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BE Shell

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Funny thing, mine was also rusted there. I guess it's normal. But I'm fixing mine now.

rearbottom.jpg
 
startech47 said:
It is rusted through along the floor pan to rear body seam. Look at the picture looking rearward into the cave.
Click to expand...

Yeah,I noticed light coming through along that area.

The rest of the photos are too small to really see anything.
 
It looks like the entire bottom has been rusted out and patched back together with some creative bracing. And that creative bracing may suggest some creative patching on the outer panels.
 
You can certainly see that both the main floors and both the front floors have been replaced with flat metal. The bottom of the rear bulkhead has been replaced along with the floors. And with that nice fresh coat of flat black, any other rust is completely hidden.

That car is certainly in need of new bulkhead and floors. Probably the rear spring mounts are completely gone.
 
My shell needs the rockers, outer A post and the lower parts of the fenders replaced. Not undoable, but if I could find a better shell it sure would save me time. Looks like this one is NOT it!

Thanks guys!
 
I checked that auction out also! Overall it looks pretty good but there are some suspect areas, including that daylight in the boot, not to mention the funky bracing at the left rear spring plate!! The body itself looks to be pretty straight! Interesting to watch and see what his reserve is. Interesting that there are two towns in Pa. with the same name!! If it is nearer the Butler Pa. location I may be able to have someone look at it!
 
The patch strip along the bottom of the rear valence is a common fix. Backing into curbs and collection of dirt/mud that seems to stay wet forever leads to damage and rust quite often.

P1010016.jpg


I needed to repair mine, on a '62 Sprite but basically the same fix as for the BE, and documented the process on my web site for anyone who's not done it before. You can find the detailed photos about 2/3rds. of the way down the page at:

https://www.raysmg.com/rays_mg_midget_62_sprite_bodywork1.htm

Ray
 
Ray needs to get his welds a bit more even, LOL.

Looks like a nice tight job.
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif Those are the stitch welds on the raw edge...the strength welds are below them and have already been ground flat.

Hey, I've NEVER welded before this project, so anything is progress!

I think that's why I'm enjoying the Spridget so much, I have the flexibility to do what I want (since it's certainly NOT a councours type resto) and so many of the tasks require tools and skills I must acquire.

Ray
 
So Ray what type of welder did you buy when you started this project. I know it isn't a H.F. Special.
 
Millermatic 135 (MIG)...I believe the new unit is now a 140, since that is what Lincoln went to. I wanted the highest amperage I could get on 110V.

I'm very happy with it. I've been through 1 tank of gas (about half a spool of wire) and have had zero problems. No wire jams at all. The adjustmens, both amperage and wire feed, are both infinite. I have a friend with a MIG that has the click stop settings, 1-10, and you always want a 3.5 or 4.25.

Ray
 
Back years ago I bought a "Solar 125". It ran on 220V but is only 125A. When I moved to Denmark, I was in luck because that's standard house power, though only 50Hz. The welder works great (after 20 years) and seems only a little down on power from the reduced frequency. Still perfect for body work. Infinite speed but 5 settings for heat. I use maximum most of the time. I never had wire jams until I bought a roll of wire here in Dk. Same diameter 0.023 but it jams easily.
 
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