[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]I have a classic mini cooper and it was hit will it was parked. I finally got the whole front end and I like to know how to change it. I will like to do most of the work my self with my son although his is only 9 years old it’s never to young to learn…. [/SIZE][/FONT]
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that sucks big time. Check out Mini Mania- you could get the fender, hood, shocks, subframe- whatever you need, for a good price. its not too much work from what i hear. think about doing a flip front (all one peace). it takes more time but the result is a custom, smoothed out front. nice ride BTW.

 

LOOKS LIKE you'll need a fender and an A panel the most challengin will be the A panel to make sure the door closes properly.

 

"I finally got the whole front end and I like to know how to change it. I will like to do most of the work my self "

Sorry for your loss.....from what I see above you have the panels and now want to know how to hang 'em. If I'm mistaken, ignore this post.

If I'm right....sorry, there ain't a two page set of instructions for what you face. This is DIY'able IF you have serious bodywork skills and tools, a welder and associated skills, certainly good cutting tools..... Painting experience....

You need either:

A body and fender man who will take your car and panels and return a masterpiece

or

Search out the local adult education sources. I hung out for a few years at an Adult-ed class on body and fender repair. Learned a lot, fixed some cars,had access to a full body shop worth of tools & a paint booth; met folks who knew what they were doing and taught me......

What you ar looking at there is a difficult project for a newbie....not impossible, but serious work.....plus the body work you need a painter and a paint booth.....

Where are you? ...maybe someone with experience is close by......

 

It doesn't look like you just need to replace a couple of panels... you've got windscreen scuttle damage and likely damage to the a-pillar that the door hinges hang on. Also you likely have crumpled inner wings, at least the front portion that holds your front panel.

If you insist on DIY-- I second the advice that you go to a local junior college body repair class. Don't cut off any panels before taking it there as experienced body people want to see the damage and see the best course of action to undo what was done.

first in, last out

That must have been quite a whollop.

--Spank

 

lots of work ahead for ya.......if you've never done it before, take your time and maybe look into the body work guide for the classic mini.......i cant remember the name and author of the book but some one makes a restoration book for classic minis......contact dion at djminis.com....he might be able to get the book for you if you cant find it

 

i need to ask though... WTF Happened? o0

 

Man, that sucks.. I'd be royally pissed!! But yes, take your time and get a good MIG welder. All the posters advise are right-on.

 

Wow what a bummer! Was that imported that way? I noticed what looks like a customs shipping sticker on the windscreen.

Most of that work you can do by yourself. That looks like the normal front end restoration. The only problem place I see is reskinning the door.

 

it depends. hes totally screwed if theres frame damage- which may be possible in a hit like this

 

Nah... I don't agree with you on that. Swapping out a new front or rear subframe is a snap on a Mini. Now if the body shell itself was twisted during the accident, then it become more difficult when it comes to weld on the new panels.

From the images the front subframe look fine. Most of the damage appears to have happened from the passenger side headlamp outward to the fender panel. This leaves me to believe the impact missed the subframe totally. So any minor twisting to the subframe can be knocked back into place.

But having really inspected the damage on the photos. This accident may be a blessing in disguise. The whole front needed to be replaced anyway due to rust. Look at all the rust holes on the driver side wheel well and A panel and the bubbles under the headlamp.

 

I think the book Big Norm refers to is the Haynes Restoration Manual (Lindsay Porter). Good book. Good Luck.

 

i think that is it !!

thanks

 

i double on that. if theres rust in one place- theres definetly rust in another.

 

This is a term that might need some qualification......

Easier than many cars....probably.

An easy thing for one who has done body work b4, a little welding, a little hammering, a little painting......yes in the scope of a beginner....with a good coach.

I got the impression this fellow was a complete newbie looking for a book,

.....uh, sorry.....me thinks you need a little practice on some of these skills if you want your car to be ... what u want it to be.

