hiya im gonna be replacing my flooring on my estate very soon my question is im only going to replace side at a time im replacing the whole front and back and doing each side in one panel not inner sills hope that makes sense i also need to replace cross member as it knackered would you recommend bracing car up and cutting out all the floor leaving centre tunnel then replace floor then cross member im new at all this any help would be appreciated thanks Dan
If you are going to leave in the inner sills then i would brace across from sill to sill and tack the brace onto the centre tunnel as well. Brace in 3 places this should be more than enough then cutout both sides.
You could do one side at a time but with it braced then do both both sides together. Do make sure the car is setting level and square otherwise even with bracing you may put a twist in the shell.
I would take a couple of height measurements as well just to be on the safe side.
> If you are going to leave in the inner sills then i would brace across from sill to sill and tack the brace onto the centre tunnel as well. Brace in 3 places this should be more than enough then cutout both sides.
You could do one side at a time but with it braced then do both both sides together. Do make sure the car is setting level and square otherwise even with bracing you may put a twist in the shell.
I would take a couple of height measurements as well just to be on the safe side.
ok many thanks if i brace it like that will it be ok to take cross member out to???
> > If you are going to leave in the inner sills then i would brace across from sill to sill and tack the brace onto the centre tunnel as well. Brace in 3 places this should be more than enough then cutout both sides.
You could do one side at a time but with it braced then do both both sides together. Do make sure the car is setting level and square otherwise even with bracing you may put a twist in the shell.
I would take a couple of height measurements as well just to be on the safe side.
ok many thanks if i brace it like that will it be ok to take cross member out to???
Yes providing its braced in enough places and tacked onto the tunnel.
The primary purpose of the cross member is to enable the seats to fit somewhere as well as providing some reinforcement/strength. With the bracing welded to the tunnel as well this will stop the tunnel from drooping as well as possible movement from side to side.
Like i said if everything is level some measurements taken and bracing installed then you should be fine. The more bracing the better really but as your sills are still in etc then you will have retained a lot of strength plus rigidity.
Make and bolt a sturdy brace bar across the seat belt mounts on the door pillars. The inner sills will be knackered - you will need new ones!!
> Make and bolt a sturdy brace bar across the seat belt mounts on the door pillars. The inner sills will be knackered - you will need new ones!!
Sorry buy I can’t recommend bolting a brace in.
If the brace isn’t exactly(and I mean +/- 1mm to the size required then once metal has been removed the shell will either pull into or expand to the size of the brace.
A properly welded and braced brace will keep the shells existing dimensions.
> > Make and bolt a sturdy brace bar across the seat belt mounts on the door pillars. The inner sills will be knackered - you will need new ones!!
Sorry buy I can’t recommend bolting a brace in.
If the brace isn’t exactly(and I mean +/- 1mm to the size required then once metal has been removed the shell will either pull into or expand to the size of the brace.
A properly welded and braced brace will keep the shells existing dimensions.
i was thinking that as there would be slight movement if i bolt on in so when i put a brace bar in it has to fit exactly in the gap with little if no movement at all
thanks
dan
also just with the bar would that be ok as i have to move the car in and out of the garage and there a 1inch bump up into the garage would i need to brace it up more ??
will this bracing be up to it
also just with the bar would that be ok as i have to move the car in and out of the garage and there a 1inch bump up into the garage would i need to brace it up more ??
will this bracing be up to it
so does no body know then
Looking at the picture there is bracing welded to the cross member which is no good for you as you are going to change it. One piece of tubing across will not be good enough seeing as you are going to move the car.
Try the method i have already mentioned but then add some diagonal bracing as well to stiffen it even more. If you wanted and its up to you then you could run some tubing or whatever you are going to use from the internal roof rail down to each cross bar vertically or diagonally. This should be more than enough although i would not advocate moving the car all of the time as this could upset things.
Why do you need to take the car in and out of the garage, is it down to lack of space, if so have you thought about putting the car on its side. Use a mattress or old tyres to roll it onto or even better a spit. Minimizing movement is the key to keeping everything straight and true.
> Looking at the picture there is bracing welded to the cross member which is no good for you as you are going to change it. One piece of tubing across will not be good enough seeing as you are going to move the car.
Try the method i have already mentioned but then add some diagonal bracing as well to stiffen it even more. If you wanted and its up to you then you could run some tubing or whatever you are going to use from the internal roof rail down to each cross bar vertically or diagonally. This should be more than enough although i would not advocate moving the car all of the time as this could upset things.
Why do you need to take the car in and out of the garage, is it down to lack of space, if so have you thought about putting the car on its side. Use a mattress or old tyres to roll it onto or even better a spit. Minimizing movement is the key to keeping everything straight and true.
hiya thanks for the reply this is my garage as you can see not much room and all the door ect are now dont the side leaving about 2-3 inch either side of the mini 
Aah all becomes clear very tight, lots of bracing then i’m afraid the more the safer.
