Given how expensive new MGB wings are this is a really good use of your time & those skills are with you forever. Interesting, I deleted the fillets when I welded the new rear wings on my MGB roadster, to avoid the rust trap. Just a thin layer of lead to close the gap on one side & on the other the weld was enough. I still have them on the front wings but only because I bought new wings but I will remove them if I need to rework them in future. I’m not a purist & prefer the smooth look & no more rust.
Hello from Australia - I sympathise with the repairs needed, but on the other hand well executed. I owned several roadsters in the late 70s and 80s here, and yes whilst some examples when viewed to buy were poor rust wise, even here in Oz, it wasn't difficult to find original examples pretty much rust free on most cases. The issue here was poor paint and trim due to the heat. I moved to the UK in 1988 for work (since returned) and classic cars were a different kettle of fish. In many cases very nice from a distance, but often the opposite to Oz, great interiors and paint, but when you got down on your knees RUST! I had a 1973 MGB GT I bought in UK in 2006, it had a very long history from new, its second owner from 79 kept it till 2006 when I bought it. He'd converted it to a V8 in 1989, a great job, he was an engineer. It looked terrific, but the front wings rusted like yours as well as the rear lower sills - but I still felt lucky compared to what I'd seen in UK re rust in an MGB shell. All the best.
Hi Des - I didn't mention I ended up getting some second hand front wings for the GT, which were great after some very minor prep. Being a stickler for originality, it was a bit of a shame to use these wings, but at least they fitted spot on! I miss that V8, I should have bought it home to Oz! Another MG I owned back in 2003 in London was an MGC GT, Downton tuned Stage 3, triple SU carbs etc, what a lovely car...but very rusty when I bought it. The drivers side inner sill (where your foot was) was non-existent when I peeled back the trim! Still a great car and a beast in that tune, worth saving. Still my best MGB was an original 4-cylinder GT, I owned in Sydney before I left for UK in 1988, it was a 67 model in Sandy Beige (a GT only colour - check it out www.classicmg.co.uk/car/mgb-gt-1967/ this is not my car, but shows its exterior colour. Mine had black leather with white piping to seats and door cards, plus it had a Webasto. All GTs were complete (built-up) factory imports to Australia in the late 60s, where as roadsters were CKD, assembled in Sydney with around 50% percent local content (dare I saw to a higher standard than UK, due to Rotational dipping of the body shell) so owning a GT here was a bit different! I learnt a few years ago that my Sandy Beige GT was found rusted out on a farm in NSW.
