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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - No passenger side floor

The passenger side floor on my 74 MG midget is almost completely gone, it is just the floor mats pretty much now.

My dad and i were talking about it and he said that he could bend and bring a piece of sheet metal home from work pop rivet into the inside of the car.

I dont have the facilities to raise the car up and weld on a new floor panel. I do have a small arc welder though.

Do you think that sheet aluminum would work well enough?
I was planning on spraying the bottom of the old floor panel with rustoleum after removing the majority of the rusted out floor panel.
SB Brecklin

The floor really needs to be welded steel with suitable reinforcement pleats.

Aluminium and steel react, giving rise to accelerated corrosion. I would not be happy with a pop-rivetted ally floor.

I guess it might be possible to do a job along the lines you indicate, if care is taken; but if I was to buy a car in this condition, the first thing I'd do is rip it out and have a welded steel floor in its place. (The price would reflect this, too.)

A
Anthony Cutler

Thank you.
SB Brecklin

I had to cut out the passenger side footwell on my Sprite to allow for the silencer on the shortened exhaust. I made up a one inch square tubular frame with a diagonal, and welded that inside (ie; from above) and fixed a new sheet steel panel to that with self-tapping screws - rivets would be just as good. In my experience, these cars are so strong that you can use an arc welder turned right down, with 1mm rods. Also, although the floors undoubtedly stiffen the car, I reckon that it is just as strong if the tunnel, crossmember and sills are in real good order. Good luck, but do check the inner/outer sills where they meet the floor.

D le Versha

I agree the floor should be welded, but leave the arc welder alone. If you don't have a MIG welder or really know what you're doing with the stick machine then I'd go for the pop rivets. Use steel rivets, a 20 gauge steel panel, and try to duplicate the original spot welding technique which is into the flanges on the sills and the tunnel and crossmembers if possible. That way when you get ready to do it right in a few years or the next owner does it's not going to add much to the repairs to fix what you did this time.
Bill Young

I think that I am going to do the pop riveted technique because I do not have the time, skills or equipment ti weld in a proper floor.

I do have an arc welder and know how to use it though.

The sills seem to be rusted pretty bad. I am not sure what condition is "good" for this car because it seems to have a good deal of rust on the frame and body.
SB Brecklin

This thread was discussed between 18/11/2009 and 23/11/2009

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