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NW Mini bodywork specialists?DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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May 12, 2004 10:07:36 GMT
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I've just taken our Mini 30 to a local bodywork place. It needs:
Windscreen out and some bubbling round the scuttle sorting two doorskins/doors two A-Panels At least one front wing bubbling at the bottom of the back window sorting
plus paint etc etc.
It was a fairly large place that mainly does insurance work, and basically they don't want to do it. Not enough money in it for them, and they are expensive too.
Any of our resident Mini gurus able to recommend anywhere reasonably near Widnes/Liverpool/Warrington/Chester? I can't do bodywork myself...
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NW Mini bodywork specialists?DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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May 12, 2004 10:08:57 GMT
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It's my Mums car - she's had it since new. The interior is mint and the MG 1300 engine is strong, so we're loathed to chop it in for another Mini, there's a lot of sentimental value in it.
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May 12, 2004 10:31:47 GMT
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I can't recommend one in that area, but you'll be looking at £1k + for all the work (including labor) It might be cheaper and easier to buy a new shell - Heritage still do them. The best place to get all the work done (although very expensive) is probably Somerford Mini's.
The other problem you are going to have is the colour matching........!
Oh and by the way - there will be a lot more hidden rust behind those a-panels - trust me!. Oh, and if the scuttles need doing, so may the tops of the inner wings / arches.
Don't bother replacing door-skins, try and get some second hand ones from a show / breakers. As far as I know you can't buy original door skins just repro ones, and in my experience they're all curse word. You get naff hinge / tred joints and they don't last long. You may also find that the bottom of the door is rotten.
A few other places to check (you'll probably already know about them):
Toe boards - front and back Rear Valance - also check the small quarter pannels on the back of the valance as these are MOT failures! Cracks around the front subframe mounts (floor ones not front) Inside the rear pockets - can often find daylight when looking in them! Bulkhead behind the dash - especially around the air-vent intakes The bit of bulkhead behind the brake servo - often get brake fluid leaks which quickly corrodes. Rear subframe Floors Hinge panel (B post) Door treds bottom of inner wheel arch Boot floor - especially under the fuel tank Boot hinge panel Front panel join to the wings
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Last Edit: May 12, 2004 10:35:14 GMT by iRocco
I like long walks, especially when they're taken by people I don't like.
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NW Mini bodywork specialists?DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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May 12, 2004 10:59:32 GMT
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Thanks mate! I'm pretty sure it's confined to what I listed, although I expect there's more lurking under the windscreen and behind the A-Panels/wings. Everywhere else has either been replaced in the not-too distant past or is OK. Lots and lots of waxoyl!! It's been shunted both front and rear lightly a few times (people don't see it parked in car-park spaces ) and the replacment panels are the ones that have gone mainly... We're prepared for a £1k+ bill if we can find somewhere to do it! Once it's done it should be OK for another while if we rustproof it all up right. And I think we'd sooner do that than buy another, unknown, Mini... I'd love to do a reshell but we haven't got the space and it's used every day so it needs to be off the road for as short a time as possible! Ta for the info!
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May 12, 2004 11:08:40 GMT
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No worries. If I had a Mini Mag / Mini World on me I'd be able to tell you of some specialists in your area. Try posting a thread on Mini Classic.
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I like long walks, especially when they're taken by people I don't like.
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May 12, 2004 15:19:56 GMT
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£1k.... there was that blue 1 owner swallowtail on ebay that went for less than that.... Get your mum out and about in a euro'd up Mk1
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Last Edit: May 12, 2004 15:20:46 GMT by rainking
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Stay with the Thirty - the special edition Mini's will sore in price in the next few years, trust me...........!
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I like long walks, especially when they're taken by people I don't like.
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