'81 Mini Clubman Estate

[ehb]

Lots has been done to this car this year.

The rear end had rust on the corners, as did the rear bumpers. Because the bumpers were bolted directly to the body without any kind of compression possibility, the corners of the car were dented in (?) and I never liked the flat plate where the license plate sat. Sooo basically for all the 15 years I've had this car, I had in mind to thoroughly clean the rear end. I've done that now and it looks awesome.

Since that piece where fuel tank filler pipe comes out was powdercoated and looked really bad, I also removed that and welded it to the inside of the side panel. Makes for a much cleaner look.

View pictures in this post in reverse order and read file comments

[ehb]

More attachments...

Unfortunately, I don't have pics of all the spot welds and tinning in between. Might be able to snap some from video footage, which hasn't made its way to me yet.

Anyhow, now all those rusty seams and awkward looking parts on the rear are gone and it looks like it should've in the first place.

[Fred]

That's some serious work. So in contrast I'll be unserious:

1) cling film, so UK! :-D here we brand appropriation it with "glad wrap", not sure about the US
2) what are the tyres? They look serious/aggressive/totally unsuitable for the weather patterns of your country! :-D
3) is that lower rear panel now welded back in? or did you just spray over the tape that was holding it and sand to a fine finish? :-)

Thanks for the updates! You have at least one die-hard person reading them, much like my vice stand thread :-D

[ehb]

1) I'll use the German term then, for maximum entertainment: "Frischhaltefolie"
2) Those are Yokohama A032, 165/70/10. As you can imagine, I don't drive when it rains.
3) Yeah the center piece is all welded in with little dots about 2 cm apart over the entire horizontal length. Too bad I don't have a picture, hmm. Will try to grab one from video, when I get the files. The other seams I TIG-welded shut with very little amps, always some short distance and varying position, as to not overheat anything. Then everything got smoothed out with tin, then epoxy filler.

Oh and something you'll be sad to hear: I replaced the distributor and put a more suitable needle into the carb. Even less pressure to EFI this one now... So sorry

Thanks for reading too - I just keep posting for the sake of keeping the last forum on the internet alive.

[Fred]

Ha, far from the last, and this one accurately described as my monologue online in a few places :-D I run one other that no one ever posts on, not even me. And use one other but I'm one of the only posting on it and haven't even browsed it in months. I used to host one more, sort of, but the owner pulled the pin on the domain and I don't think I have the DB contents of the old forum.

1) Say what? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_wrap
2) I thought you krauts had more testicular fortitude than that! I daily drove my R32 on R888 and D01J tyres for a year or so, and it rains plenty here. Yes, you have to be careful / does good skids.
3) Tin. Interesting to hear that still being used. I found a bunch in a panel on my 54 beetle once. Weird. Must have doubled the weight of the body :-D Aside from that, never seen it used. I have seen factory brazing, I think on my truck actually. And I have successfully used JBWeld to repair issues on multiple vehicles with good long term success if done well. WAY better using epoxy than polyester bog. At least, in some cases, maybe not all.

If your carb makes you happy, I'm happy. I only want people who want to use this shit use it with me. Put 70km on the 240 sedan today on dog-fooding firmware. Loved every untuned minute of it. Then put 50 or 60 on the factory bosch stuff in the 940 wagon and nearly lost my license. Oops, might save the description for an email or PM :-D

[ehb]

"Testicular fortitude"
Honestly, there are multiple reasons for not driving this car in the rain. I think it might be impossible to make a clubman estate not fill with water. Well, possible if you keep it out of the rain, soo I've driven it to MOT (TÜV) last december at 0°C in wet conditions. That was fun.

Tin, yes, hmm. Still not sure if using it was the right way to go, but I'd like to think of myself as oldschool... Also, it's something everyone says is "so hard to do". That's where I get triggered and have to prove them wrong. This epoxy stuff is great to work with, but I didn't know that until after its use. Oh well..

Well, the rear is painted now. I'm happy with the result, although there are some bad runs from the paint. I probably used too fine grit when sanding before. 2500 is not a good idea, when you plan on sticking paint to it. Kinda embarassing, but hey.. The one who doesn't make mistakes, doesn't work at all. Will need some more work cutting away the runs and sanding/polishing unwanted dust inclusions, but at least the basic contours turned out very nice.

And since Fred is so stingy with server space, I'm linking to some videos:
Before paint[/url] (50 MB) (volume / Bob Dylan vinyl warning):
http://couchlock.de/mini/VID_20190914_162109.mp4

After paint[/url] (60 MB):
http://couchlock.de/mini/VID_20190918_110627.mp4

[Fred]

Things I like about lead/tin filler and brazing:

* Protects steel from rusting there
* Lower temperature process = less warping than welding
* Won't fall out like polyester bog will
* Not porous like polyester bog is

Things I don't like:

* You can't weld it afterward unless you physically remove all of it

Oddly, epoxy has all the same benefits and drawbacks as the two metal processes :-D

Painting, wow, 2500 for primer, you're not German by chance are you? I've never gone past 1200 on top coat! :-D And often straight off the gun is fine. 600 wet is the finest I'd go on primer or a non-final coat, but it's been years since I painted anything without a rattle can, so can't talk much.

I watched the videos. Renault Trucks? I hope they're better than the PSA cars! :-D Paint looks nice. Didn't spot your runs, did spot your two hand extra lighting technique :-D I hope that paint is 2-pack of some type? Plain colours are nice like that, being able to patch them and blend it in. Metalic with clear = pain in the arse.

Funny that you cite the British car as a car that cannot be driven in the rain without filling with water - you'd think the population of England would have declined more steeply after mini production started from the mass drownings! :-D

You do nice work! :-)