1958 MGA Coupe

MYBAD79 · Jun 1, 2014

Awesome progress, i really like the body dolly with the wheels :smash:

bobs77vet · Jun 1, 2014

thks guys what that spot welder really needs is to be hung from a gantry crane on a bungi cord to take some of the weight off of it

just call me popeye that spot welder is heavy as crap, you have to hold in place, clamp down on the lever, and then use a pinky finger to push the toggle switch.....

heres the inner sill of the drivers side painted with gloss rustoleum, and it gets painted with weld through primer on the bare steel

the rocker panel,

100 plus spot welds later, I used a fan today blowing on the area I was working on to keep the fumes away from me

all spot welds sanded and primed, there really wasn't much to sand down

bobs77vet · Jun 5, 2014

i don't always drink beer but when I do......my version...I don't always buy sheet metal parts but when I do I buy good ones...from Michael Beakhouse, sports car metal works, duttons farm. bangor rd south, iver bucks, slo oay ,U.K.

http://www.sportscarmetalworks.com/

cleaned off with a degreaser and primed

bobs77vet · Jun 6, 2014

so every night even if tts just 15 mins.....keep moving the ball downfield.....

my repair piece did not have the very top piece that the battery cover slips in so I will use the original one and cut it so this can slip in its place

tomorrow I will figure out how to make it fit into place

bobs77vet · Jun 7, 2014

a little work before some graduation partys

the other side tomorrow

SuperBuickGuy · Jun 7, 2014

what made you replace the panel rather than fixing it or POR coating it?

bobs77vet · Jun 8, 2014

they were too far gone and I couldn't make them look presentable

finished the other side and scraped and wire brushed and painted bottom area by pumpkin.

test fit

welded in

now some scraping and wire brushing and painting

JPhil · Jun 8, 2014

I guess it's a bit late now to ask, but are you using a rust converter before paint on the areas you are not replacing?

bobs77vet · Jun 8, 2014

JPhil said:
I guess it's a bit late now to ask, but are you using a rust converter before paint on the areas you are not replacing?

yes my neighbor is a high end body man and he had me sand the top side of the car down to bare metal hit with rust converter and then sand that down again, then I used a self etching primer. on the bottom side anything that has any rust is getting the rust converter on it and then sanded, if I can get at it. if not it gets primed on top of the converter. mostly the bottom side I can get at with a wire brush either a cupped one or a horizontal flat one mounted on a grinder, or a wire brush. I can tell you from sanding off the primer for some of the welding I have done that stuff is attached firmly....it even surprised me.

bobs77vet · Jun 13, 2014

did some grinding today and cleaned the under side of the bonnet

bobs77vet · Jun 14, 2014

more grinding today and using seam sealer, also welded a cage nut into the engine heater shelf

the cage nut episode

two holes drilled up through the bottom for plug welding in place

bobs77vet · Jun 29, 2014

I had a quick moment to work on the underside of the bonnet.....I hit it again with an abrasive disk, brake clean and then two different applications of mineral spirits with a scotchbrite pad and then followed by a degreaser. kind of thankless work but it really does cut the grease and grime. I also removed the locking plunger and it is sitting in paint remover.

and my favorite self etching primer

bobs77vet · Aug 7, 2014

my fathers day present finally arrived. its a welding table from Harbor Freight.. I had the opportunity to man handle one of these at the store and I was impressed with its strength and asked the kids for this as a fathers day gift. the kids are starting familys, having kids, in college or in high school so this was easy on there budgets and I don't really need much. heres a product review of the table. item #61369

I am as impressed with this now as I was when I saw it in the store. I think with coupons it was about $70 shipped to the house. this is a medium duty table specs say top dimensions approx. are 30x20 and 33" high with a max capacity of 350lbs.....350 may be bit much but certainly 250+ is reasonable. the metal in the table is substantial and this is not a joke table.

packaged nicely and no damage

soon I can get back to my project...

SuperBuickGuy · Aug 8, 2014

sweet

Sam Cogley · Aug 8, 2014

I've thought about buying one of those. My scrap-box welding table is nice, but the tilting top would be a great feature to have.

bobs77vet · Aug 9, 2014

Sam Cogley said:
I've thought about buying one of those. My scrap-box welding table is nice, but the tilting top would be a great feature to have.

i have a heavy duty welding table that my vise is on and the hydraulic press but it stays tucked in the corner more as bench then any thing else.....so I either do the welding on the floor or on a ply wood top on my work mate. if you can pick one of these up with coupons and on sale I say go for it. I am very pleased with the quality and the gauge of metal. I think they got their version of this one right. and since it was backordered for several months I am guessing others think so also.

MYBAD79 · Aug 14, 2014

Not all of that Harbor Freight stuff is junk !!! I just bought a HF gas engine auger with a 6" auger attachment, less than $200..... Used it a lot .... Drilled holes for fence posts, drilled holes to pull out small palm trees etc.... Worth every penny even if it died tomorrow I'd say it was well worth it....

bobs77vet · Aug 20, 2014

well tonight was a planning night......and no running away is not a plan. this is really the last big repair area left. so tonight I did a lot of staring and contemplating but not much else. I think I will tackle the drivers side first. right now the fender is attached with a few fender bolts I think I will fasten it down pretty well with some additional bolts and see how it lines up. I have measured the front shroud area and the front nose is symmetrical on both sides. I don't see any real fender damage on the driveers side from an accident, only some areas that have been rusted out. this will take a while to get this right and I have a lot on my plate right now and not much extra time. so this will take me a while to finish.....just one nibble at a time.

bobs77vet · Aug 22, 2014

any way looking more at my front drivers side fender and I think I am seeing distortion from a previous bump of some sort. can anyone who as a straight fender without the head light bucket in place take some photos with a straight edge so I can see what I have to make mine look like. better yet any one here in NOVA have a front fender I can borrow for observation....I wont do any thing to it I just will use it as a guide. thks bob

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