Things don't go well when I attempt to tackle the badly corroded scuttle panel and windscreen surround of my 1974 MGB. I may have run out of skills here.
Take a deep breath, walk away and return another day, but don’t give up. Try watching fitzees fabrications for tips on how to do the body work. He’s a magician and you’ll not match him but his approaches make it easier. I also hate the welding part but it’s a real pleasure when something gets done.
I've recently been watching Fitzee actually. He's very good, and he does take the simple approach, which is what I need. I won't give up though, but there may be some areas I leave to the pros.
I admire your honesty but I'm sure if you step back and take a deep breath and break the job down into small bites you will get your motivation back. Overall you are winning. Always enjoy your videos.
I appreciate you are not doing instructional videos but rather taking a journey that many have been on. For this project I’d like to suggest you watch a bit of Trev’s Blog because in working on his Bedford as a professional in one video he demonstrates the exact repair to the window frame that you are faced with and I think if you watch it and go back to the MG you might surprise yourself.
I do need a fresh approach with the car, but for the moment I'll do some more mechanical work. I'll spend some time "studying" and getting myself better set up for tackling the bodywork in the meantime.
Hello from Long Island, NY "My head's not in it". (I) Totally understand that and that's the first step in succeeding with a project. Do what you're good at. Do what's fun. Or walk away and come back to it and re-evaluate your approach. You obviously have the skills to do it but if you are not having fun there's nothing wrong with letting a pro do it. I have 4 classics and one's an MGB. I make vids for fun too and working on cars is just one of my hobbies, so I just share my journey with anyone who is interested. Well, good luck to you. It will all be worth it in the end.
I can see how you feel mate and sympathise because I am doing a roadster. But stop and walk away if your head isn't in it,and start again when you feel like it. Don't worry about the tossers who knock you (including me when I complained the music was too loud). Hope you carry on to the end no matter how long it takes, but you might be optimistic with time cause it's a long term thing. Keep it as a hobby and not a job, take care and God bless, Joe
Thanks very much Joe. Don't worry, your comment about the music didn't bother me in the slightest, and is the type of info I need to make my channel better, so I appreciate that. I got a bit of flack on a Facebook group, which is what my comment was directed at. I'm going to start on the engine soon so that'll be a series all of its own, and should be enjoyable!
Bending sheetmetal in all kinds of directions is not for everyone and mastering all the different welding techniques is not easy either. There exist several longer courses for this. But as we know from your posts, this is not a challenge you feel confident about. See e.g. this bottom line on the right fender: professional welders would've chosen to realise this with a seam having a stepped side underneath the other part with holes for plug welding through them. Still up till now your confidence did not desert you on many of the jobs most of us would turn away from. It regularly happens people loose their spirit on completing a body resto much more extensive than originally anticipated. Frankly speaking I love reading stories in the Practical Classics Magazine I have an ongoing subscription on with such stories inside, but never contemplated to mimick the trickier metal jobs described herein myself. The last time I had my hands on a electric welder was in 1961 in my 1st year at the UNI. In those years automatically darkening goggles or helmets even did not exist, so I managed poorly 😯
What a nice change to see someone who appears to feel the same way regarding sheet metal repairs. This only confirmed my lifelong belief that using thin mild steel to construct a car body and or chassis is utter madness. This madness has been forced on us by manufacturers whose aims are met admirably by this method as it keeps them in business. I just wish there could be more organisations like heritage bodies making carbon fibre replica shells instead of accurately replicating the problems of the factory. I can hear the howls of protest already at such a heretical suggestion but I am only interested in the driving experience of classic cars and the simple mechanical design. I am also happy with the restomod approach.
You have some interesting insights there! I do agree, a composite shell would appeal to me too, or at the very least a fully galvanised one. Nobody wants to do all this work for it to dissolve in the rain! I think the cost is the big factor though. What I'd love is a standard, stock MGB, and then a restomod with a few nicities bolted on as well.
Nice to watch someone going through the same headache patching as me! I found if you leave it and come back later ( A year away from it did it for me ) good luck, small tip with removing the bonnet, on the hinge there are two holes, 5mm I think, shove a couple of drill shanks in each hole and the bonnet stays put, till you pull them out, makes refitting easier.
I feel your pain dear boy, but keep going it’s not all fun, I’m 4 years into my resto, with not as many subscribers as yourself,so your doing something right …. All the best 🇮🇪
From what I see you’re doing a nice job, maybe you could consider grabbing a windscreen panel from a scrap GT. Some days are better than others and I appreciate your videos, I’m sure she’ll be gorgeous when your done!
