79 Canadian Mini

Started by skmini, December 30, 2015, 12:07:37 PM

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94touring

Those doors are surprisingly heavy with all the gear and guts.  I mentioned in another thread this week I did a winder to slider conversion with plexi and aluminum skins and dropped a ton of weight. 

Jimini II

A friend of mine owned a 90's Rover Mini cabriolet and the po had converted the doors to outside hinges without removing any weight from them.
The doors were so heavy the pins were starting to wear out with less than 3k miles on them.

skmini

Right door in.  Hard to tell in the picture, but he gaps aren't perfect just above the door handle and along the A panel.  I'll be doing an extra bit of work there with some filler rod.  I also made a bit of a mess of things as I bent the flange over, but I'm hoping a bit more work with the hammer and dolly and some filler will help there.  Other than that, it actually fits better than before I took everything apart.


94touring

Will hinge shims solve the problem?

skmini

No, although I have done a bunch of fooling around with hinge shims already to get it mostly square in the opening.  So, the swage line lines up, the latch lines up, the latch side is mostly good, the rear lower corner is good and the lower edge is good.  The hinge side is just a bit too close near the top and a bit too far at the bottom.  If I shim it so the hinge side is good, then the rest is too far out.  I ground the edge back a bit at the top, so that's now looking good, but I just need to add something less than a 1/8" on the bottom of the hinge side to even it out.

Some of this comes back to your previous comment about mounting the door when fitting the door step, which I didn't do, claiming the door skin seemed to fit.  Next time.

MiniDave

yes, but even so it will still be better than it was when new! Remember, these were cheap throwaway cars when new.....don't get your door-to-panel gaps too tight, have to leave room for the paint.

I think it's coming along great!  4.gif
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

skmini

Quote from: MiniDave on February 24, 2021, 04:39:00 PM
yes, but even so it will still be better than it was when new! Remember, these were cheap throwaway cars when new.....don't get your door-to-panel gaps too tight, have to leave room for the paint.

I think it's coming along great!  4.gif

Thanks!  I get a big grin on my face when I look at what I've got done so far.  Considering all the panels I replaced without the benefit of factory jigs, I'm pretty happy with how everything has fit.  I wouldn't want to try rolling a marble on them, but the gaps around the door are much better now.  If you look carefully in the before picture, you can see how the right rear side was hit at some point: the seam trim is bent and you can see the outline of the inner fender on the outside.  Also, the door stuck out a bit at the bottom rear corner.

skmini

#82
As I was looking through old pictures of the Mini, I found this one with the Mini and my '77 VW Bus.  Just like the Mini, I had maintained it mechanically, even putting in a rebuilt engine, but the rocker panels were mostly rust.  The floor was in pretty good shape, but the nose had a bunch of filler in it and there was enough rust around the windshield that water would leaked in and drip onto the fuse panel.  Too bad I didn't buy a mig welder and some replacement panels at that time instead of selling it.  Also, I was running out of parking spots.

94touring

I've been bus obsessed since buying mine! 

skmini

I spent a fair number of years obsessing over air cooled VWs.  I also had a '58 Canadian standard Beetle.  The bus was my daily driver for a few years.  The gas heater they put in the later busses was great, instant heat even in extreme cold.  I had a set of Hakkapeliitta winter tires for it in the correct size and load range.  Winter tires, engine over the drive wheels and lots of ground clearance made it great in the snow.  4x8 sheets of plywood?  No problem.  5x5 sheets of baltic birch?  No problem.  14' pieces of baseboard?  No problem.  All the gear for a 17-piece big band?  No problem.  Camping trip to California?  No problem.

skmini

#85
The checkstrap bracket had been ripped out of the left side door at some point before my wife bought the Mini.  Someone had also pointed a welder at it before she bought it, which didn't help.  So, this whole time there has been no checkstrap, which meant the door had a crease in it where it had been opened too far and hit the A pillar.  I spent a lot of time thinking about how to fix this and decided to cut the sheet metal back a fair bit, cut the hinge reinforcement back and then replace it all with good metal including a new checkstrap bracket.

I bought a used door in anticipation of this, but it turned out to be fairly badly rusted, so I fixed what I had.

skmini

#86
Left door is in.  The frame required a lot of work to fix all the rust, and fitting the door involved a lot of trial fitting, tweaking, etc.  Not perfect, but it will hopefully look good from 20 feet once everything is painted. 

MiniDave

Wow, looks like the shell is mostly done?
Complete failure at retirement

1989 Cooper Racing Green
2009 Clubman S
2014 Audi Allroad

skmini

Getting close.  The welding is almost done.  I still need to get the boot lid to fit properly, and then finish welding a few more spots.

BruceK

Looks great.  I'm sure the panel fit will be better than what was done at the factory when new!
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

skmini

#90
I started trial fitting the trim.  I'd hate to figure out after painting that I needed to drill a hole, or that I didn't need a hole, or something needs to be bent a bit to make it fit.

MPlayle

Are you going to add the "whiskers" for the MK-I grill mustache?  It looks like you may need the holes for the mounting clips if you are putting them on.


skmini

Quote from: MPlayle on March 23, 2021, 07:07:01 AM
Are you going to add the "whiskers" for the MK-I grill mustache?  It looks like you may need the holes for the mounting clips if you are putting them on.

Yes, I ran out of time last night.  I also want to fit the door mirrors, rear license plate frame, and boot/bonnet badges.  I was going to put on Morris Mini Minor badges, but since I put on a version of a Morris Cooper grill, I might as well put on Morris Cooper badges too.  Don't tell the Cooper police.

Hercplt

Looks kinda cool not painted like it is...
1980 Mini 1000 (Canadian Spec).
998cc +60.  12G295 Head (ported, skimmed etc), VP7 Cam, Twin HS2.... sweet sweet 7.5" Cooper brakes!

BruceK

All the good Mk I vibes! 
1988 Austin Mini
2002 MINI Cooper S
1992 Toyota LiteAce (JDM)
1997 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

skmini

Quote from: Hercplt on March 24, 2021, 03:56:05 PM
Looks kinda cool not painted like it is...

I have thought about putting it all back together and driving it around a bit before painting it.

skmini

#96
Just need to fab up the bracket that moves the lamp down so the license plate fits properly.

Spitz

Thanks Dan... I'm in ( unrelated to the post )

At first glance I thought this was one of my old MINIs...but didn't have the pinstriping.

I'm up in PA....   if ever up this way, stop in.  I sold a 77 this past summer and a 61 Van.  Presently have an 89 and a 62 Woody.

Matthew

skmini

My wife bought the car from a family of Mini enthusiasts in Weyburn about 25 years ago.

As it happens, we go through PA quite often - we've got a place at Elkridge.  Once the weather warms up I'll see if I can stop by to say hi.

Spitz

If not already a member of the British Car Club...look into it.  Tonnes of members in Stoon