MGB Body restoration - Help required with parts!
Discussion
So due to some of my own laziness and also due to other peoples bodgery My 77' B GT is looking rather sorry for itself with rotten / fillered rear arches, dodgy paint work and some crusty inner sills.
After talking to a friend of mine who runs his own classic garage he's guesstimated me £500 to do 2 inner sills and 2 rear arches with me helping.
Obviously once the sills and wings are done it will need paint so it's then off to a mates rates painter for a full respray.
I've already decided whilst doing this since most of the carpets need to come up for fire watching during welding I may as well replace all of the carpets as they've seen better days anyway.
I've also in my wisdom decided now would be the best time to go for a chrome bumper conversion.
I've started looking for parts and panels on-line but of course new bits of chrome aren't cheap!
I was hoping Some on here may be able to give advice on where's cheapest for the repair panels (2x inner sill kits, 2x rear lower wings and 2x lower front wings), wheres cheapest for the chrome bumper conversion kit and some advice on the carpet kit.
I know the moulded carpet kits are best but they are also around +£100 on the non-moulded kits. Are the non-moulded still good quality? The cheapest I've found are from Watford classic cars, has anyone had their kits before?
I'm also on the look out for some good quality chrome bumpers and front honeycombe grill if anyone can help me locate any of these bits new or used.
To go with the chrome bumpers I was also considering fitting a 'C' bonnet. Of course a genuine one would be impossible to find and if I did find one it would be silly amounts of money! So has anyone here had any experience with the fibre glass 'C' Bonnets? Do they lose shape in the heat? Has anyone had any dealings with the fibre glass 'C' bonnet 'shell' to go over a standard bonnet? What are they like to fit?
Thanks in advance!
After talking to a friend of mine who runs his own classic garage he's guesstimated me £500 to do 2 inner sills and 2 rear arches with me helping.
Obviously once the sills and wings are done it will need paint so it's then off to a mates rates painter for a full respray.
I've already decided whilst doing this since most of the carpets need to come up for fire watching during welding I may as well replace all of the carpets as they've seen better days anyway.
I've also in my wisdom decided now would be the best time to go for a chrome bumper conversion.
I've started looking for parts and panels on-line but of course new bits of chrome aren't cheap!
I was hoping Some on here may be able to give advice on where's cheapest for the repair panels (2x inner sill kits, 2x rear lower wings and 2x lower front wings), wheres cheapest for the chrome bumper conversion kit and some advice on the carpet kit.
I know the moulded carpet kits are best but they are also around +£100 on the non-moulded kits. Are the non-moulded still good quality? The cheapest I've found are from Watford classic cars, has anyone had their kits before?
I'm also on the look out for some good quality chrome bumpers and front honeycombe grill if anyone can help me locate any of these bits new or used.
To go with the chrome bumpers I was also considering fitting a 'C' bonnet. Of course a genuine one would be impossible to find and if I did find one it would be silly amounts of money! So has anyone here had any experience with the fibre glass 'C' Bonnets? Do they lose shape in the heat? Has anyone had any dealings with the fibre glass 'C' bonnet 'shell' to go over a standard bonnet? What are they like to fit?
Thanks in advance!
Ebay hunt the panels or MGBhive.
Ditto carpet set.
I wouldn't bother converting to chrome bumper as you will need to convert front wings, new front skirt, new front indicators, grill, chop front chassis rails, let in fillet pieces under rear lights. All to end up with a bastardised B. I'll get lynched for that comment but I'm afraid I hate blinged up rubber bumper cars, they never look right unless your prepared to spend more time and money on them than you could have got the genuine thing for anyway. Don't forget the interior is all different too.
C bonnet, won't look right on the rubber bumpers, but on chromes will look ok, but your wheels are smaller than a C so certainly won't fool anyone, it's just a mod for mods sake, a fibreglass skin will let in to a B steel bonnet frame ok, and will long term provide a nice enough panel, the whole moulded bonnets that you get with plates fitted to tap out for catches etc. Though are never successful in my experience.
If I were you I would spend a grand on your car getting it tidy as it left the factory and enjoy it. It will be easier and quicker, you won't lose your car for long and when you come to sell it it will appeal to a wider market than a bitsa. Plus you won't have to make so much back to cover mods most people wouldn't want.
Ditto carpet set.
I wouldn't bother converting to chrome bumper as you will need to convert front wings, new front skirt, new front indicators, grill, chop front chassis rails, let in fillet pieces under rear lights. All to end up with a bastardised B. I'll get lynched for that comment but I'm afraid I hate blinged up rubber bumper cars, they never look right unless your prepared to spend more time and money on them than you could have got the genuine thing for anyway. Don't forget the interior is all different too.
