16v K1380 mini, I just couldn't resist ripping it apart again.
- Thread starter jayme
- Start date
- Thread Starter
- #152
So Its time of the year again to be working at this, being honest not much has happened since last October mainly due to buying this for daily duties. I wont bore anyone buy putting a thread up.
Parts wise ive been buying away at small misc bits such as bolts, seals and gaskets and the gf played a blinder at crimbo getting me a set of KAD tie bars, if you know anything about minis these are possibly the best about. Should hopefully rule out the annual change on the last sets id been buying.
progress wise this is where im at currently.
Plan is for stripped interior with body color floor and contrasting cage. Bulkheads will be trimmed as will inside of rear 1/4's. Will skim a few spots with filler to get it smooth before priming it then surfacing it with high built, sand that back with 500 before base and clear. Want the finish to look as good as exterior.
Currently a bit behind but once i get exams over i will be powering on with it, by end of summer i want to have interior and the bay sprayed, possibily the roof as well. then ship her out to get the rest done. Also want to get another dry build on the front end, had a few re-thinks on how ive planned things. Bottom line is It has to be running for next year, miss having it to take out at weekends to much.
Parts wise ive been buying away at small misc bits such as bolts, seals and gaskets and the gf played a blinder at crimbo getting me a set of KAD tie bars, if you know anything about minis these are possibly the best about. Should hopefully rule out the annual change on the last sets id been buying.
progress wise this is where im at currently.
Plan is for stripped interior with body color floor and contrasting cage. Bulkheads will be trimmed as will inside of rear 1/4's. Will skim a few spots with filler to get it smooth before priming it then surfacing it with high built, sand that back with 500 before base and clear. Want the finish to look as good as exterior.
Currently a bit behind but once i get exams over i will be powering on with it, by end of summer i want to have interior and the bay sprayed, possibily the roof as well. then ship her out to get the rest done. Also want to get another dry build on the front end, had a few re-thinks on how ive planned things. Bottom line is It has to be running for next year, miss having it to take out at weekends to much.
- Thread Starter
- #154
So hit a it of a personal target this weekend, and the interior now has a decent coat of epoxy primer. This has been a usy year for me with finishing my part time degree, changing jobs and cars of the mill, so its nice to be ale to put this project back to priority.
Will be giving this to sunday to cure a bit before a quick rub down and 3 coats of high build primer, will then be rubbing it back to get a smooth finish for my top coat.
Will be giving this to sunday to cure a bit before a quick rub down and 3 coats of high build primer, will then be rubbing it back to get a smooth finish for my top coat.
- Thread Starter
- #157
Go the high build primer on yesterday, so satisfying seeing it all in one color. Will let it sit a few days to allow for any shrinkage in the paint then start rubbing it down with 400/500, this should leave a nice smooth surface for my top coat.
Decided to order a fancy medium size gun for the color stage, the cage is a bit tricky to get around so the more compact gun and fluid pot will come in handy. will be ideal for the engine bay as well and help get the finish i desire.
Decided to order a fancy medium size gun for the color stage, the cage is a bit tricky to get around so the more compact gun and fluid pot will come in handy. will be ideal for the engine bay as well and help get the finish i desire.
- Thread Starter
- #159
Will be going for a grey cage, possibly the likes of nardo or yukon. floor and everything else will be red. My uncle has been doing all the spraying, ive just been doing all the prep work, he made the suggestion of using an air brush to detail the holes in the gussets matt black which should be a nice touch.
You any tips for colour sanding? plan is to paint cage 1st, before polishing it and masking it off. Some people say do it 48hours after, others say wait a week. Will be using 2k gloss for inside just for a bit more durability.
You any tips for colour sanding? plan is to paint cage 1st, before polishing it and masking it off. Some people say do it 48hours after, others say wait a week. Will be using 2k gloss for inside just for a bit more durability.
Sounds nice.
It's not something I've done a lot off, I work with clearcoat usually. But anything I've sanded and polished has been the next day, within 16/18hrs of being painted. But that's because it leaves us the day after painting.
With not being done in a spray booth, 24-48hrs will give it plenty of time i think. 2k gloss can be slow enough depending on the brand.
