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Re: Bodywork...

To: "REICHLE, CHRISTOPHER" <CREICHLE@nsc.msmail.miami.edu>
Subject: Re: Bodywork...
From: "W. R. Gibbons" <gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu>
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 1996 17:38:02 -0400 (EDT)
On Mon, 8 Jul 1996, REICHLE, CHRISTOPHER wrote:

> 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. 

It sounds to me as if he is a font of misinformation.  There are some
modern high strength steel panels that shouldn't be mig welded, but it
should be fine for your car.  If you want your car to consist of warped,
twisted steel made (hopefully) smooth by bondo, get an oxyacetylene setup
and some brazing rod and do as he says.  Incidentally, the rocker panels
are structural members on your car--essentially the frame.  They should
not be brazed in under any circumstances.  His advice is not only wrong 
in this case, but dangerously wrong.

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. 

Bullsh*t.  I would be surprised if a Jag hood is as thick as the patch 
panels.  But if you want thick doglegs, get some 18 ga. steel and make 
thick doglegs.  

Basically his angle is that 
> British cars are braised together 

That simply is not, repeat not, true.  Your car is spot welded and 
arc welded together; there should be little or no braze in the body.  

 and that since it's a unibody, 
mig welding 
> would change the way the body naturally flexes. 

Mig weld is harder than the body steel.  If you use it in an area that 
does flex a lot, such as simply welding together your crack of doom, you 
might only move the crack to another location.  In that case, you would 
want to reinforce the entire area.  In general, though, it should be 
fine.  Brazing everything would change the way the body flexes, too.

He 
also recommended buying > new doors as opposed to changing the skins.

It's not his money, is it.  The skins should be satisfactory and a lot 
cheaper if the door frame is ok. 

> 
> 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... 

Where did you find this guy, anyway?  I'm not sure the original paint was
lacquer, and if it was, I would take it off. 

> So, What's the net wisdom? This guy is a friend who is a seasoned mechanic, 
> doesn't trust any high tech crap, 

This guy is way, way out in left field.

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.

Your instincts are pretty good.  Trust them.  He is undoubtedly a very
nice fellow, but he is full of nonsense.  I assume this guy can do
wonderful things hammering out dents with stones and brazing frames
together.  There must be something that has kept him in business. 
Whatever it is, it's not his knowledge base. 

I guarantee you, if you tell him your car is overheating, he will want to 
stuff old socks in the radiator to slow the water down.

   Ray Gibbons  Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
                Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
                gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu  (802) 656-8910


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