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MG MGB Technical - How hard to fix?

I know anything is probably fixable, but anyone tackled this type of rust problem?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MG-MGB-GT-04223140004_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ31857QQihZ006QQitemZ160225789391QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Have been looking for a Special, but not sure how hard this is to fix.
Bruce-C

I restore MGs and we are just completing a rust repair on a 69 MGC. It seems there is a bit more reconstruction on this car and I would think your looking at approximatly 4 grand plus parts for floors cross members and outer rockers dog legs and lower front fender sections. I have a rule that states if the inner box section is rotted the body is too far gone. paint is not included. this type work is expensive but must be done right.
Jim Pelletterie

Given the location of this car, Iowa, and mine, Nebraska, I may have driven that car a few years ago. It was for sale in a dealer lot, looked exactly like this one. It did drive fine, I wanted it, but they wouldn't come down to $3000. I think they wanted $3700. And if I didn't have 2 other toy cars, I would have bought it.

If it is the same car, I feel like that song - "Thank God for Unanswered Prayers". But it looked so good. I even went back and looked at it a couple more times - 200 mile round trip, once with the wife. She wasn't suitably impressed. I still look at it in the pics with lust. I remember it having a sporty exhaust system and those narrow whitewalls, and everything else looks right in the pics. Nothing was said about overdrive, and I didn't know what to look for. But everything seemed to work on a test drive.

I just had a flashback from the '70's. I could have bought a running bugeye for $700. That one really hurts. I hope I see it on ebay as a rusty hulk so I can quit having regrets! It's a good thing they don't have laws about having more than one car. Would that have made me a bugamist?
Tom

Without seeing it it's hard to be definite, but, it does look as if it can be saved. If you are doing it your self and the floor pans are still mostly there to aid with lining up the sills then an amateur can do this job. There are no pics of the engine bay or the back of the car underneath so it may be that its beyond salvation there, but if its outer sill diaphragm inner sill and castle section followed by dogleg "only" and you can do the work then its possible. Commercially with a pro body shop, no way would it stack up. You would need to weld a strap across the door openings before starting work to hold it all in place, maybe need to jack up if its sagged a bit before fixing it the door fit will tell you this.

Finally doesnt this prove how true that old saw is about running a mile when you see stainless oversills :-)
Stan Best

Bruce,
In a word: Don't!

I agree with Jim whole heartedly. Since the main frame rails have rotted open, this one is too far gone to economically restore.

Tom
Tom Sotomayor

Hello,

I found parts for your repair on Moss-europe site( I was unable to find it on US site) The moss UK parts # HZA 438 & 439.

But it is easy to imagine rust at more than one spot. Which mean a lot of welding. But as a B-Gt is sronger than a B due to a real TOP. It may be a good buy depending of price.

My two (CDN) cents advice pay no more than $2-3,000.00 for it.

Cheers,

JGC
Jean Guy Catford

Tom,

You didn't say if you plan to fix it yourself, but since you said you didn't know how hard it is to fix, I am guessing that you don't intend to do it yourself.

In my opinion, if it goes off cheap and you can do it yourself, then it is a maybe. If you plan to pay someone to fix it for you, then don't bid more than you think you can sell or part it out for. You saw what Jim said (I'm not sure if inner box means the inboard frame rail or the stuff behind the rocker) but it's big bucks either way.

I think frame rails are probably easier than a full rocker set, but I have only done frame rails so I don't really know. I enlarged the pic to look at the silver section below the doors, and I don't see any panel breaks from wheel to wheel, so I would bet dollars to donuts that the rockers are gone.

Nice shiny paint and lovely interior, so it will probably bring more than it's worth. Like Stan said, no underhood pics. Maybe the inner fenders are rusted through? Maybe it looks like a dog under the hood? Who knows? Rear spring hangers?

If you get serious, I would talk to them on the phone and try to get more pics.

As far as it being a "Special" can you track that VIN to know that it left the factory as a Special. I see the tag on the fender, but it seems all of the other Special stuff has been removed or was never present to begin with.

Jean suggested $2 to $3 K. That would be too rich for my blood. I would cap it at $2k if it is nice under the hood.

Cheap Charley
C R Huff

Aren't those shiny sill (rocker) covers are wonderful idea? They can make even a rotten car look good. This car is going to need a full sill job at the minimum - I bet once those shiny covers come off, there is precious little behind them.

