FOM The Clubman Estate

[Tupers]

Now that's an interesting mod. Do you think the motor will be too annoying in the cabin? On the other hand, it'll be the cleanest mini engine bay I've ever seen.

I think it should be OK although I'm planning on wrapping the motor in sound deadening just to knock a bit of the noise off. Ultimately cool is what Im going for so I don't mind a little noise, I can always turn the radio up.

Now that the 6x10 Wellers are mine I thought should actually check to make sure they'd fit a Mini without arches.

It's pretty close but the estate will be a lot lower and on neg camber so I'll be OK.

Moving the wiper motor behind the bulkhead left me with a recess on each flitch so I set about deleting them.

Made a little template.

Transfered it onto the steel and added an extra 4MM around the edge just in case.

Cut the recess out with the angle grinder.

Fitted the plate to check the fit and tack welded it in. These 'U' shaped magnets are great for blind plates because you can use them as a handle when you can't get to them from behind.

And fully welded up.

I also made a start on the plate to sit infront of the wiper motor.

I started beating a dome into the top clear the top of the motor.

Obviously it will sit right up to the top and still needs a but more work but it's going in the right direction.

 

[Tupers]

I didn't need this recess on the bulkhead either so today I roughly marked it out and got to chopping.

Made the plate and tacked it in.

Once I was happy with the fit I welded it in doing the bottom section from outside and the top from inside.

After beating a bit more of a dome into the wiper side bulkhead plate I decided to to do something about it's somewhat golfball like finish.

With a mushroom dolly, a planishing hammer and a vice to keep the late steady.

After a few minutes of work I managed to get it nice and smooth.

And I tacked it in to check it still fitted.

I also had a play with the wiper motor to see if I could fit it in upside down. I think this setup should allow for a bit more room in the glove box.

 

[chunkolini]

Gruesome flash backs
I can remember being the third youngest of a family of 6 holidaying in the half timbered version of this thing. Travelling the protomotorways of the late 60's Three kids on the back seat, youngest, oldest + 2nd oldest. me? lying on top of the sodding luggage. 30 mile traffic jams.

Years later I discovered that the rotten timber I used to pick apart with my fingers was structural, not trim.

Good grief. What a beautiful innocent age. A bit off topic.

But think how big cars are noe compared to this.

Chunko'.

 

[Drains]

the half timbered version of this thing..

Half timbered? You're only the third person I know, including me, who describes the clubman/ moggy traveller as this! And the first was Dame Edna... doing a tour of Stratford with Madge - "look, there's a half-timbered car!"

How we laughed

 

[chunkolini]

No she didn't she said 'look possums a half timbered car' as it drove down the street by my Pa's workplace.
Fantastic improvisation. I was horrified when I realised that 'She was a He'. I was young Ok.
But hell, a mini estate built from wood. Ours had lovely moss gardens in the windows.

We were all doomed. The optimism from that era would benefit our current culture.

Chunko'.

 

[Angusdog]

Years later I discovered that the rotten timber I used to pick apart with my fingers was structural, not trim.

Trim on a Mini Traveller, structural on a Morris Minor Traveller. And vinyl on a Clubman Estate, which really only became structural when rust annihilated the bodywork...

 

[Drains]

No she didn't she said 'look possums a half timbered car'.

Picky. I wasn't far off.

 

[naughtyboy]

love the peoject and work done but please stop giving my nephew ideas as im the one that as to do the work.

 

[Tupers]

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm glad I've not got to worry about structural wood on this, I'm certainly no carpenter.

Not a big update today bit something none the less.

This afternoon and welded in the plate over the wiper motor doing the bottom from outside and top from inside.

I thought I should probably do something about the engine steady as well so I popped out the pedal box and started lining things up.

I decided it would be best to bolt up the master cylinder tray and I also drilled out the hole for the clutch hose union.

Once I was happy with everything in the engine bay I lined up the reinforcing plate in the bulkhead and tacked the two pieces together.

After checking that every thing was straight I whacked the heat up on the mig and ran the few chunky welds down each side of the joint.

So all I need to do now is weld it into the car.

 

[Tupers]

As you can see in the pic bellow welding the engine steady on at an angle to match the original meant the side where not symmetrical.

To rectify this I added about 3MM of weld onto the edge and then ground it back to match the over side.

