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Post by garypb on Sept 22, 2012 7:58:28 GMT
Appologies if this is in the wrong section but wasnt sure where it should go.
I am about to start buying some repair panels but i'm getting mixed advice. One person has said only buy genuine/heritage panels as they fit a lot better. Another person has said not to bother with genuine panels as they are 3 times the price of patern panels and need just as much fettling to get them to fit properly. Logic would tell me that as they are genuine they will be of a higher quality. Is this the case?
Not sure if it will make any differance but to start with i will be buying a boot repair panel, outer sills, 'A' panels and a rear valence. The wings and front panel will be at a later date.
Many thanks in advance
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Post by paul1275s on Sept 22, 2012 9:49:20 GMT
Which boot repair panel are you buying? The floor or the hinge panel?
Otherwise i would say sills, a panels and valence go for pattern, wings and front panel go for genuine.
Pattern panels can be made to fit very well with a lot of time and care (and skill!). Although some batches of genuine can be a bit iffy, with the bigger, more complicated multi curvature panels the Genuine stuff is leagues ahead. My most recent Genuine vs Pattern experience was with a Scuttle, the Genuine was twice the price but about ten times better than the pattern part.
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Post by garypb on Sept 22, 2012 11:20:25 GMT
Time and care i have got, i may be somewhat lacking in the skill department. I am however willing to learn and im in no rush to get the car back on the road. The boot repair panel will be the rear one which runs accross the width of the car, the one which includes a small section of the spare wheel well. Cheers for the advice. Where is the best place to buy panels, i have been looking on the minisport website and they seem pretty well priced and the delivery charge is reasonable if you are buying multiple panels
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Post by paul1275s on Sept 22, 2012 12:39:16 GMT
With time and care on hand you will develop plenty of skill!
I think you can only get that boot repair section as a pattern part, a good first panel as a lot of the welding is hidden! Minispeed ok, Minispares also good, you can get a bit of discount if you join the bigger Mini Forums.
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Post by Miniböttcher on Sept 22, 2012 14:28:36 GMT
As paul said pattern panels are good for A panels, sills etc, but panels which need to fit right and have lot of folds, contours, bends, profiles, then it's best to use decent panels.
If your doing door steps, hinge panels or a panels, sort out your doors first. Then fit the panels around the door, doing it the other way round is harder in the long run,
Oh boy I know. And has cost me
Shows are the cheapest places to get panels, plus you can look at all panel up for sell from the different traders and compair prices and shapes. Think castle Combe is next near the end of the month
As said before, Mini speed, mini spares are good places for panels,
Mini machine are good( who also supply the above with some panels) , and sell good fitting panels and best for that boot repair, there boot repair seems to fit better than others. And around the same price
Play mini which I think is around crawley are a heritage Panel supplier, they can order you panels in, and I think they have delivers every Tuesday ( unless that's changed) plus you can pop up and collect it.
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Post by MiniGT5 on Sept 22, 2012 15:59:54 GMT
I have some none genuine / genuine panels I'm looking to sell on cheap will list them in the for sale area
N.
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Post by garypb on Sept 22, 2012 17:25:54 GMT
Cheers for the advice Dean, i must be doing something right as my first purchase was a replacement door. I am in the process of swapping the locks etc over so i can fit it before i begin trying to weld the sills etc. I think i have seen play mini, they seem to advertise on ebay a lot if its the same company. Will have a look at the mini machine website and see what they have
Neil, just replied to your for sale thread
Gary
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Post by paul1275s on Sept 22, 2012 19:12:42 GMT
What are you doing with the old door?
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Post by garypb on Sept 22, 2012 19:24:33 GMT
to be honest it is pretty much shot. The door skin is hanging off and the frame behind it is rotten as is the area where the widows locate. I was going to cut it up and use it to perfect my welding before i let myself loose on the car. If you are after doors the passenger one is not too bad, it will need a new skin but the frame itself is good. Once i find a replacement you are welcome to have it if you want. Would rather that than scrap it
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Post by paul1275s on Sept 22, 2012 19:28:52 GMT
If you were going to scrap it I'll take it off your hands, refurbishing a few doors at the moment, I can even give you back some lumps of mini to practice welding on!!
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Post by garypb on Sept 23, 2012 8:43:49 GMT
more than happy for you to have it as long as i get a few scrap bits to practice on. Where abouts are you located, i seem to spend most of my time darting around the south of england so can probably drop it off on my travels at some point
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Post by paul1275s on Sept 23, 2012 10:56:32 GMT
That would be awesome, i'll PM you my phone number.
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Post by monkeyjim on Oct 2, 2012 18:57:23 GMT
Dean and Paul know what they are talking about .
My mk1 has a original genuine Leyland door skin on one side and A genuine Heritage one on the other side. You would expect them to be identical . They are not . The Heritage fits ok but is slightly differant under the window area . So even the Heritage stuff is not 100% .
My most recent use of Hadrian pattern panels was on my red Mayfair .
I was given a scuttle and front panel . The scuttle was attrocious and not fit for anything . Dean welded repair sections from a scrap car on instead of the crap pattern part .The front panel was also not very good . The spot welds that join the bumper lip to the main panel had actually blown holes in the panel and they all needed welding up before Dean could fit the panel . The slam panel sections spot welds that join the front skin of the panel were also bad. It was a good fit once repaired and welded on but thats only thanks to Deans skills and wanting to get things right .
However if you cant do it properly even the best panel in the world would not fit well .
Think Dean pointed out about trial fitting and tacking all parts prior to final weld. If doing a front end , A panels and doors Minis really need door and skins lining up with the A panel and wing l which in turn needs lining up with front panel , opposite wing , A panel and opposite door . Tac it all in place then weld once happy . Dean knows all about thisand how too.
My mk1 was done in stages by someone who was on and off the job and the result is the biggest bug bear for me with the body restoration. However doubt many other people have noticed .
Personally on a loved car I would use proper sills , old stock genuine BMC, Leyland or Rover panels if available ( they are out there still) and then Heritage or M-Machine panels.
I would not use pattern after the last episode.
Dave .
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Post by sonikk on Oct 19, 2012 11:37:34 GMT
If you cannot afford Heritage then i would thoroughly recommend M Machine. I have used a few of their panels on my clubman and they are very good.
They tend to be thicker metal and they fit first time. I will be using them again for my inner sill to first flute sections, outer sills, and jacking points.
There is a lot of folk on TMF who use these panels and give very good revues.
Steer clear of Magnum, etc as they are a bloody nightmare for fit. Plus the E coat on them is rubbish and they tend to be thinner metal. Be wary when some companies say that they are their panels, most of them will either be Magnum or Hadrian, peel off their stickers and nine times out of ten you find a Magnum one under it. Even M machine have a few but the big stuff is all theirs.
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