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motofiaccone

motofiaccone

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Hi All:

I don't know if I told you guys, but right as I was making good progress with the midget, I broke my hand. Well, that's finally behind me, so I started working again. Last weekend, my wife and I pulled the engine/gearbox. Yesterday, I powerwashed everything on the topside. Soon, I'll flip the car and wash the underside.

Chassis.jpg


Not too bad.

InteriorChassis.jpg


Quite the suprise. The PO had mesh over the rust, then put plastic over that. It was like he was trying to do a dry wall repair. Looks like I'll have to weld in a new bit <sigh>

Rust.jpg

Some more from the iron moster.
Rust2.jpg


This one frustrates me.

Rust3.jpg


Kinda knew about this, but didn't think it was that bad. I may just round the arches off.

WheelWellRust.jpg


And the other side.

WheelWellRust2.jpg


This is the motor, a 93 Miata bit. I was originally going to go with the 4AGE, but this one was free. If it isn't enough HP for my wife, I can SC it. I might also go with motorcycle ITBs and a MegaSquirt--well, I'll go MS either way.

Motor.jpg
 
Here is a bit of a request. Since i have an RB car, I need the smooth, curved bits that go under the taillight. If anyone has a rusted chassis and is willing to cut that bit off for me, I'd be greatly obliged. Please help!

RearTail_Light.jpg


Here is the cafe racer I build a couple years ago. My new bike is a 78 Yamaha RD400 that is getting the cafe treatment. I forgot to get a picture of that one. It's currently pretty ugly.

CafeRacer.jpg


All comments and concerns are always welcome. Hopefully, I can get work into the project and post more pics on a regular basis.

--Thanks, Chris
 
Good start, press on. That looks like fiberglass mat stuff with bondo over it.
 
How much do you think you're going to need to modify the engine bay/transmission tunnel to get the Miata lump to work? Is it a 1.6 or 1.8 motor? Even if you left it stock it'd still have a lot more horses than the original lump.

By the way...cool cafe bike!
 
Yep, I think that is fiberglass mesh. I'm not exactly a bodywork master or anything, but I have done my fair share on a couple cafe racers. Using a mesh backer with bondo over it seems stupid. I suspect it actually exagerates the rust issue. Time to fire up the TIG I suppose.

The engine bay should be minor work. Based on Bob's build, I need to cut out a bit of the heater tray and fabricate various indentions on the passenger footwell. The trouble is the whole transmission tunnel will have to come out, as well as that nice crossbar. Supports will have to be welded in. I think the transmission tunnel will be the bulk of the work. That and the bodywork. In hindsight, I really should have started with a CB car. I didn't know that MG modified the under tail light bodywork. That sucks because i assumed it was a bolt off RB affair. I may end up fabricated my own bumpers to cover that area. or I might just do the job right and TIG in the CB bodywork.

Speaking of that, the RB cars have all sorts of little stuff that has to be fixed. For example, i didn't know the frame supports protruded from the rear bodywork. That has to be smoothed out. The also extend in the front, which I'm dissatisfied about as well.

--Chris
 
Years ago there was a plastic mesh that could placed between bondo coats if you lay it on really thick to "prevent cracking". That is what it is, so expect a serious amount of dust :wink:
 
Hi All:

I have a question. I was flipping through a VB catalog last night and saw there are replacement panels available for the rested areas. They are actually pretty cheap. On the scuttle/cowl area, is it best to just cut out the rotted area and weld in the new patch?

What about the bottom piece that runs the length of the car, between the wheels. Is it best to replace the whole thing or do I cut the rusted section out and TIG in the new piece? I've never had to deal with rot before, so hence the questions.

--Thanks, Chris

PS Still looking for the curvy sheetmetal that goes under the tailight of chrome bumper cars. Any help is well appreciated.
 
Chris,

I ordered and replaced the sill plate on both sides. Got them from VB, quality was good. It looks like your A post might need some new parts also. I purchased the lower patch piece and it also worked out fine. Good luck, you have some work to do there.

