Here are a couple of pictures of my mini - just back from being media blasted!

 

was it was than you though or better?

 

To be honest.... the car is better than I thought it would be. They did a nice job with the stripping.

I went over the car with the bodywork/paint guy and we decided the following metal parts were

probably the smartest way to go..

• (2) door skins
• RH rocker panel (probably inner & outer)
• RH panel just forward of the front door

Most everything else is rust free. The car is a 30 year old RHD from England - so I am pleased with overall condition. I am glad it was stripped. This way I feel like I will have car that once done will be serve me well for years to come.

Now I just have to order parts and decide between oem and aftermarket.

Here are some pics of the rust damage:

Rocker Panel:



Door:



Headlight area:

 

Sections 11.33.01.17LH and 18RH Inner/outer sills assembly repair sections
I think you'll find more work where its been patched a couple times before at the front end by the inner fender well. You will likely find more to repair as you remove these. Best to cut out old bodged work and put in the right panels correctly. It'll last a lot longer.

Also the A-panel 11.14.00.88RH



Also, check the bottom of the rear storage bins near the rear subframe front mounts for rust. All the water that has leaked in collected there.

 

bottom of the rear storage bin is what minimad is missing (sorry, i couldnt resist)

 

Here is a link to more pictures of the car after stripping.....

http://s451.photobucket.com/albums/q...son/?start=all

Storage bins are OK - took some pictures of them thinking they would have issues.

Minimad -

Which catalog were you posting from?

Any suggestions on best place to buy sheet metal repair parts from?

Car is being primed first to stop any surface oxidation while I get some parts together.

 

The bottom of the door frames are probably going to be screwed as well when you pull off the skins. There's more rust between the two panels that you can't get without ripping off the skin. The standard repair panel for the bottom of the door is a waste though because it does not give you enough of the flat part on the bottom, that looks like swiss cheese on your doors, to completely replace the lower part of the door frame.

 

looks like you have a decent shell....should be a fun project

 

Looks like a good start. I remember when Mine was at that point.

 

Nothing prettier than a body that is so clean.

Now get some primer on that shell before the rust blooms. If it gets rusty all that work was wasted.

Have fun with the rebuilding.

 

m-machine (catalog) or minimail in the UK

http://www.m-machine.co.uk/
http://www.minimail.co.uk/

http://www.bmh-ltd.com/mini.htm
http://www.bmh-ltd.com/brochures/mini%20web%20list.pdf

 

Thanks for the catalog links for body parts.

Car was hit with a coat of primer this week to stop rust. Bonnet & boot are already done and some welding repair on a couple of areas with small holes in the body is also complete.

I am picking up a sample body part that has been sprayed with the Island Blue paint sample that my local PPG shop supplied, so I am looking forward to checking it out later this morning.

The bottom of the car is being painted with POR15. What are most people doing with wheel wells? I am thinking about using POR15 as these areas see alot of dirt, debris, etc. Do many people do anything else, like painting the body color or is there something better than POR15?

Thanks!

 

I'm painting mine body color which is black anyway. Right now I have the bottom primed with regular old ppg ncp271 primer surfacer. I am probably going to use some sort of epoxy in these areas. I know somebody who used por15 and had problems with it peeling on non rusted metal. There is some talk about it on the internet. It may be just a case of it not being applied right but I am not going to bother with it especially since my car is not going to see winter or rain for that matter if I can help it. I don't want to risk the paint job with something that may be questionable.

I put a skim coat of fiberglass filler which is waterproof in my rear wheel wells and on the firewall area of the front. My thought is if the paint gets chipped up theres at least that layer of fiberglass to prevent water from getting in. I had to use filler in these areas anyway because I have replaced metal in all four wheel wells so maybe this isn't the best option for you.

 

What kind of primer did you use? For bare metal you want to go with etch primer or epoxy primer. POR15 is a rust converter. In areas that will see stone impacts, a good PVC stone chip guard is the way to go.

 

The guy who is doing my bodywork/paint likes to use the following primer.

Evercoat Slick Sand Polyester Primer Surfacer - Gray - 709

Excellent adhesion to metal, galvanized metal, aluminum, fiberglass, SMC, and body filler

• Ideally suited for large surfaces
• 2.1 VOC Compliant
• .8 Gallon - 3 Liters
• Gray
• MEKP activator included

 

Fiberglass is not waterproof. Yes, boats are made of it, but fg does absorb water eventually. Also, water will eventually seep between fillers including FG and metal via capillary action and rust it from underneath.

Best prevention is good primer and paint. After painting, I applied a good coat of truck bed liner (Herculiner) by brush into my wagon's wheel arches and all surface that had shown chipping when I disassembled the car. Such as the leading edges of the toeboard, rear subframe, rear valance, inside floors where water settles, etc. Waterproof and seems to be doing the job, so far.

 

Minimad it's right on the can, both evercoat everglass and usc duraglas claim to be waterproof. The auto body teacher even swears by it to seal in seams that you want to keep looking nice. I guess I could go test it out by coating a piece of steel with it and then put in the storm drain at the bottom of my hill and let the salty water drain onto it for the next few months. Always I really doubt you are going to be soaking the car in water for months at a time.

As for the bedliner the combination of salt and cold around here dries it out an cracks it which makes it basically hold water. Again my car won't be in the salt but I won't waste my money on it.

Chip guard is good but use the under the paint kind not the over the paint.

 

At the end of the day my car when done will not see wet, salt, cold MI weather, etc. as it will be my good weather fun car. At this point I am looking for something that will look good, hold up to the kind of driving I am going to do and will protect the investment that i have made (as much as you protect any investment in a Mini's body )

 

What does your bodyman suggest to do? I don't know if your using a restoration shop or just a regular old paint and collision shop but I'd think many others have had this same dilemma. For what you want to do you probably could just paint the whole shell with base clear and be ok.

What are you planning to do with the inside of the sills? Most of my rust issues on the underside came from the inside out not the outside in. I did thin out some of the ncp271 and cranked up the air on my gun in an attempt to "fumigate" the inside of the sill before I sealed up the holes in both front wheel wells. The primer did drip out of every opening on the sill but I still think I need to do something more.