My son has just bought a mini and being a good Dad I thought i’d help him get it MOT’d.
Apart from all the other bits n pieces that need TLC there are a couple areas of rust that need attention however I need to know if they are MOT failures or not.
I have read the very useful article on here ref MOT Checklist.
The Drivers Side (Is that near side or off side I never can remember) A panel is probably the worst area (see picture) however would this be an MOT failure?
There are several other areas where rust is pretty bad but they are not near any key areas, the affected areas are:
Underside Rear Right Hand corner, bottom of rear storage areas Left and Right of Rear Seat, Top of Rear Wheel Arches inside vehicle Left and Right of Rear Seat, Rear of Front Wheel Arches Inside Car (Driver and Passenger foot wells). There are several other areas but these probably just need a rub down and treatment. Are these MOT failures?
I have checked all the major areas that I know of and apart from some rust colouration they all seem pretty sound, Top Rear Shock Mounts inside Boot, Top Front Shock Mounts inside Bonnet, Front Seat Hinge Points, Front Seat Rear Securing Bracket.
Other questions on above:
Do I need to get the A Panel cut out and a new one welded in?
How should I treat the other bad (non key) areas, welded or filler?
I want to touch up the discoloration by the key points so that an MOT inspector can see that they are OK, how should I do this.
Last question - the sills have had a lot of welding work done in the past which still looks solid but is in need of being cleaned up, what is the best way of doing this with a wire brush and bitchumen? or Hammerite Direct on Rust Paint with Waxoil?
> Pics of affected areas: = Fail = Fail = Pass (i would change it though) = Pass = Maybe Pass or Fail = Fail = Pass = Fail
sorry to tell you that but amount of car i worked on you just pick up on what fails and what done and pretty much any rust holes in a mini is a fail to be honest
> > Pics of affected areas: = Fail = Fail = Pass (i would change it though) = Pass = Maybe Pass or Fail = Fail = Pass = Fail
sorry to tell you that but amount of car i worked on you just pick up on what fails and what done and pretty much any rust holes in a mini is a fail to be honest
Many thanks for the advice, so in summary, if its a hole get it welded? if its surface rust clean it up and treat it and paint it?
I thought rust was OK as long as it wasn’t near a critical point (30 cm).
It’s not within 30cm of the body, that’d be stupid since any part of the body is going to be that close to itself .
It’s excessive corrosion within 30cm of a critical mounting point, such as subframe mounting points, steering rack mounting poings, seat belt mounting points, shock absorber mounting points.
I would imagine that your rear wheel arch is a fail. Not sure about the a-panel.
To be honest though, if you’re going to get it through an MOT, do it properly now while your son can’t drive it . A-panels are only about £6 each if you go non genuine.
I think there is a lot of rust there and if you start poking about you’ll only find more. As for only doing repairs that are within 30cm of a mounting point, I would do all repairs that are required regardless of position. The only way of finding out the true extent of rust is to get stuck in and see what you find
Thanks for all the advice, the A panel will defo be replaced just need to find a good welder with reasonable rates.
I’ll probably get the very front of the sill welded at the same time.
There does not appear to be any rust around the R/H rear shock mount (can’t see the L/H due to fuel tank) its just rusty colour anyway I’ll clean it up and have a real look then paint with Hammerite Direct To Rust (Smooth).
There is surface rust around both front shock mounts (inside the bonnet) but I’ve had a scrape with a screwdriver and its surface rust so Ill wire brush it down and paint it again with Hammerite.
I’m also gonna strip out the seats etc and get stuck in with a wire brush and angle grinder to expose any bad rust and get it welded up.
Looking at the A panel rust you may find the A post behind it is rotten as well so some problems maybe lurking there.
Poke your nose in behind the A panel where the door hinges bolt to and see if there is any damage/rust there. This is a known area for rust and a MOT failure.
> I think there is a lot of rust there and if you start poking about you’ll only find more. As for only doing repairs that are within 30cm of a mounting point, I would do all repairs that are required regardless of position. The only way of finding out the true extent of rust is to get stuck in and see what you find
Cheers
David
Well - contrary to my wife’s direction I did get stuck in and its a lot worse than I though as follows:
L/H and R/H Sills are both rotted at the front and rear (more so at the front) - a. Should I patch weld these or replace them completely? b. Genuine ones are £25 - £30 but I found some copies from DSN Classics for £10 ish (Anyone have any experience with these copies). c. Once I cut them if the inner sill may need replacing is this a major job?
There is also pretty bad rust in the front wheel arches (bulkhead?) in front of driver and passenger foot wells. a. Should these be cleaned up and repaired by welding in plates. b. There was no visible damage from the outside so where did the rust come from?
The rear end under the bumper is also pretty rotten on each corner but I cannot find one anyone know what its called and where I can get one
Anyone know where I can get an exploded diagram of a Mini showing all of the body panels? I’m having trouble identifying what is needed.
Anyone know where I can find a good picture guide on Mini restoration sills / panel replacement etc (I’d create one but I’ll be making loads of mistakes on the way and it’ll probably be a “How not to do it”!!!
> > I think there is a lot of rust there and if you start poking about you’ll only find more. As for only doing repairs that are within 30cm of a mounting point, I would do all repairs that are required regardless of position. The only way of finding out the true extent of rust is to get stuck in and see what you find
Cheers
David
Well - contrary to my wife’s direction I did get stuck in and its a lot worse than I though as follows:
L/H and R/H Sills are both rotted at the front and rear (more so at the front) - a. Should I patch weld these or replace them completely? b. Genuine ones are £25 - £30 but I found some copies from DSN Classics for £10 ish (Anyone have any experience with these copies). c. Once I cut them if the inner sill may need replacing is this a major job?
There is also pretty bad rust in the front wheel arches (bulkhead?) in front of driver and passenger foot wells. a. Should these be cleaned up and repaired by welding in plates. b. There was no visible damage from the outside so where did the rust come from?
The rear end under the bumper is also pretty rotten on each corner but I cannot find one anyone know what its called and where I can get one
Anyone know where I can get an exploded diagram of a Mini showing all of the body panels? I’m having trouble identifying what is needed.
Anyone know where I can find a good picture guide on Mini restoration sills / panel replacement etc (I’d create one but I’ll be making loads of mistakes on the way and it’ll probably be a “How not to do it”!!!
Many thanks
there r much better people on here to give advice but…
outer sills are easy peasy to replace, you can either get proper outersills which have open flutes (is that the right word?) or oversills whcih are much much wider and do not have the little gaps. both are fine to use but oversills have a bad rep for being used by people for major bodge jobs, ive just replaced mine with proper outersills even though i had 2 oversillls in my garage cus i didnt want it to looked bodged…if the innersill rust is only small it can be cut out nd plated, cant comment on replacing the whole pnnel as i havnt done it.
yea i did this
rear valance this is what im replacing at the weekend, the rear valance is the main pannel, you may also need valance closing plates and if its bad like mine a boot floor repair pannel.
Thanks for the link to Somerford Mini Ltd, the diagrams are just what I need, anyone had any experience ordering from them are they a good dealer, can’t recall seeing them listed on this site?
