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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.
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 garage has been a bit chilly the last few days. With a couple of hours here and there you can make progress. I do have a propane heater for it when it gets really cold. Anyway on with the work.
Final cut out of the floor
Strengthening the corners of the M-machine panels before fitting
Final weld thru primer before bracket welded on
Starting to tack the repair floor panel into the floor. I work one side at a time to allow for expansion in as many directions as possible
Working my way across the floor
The inner wing will be repaired afterwards. The blocks of wood are used to screw the self-taper screws which squeezes the panels together.
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.
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.
I noticed the e-coating protection on this heritage panel was quite lumpy. I wasn't sure if it was just excess e-coat or something else, anyway, I started sanding only to reveal loads of surface rust on the panel. Sanded back with 100 grit and then treated with a phosphoric acid solution.
Has anyone else found this issue and how do most people prepare the panels before painting with epoxy?
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.
I have started applying epoxy primer to the skins and frames of the boot and doors before assembly. My first day spraying on the boot skin and frame was hit and miss. I got a few runs but can sand it down when it is fully cured. My big mistake was not predicting that the panels would start spinning around once I pulled the trigger on the spray gun... and I wasn't able to hold my position with the gun ... doh!
The other mistake was underestimating the volume of paint required. I originally only made up 100mls for the boot and I needed another 200mls. All learning of course.
I also finished off the inner wing repair section that joins to the driver's side floor.
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.
Weather was great today so was able to apply some epoxy outside (too messy indoors) on the door hinges, boot hinges, rear valance and the closing panels under the front wings.
I will need to scrape some of it off and apply weld through primer before spot welding but as you know some areas are not accessible after they are welded in place. Hopefully the epoxy will protect it for a long time.
To improve air quality for painting I have added this 1/2 inch T piece between the regulator and inline lubricator for the air tools. I have a separate air hose only for painting and have kept the connector (pcl) different from all the rest (euro) to avoid the air hose getting contaminated.
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.
While the weather isn't great at the moment, I managed to get a few hours of sunshine this morning that allowed me to get a first coat of epoxy primer on the door frames.
It's taking a while to dial in the settings of the spray gun but I am getting close. Last time the paint had too much orange peel, so I closed the fan by half a turn, kept the pressure at 25psi and brought it a little closer to the panel. I have a few runs unfortunately but the wetter application is much smoother. I will sand out the runs and apply a second coat where I missed or rubbed through to the metal.
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: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2025 5:42 pm
Hi Conor, looking good as usual! You'd hardly be too bothered about the runs if they're inside the door frame?
Don't forget the seam sealer around the inner edge of the door skin/frame before you fold over the edges
Agree, the runs on the in side are not an issue. Yes I picked up a tube of tigerseal to do just that. Everyday is a learning day
