1998 Mini Cooper. Strip to the shell rebuild

[-ghost-]

That looks heavy can't wait to see what you do to it even if I'm not a mini fan.

[spice_weazle]

Excellent. Another epic Petrol rebuild. Will be keeping an on this thread as Im sure it will be as inspirational and as informative as your s13 and s14 builds.

[M.D.]

If you need to replace sills etc you can't just spot welt them. For MOT the repairs need to be a continuous weld the whole length of the repair.
I believe if your careful though and replace the whole panel on the original joins its a different matter.

I think my main reason for hating them is due to working on them so many times. Everything is a ball ache to work on and after you make them mint you get in them and drive a rattly noisy slow car that's hugely overrated.

On the other hand they can be fun too. I currently have one in my workshop now that's undergoing a full resto with the rear end properly changed to accommodate coilovers and a beam rather than the rotting subframe.
Done one before but it's too tight with the stock inner arches so we have done this one with new strut towers and arch tubs. Big job but looks much better.

[Petrol]

Complete replacement panels can be spot welded, repairs like inner and outer sills have to be seam welded. I want to get rid of the sunroof so will have to fit a new roof skin. Spot welder will be used for the complete front end replacement and roof skin. I'm not very good at welding so hopefully it will make replacing these panels a bit easier.

Stripped most of the engine bay out today and now looks like this


IMG_3061.jpg

TBH it's not like working on a mini built in the 70's They have added that much that the engine bay is full of fuel injection gubbins and stuff like servo's. Not easy to say the least.
I could do to get an auto darkening welding mask to make the mig welding a bit easier. Can anyone recommend one?

Thanks for looking

[Deacon]

Are you gonna ditch the sports pack arches ?

[Mike41288]

I could do to get an auto darkening welding mask to make the mig welding a bit easier. Can anyone recommend one?

Anything Speedglas is usually a good shout. I got mine a few years ago for about £200, can pick them up now for £100-£150 new.

[Petrol]

Are you gonna ditch the sports pack arches ?

No, Mika wants to fit deep dish rims to fill them. The only other mod for the mo will be the seats.

Anything Speedglas is usually a good shout. I got mine a few years ago for about £200, can pick them up now for £100-£150 new.

Thanks, I bid just over £100 for a used one on ebay tonight but missed it by £20. That one had air feed though. Is there anything else a bit less expensive? I appreciate you only get what you pay for but once this shell is welded up, I won't need it anymore.

Just to add, I paid £2,400 for the Min- exactly the same for our 05 Clio base model, 1 owner, 38K miles a couple of years ago Oh and our S13 was a grand less at £1400

[M.D.]

I have a speed glass and I have a £45 one that I use for mig welding. I try to keep the speed glass for clean tig welding.

Anyway. The cheap eBay one works perfectly well for general welding and makes life so much easier than a fixed one.

[-ghost-]

I just got the clarke auto tint one done a far bit of welding with it seems much easier.

[nismo]

I got a cheap one for £40 works fine. Will try and get the make when I next go in the garage.

[Petrol]

Thanks for your help Might have a few welding questions later on

Got the engine out, unlike the CA it took 2 mins

IMG_3118.jpg

Looks pretty good in there, won't bore you with all the details here but if anyone is interested, the full thread is on the Mini forum here

http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums...r-13i-rebuild/

[turboflash]

Good to see another Petrol rebuild thread, and this one with the iconic Mini

Will be keeping an eye on this and good luck and hope you don't find any nasty surprises, although you seem to of already got around to finding out the panels you need.

Will be good to see it finished to a ' Better than new' finish

[nismo]

Hi Petrol.

Sorry for the delay in replying about the screen. Mine is a true fusion screen, you can get them on Amazon from £30 upwards.

[Petrol]

No probs, ordered one from Amazon

It's stripped to the shell now, made this dolly for it

IMG_3319.jpg

[The Roadie]

Just noticed this thread! Best small car ever haha!!

Just took my '94 Spi off the road after 9 years of ownership and 178k miles!! Who says they don't last! Unfortunately I don't have the time to sort it out, so I'm storing it for a while. Bit gutted tbh! Oh well, it will come back much better - including a 1399 with a Bill Richards cylinder head!!

Noticed you are from the the North West and you had a Mini Technique van in your pics. I've been part of Manchester Minis for what seems like forever, pop down on a Wednesday if you fancy it! Of course its mainly Minis but people turn up with Jap stuff, Classics, old Fords and even a "lead sled" Rover P5B with a 351 Cleveland V8 in!!

Not sure about the comment about the sills - the outers were only spot welded on when they rolled out of Longbridge. For a repair yes, but to replace the whole lot you can just spot them.

I know you are modding interior but personally I'd keep it if you are keeping the car original. If not, take it out carefully, including the headlining and carpet and sell the job lot. Blue leather was an expensive and rare option when new. Usually only see that on Surf Blue cars too.

If you ever need help message me, I'm not quite so hot on mpi's but I'm more than familiar with Spi's. Plus I have a Rover dealership Microcheck unit knocking about. Can run all the tests, even do the airbag etc.

They are IMO the cheapest car to restore too!! Small, fun, cheap to run!

Cheers,
Edd

[Petrol]

Thanks Will give you a shout if I need any info.

This is a joint project with Mika, my son. I'm just trying to pass on everything I know before I call it a day I am sure we will pop over to one of the meets though Thanks for the heads up on the interior. Might be best if we keep it though storage space is a problem

Stripped out the bitumen sound proofing. This was stuck over the Electrocoat and in some cases, straight to bare metal



Typical Rover This car is newer than my S14

[Petrol]

Another question guys There is a lot of grinding to do and want something a better than safety goggles. Is this a better option?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portwest-P...item27cbf44a12

Or if someone can recommend some proper eye protection, I would appreciate it

Thanks for looking

[LED sandwich]

That mask would do it, there are some really posh ones on the market which will offer a little more protection.

[LED sandwich]

Sorry ive just seen you want an auto welding mask too, i have a cheap i think 80 quid esab one that works spot on. basically the cheaper ones wont let as much light through as a speedglass one when the polarization is off so you need to work in better lighting conditions.

You can get masks that will do both welding and grinding but i have no experience with them.

[59bhp]

have you considered acid dipping and a electro coat primer? never see rust ever again after that!