project 1968 MG Midget - Bodywork repair and welding

[JMotor]

I seriously need to review my PPE! 

😅

Hot rocking the dome is nae fun! 😂 

Yes a mask make a big difference. Tempted with a air fed/fresh air type one. 

Know what you mean, it's too easy to not bother. 

[SiC]

1 minute ago, JMotor said:

Tempted with a air fed/fresh air type one. 

I keep looking at one and then bulk at the £500 to £1k a decent setup costs. Probably won't in a few decades when it catches up with me. 

What comes out your nose is only part of what must have gone into the lungs! 😬

[SiC]

4 minutes ago, JMotor said:

I seriously need to review my PPE! 

The hoods aren't that expensive. Also have the bonus in this weather of keeping heat in too.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/323036641168

My boiler suit is flame retardant too. It's stopped a good few molten balls burning through and setting me alight. Only ever had one big near miss incident when I didn't do up my suit and a hot ball rolled down my top into my bottom half. Did the dance to try keeping it away from the delicate bits as it carried on its destructive path! I did put a few holes into a decent t-shirt I was wearing underneath. As I only went out to tack a few bits, I didn't bother getting fully changed into scruffs. Sods law and made it necessary to explain to the wife on quite what had just happened. 😅

[SiC]

Just noticed Portwest Bizweld do overalls with a hoodie too. Neat!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194202883382

 

[JMotor]

Yeah it's typical that! Burnt the buggery out of my work trousers in the same way! 

Oooh ta for the link! Will look into those overalls. 

Hope the 3xl fits a Bat Fastard like me? 😂 

[Matty]

As always impressive stuff. Most impressive bit for me is how you rip into it. I do stuff like this for work but shy away from it outside of work, preferring to tit around the edges doing bits of mechanical stuff. I'll not lie, I find it a bit intimidating getting this involved with my own cars. Quodos pal

[SiC]

Set to work welding a repair piece into the front floor pan tonight.

Cut a clean edge out to weld against.



I didn't plan to butt weld this but actually ended up easier to as nowhere really to get a clamp in. The two pieces of metal level made it easy to get a magnet in.

This was an absolutely horrible job to do. Leant across the sharp metal inside with my head in the footwell. Wearing goggles, respirator, welding hood and helmet made it a tight uncomfortable fit.

I also got blue light shining on the wrong side of the helmet too. Presumably reflecting off the top of the footwell. I really hope the Sand Man doesn't come to visit me tomorrow 😬
Safety goggles are supposed to stop 99.99% of UV light, so that should offer some extra protection.

Repair tacked in first on the floor


Then onto the inner sill afterwards


It's done now. I will need to weld up the front underneath a bit as I appear I went too far with the cutting disc. Also have a small patch to sort at the top of the footwell.


Then a case of getting the side panel welded into place. Only the A-post hinge panel and cover to go after that, which allows me to cut the bracing back out. That will need to be reused on the boot/bumper panel. Before the bumper panel, I need to get back to finish what I started this side with and that rear quarter panel.

Still a chunk to go but it does feel like I'm getting close. Now the sill is on and once the side panel/a-post is on, it'll feel much more complete and nearer to the end goal.

[SiC]

Took the day off today to try getting this further along. Started off this morning going into town and picking up some bits. Also decided to sign up to the library. I actually really did that as I wanted to look inside this building. Unfortunately the library is moving out as this building apparently needs too much work and the council don't have the funds to repair it. I really hope it doesn't get flattened. Bet it will though. 😒

 

I spent a good few hours trimming and fitting this side panel to make the fit (nearly) perfect. The key thing is the holes as they need to line up for the outer wing. As other panels go on top, they need to line up with everything. There is some wiggle room and they can be opened up some more but I wanted them close. Likewise those captive nuts need to line up to the a post for fitting in the brace piece.

 

 

Once finally happy I tacked it into place.

 

Then plug welded and ground them back. Forgot to take a picture between those two processes.

 

Managed some impressive panel warpage on the inside 🤣

I used the wood to push into place and tack. I'll run a bead along later. Another horrible job in that footwell. I also still need to patch that little piece at the end of the footwell.

 

Chucked some zinc primer. Spot where an idiot leant against the wet paint.

Also started cutting out some of the rear upright and diagonal bracing. I'll cut the last bits out once the a-post hinge panel is in. I'm trying to keep these box steel pieces as I'll need to brace the rear boot area when I cut that out.

 

Next will be the a-post hinge plate. I grabbed the door and bolted the hinge panel on and put into place.

Checked everything still lined up, including this outer finishing panel. It's a useful check with those holes again. Then marked up at the bottom so I can make sure it's straight.

 

Also double checked the back panel mostly lines up when clamped.

 

It's starting to look more like a car again now. The door a post hinge panel and a-post outer finisher is next to weld on. Then back to that rear arch. That will take a bit longer as I need to fabricate some pieces to reconstruct the inner rear arch.

