Lone Star Mini Restoration

Started by Lone Star Mini, August 31, 2017, 10:25:30 AM

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MiniDave

I'm not sure what you're going for here....to me being able to rotate to the desired position for welding and such is the only real goal here, it's not like you need to be able to spin it......and it looks like you're there.

Remember if you're going to cut out substantial amounts of metal you'll need to cross brace the shell first so it doesn't distort and things still fit when you go to put it back together.

If you watch Project Binky, there is a good example of why and how to do it.

I haven't seen your daughter in any of the pics lately, is she still helping you?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Lone Star Mini

@MiniDave.. you are absolutely correct.  I have accomplished the goal however just a little disappointed in that it took three people to spin the shell.  I will make one last attempt of adjusting the pivot point after having an epiphany on the subject.

As for my daughter, I have given her an 'excused absence' since this was a rotisserie challenge and not an actual restoration task.
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

94touring

You just need a winch to aid in rotating it.  Even if you have the car nats assed centered it's going to be a bear to turn by hand. 

Lone Star Mini

Okay gents, I can now consider Milestone #2 (Rotisserie) completed.  In order to gain a semi-balanced shell, I had to rotate the 'T-support' 180 degrees from what the rotisserie instruction manual states.  I also had to modify the rotisserie in order to level front to back.  I have concluded that this rotisserie, while fantastic for modern American cars, was not made for the size of the Mini and the low center of gravity.  I am still unable to get a perfect balance, but I did manage well enough so that the rotation is now a one person operation.  The video link shows my daughter rotating and locking at 90 degree points.  It's all a learning curve for me, but the time & effort should save my back and knees while working the shell.   I have kept copious notes on how to attach and install the rotisserie right down to jack stand heights.  I have another restoration following this one and I can't rely on my memory and I don't want to repeat my trial and errors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPqa407YcEU
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

94touring

I stand corrected, looks easy to turn!

Lone Star Mini

I've been so focused on the rotisserie that I've lost sight of my next task.  I will go around the shell taking pictures and then attempt a little sand blasting of the bottom.  I bought some play sand, but the stuff was wet.  It seems to be taking forever to dry.  Until I can afford the system that Dan has, I have borrowed a 110 lb Harbor Freight unit. 
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

94touring

Find a local place that sells fine sand.  It will be sifted (play sand will clog tips) and cost about half what you're paying at a hardware store.

Lone Star Mini

Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

Lone Star Mini

Today I developed a little fear...   After learning how the wiring routing was accomplished, I removed all wiring in the shell.  Then removed battery cable, fuel and brake lines.  I found loads of foam padding stuffed in all interior seams and I remove the headliner padding.  Then I decided to clean a random spot which began my fear... as I wire brushed away about .25"-.5" deep bondo on the bottom panel.  I found what appears to be a rather large hole that looks to have a patch job from the inside.  Along side the hole, was a freak'n alaska size crevice totally hidden by bondo.  Oh Dear Lord, deep sigh as now I find what the true condition of the shell is like.  Of course I have zero comparison therefore what appears to be horrible to me might be the expected norm.  I wish I could do this mod solely on my own, but I'm forced to seek advice.  Anyone that reads this and is able to offer suggestions, I do greatly appreciate your help even though I fear of continually receiving as opposed to giving back to the community.  My first repair question would be for the large patched hole, is it best to replace sections for the entire floor pan or repair stuff like this?  I don't even know if the floor pan comes in different sections or if it's one entire piece....  I will take the grinder for some true focus this weekend.   
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

MiniDave

#259
Well, I'll defer to Dan's judgement ultimately, but if it was me I'd simply cut out the bad part till I got to good metal, then bend up some new stuff to match and weld it in. You can buy partial floors, and the toeboard is simply a flat section of metal with a bend in it.



But before you order anything, I'd carefully assess the rest of the car....at some point this may become a job for someone more experienced - like Dan.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

Dan can't take on anymore projects  ;D

Ok so a mini restoration the majority of the time is finding horrible patches done with bondo, chicken wire, clothe, and any other variety of ridiculous items to stuff holes with.  It's up to you to decide if buying a panel is necessary or fabricating a patch panel.  You'll want a small metal brake.  When buying panels you then need to decide if you need to replace the whole panel or just a section of it. If you click through my various projects thread or many of my others, you'll see many examples of crazy things found and patch/panel replacements.

MiniDave

Yeah, check out the thread on Rusty!
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

BruceK

My car had cotton balls stuffed in the sill.    :-[
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

MiniDave

One of our members did his toeboard recently..... http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=1304.0

This car was so bad I had to put boards under the entire car to pick it up on my lift...........

http://www.restorationmini.com/forum/index.php?topic=877.0

Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

Lone Star Mini

Wow..  did Rusty get finished?  Just before reading these posts, thank you, I was at Mini Spares looking at the their floor panels.  I'm all for assessing the entire floor panel, but I like the idea of replacing the entire (or parts) opposed to fixing multiple rust spots.  I will know more in the next few days as I begin to clean up the floor panel.  I may have to put the pressure washer and blast kit on the back burner and focus on a welder so that I can begin hands-on training.  Our local Community college stopped giving welding night courses.. dang it all.. 
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

94touring

#265
Rusty is collecting dust in my shop waiting for me to finish up everyone else.