The longer you can leave it before masking it the better because the tape can mark it.
- Thread Starter
- #161
So finally got some color on the cage, went for BMC tweed grey, personally i love it.
Took me near 2 months rubbing the high build down to where i was happy, when the paint went down it was definitely worth the effort. Paint went on last weekend before it was rubbed down with 1500 and 2500, then polished up.
few areas im going to run the buff over again, Im honestly over the moon with the finish, goes to show you what can be achieved with some patience.
Next up is to clean up some over spray that got on the primer, mask the cage up and lay down some red. plan to paint inside the holes on the gussets black as well just as a small finishing touch.
Glad to get this done as its has really motivated me to push on before it gets to cold to do anymore, but for now im off to Munich for the week
Took me near 2 months rubbing the high build down to where i was happy, when the paint went down it was definitely worth the effort. Paint went on last weekend before it was rubbed down with 1500 and 2500, then polished up.
few areas im going to run the buff over again, Im honestly over the moon with the finish, goes to show you what can be achieved with some patience.
Next up is to clean up some over spray that got on the primer, mask the cage up and lay down some red. plan to paint inside the holes on the gussets black as well just as a small finishing touch.
Glad to get this done as its has really motivated me to push on before it gets to cold to do anymore, but for now im off to Munich for the week
- Thread Starter
- #164
So the tail end of the year has been alot less productive than I wanted, tbh as always life seems to throw itself in the way motivation hasn't just been there as much as I want it to be.
We had a major kick in the balls with the paint, we masked up all the front gussets and sprayed the inside of the dimples satin black. problem though was that the paint we used reacted with the paint that should have been well cured and made a mess. This had resulted in the front cage legs needing repainted and the front foot wells
With an excuse to get away from paint for a bit i set about dropping the engine 15mm in the frame (all to get the bonnet to close ) this went from a modified subframe to having these made.
I then dug my dash out of the roof space and trimmed it
stocked the tool box up with plenty of fasteners
and lastly rekindled my love of all things billet in the form of some owens fabrications tower bolt spacers, which are needed due to the subframe being raised into the car, giving a bit of a drop without the suspension geometry taking another hit.
And some goodies from Kent Auto developments in the form of rear camber and toe brackets, lower engine steadies and a limited edition Knob
Currently ive some stitch welds to do on my sub frames and i will be blasting them to get them painted, that will keep me going to the new year until im feeling more enthusiastic and in the mood to paint the engine bay, roof and fix the interior.
We had a major kick in the balls with the paint, we masked up all the front gussets and sprayed the inside of the dimples satin black. problem though was that the paint we used reacted with the paint that should have been well cured and made a mess. This had resulted in the front cage legs needing repainted and the front foot wells
With an excuse to get away from paint for a bit i set about dropping the engine 15mm in the frame (all to get the bonnet to close ) this went from a modified subframe to having these made.
I then dug my dash out of the roof space and trimmed it
stocked the tool box up with plenty of fasteners
and lastly rekindled my love of all things billet in the form of some owens fabrications tower bolt spacers, which are needed due to the subframe being raised into the car, giving a bit of a drop without the suspension geometry taking another hit.
And some goodies from Kent Auto developments in the form of rear camber and toe brackets, lower engine steadies and a limited edition Knob
Currently ive some stitch welds to do on my sub frames and i will be blasting them to get them painted, that will keep me going to the new year until im feeling more enthusiastic and in the mood to paint the engine bay, roof and fix the interior.
big_pete
RMS Regular
Some phenomenal parts going into this!
- Thread Starter
- #166
You should see the excel sheet ive been working through
few items I have be close to blowing half the months wages on but have had to stop myself , could have easily goe a bit mad with kad's black Friday sale.- Thread Starter
- #167
Been a busy few weeks, shell is booked for paint. I am working away to finish everything at my end for now.
Last few weeks has been spent sandblasting and painting more or less everything for the underside and sub frames.
Both frames
other bits that all got blasted
Freshly built hubs and trailing arms, with all new parts supplied by Cian at CC Minis, ball joint droppers fitted from owens fabrication to relocate the lower ball joint down 30mm
And all the other parts he has supplied from rear brake shoes to grease nipples
Last few weeks has been spent sandblasting and painting more or less everything for the underside and sub frames.
