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Extraordinary progress Andrew. Well done. You have achieved what many of us would have said was impossible. I hope you can have a bit of a rest over Christmas?

Wouldn't surprise me if this is close to completion December 2019.

I left the screen braces in till all the welding was done , you could see them bending as I spot welded the roof in. then went straight again when cooled down.

Thanks for the comments everyone, much appreciated.

To answer a few remarks....

I think the shell could be painted by the end 2019 and if it is, I'd aim for later summer 2020 to be on the road.

My garage is 22' long x 10' wide but take off 8" for thermalite blocks. I wanted a wider garage but received stiff opposition from a certain quarter The garage is big enough to get two Minis in unless I'm restoring another .... so normally it just has the project car in and the others are elsewhere

Organised .... not sure about that either ... but yes, I do have to think about what I need and try to arrange stuff around the garage as I need it.

However, seems like someone has told Nick the truth ...

I was going to comment about a 'Splitty' Mini - beaten to it ! Yes, I'll leave that brace in until later on in the build and when the roof is spotted to the screen frame.

Have a rest at Christmas, Richard .... probably not !!

Lovely work to observe, completed by a very talented gentleman...

Inspiring stuff,

Every time I find something else wrong with the Van I think.... "well Andrew's doing that S so must be savable"

'Talented gentleman'.......thats a new one on me

Glad to be inspiring on projects that maybe aren't quite as bad as you might think

Day off today, but this was yesterday ...

Underside plug weldathon in progress ..

Quite pleased with progress - 10 months since I cut the first panel (floor) out.

Just received this from our Spanish NOS parts specialist

Cheaper than Heritage even with the (I suspect) profitable shipping costs.

Little bit more rot cutting out today ....

Prep'd the replacement section and should get it welded in next week. This is probably the worst remaining part to do.

Roof lip is good so no more cutting the roof away.

Absolutely fantastic skills there Andrew! Can’t wait to see HOY in paint!

Tim

Great work Andrew. I am following with interest as a lot of things that you are doing, are what I will have to do with my car. HOY is a bit more rusty (not much though) than mine.

Can I ask - when you welded up the new windscreen surround / scuttle panel were you able to use a spot welder on the gutter part?

Thanks Tim and Gordon.

I haven’t welded the roof to screen surround yet Gordon but yes, my spot welder will fit in the gutter.

An alternative view of HOY today !

Getting ready to fit the rear valance. I've painted the underside of the boot floor and also the inner closing panel faces as these are very difficult to reach or impossible once the valance is fitted. Yes, it is Aqua (had a litre in stock) not Surf but its close enough for a cover coat bearing in mind the previous sentence.

Screen frame spot welded to the roof without any problems, made up the front corners of the guttering and cut the slits for the drains.

Plenty of grinding taking place to lose the MIG plug welds all around the shell.

Less than 11 months since I started cutting the floor out, I think its progressing quite well now.

Blyton next year Andrew?
Looking great so far..
D

kit of bits wrote:Blyton next year Andrew?
Looking great so far..
D

2021 maybe - not sure about next year though

Andrew that all looks great. Can I ask how you prepared the new panels for painting? - they seem to come in that dark brown type primer - did you rub that down and prime again?
I ask because I will have to do the same at some point to my car. My experience of painting is confined to sticking emulsion onto the walls in my house (badly I may add). I have never painted a shell before so any info would be most welcome.

Oh No!

It's died

Very good Mark

Rear valance now fitted.

For some reason the factory closing panels do not extend out to meet profile of the valance so I had to add a small piece of metal in, bent to meet the wheel arch return lip.

A few little bits and pieces at the rear to do, then I'll sort the front panel and wings out.