The Frame - Part 2

 Now that all four wheels were back on the ground, the engine and transmission in place there was just a little touch up work before moving on to the body. The original exhaust were low dual zoom, glass packed chrome trumpets. I had taken the heater boxes off the engine during the rebuild and added straight pipes in their place. with a little searching I was able to find the original low dual zoom chromes at CIP1 Some high temp exhaust paint new gaskets and the exhaust was in place.

Rebuilding the pedal assembly and master cylinder came next. The master cylinder had been replaced within the last few years from the look of it, so just a rebuild. New clutch cable, accelerator cable, and hook up the emergency brake cables to a new chrome handle. New pads on the three pedals, then temporary hook up of the brake reservoir. Adding fresh brake fluid and bleed out the system, fine tune the brake adjusters, brakes ready to go..

Next was rebuilding the rear axles with new CV joints, boots, grease and them mounting them in place. Rebuild the shifter assembly and after some minor adjustments to it drivetrain was ready to go. One other modification I made was to the front bumper brackets. The single bracket welded to the front suspension seemed a bit week, and I noticed the bumper vibrated when driving. I added brackets between the welded brackets and the fastening bolts for the front frame extension. I had to add a little bend to the new brace so it wouldn't hit the body when put back in place. I think it really "beefed"up the bumper. It was now time for the frame to change places with the body and start work on the upper half.

Compared to the frame you may say there wasn't a lot of work required on the body. In reality there was. I planned on going through all the wiring, all the gauges, wiper motor and linkage, then dropping the fuel tank and painting the interior fiberglass before putting both halves back together. I am getting ahead of myself though and that will be covered in another blog.

The Frame - Part 1

With the engine and transmission complete it was time to move onto the frame. With the benefit of an overhead hoist in my shop I was able to pick the rear end up and spend around a month rebuilding it piece by piece, the two rear bearing boxes (new bearings, shims and seals), rear brakes, (cylinder, hoses, shoes, hardware pack) transmission linkage, mounts, rubber bumpers, shock absorbers and exposed frame. Considering it was a 69 there wasn't the amount of rust I expected, and the brake drums were in decent shape. With the help of a wire brush, Wire brush cones for a drill, sandblasting, degreasing,  and sandpaper I eventually got down to solid metal. Once clean and shiny, I began priming, undercoating and painting, getting it into shape.

Once the rear half was completed, back on the ground and then turning the frame around I began work on the front half. The front  wasn't quite as easy as the rear had been. The brake adjusters were broken (not froze, but completely broken), brake cylinders leaking, brake linings worn, wheel bearings and seals worn and leaking, the ball joints very worn, the tie rods, steering shock absorber, brake lines, anything that moved was worn and needed replacement. The front took a lot longer to go through than the back did.

Since the frame was a VW, parts were readily available for everything through Auto Zone, Cip1, Mid America Motorworks and J. C. Whitney.  More wire brushing degreasing, sandblasting, sanding and overall cleaning and back to priming, undercoating and painting.  

Around three and a half months after beginning the frame, lots of blood sweat and tears and the frame was finally complete. My Mini really couldn't go too far though,, no engine or transmission, not to mention, seats, steering wheel, or any of those other things around you when driving. That driving part was a long way off although it doesn't hurt to dream. The refurbished frame was soon re-united with the engine and transmission. All the chrome on the engine and fresh paint on the frame made for a nice look. There was still a lot of work to go before the car would make it back on the road, but this was a big step forward.