Nice work sir, a very brave effort, and as many others have said, you're diving into one of the very hardest of all repairs on a GT there. I'm just coming out of the end of a complete body restoration of my own '75 GT (you can probably Google me to find my blog on it), and this was an area I left until very late as I didn't want to confront it. Certainly the high cost of the complete Heritage screen/scuttle panel is a huge factor for anyone weighing up this job - in my case I found that all four corners of the screen were beyond saving, as well as the roof, and that £500+ for the panel started to look like better and better value to me. Again as others have suggested, this might be an area where it really is worth that investment, not just in the time saved, but also in helping to keep the project 'fun' for you. As soon as I bit the bullet and ordered the part, it was a massive weight lifted, and cutting out the rusty scuttle and fitting the new one cleanly was hugely satisfying. There are many places where you can save good money on an MGB build - most of the bolt on panels are plentiful secondhand, and much easier to repair as needed; sills, inner wings, floorpans, even chassis rails, are simpler structures than this and can all be patched discretely if not too far gone. I guess I'm saying "pick your battles carefully" - good luck with the rest of the project!
Thank you for the advice and feedback. I am leaning towards possibly buying the windscreen surround, but I think I'll come back to it and tackle other areas first and hone my skills before taking it on again. There's a lot of work still to be done.
I think there are one or two RU-vid videos which cover repairing that windscreen section. It’s a pig to do. Or try the Welsh MG centre they break MGs and they may have one they can cut out that section from. There’s another MG breakers in Rugby that might be able to help. Everything else will be easier than this area. Also MGs used to be cheap to get parts, not any more, parts, especially replacement panels are now big money. There’s a channel called Rusty Beauties which covers repairing Triumphs, which is a good watch for making repair sections. I learnt loads from just watching RU-vid videos. Keep at it, it will take a lot of hours unfortunately, it’s just the way it is when it comes to bodywork repairs.
Thanks for the tips on where to find parts. Yes, they have gotten very expensive. I'm studying at the moment, watching youtube videos and trying to figure out a new approach. I'll be coming back to this, but not before tackling some mechanical repairs.
Ross, You videos are fantastic. I just picked up a 75 Roadster just after the first of the year and I have learned more from your series than I have from anywhere else. Hope to post my progress as well. Keep up the great work.
Hi Ross, Sorry you hit a bad patch--I often have that problem myself. When you get through this, you will have far more satisfaction than if the job had gone well. Take a break; work on something else; and come back when you feel more refreshed. If you decide to hire it out, that's fine too--just make sure that it's an intellectual decision--not an emotional one. The emotions are faster than the intellect, so they show up first. I assure you that if you complete this, it will mean more to you than just the repair. I enjoy watching your channel for the insight on how you do things as well as technique. Showing the disappointments is as important a part of restoration as welding finesse. I want to thank you for being such a good teacher!
Thank you so much for the words of encouragement. I think I'll enjoy rebuilding the engine, which is what I'll be doing next. It might take a couple of weeks to get it to a stage where there's a decent video ready to go up though!
Hi Ross, just wanted to say that I love watching these videos. I have two MGB Gts and a classic mini which as you can imagine we're and still are a handful of work. Keep the optimism up and I know these do drag you down but the end result is well worth it. I did see the little argument or debate on Facebook on the guages but like you say you're doing it for fun. I feel like since them comments you seem a bit deflated. Look on some things I don't agree with what you're doing but I appreciate the time and effort you are putting in to give us these great videos and you're learning. Keep smiling man! I feel like giving up somethings we have all been there 👍😁
Hi, I bought an MGB GT a few month ago and just started working on the rust. And it has a lot. It is a '75 chrome bumper, wire wheel model. The rust is present in aproximately the same places. It is making my hair become white. I try to work on it only when in a good mood. Hope to finish it before I turn into Gandalf. Best wishes from Romania
Sounds like your car is a bit of a mix there. A 75 car would have had rubber bumpers, unless it was built in early 74 and only registered in 75. I don't believe wire wheels were an option then either. Still though, I'm sure it'll be a nice car when you're done, but you have to do it for yourself!
Hi cheer up and don’t be to hard on yourself consider it your apprenticeship in sheet metal . 59 years doing body work and I’m still learning.go have a pint and tomorrow’s another day. Keep up the video’s and don’t give up. Cheers. Kev
As others have said, I think as I get a bit better at it, I'll start to enjoy it more. I'm not giving up yet. Just stepping back from it cause I was getting overwhelmed.
You're doing a great job, everyone has their own way of doing things. Sometimes you have to take a break from jobs you don't enjoy and go and do something you do enjoy for a while.
