On Wed, 10 Jan 1996 Pschauss@aol.com wrote:
> I have a 1980 MGB which was "restored" by the PO using
> 1. The rocker panels are too weak to allow use of the jack without
> cracking the "body work". ( No externally visible holes or
> 2. The front fenders are showing noticable signs of rust bubbling
> I am considering an incremental approach to the car's needs. Sometime this
> year, I would replace the front fenders and
> have a local body shop paint them for me. Then, if and when I
> began to see signs of trouble with the rocker panels and sills,
> I would have them replaced. ( I have neither the time, equipment,
The trouble is that replacing the front fenders involves a significant
amount of labor (assuming you have a roadster) to remove the windshield,
then the fenders, then replace them. Then, when you do the rockers, the
windshield and fenders will have to be removed again, to get at the
fronts of the rockers. Also, if the fenders are rusty, you will likely
find that the ledge MG designed to hold mud at the top of the inner
fender is rusty, and will need replacing before it makes sense to put the
fenders back on.
I would vote for more fiberglas and bondo, or nothing at all, until you
can afford to have the front fenders, any inner fender repairs, and new
rockers all done at once. The total cost will be considerably less than
the cost of doing the same work piecemeal. Also, doing the fenders is a
cosmetic repair; the rockers are important to structural strength. If
you are going to do it piecemeal, it would be better to do the rockers
first and live with the rusty fenders for a while.
Ray
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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