I know this guy that used to race MGs and restores Jag E-types. I went to
him for advice on fixing the rusted out rockers on my 80 B. I told him that
I was probably going to put in new rockers and patch the dog leg and front
fender with the patches you get from Moss etc via mig welder. My doors have
the crack of doom and holes forming on the skin though the door it's self
looks fine. I figured I would get new skins for the doors.
What he said...
He said that I should not use a mig welder on a British car because the
British steel is mild and is not tensile like the mig weld. He said that all
of the welds should be braised. In addition, he suggested cutting up an old
jag hood to get the metal to make the dogleg patches because the Moss
patches are too thin, cheap and will rust out. Basically his angle is that
British cars are braised together and that since it's a unibody, mig welding
would change the way the body naturally flexes. He also recommended buying
new doors as opposed to changing the skins.
The paint on this car is chalky blue, (no finish left). Some enamel paint
work done by a _bad_ place to one of the fenders is pealing real bad. I
figured that I should strip this car down to the metal, prime and repaint
after the rockers were done.
What he said...
"... That lacquer paint is the best f** base you could have for painting...
" he suggested laying towels soaked in gas on the enamel crap to bubble it
off, prime the rocker area and shoot paint. BTW, the paint is so bad that
you could polish it all day and still get blue on the polishing towel. It
just will not seal.
So, What's the net wisdom? This guy is a friend who is a seasoned mechanic,
doesn't trust any high tech crap, usually right but a few times led me
astray. Sometimes he profits from me, usually I bring my car to his shop and
he lets me use his tools etc. He could end up doing the job but he'd much
rather work on the E-Types he's restoring. I want to make sure that it's
done right. My fear is that I'll end up with a lot of creative braising work
under a slab of bondo which will fall off, after of course the new paint
peals off the old lacquer.
Thanks,
Christopher W. Reichle
creichle@nsc.msmail.miami.edu
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