Sorry you feel that way, I started following the channel months back to see the MG bodywork happening. I think you started with the wrong job, wings,sills etc must be easier than those fiddly compound curves and you would learn a lot doing those jobs and may feel more able to tackle the scuttle. Have you watched the Fitzee’s Fabrications channel, I think it could help. Good luck, keep going.
I think that just cause I feel this way now, it doesn't mean I'll always feel like that. I'll get my motivation back when I try an easier bit. I'll watch fitzees fabrications in the meantime.
I was gonna mention Fitzee as well. I HATE BODYWORK but his channel has showed me that if you work in smaller sections you can put those together to make a complete piece. You’re on the right track I think it’s just getting over that hump of the unknown. Plus I hope you’re using gas mig….made such a huge difference for me. Flux core helped me learn how to weld but when I started using solid wire I actually started to enjoy it. But I still have to take breaks because I absolutely HATE BODYWORK!!!!
And those “experts” that keep chiming in are just those guys who feel the need to be validated. Watching you keeps me motivated to keep going in my builds.
I've had to put this on the shelf for a while. I've a lot going on in the background, but I'll get back to it in the coming weeks. Thanks for the compliment and feedback! 😎
Ross I commend you for your honesty and not being afraid to recognize your limitations. As others have said it may be worthwhile to step back a bit and carry on when you are more positive about it. But, as you said, if your heart is not in it you tend to rush things and do a crappy job. I believe you will be happy with the results of whatever you decide to do. Keep your chin up, mate.
Nothing wrong with they way your restoring the car Ross, as you said it will function properly even if you did it the "wrong" way.! alot of people out there have been watching too much Wayne Carini restorations!! aslong as its structurally sound then eff em all!!
I feel your pain buddy ....sometimes lack of previous experience at something like bodywork repairs can be frustrating and overwhelming but when that happens we need to search out someone with experience that can show us the way. Its easy to be wise in hindsight but if it were me I would have gone to a breakers yard and cut out the awkward piece from a scrap car. it might still need repairing and welding in but it would have made the job 10x easier for you. I hope you kept going and am now enjoying the fruits of all that work
Restoration is very hard , it took me a year to get back to my Vw trekker as I paid some £260 to fabricate a new front wing and it was way out, in the end I had to cut in places to fit but after that it kicked starting me to crack on. No doubt after you do just one repair then you will crack on with the next . Maybe good to stand back and crack on with mechanical but good luck and enjoy the mg project 👍
Looking forward to seeing where this goes - I have a 73 B Roadster that I am about to start work on in the New Year - it too needs welding - my Stepson and I are going to take a crack at it ourselves - - we both have limited experience in welding - there doesn't look like too much fabrication on mine maybe a couple of small sections of panels but I have the sill kits and castle rails to do -
I'm on my second MGB resto at the minute and believe me you aint seen nothing yet, when you take them apart they grow 5mm, test fit everything Ross before painting.. Cheers for the content fella and Happy New Year..
The more time progresses, the more I'm thinking I'll do the bolt on stuff myself but I think I'll farm out the work on the shell. I might try and tackle some of it, but it's a big undertaking.
@@Endfloat Tackle the easy stuff first like the wheel arches and quarter panels just to gain some experience.. You will have to do some adjustments on the repo panels to make them fit, yep you've gotta make them fit... Good luck, cheers..
Keep at it at all costs. I have a bgt that im working on outside for the last 12 years and its still not finished. I agree with a previous poster, look at Fritzee's channel, he simplifies thing lots. Wait till you get to the wiring !!!!!!!!! Im at the stage with it as you are with the steel shaping. Roll on spring. Keep up the content its fantastic.
Thanks very much! God, 12 years is a long time to be working on it! I will stay at it, don't worry. I actually don't mind wiring believe it or not. Once I've a decent diagram I'm happy.
Watching your struggles, the full value of Fitzee's methods come in to focus. Take a visit to Fitzee's Fabrications and watch how he does complex sections. It still isn't easy, but it is much less demanding of exact forming of complex shapes!
There’s a you tube fellow called make it kustom very educational he did one on hammer forming using wood templates turned out great might be helpful I’m in the same boat as you are on a roadster hang in there you can do it
Love watching your video's. As the owner of multiple MG's I know the struggle. My B GT was also really rusted under the front windscreen. It took a lot of time and fiddling to get it right. I also didn't like bodywork at first and mostly only did mechanical stuff. When you get the hang of bodywork it's actually a fun thing to do. Keep up the good work!
Thanks. I think I'll try and get a repair section for that part. I'll try and tackle some more mechanical stuff first, and get the bolt on panels done.
