Welcome to the Irish Mini Owners Club forum. Celebrating 30 years of the Irish Mini Owners Club, 60 years of the Mini, 50 years of the Clubman and 20 years of our flagship event MTM
What Minis have you?: I owned a 1978 Mini 850 when I was in my late teens. I owned a 1986 Mini Chelsea that I imported from the UK. Also owned a 1982 MG Metro that was bored out to 1293. Restoring a 1981 Dublin Mini City.
Tacked in the floor patch panel against the tunnel.
I have also tacked the side that will be butt welded
M-machine panel didn't fit against the inner sill so I have made a relief cut and will put an additional patch in later.
The flute in the M-machine panel is narrower than the original one so I have put in cuts that allows the flute to widen and reshape to the original floor.
Plug welds have gone really well using a 6.5mm hole and a 3mm hole in the back of the other panel
It's a day's work to get it this far, but if you rush it, it will not come out well.
What's the thinking behind the 3mm hole on the lower panel? Seems like it would blow through fairly quickly, quicker than if it was just the 6.8mm hole on one side?
I was less technical with matching the flutes on the repair panels lol, bashed them into shape with hammer and dolly...
What Minis have you?: I owned a 1978 Mini 850 when I was in my late teens. I owned a 1986 Mini Chelsea that I imported from the UK. Also owned a 1982 MG Metro that was bored out to 1293. Restoring a 1981 Dublin Mini City.
The 3mm hole was used with the Cleco clips that I used to align the panel. It helped to always put the panel back into the same spot when doing all the measuring and cutting. I just drilled out one side to 6.5mm for the plug weld. If you use your normal thin sheet welding settings then you won't blow through the hole.
I was wondering the same thing about the holes. Personally I'm a hammer and dolly man myself, you'd be amazed what you can achieve with a bit of practice
What Minis have you?: I owned a 1978 Mini 850 when I was in my late teens. I owned a 1986 Mini Chelsea that I imported from the UK. Also owned a 1982 MG Metro that was bored out to 1293. Restoring a 1981 Dublin Mini City.
What Minis have you?: I owned a 1978 Mini 850 when I was in my late teens. I owned a 1986 Mini Chelsea that I imported from the UK. Also owned a 1982 MG Metro that was bored out to 1293. Restoring a 1981 Dublin Mini City.
What Minis have you?: I owned a 1978 Mini 850 when I was in my late teens. I owned a 1986 Mini Chelsea that I imported from the UK. Also owned a 1982 MG Metro that was bored out to 1293. Restoring a 1981 Dublin Mini City.
colinf1 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 24, 2024 3:51 pm
Should be ready for Sunday's show in Portlaoise?
Haha I wish.
I started the cleanup on the driver's side today.
I have discovered that HG rust remover is brilliant at cleaning up rusty panels. It contains Phosphoric Acid and when applied from a spray bottle 1:3 mix and agitated with a brush it removes the rust in minutes. Obviously, PPE required. I might use it on all the existing spot weld joints to kill off any hidden rust.
What Minis have you?: I owned a 1978 Mini 850 when I was in my late teens. I owned a 1986 Mini Chelsea that I imported from the UK. Also owned a 1982 MG Metro that was bored out to 1293. Restoring a 1981 Dublin Mini City.
