MGB Restoration

A few photgraphs of the work I have been doing on my MGB.

The photo's show the floor before it was removed during repair and after.

After I grit blasted the mess underneath it reveavled that someone had performed a pretty shoddy chassis repair that had subsequently rusted out.

Also I discovered that someone had already replaced the floor (badly hence it rusting out again) and had drilled out all the factory spot weld and left me with 100 or so crappy drill holes to weld up.

I fabricated a couple of repair sections, cut out the grot then welded in the new sections. I welded up the holes then painted everything with Etchweld. I then stripped the new floor pan and sprayed that with Etchweld also.

After welding in the new floor I covered the new welds with more Etch weld.

I still have the seams underneath to weld up, and after the sill is replaced in January I will finish welding the outside edge of the pan.

OK, so I ran out of spaces for photo's. here's some more.

You've taken something on there, bet you're down the garage straight after your turkey dinner (you know, when the Queen's speech is on )!!
Love to see the pics when she's all done.
weldequip

I can see the 'bloodied' hand as well This way you really know that the job is all yours.

I have found that whenever I have added a new plane, chisel or saw to my woodworking tools I manage to 'nick' myself with them all at least once in the first week or so.

Once they have been 'blooded' then usually I have no more problem with them.

Good pictures of your work.

What is etchweld? If it a combined weld through and etch primer? is it good at both?

I am on my second MGB. Both of mine have been roadsters. My first one was in a similar state to yours. If I was doing it again I would consider removing everything from the shell and then getting it dipped by someone who know what they are doing such as Surface Processing before starting the bodywork repairs.( www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk ). It will cost more but it deals with the bits of a restoration I hate and I think it would result in a good job.

Anyway all power to your elbow.

David

Etchweld is a weld through etch primer. It's pretty impressive. It stick to bare metal like shit sticks to a blanket and its not bad for welding. It hardly burns back at all, so for jobs like this it allows you to add some good protection in areas that usually would be left bare.

It comes from http://www.bilthamber.com/

I used it on the chevy, impressive stuff. Thats a pretty rust B, my first Spit looked like that you could even see the road in places!

Originally Posted by MG David If I was doing it again I would consider removing everything from the shell and then getting it dipped by someone who know what they are doing such as Surface Processing before starting the bodywork repairs.(www.surfaceprocessing.co.uk).

How much does chemical dipping cost? I'm in the process of removing the plastic "underseal" from one of my Renault chassis with a heat gun and it's a time consuming job. On the other hand it's something I can do in the evenings when I don't feel up to risking welding fires. The guys in the link look like they could save me a lot of effort.

PS - been there myself with an MGB, but don't have any decent photos. The rust seemed to be nicely limited to individual panels though which was good. http://www.vord.net/cars/mgb/mgb_restoration.html

The following is cut and pasted from emails in June 2006:-

"Many thanks for your enquiry. Firstly I must point out that this is a process that we carry out at our premises, it is not something that you could buy a tin of. We have very large tanks and the car shells, or parts of, are completely immersed within these tanks. Obviously the car has to be stripped right down to the bare shell before it is brought in. It is a process that takes 3/4 days to complete and it removes all paint, rust, underseal, soundeadening etc and brings the car back to a bare mild steel shell ready for you to work on. It has rust inhibitors added to the final stage and this protects the shell for 10/14 days.

We can also offer a priming service if this is required.[/FONT]

We have attached some information and pictures that you may find of interest.

Our price to process your MGB shell would be £575 + VAT.

If you need any additional information please do not hesitate to contact us."



"Thank you for responding to my request for information.

Looking at the information I see there are both an etch prime and an e-coat option. Could you give me prices for these on an MGB as well please.

The leaflet does not say how the etch prime is applied. My assumption is that it would be sprayed. So would I be correct in thinking that due to the application methods e-coat will go inside box sections, with access holes, but the etch prime does not."


"Our cost to oven bake and etch prime your MGB would be £300 + VAT. This is a spray on method as you say. However we do use a good quality weldable primer which is easy for you to work on.

The e-coat would cost £750 + VAT and this is a full paint dip which does go into every nook and cranny. Any box section has to have 5/6mm holes drilled for drainage. Obviously the e-coat is more expensive but gives you a good quality finish ready for you to work on. All new cars have this coating underneath the paint finish as they come off the production lines these days.

Hope this is useful to you. If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us, either by email or phone."


While I am on a limited budget the price for the main process is something that I feel I may well be able to live with on my next project. It would just make such a difference. The etch prime I could do myself, although it would not be oven baked. I think e-coat is great particularly because it will go in the box sections etc, but it is expensive.

When I saw these people at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC they told me I could have the main dip process then take the shell away, do my welding, then bring it back for a quick dip followed by the e-coat. However, I don't have a price for that.

I hope this is of help.

David

By the way, I had seen your MGB GT restoration. It is of great interest to me as my next car project will probably be to create a car which my wife will be happy to go out in. So all your efforts to reduce wind noise around the windows plus the sound deadening are very relevant.

Have you come across a US product called Quiet Car? I had hoped to buy some in the UK to try but it seems that it would have to come direct from them in the US.