Bodywork on the roof of the Mini

The roof of the Mini was not really flat, it had waves and dents accumulated over the previous 44 years since it left the factory. I bought some tools to take care of the bodywork, as this is all new to me. Here are the tools that I`m using for this process:

From left-long board sander, 1/4 sheet sander, flexable sanding block, dolly, pick and bump hammer, and my big rasp.








So I started by knocking out the dents and raising the low spots with the hammer and dolly. I raised the large dents with a 5lb sledge hammer wrapped in a towel, and took care of the smaller stuff with the small hammer. I was initially using an old ball peen hammer, but then the scratched face of the hammer was transferring the scratches to the roof skin. So I bought the hammer and dolly, and they do a good job, with practice. Once I flattened the roof skin to the best of my ability, I started on with the filler. I first used Bondo brand filler:

Here you can see 2 brands of filler that I tried; Bondo (grey) on the right, and then Royal Pro (white).








I found the Bondo easy to mix, and nice to spread. It didn't sand too easy, and when cleaning it up afterwards I found that it soaked up water easily. The Royal pro filler mixed well, and it also seemed more waterproof than the Bondo. It was harder to sand though, but left a smooth surface.

I lucked out and found some Evercoat Rage Gold at Hymus auto parts (where I buy a lot of my bodywork supplies). I have read that this is the preferred filler for a lot of people, and it seemed to work well for me. It mixes nice, sands easily and seems reasonably waterproof. I think that I will use this for the rest of the job, and hopefully the top coat of paint will not show the different fillers that I have used here.


So, filling and sanding continues. I've already used POR 15 in the rain gutters to keep them sealed and rust-free, so I just need to complete the filler and then maybe prime the roof before I continue with the rest of the body.

Underbody

Got to work in the past few days cleaning up the underbody. I took a wire wheel and rust remover discs on the grinder, and ground down the filler and primer around the seams and any questionable areas. I then welded up any of the larger holes and added a few plug welds where it looked like they needed, well, plug welding.
Next, I donned the nitrile gloves and started up on the POR 15. I have just attacked the left side of the underside, I'll flip the body over when I'm done and get the other side. Tonight I finished the first 1/4 of the job, POR 15, one coat, on half of the Mini. The POR 15 instructions say to put at least 2 coats, so I'll do the second coat on the next Mini night.

POR 15 on 1/2 of the Minis underbody

Back on the Mini

Had a little break from the norm last week, I was in San Francisco for business and got to put in a couple of rides. The weather didn't really cooperate, and I ended up getting really cold and wet. I managed to stay healthy, and now can cross off  'ride over the golden gate bridge' from my to-do list. Got some nice rides in by the coast as well-it is really beautiful there.

Northern California Coast-by bike!

I've been working on the body of the Mini some. I started on the bootlid; my new/old shell came with a nice double-skinned MK1 bootlid, and I really like the look of it, especially the inside. It was pretty much the only rusty part that I got from that deal, so I got to work fixin' it up.

Rusty MK1 bootlid

Got out the grinder and cut out the rusty bit. Traced a replacement patch with a piece of paper, transferred it onto some sheet metal and cut it out. After a bit of grinding it fit OK, and I welded it in place. Ground off all the splatter and mess that I made with the welder, and welded some more. After about 3 cycles, I ended up with:

Rust gone, botched patch in!

Now I've got a rustless bootlid, just need to break out the filler to clean it up. Next step is to tackle the shell. It was sandblasted, and had all the rusty metal replaced, but still needs cleaning up. I will start on the underside, with POR 15 and urethane seam sealer to make sure it is rust-free, sealed and strong.

1967 MK1 mini shell

Simply clear out a space, put some old tires on the garage floor, and flip the car onto it's side:

under the mini shell

I'm pleased with what I found. Looks like it has a new boot floor, new front floors, new sills, valence, a-panels and wings. There are a couple of holes and bits that I am cleaning up, so I started by grinding off the primer and filler where I needed to work. Next, I welded up any gaps and little holes that I found. Now I will have to POR 15 the areas that need it, fill the cracks and seams with Pro Form PF224 urethane sealer/adhesive. I will also use this to seal around the wings at the scuttle joint, and at the front seam under the  headlights. Right now it'll have to wait for another night...

