I have a damaged turret and i am going to replace it.
I need advice on what to do i have a good used one or i could buy a new turret panel. should i cut through the A/B&C panels or just replace the turret panel.
Any ideas or advice would be great.
Thanks All.[/img]

I have a leyland mini that i rolled and the shell is basically rust free. and the car came out pretty well considering. Only the door roof and a guard got a ding.

Im going to cut through the pillars and weld a new one on. i have a mate who said he would help me (i dont think i could get it right).

i remember reading on here about somebody who had a 998LS and the vinyl roof rusted through and the panel beater cut through the pilars.

I reckon be too hard any other way.

Someone like Phatcat or microwen (panel beaters/sprayers) will be able to tell you how hard it would be i reckon

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Any pictures of the damage? Is it dented or is it rusted? Is there only damage to the turret or is there also damage to the gutter?

Cheers

When doing big panel work like cutting off a roof don't forget to brace the rest of the body before you start any cutting. You don't want the body "springing" out of shape when you remove the roof and then never driving straight again I would diagonally brace from the A and C pillars, and across the doorways.

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Thanks All.
It was picked up with a chain through the doors by a backhoe.
I maybe should have left it where it was but that was 15 years ago.
So the gutters are bent but i think repairable ? The roof is ruined.

Generally speaking, on most mini's, if there is no reason to cut thru the a,b and c pillars I won't. If you do, you WILL need to brace the rest of the the body. The Turrets are usually either spot welded or risistance welded. If it is spot welded, just drill out the spot welds and split the turret off... if its resistance welded grind it off with a cut off wheel (as close to the gutter as possible) and then grind the remains of the old roof out of the gutter.

There is a rail that runs right round the inside of the gutter that the hood bows clip into for the interior, there is sufficient strength in this and the gutter to support the body (provided you don't try and move the body around too much).

One of my Minis was picked up similar to that, about the same time too!


We replaced the roof of my Red 850 when we rebuilt it as it had fire damage....here's the link to the thread if you wanted to see some photos.
{ http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66555 }
The pillars were changed too as we wanted Leyland doors.

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Saxon Green 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=62641
Nightfire Red 850: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=66555