Agree. Without trying to state the bleeding obvious, offer it up with the subframe in situ before doing any welding, so that there are no disappointments down the track.

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

Make sure the bonnet fits before you start welding.

Yes you will need the subframe in the car so as to help align all of the panels. Just make sure the subframe is nice and straight and not damaged as this will obviously affect how every thing lines up.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

Too right!!

I have a deluxe that has had new guards and front panel put on. There is a 20mm gap down both sides of the bonnet. I need to take it all apart and re-assemble. The new panels appear to fit together well, they just aren't the right shape.

M

Hey Mokesta, Try another bonnet if you can as I have found they can vary in size?
But maybe not by 20mm.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

Yeah, I have three spare bonnets and they all have that huge gap. It seems that the new front panel is to blame. The lower portion of the front guards under the headlights needs to be shaped to sit closer to the middle of the car.

M.

Yes I agree, and it also depends on the make of the panels as to how well they line up. The Rover panels seem to be the best but they still take some manipulation to fit correctly.
I guess if you have a front cut then the front apron and guards should already be at the correct width?

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

This is something I have been wondering about too, as my Traveller will need a new (or partial at least) front panel and guard. The Mini press make the whole process of replacing the panels look pretty easy, I suspect it's harder than it looks.

I suppose if I buy genuine Heritage panels it would give me the best starting point?

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Brett Nicholson
Greendale (near Ballan) VIC.
1971 Morris Mini Moke
1966 Austin Mini
1965 Morris Mini Traveller
1973 LR Series 3 88
2007 LR Freelander 2

When comparing front guards look at the area above the headlight opening, first on a car then on the replacement panels. Heritage ones have a radius there that's close to original, some others have hardly any radius at all.
As my mate found out with his restored Mk2 S, after the panelbeater had replaced the LF guard with an aftermarket one, and painted the car...

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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.

Other issue with guards is to make sure the headlight surround suits the old type headlight buckets as I found out when I came to fit my headlights and ended up needing to buy the later Rover style headlight buckets. The fixing holes are wrong and round and prevents fitting the square nylon nuts for the self tapper screws

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S