1971 MGB GT - Effort + Expenditure = No Gain - see page 17

[jim89]

1 minute ago, Peter C said:

I’ve paid £2k for the car.

Let’s say I can get the welding done for £1k.

Once property welded, I could easily spend at least £2k on a respray, which would be desirable if the shell was all solid.

To get it running properly, fully serviced, with a new exhaust, tyres and what ever else it might need, that’s another £1k easily.

Theoretically, by spending £6k I would have a car worth about £6k, which doesn’t seem completely unreasonable, however I would rather spend as little as possible to get it running and leave it as it is, providing that it’s not unsafe to use.

Shurely with stage photographs, receipts etc, it would be worth more than a.n.other one that might* have hidden secrets / no "proof"?

[cort16]

36 minutes ago, Peter C said:

The plan is to tidy up and rust proof the underside and rivet metal patches over the rust holes. I know that will upset a lot of people but, as previously advised, I can’t weld and getting someone to do the welding for me would cost £1k+, which would make this project financially unviable. Providing that I don’t find any more significant rust issues, the few bits that I have discovered are not sufficiently serious to have a significant effect on the car’s structural integrity and let’s face it, if I have a collision as 50MPH in a 53 year old MGB, a rusty wheel arch is going to be the least of my problems.

All my work will be honestly presented within this thread and if I decide to sell the car, the buyer will know exactly what they’re in for and can improve the quality of my repairs should they wish to do so.

If I find this MGB a pleasure to own and drive, I might sell it and buy a better one, however, as it’s already been said, chances are that a £5k car will still need lots of bits doing to it.

If it's stuff that's not really structural absolutely.  Using rivets and tigerseal it'll probably be  stronger and better sealed than most pigeon poo welding. 

If it's on the chassis or suspensions mountings it's probably best to get it zapped in but hopefully you won't have too much of that on this. 

MGB's and Morris Minors used to be the king of the chicken wire and expanding foam blow over specials so if you can find an honest one I'd stick with it. 

[plasticvandan]

Yet to find a "fully sorted" car that didn't need a load of work and money to bring up to decent standard,so you might as well pump it into your bargain if you decide to keep it

[Peter C]

7 minutes ago, jim89 said:

Shurely with stage photographs, receipts etc, it would be worth more than a.n.other one that might* have hidden secrets / no "proof"?

Spend more = worth more.

Makes sense.

[Peter C]

6 minutes ago, cort16 said:

If it's stuff that's not really structural absolutely.  Using rivets and tigerseal it'll probably be  stronger and better sealed than most pigeon poo welding. 

If it's on the chassis or suspensions mountings it's probably best to get it zapped in but hopefully you won't have too much of that on this. 

MGB's and Morris Minors used to be the king of the chicken wire and expanding foam blow over specials so if you can find an honest one I'd stick with it. 

I definitely would not rivet a patch to conceal rust in the chassis or around a suspension mount but the odd cheeky quick fix around the inside of the wheel arch or floor is going to be fine.

[chadders]

14 minutes ago, Peter C said:

I’ve paid £2k for the car.

Let’s say I can get the welding done for £1k.

Once property welded, I could easily spend at least £2k on a respray, which would be desirable if the shell was all solid.

To get it running properly, fully serviced, with a new exhaust, tyres and what ever else it might need, that’s another £1k easily.

Theoretically, by spending £6k I would have a car worth about £6k, which doesn’t seem completely unreasonable, however I would rather spend as little as possible to get it running and leave it as it is, providing that it’s not unsafe to use.

2k for a respray would be an absolute bargain judging by the quotes I got and mine is a roadster so needs a bit less work.

A respray would also show up the interior, chrome etc. which is the main reason I rattle canned mine.

[SiC]

5 hours ago, Peter C said:

When cars like this come up for sale, it makes me wonder whether I should have spent more and bought something less of a project and ready to drive.

