LocostUSA.com

Perry, it took a lot of patience and time. First I had to cut out the center. Here is my goto method. I think you can fill in the missing instructions on that.



Once the center was cut out and filed smooth, the ID was ready for the rib to be formed. I made a forming tool. I used my cutoff wheel to cut a slot into a piece of 1" x 1/8" steel bar. The depth of the cut was about the height of the flange needed. From there it was a lot (again) of forming. Place the tool against the ID of the ring and lever away while holding it firmly against the ring. Move about 1/4 inch and repeat, repeat, repeat. First pass was bent maybe 10-15 degrees. Then another pass of another 10-15 degrees (20-30 degrees now), and so on and so on. By dinner time, the flange was at 90 degrees and could be cleaned up slightly with a body dolly and hammer. It is no masterpiece but serves a purpose. It will be out of sight when the car is done.



This piece is apparently made of unobtanium. None of the MGB part places listed it. I didn't look at the UK suppliers. Even if I found it, I didn't want to wait for delivery.

Hope this helps you understand my crude method. Like I said, hand formed

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Thanks Chuck, excellent fab description. This gives me some ideas for insertion of motorcycle headlight assemblies in the Topolino fenders.
It's going to take some trickery fabrication for sure.

_________________
Perry

'If man built it, man can fix it'
"No one ever told me I couldn't do it."
"If you can't build it safe, don't build it."

Perry's Locost Super Che7enette Build
Perry's TBird Based 5.0L Super 7 L.S.O
Perry's S10 Super 7 The 3rd
Perry's 4th Build The Topolino 500 (Little Mouse) Altered
Perry's 5th Build the Super Slant 6 Super 7
Perry's Final Build the 1929 Mercedes Gazelle

Chuck,
Did you watch any of the tinsmith videos on youtube? They offer so much information on small panel forming.

Nice work on the flange tool and flange. bend, move, repeat ad infinitum

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

I had a quick look and you're right, the US distributors don't stock it. The Moss Europe number is CZA81, but they're not as cheap as I remember. The shop I used to work at here in Vancouver kept them on the shelf, but I seem to recall they were roughly $20.

Perry. Thanks for the kind words. I did some hammer forming to make the access covers on my Cushman Truckster. That turned out really well, although I was forming aluminum for those. These needed to be steel for plug welding to the fender. Steel is tougher to form over my surplus supply of particle board shelving. I didn't even try. Maybe it would have worked.

Tommy, I think I did see a few tinsmith videos some years back. I think my idea may have come from Russ's linked video posted last December. viewtopic.php?f=15&t=20411&p=252028&hilit=flanging#p252028 Possibly I had used the same process before seeing that. I can't remember my sources of such trivia anymore.

Rod, I checked and you are right ~18 BP today at Moss Europe. Plus shipping across the big Atlantic. For some reason they don't have low shipping costs that I get on eBay sellers from China.

For some reason the bucket weld nuts are not shown in the Moss photo. I do know that the style of weldnuts (and possibly the bucket attaching screws?) changed between '69 and '73. Maybe they eventually changed again (hex nuts?) although they are not shown in the parts diagrams.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

The nose of the passenger side fender is now closed. A little filler will be used to match the curves of the grill later.



Next up is the lower fender replacement behind the wheel well. I have a complete OEM tooling section from door to wheel well and below the beltline. I'm not sure if I will replace the entire section or just replace the lower rusted section. There are a couple of creases that would need to be hammered out if I just did the rust repair. (see highlighted area) Time for some internet research.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

For your viewing pleasure, here is how the factory parts are now made:

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Take a good close look at the backside of the fender and let metal condition be the deciding factor. My MGA had pitting above where the normal cut line would be for a lower patch panel. Those stupid rubber trimmed splash panels trapped more debris than they kept out.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

I did take a good close look today. It doesn't seem to be a problem. In the process, I looked at how much of the new fender panel would be required to replace the rust. I was hoping to stay under the fold over seam at the trailing edge of the fender. If I can, it would make the replacement so much easier. Unfortunately I need more of the new panel than I had hoped. I would have to do some seam work. Once that was identified, I did some test surgery on the scrap DS fender to confirm the construction under the rust. I determined I can do that. I figure in for a penny, in for a pound. I might as well replace the entire panel. That is what I'll work on with the real fender tomorrow.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

While working on the passenger side fender, I spent some time repairing the dealer-installed steering wheel. It was in very poor shape. almost all varnish was worn off and it was pretty dirty. This is after a week of cleaning, epoxy filling the cracks and several coats of poly. The photo is washed out and shows it better than it is in real life. Perfectly acceptable to me though. I will need to source the center medallion.

The patch panel is now welded to the fender and seam-folded along the trailing edge. Final fitting/adjustments will have to wait until I get a few more things taken care of.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Finished up removing the several layers of respray and gave it a temporary once-over of Rustoleum. It will still need some panel beating but this step is declared done. BTW, the black glossy paint gives me some idea where more bodywork needs to be done.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

I managed to strip the Driver's side front fender. This one was from the '73 donor. I found 2 creases and one dent under the paint that were just bondo'ed over. As was the practice years ago the dent was sanded down to pare metal, removing the primer, and then bondo applied. This area was starting to rust. I think I got it in time. from what I read, today's best practices is to epoxy prime and then apply the body filler over the prime coat. Sorry, no pics.

I spent some more time removing some dents in the drivers door., This needs some more massaging but I'm making progress.

Today, I spent some time getting the floor panels ready to be plug welded. There was a fair amount of metal removed around the sill area so that my pneumatic offset tool would reach where needed. Then came the punching and drilling of holes. A lot of them . That is a lot of holes to weld back up again. I think I'll try to quickly weld them with the MIG but not quite fill the holes completely to get some metal in place and tack the parts together and then try the TIG to complete the weld without any further filler. I hope to make it a quicker installation without the need to grind down the MIG welds.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Are you gas shield or flux core mig? With this much welding, I'd use gas shielded over flux core mig for a big difference in clean up.

_________________
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LxWxHt
360LA 442E: 134.5x46x15
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Chuck
With a little practice you can use MIG for all of those plug welds. If you're doing Gas MIG, head to the store and pick up some .020 wire.

Then you just weld in a circle. With practice it looks remarkably like a spot weld.
Also, fusion only TIG tends to be more prone to fatigue cracking. If you TIG a little filler rod makes for a longer lasting weld.

_________________
Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

MV8, I gave up flux core on my first roll 25ish years ago when testing my "new" MIG welder. Fortunately my welder was convertible to gas. I switched to gas and 0.023" wire and never looked back. That welder is still going strong. It is the same SIP brand/model as the one pictured in Ron's "book".

Have you ever tried MIG followed with TIG? By the time I get a good weld puddle, I always have excess metal that needs to be ground down when plug welding sheet metal. I'm trying to minimize that post weld work.

Tommy, I've got very little experience on my TIG. I know that trying to feed wire with one hand, and hold the TIG gun in the other, while holding down the steel before, during and after each actual weld while crawling up in the footwell...… Well you get the point.

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766