2 door VAE 306H

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

Good progress, the window looks like a difficult place to repair. I dont know if I would have been so brave to cut as much out so well done

[kevin s]

Started around the rear side window, the rear corner had rusted through on the inside and outside so all of it was cut out and new metal let in, then ground down.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

This is what the front end looks mlike and the same area with the rust cut out.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

Finally I started on the gutter around the door, I removed the gutter then the L shaped panel which links it to the inner roof, this was all completely rotten, fortunatelly the roof skin is not to bad, a couple of small pin holes over the door and a section which will need replacing down the A post, For some reason the whole body seems to be covered in 3 or 4 mm of filler, I was expecting horrors but most of the metal under it seems fine, looks like someones idea of a restoration in the past.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

Next step will be to get the wiring out of the A pillar then fold some metal up and repair around the door, I don't have the gutters yet and am debating wheather to fold some up or use ready made ones, any one any feedback on the quality of the repro parts?

[Neil MG]

I used the repro gutter and it was identical to the original. One of the few parts that fits perfectly without any modification.
http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... &start=165

[kevin s]

Niel,

Thanks for the response, where did you get yours from?

As you intimated most of the other panels I have bought have been little more than a starting point, I was worried these would need as much work as making new ones!

[Neil MG]

Got mine from ESM.

[kevin s]

Made some progress around the side window and gutter this weekend,[frame][/frame] in the end we decided we could not justify £100 for bought in gutters so made our own, they are not the original profile (more like a slimmer mini gutter) this is a car we intend to use rather than show so originality is not critical.[frame][/frame]

The roof skin is generally good but a small section down the A pillar has been cut out to be replaced.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

we also started on the bootlid, the plan is to use a fiberglass skin bonded with PU to the original steel frame which only needs a couple of local repairs.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

we also started on the A pillar, the door was taken off then the pillar and floor edge cut away , it is quite alarming to see the amount of bodgery, the wheeelhouse just pulled away as the joint had rusted away and been patched over, the floor to sill was much the same.[frame][/frame]

the other problem we found is in testing the door fit before we cut anything away, basically it didnt, the pillar was not secure due to previous poor repairs, to get around this the front of the door had been lifted too high so the window frame catches on the A pillar and then the B billar and rear wing had been bashed in to give more room at the rear, the bottom line is we are going to have to start from scratch, at least the end fit can't be any worse. We also need to find a new door, the poor fit has meant apart from the rust the door has also cracked in many places .[frame][/frame]

Plan now is to get the floor and wheel house done to give the sill etc some strength then move onto the A pillar.

[kevin s]

firstly we made a new floor edge / inner sill , this is shown tacked in place before final welding [frame][/frame]

I decided to leave the upper A pillar until the door was fitted as the original one was a very close fit, I managed to buy a new door which has a bit of surface rust and a slight dent on the front edge but otherwise is superb condition, so we cut all the rust out around the wheelarch and welded new metal in,[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

I also decided to deviate from the original design for the kidney panel, anywhere with 2 close fitting panels is bad news for corrosion, so I cut the thin and rusty centre out and will seam weld it from the inside. There are a couple of pictures of the new door and the lower A pillar ready to recieve the outer panel and A post.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
We then fitted the outer panel and the door post, shown tacked in place you can also see where I have seam weled around the inside of the kidney panel, we now have a door which actually open and closes without dropping, the hinges have washers behind them as I plan to fit shims to allow for adjustment if required, the fit of the door though is actually very good, it is a bit tight to the gutter (around 2mm clearance) all in all I am very happy with it though.
[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

Only one problem, I forgot to weld the nut plate in for the check arm, I am sure I can come up with something though, otherwise we need to fully weld it up, finish the upper A Pillar then fit the rear lower wing and we will be ready to turn it around and start on the front and the other side, we thought over X mas we might get it on the ramp and clean up and paint the underside as well.

[PaulTubby]

superb work, don't like to mention but you have no captive nuts on the inner wing flitch panels you made to mount the wing...

[kevin s]

I didn't forget that one, plan is to clamp the wing in place mark the holes and either weld some nuts on from the outside or file a slot and use j clips as per Landrover wings.

I could not figure any other way of making sure they were in the right place.

