Sc@ Chi

Has anyone had any experience doing this sort of thing to a road car in NZ? I'm maybe thinking frontal impact issues with the added steel for the 'hinge' but i hope this will not be an issue with the age of the car and as far as strength goes its just a glass body anyway all the strength comes from the chassis.

You're right, you have the advantage of a separate chassis. Should make it much easier. You should draw up what you plan to do, making sure it's neither weaker than the original structure nor too strong, i.e. retains some of the original crumple zones. I know, it doesn't make sense with old cars but it's what I did with my plans for a Mini flip front (a crumple zone in a Mini? Well, it's what they said...). Then send your drawing to the LVVTA technical committee (costs $35 or something like that) and they'll approve your plans. Build it to the plans and you're sorted.

Bear in mind that not all certifiers can sign off chassis modifications like this. You'll be needing a certifier anyway with the engine swap, so planning ahead and talking it through makes sense. They will be able to guide you as well, usually over the phone or email. The LVVTA forum is a great resource; Justin (the admin) seems to monitor it and answer questions accurately and quickly. I just wish I'd asked a question there before starting down a suspension upgrade on our Clubman Estate...

I like Scimitars, or anything that is less likely to rust. They still look great even though the design must be 40 years old.

I've google and googled and can't find a source of SU carb rebuild kits, principally for HIF44 carbs for my minis.

Any suggestions?

TIA

Had a quick chat to Ken McAdam who said that he couldn't certify it due to the class of certification required and put me in touch with Andrew Smith in Levin. He can certify it but he doesn't know of anyone who's done it before so I'm guessing it will be an involved process. I'm also guessing that the bracing will need to be substantial compared to the brace bars buys use in the UK. Will have to think about it and work out the best way to brace it against the firewall...

Really? I guess if I cast my net slightly wider and include the Hutt and out towards Porirua.

I need to have a chat to a certifier in Wellington city who knows minis. I need to find out the legalities of a fiberglass flip front on my mini, whether they need to examine sample welds of mine and a few other issues before I get to deep into the rebuilt. The front on mine is rusty and a flip front has always appealed. In the UK it seems all you need to do is run brace bars from the inner wing to the front of the subframe and I'm guessing it's been done recently in NZ (and been certified).

TIA,

Simon.

It's not rocket science and although you can buy kits, the basic chemicals are common and cheap. It's not like chrome plating, for example. This site has all you need to know and get started. With a bit of fine tuning of your set-up, it's more than feasible to do at home but not economic if you only want one part done.

^^^ True, but (a) spool guns are very expensive, and ( migging aluminium is tricky, as once you pull the trigger, you're committed to the weld at the settings you've chosen etc. The guy on MIG Welding.co.uk mentions this in regard to migging aluminium:

Aluminium TIG Welding - The Easier Way to Weld Aluminium

Since writing this page I've decided that using a MIG welder for aluminium is a pain. Though this page should help the DIY MIG welder who doesn't fancy spending money on a TIG. That's where I was when I wrote the page but I caved in.

The photo shows my first attempt at TIG welding aluminium. I've found it much easier than MIG welding aluminium, or even TIG welding any other metal. The TIG welder needs to have the option of AC current rather than just DC which prices it towards the £1000 mark. It doesn't require a heatsink, and a model without a foot pedal will work fine though it's nice to have the option to add one later (I didn't use a foot pedal for the work in the photo).

Industrial fabricators use MIG for aluminium purely for speed, where time is money. For home/hobby use, it has to be TIG. Even then you need to back purge and take the heat treatment required into account if it's a stressed item. A 200A+ MIG with spool gun will be more than a decent AC/DC TIG, and the skillset to use it correctly requires training.

+1 for PMT Motorsport (sole trader of Mitech units in NZ) - knows what he's talking about. I bought the 200A 4-in-1 unit (AC/DC TIG, stick & plasma), foot control and helmet as a bundle. I can MIG okay, but like learning new skills. You'll also need to budget for tungstens, gloves (must be lightweight and clean, not oily), filler rod and building a neat little cart for your gas bottle and welder.

Now here's the best bit of advice I can give: Do a welding course. Weltec do a MIG/TIG evening class, which I did a couple of years ago and teaches you MIG & TIG (obviously) but also gas cutting, gas welding, bronze welding, stick and more. It's about $330 for 12 weeks, one night a week, but worth every penny and more. Although it also caters for people who need to maintain their ticket, the tutors are great guys who can help with whatever discipline you want to specialise in. For example, the first time I did it, I practiced a lot on migging thin gauge steel (for bodywork). I've enrolled again as I need help to get the best from my new TIG unit, so I'll be seeing how schwing I can get with neat, tight 'stack o' dimes' welds on steel and aluminium.

Other good resources are The TIG forum of mig-welding.co.uk, WeldingWeb.com and WeldingTipsandTricks.com.