Thing is, I really enjoyed getting the Sierra back on the road and my MGB will provide more opportunities to spend weekends in the workshop, which for me is a positive. As already mentioned, I want to modify my car and it would be a shame to mess around with an intact interior and in the process devalue the car. I’ve also never driven an MGB and I have no idea whether I will enjoy the experience so spending less to find out might actually work out for the best.

No regrets.

That's near me and comes up on my classic car searches. Makes me think mine was a bit cheap as it was ready to go and not really mucked around with. But then that red one hasn't sold yet and has been on for a bit (it's been up elsewhere too). 

[Peter C]

7 minutes ago, chadders said:

2k for a respray would be an absolute bargain judging by the quotes I got and mine is a roadster so needs a bit less work.

A respray would also show up the interior, chrome etc. which is the main reason I rattle canned mine.

This!

To make mine look perfect would cost a lot more than I am willing to invest and probably more than my £6k estimate. I prefer having a cheap rougher looking car that I can enjoy and mess about with without worrying about my investment.

[captain_70s]

If it's "just" small holes in the floors and inner wheelarches (which are part of the structure on a monocoque regardless) I'd just leave them be given it is MOT exempt.

Any bodging just makes it harder to repair in the future, will create overlapping seams for moisture to sit and make the original rot worse and is just wasted money/effort/time that you could probably invest better elsewhere on the car.

As a buyer I'd not be put off by "the usual" rust on a car, especially on the budget end of the market,  but signs of bodged repairs would send me running for the hills. It just screams "tip of the iceberg"...

[Dobloseven]

Welding isn't that difficult.If you're going to the trouble of cutting out rusty metal, shaping patches etc.,the hard work has been done.Probably not any more bother to weld than drilling and riveting.Once you've got a welder,you find all sorts of uses for it.Last job I did with mine was modifying the uprights on a gazebo to fit in a tight corner.

[Dyslexic Viking]

21 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Welding isn't that difficult.

Have heard this a lot here.

I compare doing welding on cars to riding a unicycle while juggling 5 chainsaws and at the same time making love to a woman and fighting off a angry tiger.

People say it's easy, but I disagree.

[SiC]

6 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I compare doing welding on cars to riding a unicycle while juggling 5 chainsaws and at the same time making love to a woman and fighting off a angry tiger.

A lot of it is down to good equipment. Thankfully good welding sets are coming down in price nowadays.

Car bodywork you can get away with just tacks all the way around rather than running seams. Tbh on old crusty thin tin, it's probably all that can be managed without blowing holes all through it. 

[Peter C]

@captain_70s

A couple of holes are in the bulkhead. If I left them open and, heaven forbid, I would drive through a puddle, I my legs would get wet.

Fixing the patches with rivets and applying adhesive will result in an adequate repair.

[Peter C]

£2,250 but open to offers.

Rubber bumper B in need of a lot of work.

[jim89]

2 hours ago, Peter C said:

Spend more = worth even more.

Makes even more sense.

FTFY 👍🏻

[Noel Tidybeard]

make holes round & use grommets

[Peter C]

26 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

make holes round & use grommets

Too big.

[Noel Tidybeard]

bigger than 50mm?

[captain_70s]

6 hours ago, Peter C said:

@captain_70s

A couple of holes are in the bulkhead. If I left them open and, heaven forbid, I would drive through a puddle, I my legs would get wet.

Fixing the patches with rivets and applying adhesive will result in an adequate repair.

Gaffer tape. If you want to get fancy you can even rattle can it red.

My Acclaim's front wing was "repaired" with painted tape for quite a while...

[Matty]

I'd vote for pay to do it properly. Holes always get bigger than they look granted, but if it's non structural then we shouldn't be talking thousands. There's a big margin in this car that warrents doing it right. It'll pay you back no worries.

[Westbay]

Ok, nobody has mentioned it ... but ... what about insurance? If you had an accident and 'they' found you hadn't " maintained in roadworthy condition " ...

