Nicely put. That "denter" ( ) has some serious skills!

cheers

Jacob

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'72 Clubman Van - 1022cc, 295 head, 731 cam - Daily Driver
'69 Morris 1100 S - Dinged by a bus, in shed under repair
'64 Morris 1100 - Early 1100, long term project

I guess experience teaches you how much to squint when welding

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

Hehe, I was under a Toyota minibus yesterday repairing the entry step rails after some 130kg fatass person broke it.
The inside weld (gasless MIG) I did with eyes wide shut, I couldn't get under there with helmet on!

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

incredible skill, and something that sadly wont be around for much longer.. not alot of people can whip up hand made stuff anymore

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Potato

I love his vice-grips. Quick and simple.

Thing is those hand made panels would most likely be cheaper to buy than the reproduction panels from the UK

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Ain't that the bloody truth! Your everyday mechanic charges around $100 an hour.......works out to a yearly salary of $200,000 in labour alone for a 40hour week 50 weeks a year.......then there's what they sting you as profit on parts too!

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

Be nice if that was how it worked out, but from that err salary figure (gross takings), deduct all the workshop equipment, sevicing of said equipment, tools of trade, training, insurances, workers comp, sick days, holidays, rent, electricity, telephone, computers, internet fees, accountancy costs, bank fees, interest, advertising, and a raft of other normal business expences and I think you'll find $200 grand wouldn't cover even that, so there ain't much left to spend at the pub.

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True Gt, being a former business owner the bloody overheads keep you poor. Insurance is getting steeper and steeper too

Well go to the BMW dealership down the road from my work which charge $198/hr labour. So what do you think their "top" mechanic gets paid? Well that would be $27/hr

I have to agree with everything GT Mowog said, though i do think BMW is rediculous. But i do think that most workshops these days need to be charging the $100/hr to get by.

nice work by the denter,
might see if he wants a trip to sydney for a couple of weeks in my garage!

Well when you've got multiple mechanics and multiple apprentices all being charged at the same $100 rate, and only being paid $27 an hour or less, you're seeing seriouus money there.

When I see local mechanics getting around in brand spanking new HSVs and FPVs and towing their private race cars around, I don't think "Poor mechanic, must be doing it hard", I'll tell you that!

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

I dodn't mean it in a sarcastic way, but this show will put it into perspective a little: http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/659866

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Incredible work, another one saved... Excellent

Have a look at these threads, well worth spending some spare time looking through...

A very useful thread on how to make panels from scratch - http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=usetharch&action=display&thread=70135&page=1

and the Thai way to make panels - http://vwrides.com/viewtopic.php?t=43 Everything made with a few hand tools.... Have a look for the bus front floor, just amazing work.

cheers

Kevin