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MG MGA - Body Removal

I need to remove the body from my 58 MGA, I've gotten it down pretty far, but I am curious: When I remove the body, is it best to lift from both ends, or in the middle? Should I put in stress beams? If so where?

This is my first experience with British cars of this vintage, I was surprised to find that most of the hardware on the car is metric.

One more question: There is a rough coating on the inside of the fenders, it looks like a rock coat of some sort, is this normal? Would it be a bad idea to remove it and paint, or should I just leave it alone?
BK Koehler

The body should be brased across the door apertures and then get someone at each corner and lift it clear of the chassis. You need to lift it high to clear what we call the goal posts at the front scuttle
There is nothing no nothing metric on an MGA?
Bob (robert) I am turning? yes I once owned an MGWasp!!

B.K.
Metric?? My 57 has no metric on it at all.. (It did have a couple of Whitworth which surprised me.) Maybe the previous owner of your car had a Volkswagon Garage??
The inside of the fenders must have been coated at one time with some sort of rustproofing. If it was mine, I would remove it, because my experience is that it traps water under it, but I am sure there are plenty of guys who will disagree. As for the body- is this a roadster or a coupe??
/ gil
gil

That's what threw me, I don't know if somebody came through and changed everything to metric, but even the fender bolts are metric. 13mm to be precise. It's odd.

Just weld some steel across the doors? I can handle that, I think.
BK Koehler

roadster, sorry.
BK Koehler

13MM is very close to 1/2 inch. Some dirt or undercoating on the bolt heads could make it seem to be a different size? My 1962 had no metric fasteners, but the ends of the steering rack had whitworth threads.
Ed Bell

I don't think it's dirt, when we first started on it, we didn't even get my metric box out, and had a hard time, got the metric out and everything started coming loose much easier. No biggie either way though.
BK Koehler

BK, the brace across the door opening can be bolted in in place of the door hinge and latch. Just something to prevent the body from folding around the sills. A couple of pieces of sheet stock bent to a L shape and a 2X4 screwed between will work. If you have help from a couple of friends the body can be lifted off fairly easily, if you work alone, then an engine hoist can be used. Check out this photo from Eclectic Motorworks. They made a support that went between the cowl and rear deck area to lift the body.
http://www.eclecticmotorworks.com/dhtc02.html
Bill Young

BK,
If there's any doubt about the structural soundness of the sill and posts, it is highly recommended to repair these before removing the body in order to preserve proper alignment and door fits etc.
BOL,
Doug
D Sjostrom

BK, amen to what Doug said. If the sills and A and B posts aren't in good shape you could bend the body at the sills and have a hard time establishing your reference again. Right now the body is mounted to the chassis, and if it is good you have a good reference to work from to replace the sills if necessary. Other than that you would probably need a body jig such as used by Eclectic Motorworks. I'm nearly ready to remove the body from my car, but only after replacing both sills and repairing the damaged areas of the posts.
As far as the undercoating, sounds like something added by a previous owner, not factory. Can't hurt if there's no rust underneath, but if you want a 'concours' car it should probably be removed and the area painted body color.
Bill Young

The sills and pillars seem to be in good shape, but I'll make sure to give them a thorough check before we go any farther. I haven't found any rust holes in the car yet, only surface rust.
BK Koehler

BK, try this link:
http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/wbetzel/MGA%201600/?action=view¤t=SIMG0079.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1
Wim.
Wim Betzel

This one should work beter, i hope.
http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/wbetzel/MGA%201600/
Wim.
Wim Betzel

BK, you need to copy the link into your browser.
Wim Betzel

BK, the only metric components I have found are the spark plugs (14mm) and the wheel bearings which are commonly fabricated metric worldwide.
When lifting, do the bracing as everyone has told you. The best lifting points are above each wheel arch, not the extreme ends. Lifting at the extreme back and front imposes the maximum bending moment on the sils, whereas at the arches, you are roughly lifting at the CG of each half of the car, so minimum bending moment. If you, or anyone else, wants to email me I can send pics of a simple body lifting jig, and the body can be hoisted single handed.
Art

Wim, I like and appreciate the nice clear pictures that you posted. Got any others detailing the work you did to your sills you could put up. I'd like to add them to my photo collection.

The roll around stand you made for your body also is very impressive. Seems you're a carpenter, too.

Derek Nicholson

This thread was discussed between 05/07/2006 and 08/07/2006

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