im pre event checking it tomorrow so il take some pics of the attachment points and cuts etc wen its off. its not as tidy as a road car should be but it looks good still. i didnt take alot of time to worry about the seems but if you line them up first and work from there it will look good even tack it on with welds so its straight then fix your mounting brackets on so its in the right spot and grind the tacks off.. would work.

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Potato

I vote leave them on the body and reinforce the whole joining area with some box or something. it might give you somewhere to mount bonnet hinges too as well.

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You should have left about an inch of the original guards infront of the seam. The inch of steel would be used to stop the new guards from flexing inwards.... you would just stick some thin rubber on it to stop metal-to-metal contact.

Leave the original seam and seam cover on the car, but take the seam off the new front. This will help make it look non-removable to unsuspecting onlookers.

I would definitely avoid using exposed/visible pins or clips to fix it there. Anything hidden is good, because if you get pulled over you can just open the bonnet NORMALLY and not get defected (doesnt matter how legal it is, if the cop is having a bad day he will defect it anyway).

You can use pins in the original subframe front mounts.... weld or bolt them to the guards pointing back to the firewall, and have them push thru the subframe holes so you can insert the pin from behind the guard, near the tie rod mount..

You can also do some horizontal pins on the inner guard, but the more there are, the harder it will be to get them all in the right spot when trying to put the guards on the car every time.

If you fit wheel arches, maybe have a clip hidden behind it at the seam area. Something on the inside like a right angled bracket that mates up with another one on the A-panel, each with a hole in the centre to put a spring loaded clevis pin thru.

^^when I say 'spring loaded clevis pin', i mean these little things they use on sail boats that hold the mast cables. Beaut little things that can release quickly when you squeeze them and flip a cam on the end. See the pin in the top fitting of this picture....



(not the best picture, but I cant find any others on the net)

You just need to imagine that the pin is holding 2 individual faces together...

When you push the spring end inwards, you can push the other end out far enough to turn the elongated pin 90 degrees so that it can slide back thru the mounting holes. When the clip is in use, the spring holds pressure against the turned pin and holds the whole lot fairly tight, but with enough 'give' to not be a completely solid mount (which is good if the front of the car flexes a bit).

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

Here is a better pic.... but this one has a ring on one end.....



I would just enlarge the main pin hole to accept one of these fasteners and then throw away the original fasteners (the ones that remove skin from knuckles and paintwork from panels)...

YUCKY ONES

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

I think it's worth the extra effort to make the hood flip up and use gas shocks to hold it open. It's nicer in my opinion than having the hood flip forward. When it flips up it's totally out of your way and it doesn't even need to come off if you want to pull the front subframe out. One of my other Minis has a flip forward fiberglass front and it's more of a hastle just to check the oil.

I left the seam on the hood section of the car then used some rubber moulding to cover the sharp edge that was left on the A panel. By leaving the seam on the hood it looks more stock and it partly hides the rubber moulding on the A panel. The rubber moulding helps to reduce vibration. Also I welded some tabs on the inside of both the A panel and the hood so the two line up and are flush when the hood closes. I used some little support rods on the inside of the A panel to stop it from flexing, but also made them removable incase the ever got in the way.

Just a few suggestions. Keep up the good work.

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email - [email protected]
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c207/TurboOrangie/

67 Traveller - Needs restoration
www.victoria-chiropractors.ca

thats some good advice.... specially about that bonnet opening thing with cops and looking legit at a glance so it doesn't get picked on. looks better that way too.

leaving an inch or so of guard is great but it would pay to bash it a couple of times with some dollys to shrink it a bit so the front sits flush with the a panel and doors etc...

do we have pics of that being done???

how about some pics of yours too TurboOrangie. that sounds interesting..

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Just needs to be bent inwards slightly....

I had a mini with a fibre front... was really rough but worked well. It had a bit of the original guards left there for this exact reason, and they were quite adequate. Could have been neater though...






Should have kept it......

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

You sold that? She must be one hell of a girl

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Naaa, I was living at the parents place and couldnt keep it. Already had 2 cars at home, plus one at the workshop...

And it sold for just a grand....

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[NATHAN] -- Sold everything mini related and am back in big beautiful BMWs

seems getting a glass front for my van might be a waste of money if I can find a good donor and just cut it up. I'll add "good front panels" to my list of what my $300 parts car needs to have

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- '74 Clubman Ute project

my new fron fits like a glove





this is my pulsar alternator

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-jamie-
1963morris 850
1965 solid side van
1994 rover racecar

Looks really good. I also kept a small part of the old panel when cutting it off.

Keep up the progress reports

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*Reasonable pricing
*I come to you..
Jay: 0431404607

cheers, since those pics, all the mounts have been made, and it lines up very schmick, i think im in love


bought some absolutely shocking sportspack style flares from minisport, taht were a horrible fit. andrew from minispor informed me of this before i purchased them, they now fit excellent witha few cuts and some fibregglass!

the car is in primer now, and the paint is waiting tehre for me to paint her, hopefully within the week!

the colour is called blood orange! (ba falcon colour) it will also have a black roof and flares , and the rims of mad-mk1, as they arent high enough t fil those uards anymore!

i need to prime the rear flares and the doors today, and then start blocking back teh rest of the car. i shall upload some pics tonight!

cheers jamie

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-jamie-
1963morris 850
1965 solid side van
1994 rover racecar

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-jamie-
1963morris 850
1965 solid side van
1994 rover racecar