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Let us know how you get on with those calipers. I'm thinking about getting a set, but I've heard bad things abouts seals and bleeding them.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

Alex - its just a heavy duty wire wheel i got from the wurth man that comes to our garage.

ive done pretty much the whole of the inside and the front subframe with one wheel and i have still got some meat on it.

need another one next time he is at the garage so if u want me to i can get an extra one in for you?

will do lizard, i heard that they are a bitch to bleed also but i had a feeling that they used to have two bleed nipples on them? mine only has one. they were the cheapest when i brought them and money is what counts for me at the moment. also out pressure bleeder at the garage should make it abit easier to get the last of the air out.

got all my panels through from minispares today (they managed not to take 4 weeks!!!!minisport!!!) so i have a nice amount of work to get on with when it finally stops raining!!

cheers for looking, James.

i found that a good way to bleed calipers ( the 7.5's are blessed with equally stupid channel routing) on the bench.

just find a tiny plastic funnel to screw into the hole and press the pistons outwardthat is way more effective than trying to purge the large amounts of air via the bleed nipples.the small amount left when you bleed the pipes first as well is drainable via the nipple without much effort.

That sir, is not rust, it is the progressive mass reduction system

http://aseriesmodifications.wordpress.com/

well managed to get alot done yesterday as we had some rare good weather.

well i was going to go out last night so didnt plan on getting much done but then the grinder at work jumped into my face! it caught an edge and i always have a tight grip on then grinder but i didnt stand a chance. ripped it straight out of my hands and it went up my nose, knock off my goggles and then came down over my eye and my cheek. luckily becuase i had glasses on by the time they had been knocked off i had been able to close my eye otherwise i have a feeling it would have been very nasty! needless to say i wasnt going out so managed to get a shed load more work done on the mini!! silver lining and all that!

Edit: YOU CANT SEE IT FOR SHIT IN THIS PIC!!LOL!!! TOSSY CAMERA PHONE!!!


not that bad! that worse part is the brusing as i was one hell of a punch! probably the best punch ive ever had!!

anyway, back to the important stuff!

with one of these:



i managed to do this:

removed the battery box to free up some pace and luckily only a few minor patches are needed. it coould really do will new sills as it has oversills on but they are good metal so what i was thinking is that i will leave them and then when they start to rust i will do them properly.

also crakced on with getting some panels fitted. got the hinge repair panel, rear light conversion plates, and rear valance on.




just need to try and get the scuttle corners on today and clean up the bulkhead and no doubt i will find some more little jobs to get on with.

when i get back to work on tues i need to sort out getting myself some seam sealer, underseal and an adapter for my grinder so that i can use some low abrasion disc thingies and clean up the welds around the lights, get on with removing the bumper lip from the valance and crack on withe the de-seaming. plenty to do for me!!

also just place an nice big order with minispares for all the parts i need to rebuild my subframes so i will be able to crack on with that in a few weeks. i certainly am not short of things to do in the coming month of so


Cheers for looking, James.

Edited by James_H on 23rd Mar, 2008.

thats some serious work your putting in

Id strongly consider pulling ou tthe windows though, just so you know youve got everything, quite often the water gets under the paint and theres rust under the seals

Alex-i used a grinder with a wire brush on the end-MAKE SURE you wear as much protection as you can, the wire flies everywhere, i wore a dust mask, goggles, and ear defenders and still got hit a few times

Good work mate.You're really moving there.

Count yourself lucky about that grinder though.I nearly cut off a finger due to inattention while using one

Warning:Stig in Training

Edited by James_H on 23rd Mar, 2008.