Kevin

[jagnut66]

Hi,
Enjoyable saga and impressive work, look forward to seeing it at a show at some point in the future.
In the meanwhile I shall carry on following this.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[kevin s]

A little progress, the rear face of the A pillar was removed and the rusty flanges repaired.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame].

Also cleaned the underseal off the inner wheelhouse, suprised to find most of it in original paint with just a few areas of surface rust.

I also had a new toy for my birthday, one of the pressure pot sand blasting devices, plan is to use it to clean up the areas of surface rust , especially around the windscreen etc.[frame][/frame]

Off to the NEC tomorrow and colecting the MGmidget wheels on sunday so beyond what I can do tonight there won't be much progress this weekend.

[alexandermclaren]

Superb work keep posting those pics
great to see another one saved

[kevin s]

Thanks, good to see people are interested.

Did a bit more tonight, welded the A pillar back together and ground the welds down then fittted the gutter.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
obviously I need to grind the welds flat on the gutter but I am worried that the the door frame is very close to the gutter in the top front corner, the original door was also like this, not quite sure how I am going to get it to fit but I guess I will come up with something, I don't really want to move the roor down as the fit to the B pillar is really good.
I also fitted the seat belt weld nut I ahd forgotten about and then finished off replacing the bottom edge of the boxing plate.[frame][/frame]

next things are to weld in the lower rear wing and weld nuts in for the front wing, then that will be the rhs finished and we will turn it around and start on the engine and the front end.

[kevin s]

Went to the classic car show at the NEC, lots of great cars, but the Autojumble was a complete dissapointment (virtually all trade stands selling new items) and it was increadibly crowded. I did have a look at severel other minors at the NEC yesterday, interestingly most of the 2 doors and convertibles including an immaculate Minor 1 million had a similar condition with the top front corner of the screen being very close to the door pillar/roof, the travelers though looked fine, I suspect the door frames for the 2 door either were made poorly made or deform in use.
I therefore decided to modify the frame which turned out to be quite easy, basically I cut 4mm from the top of the divider bar between the 1/4 light and window then pushed the top of the frame down to meet, this gave a consistent gap all round the frame.
I could not get the L shapped corner piece which originally joins them out of the divider bar and had to cut through this as well, so I have decided I will weld the joint and grind flush, with painted frames this should work fine.
Also collected the MG Midget rostyles ths morning, they will need a coat of paint but otherwise look good with almost new tyres.

Kevin

[kevin s]

Ground down and gave a coat of primer to the gutters,[frame][/frame]

I modified the door frame by cutting around 4mm out the top of the dividing bar and then welding it back together, I now have a nice even gap of around 4 - 5mm.[frame][/frame]

I formed and fitted a repair section for the base of the B pillar then seam welded in the sill panel and painted everything[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

next step is to weld the lower rear wing in then we have pretty much finished this side and will move onto the front.

[kevin s]

Managed a couple of hours at the weekend, Appart form thr end of the centre X member the welding on the drivers side / rear is now finished!

Firstly finished all the welding on the floors.

[frame][/frame]

then the rear lower wing

[frame][/frame]
[frame][/frame]
[frame][/frame]


The next step will be to turn it around and get it on the ramp, I can then replace the centre X member end and paint the underneath.

We then want to take the cylinder head off, free up the stuck valves and get the engine running so we can assess what this is like before we start on the front, plan is to fabricate new inner wings and probably replace the front part of the chasis rail which will need the engine to come out.

[stevey]

Good stuff, keep going!

[kevin s]

Been working off and on for the last few days, I have painted the most of the new metal ,the next step will be to seal al the weled joints on the drivers floor, sill and rear inner wing, I then started prepping the rear end body work for some paint, a couple of days of filling and rubbing down has got me to the point where I can put some etch primer on it later this week to give it some protection while I start on the others ide, looks like a lot of filler but it is only a thin skim over all the repaired areas. I have also bonded the boot lid inner to the GRP skin with PU adhesive, which seems to have worked fine. I also could not resist trying one of the rostyle wheels on.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

[jagnut66]

I thought Rostyles were black and silver in colour?

[kevin s]

The previous owner of the wheels had painted them silver, they will need doing again before we use them