Years ago,1984, I went halves with a mate in buying a red 1969 BGT, it was not really so many years old at that time, we were surprised at how badly rusted it already was at that age, and this is east coast Australia, rain, with no snow and salted roads. It had both rear quarters and front lower guards with repairs in "Bondo Bog" an inch thick. We worked our way through it, gently and sympathetically repairing, preparing and painting. He still, to this day, now exclusively still owns and uses that BGT to this day as a daily driver, it has been a brilliant car. So take heart, it looks a big job but can be handled one bite at a time, it'll be worth it. Subscribed.
Just found your channel and subscribed. yes you've got your work cut out, the car is a pretty much a standard neglected example, i.e. a mess. I'm 72 now and have restored 3 cars, doing everything including the final painting. .Don' waste your time and money on etch primer, use epoxy primer, you can still apply it with a brush if you like. A good quality rust converter is handy, I swear by "Fertan", I have found it to be the best, although Dinitrol have a new one which looks very good, it leaves an epoxy coating behind. A good set of spot weld drills is a must, also the hole saw type are great in certain circumstances.
I applaud your efforts. Takes me back when I was much younger restoring cars because I had to!! Put a new floor in my Humber Sceptre using Oy Acetelene, rebuilt a Morris Minor countryman, Austin A60 van, etc, etc. Had no choice because money was tight. Resprayed lots of cars and vans just to keep me and my Dad on the road. Rebuilt engines, changed cam belts, water pumps, radiators brakes etc, including building my own camper van with home made elevating roof, from a Bedford CF plasterers vehicle (including fitting a VX 490 engine 2300cc twin carb engine! Used to fly with the overdrive gearbox)! Also repaired cars for many of my family. Good luck Best wishes Lynton P.S. I believe we are not too far apart? I live in Wigan Area.
That’s brilliant 👍🏻 lots of experience then and you must have saved a lot of cars and vans from going to scrap! And Wigan is just down the road! I could always use another pair of hands 🤷🏽♂️
Hi mate, thanks for sharing the trials and tribulations of mgb restoration. If you are keeping the car long term I would suggest trying the inner sill to see if it would take a weld without blowing through after you have cleaned it up. Also the edges of the floor. Its only a suggestion from someone who has been doing this kind of thing for over 45 years. You seem very fastidious in you preparation and work methods. If you do decide to replace part or all the Inn sill, try to get a couple of old screw type bottle jacks using them in conjunction with a strong piece of timber to keep floor braced while working, also keeping door closed if at all possible while positioning new metalwork to help brace structure. Been watching a few restoration vlogs recently and a couple of them put the earth clamp a long way from the work piece or even on rusty or even painted metal which doesn't bode well for weld strength or quality. Plus of course it will damage your welder in the long term. Good luck with your restoration am looking forward to seeing your next vlog.
@@rodneyperkins1057 this is a really useful comment thank you very much! I have tackled the edges of the floor and that will be in the next part. I welded the inner sill and it took nicely so I think 🤞 it took nicely. So it should be nice and strong! Just rinse and repeat for the passenger side next!
Those nuts that were trying to save in the early part of the video are for the splash panel. There is a rubber seal that goes between the splash panel and the wing. Don't think the bolt alignment is that critical. Nice progress. Thanks!
Great video 👍 When doing these sort of repairs just cut out more than envisaged ,"small panel repair take longer than large panel repair " so don't hold back 😊
He's another tip for when you're putting it back. Once you've repaired the floor edge drill new holes and spot weld the floor to the castle from above. The welds to the inner sill will need to be done from below but welding the thinner floor to the thicker castle is way easier from above even if it is a stretch to get the front ones. Also, I would repair the front inner wing trumpet as it looks like only the top half needs to be replaced. Get yourself some 0.9mm sheet to fabricate repair panels/patches.
Given your jacking point reinforcement brackets and outrigger ends are flat bits with bends in, probably worth just making your own. A vice, or even a bit of wood clamped on the edge of the bench will do for a bender when combined with a hammer! Cost aside, it’s definitely more satisfying when you make your own bits (well, for me at least!)
I did consider doing this but when my local MG specialist had a second hand section I bought it 👍🏻 there’s a fine line between saving time and then saving money!
@@HJRgarage True! I’m not familiar with how good or not the MG panels are, I’ve found with Triumph parts sometimes the shape is so off it would’ve been quicker to just make it from scratch. So worst of both worlds :D
Keep up the great work. Really enjoying your videos. Looking forward to the next instalment. Don’t rush it, be methodical. Use plenty of weld through primer before taking to the hot metal glue gun 😉
Yes them outriggers are available. But it wouldn't take much to bend a bit of 18g to repair it and keep the cost down. Just buy the jacking point and strengthener.
Thanks! I have bought some since I made this video. I got them at cost though as they were left over from a friend’s project. I really need to learn the proper name for the parts! Outriggers!
@@malcolmchadwick4047 thanks! I will bear that in mind! I’m new to spot welds this is my biggest project so far. I have done patch repairs in the past but not complete panels 🤷🏽♂️
Given the state of the vehicle, and you'll have another side to do, wouldn't it make sense to stick the car on a rotisserie? And strip it all the way back to bare metal and acid dip it? Or is that too much for 1 man and a small garage?
I think you hit the nail on the head there, to much work for me I am trying to get this car back on the road and if I went through all of that there’s a good chance it would never get there. And I am trying to keep costs down 👍🏻
don’t bother patching the rear end sill section! the outer inner wheel arch needs plug welding onto the flanges for the 3 sill sections! and stop calling it a “ cas-tell” section it’s castle as in windsor! 😂😂 i’m in the middle of restoring a Costello V8 and just finished my GT! If you need any amateur advice DM me! Keep up the good work! 👍👍
😂 the worst thing is I know it’s castle and I have no idea why I keep saying castel 😂 I have addressed that in the next video that I have nearly finished! Thanks 🙏
Super useful! New subscriber here. I've just picked up a 1967 Mk1 B-GT (dry stored in the Netherlands since 1993 but still on UK plates) and have some very overdue outer sill work to do in exactly the same place as you are working on now. I'm hoping it's not as bad- you really did find layer after layer of surprises! Very much looking forward to seeing how you do the welding work; looking forward to the next instalment! Where did you purchase the replacement sill from?
Thank you! I’m hoping it’s going to inspire a few people to keep these cars on the road! I bought the sill through eBay by looking for new used stock that people had bought but not used. That was to keep the costs down as much as possible. However loads of places sell the 3 part sill kit! MOSS Europe, MG Hive etc. 👍🏻
@@HJRgarage many thanks- certainly making me think about how to begin- will be really interested to see your welding techniques (as I am a beginner) when the time comes to start rebuilding. Good luck!
