jaistanley
Member
- Messages
- 1
Hi guys,
I am an avid hobby mechanic and have been tinkering with cars since I can remember (OK, about 15 years). I once worked for a summer in a body shop but only really got involved in prep and basic spraying with the guy that ran it as he needed a pair of hands. I have 'built' various cars, my current ride being a 320 HP E30 BMW that is thankfully almost rot free..
I also have the worlds ugliest, untidy, dented, worn out clapper of an MX-5 in the garage that I bought on a whim last year and drove around in until the MOT was up. First thoughts were to scrap it and keep the bits and bobs like LSD and brace bars to sell; but recently it has dawned on me that my skills at car bodywork repair (as in metal work) are no-where near my skills at mechanics. How shall I remedy this? I'm certainly not going to have a go at my beloved beemer and I have the perfect old rat bag in the garage to have a go on!
I have a grinder, a 100 amp SIP hobby mig (with a really crappy torch) and a few other basic tools in the garage. Oddly enough my TIG skills FAR out-weigh my MIG skills as I work as a team leader in a factory that makes high performance exhausts for various well know luxury and performance cars in the UK. I love TIG and was determined to do it well before having to teach/appraise others skills. Unfortunately the only contact I have with MIG in the workplace is high current stainless stuff that I don't do very often. In the past my efforts on body work have only been reasonable at best but I hope that practice will make me much better.
And on to my question:
I intend to make the MX-5 a solid proposition. Not exactly restore it in the traditional sense but make it something that I would let my other half drive. I certainly wouldn't at the moment! The aim of the game isn't financial pay-back but up-skilling myself and getting the right tools around me for car body repair.
I have to repair two VERY scabby arches, sills and what look like chassis legs (but I think they are more like anti-drumming floor-pan re-inforcements than anything structural). The arches to sills are absolutely horrible, as they often are on these MK1 MX-5's.
I should probably point out to anyone that is banging their heads on their keyboards and screaming WHY?; that the MX-5 is an absolute total and utter GEM of a car. Yes they are slow but they drive so well, and put such a huge grin on your face, I can live with the stigma of the hair-dresser image!
Can anyone advise me where to go next.
I have seen various repair panels available online, and have been reading other peoples accounts, but can you point me in the direction of some good tutorials?
What tools should I have around me to do a good job? Do you have any tips or advice about these repairs. Where to start will be a great one!
Where do I get the steel? How do I shape it, and what tools would you deem necessary for home repairs of these curved/shaped panels?
Basic questions I know, but I am very technically minded (Automotive engineering degree and plenty of bashed knuckles to testify to that) and like to learn new things.
Many thanks in advance.
Jai Stanley
I am an avid hobby mechanic and have been tinkering with cars since I can remember (OK, about 15 years). I once worked for a summer in a body shop but only really got involved in prep and basic spraying with the guy that ran it as he needed a pair of hands. I have 'built' various cars, my current ride being a 320 HP E30 BMW that is thankfully almost rot free..
I also have the worlds ugliest, untidy, dented, worn out clapper of an MX-5 in the garage that I bought on a whim last year and drove around in until the MOT was up. First thoughts were to scrap it and keep the bits and bobs like LSD and brace bars to sell; but recently it has dawned on me that my skills at car bodywork repair (as in metal work) are no-where near my skills at mechanics. How shall I remedy this? I'm certainly not going to have a go at my beloved beemer and I have the perfect old rat bag in the garage to have a go on!
I have a grinder, a 100 amp SIP hobby mig (with a really crappy torch) and a few other basic tools in the garage. Oddly enough my TIG skills FAR out-weigh my MIG skills as I work as a team leader in a factory that makes high performance exhausts for various well know luxury and performance cars in the UK. I love TIG and was determined to do it well before having to teach/appraise others skills. Unfortunately the only contact I have with MIG in the workplace is high current stainless stuff that I don't do very often. In the past my efforts on body work have only been reasonable at best but I hope that practice will make me much better.
And on to my question:
I intend to make the MX-5 a solid proposition. Not exactly restore it in the traditional sense but make it something that I would let my other half drive. I certainly wouldn't at the moment! The aim of the game isn't financial pay-back but up-skilling myself and getting the right tools around me for car body repair.
I have to repair two VERY scabby arches, sills and what look like chassis legs (but I think they are more like anti-drumming floor-pan re-inforcements than anything structural). The arches to sills are absolutely horrible, as they often are on these MK1 MX-5's.
I should probably point out to anyone that is banging their heads on their keyboards and screaming WHY?; that the MX-5 is an absolute total and utter GEM of a car. Yes they are slow but they drive so well, and put such a huge grin on your face, I can live with the stigma of the hair-dresser image!
Can anyone advise me where to go next.
I have seen various repair panels available online, and have been reading other peoples accounts, but can you point me in the direction of some good tutorials?
What tools should I have around me to do a good job? Do you have any tips or advice about these repairs. Where to start will be a great one!
Where do I get the steel? How do I shape it, and what tools would you deem necessary for home repairs of these curved/shaped panels?
Basic questions I know, but I am very technically minded (Automotive engineering degree and plenty of bashed knuckles to testify to that) and like to learn new things.
Many thanks in advance.
Jai Stanley