Back once again like a renegade master

ahhh i was a bit late for the warning, i didnt see the second page

man thats unlucky, i bet it stings a little

jordan-yep your right, i got spiked in the ball bag by an escaping bit of wire

well not been doing much on the mini because ive been clearing out the tonnes and tonnes of shite that was in the garage so as that it could become my workshop. so after clearing it, dumping stuff, storing stuff, painting the floor, and then moving all of my stuff in there.

managed to get it in today and then just did a little bit of stripping. so it can finally sit with no doors or windows etc in it and i can get on with some porper work without being interupted by the weather or not be able to do anything because of the weather!

as always a little pic:

Looks like your cracking on! Very lucky on the grinder front ive had a few near misses myself, nearly cut the end of my finger off! S**t scared of them now and i f*****g hate them wire wheels with the wires sticking into ya!

well long time!!! i have been doing bits and bobs but not too much has happened. im trying to pay off some borrowed money, and then i need to get myself a decent welder the hobby one is a pile of wank! managed to get the back de-seamed and one of the fronts also done at the weekend when i borrowed the welder from work.

also got both subframes cleaned up and welded, the front one lightened and painted, and the rear just needs to be lightened and painted.

also manganed to get the rear swing arm assemblies stripped, cleaned, painted and rebuilt with all new parts.

and the front hub assemblies have been rebuilt in the same manner. i just need drive flanges, the right pads and some more shims for the ball joints as strangely there wasnt enough is the kits from minispares to shim them up right....strange, just me? so when i get a chance to order that lot the font subby can be rebuilt and will just be waiting to go back on.

bodywise i need to get a new scuttle and inner wings as these are ruuuusted. but that will all be after paying off debts and then £400 on a welder.

engine wise i managed to get it all properly stipped down (am leaving the gearbox built untill i have a new gearkit etc to put in it so as that i dont forget where things go. OH and due to being young and insurance companies not liking me i am going to be going back to the 5 porter with benross head etc and then later on building up the k enigne out of the car with a new motor so as that i can keep the car on the road while im doing it and do it properly.

so thats it about up to date, i dont have any pics as nothing interesting has happened. was going to get one of the einge stripping but phone died so that kissed that one goodbye!

probably will be a little while before the next update because of the money situation but thought i would let you know whats hapopened and i havent abandoned (sp) it.

Cheers for looking, James.

No, he bought it standard, then changed it to look like that..

keep at it
you will get there get the body done first 1st.... and that will inspire you to do the rest ...trust me

i have seen too many projects fail because peeps take it ALL ON and not in inspiring fazes

Original post edited for vegards sake. (thats the second time youve got be for exactly the same thing! and english is supposed to be my native language!!! freaking vikings )

Even when the chips are down mate keep cracking on. I have days where i keep cocking up and making mistakes coz im too tired or fed - Walk away have a break, a project like yours takes time lots of it, so take your time.

Mike

1/4 Mile 14.3secs 96Mph Terminal 10psi of boost.


Fibreglass Parts? - http://www.tdkracing.co.uk/
Split Rims? - http://www.force-racing.co.uk/

Yeah, just do it in stages.

I have had to do that with mine. I did the restoration last year to get it structurely sound.

I am dealing with the engine this year now I have the funds. Though after this I really have no more money to spend on it.

well ordered my Welder today so i am happy

it should be with me withing the next 3 weeks as it is an portamig 185. They are not very well known but a a very highly rated welder especially over on the mig-welding forum.

its 185 Amp with a very high quality wire feed and the ability to drop down to just 20amp and still produce a good smooth weld. I decided to get it with an electronic spot welding timer as it was just an extra £30 and also paid an extra £10 for a 4 meter euro torch.

so when it comes i just need get get myself some spare tips, a bottle of gas and some wire and the project will get that all important jump start again!

that is if the garage is clear again by that time which im told it will be...im not holding my breath though.

if its not i will just offer to pay 1/2 the cost of a shed because i fed up of waiting!

just thought i would share it with you because i am exited now

Edited by James_H on 1st Nov, 2008.

nice work there james,


but there's a mig welding forum?

