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My "C" of Rust

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RickB

RickB

Yoda
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Well, clever titles aside...

I'm a bit depressed at what I found when I went & looked at the bottoms of my MGC front fenders today.

Where the screws that hold the bottoms on, there wasn't any metal at all on the passenger side & a real shipwreck on the drivers side. You can tell the material there is related to iron ore.

I guess putting an MG up on jackstands for twenty years in the rain isn't the best way to preserve it.
 
Maybe it isn't too bad underneath. I've repaired the lower fencers on my B many times. If water didn't get inside the fender then you're probably ok. Good luck!
 
"If water didn't get inside the fender..."

Well that's the biggie isn't it?
Yeah, I think some might have. There are some holes up top.
Sure wish this was still a matter of unbolting the old & bolting on the new. OK, can't live int he past can we?

I guess the plan is still to rip out & off all the bad stuff & get down to the good stuff & replace whatever needs it.

Nothing has changed except my perception.

You "M" theorists keep out of this.

Yes, there's the perfect MGC #7651 out there in a parallel universe somewhere. Doesn't help me much does it?
 
Rick - unfortunately, MG's rust from the inside out.

That said, the only way to know the extent of the damage is to visually inspect her...up under the front fender is a panel you can remove to see the front of the rocker (actually, its there so a person can clean that area out every year!) About 6 bolts & you'll be able to shine a light up inside - & on the side where there appears to be no rust, get ready! You'll probably find that side is full of dirt.

When I install front fenders, I put washers between the body & the fender down on the bottom bolts so I can wash the interior of the fenders out with a hose & the water & dirt will always have an outlet - you can't keep crap from getting in there, you just have to give it a way to exit.
 
Thanks Tony, do you access this panel via the wheel well? Or from where?

I have just purchased an old MGC body book so I will look up the pictures of this. Diagrams will help me figure this stuff out, maybe I can find where I need to replace what if I compare the pictures to my reality.
 
Access is from the front wheel arches: There are 1/4-28 bolts with 7/16" heads holding the panel in place. It has a gasket of sorts riveted to it, acting as a fender-to-panel seal.
 
Thanks, I'll see what I can do on the weekend.

I've started wondering if it might be smarter for me to spend time on the engine first, now that I see how awful the body is. At least if I can get the mechanical parts going I could get it rolling and take it to a welding shop if need be.

Nevertheless I will remove the drivers side panel as suggested & see what there is to see, I'll get it this week or weekend.
 
It may be more economical to buy a welder and learn how to patch body panels.
 
I've done a little welding in the past decade, my brother in law owned a welder but sold it recently.
I suppose I could get one & then sell it when I no longer need it. That's pretty much a wash as they don't seem to lose much value. Seems I could get by with a pretty small unit, I guess I'll consult craigslist.
Thanks.
 
Hi Rick,

If you enjoy such things (and/or enjoy *not* paying someone else shop rates to do it for you) I would encourage the purchase of a small welder.

The panels on these cars are fairly simple, and readily available comparitively cheaply through the large parts houses. (I say comparatively... my VW has panels sourced from Denmark, Germany, the US, Canada, and South Africa, and I don't want to begin to add up the costs! Working on the MG is a welcome break.)

Good luck, let us know how you do!

-Duncan, Ottawa
Midget 1500 "Milo"
 
Now that I own two British cars a small welder is going to have to be part of my "shop". Any recommendations on type / brand / size?

I most recently used a medium sized Lincoln welder. It did the job but I think it would be overkill for my needs.
 
You can see mine HERE - it's a medium-duty 110 machine. Fine for this sort of work, although if I were going to do it again, I'd buy a machine with variable power settings, rather than 1/2/3/4.

I'd stay away from flux-core wire and get a tank, even if it costs a little more. That flux-core is absolutely rotten to work with. I rent my tank from BOC, and I think it costs me about $100 a year.

-D
 
I own a 20lb CO2 tank, (which usually connects to my beer keg), so I would be interested in a set up that could use that.

That's what my BIL had, and I could use it fine.
 
Time for an update on this one.

I got myself a small welder, an air compressor and a heavy duty Milwaukee angle grinder in trade for a 92 Ford Explorer w/ blown head gaskets & bad transmission.

I need to get some good goggles and gloves and etc...
Going to have to get under the thing & start cutting out all the bad stuff so I can see how much I need to replace.
 
Only cut one side at a time!

& be careful cutting - you don't want to cut an area larger than the repair panel - & not all MGC panels are available!
 
Hi Tony,

I was thinking I would have to get sheet metal and fabricate what I need.

So you are saying there are some replacement panels to be had?

This (if you remember) is for the part under the front fenders where the fender connects at the bottom. Whatever it's supposed to connect up to is gone, I'm not sure how far under that missing stuff goes, or if that's a piece I could get and weld into place (that would really save me some time). Is that part of the floor pan?

I have one of the original MGC body books - I need to do some studying and see what can be done.
 
I am restoring my MGA and I thought of buying the welder etc... to do the sills etc.. I decided to have a friend do all the welding for me. I am very glad I did. You have to know what your doing. It is going to cost you money for the equipment., a lot longer to do(unless you are experienced)and if you have to make some patch panels, you will need different tools etc.. my vote is to pay a friend. It won't cost much more than if you did it yourself.

Tom
 
I agree that would be best, but the only competent welder I know who would have the ability to do the job has gone blind recently (from diabetes, not welding).

So, if I can get some parts to weld into place then I will just have to do some practicing on similar metal until I can do the job myself. Besides, I have a high school age son who is taking welding in shop right now... Gotta show him the old man knows how to do this - or maybe it would be better if I got him to do it. If he did a good job I'd even pay him a little.

I don't really know, first I have to get in there & cut out the bad stuff and see where the reality of the situation sits.
Then I can move on to the next step.
 
MGC body panels are the same as MGB body panels...the difference is in the floors since MGC's used torsion bars....however, I believe they're now available in the UK....if not, you'll have to fabrcate floors for it (at least the front half).
 
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