very cool. I picked him up in Norfolk, VA.
Only the first pic in your first post shows for me...I'd love to see the rest!
It's a combo of cutting and breaking welds along the companion box.
Quote from: MiniDave on November 30, 2015, 03:03:31 PM
Only the first pic in your first post shows for me...I'd love to see the rest!
Apparently Google Photos doesn't play nicely with embedding photos. I moved the pics over to photobucket. Hopefully they are visible now.
Feel free to use the media gallery here too.
Pics are good now...do you need to do a diagonal brace to the top of the door openings to keep the car from racking when you take out the floor? When I did my old Jag I had braces going every which way to keep it square. See Project Binky Episode 2 for examples....
I have a clubby in my shop right now that makes this car look solid as a rock by comparison....so don't feel bad about finding corrosion and holes in it...they pretty much all do it!
Great to see another one getting fixed up again. What didn't you like about the Zmax body kit? Looks like it was missing the front bumper and valance part of the kit? Will you go back with Sport pack arches or.....?
Quote from: MiniDave on November 30, 2015, 04:39:04 PM
Pics are good now...do you need to do a diagonal brace to the top of the door openings to keep the car from racking when you take out the floor? When I did my old Jag I had braces going every which way to keep it square. See Project Binky Episode 2 for examples....
I have a clubby in my shop right now that makes this car look solid as a rock by comparison....so don't feel bad about finding corrosion and holes in it...they pretty much all do it!
Great to see another one getting fixed up again. What didn't you like about the Zmax body kit? Looks like it was missing the front bumper and valance part of the kit? Will you go back with Sport pack arches or.....?
Hopefully I didn't screw anything up by not doing a diagonal brace across the door openings :( . I figured the two box sections going across the floor would more than make up for the missing cross member. I'm also only going to do half the floor at a time, for whatever that's worth. But if conventional wisdom says to brace diagonally, I will do that.
The Zmax kit in my eyes just made the Mini seem bloated. Yes, it was missing the front bumper, rear bumper, and valence. The side skirts came off unscathed, some of the fiberglass came off the edge of the arches. I plan to go down to 10x4.5 wheels - no arches, just the chrome finishing strip.
In all honesty I've done half floors at a time with zero bracing and doors went back on just fine. I wouldn't sweat it.
Here's the previous owners album he started of the car.
http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=35
Awesome!
Removed most of the inner sill last night. Still need to get companion bin out. I have just realized that all of the sling brackets and floor to sill stiffeners have rusted away. Damn oversills.
(http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u428/psumini/12-2-2015%209-53-21%20AM_zpsqqkpdnuz.jpg)
I assume at the very least I will need 29, 9, and 26?
Those are not imperative but 9 is if you intend to jack the car up from the jacking point mount.
I always jack the car up from the subframe. If not needed, I probably won't bother with them.
I almost want to say the end pieces were used by the factory to roll the car around during assembly, but someone would need to verify that.
I think your right. Numbers 27 and 30 were the sling brackets used by the factory. I guess the floor to sill stiffeners (26, 29) were to provide the shell with extra rigidity while being slung around by those points.
My old Jag had a similar problem, someone had welded on new outer sills without bothering to fix all the rot inside.....looked perfectly fine till I opened it up.
Definitely put the stiffening brackets back in.
Sorry to veer off topic a little.
Looking at that diagram raises a question for me about the crossmember
My 61 has the smooth outer sills...outer sill and floor are one piece. If worst case scenerio I needed to replace the crossmember ( round tunnel ) would the new one be long enough to reach the inner sills?
Quote from: Spitz on December 02, 2015, 10:20:24 AM
Sorry to veer off topic a little.
Looking at that diagram raises a question for me about the crossmember
My 61 has the smooth outer sills...outer sill and floor are one piece. If worst case scenerio I needed to replace the crossmember ( round tunnel ) would the new one be long enough to reach the inner sills?
I'd imagine so, I don't believe any dimensions have changed.