To clean the chassis sand blasting is the way to go but you should
use a power blaster not a siphon type. A wire brush will work but use an
angle grinder and not a drill. The drill is not powerful enough. As far as
the welder goes don't expect much from the cheap units. You need a MIG
welder for the body work and that will set you back about $500 or so. It
may seem like a lot but to have someone do the work for you will cost a
lot more and you still won't have the welder. I can almost guarantee that
no matter how much you try a regular arc welder will ruin your car. For
painting the chassis buy chassis paint, it's harder and looks better. The
Eastwood company sells a good quality paint, but you can also find it
locally.
...Art
On Wed, 27 May 1998, Douglas Gaither wrote:
> For those who remember, my father purchased a 1957 MGA a few months ago. We
> just got it last week. We were very excited to get the body off and get
> down to the chassis restoration. Several floor rails (supports for the
> floorboards) will need to be replaced, and the inside of the chassis at the
> passenger's (LHD) right foot will have to be patched as well as at the
> driver's left foot. I have a few questions about the best way to prepare
> the chassis.
>
> 1) How do we prepare the chassis for new paint? Do we sandblast?
> Chem-strip? Wire-wheel on drill? Or just clean and paint over what's
> there? Do we need to use primer? Just plain black spray-can paint?
>
> 2) Do we repair all welding before stripping?
>
> 3) Is there anything special we should know about repairing the chassis?
>
> Neither of us knows how to weld. But we've been told that it takes a good
> 10 minutes for resonably bright people to understand the basics of MIG
> welding. My dad is going to go and purchase a little welder from the local
> Costco and we are planning on picking up some 16 gauge sheet metal to affect
> the repairs. Then we are off! Are we going about this the wrong way? Are
> little welders from Costco something to be avoided?
>
> Doug Gaither
>
>
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