While I had it in the vice I also cut the tail off the back to clear the pedal box.

Unfortunately it wasn't quite enough so I went back and ground it right down with a flap disc.

Now that the steady fitted I drilled some holes to plug weld it to the bulkhead. It will also be weld in from the inside and gas welded where it comes through the bulkhead.

I bet none of you have ever done this drill bit. :lol:

Got the new engine steady welded on, one of them went a bit nasty but the others where good.

As I was working on the front end I decided I'd replicate the hole in the bottom of the N/S fitch of the O/S to make getting at the brake pipe easier.
I started out by making a template.

Traced it onto the other side.

I used a step drill to take most of the meat out of the hole and then trimmed the rest of with tin snips.

 

[Angusdog]

Nice idea with the access hole. I wondered why the fitch panel on my MkII saloon had been migged onto the subframe. Then when I put a smootharide kit with adjustarides onto my Estate, it all became clear

 

[Tupers]

Thanks Angusdog, I know it doesn't really add anything the the look of the engine bay but it makes changing brake pipes and to arm pins sooooo much easier in the long run.

I've been busy over the last couple of days but today I managed to get it and do some more work on FOM.

This morning I moved our Oxy Acetylene gear over to the Estate and got dad to gas weld the top of the new engine steady to the bulkhead. When the shell is next of the rotisserie or on it's side I'll get him to do the bottom as well.

Now for something that should upset some of the purists.

After being mocked for not wanting to de seam the Estate on my own Matt said he'd weld the seams up if I did the grinding.

We started out with three sections.

Then worked our way up to the whole lot.

Matt got me the clean the seam on the inside of the 'A' panels and then welded them up.

Once it had cooled down I ground the seam off and Matt welded it again from the outside.

We also did the top of the drivers side seem but didn't get around to doing the bottom.

How about some nice over all shots. Not only do I think it looks really cool but it's also more aerodynamically efficient now.

 

[Robotstar5]

Going to remove the gutters as well?

 

[Tupers]

Going to remove the gutters as well?

No not going to remove the the roof gutters I think minis always look bald without them. If this was a saloon I wouldn't have bothered doing the vertical seams but I think the estates lack of rear seams makes the front ones look out of place.

 

[Angusdog]

I agree. Although the roof gutter can be a rust trap, owning a car without them is a pain. We had a Mitsui Galant and rain would run off the roof onto the driver's seat. And as you say they look too bulbous without them. The gutter adds quite a bit of strength to the shell as well.

Are you running bumpers front and rear? I removed my rear bumper and mounted a saloon numberplate light to the LHS door with the plate under it, which looks quite cool. I'll just run some black seam covering rubber around the lip (I could deseam that bit, but it's got black rubber along the side floor seam anyway.)

 

[Robotstar5]

Are you running bumpers front and rear? I removed my rear bumper and mounted a saloon numberplate light to the LHS door with the plate under it, which looks quite cool.

I "quartered" the front bumper on one of my Minis, what do you think?

 

[Tupers]

I'll be running bumpers front and rear. I like the idea of front quarter bumpers but I've seen it done a few times already so I'm not sure if I want to repeat it.

 

[Angusdog]

I "quartered" the front bumper on one of my Minis, what do you think?

I always think if you're going to do it, make it look factory and have a purpose. I would have cut up a spare bumper and made finished ends for the inner part of the bumper, rather than leaving it with a cut edge. And it would look better if you had an oil cooler or intercooler in there, since that gives a reason for doing it. I was thinking of making a centre section for my rear bumper, so it extended right across the back of the car, rather than the standard two small bumpers. I may yet do it, but I've enough on my plate as it is.

 

[Robotstar5]

I always think if you're going to do it, make it look factory and have a purpose. I would have cut up a spare bumper and made finished ends for the inner part of the bumper, rather than leaving it with a cut edge. And it would look better if you had an oil cooler or intercooler in there, since that gives a reason for doing it.

I was young and impatient! I did put a chrome edge finisher on the cut ends. The white lines are to lead the eye to the red sumpguard, does that count?

 

[Angusdog]

Oh, don't get me wrong, it was just a 'helpful' comment I remember some of my mods back in the day. The worst was a glass-over-ply ducktail for my RD400, truly hideous. Whereas my customising these days, well...