297 replies to this topic

[cooperd70]

Great Ben! Now you have no excuse ??? with the cutting/welding just take your time...really looking forward to seeing this once it's completed...you'll be well chuffed ?

[Ben Rose]

Great Ben! Now you have no excuse with the cutting/welding just take your time...really looking forward to seeing this once it's completed...you'll be well chuffed

You're not wrong!  Thanks mate.  Now the dirty work begins.

[cooperd70]

Now the dirty work begins.

LOL ??

[Ben Rose]

So I have managed to get an hour this evening to start working on the boot floor and I have a few questions. Apologies if they are basic / obvious but I have never done bodywork.

I'm starting on the boot floor area where I know it will need some repairs and then I'll work forwards.

I'm grinding the stone chip / wax oil and paint off to reveal the state of the metal behind and on the whole it appears good.

The battery box has seen better days at the back and has some holes in it and I was looking at getting some repair panels for the drivers side of the boot floor and the boot lip.

Does it look from the photo's that I'm working in the right way? Or should I give up now and just get a boot floor?

Also how long can I leave the metal bare? Do I need to get it back in primer ASAP? Should I rust cure the bare metal too even if it looks clean?

Sorry for so many questions!

The drivers side arch has a repair panel right over the top. It looks fine but I haven't taken it back to metal yet so this may also need replacing.

I don't intend on this being a show car but I do want to minimise rust coming back in the future and make it presentable.

I would appreciate your feedback guys.

Before I started I removed the emissions canister from the inner wing and the fresh air duct.



I also removed the fresh air duct. I'm not sure how I am going to remove the round grill where it joins the bulk head / cabine vent as the four screws are completely rusted in.





The front panel end just fell out. There's practically no actual metal in the entire front end.







Before I started.



Floor is relatively solid.



After an hour of gentle grinding with a poly strip disc.



















Even though the kick board looks bad I have given it a good poke and it seems solid.



























Thanks for reading and if you can offer any advice / reassurance it would be really appreciated!

Edited by Ben Rose, 23 May 2020 - 08:51 PM.

[tankertanker]

Good progress keep on cracking on .....

[Ben_O]

The problem with old patches is that you don't know what is underneath them. If they have been welded on just as a quick patch up which is what it looks like, then there is likely to be problems underneath.

I think i suggested a new boot floor to you before and i would also recommend new arch tubs and possibly a heelboard looking at what you have.
I understand you are not going for a show car but as your aim is to get rid of the rust and for it not to come back, then that is the best way.
The problem with repairing the floor you have is that by the time you are halfway through repairing it, you will wish you had replaced it. What seems like a mostly good panel will inevitably end up being worse than you thought.

Bit of you are interested in repairing the floor then why not? Worst that can happen is you are not happy with it and end up replacing it.
If it works out well, then happy days!

Keep up the good work
Ben

[Ben Rose]

Thanks for the honest advice Ben. I'll keep going for now as it's good experience for me and may just practice on repairing what I've got. If it's good enough then great but as you say may very well end up getting a full boot floor and arches.

[Bdshim]

I've fairly recently done a new boot floor I was in a similar situation was tempted to repair but I went for a new heritage one, glad I did as when removing found much more rust on joins Seams etc, today I was removing the rest of the heal board as mine was gone both ends once removed there was quite abit of rust on the drivers side were it joins the floor which will need cutting out, the more I remove the more I find which was no surprise from reading the great build threads on here, keep at it one bit at a time concentrate on just the rear at the moment or can get overwhelming.

[MaximMini]

Hi Ben,

I'm following your thread from the beginning and what I understanding this is a learning experience for you (as mine project is for me).

That said, it might be a good decision to try to repair the boot floor because of three reasons. Firstly you will have the opportunity to hone your skills, secondly sheet metal is far less expansive than repair sections and thirdly, if anything doesn't work out the way you want you still have some 'margin' left to go down the repair panel route.

At least this worked out for me. While I'm quite happy with my (second version of) boot floor repair, I have used repair panels (BMH) on the outer skin.

What ever your decision will be, I'm looking forward to follow your progress.


Cheers from the Pied Piper's Town

[sonscar]

Difficult choice,I personally would repair the boot floor with home brewed patches as I am time rich and fiscally poor.Done correctly and treated well you could have years of service.How quickly do you want to drive it?.Do you want to spend years restoring?.Your choice,good luck with it.I would personally if repairing start replacing metal now and then you will get a feel for how it is going.After a few repairs you will have a better idea re replacement.I daily drive an Mgb that I have owned for 36 years and have both replaced and repaired,both ended up going rusty.Steve..

Edited by sonscar, 24 May 2020 - 09:55 PM.

[wilsonch]

Looking good mate. Almost there myself, dont have a rollover jig so i may have to get one, although mine is higher up on a trailer at the moment.
A couple of quick questions.
What discs are you using to 'clean/grind' all the paint and crud off with.
And how are you going to recover, paint, undercoat to stop surface rust coming back.
Cheers
Chris

[GT Jimmy]

Talking from experience, I tried the half boot floor repair panel (magnum) and the side repair pieces from M Machine, and ended up ripping the whole lot out and replacing with a whole boot floor. It's not too hard to do, especially now you have a jig.

 

On  a plus side I learnt a lot about welding technique and welder settings while trying to patch it all up.

 

Good luck with what you decide to do

[Ben Rose]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think for now I'll repair as this will give me some much needed practice. If I'm not happy with the result I'll replace the floor. It may work out more expensive if I have to do that but at least I've had a go and learnt something in the process. This will certainly be a labour of love.

[Ben Rose]

Looking good mate. Almost there myself, dont have a rollover jig so i may have to get one, although mine is higher up on a trailer at the moment.
A couple of quick questions.
What discs are you using to 'clean/grind' all the paint and crud off with.
And how are you going to recover, paint, undercoat to stop surface rust coming back.
Cheers
Chris

Hi Chris, there are far more experienced people on here to advise you but I'm using a polystrip grinding disk I've adapted to run off my drill. Purely because my grinder doesn't have a variable speed whereas my drill does.

I'll be using bilthamber zinc primer on the bare metal once I've gone over it with their deox gel. I've got deox c for other smaller bits I can soak and also their seam sealer. https://www.bilthamber.com/
I have also been told about this please by harryrothers93 https://www.rust.co.uk/ and their phos clean a and b look interesting.

[wilsonch]

Thanks Ben. I have a couple of those discs kicking around the garage somewhere for a project on the kitcar.
I have been trying to get my son involved but sofar most of the work has been reconditioning the parts we have removed. The front sub will be going to the blasters soon. Just ordered a few new joints, gaiters, grease nipples. For the rebuild or the steering rack and front suspension.
Keep the updates coming.
Great work.