Heelboard brace and exhaust mount

Forgot to mention that the new heelboard brace and rear exhaust mount are now fitted. They can both be seen on the picture below.

Painting continues...

Painting the underbody is continuing. Just about ready for the anti stone chip. I'm planning on using UPOL Gravitex in grey followed by a coat of body colour (Tartan Red). I will spray both these coating...

Underbody paint starts...

Spent the weekend cleaning, degreasing and painting the underbody. Going quite well but it's costing me loads in electricity to keep the garage at a reasonable temperature for the paint to dry.

Next is some seam sealer then another coat of epoxy mastic in the exposed areas. This may take some time...

Heelboard brace replacement

During wire brushing I found rot in the heelboard brace so it had to go!
Ordered a replacement panel from Mech Spec and used the spot weld removing drill bit to get the old panel off.
Removing the panel will also give me easier access to that last bit of underseal on the tunnel that you can see in the image.
After removing the rusty panel I cleaned up the rear underside of the shell and painted from the rear valance to about the rear axle using the Epoxy Mastic 121. It was -1C when I started and 0.1C when I finished! Therefore I have a fan heater and halogen lamp keeping the garage & painted panel a few degrees above the dew point.

Floor Painting

After reaching the huge milestone of completing the welding, it's now on to preparing and painting the underneath and floor.
I've looked long and hard at various paints and coatings for the underneath. I definitely didn't want to reapply underseal after my great time and effort spent removing the old stuff.

I've settled on an epoxy primer (Epoxy Mastic 121 from Rustbuster). This is a two part system with no nasty isocyanides. It also comes in a few colours so I went for a red to complement the tartan red that the MGB is going to be painted.
Each area to be painted requires degreasing, electric wire brushing, degreasing again and then the paint. I also have to carefully plan the painting as it is winter, my garage is not heated and therefore I must check the humidity before applying any paint.
So here we have before, during and after pics of the MGB floor.

NS rear wing welding nears completion...

Had a day off work to try and complete the NS rear wing welding. Fitted the inner arch which went quite well. Discovered another source of warping the panel. Puddle welding the wheel arch edges causes to much heat to go into the panel and causes distortion. IF I ever do another one I'll find a better way to weld this seam. Hopefully some shaping will cover it up.

I am very close to a major milestone. Welding is almost complete. I can think of only one more small job which is the NS front wing shield top piece.

Next is painting the underneath. Can't say I'm looking forward to this tedious job...

Lower wing fitted

Worked most of the weekend and made good progress with the NS rear wing. This time I was more careful with the welding and grinding to stop any heat distortion. Result is better that the OS. I will seam seal the wing join and then fit the inner arch. A trial fit shows that this inner arch is a much better fit than the OS which is good news.

NS Rear Wing Repair

With the OS side rear wing complete, I've now started on the NS. Had two good days at this and here's the result.

Just got the boot outer to weld in and then it's ready for the new lower wing.

BTW the paint is red and not pink!

Oh, and here are a couple of 'before shots'...

Rear Wing Repair

Finally got to the end of my first rear wing repair! I’ve always seen this as the biggest hurdle to completing the MGB shell restoration. This has taken me over 6 weeks of evening and weekends! I’m reasonably happy with the result. There is a small amount of distortion near the chrome strip line as I just didn’t have the patience to wait for the panel to fully cool between each 10mm weld. Anyway a bit of shaping by someone with a good eye should hide this.

This repair included:
New rear chassis rail closure panel
New rear lower valance
New boot outer floor
New outer arch
New rear lower wing
Inner arch repair in three places
Repair to area under tail light
Repair to chassis rail near bump stop
And of course all sill repairs before starting!

Now I’ve got to do it all again on the nearside! Hope it doesn’t take another 6 weeks…

Three ‘before’ shots to show the corrosion…

Rear chassis rail closure panel fitted. This is not an easy job as the panel has to line up and weld to the tubes for the bumper arms and the leaf spring shackle mounting point.

Trial fit of the lower wing panel to assess each of the joins.

Removal of the rear lower valance.

Boot floor outer, lower wing and rear valance removed.

Preparation of the internal panels.

Final trial fit of the lower wing.

Boot outer welded in.

Lower wing welded in place

Boot floor and lower wing seam.

Repair to base of rear lights. This is tricky area as three panels have to meet…

Finally the outer arch is fitted…Just a bit of tidying and I can move on to the other side!

Bad luck continues...

I was hoping for a full weekend of MGB restoration, but I ended up with bad back after 2 hours! I did manage to get the shell from the rotator to the dolley so the rear valance is now accessible. Hopefully I'll be back :-) in a few days.

Tidy up last nights bird .... droppings

I guess the only difference between a bad weld and a good weld is the amount of grinding. Just had an hour to tidy the welds and do a little housekeeping in prep for tomorrows re-configuration of the rotator. I need clear access to replace the rear valance and therefore the rear part of the rotator must be removed. I will support the car near the back with my DIY dolley. Hopefully pics tomorrow.

Poor welding (except on my thumb!)

Not a good evening. First was my rubbish welding due to my poor patch preperation. Then I managed to weld my thumb. Ouch! So I gave up for the night to nurse my painful thumb which now sports a crusty hole!