Berlinetta build and restoration

[philcoyle]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Reminiscent of early Land Rover door locks.

[milliemarlin]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

You could try:

https://www.holden.co.uk/

I think they are most likely. I took a quick look but could not see exactly the same latch but I'm no expert.
Paul

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

A step backward today. One of the door latches that I modified jammed. So I split it by grinding the rivets off and I could see that the peg that was drilled and tapped had come loose. It turns out that it is riveted in place and the drilling and tapping had loosened it. I riveted it back on and put it back together using a spot of weld where I had ground the heads off the rivets to hold it together.

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As an aside, I had a look for a new latch but couldn't find one the same. I looked at Car Builder, Europa, Woolies and SVC but none of them had the same latch, anyone know where does have them?

The next job was one that I have been avoiding for fear of disaster, removing the windscreen from the frame. In the end it was straightforward. I cut the sealant with a stanley knife, then using a ratchet strap on the posts of my trailer, I spread the legs of the frame then pulled the glass free in one piece.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

The front wing brackets were very rusty, so I made some new stainless ones.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Remote interior door release. This is covered in the build manual and is pretty straight forward. It was a real struggle doing the final assemble, and in the end I stuck the tapped bars that hold the original interior catches to the doors with sikaflex. I made up a similar arrangement for the exterior handles and also stuck them to the doors.

I removed the winder mechanism and glass.

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This shows how the winder works if you could see through the door.

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Classic Mini door releases.

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Deciding on the position.

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Door catches tapped and an M6 bolt fitted with the head cut off.

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Finished and working.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Doors. Three of the hinges had seized, a common problem with the Berlinetta.

Here you can see that the pin is moving when it should be fixed.

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I welded both ends of the pins then roasted them with a blow torch. They gradually came free with plenty of oil and lastly some fresh grease in the nipple. I also welded both ends of the good hinge just to be safe. Then the welds were ground down, although not as much as originally to leave a bit more strength. I can live with a slight bump of weld if it means a more robust hinge.

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The next job is to strip the doors down. I want to fit remote interior door release handles using classic Mini parts that I have collected, as per the build manual. Anyone got any tips for that job?

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

At last I can move on from the electrics, getting everything connected and working was straightforward, but it looked like a haystack! I spent a huge amount of time trying to tidy it up, I don't think I will ever be happy with it but it's a lot better than it was. I suppose I should be pleased that everything works. Another thing that took a lot of time was making a steering column cowl. Apart from me misplacing the original cowl, it has a hole for the hazzard switch on top which is not needed, so I made one from drain pipe molded to shape on the space heater. I have also sorted out the ducting for the ventilation which was a bit tricky due to lack of space behind the dash.

Here is the dash mounted for good and all switches and gauges working.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Got the dashboard wired and all working, although I still have the radio to wire up. It's a bit like the proverbial swan, calm on the surface, but behind very busy.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

I am busy with the wiring and took delivery of some supplies today.

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Amongst it are such things as several multi plugs to connect the dash board. An interior light delay relay, it seemed a good idea to have the light remain on for a short time after the door closes.

There is also a small supplementary fuse box, to allow separate wiring of the side lights, left side and right side. The CBS module is good, but it only has one fuse for all of the lights, which doesn't impress me much!

I have also included various lengths of the correct colour and gauge of wire, for use where the original loom needs to be extended or replaced. When it came to the rear lights I decided that the neatest and easiest way was to use trailer cable. This will run from the under dash area to the boot. I plan to use the standard colour code for trailers, and the redundant earth wire will be used for the reversing light.

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Made a new lower dash.

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[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

that looks very professional.

Thanks. Just concentrating on one job at a time and trying to do as good a job as I can. The heater temp control would be better if it was chrome but apart from that it's ok.

[listerjp2]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

that looks very professional.

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

With the template located on the mounting studs, pilot holes were drilled from the rear.

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Then the holes for the gauges were cut from the front for a neat cut.

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The rest of the holes were cut by the same method of drilling from the rear then enlarged with a dremel to ensure neat edges.

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The dashboard still has the protective clear film, as can be seen at the warning lights. There is an off cut just big enough to make a new front panel for the lower dash with the adjustable vents, so that's the next job.

[peterboat]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Windows 10 is pants!! I have a tablet as backup for the times when windows is playing up

[scott h]

Re: Berlinetta build and restoration

Time to start making the real dashboard using the Europa blank.

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To mount it I used two strips of stainless steel to which I welded bolts. These were then glued and screwed to the blank dash using the template to position them. Here are the mounts on the template having clearances ground out for the gauges etc.

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With them attached to the blank I could then fit the template over the bolts and mark out the shape. Then I took a deep breath and started cutting.

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P.S. Back on the laptop after a couple of hours of trying various fixes it seems to be working again, but it's reassuring to know that I can do this build diary on my phone when, not if, windows 10 goes into a sulk again.