I have a 1980 MGB which was "restored" by the PO using
fiberglass and bondo to patch the holes. In all fairness, the guy
did a good job of it, taking the car down to bare metal
before priming and painting it. After more than four years, the
car still looks good enough to impress the casual observer.
It has two weak points.
1. The rocker panels are too weak to allow use of the jack without
cracking the "body work". ( No externally visible holes or
signs that the car is sagging here). I can live with this indefinitely,
using a scissors jack if I need to change a tire.
2. The front fenders are showing noticable signs of rust bubbling
through the paint in the area between the wheel and the door.
I still do not have any holes here, but I suspect that I will within
a year.
I am considering an incremental approach to the car's needs. Sometime this
year, I would replace the front fenders and
have a local body shop paint them for me. Then, if and when I
began to see signs of trouble with the rocker panels and sills,
I would have them replaced. ( I have neither the time, equipment,
or space to do this kind of body work.)
If I have to replace the rocker panels and sills after replacing the
fenders, is this going to disturb or undo any of the work which I did on the
fenders? Does this seem like a reasonable way to proceed?
Thanks,
Peter Schauss
pschauss@aol.com
1980 MGB
1963 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II
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