Monday 15 February 2010

1965 MGB Roadster Restoration


I recently did some more work on the 1965 'pull handle' MGB roadster undergoing restoration in the workshop. Both floor pans were rather patched and horrible, so I started by removing the left hand one. This was no easy task, as it has been patched in places, and where someone had once fitted new sills , it was brazed along the entire outer edge. Rather than half an hour drilling out spot welds, it became hours of grinding back ancient blobs of brass until the edges were back to good clean steel, ready for the new floor.


Once the new pan was trimmed, adjusted to fit, and welded in place, half of the centre cross member was cut out and replaced. The cross member didn't look too bad externally, but with the old floor pan removed, it wasn't a pretty sight inside, so I decided the best idea was to cut it out and replace it. Rather than chop the whole thing out in one go, which could leave the car a bit flexible, I decided to do it one half at a time to minimize shell movement. I will replace the other half when I replace the right hand floor pan - an internal stiffener will be welded inside the centre join of the new cross member to compensate.
To finish off it was just a case of welding the jacking point back on (which id carefully cut from the old cross member) and a quick coat of primer to stop the welds rusting.

Now I just have to do the same the other side, only it looks like that sides had even more brazing....

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