The final hurrah – S13, 25K miles, 1 owner from new, full refurb

[Petrol]

Thanks John, the sills are poorly designed and to be honest, it's a blessing they are as good as they are. Ive got some mods planned to hopefully make them last a lot longer -

New stiffener in place. This sits a lot higher than the stock one



This is the original outer sill which was welded to the bottom of the stiffener



It's not the best arrangement as the huge seam harbors rust. This is my new outer sill which won't be welded along the bottom of the stiffener, but welded along the sill lip



The sunroof drain pipes run straight into the sill box sections. To sort this, I've drilled a 20mm hole in the inner sill to extend them so they drain outside



Extension pipe and grommet

[Petrol]

Seam sealed the gap between the inner wing and turret



Plug welded the original plates back on. I used a wet rag to try to minimise burning the sealer



Electrox aerosol with a tube



Forced the primer right through the seam and inside the box sections at the back of the plug welds



Needs leaving a week or so before seam sealing

[CrazySx]

What seam sealer do you use Pete?

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[Petrol]

3M Polyurethane seam sealer. Best place to get it is direct from 3M -
http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-polyure...ack-310ml.html

Be wary of ebay as it has an expiry date

[CrazySx]

3M Polyurethane seam sealer. Best place to get it is direct from 3M -
http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-polyure...ack-310ml.html

Be wary of ebay as it has an expiry date

Thanks Peter, I shall take note

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[Jonny Wilkinson]

When I did the turret tops on mine, I just ran a bead of weld into the groove then ground the surface flat and painted with etchweld before plug welding the new strengthener plate on.

Was there a particular reason you chose to use seam sealer in the groove ?

[Petrol]

When I did the turret tops on mine, I just ran a bead of weld into the groove then ground the surface flat and painted with etchweld before plug welding the new strengthener plate on.

Was there a particular reason you chose to use seam sealer in the groove ?

Welding is not my forte Jonny I also didn't want to run heat inside of the box section and burn off any e-coat that was in there. As you pointed out, I think the reason they rot here is the lack of seam sealer from underneath and will address that

Started making a new outer sill.... curves and bends are complicated. If you haven't got use of a sheet metal bender, a black and decker work bench helps



Takes time with many trial fits



Guess this is the money shot. New outer sill will be welded to the sill lip rather than the stiffener. This gap will allow paint/box section wax to be applied




Pete

[skyshack]

The front part of the rear quarter panel is not the sill.

Your "stiffener" is the bottom of the SILL. The sill is a box section that runs the whole length of the side of the car. Just behind the door it is joggled and becomes an internal structure.

[Jonny Wilkinson]

I think he knows that. He's choosing to attach the outer skin to the sill rather than plug weld it to the bottom of the box section as, if he does the latter it will form an inaccessible area that will collect salty water and rot out again.

[Petrol]

There's that many bits inside of there I dunno what to call em The joggled part I replaced, I made out of 1.2mm steel. Joggling is a stiffening method but thicker steel should do the job.

Welded the sill on



Despite rebuilding a Mini shell, I still can't weld Right load of messing about getting this lot sorted. Lots of layers and folds



Whilst I'm sorting the shell, I'm also prepping panels ready for final paint



Couldn't decide what to do with the brake pipes as some of them are a bit of a mess. Guess this is the best option



Ive bought 50ft of Kunifer and a load of nuts. Should be a nice job in the garage when it's raining

[Squares]

Looking good Pete. Nice to meet you this week and see the toys.

Now pull your finger out.

[Petrol]

Looking good Pete. Nice to meet you this week and see the toys.

Nice to meet you too

Now pull your finger out.

I'm trying, easily distracted with the Mini though

Got the rear disks painted



Front bumper bracket



Still working on the front wings



Why do I always go OTT?

[Chriscooke]

I for one am glad that you go ott as it makes for a great project thread for us

[Jonny Wilkinson]

Almost spat when I saw the disks on my phone then realised you'd left the masking tape on ! Lol

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[Petrol]

Almost spat when I saw the disks on my phone then realised you'd left the masking tape on ! Lol

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Mucho progress on the NS sill, spot welds along the lip keep the factory look.



Drilled a 20mm hole in the rear arch to get some Dynax in



I'm making all new brake pipes



Some of them have a plastic cover, I bought some thick walled heat shrink (3:1) to cover the pipes

[Jonny Wilkinson]

There is some pretty big holes in the top of the sill under the door you can use for dynax access...or are you trying to get between the inner and outer sill ?

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[Petrol]

I used Electrox with a Dynax nozzle to get between the inner and outer sill.

Lots of progress
OS sill is welded



Seam sealing underneath and engine bay

[nismo]

Good idea on the seam sealing, very neat. Wish I had done that.

[Petrol]

You just have to make sure it's thin where it runs up to the tape otherwise you end up with a big step.

I've got rid of all the rust from the shell now. Pics of progress so far













Lot of work flatting this lot back to get it ready for final paint

[Dastardly]

This looks amazing.