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Turbo Mini Forums

Painted up the front subframe today, took a few hours... turned out well...




And got a few bits through the post over last few days...




Rubber cone springs and bits covered in crap...



A bit of degreasing and they came out ok, not perfect but good enough... a wee bit more elbow grease should sort em out...



And now the fun part... putting all the new shiny bits together!

Again, a spare few hours here and there... managed to get the mini back upright as I've gone as far as I can on its side. So the lovely job of clearing some space..



And with a bit of help from my block & tackle.... and some scrap tyres... taking care not to warp the frame...



So got it up on some axle stands to have a look at how the tubbing turned out, I think it turned out quite well for a first attempt... its quite hard to visualise how they will look when its on its side, they seem quite 'semi circular'... was afraid they may be bent!

A clearer one.... Little bit of a gap between the arch and body I'll have to fill...



Anyway she's righted, starting on the rear subframe now...



After painting all the bits, put it back together with all its new bits including bushes, dust seals, brake lines & hoses...






Then had the fun of bolting it in place, took a bit of jiggery pokery, but got there in the end. Struggled a small bit trying to locate the trunnion mounts as the rear bushes were slightly thicker than the previous that came off... got in on anyway....

Then had a look round and the rest of the body to see what I'm up against rust wise.. Kind of forgot about all the grot on the upside






So thats where I am at the moment, spent the last hour just looking around and trying to come up with a plan of where to start next? Should really make a list, I have a habit of leaving one job and jumping to the next... and then something else.

I think I'll leave the front for the moment, still in two minds about chopping the front off? There's a lot of rot under the wings... I won't jump in there just yet...

As I left her a short while ago...



We'll get there.....

Rear frame is looking good on.

I'd simply start at one corner and work my way round the car. A list could be good but it may also put you off if it gets a bit long!

Ha yeah your right.. The list would be out the door!!

Ya I guess one corner and go from there..

Cheers Rob...

Not done much on the motor lately, moved in to our new house a few weeks ago so been concentrating on the minis new residence. It's going to a single garage, not ideal but I was really surprised that it was quite big on the inside, from outside you'd think it would be tiny... I call it the tardis!



Bigger on the inside!!!

There was only one measly light bulb that wasn't much use so 1st job was to brighten the place up....




I put up four 5ft fluorescents.... Let there be light!!!

Bonded the block wall with PVA sealant, I'll be painting that white shortly... will brighten it up further. I'll leave the brick as is.

Then drove the daily motor in there to see how much room is available down the sides, quite happy with the size actually. She's a big lump so the mini will fly in there no bother. The garage is 3.40m wide by 6.80m long.






Plenty of room to be working on the mini as its only 1.41m wide by 3.40m long, enough room to have a nice workbench all across the back wall.

A trip to minispares in potters bar yesterday to fetch a few bits, arrived back with all this...



Spent the rest of yesterday and today putting the front subbie together. New parts included were 2x top arm repair kits, new adjustable lower arms, adjustable tie bars, track rod ends, all new bushes and some grease nipples.. and now it looks like this..





Just trying to get it mobile at the moment so it can be rolled out the garage, on to the back of a truck and driven to its new residence. Hopefully have it there for the end of the month or early Jan? Got a bit of time off work so able to spend some time on it.

Oh and managed to get the rubber cones in without the compression tool, a real PITA but managed with the help of masking tape to hold the cones up.... (thanks Joe C)

As a single garage goes, thats not too bad

Yup... Quite happy with it in fairness..

Nice garage. Paint the walls white, epoxy on the floor and dont fill it with shit like bicycles, bbq and gardenstuff, and you wil have a Nice plate :)

www.shag.no

Looks a tidy job. I would think twice about those yellow poly subframe floor mounts, they are less stiff than the standard rubber ones in my experience.

agreed with Tom; I personally use the solid mounts; I've never been that impressed with any of the poly stuff

Thanks guys... I'll certainly be keeping it free of shite. Behind the garage is a square patch of grass, the same width of the garage and about the same in length. It extends down to the bottom of the garden and is only there because the way the garage was built. Its a pretty pointless bit of garden but perfect for a fairly big garden shed, well bigger than a shed really.. one of those cabin looking jobbies. So I've promised the missus one of those eventually (they are quite pricey) and she can fill it to the brim with handbags if she desires! I'll have my man cave all to myself! Its quite handy really because we won't loose any garden as its tucked behind the garage.

I'm not sure if I'll paint the brick white as I quite like the brick finish, certainly the block wall as it looks a bit gash... and yes, epoxy or something for the floor as its a bit rough and dusty.

As for the poly mounts, when I bought them I was under the impression that they were better/stronger but have learned since (before you guys pointed it out) that its not the case. Well, I'll hang on to them for the moment but indeed I'll look into changing them further down the line. All comments appreciated nonetheless.

Recently I have found myself going out to the garage, getting all kitted out with the work gear, cup of tea in hand, radio on and ended up scratching my head and thinking "bollocks to this"... gone back into the warmth and plonked in front of the TV. I think doing this thread has helped because getting a bit of feedback gives good motivation to stick at it, posting pics really helps cos I look back at when I started and can see the progression in the flesh, not that it doesn't look like a bag of shite now lol...
Well, I'm in 'go' mode right now but have to go up to the new house today and will be up there til mon/tues at least. I'll probably find I can't be bothered with it again when I'm back next week.. oh well, catch 22 I guess!

Anyway, thanks for looking, keep the comments coming in if you will... keeps me motivated!

Got her back down on all fours now albeit temporarily for her move to her new residence...



Spent most of the day getting the bits and bobs on so she can be pushed on to a truck, subframe temporarily in place... I'll also drop the lump in for the move, too awkward to take any other way...

A few pics below of the tubbed arches, sitting way too high.. I thought it would drop lower.... well it is just temporary anyway, the suspension will be set up by someone in the know when the time comes..





Gonna need some big arse arches if I keep these wheels, not sure yet.. maybe smaller wheels for handling performance...




So next on the list... drop engine in, fill car with shit and off to her new house!

A little bit of inspiration seeing it on all 4 wheels again?

Nothing like working in a fresh new space

10's

Looking good.

Seems a lot of effort putting the engine back in for a move. Can't you make up a dolly for it?

www.apsbikes.co.uk