yeah i was looking for comments on a butters AMT 1800 that i was looking at buying and a quick search on google led me to mig-welding.co.uk

pretty helpfull to me with their reviews on a few of the welders i was looking at. everyone was ranting on about this portamig 181 and a fella on there seems to be a distriputor of them. sent him a pm and didnt expect to hear anything back for a while as it seems he is rather inundated with emails etc but i had a pm back withing about 10 mins. i must have caught him at a good time!

he was nothing but helpfull and it didnt take long for me to order a machine from him.

he contacts portamig personally and then they build you a machine. the only thing is that there is a 2-3 week wait before you recieve the welder but you do not pay a penny until it is ready and if the welder is as good as they all say then IMO it is good value seeing as you get everything you need bar the gas and wire.

well, next weekend should see some work happening on the mini as long as i can clear some space in the garage.

all of this because my welding is coming on tuesday as long as the wire that i ordered last night turns up next week i will be good to go on getting a few bits of welding done next weekend.

Then i can order the panels i need and once they are on i will be able to crack out the body filler and start on the loooong task of paint prep. I will only be doing the rough stuff first and then i will get all of my fiberglass panels/parts and fit them, then i will be getting all of the interior sorted before i strip it all down and then start the final prep before paint.

BUT! i am just wondering as i want to build the majority of it up before paint and then just assemble it all after paint so as that i dont risk drilling/cutting through fresh paint, should i build up the engine and get that in and all plumbed in and everything mounted up, then strip it out and paint the car.

or what...ive been thinking about this all for a while and im not sure.

i know i could just use another engine and mock all of the bits up on it but if i dont try and get it to run then i know when it comes to bolting in the proper engine i will have forgotten something and i will be cutting and chopping.

uhmm i think i might just build the car right up get it running and then strip it down and paint it. its a long old process but its the right way i guess!

pretty much the point of this post was to run through a few things in my head and get it all straight..any comments though are needed!! haha

well well, this weekend has seen me working on the mini for the first time since JUNE!!!!

didnt really get that much done but it all counts!!

body work seems to be never ending at the moment but ive got to just work through it!

got the rest of the de-seaming done so i can atleast tick that one off the list.

then i looked at the rear valance again and it looked shit! the welds on it where horrible and the general fit was shocking and wouldnt have looked good at all if i was to de-bumper it, it would have been all over the place! so i ripped it off and am thinking of leaving it off and opting for a force rear diffuser (if they are still knocking them out) if not a TDK one.

also managed to get the bulkhead box in which for some reason makes the world of difference when looking at the bulkhead?!?! make it seem like a proper project now!

next weekend i will be concentrating on getting the rear arches tubbed and the bulk head prep'd for the milgia style webber box and then i can order the panels that i need along with the rest of the parts needed to finish rebuild the front subby.

once those panels ( inner wings, a-panels, scuttle, top dash rail) are on and looking good i can order up all of the fiberglass bits and bobs i need and then crack on with fitting those.

hopefully at that stage it should feel like im getting somewhere and will give me a good boost in motivation!

cheers for looking, i'll report back next time there is progress and i hope its abit more interesting for everyone!!

p.s i will get some picture of the bulkhead and stick them up, thats about all thats worth looking at ATM.

right ive decided to knock together a to-do list for next weekend so this post is really just from my reference.

Saturday:
1) Get hose made up for compressor to fit longer hose fixing. (stone chip gun and anything i borrow from work)

2) Tub rear arches (not sure if to wait for some cold front before doing this though)

3) Chop and Mig up a Mig webber Box (sat/sun)

Sunday:

4) Put the car on its side

5) Chop off all unwanted/unneeded brackets

6) weld up the patches that need doing

7) seam seal everything that needs it

8) Stone Chip underside

very ambitious but its not ment to leave me with nothing to do. if i get the car on its side and start chopping brakets off i'll be happy but i should be able to complete it if i pull my finger out and actually put some proper work in! ive got some catching up to do after all!

Good idea, lets see what its like in practice.

Rick