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Post by gary26 on Nov 22, 2006 9:47:22 GMT
WAS CONSIDERING PUTTING A FLIP FRONT ON MY MINI, BOTH WINGS HAVE RUST AS HAS THE FRONT PANEL. I HAVE SEEN THE FLIP FRONT ALL IN ONE PANEL AVAILABLE BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE FITTED BEFORE SO, FIRSTLY ARE THEY ANY GOOD, WHERE DO THEY FIT TO AND DO I NEED TO ADD STRENGTH ANY OTHER WAY ON THE FRONT END.
GAZ
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noisymini
Mini British Open Classic
Posts: 98
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Post by noisymini on Nov 22, 2006 14:55:14 GMT
Well i'd say its def' worth doing as it makes working on the engine sooooo much easier, they're not expensive, don't rust away like the rest of the car and are much easier to fit than most people realise. Firstly if your buying one then go to: www.curleyuk.comThey're not far so if you pick it up yourself you can save on delivery and if you call and ask nicely they might give some discount. Oh yeah and you can be sure it will actually be the right shape and fit I have a one piece fibreglass front which i have on hinges at the front inside the valance, it has fasteners on the wings and bonnet pins on the bonnet. Steve has a two piece carbon front. With his we used fasteners on the wings and bonnet pins in the corners of the bonnet and the front valance that go through the sub-frame. With regards to putting strength back in to compensate for the removal of the front sub-frame mounts, Steve and I both just have solid tower and floor mounts, I have also added some strength into the area where the floor mounts are. Even though we both have comparatively high power engines having the frame mounted like this seems to be just fine. But some MOT testers might fail the car on not having any front mounts so you can buy 'MOT bars' that normally go from the front sub-frame mount to, if i remember right, the shock mounting. Hope that helps. Toby
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Post by gary26 on Nov 22, 2006 17:38:58 GMT
SO AM I RIGHT IN THINKING THAT A 1 PIECE WILL HAVE A BONNET MOULDED INTO IT AND THAT A 2 PIECE WILL HAVE A SEPERATE BONNET. ALSO DO THEY STILL HAVE A HOLE IN THE FRONT TO PLACE THE GRILL IN AS THE PICTURE ON THE CULEY WEB SITE SHOWED ONE THAT WAS JUST SOLID AT THE FRONT.
GAZ
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noisymini
Mini British Open Classic
Posts: 98
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Post by noisymini on Nov 22, 2006 17:59:40 GMT
SO AM I RIGHT IN THINKING THAT A 1 PIECE WILL HAVE A BONNET MOULDED INTO IT AND THAT A 2 PIECE WILL HAVE A SEPERATE BONNET. Yes. I'm pretty sure Steve's came with the grill already cut out and i think the headlights were too. Could always email or call curley's and ask as i expect they'd be able to cut out or leave the grill and headlights in depending on what you want. It's not exactly hard to cut yourself anyway either with a hacksaw blade or a dremmel type tool works very well.
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Post by gary26 on Nov 22, 2006 18:26:16 GMT
IS THERE A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIBRE GLASS A CARBON FIBRE, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT FIBRE GLASS IS A LOT MORE FLIMSEY, IS THAT CORRECT
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noisymini
Mini British Open Classic
Posts: 98
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Post by noisymini on Nov 23, 2006 0:05:41 GMT
Personally can't really tell much difference. Main differences are probably price and bragging rights.
Maybe carbon is a bit lighter but could just be down to a thinner gel coat.
Wouldn't say fibreglass is any more flimsey than the carbon pannels as neither of them are particularly rigid.
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Post by MiniGT5 on Nov 23, 2006 13:02:10 GMT
Good link here www.manchesterminis.co.uk/technical/flip_front1.htmCarbon aint no better than Fiberglass. I just bought a Curley carbon one 6 months ago from minispeed. Cheeper than Curleys with my discount voucher! I would go for fiberglass nex time Oh and I have a steel one going to the tip if thats any good to you see my freebe add in the forsale section. Good luck Neil
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