De-Seaming The Body Shell

I was not at all sure about de-seaming the Cooper, as it detracts from the originality of the car. However, it does look extremely good, and is a modification that is often performed on Minis. Many old Coopers were de-seamed by their owners back in the 60's and 70's.

The roof guttering is not going to be removed. The guttering distracts attention away from the gap left between the top of the door, and the bottom of the door surround. Also, the tops of many Mini doors do not align perfectly with the body shell, the roof guttering hides this misalignment. Minis look very odd if the roof gutter is removed!

 

Front Seams

The two adjacent photographs clearly illustrate how the simple process of de-seaming can dramatically improve the appearance of a Mini.

The two vertical front seams have been removed, and replaced with deep seem welds. These welds have then been ground down and leaded in order to obtain a smooth finish.

Rear Seams

This photograph shown the un-primed rear driver's side seam.

Applying the Lead/Tin mix and the subsequent smoothing down operation takes a considerable amount of time.

The leading work shown in this photograph will have taken Andy a full day to complete.