Hi guys,

been a while since I've posted with progress, but anyway, I'm almost all the way through panel replacements (hopefully, just gotta order 2 sills and a beaver panel).

Anyway, my two rear floor panels are in (although both are really badly fitting aroung the rear storage pockets (will be cutting and fitting a replacement corner panel I'll make up), but I'm having problems with when I get in the mini to work on stuff, the floor bow's down about 6" back from the crossmember. Is this normal with heavy weight? (like me standing on it to get in and sit down). How will this go for my front seats, don't they rest on the rear floor?

I'll get some pics, my floor welding looks like crap, but I figure it will be good once all carpeted, you won't see that part.

anyone??

A couple of things but I am not an expert in body restoration so they are just observations and opinions.

With respect to the floor bowing with you in the car
You comment and I see the side pockets are not attached to the floor as yet - that is fairly integral to the weight distribution.

Secondly, with you in the car, the shell is hanging off a rotisserie mounted presumably from the sub frame towers in the front and shock absorber towers in the rear.??? Its all hanging weight and not tied to a load on the suspension points.

I would say its normal enough as long as the shell doesn't disort or kink. It should stiffen once the side pockets are re-attached.

They look like the cheap, thin, english, replacement floor pans, if they are, then they will bow/flex/bend anyways.

_________________
No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Yep to both, cheap english panels and mini is on the rotissery.

So its all good then, I really hate my new front end, it bends so easy, but its too late now

Your floor bowing is made worse because you don't have the part that is under the cross member. So your front and rear floor sections are not connected. This is like cutting the middle bit out of a bridge.

I reckon that it will be better with that part in but even better if you can keep the floor corrugations all the way through. The corrugations appear to stop at the joing with the cross member. Standard, they go through and add stiffness.

M

Excellent, I didn't even think of that, I might have to try some clamps with blocks of wood to pull it back together a bit before welding in the new section.

I won't be keeping the corrogations as I'm to lazy to replicate it.