1974 MGB GT V8 - the homework continues...

Right then slightly off topic to start with - I delivered this to a Jowett Car Club member in Warwick

- 1952 Jowett Javelin

And he also owns this nice little TR3



But I then continued my journey with the trailer up to Tamworth to visit Envirostrip - who has a workshop packed with bodyshells all being processed



Rover P5



Large Yank shell



Escort & MGB shells



Merc



Some wide arched racer



MX5



Various other shells in primer awaiting collection



Another Yank



Triumph Herald



Mk 1 Cortina and piled up alongside the wall is a load of panels from a 30's Alvis tourer

But this is what I went to collect



Now devoid of paint, sealer, underseal and most critically rust - Its straight and very, very sound - virtually unmarked chassis rails & floor pans - same goes for the boot floor and a has a huge bonus of never being welded or bodged



However it does have some areas of rust perforation the reinforcing sections for the inner wings are dead on both sides



The front & rear sections on the sills are also weak & perforated - but the centre sections are largely ok - it would however be easier and a lot more straight forward just to fit a full pair of outer sills (the inner appear all good)



The lower sections of the back wings forward of the road wheels need sorting on both sides but both inner & outer arches are very good



Very sound floor pans





Impact / accident damage free front end



Mint boot floor



Loaded up



And now back in Hampshire



Outer panels - are ok but the front wings are datable has to repair or replace from an economic point of view



I will have a closer look at them tomorrow once I have unloaded

You and I have a different definition of these words.

That said, I would be happy to have that as a starting point for some of my projects.  On my MGB projects, IF they are suitable candidates, I like to do what I call a "rockerectomy" where I cut the sill off 1" from the top and slice a new heritage sill with a long but weld.

This gives me a pretty good idea of what the rest of the sill innards look like



If a suitable candidate, slice a new sill

One long but weld later, the sill is sound, and the door sill pinch welds, the outer footwell spotwelds and most importantly the three spotwelds at the base of the A-pillar are preserved.

Is it too early to ask..., which flavor will be chosen for this, from the Whitney Neill color chart? lol



Looking forward to the journey,

Lance

Oi... Who rattled your cage? Inner tart indeed.

That might be the interior colour 😂😂

Took the Shell & panels over to the barn this morning for unloading



Front panel will repair up ok



Just some edge repairs required



Bonnet is perforated on the front edge



On both sides



Then a small perforation right in the centre of the panel of all things



They will have been some type of a water absorbent packing between the bonnet skin and this support rail on the underside that has caused this - its all repairable



Front wings



Lower rear edges require replacing



Has does both of the headlamp backing rings along with surrounding repairs



And the offside wing has a decent size area of perforation on the top radius where the wing meets the splash guard panel - all repairable but I will price new wings to scale the economy of the repairs required before starting on them



Tailgate is fine and requires no repairs



Bottoms of both doors require metal letting in to the door skins & inner frame but in the scheme of things are perfectly repairable



Placed all the panels either in or on the car



Then wrapped the upper section of the car in polymask - but left the underside so that air can circulate and condensation does not become an issue



Now in perfect company with some Jowett friends (a whole barn full of them)

Next on the list is to start to order & collect the panels required for repairs and make decisions on what gets repaired or replaced with new - it will be a few months before its in the workshop for the work to commence though

JB - I would most certainly have the car dipped - it gives you a clean shell free of all paint / underseal / sealer & rust which is the starting point that you need when going to the extent that you are to build what will be an excellent & very rare car - I cant imagine for one minute that you will go to this time & trouble to build the car then sell it shortly afterwards so I'm assuming that its very much a keeper. Personally I would leave the shell intact has it is for dipping - whilst you can add additional bracing what you lose by removing the outer panels such has the sills & rear quarters is all the reference points for the rebuild - For info I only build one side of a shell at a time if I can therefore leave the other side for reference / measurements / alignment details if required - the shells are placed to a supporting stillage for dipping - I only ever use one company 'Envirostrip' having used them now for several years I have complete faith in their process which I have witnessed on a start to finish basis - I would has you also suggest getting the new old stock panels processed at the same time - the primer is 'Novol' which is a weld through protective primer - you have the option of having this done by Envirostrip once the shell has been dipped - some other companies offer E coating which I would not recommend has you have to clean this back everywhere you need to weld / repair and the dust from it is not very good for your health - E coatings are expensive and I feel it partly defeats the object of what you set out to achieve in the first place - There are books full of truths, rumours, tales of woe, old wives tales etc - about dipping the dipping process - fact is if you do the research & use the right people who have a proven process then you cant go wrong (but you don't have to has I have already done that for you)


Rather than throw a shell / panels in huge bath of strong acid - Envirostrip firstly bake the paint / underseal etc off with a staged heat process followed by a staged cooling process to avoid panel distortion - then they dip the shell / panels in a phosphoric solution again on a staged timed basis to avoid over thinning once completed the shell / panels are baked dry (this is the critical process that a lot of the dippers miss which gives huge reaction problems with paint / restorations at a later date) - Has already stated I have complete confidence in their process has do many other professional restorers & race / rally car builders

If you are thorough enough in your approach it should not require re-dipping after the welded repairs are completed - I have never returned a shell / panels afterwards but I have ensured that a high quality etch primer, weld through primer, sealer & cavity wax treatment has been applied before the car is returned to the client


They will be a load of people on here that are of the opinion that they can bare metal the shell & panels by themselves and save the hassle of getting the shell to the dippers and that dipping is expensive - well that's up to them if they want to spend hundreds of hours stripping paint, sealer, underseal & filler off a car let alone the cost of abrasives & paint stripper along with the noise, dust & mess it makes - simply just not worth it in my book !!


If you need me to put you in touch with them or if I can help with logistics at my end just let me know - likewise for any further info or questions that you have

Very envious that you have a qualified shell dip facility at hand.

The dip process would be ideal for the Rx2 since you have pulled it all apart. I found that folded seams like door skins and pinch welds don't clean up so go ahead and remove the door-skins.

The re-dip service is interesting. Is it at a discount to the original trip through the bath? Reasons for offering that make sense are that ( unlike grumpy) some of us Mortals take a lllloooooooooooooooonnnnggggg time to get the resto done and car might have been questionably stored with the repair bits improperly covered in regular primer rather than epoxy. So yeah, that might make sense. The other reason would be because every weld creates an oxide surface where it is not shielded. So, if you did a long but-weld to graft a new quarter panel on, the backside of the weld seam would need to be cleaned and coated, not always possible due to access.

Would be interested in reading the technical data sheet for the red coating that this facility uses.

It's a few replies up the page now, but interesting to see that somebody thinks it's worth dipping a MK1 MX5 for what is presumably a full restoration (or a rocketeer conversion).

Thanks for your input 😊. Yes,the redipping is at a reduced rate as it’s not going in the oven again. Quarter panels will be spot welded in as per originals, no buttwelds needed. Just need to invest in 20tonnes of lead to  smooth the gaps like they did at the factory 😂😂😂