Judging by my experience with my own GT, and by the amount of corrosion shown in the photo, you could be looking at outriggers and floor edges as well. Who knows what the wheel arches are like, or the front wings (fenders), or the boot (trunk) floor.

IMO it is almost certainly worth saving as there are many good parts shown, but don't think of it as a way to make any money. The car ought to sell really cheaply, in the UK I would expect about GBP500 (approx $1000). Despite what the owner says about it being special, it doesn't seem to have anything that couldn't be fitted to any other car quite easily, but it could be made into a nice vehicle with a little effort and cost.
Mike Howlett

This car is haunting me. I'd really like to see someone save it. A dried up body tub from Arizona would be a great start. Change everything else over, and you got a great driver. I still think this is the car I drove a few years back, and from that experience, I say save it.

Maybe you would just lay her over on a bunch of bubble wrap and start replacing pieces. Obviously, there's scaly rust in the box sections that has weakened some areas. But you could probably rig up a fixture to drive it home with some channel iron or something.

I'd buy it, Bruce. Worth fixing in my opinion, even if you have to source a body shell. Everything else is so nice, a complete, good running, low mileage car. Just got cancer from salty roads.
Tom

Did the '67 Specials leave the factory as such, or were they just a kit of add-on bits that went to the dealers?

' Just wondering...
Allen
Allen Bachelder

I just noticed this '73 - quite like my own - on Ebay. Unfortunately, the engine bay has been sprayed flat black but the rest of the car looks quite nice with a few tasteful cosmetic mods: LE wheels, nonoriginal cloth seat inserts, and that great Moss steering wheel. No personal interest, but depending on the reserve, it might be a good buy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/73-MGB-GT-ANTIQUE-BRITISH-SPORTS-CAR-X-CLEAN_W0QQitemZ280213312139QQihZ018QQcategoryZ31857QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Regarding the '67 Special, it could be a bargain if you have welding skills, lots of time and lots of patience. If you have to hire it done, don't even think about it. Keep looking. The best buys always show up within days of the time you commit.

FWIW,
Allen
Allen Bachelder

Bruce

As stated above it is hard to determine if the car is restorable from the few pictures included but if you are doing the work yourself, and it is do-able (just take your time) then it may be well worth the price.

My MGB GT had some major rusting but a little careful planning and methodical work has put it back on the road. I will admit that the floors had a little rust but did not require complete removal and replacement.

To give you an idea, check my "B" website.

http://www.island.net/~btsmith/index2.html

Brian
Brian Smith

Thanks all

If the price stays low, I may consider it for parts.
Bruce-C

Sounds like a shame to use that as a parts car. I have a Roadster in need of new rockers and found out how much getting new rocker panels put in by someone else will cost in a previous thread here. Its not cheap. So it all depends on if you know someone who owes you a favor or two who can weld. I found this great video series as well on mig welding. Gives you more confidence on giving it a go.

http://www.expertvillage.com/video/11041_mig-welding-how-works.htm

As stated by Brian, if you have the time go for it. I also recommend seeing it in person before you buy it. If you win the auction you should travel there to pick it up. You have every right to refuse payment if the car is not as described. That happend to me with a TR7 and I got the guy to knock off a few hundred for expenses that it would cost to bring the car up to what was described in the auction. And no, just because he knocked a few hundred off the price of a TR7 does not mean it ended up being free...

There have been many a MGB that has had new floor panels, rocker panels put in. In my opinion this is a car more than worth saving. Its just the question of are you the one who wants to save it as we really cant see what might be lurking in the pictures...

james

I'm sure the car is as described, although a few more pics of the damage would have been helpful to a buyer. A request for such pics before the auction ends would not have been unreasonable.
Tom

I see someone did request more pics, and they were added. Doesn't look as bad as I imagined. Damn, I still want this car, but now I have 3 toy cars, no room! If I was going to buy it, I have a plan to bolt a reinforcement around the frame(?) rail to drive her home. It would work.

Maybe Bruce will sell it to me someday. Don't part her out, she's fixable.
Tom

How far do you intend to drive it home ?
James

Well, car sold for $4350. A price that was above my limit. I have done floor panels, so the new picks did make it look not as bad a job. Hope the person that purchased it lets us know what they find. I dropped him a note to stop by.
Bruce-C

Yeah, I'd say that's too much for the car. Now I'm not so sad about not getting it.
Tom

This thread was discussed between 03/04/2008 and 10/04/2008

MG MGB Technical index

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