 

[Matty]

Ah you'll be lost once this is done. Probably time to buy another rotten old British car I'd reckon 😁

[SiC]

Just now, Matty said:

Probably time to buy another rotten old British car I'd reckon 😁

Don't forget I have the Dolomite Sprint lurking in the background still wanting lots of attention! 😑

I am actively looking for a Spitfire (sub £3k really). However I only want a recommissioning project and definitely not another restoration project! 

[Mally]

7 hours ago, SiC said:

 

  However I only want a recommissioning project and definitely not another restoration project! 

Where have I heard this before?

[SiC]

If the welds didn't pop off with a screwdriver, then I wouldn't have been in this deep with this. I wish the person welding this up in the 80s/90s had their welder set correctly. 

[N Dentressangle]

9 hours ago, SiC said:

Don't forget I have the Dolomite Sprint lurking in the background still wanting lots of attention! 😑

I am actively looking for a Spitfire (sub £3k really). However I only want a recommissioning project and definitely not another restoration project! 

Hands off mine! 😉

Seriously nice work going on, and thanks for being brave enough to show your crap welding as well as your good - makes I feel better about my disasters.

That door looks to fit really well, and shows what a good job you've done. Great to see the car being properly restored 👍

[Mally]

I honestly think you should have a Youtube presence. I'd subscribe. There's money in it. For classics, it's never ending.

You are internet savvy, started with very little knowledge, and are now better than most.

Your only problem is they tend to produce weekly programmes, and you through necessity are sporadic.

[N Dentressangle]

5 hours ago, Mally said:

I honestly think you should have a Youtube presence. I'd subscribe. There's money in it. For classics, it's never ending.

You are internet savvy, started with very little knowledge, and are now better than most.

Your only problem is they tend to produce weekly programmes, and you through necessity are sporadic.

Absolutely.

You've got the camera out already, and take good pics, so not much extra work really.

Anyway, this looks reasonably priced for a pretty Mk3:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/877490200244551/

[SiC]

6 minutes ago, N Dentressangle said:

Absolutely.

You've got the camera out already, and take good pics, so not much extra work really.

Anyway, this looks reasonably priced for a pretty Mk3:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/877490200244551/

Problem is, I saw this previous advert originally and didn't get in quick enough!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404107172318

I prefer the look of the MK4 though. 

[N Dentressangle]

22 minutes ago, SiC said:

Problem is, I saw this previous advert originally and didn't get in quick enough!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404107172318

I prefer the look of the MK4 though. 

Blimey. The dealer says he works on "small margins" 🤣

Prefer the later cars too - my ideal was an X reg 1500

[chodweaver]

That was my local library when i was a kid! I had no idea you lived in (redacted)!

That is a brilliant building, i remember it and the precinct around it being built, and borrowing books on bicycle repair and using an oscilloscope from it (#geekconfessional). Huge shame that after just 60 years, it's no longer fit for purpose.

[chodweaver]

Ps great progress on the MG. And seconded for a youtoob channel

[Mally]

Once you are an established Youtuber You make a program out of that.

'I WUZ ROBBED'

'Dealer steals my car and I'm 2.5K short now!'

Donations roll in and/or, someone offers you a free Spitfire because you will look after it.

 

 

[SiC]

9 hours ago, chodweaver said:

Huge shame that after just 60 years, it's no longer fit for purpose.

It's only not fit for purpose due to the council not spending money to keep it maintained. Then on top of it lacking suitable accessibility and the council having (apparently) no money to make it so. Thing is, people see it as brutalist and old fashioned. But give it another decade and it'll be highly fashionable again. By then it'll be too late as it'll be gone.

Current proposal is to turn it into flats. So no doubt expect an imposing brick box in its place. 

[SiC]

On 2/4/2023 at 9:36 AM, Mally said:

I honestly think you should have a Youtube presence. I'd subscribe. There's money in it. For classics, it's never ending.

You are internet savvy, started with very little knowledge, and are now better than most.

Your only problem is they tend to produce weekly programmes, and you through necessity are sporadic.

I do make the occasional video. This car was actually supposed to be another proper attempt at one. However this ended up being another weldfest and those don't really make great video content. I did record a few videos at the start but they looked entirely boring. Maybe once I've got the bodywork finished and moving back to mechanicals, I will try making a few more.

A whole days work of fitting and welding can be condensed into just a little over a minute or two. Also long running projects don't really gather the interest like short compact ones. It also takes a lot of time to film and edit content. These forum posts I generally take pictures as I complete bits and then write a short piece up here using the photos as prompts/reminders on what I did.

The most popular content of video seems to be the revival. Half hour to an hour of getting something started and usable again. Especially in America - e.g. Mustie1/Vice Grip Garage/Junkyard Digs/et al. Again the yank market is bigger and cars from their market gather more views than those old cars from the UK. 

That said, I'm not terribly bothered about the views as such. Would be nice to have enough to pay for mucking around with old cars.

Revivals give a ever changing content too. Usually it's possible to get a car sorted in a weekend or so. Especially if it's carb rebuild/tune-up/brake rebuild and minor electrical issue fixing. 

