MGB New Project

[DanStokes]

I wonder if that place in A^2 that did Peter's Ford van is still in business, or rather I wonder if that franchise is still in existence. That seemed to be a good product. Oh well, I know you. You've done the research and have it figured out.

Not really. I have a choice of one place......

[DanStokes]

Got a bit more done on the B today. I had tacked on the "membrane" as the Brits call it - the reinforcing rib that runs inside the length of the rocker (sill) structure. I had the cart in front of the horse there so I cut the tacks and got to assembling the castle section (the bottom of the rocker structure - them Brits have a weird word for everything) to the inner rocker and the inner rocker to the body structure (pics tomorrow). Also, I'm making a stiffening piece to reinforce the jacking point thru the inner rocker. There's a stock replacement piece for that but I tried to save a few $$ and didn't buy one from Rimmer. It's working out OK, aided by CAD engineering.

[65RHDEER]

Dan, in Australia we use some automotive terms that are from the the English, I guess because we're part of the Commonwealth.

And then some terms that come from US speak, the motor industry here had US parents!

Does that make us multi lingual

[DanStokes]

Dan, in Australia we use some automotive terms that are from the the English, I guess because we're part of the Commonwealth.

And then some terms that come from US speak, the motor industry here had US parents!

Does that make us multi lingual

Absolutely! Gudgeon pins and all that. I knew some of the Brit speak (bonnet, hood, boot) but am learning more (membrane, castle section, etc) as I weld this thing back together.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Absolutely! Gudgeon pins and all that. I knew some of the Brit speak (bonnet, hood, boot) but am learning more (membrane, castle section, etc) as I weld this thing back together.

have you incorporated UK swear words into your managé à nations?

[DanStokes]

have you incorporated UK swear words into your managé à nations?

Naw. I just swear in 'Merican.

[DanStokes]

Back on the B. I continue to weld in the right side structural stuff so I have something to hang everything onto.

Some pics of the progress:

Here's a pic of a piece I made and welded in that attaches the castle section to the spring perch which is important as they borrow strength from each other. My homemade piece is 18 gauge which has much more structure than air and/or rust which was previously doing the job.




Looking into the inner sill and castle section as they come together. Note the shop-made brace to support the jacking point which I'll fabricate tomorrow. I can't get far enough away to get a shot of the whole thing in one frame.




And looking toward the front of the car at the junction of the inner rocker (sill) and castle section. It needs a few more stitch welds and I can put the membrane back on.





The whole thing's getting super stiff!

[DanStokes]

Made and installed the jacking point today. The stock jack uses a round bar that sticks into the piece I made here. The jack folds out into a triangular base and the round bar travels up a screw to life the car. Without this jacking point you're screwed if you have a flat on the road and remember - wire wheels w/tubes. I made this WAY more stout than the OEM one but then, of course I did! What you may not notice is that I added a piece of 1/8" plate behind the tube to reinforce the frame which was bent upward evidently as a result of previous jacking. Mine will NOT bend!

I did a little more grinding since these pics and as a result it looks a bit better. Ugly but stout welds.

Couple of views:

[DanStokes]

I had limited time today but I did weld lots of inches. I added some stitches as mentioned yesterday but mostly I welded in the rear of the floor where it covers the spring mount and also where the rear of the floor meets the rear bulkhead. This pic shows that rear area melted into one chunk. Once again I'm reminded that I really don't know how you would do this job without the rotisserie. I did the '64 by turning it upside-down but it sure didn't give the access this gives. The Restoration Manual sort of implies you can do this with hand tools and some jack stands but the correct answer is NO!

[DanStokes]

Assembly continues. Asa came over today and we got the membrane in place followed by the outer rocker. Everything is tacked together and there's lots of welding left to go.



The inner rocker, floor, and castle section stitch welded and in weld-thru primer. The Restoration Manual cautions that all the inner pieces should be primed in "high zinc" primer which is - weld thru! I'll have the rocker boxes shot with rustproofing but I'll go ahead with the zinc primer anyway.



Outer rocker in place. It was not easy to line everything up but we got there.




A shot forward from the rear wheel well showing the multiple layers that make up the structure of the rocker. The membrane looks crooked but the car is on an angle. I'll cut a patch for that hole as there was no way to get the spot welds to let go in that area.





Where we left it tonight. Starting to look like a car again! At least on this side.

[DanStokes]

Got out to the shop and couldn't figure out why my welds were even worse than usual. After a few attempts I checked to see if I had turned the bottle on - I had. Then I thought to look at those little gauges on the bottle and yep, dead empty. The good news is that the supplier is supposed to have a fresh supply tomorrow AM so I'll have lunch over that way and pick up a full one. I've been doing a LOT of welding recently!

So I started fitting stuff and making pieces to fill in where the new panels don't cover so it wasn't a completely wasted day. Also did a little gas welding in a couple of spots - much slower than the MIG welder but it still works. It was good to find out I haven't totally lost the skill.


Here's the rear quarter panel with the repair panel fitted. Looks like it should weld in nicely once I have the stuff behind it welded in - that's why this was cut out in the first place.

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Naw. I just swear in 'Merican.

Dan introduced me to Jim Shears when we were working together in A^2. Jim taught Dan all the best words to use from US Navy speak. Jim was a long term Navy guy. I swear he knew words that we still don't know how to use...

[SuperBuickGuy]

Naw. I just swear in 'Merican.

Maybe, when you run into puzzlers, that is the problem - the MG is waiting for the correct words to allow itself to be fixed.... after all, they can't call a hood a hood, fender a fender, door panels door panels... so perhaps they really aren't being petty by using different words - maybe those words are what the car needs to be fixed? probably also why they bring Barras to the US - they can't speak big block.

[Loren]

The internet is here to help you. 49 British Swearwords, Defined (buzzfeed.com)

Bollocks! Bloody me forgot to see if the gas was buggered-up! People next door won't know what you're yelling about but the MG may find it comforting to hear the language of the Old World.

[DanStokes]

Thanks all for your moving insights. It makes me feel like I'm not in this alone. Bloody good!

I just read the whole bloody list. The missed "pissed" meaning "drunk". I'd say, mild.