MGB New Project

[LostInTransit]

The last car I've had that was about the same size as your MG was a 1963 Sunbeam alpine.

[DanStokes]

The last car I've had that was about the same size as your MG was a 1963 Sunbeam alpine.

Mom had one - WITH an automatic trans! The auto really killed the power but it was otherwise a fun car.

[DanStokes]

Fender patch panels on the way from Rimmer Bros in England. Even with shipping, about $60 less. We'll see how quickly DHL gets them here.

My plan is to use the body as a jig to get the patch panels in the right place.

[DanStokes]

Figured that while I'm waiting for parts I'd reinstall the doors so I can make any necessary adjustments before I think about paint, etc. So what to my wondering eyes should appear but......no nut plates! Evidently they can and do fall out and I swept some number of them up with the piles of iron oxide I was sweeping up for months as I rebuilt the body structure. One had stayed in place and I found one in my scrap bin - guess I must have picked it up off the floor but didn't realize what it was from. The scene of the crime: Behind each of those 8 holes there ought to be a nut plate to screw the hinge into.






So time to make replacements. I bought a piece of 3" X 1/4" plate and am drilling and tapping the holes then cutting off the piece. The material is 4 feet long (it was a piece the steel yard had lying around) so there's plenty of material to clamp onto in the abrasive saw (Harbor Freight to the rescue). The one on the right is mine, the one on the left is OEM. Two more to make.

[DanStokes]

Nut plates made it was time to do a preliminary hanging of doors. Bottom line - my reinforcements did their job and the door hole is big enough to fit the door into. Here's the steps:


The rig to handle the weight of the door so I don't have to hold it up while wrestling it onto the hinges.





Note the Phillips-looking screws holding (in part) the door in place. Well, they aren't Phillips, they're Pozidrive (a trade name of the Phillips Screw Company) and I now have a #4 Posidrive bit on order from McMaster. Not available in your average tool truck or hardware store. For now they're semi-tight and the door still wiggles around if I yank on it so I'm suspending door adjustments but at least I know it it fits more or less.





Looking at the front of the door you can see the bolts that suck the hinges forward. Like the rest of the body, the hinge structure is way overbuilt.





And the door in the hole. The bottom need to come in about 3/8" but without the Pozidrive bit I can't get it to stay there. Still, it fits. That rear door gap is always a bit tight on MGBs.





And a crack at the vent window. That's pretty common too and I'm trying to remember the fix - seems like I read somewhere that there's a reinforcement plate or something that will stop this. Advice?

[TheSilverBuick]

Are you using both gas/stick welding and MIG welding on the body work?

[DanStokes]

Are you using both gas/stick welding and MIG welding on the body work?

Pretty much MIG though I do throw some brazing at it from time to time. Abdington (where MG built these) used brazing in the build process so when I see shiny gold there's no choice but to fire up the torch. Don't know if you've ever tried to MIG over brass but it's a hard NO!

[silver_bullet]

Clean the metal thoroughly of all paint and rust.... drill a small hole at the end of the crack, and tack weld it together..... use a backing plate of copper to prevent your welds from blowing through....:https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...in-and.492070/

[Captain]

These Bolts.....
Only Accessable with the Fender Off,
Are hidden in the Hinge Pocket (Not seen in pictures) pull the Hinge Pocket assembly forward?
And Tightened once the PosiDrive Things have been tightened at final alignment?

Don't Do some NASCAR action "Using The Sheet Metal" to hold you in on the Corners.....

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

When I rebuilt the Mini, I had the same problem with the door hinge screws. I just threw them away, went to Stadium Hardware, and bought flathead Allen screws of the proper size. It made getting them snugged up sooooooo muuuuuuuch easier.

And I had cracks in the doors as well. And like mentioned above, I drilled a crack stopper hole, and welded up the cracks by gas torch. MIG welds tend to be hard and brittle. Gas welds usually are not. Those doors are the ones that I am going to use on Frankenmini, and the only problem with the doors is that crummy paint job we keep coming back to...

[DanStokes]

I checked with the MGB guys and there's a tried-and-true permanent fix. I'll show the steps as I do them but the bottom line is that you cut a plate to fit behind the crack and plug weld it in place (I've dome plenty of that and seem to be able to pull it off). Guys who have drilled a stop hole and welded up the crack w/o the backing plate have had the crack reappear after a few years - that's weak point in the design. It even will crack past the stop hole - dunno why or how.

Thanks for the input!

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

I checked with the MGB guys and there's a tried-and-true permanent fix. I'll show the steps as I do them but the bottom line is that you cut a plate to fit behind the crack and plug weld it in place (I've dome plenty of that and seem to be able to pull it off). Guys who have drilled a stop hole and welded up the crack w/o the backing plate have had the crack reappear after a few years - that's weak point in the design. It even will crack past the stop hole - dunno why or how.

Thanks for the input!

Well, on 2nd thought, I can see a reason. Especially if the welding is done by mig. Remember a weld is a formed in place crack, and the weld material looks like cast iron microscopicly. It's a dendritic crystal structure, which by nature is prone to cracking. The gas welding will anneal the grain structure and cause reformation of the grain structure.

I know, went nerd again...

[DanStokes]

Well, on 2nd thought, I can see a reason. Especially if the welding is done by mig. Remember a weld is a formed in place crack, and the weld material looks like cast iron microscopicly. It's a dendritic crystal structure, which by nature is prone to cracking. The gas welding will anneal the grain structure and cause reformation of the grain structure.

I know, went nerd again...

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Hey, it's what I used to do! and it's my worth (inflation)

[DanStokes]

Got a bit done today:

First, I replaced the Pozidrive screws that hold the door to the hinge. Dave G had suggested this but I already had them on order. This gives me some extra Pozidrive screws to use where they show on the body side of the hinges.





And the door fit now that I can tighten all the screws. BTW - with a real #4 Pozidrive bit they tighten nicely without trying to cam out. I was able to run them in with the 1/2" impact! The door fit is good if not perfect at the rockers and I'm OK with that given that I replaced all that structure and got it within 3/16" or so.




Then it was time to empty out the door and fix the crack shown earlier. As mentioned, the permanent fix is to align the two sides and plug weld a patch behind the crack-prone area before welding up the crack itself.


Prepped area and the reinforcement:





Reinforcement held in place with poor man's Clecos and Vice Grips as possible. As I proceeded I was able to use my C-clamp Vice Gips in some areas to assure that the reinforcement was tight to the door skin (not shown).





Welded and ground. It'll need a little more grinding but it's close.