I am so jealous! I had one of these back in the 70s and really loved that car. I had it torn apart to start a restoration and ended up having to sell it for financial reasons. I have always regretted it. Good luck and have fun.
In the U.K. we call the panel under windscreen a scuttle panel, but given that you correctly used the terms bonnet and boot lid we will happily let you off for this. Great work by the way , cannot wait to see the car finished. Shame you'd did not choose an MG. We M.G. owners say I would rather push an M.G. than drive a Triumph, to which Triumph owners respond, yeah you probably will.
That Bondo journey reminds me of my 64 1/2 Mustang. After a few passes I finally gave in and shipped it to Redi-Strip and dipped the whole contraption. Man was THAT eye opening!
You definitely made the right call removing all the old Bond. You have the double benefit now of knowing the actual condition of the original metal and finding out that most of the Bondo was not necessary. One note: When stripping filler with a grinder I have let my shop vac run with a wide mouth attachment right near the fender I was working on. You'd be amazed how much dust just gets sucked right into the vac.
Been out of town and just saw this one. Great work, Chef! I've always heard that bondo should not be more than a credit card thickness at the most. The fact that you'll go the extra mile to do the right thing gives your videos a lot of credibility. Soldier on Tush! Cheers.
Hi Dave. I used to read your comments when the guy was doing his healey in australia and have now subscribed to your channel. I am doing a BT7 healey and luckily virtually no bondo. Some rust areas, bottom of dog legs etc. but is amazing what you can do when you try. We once stripped a motorcycle petrol tank with a similar amount of bondo. We did it with a heat gun and wood chisel. No dust. As you say there was no need for it. Best Regards, David.
Love the Big Healeys …thanks for subscribing and following along. Yes, I’ve used a heat gun before to strip out both bondo and seam sealer…although it make a big mess, my preference is the stripping disc. Somehow, I enjoy revealing the substrate inch by inch as the dust flies😉. It does make a mess of the garage though ( I think that’s why they make leaf blowers right🤪)
Maybe the guy had shares in bondo! The missing captive nut at the bottom of the rear right wing is the same problem that I had and exchanged messages with you over. In the end I bonded stud in there and fitted a nut on the outside. Mind I discovered the problem a lot later on in my project than where you are now.
They loved Bondo! I believe you just increased your kilometer per litre average by lightening the body weight. You might want to invest in a dust collection system after doing this vehicle. Nice work!
Were there three small holes on the corresponding front drivers' fender? Could have been long base wing mirrors fitted? Your work is inspiring me to crack on with my 1959 MGA bodywork. I've discovered several mm of filler on the [ally] bootlid, where a boot rack was once fitted. The holes are filled with lead, too!!
Wow! What a mess. I'm a bit surprised that you didn't use heat and scrape off the Bondo, but that may have some other side effects I'm not aware of. In any case, great job and that body looks to be in excellent shape! Thanks for the excellent video once again, David.
not looking too bad on the panels Tush, but that was a lot of bondo on the passenger side. would you consider taking the body off and having the whole body sand blasted? also hitting the 80's down here, if you can send some of that could weather south. :) nice work !!!
Hi Robert. You can get the body media blasted with soda or walnut shells for example…sand can warp the exterior panels. You can do the inner tub with sand though. I think for this body tub on the interior I’m just going to scuff sand it and epoxy prime it.