If you want to see some really hot welds, check out this thread on WeldingWeb.com. This is a guy building a cage for a 4x4 polaris, and it is unreal. The welds are so tight and neat, and they're migged, not tigged. In fact there's a thread on WeldingWeb.com about 'MIG like TIG', although almost everyone agrees it's more for aesthetics rather than any structural reason. Anyway, something to aspire to. Sample below:

I will let you know how I get on with my welder at the course - hope to have some nice samples of welds for the mantlepiece

There's loads of info on the net about how to do it (various methods), but has anyone any experience in engineering a flip front for a mini? Specifically, can it be done in the same manner as most people do it overseas?

Normally the flip front is one piece (either fiberglass or original steel panels) but running brace bars from the inner guards/scuttle to the front of the subframe.

If so, were there any particular things the certifier wanted you to do? Just looking into the feasibility at the moment. TIA.

Depending on the number and quality of cars for sale, it would make an excellent auction, although I'd love to get in early and pinch that Clubman estate. One was in Turners' recent classic auction with a price guide of $2,500 - $4,000. Sounds like a lot of the cars need to go to loving homes, and since I've got a Clubman saloon and a Clubman van, an estate would complete the set

Well, it's INTERNATIONALLY reviled now... (hee hee hee...)

From Anti-Rice.Com

Ain't it nice - NZ car and all...

Dunno, but they made the Perana, a factory V8 capri (great name). One of the crew at Practical Classics dropped a v8 into a Mk I capri, claimed the engine was lighter than the V4 that came out of it.

The Australian-assembled six cylinder 4.2L Cortinas (MKIV) were brought to NZ in about 1980 and widely held to be the most vile-handling pieces of crap ever land here. The engine was way too heavy for the car.

Yeah, for a lot of mods you might get by if pulled unless you had loads of them that added up AND you got pulled for being a twat.

But, while we're on the subject of legality, check this: Say you're on the open road, and don't notice a school bus by the side of the road and go past it at the open road limit. What's the damage?

Well, the limit past a school bus is 20kmph, so you're 80kmph over the limit. This is a huge fine. You also lose your licence for three months, mandatory. Your car is also instantly confiscated. You have to pay for it to be towed, and stored for 28 days. We are talking thousands of dollars, easily, for one offence. Plus the hassle of no car and no licence, and getting to and from work.

I'm not a safety nazi or a policeman or anything like that, but don't you feel a bit more knowledgeable about slowing down for a school bus... better to know than not, I feel.

If the government was smart and realised ppl arent going to fork out the money to pay for certs then they would subsidise it if they were truly concerned about safety rather than our money

The certification scheme in NZ was instigated to stop people using universal joints out of socket sets to make steering columns (a example a certifier saw recently), dropping V8s into cars with drum brakes and basically making cars unsafe, but it was all put together by the hot rod and sports car guys themselves, not the LTSA or the Police or the government. The certifiers are just making a living - nothing really goes to the govt, unlike speeding fines. Although it's over $350 to get anything certified, a scratch built car can be done for about $1100 apparently.

The limits are fairly reasonable and can be found at The LVVTA website. Things like the old chain link steering wheels: Banned not on taste reasons as I thought, but they don't deform at all, unlike your chest...

The argument about subsidising is a valid one though - why do the government charge GST on safety items? Because everything under NZ law is treated equally, from anti-cancer meds to wheelchairs to crash helmets. It's just the cost of your sport (in this case, not cancer or wheelchairs...)

Escort Mk I 2dr 4MT,

Peugeot 504 (towed by the council)

Escort Mk 3 (in the UK)

Merc 280S

Current:

Galant

Clubman,

Clubman van

and loads of bikes. Current is CBR600F2 - redlines @ 13K...

Okay, so I've read some of the posts here and trolled around a little. And it seems to me that no-one's bothered about having a truly legal car. I know it's expensive, and the thresholds are low but surely keeping it all legit is worthwhile.

As an example and this is only off the top of my head from a talk at the local Mini owners club from a certifier:

- 20% power increase over stock

- wheel spacers

- increase in track of 5mm

- different seats that don't use the original mounting points

- different engine

- brake modifications

- rollcage

- suspension mods

all need certifying.

Now I'm very old. Comparatively. So unless it's a small mod, I'm going to hold off all the mods to my Minis until it's worth getting it all certified. But I'm interested to hear why no-one else does or if they've had any issues with the law.

2mm thick steel? what the hell, normal panel steel is .8mm thick. but yeah anyway,

best way to go about it as what everyones said, cut out the rust, get a grinding wheel onto it and get rid of all the rust, and i mean all, otherwise itll grow back, then weld the plate in. if you chose to go the cheap mans way get as much rust as u can out then use a fibreglass reinforced bog, carbon fibre shts good but is a cunt to work with

if youre welding it you probably wanna tig weld it, dont wanna put to much heat coz youll distort the panel or watever youre wedling

TIG would be overkill (it isn't aluminium or a race car), MIG or gas would be fine if you know what you're doing and careful. But if you WANT 2mm steel you can farkin' arc weld it...