Minigibbos '87 1600 Gti

[sensualt101 31 1 Cars]

i think that shell is a great base car and i look forward to seeing you complete the rebuild its always nice to see another saved from the great scrapyard in the sky!

[MiniGibbo 142]

Thanks, I really want to crack on with it but am so busy at the moment it's hard to even find an hour :/

[MiniGibbo 142]

Spent another hour on the car today, started off buying trying to have the tank out.. Bolts underneath, easy.. jubilee clips on the down pipe not so much..

 

 

 

But a little elbow grease later and blam

 

 

Then went onto remove both sets of boot hinges to make sure they are interchangeable and I needed to swop them as the donor car's lid is a 1 hole.

 

Phase 1 vs 1.2/2

 

 

Finished off priming the inside of the boot lid

 

 

More tomorrow I hope.

[MiniGibbo 142]

Another hour today and it saw me start stripping the seam sealer ready for welding...

 

 

What a mess it makes

 

Comes off easy enough though, just need to organize a Saturday morning that works for both me and my engineering friend whos going to show me how to weld..

 

Got the first coat of white on the inner boot lid too

 

[MiniGibbo 142]

Spent another couple of hours this morning on the car, continued with removing seam sealer..

 

 

Im fairly sure ive got all the front seams covered but am a little lost with the back.. mainly here..

 

 

Do I just go around the base of the boot floor or up the back joints too..??

 

advice please.

[DamirGTI 342]

Like this :

 

 

 

 

 

 

.. make an plate and weld it on the inside of the B pillar joint , and reinforce the on the outside of the B pillar joint where it joins the sill

 

 

 

... stretch the weld at the bottom a few cm to the rear as on the pic.

 

 

Also weld the corners of the sill to the front side frame (both sides)

 

 

Weld by pulse welding , and if you have an air compressor - use it to cool down the weld/surface with the air blowing gun during the welding .

 

D

Edited May 25, 2013 by DamirGTI

[MiniGibbo 142]

Thanks for that.. Never would of guessed about the bottom of the pillars or the plates.

 

What's the theory behind the plates..?

 

So the boot floor doesn't actually need to be done then or did you miss that off as I already mentioned it..?

[DamirGTI 342]

The plates on the insides/outsides of the B pillar will add stiffens in case of the side impact (and front as well) .. cos this is the weakest point on a 205 bodywork .

 

Personally , i wouldn't bother welding up the whole front and rear floor joints all around (OE seam sealer still looks in good nick so i would leave it alone .) .. just weld the both sills from the outside on the front corners to the front frame , and in the middle @ the B pillar joint .

 

D

[MiniGibbo 142]

Thanks, taken that all in.

 

Put another couple of hours into the car today, I think Ive completed prep on the cabin as can be seen here

 

 

Also found this...

 

 

And dug around on the known hole

 

 

Bit stuck though, looking around other seams.. do I need to do any of the higher pillar seams or the big fat one across the top of the bulkhead behind the dash..???

 

Hoping to start work on the engine bay seams over the weekend too..!!

[welshpug 1,657]

road or track car? for track car chop them flimsy seat mounts out, get a tubular seat mounting kit welded in

[MiniGibbo 142]

Dunno yet..

 

Was looking at putting some box section in to lower the seating position but I'm unsure if it would be worth the effort with the back corner mount being in the tunnel..

 

Surely if I fitted lower box section the seat would be pushed out from the tunnel.?

[MiniGibbo 142]

By "dunno yet"

 

I'm building it as a balls deep racer with no heaters and a light loom, but unsure if it'll actually make the track haha

[welshpug 1,657]

can always trim the tunnel down a bit, depends on the seat width and just how low you want to go really, the passenger seat can be shifter sideways a little to fit between sill and tunnel, further back than driver for visibility of course.

 

but the drivers seat often needs to sit on top or against a modified tunnel to line up with the steering wheel.

[MiniGibbo 142]

Yeah that was my thoughts about the steering position..

 

I'll give it some thought, I'm not fond of cutting the tunnel and making work for my self but replacing the front flimsy bar is defiantly something for the ideas box.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Once a cage is in unless you are a midget you will need to get the seat lower down as otherwise with a helmet on the top of your helmet is higher than the cage. Big accident then equals broken neck/back.

[MiniGibbo 142]

Yeah my head touches the roof In my rallye with a lid so I may have to bite the bullet and cut the tunnel then :/

[qwerty 9]

Your making good progress mate I never thought of fitting those strengthening plates in the b pillars, I'll be doing that.

 

How will the MOT go if you cut the tunnel and lower you seat, will this have any affect on you keeping it on the road if you want to?

Edited June 1, 2013 by qwerty

[MiniGibbo 142]

Yeah the plates make good sense when you think about it

 

Dunno, as long as its done to a high standard and strong. I don't see it causing a problem.

[Zacky-94 7 2 Cars]

It shouldnt make much. Diffrence to the mot side of things aslong as the seat is securely mounted and doesnt move you will be fine

[Dai1983 1]

Nice project.

 

I've seen similar but think I'm better off waiting for a car with more parts to it! I'd love a full cages up car but the horror stories of biting your I helmeted head on the bars is putting me off.

[Guest Spitfire2k6]

Very interested to see how this car turns out! What you planning for the interior? Stock seats and trim?

[MiniGibbo 142]

Been sat idle for a few weeks now as I have zero spare time for it..

 

Have been having serious thoughts though about loosing the red shell and just keeping the Miami car :/

[Dai1983 1]

Sorry, only realised how bad my spelling was. Bloody iphone!

[MiniGibbo 142]

To answer your question, I aimed for the lightest car possible and full track spec.

[309jazzpanda 41]

If its going to have a cage definitely get rid of the original seat mounts and get some bar in there.