Project 'Tommy' - 1996 Equinox Spi

Had a busy day today - first day of 'real' welding!

Firstly went along removing the old sill - I got on really well with the 'spot weld drill bit' - works a treat!

started at the back and working forward ... the first bit to be cut out ....









.... then welded in the new piece (thanks for the cardboard template hints Gumball!! - worked a charm) ..... I know it's not great and will tidy it up tomorrow - welds are too small, but it's a start, and it seems very strong and there's no light getting through it!! - any tips on welding technique greatfully received though!






hopefully might get one side done this week ...!

Moved forward today and looked at the passenger footwell. Lots of holes appearing so made sense to again use the floor I already had:

As it was...



Cutout ...



The offending article!



New piece tacked in .. (took hours to cut it right!!!)



and finally welded..



just need to fabricate this bit now!



.. out of interest, are any other members doing anything similar with their cars etc or have you all been through this barrier??!!

Youre getting good at this mate!

I think its a right of passage for anyone who wants to own a good mini thats over 10 years old lol

Cant wait to see it on the road again, Top work mate

cheers shaun, it's a steep learning curve and wish my welding was better, but suppose it will come ....... eventually!!

Not done much over last few days - investigating next stage with the door hinge panel (see tech section), so welded up the holes that come in new sills (jack opening + others) ready to fit.

Finally got a brake cable through from minispares after the first broke - just snapped (could be quite bad if fitted and used!!). So i can now look to get the handbrake working again and also need to adjust the rear brakes...

changed my avatar to reflect the true current stage of Tommy... he looked a bit 'driveable' in the previous one!!

You have been busy.....

To answer your question.... out of interest, are any other members doing anything similar with their cars etc or have you all been through this barrier??!!

Im half way though welding up a 1987 city where all the rear floor, hinge panel, vallance etc has fallen of due to rust.. also both inner and outer sills, and both door pillars completly rusted through..

I will post some photos if it helps...??

Keep up the good work Rob..its good practice for the next one.....hehehe

cheers Gumball, any pics of replacing hinge panel would really help as my main problem is finding how things fix together, never having done it before. Don't really want to cut anything else out until I can see if it's the right way etc...!!!

Not sure if there will be another car - been told the garage is for Tommy only!!

Had an interesting day today! Decided to remove the old 'stiffner' panel that had rusted away and was responsible for the door not closing without a slam (followed by a small pile of rust particals on the floor!).

Cut away the wing a bit so I could get at it all and noticed a suspicious seam down the inside which should'nt be there...



lifting up the metal around the seam, it appears it's been repaired by just welding more metal over rusty metal... true to form, the job just got a little bigger!

.. anyway, found the welds and started to spot drill the rusty 'stiffner' panel out..



came out relatively easy (I did make lots of marks on where it was for fitting!). The rusty hinge brackets just fell off as i pressed them so you can see how bad it was...



cut out the bad patch and cleaned up the metal, and tacked in the new post panel.




now need to wait for my doors to come back so i can check alignment and finish welding, so placed a new repair panel in to check how it looks (will be cutting this to the size of the cut hole once the door is aligned)




not much more I can do here now until the doors come back ......

Its good to see someone else with lots to do.......

looks good rob.......

A tell you what Rob thats going to be some car when you finish

Spent a few hours in the garage this evening, measuring the door, welding in the door post and grinding it all down.... hope to get out again before the weekend as the end is in sight of one side of the car (excluding the front)!!

The door seemed to fit much better than before (not difficult!) but have a few shims just in case!!




put a primer on to protect all the bare metal.....

hope you did wot the hains manul say 1st disconnect the earth terminal of battery BUT THE CD PLAYER DONT WORK THEN

spent all day in the garage (neglecting the family again!) .... welded in the inner wing repair panel. Not too much more to do to finish this side of the car, just the step and finally the sill ......

Had my first welding fire today! Note to self - must stop and look around occasionally!!

in asnwer to the above - the battery is in the shed, and stereo may look good, but it isnt - takes 20 mins to play a song on CD as it skips..!!

Hey buddy, Looking good.

Wont be long till you're roof chopping and custom modding