You know I would respond to this but I see that someone already said it

Thanks

 

I still say you should part this puppy out and get a better body. You'll be $$$ ahead if you do. Don't be bull headed. Be SMART!!!!!!!!! For the money you'll sped you can buy a good shell!!

 

obviously this guy didn't read what forum this post was in. maybe he will next time.

 

http://www.miniguy.com/autos.php?id=...543b7e846ca0f0

This is VERY tempting.....but the shipping would be ALOT!! I understand your point, but I'm not being bull headed.....I don't want to take a perfectly good shell and tear it apart to build my car. I'd rather take a body that is in pretty bad shape already and patch what I need to patch and build the rest of it to my liking.

 

Yeah your right, i didnt realize you were talking about that old crap.

 

Sounds like someone stopped taking their medication

Take a nap, make a cup of tea and start over, if that does not help your attitude try reading your handbook

 

Yeah i forgot to take mine, sounds like you overdosed on yours.

 

No need for meds since I drive an old Mini, keeps me smiling all the time

Life is good, I'm happy.

 

Iwill drink to that.

 

Looks like I'm going to install an electric fan in the Mini. The car is running pretty hot still....the fan pushing the heat out and one pulling it out I believe will fix the problem for now. I flushed the coolant system and the radiator the water pump is fine...oil has been changed but it still runs between the N and the H right in the middle.

Well another funny rust story. The other day while driving I hit a bump and started to hear funny noises....so i drove the car home looked under the car and saw a spot where it appeared to be rusted thru so I started vaccuming the stuff out...when I was done I now have a 24 inch whole about and inch wide starting from the seat bracket back to the rear seat. When I hit the bump I knew I had felt a little different because the left side of the seat had actually gone thru the floor and came back up. ..... well looks like this weekend someone is going to be cutting out the floor and putting in new steel....$40 bucks for the 4x8 sheet of 1/8th inch sheet metal should do the trick Heck i might even go ahead an replace the whole floor.

 

1/8"? Sheet metal on the Mini is about 20 guage...22 is too light, heavier is too hard to form. Repair panels for the floor up to & including a whole floor are readily available.

 

Yeah I know they are available....but I can't wait for it nor can I afford it right now with the VW project going on and this has become my daily driver.....so I need to fix it the best I can right now. 1/8 isn't that hard to work if you cut the peices you need weld them together to make the part and then cut and weld it in. I will snap some pics thru the process.

 

24 inches???? is that a typo???? 24 square inches...heck...still one h e double matchsticks hole

I'll give ya credit John....you are determined. I'll admit that the satisfaction of doing this kind of work is there. Why else, since buying OC, have I taken a welding class and bought WAY more MIG equipment than I really needed (add to car repair costs, adding a 230 volt 30 amp service in the garage and a tank of mixed gas!!!! no 120v flux core here .... yes dear...I really really need this )

Fortunately my holes have been on the 1 to 2 inch side and I was able to form sheet metal even for the corners .... and feel VERY accomplished having done so.

But I'd agree that if you need to replace the entire pan, I think getting replacement pans and welding them in is better than dropping in 1/8 inch.... That's mighty heavy stuff..... Heck, when my 66 Mustang floor disintigrated (standing in the back seat I pulled the convertable top up and suddenly found myself standing on the driveway stradeling the drive shaft ) I repaired by screwing down teflon coated cookie sheets which I painted over with leftover driveway sealant Who needs POR15 or WAXOIL That's what? 22 g

Just a suggestion.....course if u are like me and want this done NOW, then you don't want to wait for pans do u?

 

Check this one out.....

http://members.tripod.com/austin_america/id77.html

amazing info source!

I repeat....check the fan direction info......

 

This is the hole. It's about 2ft long and pretty wide.....today I talked with a friend of mine who has been welding for more than 20 years and he told me to just cut out the bad stuff clean the edge and weld in the good stuff with about a inch overlap......should be good to go until your ready to buy a new floor.

 

Now that is what I needed to read...Thanks....I think I will go ahead and get the better fan and water pump....But first i will change the ratio of water to antifreeze to see if that works first.

 

I've done tha exact job including the sills (inner & outer) at the same time. Went up the door opening to the top where the door seal attaches.

Easy way: have the panels made by a local sheet metal company on a brake. Fast & cheap. Think the sill piece was about 52" long. Butt welded it at the first floor groove.
Pull the carpet off the inner sill & see what's there while you're at it. Also, pull the liners out of the rear storage pockets and check down in there. this water all runs to that location which is where your rear subframe mounts.

 

Thanks for the info..I will do that.....But I will have to wait until I get back from Las Vegas...I'll be flying out Sunday be back Wed next week....Maybe I will come back with enough money to buy the actual floor then again I can save myself more if I just build it.

 

It was the usual morning....cool, a little fog, alot of traffic, and everyone wanting something from you at work.....when the call came for me to take pictures of a few folks for our funny board.....little did I know I would be the one who'd be the laughing stock of the shop. I got in the Mini and drove home...everything was fine until I started back to work. I saw some friends past by and I decieded to catch up to them.....I pressed the pedal and the car started to accelerate then I came off the pedal and the car kept accelerating...so I stomped it to loosen it up it came down and I made a turn then started to accelerate again and it happened....the pedal fell to the floor after I came of it. I wasn't sure if the line had snapped or came loose...well the car shot off like a rocket....I mean I had no idea 56hp could put me back in the seat like that.....as I sped pass 65 i turned off the car and just coasted....then turned it on again in 4th gear and that is how I made it to the entry control point before my job. I turned the car off as I rolled up to the gate.....I told the guard that my throttle was stuck he laughed and then I turned the car back on ( the car is in 1st Gear) I left a nice stretch of tire on the concrete then I shut the car off and rolled to the parking lot.
So,I looked under the hood to find that the butterfly valve was actually sticking on the inside......the kink in the accelerator cable didn't help either. So, I need to take carb off and clean it good and add a better spring and new accelerator cable. This car is a trip and a half. Well I better go fix it...Later

 

Scary as this sounds it still seems fun....I'm envious!! My Mini owning friends have no shortage of similar stories. It's great to know a car well enough and own a car that is simple enough to get a kick out of both good times and bad.

 

I have to admit when it took off like it did....it was pretty cool but I needed to regain control before I hurt myself...LOL!!

 

Today was an eventful day..it all started this moring around 8:30AM when while I was talking to someone an F-150 was backing out of the parking lot and then I hear it....that crunching sound given off when two cars hit each other. Well....I turned and saw the end result of the accident. Basically he said that he did not see the Mini...his truck sits high and the side mirrors are an inch higher than the Mini....My guess is that he looked in the mirror quickly and saw nothing and proceeded to do this:








It really made my heart sink when it happened, but hopefully the insurance will pay for all the damages and not total the thing. I hate it when things like this happen.

 

oh john. i'm so sorry. that stinks. at least it didn't happen after you had restored it. and, no one was hurt!

 

Today the guy that hit my Mini came over and we started to really look at what needed to be replaced.....I ended up beating the dents out that was of course before I took pictures of all the damage. We ended up deciding to let the insurance pay for it. That scares me because they may total it and I don't want that to happen. More on this later.....

 

Maybe good things will come of this, the new door and quarter panel will be rust free !, but if they do total it you will have cash in your pocket and you can start over or buy the car from the insurance co. cheap and fix it the way you want,

Sometimes silver linings have rusty clouds around the edges