Restoration dilemma

[Paul Dunt]

Hi - I'm looking for some advice about what to do about my MGB. It's an early car (1963) with the original matching engine, alloy bonnet, overdrive etc and I've history back to the 80s. I've had it for more than 20 years but it's now in need of some major bodywork - most likely new sills and floors, castle rail on the driver's side and the bottom of the rear wing in front of the wheel arch. Other areas are pretty solid. I've been getting some quotes from the big recommended workshops and some top 40k which way exceeds the budget I'd set aside of 15k.I'm not looking for concours, but purely to get it to a stage where I can drive it on rallies/events etc. I'm struggling to see a way forward, I'd love to keep the car but the only options I can see is if there is somewhere I could get the work done within my budget, or to sell to a home restorer who can do the work themselves and therefore make the project affordable. Sadly I'm not very technically competent and the work would be way beyond my abilities. I could buy a heritage shell for 15k but so much of the car is still good it seems a shame to lose all that originality. Any ideas would be very welcome.

[Ian F]

You could always try your local body shop repair place. There are lots of them, but not very visible as they mostly deal with the trade.

Unfortunately I don't think your budget will be enough if you need all those panels you mention

Ian F

[Paul Dunt]

Many thanks Ian - that's definitely another avenue I can explore.

[Not_Anumber]

You have described yourself as not very technically proficient. Thats a starting position, not a life sentence. It doesnt mean that you couldn't do it, just that you need to build up some knowledhe from books and YouTube videos and be confident.
Personally i would reccomend asking around to find a keen amateur hobbyist near you who can weld. Offer them pocket money to come round and get you started on your restoration. Start on one side or even one corner of the car; see what repair sections are available, cut back the rot to clean metal and weld the sections in. There is nothing that is as satisfying as having restored your own car and learning along the way.

There is a massive amount of information on car body repair information available. Its worth starting with an MGB restoration guide and investing time in reading onwards from there.

Whereabouts in the country are you by the way ?

[Ian F]

Very good advice Chris, and very positive!! That does sound like an early MGB well worth saving ( no replacement body shell!).

Ian F

[Paul Dunt]

Many thanks Chris - that's much appreciated. I have contacted a local welder I know, so I'm hoping he'll have a look. I live in Essex.

[MGB281]

I have no experience of this company that advertises its services on Ebay; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186606567356 ... R56-mZq8Zg However they are based just a few miles north of Chelmsford so not a million miles from you, why not go and look at their work. £3400 to have two complete sill replacements and resprayed up to the chrome strip strikes me as a bargain if the quality of work is good. The rear lower wing repair panels would not add significantly to the cost and the painting would be included in the sill work. The floor pans would have had a good number of spot welds drilled out for the sills so I don't think they would add more than three days work if all done at the same time.
I have had some experience with a "local welder", his hourly rate was low but his work rate was slow and he made a good few mistakes that had to be rectified. The problem was made worse because he would come and do six hours work and then not return for a few weeks and when he was near to finishing said that he had learnt a lot (at my expense) and would be able to do it faster next time! The local bodyshop at £60 per hour (three years ago) would have not been much more expensive and the work would have been completed in less than two weeks rather than two years of on/off turning up to do a bit more. I resprayed the bodyshell three weeks ago and the re assembly starts today!

[Paul Dunt]

Many thanks Chris - I've not seen them, I'll check them out. Unfortunately our local welder has retired. Best wishes, Paul

[Ian F]

Paul, whilst I support all the advice encouraging you to have a go at learning new skills, I think you would have to be well prepared and informed before embarking on this.
Lindsey Porters guide to MGB restoration would be a good place to start.

The problem with MGBs is that almost invariably there will be more corrosion and work than apparent from the outside. The sill
structure is two long boxes, the middle panel being completely hidden of course and usually requires replacement. The sills also run under both the front wing and the rear wing.
All these panels are available, but do require quite a bit of work to clean up the rusted parts and replace with good steel.

Very satisfying if you do it yourself, but I have seen several attempts at this resulting in abandoned projects, which then are very difficult to move on.

Ian F

[Bourne]

Just to follow up on Ian’s point about hidden corrosion….

I bought myself a 4mm diameter endoscope and was able to get its camera into every box area or difficult to view area of the bar. It took several days, my neighbours thought I was insane, but I did manage to see whether there was rust damage hidden from view, in my case, it bought piece of mind, and a list of areas to keep an eye on going forward.

(I also discovered from a label on the drivers side front wing that that body panel was replaced at some point in the early 1980’s… which, coincidently I’m sure, is not in the cars history).

Endoscopes are not expensive and can be found online easily enough. It won’t solve your wider challenge, but should at least reduce the number of unknowns you are dealing with