Alain's 1969 2 Door

[alainmoran]

11th March 2012
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[alainmoran]

12th March 2012
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[minor65]

You have found yourself a great looking shell

[alainmoran]

Haven't I just ... I dont think I could have asked for a better start for my project

[alainmoran]

13th March 2012
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[alainmoran]

14th March 2012[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[alainmoran]

15th March 2012[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[alainmoran]

16th March 2012[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[mogbob]

Alain
A good base shell, your obvious fabrication and welding skills ...no doubt acquired over a number of years...and you're cracking on at a great rate of knots.You can't kid me, you've done this before !!
Curves created in the metal patches,around an metal bar in the vice.Cardboard templates before cutting out the metal.Temporary metal offcut ,welded to the repair patch, to provide an earth for the welder.It's all there, in the pictures.
Well done for sharing the knowledge with others.Great stuff.
Bob

[alainmoran]

Hehe, TY ... yeah I have done a bit before, although I have to admit this time around I've been able to take my previous experiences and avoid the mistakes I made the last time - you should see some of my old welds ... actually no you shouldn't - pigeon poo doesn't even begin to describe it!

I've also learned that it's easier to weld when you use a heavier gauge sheet ... previously I'd used 1mm, this time around I picked up some 1.5mm as I knew I had to rebuild some core structural pieces ... welding the 1.5mm sheet is so much easier.

Although that could have something to do with the rollover rig ... I really dont know how I survived without one before!

Sadly today I discovered that the rear inner wings do actually need a bit of fixing up - I really hate that job, mostly because of the lead ... however hopefully the sections that need replacing are far enough away from the lead-fill that it won't be too much of a pain.

So work now stops for a while, as I have to go back to work ... I had hoped to get her ready for spraying, but there are a few more days work left before she's ready for that ... hey ho, should be able to set back to it in a couple of weeks for a long weekend ... I now need a holiday to get over this one!!

[davidmiles]

some excellent before and after shots there Alain, very instructional and great to view.

[alainmoran]

17th March 2012[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[alainmoran]

@David ... thanks, I hadn't intended them to be instructional, but great if they are of some help to someone.

I just wanted to document what I've done this time around - last time I just got on with it, but always wished I had pictures of before/after for each piece ... I have loads more pictures, but a lot of them are quite blurry as I'm just taking them with my phone.

[alainmoran]

18th March 2012

Last post for a while on this as I have to go back to the day job & earn the cash to pay for all of this ;)

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Hopefully I'll be able to do another sprint on it later this month, although next time I'm thinking that I should limit it to four days (long weekend) since after that the rate of progress seems to drop-off considerably.

[alainmoran]

14th April 2012

Well, I guess it's pretty-much impossible to restore a Minor without having to rebuild the rear arches

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[TvdWerf]

I have one, with original, not rebuild, not rusted rear arches ...[frame][/frame]

It is a '51 MM

[alainmoran]

15th April 2012 (7 days)[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[alainmoran]

I have one, with original, not rebuild, not rusted rear arches ...
It is a '51 MM

Hehe, I guess I'm either unlucky, or you're *very lucky*

[Dean]

Coming along nicely Alain. The nice weather makes it all the more enjoyable.

[alainmoran]

It's looking like I'm going to have to teach myself to spray, since chatting with a couple of places they tell me that it's now against the law to spray cellulose commercially, however you can still buy it for home use ... oh well, I guess I may as well have a go at it, what's the worst that can happen