Ross I have a GT, it had a 'full' resto in 1996, I've never been happy with the scuttle area. I know without doubt that it is (for the amount of metal involved) the most complex/expensive area on the car to have professionally restored, it's got to be done right. If you're going to throw any big money at that car, it has to be in that one area otherwise it will make the new/secondhand wings look crap, at the very least. Everything else on that car is, as you know, very do-able with brilliant results.
I am sorry you have to feel that you have to address the so-called “professional” negative comments you get about your work. Remember if it wasn’t for people like you, these cars would never be restored. A professional would charge more than the car is worth for a restoration. Do it your way and ignore the naysayers! And thanks for the videos!
I understand your despair......but I found a youtube channel of Fitzee's Fabrication and he has shown some good techniques for bodywork. Have a look at his videos and hopefully you will feel more positive. I think you could start to enjoy this part of restoration. He does repairs around windscreens and doors and wings and floors. It's worth looking at. He's also Irish.
I have been watching a good bit of his stuff actually. He's very good, and I think I need a bit more practice before getting back to the windscreen surround. He's Canadian actually (although maybe he's of Irish descent).
The worse it gets the better your dialogue gets! Just like a goalie in soccer (football), it takes a different kind of person to enjoy that kind of fiddly repair.
None of the cars will ever be concours investments. We drive them, it’s a balance. Car as we know them may not even exist in 20 years, most of these car will be melted into other products.
learning curve is too steep. enjoyment comes with confidence which in turn comes with experience and knowledge. there's such a thing as "biting off more than you can chew". it's a complex piece that is best built as a unit using spot-welding equipment and expensive metal working machines. that's why the prebuilt units are so expensive. and not only that, it's a necessarily precision piece to fit the windscreen so as not to leak and rust all too soon again.
Been following your project. I'm restomoding a 73 MGB GT myself. Feel your pain - literally... Some time since the last post on this. Throw in the towel?
No not at all! Just a lot of other stuff going on in the background, some of which will become clear in future videos. I will get back to it though. To do anything else would be doing the car a disservice!
It's all progress. Shame you had to point out the obvious at the start but there ya go! What a sterile, unrealistic place RU-vid would be if everyone was an expert at everything. I think figuring out what doesn't work is exactly the right process. Walk away but worth trying again. I've a feeling the enjoyable bit happens later when it eventually works out. It's a great skill to have especially when you've a weakness for classic cars.
I know I was in a bit of a bad mood before I started the job and was hoping a bit of progress on the car would have helped, but I didn't make any progress, and as I said, my head wasn't in it. I'll come back to it though!
Hi I had one GT in a similar condition and what I can say is, it's better to stop this project and give the body for the scrapyard. It's easyer to get a better one and much cheeper than to follow up this restoration. But if you'll go on I'll enjoi to see your efforts
Well, that's a little harsh 😳 considering I have one in worse condition 😅. But, I know what you mean, you really must love the process and learning new things. It's more about the journey than the destination.
@@Endfloat That's great! I to have a 74.5 gt and I too am stubborn it's my best and worse feature 😃. I've had my gt for about 15 years and am going to restore it come hell or high water. I felt your pain as I had the same struggle taking my fenders off and couldn't save either one. Thanks for sharing your work.
As already said you started on the hardest part of the body. Tackle some.of the easier bits. Inner arches boot floor and get yourself.aome flat steel. 😁
IF you or anyone else wants to save money on grinder cutting blades. taking many thin cuts is the way to go. I saw a youtube video recently proving that. I watch your efforts for their infotainment value. NOT to see the "right" way to do the job. Because there must be as many "ways to repair bodywork", as there are "ways to skin a cat". keep up the great work.
A new body shell really isn't a runner. They're insane money, and I could buy a complete concourse standard GT for the money they go for, and I've heard bad stories about them too. I am thinking of paying someone to do the trickier bits though, yes.
Just walk away for a while and work on the jobs you enjoy. See how you feel then and how time and finances are. Another RU-vidr said 'one video is worth 100 comments' it's not easy but ignore the negative stuff. Keep tipping away at the car, it'll be worth it in the end
Could worth by selling all bits you strip off the car ,you 5 x better off , and then get a better Car to work on , I looked at other videos of the car and going to take you about 4 years to get that sorted ,there a lot of work to do , or keep that as donor car
I see your point, but for me it's about the journey as much as the destination. I don't want to admit defeat on this car, and I will get this one back on the road.
I'm still hoping that I'll start to enjoy it as I improve. I think about learning the drums. Playing paradiddles (google it) and boring exercises eventually leads to gaining the ability to play the more complex patterns.
@Endfloat is there a video of you fitting your pistons and building your mgb engine. I can't find one. I have seen the one where the small ends were siezed.
