fibreglass mk1 doors, less 3"
Turbo Mini Forums

Looking to replace the steel doors on the minus with fibre glass ones, firstly what experience have you guys had wit them, and secondly, they need 3" lopping off the bottom edge.
Any ideas?
Shane.

theyre very bendy

Can you pop them in something like a band saw, cut out 3" from the middle, and piece back together with fibreglass tissue, a resin mix to fill gaps, minimal filler, and loads of layers of primer filler?

Was thinking of taking 3 inch off the bottom and making good, thats all the steels have had done to them. Have became a master with poly resin and tissue since I had the car!
Shane.

Edited by shane on 26th Apr, 2007.

GRP doors are for track and race use only IMO. They offer no security, they won't keep water out and they open up at the top at speed.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

I have to agree with Wil. We took a long time fitting our doors and they are no where near good enough for the road. Lopping 3" off might stiffen up the bottom a bit, but the frames will be floppy at speed.

http://www.twin-turbo.co.uk
http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/default.asp

A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

Try http://www.minidoor.co.uk/

From the web site

Our 'Streetfighter' lightweight doors are primarily intended for competition use and dramatically reduce weight by eliminating the drop glass, winder mechanisim and much of the inner door frame. The doors are then reskinned in aluminium and converted to sliding polycarbonate glazing a la MkI. Weight of a MkIII door can be as little as 5.5 kg compared to around 19kg for a normal door. Weight saving on MkI and II doors is not as dramatic, but the aluminium skin saves 3kg and removal of the door pockets and fitting polycarbonate glazing produces further weight savings.

Look a good alternative. Personally I wouldn’t use GPR doors full stop as the bending at high speed made me concentrate less on my driving and is something I could never quite get used to. Personally above seem the best choice. I am sure they could do a special for your minus shell.

i fitted one GRP door to a friends project mini (only 1 as he then scrapped the project not due to the door) and it was a pain in the arse, the GRP is thicker than steel and getting the internal hinge's to fit was time consuming, still had trouble getting them to open and clear the A panel. we never drove the car with it fitted but i have to agree that there was loads of flex, the top of the door was all over the place and it would have let in the rain. i was also told the ali skin doors flex a lot and not to bother on any form of road car, but had no personal experience of them

Had heard grp items lacked stiffness, the steel ones i have are a litlle rusty, and have been on the car since '79, am looking for an alternative to re-skinning them, toyed with grp as to tie in with the rest of the car, will have to look into ali skins, and other options, thanks guys.
Shane.