Body work question

[mgbrv8]

I have been doing alot of work on my body shell every now and then sense it came back from the sand blaster. But I have noticed alot of Bs have rust bubbles appear around those seem lines on top of the rear fender and the ones up front after they get painted. Is there a good way to treat these propperly or do people delete them in some way. I am open to anything.

Thank you gentalmen
Dave

[classic conversions]

I am deleting them from my GT

[mgbrv8]

Did you treat it with anything before you welded it smooth??

dave

[classic conversions]

Clean and clean with wire brush and used Eastwood pre weld stuff. I think it was Eastwood's
Then I filled with Metal to Metal filler, light coat of filler, guide coat and sand to ready to prime.

[rficalora]

I deleted them on mine too - front & back.  By doing the front it means your fenders are no longer removable by simply unbolting. If I recall, I used a cut-off wheel on an air die grinder to cut out the strip, brushed in some rust converter, then wire brushed & welded.  I did spots like Bill & kept going till they were all inter-connected for a fully seam weld.  I also filled the seams inboard of the rear quarter peak seams both above & below the trunk lid the same way.

[BlownMGB-V8]

If they are not badly rusted I would keep them, as it is a signature feature of the car and as Rob mentioned, allows removal of the front wings. A fine wire brush on an angle grinder does an excellent job of cleaning them and then seam sealer can be used to seal them and leave a good surface for paint. I know a lot of people have removed them and it is a personal preference item, but over the years I've really come to like the odd quirks of the MGB like this which are some of the things that give it it's unique personality and feel that removal of too many such things tends to remove the car's identity. As it is also functional (and I suspect, the reason for it in the first place) I would keep it if I could. Of course if it is badly rusted, deeply pitted, or otherwise seriously damaged that is another matter.

JB

[Dan B]

Look out, Jim,,,your purist is showing....;<)

[classic conversions]

Jim B LOL did you keep the hood stock, it is a signature of the B, How about the fenders, those are also a signature of the B and yes the old I4 engine, the latter really tells you that is an MGB LOL :-)

Just having fun Jim

[roverman]

Yes Yes, but insn't the REAL British sports car trade mark, for realistic/alternating flames and darkness, the original Prince of Flaming,"Lucas" ?  LOL in 2012, Mayans bedarned, roverman.

[flitner]

I decided to keep mine, and I did replace a good foot of it on one quarter and one fender, the fender was easy to do but the quarter needed some planning and careful removal and trimming to make it right. wire wheel, ospho for the tough to get rust and as stated ^ ^ seam sealer.

[Moderator]

I deleted mine and had the paint shop apply a flexible sealer. The B, especially in GT form, has such an elegant basic shape... but for some reason the factory felt compelled to clutter things up with all sorts of superfluous and distracting details. This is just one example. IMHO, these cars benefit greatly from a close shave.

[roverman]

I ask here because of JH dis-interest. JH has same dam#@%$! seams ! British conspiracy ? How DOES one remove all four fenders , without ruining them ? So far its LH drill bit(38 yr old phillips screws), Air chisel(goo-glue fenders to fenderwells), assordet drills for the dozens of pop rivets and torch/cut-off wheels for assorted tack welds.  Help !  roverman.

[mgb260]

You got it right Art, Except Pozi-Drive instead of Phillips.LOL

[GreenDreamTR]

A good way to stop any further issues when welding up the seam is to use a copper based weld threw primer, It will seal the area around the weld unlike many other weld threw products. You can pick some up at any welding supply store. Good luck on the project. Post some pictures as you go.

[mgbrv8]

 -- moved topic --

[DonB]

I'm way past retaining the original MG features so... I cut out the rears, spot welded and then went old school with lead. I used the weld thru primer before the welding... and shot the underside with rust preventer and a piece of small rubber hose as an extended nozzle. A bit of fiberglass impregnated body filler then finished as usual with skim coat and sealer.

Didn't weld the fronts so as to be able to remove (hopefully never) fenders. Did find the small rubber seals I jamed into the gap betwen the scuttle and the fender.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... love the shape, hate the seams.   As I had already decided to remove the side chrome strip, I welded up the clip holes and softened the beauty line with filler and extended it from the light buckets to about 3" from the rear where I had already chopped off for the Kamm back rearend. I was trying to "lengthen" the line to give the feeling of a long uninterrupted look.... just got to get those doors to stay where I put them! The rear seams seemed to give a cluttered look. As berfore... what ever floats your boat.
Bones