Lone Star Mini

#266
Outside of a wonderful dinner with my girls, I was able to spend all day on the Mini.  Cleaning the bottom was therapeutic in a way so I didn't mind even after I decided I would replace the floor panel.  There are respectable rustic holes in all four corners of the floor pan.  The entire left side had been replaced at one time evident of the spot weld job/replacement.  While it seems repairable, I would feel much better to have a clean slate.  Questions:
- The full floor pan is $237 (w/o cross beam) and would most likely save grief replacing it all at once, therefore what do I need to consider when replacing the entire floor?   
http://www.minispares.com/product/Classic/Body/Panel/Floor/CZH2669.aspx?030707&ReturnUrl=/search/classic/floor%20panel.aspx|Back%20to%20search
- Is there a sequence to replacing panels?  Can I replace the floor first.. then if need be, can other wings, etc.. be replaced later?
- If replacing the floor panel, it is recommend that I replace the panels going around the perimeter of the floor panel?  I'm not sure, but I believe the panel in front (toe?) and panel in back of the main floor panel appear to be 'acceptable'
- Minor, but I'm Unable to locate all the rubber grommets that cover up holes.. Does Mini Spares have these?
-  Since I'm considering removing the entire floor panel, will I need to weld in braces to keep the shell from twisting?
- There are quite a few floor to sill or floor to bench, etc..  bracketry any recommendations?
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

Lone Star Mini

Much appreciation to Dan today after meeting him in person.  I learned some tricks along with re-emphasizing just how much I have to learn from body work to engines and carburetors.   So much respect goes out to all of you guys/gals!!   MiniDave,  saw one of your red shells at Dan's.  I have a picture for you that I think may interest you.. but I can't find it..  Dan, you're awesome, thanks again!!
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

MiniDave

When it comes to the Mini body, Dan's the man!   77.gif

Let me know if you find the pic.....
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

94touring

It was nice meeting you and glad I could help.

Looking at your floors more closely now after discussing your concerns, it looks like from the one pic someone put on non vented pieces of metal as an over cill. At least that's how it looks from my phone.  Air chisel it off to assess the damage underneath.  Otherwise I'm seeing 4 corners that can be patched up with grafted up floor patch panels relatively easily.

MiniDave

#270
I dunno, that last pic makes me wonder if he won't need to do a heelboard repair too, at least on the ends where the subframe attaches.........and sills for sure.

but I agree there's no reason to change out the entire floor panel just to fix the corners and sills. Also, if you do one corner at a time, I don't think you'll need to weld in any cross braces.

When you buy or borrow your welder, you'll get much better results with a Mig with gas as compared to one with flux core wire and no gas. Dan did a lot of welding with flux core, but once he got his Mig with gas it made a huge difference, not just in the quality of weld that he could do but also in clean up and lack of splatter. The only disadvantage of using shielding gas is you can't do it outside if there's much of a breeze (it blows the shielding gas out of the area of the weld, giving poor weld results) Other than that - it's the way to go for sheet metal repairs.

Other areas to check carefully for rust - the A panels and the corners of the scuttle under the windshield, and the boot floor, right at the very back where it meets up with the valance - where the bumper bolts on - and around the battery box. Lastly, under the rear quarter glasses - if those seals leak water eats the supports under the window.
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

joakwin

when I was rebuilding the body on my mini, I had a patch panel that was bondo out the outside and then cardboard behind that and duck tape to hold the cardboard in place and then the inside had some paint on it that was kinda of like bed liner to cover the duck tape
the metal in that area was rusted out and I ended up just grinding the bondo away till I found clean metal with no rust spots
ended up replacing a panel that was about 18 inches long by 6 inches

also flux core burns hotter then gas shielding, because most of the time .23 wire is used for that style of welding on body panels and the smallest wire made for flux core welding is .30 wire, but most normal places like home depot or lowes mostly carry the .35 or .45 flux core wire, thicker wire needs more heat to burn, and the mini body panels are thin to start out with and then add on the rust everywhere that has been eating at the metal, pretty simple to burn a hole...no fun



D16z6 Automatic, 4 wheel disc brakes, deseamed shell

Lone Star Mini

Thanks all for the help/suggestions.  I will focus first on removing the over-sill to discover what may be hiding underneath.  Yes, I plan on getting a Mig system, but just can't swing it right now - especially with Christmas upon us.    Although the more I think about it, I need to blast the car first just to discover what all panels need work.    I know to use a air chisel, but any suggestions on just removing the over-sill - exact seam location to work on?

Dave..  these pictures are for you, but I can't find the picture of the engine itself.  This guy Dean put this 3200 cc engine in the back of the mini.  I'm hoping to go by and see him in two weeks while I'm in Georgia.
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)

94touring

Depending on the weld job on the custom oversill, you may find cutting it off works best.  I am willing to be there's a lack of tack welds and more bead welding, which the air chisel is no match for.

Lone Star Mini

 thanks Dan.. where does it typically attach along the outbd/top seam and inbd seam?
Lone Star Mini
1982 Morris Mini 1000HL (heck of a lot of work ahead of me)
1992(?) Mini Cooper
1964 Austin Cooper
1980 Mini 95 (Pickup)