project car questions..
Discussion
Right i have JUST received my project car body, its an old T reg (1979 Mk3)
obviously it has rust, the major bits being:
- driver side "lower rear quarter" just in front of the wheel arch has mostly dissappeared.
- driver side "door step" (on top of the sill, where the door closes) looking very sorry.
- driver side, the bit that the door hinges attach to on the body, nos sure what its called.
(god knows why its so bad on that side??!!)
questions:
- where to get replacement panels from, ive looked at www.hytheperformance.co.uk, their prices look more than reasonable.
- whats the best bit of kit to remove the rusted surface of other parts?
- whats the easiest way to remove the windscreen and rear window? (other than a hammer - i.e no damage)
- the "seams" that stick out from the body (between rear quarter and boot) - how are they constructed? they have rotted down both sides, not deep enough to worry about, but are they folded over or what?
thanks in advance!
Peter
obviously it has rust, the major bits being:
- driver side "lower rear quarter" just in front of the wheel arch has mostly dissappeared.
- driver side "door step" (on top of the sill, where the door closes) looking very sorry.
- driver side, the bit that the door hinges attach to on the body, nos sure what its called.
(god knows why its so bad on that side??!!)
questions:
- where to get replacement panels from, ive looked at www.hytheperformance.co.uk, their prices look more than reasonable.
- whats the best bit of kit to remove the rusted surface of other parts?
- whats the easiest way to remove the windscreen and rear window? (other than a hammer - i.e no damage)
- the "seams" that stick out from the body (between rear quarter and boot) - how are they constructed? they have rotted down both sides, not deep enough to worry about, but are they folded over or what?
thanks in advance!
Peter
Edited by darkcat on Thursday 29th July 17:31
I've found http://www.somerford-mini.co.uk/ very nice to deal with, and very good prices - plus if you call them they're very knowledgeable...
A good starting point for getting parts is get one of the mini mags. A lot of adds for panels and you can look at the prices.
The rust removel is a hard one. Depending on the finish the part etc, Drill with wire brush, shot blasting, sanding.
The seams on a mini are spot welded. The vertical ones then have metel covers on.
The rust removel is a hard one. Depending on the finish the part etc, Drill with wire brush, shot blasting, sanding.
The seams on a mini are spot welded. The vertical ones then have metel covers on.
the windows come out easy
pull the silver filler 'key' out, then get inside and lay down and put your foot in one top corner and push gentley - have someone on the outside to catch the screen as they can sometimes 'pop' out quite fast and surprise you!
if you push with your foot your well out the way if (and its a big if) the screen breaks or cracks.
ive done thousands of screens and never seen a toughend one brack, but have had the odd laminated one crack - if your worried that this may happen you can cut the seal away between the key slot and the glass with a sharp blade, then the screen will come out like a rocket!
once the top corner is out, you can go outside and tug the screen with your hands (wear gloves) if your on your own as its easy to control the rate of escape from the seal this way.
easy!
pull the silver filler 'key' out, then get inside and lay down and put your foot in one top corner and push gentley - have someone on the outside to catch the screen as they can sometimes 'pop' out quite fast and surprise you!
if you push with your foot your well out the way if (and its a big if) the screen breaks or cracks.
ive done thousands of screens and never seen a toughend one brack, but have had the odd laminated one crack - if your worried that this may happen you can cut the seal away between the key slot and the glass with a sharp blade, then the screen will come out like a rocket!
once the top corner is out, you can go outside and tug the screen with your hands (wear gloves) if your on your own as its easy to control the rate of escape from the seal this way.
easy!
Glass is easy, though I have never used the 'push with your feet' idea.
I always open the door window, push with the palm of my hand in the top corner and get ready to hold the glass with the other hand when it comes out. once the two corners on one side are out the glass will slide sideways away from the end thats still held by the rubber.
All that is after taking the silver strip out obviously
I always open the door window, push with the palm of my hand in the top corner and get ready to hold the glass with the other hand when it comes out. once the two corners on one side are out the glass will slide sideways away from the end thats still held by the rubber.
All that is after taking the silver strip out obviously
I've bought genuine Heritage panels from Mini Spares and most of my non-gen ones from M-Machine (http://www.m-machine.co.uk), both very helpful. I've also used panels made by Hadrian from some local motor factors. Obviously genuine has a price premium but they should fit a little easier. The genuine ones are also usually made from thicker material
I've repaired the same areas you list on mine, the last one I think is the A post if I'm reading it right!
My weapon of choice for surface rust is one of those twisted wire brushes in an angle grinder, appropriate PPE a must unless you like picking bits of wire out of your face
When removing screens, if its been in a while the seal can stick slightly. I've found it useful sometimes to run a plastic scraper (or something that won't scratch) under the edge of the seal to make sure it's free of the screen after I've taken the sealing strip out. On the last one I did the seal needed replacing anyway so I just cut the top half away and lifted the screen out
The covers over the seam should pop off, they have some little clips underneath that attach them to the seam itself.
I've repaired the same areas you list on mine, the last one I think is the A post if I'm reading it right!
My weapon of choice for surface rust is one of those twisted wire brushes in an angle grinder, appropriate PPE a must unless you like picking bits of wire out of your face
When removing screens, if its been in a while the seal can stick slightly. I've found it useful sometimes to run a plastic scraper (or something that won't scratch) under the edge of the seal to make sure it's free of the screen after I've taken the sealing strip out. On the last one I did the seal needed replacing anyway so I just cut the top half away and lifted the screen out
The covers over the seam should pop off, they have some little clips underneath that attach them to the seam itself.
Well got the glass out, was very easy, i just cut the rubbers out!
I have ordered all the bits i need to replace, so this weekend should be fun..!
Does anyone know of an exploded diagram of the a-post area? (internal hinges) as im struggling to figure out how its supposed to be constructed, mine is just a big flakey brown mess!!!!
im sure it will be reasonably obvious when the panels arrive..
I have ordered all the bits i need to replace, so this weekend should be fun..!
Does anyone know of an exploded diagram of the a-post area? (internal hinges) as im struggling to figure out how its supposed to be constructed, mine is just a big flakey brown mess!!!!
im sure it will be reasonably obvious when the panels arrive..
darkcat said:
Well got the glass out, was very easy, i just cut the rubbers out!
I have ordered all the bits i need to replace, so this weekend should be fun..!
Does anyone know of an exploded diagram of the a-post area? (internal hinges) as im struggling to figure out how its supposed to be constructed, mine is just a big flakey brown mess!!!!
im sure it will be reasonably obvious when the panels arrive..
Go to the Downloads section on the somerford mini site (link above), download the panels pdfs there are some images in thereI have ordered all the bits i need to replace, so this weekend should be fun..!
Does anyone know of an exploded diagram of the a-post area? (internal hinges) as im struggling to figure out how its supposed to be constructed, mine is just a big flakey brown mess!!!!
im sure it will be reasonably obvious when the panels arrive..
Oh and if it hasn't been suggested, buy a haynes manual.
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