Ever welded a body panel? Filled, sanded painted and primed? Straightened a structural component? Maybe you have.... I got the sense the OP did not and that's where I was a couple of years ago.......

A Mini is a GREAT learning platform .... but not so easy that one can tear it apart *****-nilly

 

thank guys 4 the help and yes I'm changing the whole front. I have a little welding and hammering skills but not in painting that part is going to be done by a pro...I hope that none of the inner are damage because all I have is all the outter panels...

 

I wish luck to you. if you need anything else, go to minimania.

 

Hope this helps............

Practical Classics Mini Cooper Restoration

Mini Restoration Manual (Haynes) by Lindsay Porter

Mini: Restoration, Preparation, Maintenance (Osprey Restoration Guides) by Jim Tyler

Most of the Mini Books Listed here

 

good post there

 

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]Finally got the front off and could not stop looking for rust so now I have the whole car dismantle…..sorry could not put up pictures because the site kept asking for URL image and I didn’t know how to do it… [/SIZE][/FONT]

 

Sheetmetal is cheap. All your shiny bits are good. The job isn't as hard as it looks. If you have some basic welding & sheet metal ability, you'll do fine. The A panel alignment isn't too bad to do. Remove the door. Grind off the rear edge of the A panel. knock the spot welds off at the scuttle panel, drill out fender spot welds, remove with front fender. A door skin isn't bad. Just grind the edge front, bottom & back until it separates. Fold (carefully) on a new one.

 

does anyone knows of a place in new york city that can repair the front subframe my is 1/2" off....

 

Sorry to ask but....

is the subframe bent - in which case just replace the subframe

OR

is the shell bent too....moving the mounting points which means you have a MUCH larger problem?

In other words...where did you measure from and did you do ALL the measurements so as to isolate the issue?

It won't help to replace the sub only to find the shell was bent too.

A unibody can be straightened but we're back to my auto-body class recommendation. This isn't something you'll do at home with a hammer or two.

{some of us thought that looked like a really solid SMACK}

 

capt bj...I didn't know if the subframe is bent it doesn't look like it..but I measured the wheel base from front to back on both side and one side is 1/2" smaller....also the inside of the floor is a little crumbled but me and a friend pulled the frame and staightened the inside by pulling and alot of hammering...and still 1/2" off...so I think is the subframe...

 

If u checked diagonals, disregard til the end....if not....

This was an interesting discussion in adult-ed auto body class when we were working with the frame rack. The secret to determining what's bent is diagonal measurements. If you just measure front/back & left/right, you may miss a twist. If you get the lengths right but there's still an offset to 'the triangles', the car will never track straight. As long as you can identify two sets of matching diagonal references you can check this.

Think of a car a a big rectangle and you'll realize that the hypotenuse of the triangles must be the same else something is out of whack. In math terms, you don't have a rectangle, you have a parallelogram. By dividing the car into smaller rectangles and checking respective hypotenuse you can localize the problem and be pointed to the correct pull.

I (tried to) help(ed) the AB instructor at the votec HS explain this to the shop students with a few simple pictures (MS-math here....it all makes sense to me, explaining it to a non-math person however....) He understood all the body shop importance, but couldn't explain the math/why!

PM me an e-mail address and I'll shoot you the 7 slide powerpoint if desired.

A body shop has reference books that provide a zillion reference points and the 'as built' dimensions. This is how they determine where and which direction to pull. They then measure again and keep going 'til things "square up"

This may all be esoteric as I can't tell you a body shop that has these books for a Mini....but the shells are the same and the concept I'm taking a LONG way to suggest is diagonal measurements.....not just the wheelbase.

**end**

If the subframe is bent - and that should be easy to determine with two quick measurements of the diagonal points....you'd probably be better off to replace it in the long run....imho. A new one WILL (should) be square. And if the old (thin) one was bent I'd wonder if welds were cracked et al....

This may be more 'correct' then you want to go with the repair....

a frustrated math major sends....