Now these types of projects are incidentally the ones I enjoy the most. And unsurprisingly the idea of doing projects I like and suitable for videos makes me want next:

On 2/3/2023 at 11:49 PM, SiC said:

 a recommissioning project and definitely not another restoration project! 

Before then though, I need to go back outside and continue with the metal bashing!

[Mally]

Pad the film by what you are eating for a snack,  You can then branch out into your wife's cooking skills, or lack of, it's all content.

  Everyone pans the camera over their food, no matter what the video is about.  Have a brew  nearby  with your name on the pot, and sip it often.

Film your PPE 5 mins.   Show yourself getting kitted up and explain why, 5 mins.    Take it off before speaking to Camera, 5 mins. Speak to camera 5 mins

Repeat this at every opportunity. 

Drift the camera to your Porche,  MGB, whatever,  now and then, and then back to your rusty heap, and shake your head.

Show sparks, everyone like sparks.

 

[chodweaver]

Also, make full use of time lapse. An hour's work can be viewed in a matter of seconds, with far more instant gratification for the youtoob viewer, which is what the shallow, can't-be-arsed-to-do-it-for-themselves public wants.

I used to have a knock off GoPro that i bunged on a tripod, set to timelapse and pointed variously at the garden and camperport when i was working on either. The resulting video clips show me rocketing around the lawn planting bulbs, or up and down ladders with timber and corrugated plastic sheets, yet can be paused if desired to show detail, like when i hold a bowl up to the camera to show the bulbs ready for planting. Also, a GoPro on a tripod can be left pointing at the wing, sill etc all the time you're grinding, welding, trial fitting, without you having to worry about it. And it's a source for any stills you forgot to take. Oddly, modern camera sensors are completely undamaged by being pointed at welding arcs, as long as they're not so close that spatter gets on the lens

[Matty]

5 hours ago, Mally said:

Show sparks, everyone like sparks.

Patiently waiting to see how many likes this nets me 😆

https://images.app.goo.gl/EDgQrb5JWvJzjK2bA

[SiC]

I had the whole day to do work on this today. Great in theory but two problems. I got up late and my neighbour came around for a chat. We ended up trying to refit the factory spoiler on his Audi R8. He bought it with an aftermarket one on and subsequent decided it looked crap. However it appears it had an aftermarket spoiler because someone had mucked up the connector on the factory mechanism.

Anyway I got a good 3hrs or so on this today.

Spent an awful lot of time lining up the door hinge panel.

Tacked into place once I was happy on the location.

Removed the clamps and test fitted the door. Thankfully it opens and closes just fine. Won't know completely for sure until everything is in place and on the floor but at least I know it's mostly in alignment. The bottom sticks out a fair bit, which it did before to be fair. However it's possible to push it in, so I suspect the door latch and hinges need adjustment. I did see some slack in the hinges, so that won't be helping either.

At least with these old tin cans, fit and finish was bad enough out the factory that I'm probably doing a far better job than when it came out of one. 🤣

As I was now happy with the fit, it was time to seam welded all along with a few puddle welds. I probably did it a bit too quickly as I got the ol' big thunk as the panel told me off for getting too much heat in and hence warped it a bit.

Finally started grinding the welds down. Not quite finished as slow going from having to use a finger sander to get in there.

Now time to be off to the local cheap carvery for some food!

Once ground down the welds, it'll be time to fit that outer cover piece. Then the front is done! (Actually not true as I have been poking and found some hole that need patching in the arch)

[mat_the_cat]

8 hours ago, Mally said:

Pad the film

Please don't! It might be just me, but I hate needless padding. I do watch a fair few restoration/tinkering videos, but actually prefer a well-written and photographed forum post. There's often something going on in the background which means I can't listen to a video, yet can read a post, stop when needed and get back to it when possible.

[N Dentressangle]

On 2/4/2023 at 3:23 PM, SiC said:

Problem is, I saw this previous advert originally and didn't get in quick enough!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404107172318

I prefer the look of the MK4 though. 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/531843165448098/

[SiC]

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/531843165448098/

That's really tempting. Over budget but looks in reasonable nick. 

The only problem? It's a silly one...

It's blue and a lovely shade of that too. I don't mind blue cars but I keep ending up buying bloody blue cars. 🤣

Midget is blue, Dolomite is blue, my old 1100 was blue, Morris Minor was blue and even my moderns - Boxster and TT are ...blue! Even going back further on my moderns, my 2002 Clio 172 was blue, 2003 Mini Cooper S was blue, 2x Laguna II were blue and I even had a blue Saab 9-3. So I'm trying hard to have another colour in the next car that isn't flipping blue.

Given a choice, I'd really love a red or orange (i.e. Vermilion Red) Spitty. Especially red is the perfect colour in my mind for one. (The Haynes Museum has something to do with that) Thankfully as they were popular colours at the time, hopefully it shouldn't hard to find one when they come up. 

[Mally]

Even the registration spells it out.

Agree it's the wrong colour.