Project Whizbox: Rust, rust and more rust!

Last weekend, we spent from dawn to dusk stripping down the Mini to see how much metal is actually still left in the car.

The front floor panels turned out to be far worse than we first thought and will need to be completely cut out and have replacement panels welded in place.

On closer inspection, you can see the bits of light glistening through the rust holes in the floor. The sills will also need to be replaced as they are practically just rust.

Rust also managed to manifest itself behind the rear seats and I will probably seam weld a strip of metal into it to stop the exhaust fumes getting into the cabin.

The battery box is virtually nonexistent and the boot will also probably need replacing. This will probably be done by welding in some aluminium sheet metal. 

We pulled the engine and front subframe out all in one go but 46 years of muck and grease made it a bit difficult and stubborn to remove. The old 850cc lump will probably be retired in favour of a more grunty motor.

The car now sits significantly lower now that it has no engine or front wheels!!!

The rear subframe was much easier to remove as we didn't have to undo as many bolts and didn't have an engine in the way.

The car is currently at the sandblasters getting all the rust and old paint removed and we should get it back in the next few days.

Stay tuned for more updates on Project Whizbox!!!