Mini Pick Up Rebuild - Warning - Not for Sensitive Veiwers

[Miniac]

Those seats look perfect for the pickup, definitely going to have to bring my GTS up to you for the welding.

[Richie Rich]

Had a really good mini run with the crew last weekend and also a new laptop arrived which now makes it so much easier to update the build.

Have not done much but am happy with what has been done. After getting the seats in and mounted, I found another set of seats which go with the finished paint scheme and look of the car.



A bit of fettling and bending of the original mounts and they fit very nicely. A better look for the end product, and really comfy too. ( Haha, there is that bluddy hammer again )

Added a bit more rigidity to the floor pan under the bin by adding some square tubing, which actually has a dual purpose. To hold the battery in place.







As you can see, welded in the support brackets for the battery clamp and the handbrake mount.

Currently the interior has been sanded and the etch primer is drying.

Next up is the bodywork, which I am actually looking forward to.

[Miniac]

That seat looks right at home in there Rich and the adjustment to the cross member looks really neat too.

[Richie Rich]

So I managed to sit down, upload a couple of photos of the progress been completed over the last couple of months

Both LHS and RHS front fenders needed attention, the rusted sections were cut out, and new sections fabricated and welded in. Grinded back and primed





As seen above, a repair panel was fabricated and welded in the LHS fender, as the original metal was wafer thin

The floor has been completed and primed until some more welding has to be done for electrical cables etc.



The welding is a bit rough, but not to worried as seam filler will be used to seal up the gaps and then it will be stonechipped, so will be hidden.

Due to the condition of the front valance, I was on the lookout for a new panel, rather than trying to patch and weld. A new later model panel became available and I managed to get it for a decent price.
The old front valance can be seen in the background of the second photo




It had been imported many years back, so was stripped down to metal and primed. There was some metal tabs on the inside which were removed due to the different motor being installed.



There was a review about a new Sika product in the Veteran Car Club Newsletter that interested me. It was regarding an automotive epoxy from Sika. I picked up a tube with the intention of fitting the front valance with the new epoxy.



So the necessary work was done to prep the new panel, the old front valance was removed, and the seams ground back to clean metal and prepped. Lots of clamps and a strong arm, the epoxy was applied and a day later, the new bond was dry enough to clean up with the grinder.



The reason why I went the epoxy route was that the condition of the seams on the fenders was way to thin to try to even spot weld. The epoxy provides strength along the full seam providing superior strength to welding

Very happy with the result, in fact so much so that I used the leftover to attach the passenger side A-Panel.



As mentioned earlier, a day later, clamps come off and can be cleaned up and primed.

[Vinay-RS]

Another impressive update Richard. You are very skilled at bodywork and this pick up is really starting to take shape.

[Dion]

Coming along nicely, looks very good.

[Jared Mk3]

More and more healthy metal being added - great work.

[Richie Rich]

Thank you for the comments guys.

A little bit more to come.

With all the cutting and replacement of panels and floors, it was time to double check everything was still aligned as I am not working on a jig. Along with the alignment test, I needed the front frame in for the new front valance to align during the epoxy stage.



It all lines up very well and very happy that the floor and the front end are almost complete.

The next hurdle is the rear panels, tubbing the arches and the rear valance, which luckily I bought in while the Rand was a bit stronger.

The drivers side was cut away in stages to expose some rust, and some previous repairs carried out by brazing. Needless to say there was a lot of brass, and it all needs to be removed before I can even think of trying to weld.



I unfortunately don't have repair panels for the rear quarters, so from here on, all panels will be custom made and time consuming.



Bracing under the floor unfortunately had to be cut out, so the areas will be cleaned, treated and primed, then to replace the understructure before welding on new rear panels.



Luckily I wont be replacing the bin bed, but it will require repairs where it meets the rear panels.

[Boyscout]

That is an exceptional rebuild. love your work!

[minitim]

Top marks there. Alot of work ad patience going in there. Will be well worth the effort in the end. Learning new skills is always fantastic too.