Mark
 
Chris,

Have a look at the VW link in my sig - that should just about cover the panel repair and replacement! :frown:

As a general rule, I would suggest the following;

- buy repair panels, and trim down to only the piece you need. Leave as much good stock metal as possible. (This is fairly easy to do with the excellent supply of aftermarket repair panels.)

- replace entire panels (i.e. entire rocker) where you would otherwise have to do multiple small panels, and it is easier to replace as a whole.

If you've got a TIG, that's great... MIG is fine too for most of that work, as long as you've got access.

As to changing the rear, I think a lot of us have that plan... As far as I can tell, the rear apron repair panel and patch panel for the CB cars (behind wheel, under taillight) seem to rebuild the whole area. My plan is to replace the whole rear apron, and add the patch panels to recreate the complete CB profile.

Let me know if that makes no sense, and I'll find the Moss diagram and p/n's.

(P.S. - regarding replacing the rocker as a whole, or letting in patches... remember that what you see is only the outer rust. You can assume that anywhere the rust has actually broken through, the inner surface is rusted for 6"+ in every direction.)
 
tosoutherncars said:
Chris,


As to changing the rear, I think a lot of us have that plan... As far as I can tell, the rear apron repair panel and patch panel for the CB cars (behind wheel, under taillight) seem to rebuild the whole area. My plan is to replace the whole rear apron, and add the patch panels to recreate the complete CB profile.
Click to expand...

that's what we did with mine - about 200+ in parts. the main piece was the rear valance. I bought the two side pieces (lower quarter panel repair) and even though my body guy used them, he said he could have fabricated them almost as easily.
 
Oh, and if it's not too far off topic, tell me about the bike - it looks sweet and a cafe racer is on my to do list. what was it? and where did you find parts?
 
Gents:

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. I'd really like to have the CB rear, though I know it will take a lot of work. I have a friend that is an industrial designer/prototyper, and he's currently sketching solutions that do not require splicing in sheetmetal. One thought is to cast a new taillight; another is to fabricate a bumper from scratch that hides that. We'll see. It will be after Dec before I tackle that part.

The cafe racer was built for about $1200 out of pocket. It started as a 1969 (?) Honda CD350. I chopped the frame up, smoothed it out and generally made it cool--to me anyway. I made all the custom parts you see, though many can be bought off the shelf.

Now that my hand is well and I'm back into projects, I feel pressure to get my website up and running. There is only minor clean-up work to do before I turn it live. When I do, you'll see the cafe racer(s) build-up, the se7en and the midget. Appologies for the delay.

--Chris
 
keep us posted though If you can fabricate the back end of that bike behind the seat, you've got the two bumps needed
 
Unfortunately, the notch on the RB fender where the bumper goes requires a compound curve, which I cannot do. Surely someone has an old car rusting away; they can cut the required piece off. I can't find a MG scrapyard in the Dallas area.

I built my build table and it promptly deformed. Seems the midget chassis weighs a bit more than a se7en chassis :smile: I've reinforced it but need to make a few more modifications before I can place the car on it. That's a big milestone because then I can get started on the fun stuff--this weekend.

Also, I turned my website live. I have the midget section that is up to date. My se7en secion contains hundreds of photos, and I need to go back and build those pages out. And of course, the cafe racers have their own page.

Feedback is always welcome.

--Cheers, Chris
 
Chris, for the rear fender extensions under the lights I'd say you're probably going to have to form them yourself. It's not that hard to do with a shot bag and a mallet to get the compound curve you need. Make each one up in two halves and seam them together just as the original was. You'll be surprised how quickly you can get the rough shape, it's the fine finishing that takes more time. I was able to make a replacement piece for the trunk of my MGA which domes up to cover the rear axle using a shot bag and a mallet made from a welding bottle cap. I smoothed it on another cap held in my vise and a smaller ball peen hammer. With a little body filler a similar panel would be fine for what you need. The shot bag and mallets are now available from Harbor Freight at really reasonable prices as well as the steel shot to fill the bag (tumbler media) The same tools can be used to form the cover panels you'll need to fill the area left when you remove the rear bumper supports as well. Photos of some of my beginners efforts on snapfish https://www2.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=229324769/a=132619650_132619650/t_=132619650
 
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