Bodywork Help

Hi All,

Not been on for some time

Recently been let down by several people that were going to do bodywork fit new front

Few pointers please Books recomendations, would you fit the front A panels wings before doors

Who does the back pannel

Thanks

evlin64 wrote:Hi All,

Not been on for some time

Recently been let down by several people that were going to do bodywork fit new front

Few pointers please Books recomendations, would you fit the front A panels wings before doors

Who does the back pannel

Thanks

Good to see you are back on track.

I have found keeping the front panel bolted to the subframe a good datum and if possible keep the bonnet on but remove the grill, for obvious reasons, as all Elf and Hornet owners know (you can remove the bonnet when your are happy with the wing fit on both sides and have started the welding process). Using these will enable you to achieve even gaps between the bonnet and wings. I haven't tackled an external hinge car before and as the "A" panels (external in internal) support the weight of the door, I would get this sorted before attaching the wings. Door fit can be adjusted but I don't know by how much. One thing I found before applying your first plug or spot weld is to assemble the wings with self tapping screws, don't worry about the small drill holes, as these can be plug welded and ground back later. Even genuine Heritage panels don't fit too well and you will need to adjust things serveral times to get a good fit. Talking of panels, if your budget allows, go for Heritage items as they are generally of better quality and have a primered finish, just needing flatting.
If you need more help, let me know. As with all Mini variants, always be prepared for more work than you can see, what looks reasonable on the surface can hide a few unexpected horrors. One good thing, other than the front panel and bonnet, the rest is pure Mini, so panels are readily available.

Good luck and keep us up to date with your progress.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew

Looking forward to geting Evlin back to some sort of resonable condition

Have sent you e-mail re bonnet spear

Will take pics of progress

Hi

There is a book on the market about restoration for minis, but not sure who it is by - a friend has just bought it and said it is pretty good - I will try and find out if you are interested.

Panel wise, as Andrew said it is mostly Mini. Rear valance is available from a chap in Bradford, again I can dig out contact details. Boot extension and supports are available from me (www.catmint.biz) (I don't like blowing my own trumpet on here but since no one has done it yet I had better). If you can justify the cost go Heritage or M Machine. The boot slam panel is not available - this is a repair job I am afraid (I did have a price of about £200 each to get them made - just a tad too expensive).

with regard to A panels - have the doors and hinges you are going to use ready, fit new door seals to the car, fit the doors by taping them in position and using lumps of card to space the door edges equally, and then line up the A panels to this. If you are using new heritage doors, you may have to twist them to get a better fit ( BMC had a special tool for this - a piece of 2 x 2 hardwood batton they would put thro the window frame to twist the door !)

Hope this helps a bit, any more questions please ask - we are here to help.

On a slightly different note, I see you are in Cumbria. If you are board on sunday, there a a rally running from Penrith Truck stop. First car is away at 9.30 am and straight into a test at the truckstop I think. we will be there about 8ish for scrutineering in Humphrey. About a dozen minis in - a fair few S's at that. Unfortunatley there is no spectator sections (apart from the tests at the truck stop) unless you want to sign up and marshall for the day which is nothing too involved, usually sat somewhere watching a bunch of classics getting thrashed, making sure they don't go wrong at your observation point. details are here lake district classic rally

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

Sorry for the late reply, thanks for the advice on bodywork looking to get started on Evlin next month new wings & A pannels ordered and a few bids on ebay,
marshalling on rallies is something I would consider, did do a bit when I was younger along with 12 car night rallies in Mini's.

Thanks

Lindsay