Flooring and more rear subframe

Well, pulled an all-nighter and laid down the flooring in the 3 bedrooms this past weekend. Better to take a chunk of time to do it all rather than bit by bit. That way the inconvenience of moving all of the bedroom around is avoided and everyone can get a good nights sleep with their new floors the next day. I'm happy with how it turned out, didn't run into any problems. Laid down the red rosin paper first, and laid the 3 1/2" birch flooring on top. Secured it with 2" staples; my mastercraft flooring stapler didn't miss a beat. Had to be sure that it was sitting correctly on the edge of the board, and give it a good whack, and it went well. Hit it a bit soft and the staple will not drive in all the way, and either nail it in the rest of the way, or pull out your cutters and trim it down to the wood.

New floor in our bedroom

The rooms look bigger, I guess that's a function of the pattern and gloss. It is nicer than the plywood that we've been walking on for the past 6 months!

I've also been doing a bit on the Minis rear subframe. Got the radius arms bolted on-that was a bit of a chore. I forgot how my negative camber brackets brought the bolt heads really close to the ends of the suspension arms, and make it really tricky to bolt them on. A few choice words were said, and then it all came together.

assembled rear subframe

I don't like the look of the old brake pipes, so I will change them. Just gotta figure out the correct flare, buy the flaring tool, source the brake lines, and make up the replacements. I will probably go with steel lines, as I don't like the possibility of work-hardening stainless or fatigue prone copper. Sure, the steel lines will corrode a bit and look dull before not too long, but they will work reliably for a long time. I'm building the Mini to drive and thrash, not to wash and bring out only for Sunday drives.

Closet done (almost)

Well, in the past few days I've got the closet pretty much finished. I've finished the floor, built the Ikea Pax wardrobe system, obtained a dressing-room stool, and put a picture on the wall. I still need to mount the big mirror and frame it, and put some baseboard trim, but it's close.

Our deluxe closet!

Also finished putting together the second radius arm for the Mini's rear suspension, and cleaned up the mounting brackets. I had previously modified them to give some negative camber. You just need to elongate the mounting holes on the brackets for the suspension arms, so that the outer hole that they mount to is higher than the inner hole on the subframe. I had stretched the holes and welded new washers on to locate the radius arm axle securely. I have just cleaned them up and they are ready for paint:

Rear radius arm axle brackets with negative camber mod 

I have just primed them and will paint them black tomorrow. Then, re-assembly of the rear subframe!

Flooring!

Flooring in my closet started.

Tonight I started laying down the first of the flooring with a couple of my friends. You can see one of my friends in the photo above-Mastercraft 3-in-one pneumatic flooring nailer. Here's the other friends that helped me out tonight:

 Porter Cable 3807 sliding compound mitre saw and Coleman powermate 27 gal. compressor.

This was the first time that I have used the flooring nailer. I bought it on sale at CT for the cost of renting one for a week. As I can only work for 2 hours or so at night after the kids have gone to bed, renting for a week would not have gone far. The first couple of boards that I put down did not go well. The nailer was shooting a staple only 1 in 2 or 3 attempts. I started to think that I have a dud tool, then I looked at the mechanism. It seemed that the most obvious reason that it would have a misfire was if the staples were not feeding well. They were a bit stiff loading, even though I had bought Bosch brand staples. I looked for some dry lube to ease the action, but I couldn't find my can. Next choice:

Finish Line Showroom flooring nailer lubricant.

I sprayed it on the channel where the staples insert, and didn't have a misfire for the rest of the evening. Worked like the proverbial charm. Tomorrow I hope to finish the closet floor then I'll install the Ikea Pax wardrobe that we bought. I'll try to get to the rear subframe re-assembly, too. It was too cold in the garage tonight-warm temps forecast for the next few days though.

First radius arm ready

Had to run out and check the ceiling at my sister's place tonight-I'm going to repair some water damage for her starting this weekend. Didn't leave too much time for the Mini but I spent an hour or two on it. Got the first radius arm backplate painted, and reassembled the lot. Started cleaning and disassembling the other arm, hopefully I'll finish it tomorrow.

Left to right: Refreshed radius arm, old drum, new spacer drum.

Started going through my boxes of spares, and found the spacer drums that are to be used when running discs at the front. These drums give a bit of a wider track to the rear, to closer match the wider track of the disc-braked front. I trial fitted them, and will have to fit longer studs in order to use them. They are also a bit heavier-I have minifin drums that I was using up front, maybe I will use these at the rear with spacers. A decision for another day.

The garage is getting crowded-I need to get rid of the old shell. Anyone need a rusty, partly fixed shell? Good  starting point for a fiero-based kit, or maybe a trailer project...or the coolest urban chicken coop this side of the pond.

Some crowdiness, today.