C bonnet, won't look right on the rubber bumpers, but on chromes will look ok, but your wheels are smaller than a C so certainly won't fool anyone, it's just a mod for mods sake, a fibreglass skin will let in to a B steel bonnet frame ok, and will long term provide a nice enough panel, the whole moulded bonnets that you get with plates fitted to tap out for catches etc. Though are never successful in my experience.
If I were you I would spend a grand on your car getting it tidy as it left the factory and enjoy it. It will be easier and quicker, you won't lose your car for long and when you come to sell it it will appeal to a wider market than a bitsa. Plus you won't have to make so much back to cover mods most people wouldn't want.
Keep your eyes on Moss seconds on ebay, they get some really cheap stuffs there.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/moss-seconds/m.html?_nkw...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/moss-seconds/m.html?_nkw...
your car so you do as you please with it but I think, as always, WO comments need to be seriously considered
my thoughts as always are get the car running and set up well and drive it regularly for 12 months before considering upgrades, improvements and mods as you may like a well set up reliable car as it is and anyway you may need to spend the money on unexpected other items that come up, useing the car in weather extemes of summer and winter and various driving conditions and distances can quicker expose things that little use will leave feastering
my thoughts as always are get the car running and set up well and drive it regularly for 12 months before considering upgrades, improvements and mods as you may like a well set up reliable car as it is and anyway you may need to spend the money on unexpected other items that come up, useing the car in weather extemes of summer and winter and various driving conditions and distances can quicker expose things that little use will leave feastering
If the inner sills have gone, then it's possible the floor pans have as well, plus the castle section may well be in poor state too. About 18 years ago I started off finding inner sills rusted on my ex's car and then ended up replacing the unseen bit in the middle of the inner and outer sills, the outer sill, the castle rail and the floor pans. Shame was the car appeared tidy and had lots of upper bodywork replaced and resprayed (badly). I thought it just needed a better respray and a few bits of chromework to make it perfect. In other words, before you start spending money on modifications I'd wait to see what you find when you start pulling it apart.
Unfortunately I never finished the car as we spilt up and it was her car, so I left it in pieces...I put some serious hours in on that car too, shame I didn't spend the time making my RS2000 perfect as I wouldn't have it in bits now...
Unfortunately I never finished the car as we spilt up and it was her car, so I left it in pieces...I put some serious hours in on that car too, shame I didn't spend the time making my RS2000 perfect as I wouldn't have it in bits now...
Before even planning to start on a sill panel replacement ,you need to remove all the carpets and make a through examination of the inner sills and floor panels ,particularly in the foot well area. Very often the full extent of the rust does not show up untill you are well committed in to the work if you are not carefull you can easily end up in this situation (see photo) 
When you remove the sill outer skin ,thats when the shock comes ,usualy it is possible to push your finger ( or even finger's) into the interior where the middle panel has rusted away, remember ! before you can repair you must have sufficient metal remaining to be able to make a sound weld , good luck ! 
Fgr hoods for MGB's can be somewhat of a problem, when I could not find a satisfactory supplier in the UK in desperation I started to manufacture my own brand in Florida under brand name "Morspeed". With temp's up in the 100 plus range we experienced no distortion at all, however that depends on variable factors.If you bond the skin to the inner frame with resin it is possible to get a false "set" and end up with a perminently twisted component. 
Thanks for all the replies.
As far as is possible to tell from the interior everything seems solid as there are no signs of rust at all inside the car or on the floor underneath.
The C bonnet I may well not go with for now, seems like extra hassle I won't need (But I still love the look of them!)
The car has been used daily by myself for over a year so everything else is as I want it. The chrome bumpers are something that are definitely going on if I undertake the project.
This has only turned to an 'if' as someone I know the same age as me has very recently been refused insurance renewal by Footman James due to age. I made a post earlier in the year (late last year?) and it seems as though Footman James the only insurer who offered reasonable prices to <21s (that I could find) have not stopped insuring us.
As far as is possible to tell from the interior everything seems solid as there are no signs of rust at all inside the car or on the floor underneath.
The C bonnet I may well not go with for now, seems like extra hassle I won't need (But I still love the look of them!)
The car has been used daily by myself for over a year so everything else is as I want it. The chrome bumpers are something that are definitely going on if I undertake the project.
This has only turned to an 'if' as someone I know the same age as me has very recently been refused insurance renewal by Footman James due to age. I made a post earlier in the year (late last year?) and it seems as though Footman James the only insurer who offered reasonable prices to <21s (that I could find) have not stopped insuring us.
blimey been a year with the car then, time flys, time to start servicing some of it all over again then 
I thought the insurance issue had been solved I thought there was a thread that offered alternative providers and conformation from those under 21 that had recently insured but I'm very old and might have remembered wrong
I thought the insurance issue had been solved I thought there was a thread that offered alternative providers and conformation from those under 21 that had recently insured but I'm very old and might have remembered wrong
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