After Paint

With the engine cover back in place it was time to get other parts of the car back together.  The look of the carriage screws did give a neat look.

The next object to finish was the gas tank filler. When I first got the car, and I think all were built that way. There was no grommet around the gas filler. I found a black rubber grommet that worked in McMaster Carr. It did have raised letters on it, but with some wet sanding of the grommet, working the grits up, I was able to get a smooth finish.

The well bolt which hold the hard top to the car were very rusted and needed work. I was able to find stainless hex socket button head screws, drill and tap the center out while still having the hex to hold the bolts to tighten. Now I chucked the two bolts up in a lathe and turned the heads down to match the original height. A few minutes at the buffer and the tops were polished and ready to go.

The early models, of which mine is one, had a a door latch which was a bolt which triggered when the door closed and locked the door closed. I am not sure if it was factory or done along the way but someone had taken large flat washers, bent the lip and pop riveted then to the door posts. They didn't seem to work very well, so I fabricated two new door latch trim. 14 GA SST bent into shape and polished them. The back has a lip to trigger the latch, and I backed them with the thin rubber material before using carriage bolts to mount them to the door posts. A few minor adjustments and the doors closed and latched perfectly. Looks a lot better than the flat washers on the posts to start with, and I am betting there will be less damage to the fiberglass when the door gets closed with the bolt ejected.

Doors were already mounted and as with the other hardware, mounted with carriage bolts and rubber gaskets.  The windshield came next. I had aluminum welded all the holes put in along each post. I was able to get a new gasket for the frame to the body and then made new mounting bolts from the frame to the body. A little lathe work again followed by polishing and I had four bolts ready to mount the frame. I made a gasket for where the frame meets the body, and mounted the windshield back in place.

When I first got my Mini it had body side moldings on the step panels, which was a look that didn't seem to fit the running board look, or give much protection to the painted running board. I fabricated two 14 GA aluminum plates and had them coated both sides with Rhino lining, the same material used in pick up beds. Dean's Detailing in Chesterton, IN. did a great job in coating both sides and giving the running boards a great look.

Taking my time and working on the small details was bringing the car back to the way it should look. There were still lots of details to go but it was starting to take shape.