Both frames
other bits that all got blasted
Freshly built hubs and trailing arms, with all new parts supplied by Cian at CC Minis, ball joint droppers fitted from owens fabrication to relocate the lower ball joint down 30mm
And all the other parts he has supplied from rear brake shoes to grease nipples
- Thread Starter
- #168
Over the next few weeks I intend on finishing all the under body parts, sandblasting my engine bay and prepping it for paint, prep the boot for paint and rebuilt my sub frames to get the shell rolling and of to painters.
Between now and then i need to sort a bonnet, the steel 1 has became very flimsy and im not happy with it, a composite bonnet will be more rigid making it easier to remove and finish fitting the arches to suit the ride height.
Might also have to get some parts machined if the ride height does not sit how i want it to, but we will cross that bridge when it comes to it.
Last edited:
- Thread Starter
- #170
More progress, this time the inner boot got some fresh paint
Other than this ive spent some time rubbing down and painting all hard brake lines satin black, have some nice black historic motorsport braided lines coming in a recent mini spares order, along with nearly every single bolt to build the suspension, brakes and sub frames. Also have some billet parts coming from dsn classics and a new bonnet.
Next step for me is to get the engine bay blasted and painted, all the frames built back up with brand new parts on order and get it rolling and away to the body shop. next month will be busy.
Other than this ive spent some time rubbing down and painting all hard brake lines satin black, have some nice black historic motorsport braided lines coming in a recent mini spares order, along with nearly every single bolt to build the suspension, brakes and sub frames. Also have some billet parts coming from dsn classics and a new bonnet.
Next step for me is to get the engine bay blasted and painted, all the frames built back up with brand new parts on order and get it rolling and away to the body shop. next month will be busy.
natogreen16v
RMS Regular
- Thread Starter
- #174
Been a busy week with the mini. Finally got my order from mini spares, which meant I was able to start building up the frames for the final time. Only changes I might make is the cone platforms, KAD and MED have some new billet items which would suit my desired ride height more.
More or less every bolt, washer, flexible brake pipe and bush is new on this car. It gets expensive but its so much cleaner than fitting old rusted parts. The front sub frame is now ready to bolt in once the engine bay is completed, all it needs is the lower arms fitted.
Part of the order was a new FG bonnet, last bonnet became to flimsy due to how much i cut out of it. This one is a lot more solid.
Initial test was all good, needs some finishing work but im happy to do that providing all the gaps are correct. Front will be held down by some leather straps which ive modified a tad to sit further down the front edge of the bonnet.
Rear will be mounted on these little push button fasteners, not cheap but very trick.
Will need to make some mounting plates, but that wont be an issue, once ive these mounted I will fit some dowels on the front corners to ensure easy fitting and improved front edge fit.
Lastly this week I got the engine bay blasted ready to be run over with the sander for the primer stage, any filler will be done after that. Thankfully it will need very little filler to make clean and smooth, once that is completed it will be time to high build prime it. Hoping to finish the bay by end of Easter week.
More or less every bolt, washer, flexible brake pipe and bush is new on this car. It gets expensive but its so much cleaner than fitting old rusted parts. The front sub frame is now ready to bolt in once the engine bay is completed, all it needs is the lower arms fitted.
Part of the order was a new FG bonnet, last bonnet became to flimsy due to how much i cut out of it. This one is a lot more solid.
Initial test was all good, needs some finishing work but im happy to do that providing all the gaps are correct. Front will be held down by some leather straps which ive modified a tad to sit further down the front edge of the bonnet.
Rear will be mounted on these little push button fasteners, not cheap but very trick.
Will need to make some mounting plates, but that wont be an issue, once ive these mounted I will fit some dowels on the front corners to ensure easy fitting and improved front edge fit.
Lastly this week I got the engine bay blasted ready to be run over with the sander for the primer stage, any filler will be done after that. Thankfully it will need very little filler to make clean and smooth, once that is completed it will be time to high build prime it. Hoping to finish the bay by end of Easter week.
KeithRobinson
RMS Regular
Incredible build!! Love it!