Time lapse full metal Broadspeed GT restoration/transformation

[steve1071]

Love that picture of the rear end, very DB6.....

[java gt]

Looks really well proportioned from the back.The fresh air vent is certainly a modification I will be doing on my MKI when I start.

[Dr.Mabo]

Is the rear window custom made

Jepp, its custom made

Another excellent idea moving the air intake. I have always thought that was a much better solution than the standard MK1 ever had.
I hope you bring in to Blyton when you are all done.

I never understood, why the air intake never found its way completely into the wheel well.
I will defenately bring my Broadspeed to Blyton .



Besides the exit into the wheel well, further modifications were of course necessary for the fresh air supply. The air plenum of the newer Minis I could use for my purposes well, as well as the fresh air hose to the front. But to get the air directly into the hose I had to make a cutout behind the grill into the corner of the front mask.

Next I had to build a suitable air collector, which leads into the fresh air hose. I built this from fiberglass. From newspaper and a lot of tape I built the buck.

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After that fits so far, I laminated several layers of GRP around it.

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When that was cured, I cut the ends off and pulled the newspaper out from the inside. After cutting to the right length and sanding the edges nicely, the air intake is ready.

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[roger mcnab]

hi doc that is a very neat idea some thing like i was contemplating a bit different with a clubman could probably use one of the holes already under the bumper all the best for a safe and happy new year cheers roger mcnab

[Dr.Mabo]

After the rear end was finished, it was time to rebuild the front end. First I thought, no big deal, after the work on the rear. Shouldn’t take more than two or three weeks. But I was proved wrong. My demands on the front have increased significantly due to the work on the rear.

Since the Broadspeed has no seam along the A-pillar, I wanted to have the transition between A-panel and wing as smooth and invisible as possible. The best way to accomplish this is to weld both parts separately from the car.

Another challenge was the seam between the scuttle panel and the wing corner. Normally, you weld the scuttle panel to the window frame first, then fit the outer A-panel and wing, and weld the A-panel to the body, making sure the door gap is even. You end up with the front mask and wing. After that, however, you typically can't reasonably reach the area between wing and scuttle panel anymore with standard welding equipment. This makes the area unstable and the seam is usually too wide. I have never liked that.

In addition, without an A-pillar seam, the wing extends toward the door by the width of the A-panel. However, the A-panel normally has no seam towards the A-pillar, only a bead. Since it simply looks stupid when the bead suddenly becomes a seam, the seam must continue into the A-panel. So I first extended the upper tip of the A-panel, folded the edge over and shaped it to fit the edge of the wing. Then I aligned the A-panel and wing to the body, tacked them and butt-welded both panel separated from the body. After that, I was able to smooth out the weld nicely and roll it out in the E-Wheel. This is really a neat thing to do.

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[mk1]

VERY NEAT!

[Dr.Mabo]

To ensure that the seam from the scuttle panel continues to the door cutout, the repair panel from the scuttle panel had to be extended. The repair section is normally folded at the outer edge to be welded to the seam of the A-pillar. Without the seam, I simply folded the seam back again, but that still doesn't give enough material to run up to the door cutout. So I added some more metal and cut it into the right shape.

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There was also some rework on the front wing necessary. The radius along the front mask didn't fit. Of course It was possible to clamp both panels together, but then the seam pulled inward. So I did a cut, made a filler piece, welded it in, flattened the weld and sanded it down until it was smooth. Now the radius fits nicely.

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[Fanfaniracing]

Nice work!

[mk1]

I always love your latest update Doc. Superb work as usual.

[Prooij]

Very nice updates! Like your project a lot!

[Dr.Mabo]

On a Mini without seams, the harmonious impression stands and falls with the flow of lines over the side. The seams normally interrupt the flow along the sideview of the Mini. As a result, irregularities or vertically offset panels are hardly noticeable. Of course, this makes manufacturing the body much easier. If you then remove the seams later, a lot of compensation work is often necessary. Since I aligned the panels of the Broadspeed already without seams, I saved a lot of work. But what one must not lose sight of, however, is the overall flow over the full side. If it doesn't match, you'll notice it at the latest in the distorted reflections of the glossy paint job. To check the lines, I then used my "precision measuring tool", which I store exclusively at a well-tempered temperature in the humidor . So a chunky piece of packing string . If you stretch it along the full side, you can easily see unwanted high spots. It is perfect if the string lies cleanly against the sheet over the entire side.

And indeed, I had such a high crown in the area of the A-pillar, at the weld seam between the A-panel and the wing. So the sheet metal had to be shrinked. I realized that by setting heat spots with the welding torch, which I quenched again directly with water. The sheet metal shrinks during the spot heating, but the quenching did not allow it to relax and expand again. So I was able to work the high crown back. Since the wing was not yet welded to the body, I could then smooth the area easily on the e-wheel, but of course I had to be careful not to create a new high crown .

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[spraybeateer]

Nice work! been there done that.

[Mini Mad Swede]

Dont ever sell that string!

[harrymini]

Amazing, love the string technique, really good idea.

[mk1]

Incredible, just incredible!

[roger mcnab]

hi doc
it is amazing what can be done with a length of string good for all sorts of applications i used it for marking lines for roofing screws also for scribing flooring to walls checking roof rafters for length etc
well cheers roger mcnab

[Dr.Mabo]

Now that the body flow fits over the entire side, we move on to the wing ensemble.

The corner repair panel of the scuttle panel is neatly butt-fitted to all adjacent panels, as is the wing/A-panel combo. So I also welded the scuttle panel corner to the wing conveniently on the workbench. This way I was able to get a super narrow gap between the panels and I'm sure all parts are welded properly. If you try to weld the scuttle panel and the wing from below while they are already on the shell, it used to lead to random welding points that were hardly resilient. Meanwhile, the wing already consists of three elements and is still not on the vehicle.

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[Polarsilver]

This is "Automotive Art" .

[phil82]

very tidy and clean!
i like that so much!

[Fanfaniracing]

Nice Work!

Whe all learn a lot in this tread!