My Mini Project

[James]

That looks like it'll be a fun project. I'll be interested to watch the progress.

Errrr... "fun"... yeah.

I started using a paint stripping heat gun on the sound proofing to make it peel off better, which it did. Unfortunately there was a bit of dampness under the pedals. I struck one of the drainage plugs with the chisel and it came out, showing water underneath. "Wait... that's not right. I should see the ground through there!" Someone has welded a sheet of metal directly under the floor pan. All that does is hide the rust from the outside and collect water... hence the dampness and the rustiness.

I had decided to only replace half of each front floor pan. Less cutting, less welding, less effort. But now it looks like I'll be replacing the whole of both front floor pans anyway. It's not too bad because the panels cover that area.

This car has so many bodges that need sorting.

[den68]

yeah but when it's all said and done you'll have a sweet little ride crafted with your own hands.

[Sirgin]

You should totally put 20" (or whatever the biggest that can fit the car) chrome spinners on it when you're done. It would be awesome in a rediculous kind of way.

[James]

13".


It would be even more awesome with chrome spinning hubcaps. 

[logical123]

13".


It would be even more awesome with chrome spinning hubcaps. 

Epic. Win.

[James]

The weather was good today so I was full of motivation. I stripped just about all the sound proofing off the front but then I had a thought about the brake line.


The red line is the brake line. The green line is where I was going to cut. The blue line is where I could have cut to avoid the brake line. However, I've since learnt that brake fluid is very flammable and burns without a flame so you don't realise until the car is just a smoldering lump of molten metal on the drive. I now have to find out how to drain the brake fluid and remove the pipes. 

[img width=700 height=525]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/BrokenFlight/Mini/cutbrakes.jpg[/img]








Edit: The brakes are now drained but it's a little late to start cutting the car up. I can't think of anything else that needs doing before I cut it up. I just need to take the doors off (When it's not raining) and weld a bit of box section across the door frame. I'll do that tomorrow in case it rains over night.

[NES_Rules]

Are you going to tack weld some supports on the body to keep it from twisting and getting misshapen when you cut out pieces of the body?

[James]

I've cut some floor out on the driver's side. Mainly the rusty bits. I still need to cut some more but it was getting dark and time for dinner so I stopped for the day.



[img width=700 height=525]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/BrokenFlight/Mini/FloorHole1.jpg[/img]


This is what came out:
There should only be one layer there. Someone has bodged a plate of metal underneath to cover up the rusty holes, but all that does is collect water which leads to more rust.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/BrokenFlight/Mini/FloorCutOut.jpg[/img]


I had a break to talk to the neighbours for a while. Surprisingly, they didn't realise I had been grinding away despite all the noise I thought I was making. They ended up giving me a tarpaulin to cover the car over night while it has no doors. It should keep the rain (if any!) and dew out. The thing was big enough to cover the whole drive!


[img width=700 height=525]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/BrokenFlight/Mini/TarpCover.jpg[/img]



I shall be welding tomorrow, hopefully.

[Sirgin]

Good luck James.

[James]

I started cutting the floor out on Saturday. I haven't got very far now because I keep finding more rust and holes. 


This is where the floor meets the bulkhead at the front. There should only be one layer here.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/BrokenFlight/Mini/BulkHeadLayers.jpg[/img]


From underneath, looking to the front right A pillar. I'm trying to work out how to remove the rust to be able to weld some new panels on.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/BrokenFlight/Mini/CutFrontArchDoorStep.jpg[/img]



Across the inside floor there is a cross-beam. This is how it looks from the outside.

[img width=700 height=525]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m84/BrokenFlight/Mini/CrossBeamOutside.jpg[/img]





I may have to buy some sheet metal to patch up the bits I don't have panels for.