Reinforcement Arch to Boot Floor Repair

Continuing on with the whole rear wheel arch repairs tonight, it was more of the same of making a template out of sheet steel, cutting out the rusted metal and then welding in the new. But for some reason I was really enjoying myself. I think it comes from a real sense of confidence that I am gaining from making very good progress with one of the worst areas on the whole MG Midget. 

Another thing that seems to be helping me is that the welder is behaving at the moment. I guess I have it set up just right, but I am managing to weld at odd angles and even upside down has been ok. Long may it last! My confidence that is...and not the time it is taking.

Back to the repair. As you can see from the photos the reinforcement arch needed some attention.

Make up the template.

and cut out the rusty section.

Loving my new Dremel 3000!

Template seems to fit ok but I needed to close those gaps

Offered up the new repair...

...and welded it in

Making sure that it was all flush so the floor makes a good fit.

I'll grind down the welds a little later on.

Happy with that job! Next on the list will be to weld in the inner wheel arch repair I made a few weeks back.

Rear Wheel Arch Chassis Member Repair

This was one of those repairs that for some unknown reason I wasn't looking forward. I think it stems back to when I first removed the patch repair panels done by a previous owner.

Yes that would be the reason! I remember really questioning my ability to restore the MG Midget back then. I was also very worried about the rear suspension mount but it looked like the rust had stopped just before the join.

Well I stuck to what I had learnt so far, cut out the old and make or buy a new panel and weld it in...simple!

I cut a 32cm x 2.5 cms length and copied the curve

Once the curve was correct I marked out the flange which welds to the floor panel...

 

...and welded the two together

Then I offered it up and it fitted well

Before welding it I had to make sure it was perfectly level with the rear suspension mounts

All welded in and looking much better!

Even the new dog seems impressed...or is he wondering where his dinner is?

Offside Rear Wheel Arch Repair

Been a few days since I was last in the garage but managed to grab a couple of hours this evening. I have to repair the wheel arches before the new rear floor panel can be fitted. 

Before I remove the bump stop plate I wanted to make sure that I had a good repair panel for the arch, so I went to work to make a custom one.

Below is what I need to create.

I thought the best way to reproduce the curve was to copy the better nearside arch.

I remember watching CarSOS on TV an they had a good method to get your cardboard template as close as you could.

As you can see by keeping the cardboard steady and using a hammer to gently tap around the line the cardboard falls away to leave the shape you need.

From that I flipped it over and created the full template and cut out the metal panel.

Close enough for now. I'll see how this matches up when it's time for the floor panel to be welded into place.

I finished off the evening by treating the rust in the supporting member. This involved using a wheel wire brush and sandpaper on the hard to reach places. Then coating in rust converter which should seal the metal for the time being and stop further rust. I will paint with chassis paint later on.

Good progress for a couple of hours!

Boot Floor Removal

Couldn't delay the inevitable next step, cutting out the boot floor, well starting to anyway. There are quite a few welding points to tackle, but as always I decided to take one step at a time.

First stop the easy bit!

 

Cut the main floor section out

When I starting looking at what next to cut it out it became very clear that I really do have to sort out the right wheel arch, which has always been a real mess!

This is what it look like before I started removing all the patch panels back three years ago...

... to reveal this!

Before I can get anywhere close to putting the new boot floor panel back in place I have to sort this whole area out, which includes the bump stop panel and the lower part of the chassis member.

So I started to cut away the rot. Now talking from experience I don't think it is as bad as it could be the chassis member is mostly intact and the rear suspension mount is attached to some good metal.

So I am thinking I need to take off the bump stop panel to help me remove the boot arch. Make good the bump stop panel and clean up the good metal and treat with rust converter. Then I can see about making some new repair sections for the chassis member and the wheel arch. 

Gearbox Clean up

In order to give myself some variety during this restoration I have been choosing some parts of the MG Midget to clean up and this time I felt like the gearbox was in need of a wash, but only on the outside for now as I will need to read up on full restoration.

It certainly was caked in muck and oil!

So a soak in degreaser was required.

And after about 1½ hours scrubbing with wire brush and even an old toothbrush to get into the hard to reach places it eventually came up quite nice!

Once dry and admiring my work I realised that I hadn't ever tried to see if the gears worked, so turning the shaft I was so pleased to find all four forward gears selected as expected and I even found reverse!

No major noises or worrying movement, so on the face of it a positive little job, but I will still need to make sure I check the gears more thoroughly before attaching it to the engine!