Now define " roadworthy condition" from the eyes of an insurance company that doesn't want to payout  ... 😊

[Peter C]

Ok, if anyone is going to do the welding, it’s going to be me. How hard can it be? I have a comfortable workshop with a power supply and lighting, I’ll give it a go.

 

[Matty]

11 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Ok, if anyone is going to do the welding, it’s going to be me. How hard can it be? I have a comfortable workshop with a power supply and lighting, I’ll give it a go.

 

Brilliant. Take your time and have a play for a good while before hand. Don't start on sheet as thin as car metal it'll put you off. Start on something with a bit of body like flat bar and once you've a bit of confidence and technique work your way down. Then have a do at the car.

Get everything scrupulously clean as well. 90 odd percent of welding is fabrication and prep!

Good luck but I'm sure it'll be reet 👍

[Jenson Velcro]

50 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Ok, if anyone is going to do the welding, it’s going to be me. How hard can it be? I have a comfortable workshop with a power supply and lighting, I’ll give it a go.

 

That’s the spirit!

[Westbay]

1 hour ago, Peter C said:

Ok, if anyone is going to do the welding, it’s going to be me. How hard can it be? I have a comfortable workshop with a power supply and lighting, I’ll give it a go.

 

Good man ! go for it !

[tooSavvy]

YKIMS

👍

🚙💨

[Mally]

Have someone on fire watch when you are welding, but make sure they do not look at the flashes and pretty sparks.

Welding is the way even if the patch is just tacked here and there. 

[Peter C]

My mind works in mysterious ways and all this talk about welding the B has really stressed me out, which is particularly unfortunate as I am away on what is supposed to be a R&R holiday.

I have decided to wait until I have the B in my workshop, up on stands, with everything exposed before I choose to rivet or weld the repair patches.

I fully understand that I may be disowned by the group if I bodge the repairs but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Chances are that I may get the backs of the sills properly welded and rivet patches in the areas that are more awkward to gain access to and which, arguably, are less important from an integrity point of view, although I appreciate how a monocoque works and understand that the whole structure should be sound to achieve perfect harmony.

One last point. Whilst I have polished the paint and the B looks great in the photos, it remains a shabby looking vehicle, with a tired interior and hitherto the mechanicals remain in untested condition. I would rather tart it up and sell it on as a project than invest too much time and money in it, especially if much better cars exist for around the £5k mark.

Cheers guys.

[Matty]

11 minutes ago, Peter C said:

My mind works in mysterious ways and all this talk about welding the B has really stressed me out, which is particularly unfortunate as I am away on what is supposed to be a R&R holiday.

I have decided to wait until I have the B in my workshop, up on stands, with everything exposed before I choose to rivet or weld the repair patches.

I fully understand that I may be disowned by the group if I bodge the repairs but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Chances are that I may get the backs of the sills properly welded and rivet patches in the areas that are more awkward to gain access to and which, arguably, are less important from an integrity point of view, although I appreciate how a monocoque works and understand that the whole structure should be sound to achieve perfect harmony.

One last point. Whilst I have polished the paint and the B looks great in the photos, it remains a shabby looking vehicle, with a tired interior and hitherto the mechanicals remain in untested condition. I would rather tart it up and sell it on as a project than invest too much time and money in it, especially if much better cars exist for around the £5k mark.

Cheers guys.

If it's not structural then don't let it stress you. Get it on the road first, drive it a bit then see. A love for it will make the choice for you. If not then punt it on and make a bit of money. Enjoy your holiday

[Rustybullethole]

Don't let it stress you. Thinking about it is worse than doing I find with all things. 

Whatever you choose will be the right path for you. Welding is not for everyone I guess though is hugely rewarding and a great skill to learn. 

As a hobby sparkle stick enthusiast I'd be lying if i said i've not shat bricks whilst poking big holes in vehicles. 30 of years of transit ownership has taught me to quash the fear. 

There is the fact that the owner of an MG and an old Ford s likely to need either deep pockets or the willingness to get stuck in with a slitting disc and welder if both are a long term prospect.

Whats right for you is s right though.