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MG MGA - Repacement body panel fit

My 1500 roadster was involved in an accident in 1960, hit squarely in both the front and rear and then put into long term storage by the original owner. The areas around the grille and the radiator duct panel in the front plus the valance behind the trunk opening in the rear will all need to be replaced.

The suppliers all have these replacement panels. But how well do they fit? They are not cheap.

Can those who have replaced any of these panels comment on the fit up and advise where they bought their panels. Any photos available?

Thanks
C Baker

Post pictures so we can offer opinions on how to fix.
15 years ago I used a Moss 457-750 and a 456-240. No fit problems at all. The current prices seem well ahead of inflation though.
Look at this to see how John fixed the rear of his. http://www.themgdoc.com/mgav8.htm
Go here to see how they do it. http://www.eclecticmotorworks.com/mga.html
R J Brown

You might be surprised what a good body man can do with mangled sheet metal. These old cars had real metal in the bodys, not the thin foil like stuff they use in modern cars. You have to find someone who knows how to work with metal, not just a panel replacer. Pictures of the damage would help others to compare with what they have had to deal with and advise you. This is what mine looked like when I got it.


Ed Bell

Ed, is that the same side flipped around?

Neil
Neil McGurk

Neil,
Yes that is the same side, from the front, and then from the rear. The other side was not nearly as bad, only multible small dents. It had been hit in the front and rear at some time. The side hit is what caused it to be parked for about 25 years. The engine was seized and had to be totally rebuilt, as did everything else. Here is a picture of the finished car.


Ed Bell

Without seeing the car it would be hard to say if it could be repaired or not. However, like RJ nad Ed say, it is amazing what a good bodyman can do. I have not as yet had to buy replacement panels for the front or back of any MGAs that I've repaired. Check out themgdoc.com and electicmotorworks.com to see what we have done woth some of these cars.
Good luck,
John
j. p. mangles

Ed, I've always thought that the steel the UK automotive industry used for their cars in the 50's and 60's was not particularly thick and the quality not very good. So many of our cars simple rusted out from that period if they were not looked after. What I do agree with is that a good panel man can bring metal back from the dead given half a chance. Thereafter although thin it will have a much extended life if protected and looked after.
J H Cole

The hardest part would be to establish a reference to what the shape of the metal should be if both sides are in the front and rear are pushed in. Try to get together with another MGA owner with a well done car and make some cardboard templates of the final shape then you can probably pull and push the original metal back into position. The radiator duct is a hard part to straighten, but I believe the replacement panels are pretty close, so that shouldn't be a problem. If you plan on doing the work yourself be prepared to invest in some specialized body tools that will make the job much easier. Most useful might well be a "stud welder" and slide hammer. Really make pulling out dents in hard to reach areas a lot easier. You can get one when it's on sale from HF for around $100. Really useful on the rear panel, as the back side of a great deal of it's area is covered by interior bracing and you can't get a hammer or dolly in there. Considering the cost of replacement panels, if I were doing the work myself I'd try repairing the orginal metal first. If you farm the work out, then it's a balance between the panel price and the number of hours it would take to fix the old panel.
Bill Young

J H Cole,
I agree that the metal on our cars has gotten thinner as time goes on. In the east and mid-west they use salt on the roads in the winter. Not many cars survive for long if driven year around. In the Northwest where I live it rains a lot, but that doesn't seem to be a problem unless you have a leak and let the water soak the floors until they rust. I have had many 20 year old cars with original paint and no rust. We do not use salt on our roads in Oregon, so when you get under an old car to work on it, it's not rusty. There are lots of old cars that are rust free and driven daily. The exception to this is if you live near the Pacific Ocean. The salt air is death to cars in just a few years. Here is a car I owned for over 25 years before I sold it to someone who restored it. There was only slight surface rust in areas where the paint had worn away. (It's a 1932 DeSoto.)I apologize for not having a British example, but I have not been into British cars until just lately.


Ed Bell

JH - I don't think that the steel used in British cars was any worse or any better than that from any other country ( the Renault Dauphine and VW Beetle fell apart as well) - the notable exception was that used in the manufacture of the Vauxhall Victor which notoriously rotted before your very eyes - but I believe that they had used Belgian steel due to short supply of British. I know the panels were a decent thickness back then having replaced panels of a Morris Minor 25 years ago and found the old panels twice the weight of the repro ones. The corrosion protection was sadly lacking - and I did hear of an incident at Abingdon where the production line was flooded as the Thames overflowed around 1970 - the MGBs there at the time were up to their dashboards in water - but they just carried on with them after the water had gone without worrying about inside the box sections! cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

This thread was discussed between 23/02/2008 and 27/02/2008

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